"It all started..."
DO YOU WANNA BE FAMOUS?! Well, here's how. On our "It All Started..." page! We are collecting stories from people just like you who love MiniDisc. We want you to write a brief story explaining how you first heard about MiniDisc, when you bought your first one, and why you think it's the best recording medium on the planet!
Also, we're curious to hear your angle on why the format has been slower to take off in the US than in Europe and Japan. Email your story to us at: contactmda@aol.com. We will be posting all of the stories on this page, plus one will be featured on the MiniDisc Access home page. (For the sake of the kiddies, please make your stories G-Rated. Also, please include both your name and city, so we can give you credit for your work. Finally, please understand that by sending us your story, you are granting us permission to use it on the site.). So, why not go for it?! Then, YOU'LL BE FAMOUS! At least with the MiniDisc crowd!!
Now - Enjoy the following collection of stories from other customers that explain how they first got involved with the versatile world of MiniDisc. And don't forget to send us yours!!!
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“I am the assistant director of a women's barbershop chorus, the Merrimack Valley Chorus Recordings in various media have always been part of our rehearsal and education programs. We rely on recordings to have a record of major rehearsals and coaching sessions. In the past, that meant lots of cassette tapes, and the tedious process of reviewing and transcription (especially for extended coaching weekends).
Several years ago (thanks to a more tech-savvy member), we began using MD instead. MD allows us to record an extended coaching session (several hours at a stretch), then break it down into usable tracks for review and teaching purposes. Non-critical portions (extra talking, false starts, "white space") can be deleted easily, and key sections can be pulled out for critical review and/or as good exemplars for teaching. Out of a 3-day rehearsal, we can choose the best run-through of each song for members to review and model. Sections of the recordings are uploaded to the members-only section of our website, so that all members can have access to the recordings at home. The latest version of a song and its correct interpretive plan are available at any time, and can be updated frequently. Excerpts taken from our best performances are sometimes made available for the casual visitor to the site to be able to listen to the chorus - great for p.r. and recruiting!
Individual singers are also periodically required to record themselves while singing within the ensemble and submit their recordings for one-on-one review. The choice of medium is up to the singer and her assigned reviewer. Many singers use MD for their individual recordings (I finally made the switch myself about 2 years ago), then hand over a disc or simply upload and email the tracks to their tape reviewer for comment. Tracks can easily be forwarded to the director or section leaders for further critique or to use in future rehearsal planning. The director has her own MD recorder and uses it for more frequent review of weekly rehearsals.
The recording quality is outstanding - important when one is focused on the finer points of tuning 4-part a cappella music. (No more wondering if the singer was drifting flat or her tape recorder batteries were dying...) Mic sensitivity allows for accurate recording both at close range (an individual singer on the risers), and from a distance (the full chorus from across the room).
A great resource for musicians who rely on frequent review and critique for rehearsal and education.”
Carol Smolenski
Salem, NH
Assistant director, Merrimack Valley Chorus
North Atlantic Region #1
Sweet Adelines International
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“I was quite happy with cassettes - I could record at home on my twin deck, and I could record (and, of course, play back) on the move with a 'Walkman' - until I discovered the versatility of the 'new and improved' minidisc.
A few years ago, the highest amount of recording time on a MD was 74 minutes. This was not an inducement to stop using cassettes, where the maximum recording time was 120 minutes. I first decided to investigate MDs when Long Play (up to 4x the standard maximum recording time) and 80-minute MDs became available. With a new maximum recording time of 5 hrs & 20 minutes, I finally decided to invest some money.
With my newly-purchased Sharp MD recorder, I began experimenting. Live recording with a cassette was easy, I just had to press the record button - the recording level was automatic. With the Sharp MD it was a hit and (often) miss affair. Recording at home was easier, but I couldn't make 'timer' recordings of radio programs, as I could with cassettes. Also, with cassettes, when I removed the tape I knew when I reinserted it it would play from the place where I had stopped, MDs didn't seem to do this. I was happyish!
To bring things up to date, what's really needed (for my purposes) is a portable MD recorder, with an automatic recording level, and a deck that can (timer) record and, play back any track on an MD by just having the track no. entered.
My next MD was made by Sony. Any Sony portable recording MD, with a Mic. input, will make excellent live recordings of speech or music, as they all (appear to) have an automatic recording level. They can also play back, and record, cassettes, radio or TV via normal Hi-Fi equipment; and even with the 5 hour 20 minute LP recording selected the quality is excellent. I have to say that for live recordings 2x LP is the absolute maximum for quality recordings, especially of music, but 4x LP is good for both speech and music recorded from the radio etc.
To make things easier at home, I'd recommend getting an MD deck. The Sony one I have allows timer recordings, and tracks can be chosen by just typing in the appropriate track number - unlike the portable versions where it's necessary to press a button 37 times to get to track 37. Playing, recording and editing by use of the remote control makes things a lot more pleasurable.
The beauty of MDs is the cheapness of the recording software, i.e. Mini Discs, compared to cassettes, as well as their capacity - up to 5 hours 20 minutes of quality recording. I've now learnt that I can do anything on an MD that I could do on cassette. MDs are smaller than cassettes and CDs, more versatile than either, and don't need the involvement of a computer at any stage - unlike MP3 players (which don't record live and need computer back up). I can't fault them. I love them. Why would I need anything else? It seems that Sony, by winding things down, a lot, and making MD equipment hard to get wish to force us to other, less versatile media. It would appear that Minidiscs were just too good! But they're not dead yet! Long live the Minidisc!”
Andrew Deas
London, England
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"As a student, I often worked in the library and needed to listen to music to isolate myself. At the beginning, it was with an old CD player, but even if the sound was good, support wasn’t practical and it was fragile. An MP3 player solved the problem, but at the cost of sound quality.
In 2007, I decided to take another look at MiniDisc for the sound, size, battery life and recording capability. I had started with this system in 1997 and stopped in 1999. The format didn’t achieve as much success in Europe as it should have due to marginal equipment choices. Plus, it was difficult and expensive to find MD accessories. Now, though, I don't regret the return to MiniDisc.
Thanks MiniDisc Access for people who know MiniDisc equipment."
Erwan Gueguen Nice, France
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”A music teacher I knew, gee, way back in the early 90s, raved about the mini-disk. He had a deck and used it to make 70+ minute compilations of music from his library of CDs. I was amazed at these compilations... Song titles scrolled from the deck. Wow. You would use the remote to add text. If you wanted track # 1 to, say, be track # 7, well, you could do it. What flexibility.
For some reason or another, the mini-disk never caught on like I thought it would. Why it didn't catch on may have to do with the advent of mp3. When mp3 caught fire in the late 90s to present day, it seemed that the mini-disk was dead.
I got fed up with mp3 about two years ago. I had two hard disk players - RCA Lyra and I-Pod - die on me. Let me tell you, the Lyra was 40G and the I-Pod was 10G. That represented around 700 quality albums. While I backed everything up on CD-R, I was still livid. What a waste of time and money.
In early 2004, I went to Best Buy and was intrigued by the mini-disk. ATRAC compression immediately caught my eye with removable media that sounded great @ 132 k! No more worrying about a hard disk meltdown. I immediately started to use Sonic Stage to move my mp3s to disk. You know, despite what some may say, the conversion wasn't as bad as it is made out to be. I now have a portable and a home deck.
I bought a Hi-MD portable six months ago, along with five 1-G disks. This stuff is awesome. I started to rip CDs I have in Hi-SP. Stunning sound! While all my mp3 collection that I have has been converted to LP2, I am right now ripping the CDs I have in Hi-SP right on the 1-G media. I love both! I just wish a home deck was accessible which would play both types of disks. I want to listen to Hi-SP music through my home stereo. Yeah, an RCA jack could hook up my portable, but it isn't the same.
Conclusion: MD isn't dead; it's like the Illuminati, Free Masonry, or the Tri-Lateral Commission. It's there but not too many people know the power!”
Mark R. O'Flaherty Euclid, OH
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”I first used MD whilst volunteering at my local hospital radio station. I then bought my first deck, thinking it a bit of an unnecessary luxury...but then soon found it a necessity.
Despite the proliferation of MP3 and I-Pods, I have stuck with MiniDisc and have a built-in player in the car and several Walkmans, in addition to the decks I have in the house.
Though I have upgraded to Hi-MD, I find it disappointing that Sony have never released a Hi-MD deck or Hi-Fi and I've written to tell them so!
Hopefully, I have enough equipment, and more than enough blank discs to keep me going for the time being as I plan to stick with the format for the foreseeable future.
Cheers!”
Nick Oliver Leeds, UK
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“I became involved in the minidisc format so I could record in real time from my computer onto a disc. Using a minidisc meant that I could get more songs on the disc. And, I didn't need to purchase them. (If you download them electronically, you have to buy them. But, if you listen to them in real time, you can pipe them into your minidisc via the jack plug.)
As I listen to them on my motorcycle, the minidisc fits in my tank bag and is piped into my helmet earphones. In fact, that’s why I wanted the car adaptor, so that it plugs into my jack plug on the bike and then into the minidisc. So, I can ride for hours without stopping to change the battery on the minidisc! My phone is blue tooth and when it rings, the minidisc cuts off, then resumes playing when the call is finished.”
Charlie Vernon Lancashire, England
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“This just started for me....I am a musician and will be taking some fiddle classes this summer, and needed a recorder of some sorts.
My daughter was in the Czech Republic in 2003, and was interviewing Czech composers. She purchased the MZ-N710 there, and used it to record interviews and music. Upon her return, she used it on and off, but the battery (the "gumstick" type) died, and it was difficult to find a replacement, so she packed it away and used her Discman, and later her Ipod.
When I told her about the camp, she offered her MD player, but didn't seem to know where all the accessories were (typical - she offered my DH her CD player for his car - w/o the accessories, and just lately, her old laptop - without the power supply).
Although the unit was distributed in Europe (and not in US), when I called Sony, they did have replacement parts (charger stand, adapter, battery), but it added up quickly to well over $100. (I didn't know about your store then).
So, I got on eBay and ended up buying two MD Recorders (MZ-N707 and NF-610) for about that same price, with most of the original accessories! Not five minutes after the auction ended, my daughter called to tell me that she had located almost everything that went with the player (except the dry battery case : "so that's what that was!").
But, after I played a disc on her player, I was hooked. The sound is much better than my Ipod! And, the bonus is that I can record live! At first, I was considering selling off the extra MD players, but I think I'd better keep the back-ups, just in case.
So, now, instead of doing laundry, I put my favorite music on minidiscs....”
B. Hathaway PA
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“I am a professional recording engineer. I believe in hard disk digital technology. I have used a minidisc for years and love the clarity of sound that I receive. Recently, I purchased a Flash card recorder that was supposed to be the top of its technology. When I went to record at a show, I received a very distorted recording of what I had listened to. Take my word for it. At this time, flash card digital recorders are just not going to cut it in this application. Sure you have a lot of nice functions, but who cares when the sound is distorted? I put the recorder up on eBay, dusted off my trusted minidisc and haven't had a problem since.
At this time, stay with Mini Disc.”
Cowan Dawson
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“I first saw the mini disc in 1997. I'm a wannabe singer, and a friend and neighbor wanted me to meet a friend of his, who he said was a real good singer. So off we go to the club this gentleman was singing at. I think it was in August of 1997. We were introduced and I was invited to join the man on stage and sing. It turned out to be a great afternoon, and after the show he showed me the equipment he was using. I was fascinated when he explained all of the functions that the mini disc player/recorder was capable of. The ability to combine tracks, move tracks around and divide tracks is something that no other machine is capable of, at least not that I know of. I know you can do all this if you install the right program on your computer. A good program means that you have to be pretty computer literate, and I'm not.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the durability of the discs and the quality of the sound. There's no question that they're better than your standard CD's. I think that the reason they haven't caught on here in the USA as much as other places is that you can only play one disc at a time and then you have to physically change the disc. Whereas CD players, like the one my son has, hold five hundred CD's on a carousel. The thing can play forever (well, almost), and I think that's a big reason for the lack of minidisc popularity here in the US.
I've run across a few DJ's that use them, but that's about it. I think with the advent of the new mini disc that can hold up to 45 hours of music, this might change. I hope so, since I love these machines and want to be playing them for a long time to come.
I bought my first one in 1997, but it went south on me. It could have been repaired, but the cost was too high. I now have my fourth player, (a used one I just purchased on E-Bay) because I like to have a back-up. Hopefully these machines will be around for a long time.”
David Bell Chula Vista, CA
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”I got involved with minidisc in 1992 or 3. I was living in NYC and saw a Phillips, about the size of the transistor radios the cool kids had in the early 60s, and it cost $500. It was made to be plugged into your stereo, and I wanted to buy it on the spot, even though I had no stereo to use it with. I am old enough to have been thrilled when the first audio tape began to appear, and I've spent years recording music collections onto reel to reel and later onto cassette.
When I saw minidiscs, I was instantly hooked. The ability not only to record, but to edit seamlessly and to move tracks blew my mind! Honestly, the digital aspect of it was secondary to me- my musical addiction began when I was about four, staying up late at night and listening furtively to a 1954 Magnavox am clock radio, in mono, of course. I can't add much to what others have already said about MD technology - it's just unbelievably great.
Where I differ from most of the people whose stories I read is that I don't involve my PC- I don't really understand why anyone would, though I certainly understand why the industry wants it. From the very little I know, it seems like taking a very easy, on-the-fly recording/editing method and turning it into a real procedure. I'm no fan of Microsoft or of Sony; it seems to me that Microsoft just wants to push expensive, resource-hogging hard- and software at me whether I have a need for it or not, and the entertainment industry, in this country at least, wants to bring on a situation where the consumer pays to see video or hear music pretty much every time they do so, even after ponying up for the equipment, the connections, the monthly service, etc.
And that's why I think the MD hasn't taken off here. A Lot has changed in the American business climate in the years since the MD first hit. Sony didn't market it at all when it came out. Then, there were the licensing squabbles, and by the time that was over, American actors had won lawsuits regarding royalties for repeat showings of movies or TV shows, and the whole entertainment industry got serious. At the time, MD recorders were commonly being sold that could make 5 digital copies of another MD at once at high speed. I think someone wet themselves thinking about the potential for distribution of bootleg material, and those machines disappeared very suddenly, soon followed by any others that didn't have the SCMS thing.
I think the whole digital audio/video thing has been captured by the new business model, and the idea is to get everyone to spend as much as possible as often as possible to end up with collections that are at best impermanent, if only because we can no longer buy or repair the player, or the battery can't be replaced, or the music moved, or whatever. It's just not about what the consumer wants to buy, it's about what the industry wants to sell, and sell again. I am not more entertained now than I was 30 or 40 years ago, but I sure pay a lot more for it. Now that free internet radio is dead, analog can't be far behind, and we're all supposed to download our $1 copies of songs onto our iPods and toss the whole thing out when the battery dies 13 months later.
Which brings me to here. Like some of the other writers, I'd like to buy about 6 MD recorder/players and several zillion discs and keep using them into my old age, but wouldn't know what to buy of the recorders currently being produced. I can't tell if they even work without involving a PC- can someone please take pity on me and 'splain this? Obviously, I'm a dinosaur, and I don't want to move any more music into any more formats and keep any more collections. I have an ancient Denon M2000R which I treat with great respect, and I'm moving my MDs onto CDs, hoping that some combination of machinery and media will stay up and running till I go deaf.
OK, I'm done- if you're still reading, thanks for tuning in to my little rant. Now open your window, put out your head, and scream, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
J. Snyder Overland Park, KS
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“My name is David but my homies call me "Dirty". You can too if you want, 'cuz anyone down with MD is a friend of mine.
It all started back in '98 or so. I was working at Guitar Center of Lynnwood (great store by the way) and saw a lot of new products coming in before most people might see them. I started looking into multi-track recorders. All I knew is I did not want to use the cassette tape format, so when I saw the Yamaha MD4 it was love at first sight. I knew nothing of the minidisc, but it was one of the only digital recorders in that price range that was affordable for a starving artist.
So I bought it and have been in love ever since. The MD format is by far the best, and mixed with Yamaha's research power, the MD4/8 is worth every penny. Minidiscs are tough, like a mustang. I’ve dropped them, stepped on them, threw them against the wall, and spilled SODA on them with no problem at all. They still deliver clean, clear audio. They’re small in size, so packing them around is a cinch. With all the advancements made since, I still find myself using my minidisc to record my music. It always sounds better.
If you would like to listen to some of my projects using my MD4, check out my site:
http://www.soundclick.com/dtalks
and leave me a message or ask me a question.
Thanks People. Stay down for the MD!!!”
David “Dirty” Brown Lynnwood, WA
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“I was introduced to minidisc when I was working on a military base where I’m the sound guy for the USO and MWR (Navy recreations). Most of the bands that come in and entertain the troops have their minidisc and ask me to hook up their MD on my board for recording their sets. That’s when I got curious and ordered my first Net MD and got hooked on it ever since.”
Alex Verzosa Burbank, CA
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”My minidisc journey began in 1995 when I was a technical gopher at the World Science Fiction convention which was held that year in Glasgow, Scotland. These conventions traditionally include a "masquerade" (sort of a fancy dress competition) and I was put in charge of managing the musical and sound-effects backing tracks required by each of the competitors. Of course, every competitor turned up with a different medium - cassette tape, CD, even vinyl! - and some only needed part of the track they had in mind. I needed a way of collecting all the disparate pieces of sounds and music together into one place, and to be able to do some basic editing. Then one of my tech colleagues produced the answer to my prayers, a Sony MZ-1! I'd never seen one of these beings before, but as a keen technophile and "hi fi" fan I was blown away by the possibilities. Real digital recording, onto re-writable media, with instant track access and the ability to split, re-order and combine tracks! Fantastic!
As I was living and working in the Middle East at the time it was 3 years before I was able to acquire my very own MD (thank you Sony ME Marketing). My MZ-R30 was built like a tank and saw many hours of service as a sound-effects unit in amateur dramatic productions. I also began transferring my analogue vinyl and tape collection into digital format on standard MD. The small size and robust construction of the discs was a major plus. Eventually the MZ-R30 succumbed to a broken flexible cable in the lid and the LCD started blanking out. It still worked though, and my son was all too eager to get his hands on it. Even today it still plays, but has been battered almost beyond recognition! How do Sony build things this strong?!
When the MZ-R30 began playing up I needed to replace it quickly and cheaply as I relied heavily on it for theatre work, so I bought an MZ-R70 in 2001 to keep me going. There was nothing spectacularly different about the R70, except perhaps its ability to take a standard AA battery and run forever, at least compared to any other music player on the market then. At about this time I also invested in my first hi-fi separates MD unit, a Pioneer MJD-707. This has a nice noise reduction circuit which came in handy for transferring the dozens of cassette tapes I had lined up for digitization at this time. The Pioneer is still going, though it has occasional overheating problems.
I was getting quite serious about MD by now, and couldn't really understand why MP3 was getting all the limelight, except for the obvious fact that Sony couldn't be bothered putting up a fight. Why buy something so expensive, that can only be used with an even more expensive computer, and then only runs for a couple of hours - we're talking single digits here! - before the battery expires? On top of that, you have to store all your precious music, whether ripped or downloaded, on a fragile magnetic hard disk where it's vulnerable to everything from power surges to viruses. MiniDisc was, and still is, light years ahead of all that! I'd always resisted putting CD in my car because of skip problems and the bulky disc storage, but MD was perfect for in-car entertainment. My CDX-R6750 delivered excellent service until its lack of support for anything but standard MD meant it had to make way for a higher capacity ATRAC CD player. Anyway, although I didn't want to use my PC for long term music storage, I still used it extensively for effects capture, design, mixing, and editing so I was very interested when NetMD appeared and promised PC integration.
I dipped a toe in the water with the MZ-N710, but was instantly disappointed when it turned out that the MD-PC relationship was very one-sided and all that NetMD offered was MP3-like downloading and a choice of compression factors. Still, it was a step forward and when the Pioneer deck complained of overheating that summer I decided to upgrade it with a Sony MDS-PC3 deck. This is a very strange beast, part MD deck, part PC component. The most interesting part of the package was the PCLK-MN10 PC link device which, together with the Sony M-Crew software (even more idiosyncratic than the beloved SonicStage) provided direct PC control of the NetMD unit as well as a useful optical digital output.
Today I use the MDS-PC3 as my source device for live theatre productions because it's small, light, has a full complement of digital I/O, and most importantly has a permanently backlit LCD screen. Essential when working in a blacked-out control booth!
After this, Sony seemed to lose interest in MD even more than they had already. I treated myself to a new MZ-N1 which hasn't performed up to Sony's usual high standards and now functions as a semi-permanent PC peripheral for making quick copies of effects discs in Standard or LP2 mode. But this was only the calm before the storm! In 2005 HiMD arrived in all its glory, well most of it, and I just had to upgrade. My first HiMD purchase was an MZ-NH1, a gorgeous piece of kit, if slightly impractical due to its tiny on-board LCD and the fact that when cradled it can only be charged, not connected to a PC. Strange.
Shortly after the release of the NH1 the rumor mill went into high gear concerning Sony's abandonment of the long string of missed opportunities that we know as MiniDisc. In response I bought two more HiMD units, an RH10 and an MZ-NH600 because by now I don't think I could live without MD. The MZ-NH600 is my long-term insurance policy and has never been out of its box! I also picked up an end-of-the-line Sony CMT-SE9 hi-fi separates system which includes SA-CD, DVD and cassette as well as NetMD (including somewhat pointless PC connectivity) at a bargain price.
So, without realizing it, I've picked up examples of just about every development in the MD story over the last 10 years or so. I sometimes dream about buying an RH1, not because I need another MD player, but just because it reportedly allows digital upload of standard MDs, which would save a lot of time. But my real dream is of a revitalized MD world in which Sony finally understands all the benefits of the format and properly enables all of its functions, such as full bi-directional data transfer for all formats.
MiniDisc is still the most robust solution around, has twice the power-efficiency of any other format, and a proprietary compression format which knocks the spots off the competition but co-exists alongside uncompressed PCM and MP3 support. I'm sure professionals would welcome multi-track solutions either direct to MD or to hard-disk with optional mix-down to an on-board MD device as a safety.
MiniDisc is far from dead, but looks like it will live out its remaining days in dignified obscurity.
Cheers,”
Alistair Cameron Banchory, Scotland
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“Hi there folks here is my story;
It all starts back in 1992, the Blue Jays bringing the World Series trophy north of the border for the first time and a high school kid who enjoyed portable music reading the local business section of his paper. There, like so many others who have become famous, I first read an article about the next step in portable recordable media. I thought it sounded fantastic, but at those prices and my savings I figured I would never own one. After that I promptly forgot about the MD and its possibilities.
Is that where this story ends? Of course not. Fast forward 5 years and I was now a 3rd year university student on an exchange program in the hot bed of MDs, Japan. Everywhere I turned MD called to me, so as a present to myself I splurged and bought a SONY MZR-55 and the accompanying boom box with MD Link technology. So not only could I record from the CD player, but with the proper cables hooked up I could control and enjoy the MDs thru the speakers!
Eventually, my R-55 was stolen and replaced by the R-90. When mp3s first came on the scene I bought a little USB adapter allowing me to record mp3s to MD. Then I took another trip to Japan and purchased a wonderful compact stereo called the LAM-1. It gave me my first taste of true NetMD performance and also gave me high-speed CD-to-MD recording. I absolutely loved that little thing and got about 18 months of hard use out of it before a motor went on it. Because it was Japanese and I live here in Canada, Sony said there was nothing they could do and no one else since has been able to work with it.
Now I run with an MZ-N1 and MZ-E10 as well as an in-dash MD stereo for my car. Whenever I make a new MD, I print off my own labels for them and they all look great.
As for the question of why MDs haven't come on in North America. It is simple to me. With the exception of Axia, Sony is the only mainstream hardware company (at least in Canada and I use the term mainstream very loosely). There is no competition in the market. Sony does no advertising for the MD to let people know what is out there, unlike Apple who have put the iPod everywhere.
And the final straw for me was the introduction of the UMD for the PSP. Here was an opportunity for Sony to exploit the MD/Hi-MD format and link 2 of its products together. I certainly would have considered a PSP and upgraded to Hi-MD if they had linked them. Having the ability to play music on two different systems and having the rewritability of the MD format could have resulted in greater popularity for both the MD and PSP. Instead the UMD is all but officially buried, the market for Hi-MD is miniscule and everyone and their brother have or want the popular thing (iPod). Hmmm, do I sound a little bitter? If I do it's because I am. Sony really dropped the ball, just like BETAMAX.
Anyway, that is my story of how I fell in love with the MD and will continue to love everything about it for the rest of my days.”
Russell Crowe (yes, that is my real name)
Toronto, Canada
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“Mine isn't much; I have a Fiero I made a convertible of, and like to spend good weather using it for most transportation. Storage is at a premium, I can't stand commercials on radio, so needed a means of carrying good music in small packages. MD looked like the way to go. Still does.
As far as why the format has been slow, I have one reaction to your question - Betamax! It seems that the same marketing genius who was in charge of Betamax at Sony was given responsibility for MD as well. The philosophy appeared to be "Let's price this stuff so high that everyone will think it is really great and will pay whatever we ask in order to get it."
Today, I'd bet few people under 25 have even heard of Betamax despite its very good quality. MD seemed to be the same, and now that solid state is coming on strong, I doubt there will be much further development. Hope I'm wrong.”
Bill
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“My wife bought a component-sized Sony md player/recorder for Christmas many years ago. I hadn't even heard of minidiscs before that morning. I had always enjoyed recording my own collections of songs and was still using cassettes. She can't recall how she came to hear of the technology; she was convinced I'd appreciate being able to record onto a digital medium and be able to access particular songs during playback (like a cd). Home-cd burners were still pretty far off into the future; DAT recorders were available but really expensive (and to her DAT was just a glorified cassette anyway).
That Sony JE330 was one of best Christmas presents I ever received (and it recorded only in a "standard" mode: there was no LP2 or LP4 modes to extend recording times). I've stuck with the md technology since; I have no i-pod. There’s probably trouble on the horizon though....I was also a big fan of the Sony Beta VCR's.
Long live the minidisc! ("i-pods....we don't need no stinking i-pods")”
Jeff Jones Topton, PA
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“I was a Minister of Music in Houston when my life with MiniDiscs began. A fellow Minister of Music in the Houston area told me of this amazing technology called Mini Discs. I was skeptical at first and didn’t give him much credence. But later, I was to lead music in a revival in Oklahoma and I didn’t want to take all of my cassette accompaniment tracks with me! The cassettes were just too bulky and to worry about magnetic scans as they went through the security stops at the airports was the final straw.
I borrowed his recorder and a smaller “walkman” type of a player and headed off to Oklahoma. I have been hooked ever since! I bought a “Bundle Pack” where the deck unit was placed in our sound booth and the portable player stayed with me.
I later moved to Mustang, Oklahoma, where I had to buy a stereo unit in my office that had a Mini Disc recorder built in. I also purchased two more bundle packs where I could put one deck in the sound booth and the other deck in my choir room. The two portable players stay with me in a drawer in my desk until I need to go out of town with them.
Most recently, I went to Mexico on a mission trip and took a player with me with some discs that I had recorded with Hispanic music for use there!
Its main purpose is to take the accompaniment cassettes I have and dub them over to a digital format that I can modify as I need. For instance, I can put rehearsal cues in an accompaniment track so that I can better work with my choir. And then later, I can take those cues out if I so desire! With a CD, I have one chance to put the cues in where I want them and if I miss my mark, it’s just too bad. Plus, that CD is toast after I finalize it! With a MD, I can go back and add songs, modify cue points, add titles, whatever I want or need to do! The ease of editing is so amazing! In fact, I once added some material to make a particular stretch of music longer for one of our Easter Pageant scenes! I dubbed the original music to the MD about 5 or 6 times; edited it to make it fit in this particular slot, and then inserted it into the spot to make this section long enough to accomplish my purpose in this Pageant!
Another time, one of my teen-aged singers was entering into a contest where she could have only a certain amount of time. Her material was longer than that prescribed time slot and she asked me if I could help her. I was able to cut out a section to make the song shorter but kept the integrity of the original song!
I’m sold!”
David Baker Associate Pastor / Worship Ministries Chisholm Heights Baptist Church Mustang, OK
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"As far as when I began with the Minidisc, it was probably at least 9 years ago when I got my first Sony MD player, back when I was a bachelor tech geek, and along with my best friend, there really were not many geek toys we didn't try out.
However, since I got married, my toy allowance got cut back quite a bit so I've been sticking to MP3 players and CD-R portables."
Brendan Vila Frederick, MD
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“ I was in high school, it was about 1991 and i was looking through an Audio magazine that was in my library in school. I saw a format for a thing called Mini Disc technology. I thought to myself, man that looks so cool, a new format you can record on?
Tapes were getting old by this point, but i was still using them. I really wanted an Md player back then, but couldn't afford the $2000.00 they wanted for a home deck. Even the portable was over $700.00. That was way too much.
But i thought to myself, hey the price will come down. Look at the cassettes when they first came out, they were pretty pricey. A few years later, i saw this technology surviving DCC format, and also CD. I couldn't believe it was still around. But still a little too pricey, ( if i was rich, i would have owned one back in 1993).
Anyway, i used to walk around with a Realistic cassette walkman which i loved. It had a 3 band graphic EQ on it, and sounded amazing for a cassette deck. A friend of mine sold me a Fisher CD walkman a few years later which i dropped about 10 times, but still worked great. The only problem with that piece of machinery was that it was an early CD walkman and ate batteries for breakfast, and also skipped like crazy. It had a 10 second shock buffer, but if i used that, i only got about 4 hours of battery life, as opposed to 8 hours without it.
One day, my mom was carrying it out to the car and dropped it, and it finally died. She felt bad and bought me a new one for Christmas. It was a red Sony CD walkman. I used that from 2001 up until this year. I never had a problem with it.
I met this guy at work who used a Mini Disc player. The one day he said, hey Joe, i have a song i want you to hear and pulled out his player, and i thought, omg! A mini disc player!! He said yeah, i like this little machine, and we went on for about 20 minutes about how he liked how user friendly it was and such.
Then, another guy started working at my company and we went over to his house because he had a pair of speakers he wanted to sell me. He said, have you ever heard of Mini Disc players? I said yeah why? He told me that his wife just bought him one. It was a Net-Md.
For awhile, i tried buying it off of him, but he wouldn't part with it, lol. I started looking into getting one. I did all kinds of research on what people were saying about certain model's. Finally, i decided to go with an MZ-NH600D. I love that you can put over 45 hours of music on one disc! I love this thing. It’s the best piece of electronic equipment i ever purchased.
You see, I’ve been listening to Walkmans for over 23 years, and this thing is better and more versatile than anything you could possibly imagine. Before i bought this, i looked into buying an Ipod. But eh, i don’t like the fact that you don’t have removable media. You really can’t beat technology like this. I hope it sticks around because I’m going to buy another player and get a home deck as well.
The reason this technology hasn’t taken off is because Sony markets for crap. If this was my product, i would have made sure that commercials, ads, and poster boards and such told the world about the best format for recording music EVER. All they had to do was say that, drop the price and license it to other's earlier, and they would be sitting pretty right now. Nothing would have been able to compete.
Here’s to hoping this technology sticks around for eternity, because i love it. I’ll be on here buying stuff in the future trust me. I saved your site to my favorites.
Thank you for putting a great site online for people who know audio equipment.”
Joe Bomenka Pennsylvania
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"I first heard about MiniDisc back in 1993 when I started seeing articles about this new digital music format that was going to replace cassettes, and that, according to Sony, you could record and erase on them 'a million times'. My first reaction to this was 'that sounds amazing - got to look into that!' since, with all due respect to the cassette, its days were numbered and the time was right for some digital audio format to replace it. About the same time, this other new audio format called the DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) also came out by Phillips, which we MiniDisc supporters know was supposed to rival MD. From what I remember, DCC supposedly claimed to have higher audio quality (less compression, a 4:1 ratio) than MiniDisc (which had 5:1), but the DCC didn't really have a prayer - good as it was, it was still a cassette format, and in the mind of the mid '90s audio consumer, that was on the way to becoming obsolete. I had thought about the 'MD vs. DCC' debate for some time after hearing about both - knowing I would eventually invest in some new way to record music.
Then in 1995, I got a job in an electronic store, selling audio equipment. At the time the store had a few Sony MiniDisc portables and home MD units, and also carried the Phillips DCC deck. I got to hear the MiniDisc there for the first time - with every listen, my ears could not tell an MD from a CD. All the dissertation about compression rates and that the DCC had better quality went out the window - it make no practical sense to invest in a DCC unit once you took into account everything else - the portability factor, that MD, like CD, was an expandable format (in that down the road, the CD eventually begat the CD-R; with the ever-increasing popularity of MP3's, would hold far more music than when it originally came out, and MD eventually went this route by way of MD-LP and now Hi-MD ... could a cassette hold a candle to this?).
So having worked in the electronic store, I saw first hand that the MiniDisc was going to win the new digital format battle. In the time I was there, about nine months till spring of 1996, MiniDisc wasn't a big seller, moving maybe one or two units a week, but nobody in all that time bought the DCC deck (to be fair, it was the 8-track tape of the 1990's! At least DAT, which never really took off with the general listening public, is still used among the music recording community).
Some time between working at the electronic store and my getting my first MiniDisc units, I started seeing ads on the subway for MiniDisc - "where music is going" -- a woman on roller skates listening to an MD walkman. Also saw an ad somewhere that proclaimed "I can record on a disc! I can record on a disc!" with a very enthralled young guy who really seemed quite elated that, in fact, he could now record on a disc.
I eventually got my first MiniDisc units in 1998 - Sony had a bundle where they sold the MDS-JE330 home recorder/player with the portable MZ-E33 player -- with rebate the whole deal was $250, a great price to get one started with MiniDiscs. Once I put it together and started making copies of my CD collection to MD, I did feel like that guy in the ad ... it was real cool to finally be able to make digital copies of my favorite albums on a disc. To be able to transport them very easily with the MZ-E33 was just as cool. It felt like the second phase of a digital audio era (the first one being of course when CD's first came out -- now we had a convenient way to duplicate them, make mixes of our favorite songs, etc). I even took to the editing function where you can delete entire sections of a track, merge it with another, chop off part of a track and so forth. Sure, you can do this and much more with computer software, but for simplicity and convenience, you can't beat using the MD for basic editing.
The MiniDisc made it possible for me to edit together a 24-minute version of Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". As you Pink Floyd fans know, on the 'Wish You Were Here' album, it comes on 'Parts I - V' then later 'Parts VI - IX' (really a part one and two with section numbering the different movements) ... using a copy of the original WYWH disc plus the version of SOYCD that appears on their compilation 'Echoes', I was able to edit seamlessly where part V and VI would've faded together, had the group decided to fill one side of the original LP with the track. With all the ways Pink Floyd has released this classic, it was never in its full 24-minute glory ... but with some MiniDisc editing and a good ear, you can make one yourself!
I went on to get the MD-LP when it came time to need to bring more music on a disc around (and stave off the desire to get an iPod or any MP3 player) and now am considering getting a Hi-MD unit since I don't yet have one that records live audio. Sure, I've burned many a CD-R in my time, and also went on to get MP3 playback devices, but they've never really done it for me the way MiniDisc has.
Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only one who bought into MiniDisc - very few people I know did and some wonder 'how come in the age of CD-Rs and iPods do you still use MiniDisc?' Well, my Pink Floyd story is one reason, the fact that the MiniDiscs themselves are designed the way they are (protective case around the disc, unlike regular CD's) is another, plus it's always a conversation piece, something to bring up that shows that not everyone is the same, not everyone does what everyone else is doing. Having an iPod today is like wearing jewelry -- many people do it, many people have it, it's more a status symbol and showing off one's social status than a display of intelligence and thought into what you're buying and using -- which is to me what owning MiniDisc is."
Robert Ciccone
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“Well, I'm kind of an audio nut. I first heard of minidisc back in 1993 and saw my first one in a mall in Colorado. I wanted one so bad. Back then they were almost $1,000 just for the portable non-recording one. It was about as big as a stack of about 3 or 4 CD cases. I didn't get on myself until 1998 when the price came down and I finally had the money to get one. I loved it, I had that system until 2004 when it broke. It was my fault that it broke. I took it apart just to see what exactly was inside. I got another one though. Mini-disc is great, you can re-record, move track around to where you want them, etc.
I think the reason MD hasn't taken off here in the States is because we don't like change. Unlike Europeans where they accept and embrace change. When I put a MD deck in my car in 1999 my friends said it reminded them of 8-track. Why I don't know. I love my MD system. I remember also wanting a DCC deck. I was finally able to purchase a used one. Now, comparing the two I'm glad I invested in MD first. It's more user-friendly and compact. I do have a CD recorder which I don't like as much. I've noticed that home burned CD's are very flimsy and the sound quality has a tendency to deteriorate. I never had that problem with MD.
I wonder if the PSP is capable of playing a regular music loaded MD if you transfer the actual disc from the square case to the PSP case. Maybe I'll try it later. For now though I still enjoy using my MD system, especially to record From LP to CD. I just record my LP songs onto MD and then digitally transfer them (via optical cable) to my CD recorder. There's more control that way. On a CD, once you make a mistake you basically have to "scrap" the whole disc and start all over again. Thank goodness for MD. Hope it stays around.”
Daniel Anglada Taos, NM
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“I first heard about minidisc back in '00 when my friend who was going to school in Japan had a portable and a deck in his car. I liked that fact you could record for hours.
I bought one soon after. I had the Sony sports edition (white & orange). It had an input portal, but unfortunately, I lost it.
Now I have a new one. The newer ones don't have the same input, probably because of the Download issues. I used to be able to record from the tv, pc, and anything with an output.”
Sean Scott
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“I went the Minidisc route years ago to cope with an hour's subway ride to and from work in New York City. I'd been using cassettes, but was aware of the MD's potential advantage from the first tentative articles about the technology in Popular Science. Not the hardware -- it hadn't been developed to that degree, and they showed a SONY mockup -- but the idea that I could compile my favorite music on a CD format that'd let me instantly listen to a favorite track without having to stop - rewind - play - check it - rewind - play, and maybe find what I wanted to hear again.
My first was a Sharp, about the size and shape of a Klondike bar, followed by an elegant Aiwa about the size of a deck of cards. And later, a small, similarly-sized SONY that offered the advantage of working with two AA cells on board, rather than with the clip-on AA battery cases used by the others.
Then, somewhere along the way, J&R Music in New York City offered an elegant Aiwa boombox that featured a cassette deck on top with a CD-player and MD recorder side-by side in the lower third of the unit. With a full-size readout and graphic depiction of the tracks as I added them, with time elapsed and time remaining, it quickly became the one I used for recording. I'd happily have bought a back-up unit, but it wasn't long before Aiwa abandoned the MD format entirely.
Anyway, to make a long story intolerable, I bought about 20 of the flip-style jewel boxes a few years back, but quickly learned that they're hard to manipulate with one hand when changing MDs while driving. Both my beautiful Oldsmobile and my equally delightful Honda CRX have tape decks that go backward and forward -- continually. They won't play tapes, so I've modified my armrests and the bottom of my MD players with Velcro and have the best of everything.”
So, since I was going to continue to use the slip cases, I gave the 20 jewel boxes to a nice lady to add to her garage sale (very big here in upstate New York where I now live). Why order new ones from you? To avoid having to describe what it was I gave her last year, asking for them back, and trying to find them in the enormous house where she lives.”
Steve Quinn Leeds, NY
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“My interest in minidiscs I can't exactly explain. I bought my first unit/deck back in late 2000, I think. I wanted something better than CD and better than cassette tapes for my trips to the gym and my walkin' about town. Minidiscs provided a combination of portability and customizability. And the many styles of discs I've gotten from you guys are really attractive! So much so that I hate putting labels on my discs. However, I knew when I bought them that the technology was already obsolete, but I wanted to have some FUN.
Then I got a deck with LP4 mode. That let me record radio programs (Air America's Al Franken Show gets recorded every day around here), something I simply could not do with tape or CD. And then I got a portable with LP4 mode so I could listen to recorded radio shows while I walk.
Now, Hi-MDs allow me to catalogue all of Billy Joel or ELO or Mellencamp, maybe even Elton John, on a single disc. Wow! That's some obsolete technology!!! (The iPod and podcasting now allow anything MDs can do, except the interchangability of physical media, so I still think MDs are doomed, but I am having FUN!!! And I think I've ordered from you guys three times now.)
I live right across the Hudson from New York City. Finding MD stuff, even there, is tough. So you guys are a lifeline to fun Fun FUN!!!”
Mike Engling Hoboken, NJ
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"I went the Minidisc route years ago to cope with an hour's subway ride to and from work in New York City. I'd been using cassettes, but was aware of the MD's potential advantage from the first tentative articles about the technology in Popular Science. Not the hardware -- it hadn't been developed to that degree, and they showed a SONY mockup -- but the idea that I could compile my favorite music on a CD format that'd let me instantly listen to a favorite track without having to stop - rewind - play - check it - rewind - play, and maybe find what I wanted to hear again.
My first was a Sharp, about the size and shape of a Klondike bar, followed by an elegant Aiwa about the size of a deck of cards. And later, a small, similarly-sized SONY that offered the advantage of working with two AA cells on board, rather than with the clip-on AA battery cases used by the others.
Then, somewhere along the way, J&R Music in New York City offered an elegant Aiwa boombox that featured a cassette deck on top with a CD-player and MD recorder side-by side in the lower third of the unit. With a full-size readout and graphic depiction of the tracks as I added them, with time elapsed and time remaining, it quickly became the one I used for recording. I'd happily have bought a back-up unit, but it wasn't long before Aiwa abandoned the MD format entirely.
Anyway, to make a long story intolerable, I bought about 20 of the flip-style jewel boxes a few years back, but quickly learned that they're hard to manipulate with one hand when changing MDs while driving. Both my beautiful Oldsmobile and my equally delightful Honda CRX have tape decks that go backward and forward -- continually. They won't play tapes, so I've modified my armrests and the bottom of my MD players with Velcro and have the best of everything."
S.Q. Leeds, NY
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”Here is my MiniDisc Tale:
I LOVE music. I have to have music on to do much of anything. Music in the morning, on the train, just walking around, at the gym, and at school. I am in college to become a graphic designer (web, print, etc.), and I always need music to help me think.
I have always carried around a Discman and a case of my favorite CD's, but then one day, in a hurry, I forgot my Discman in class. I went back to get it, but it had already been taken. In a panic, I jumped on-line and looked for a new Discman. I was searching for a sale, when I thought about a Portable MP3 Player. They were too overpriced and I didn't like the limit of space on them.
While looking at them, I happened to see a MiniDisc player, but didn't know much about it. I Googled "MiniDisc Players' and 'MiniDisc Access' came up. I browsed the site and saw all the great accessories and all the nice looking discs, and all the time each disc held and decided that I needed to get a MiniDisc player.
I rushed to Best Buy and bought my NetMD (MZ-N420D) for about a hundred bucks. I rushed home, burned a few songs onto my MD player and listened to them. I was amazed at how fast the songs burned onto the player because I have a pretty slow computer. I loved the way the songs sounded.
In my opinion, it sounded better than my Discman ever did. I now take my MD player everywhere and will never go back to a Discman ever again.
I now only have to carry my MD player, a few discs, and thanks to my new case bought from MiniDisc Access, it all literally fits in the palm of my hand.”
Jose Hernandez Alhambra, CA
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“Well, I discovered my MiniDisc player while just browsing the web. I had sold my iPod (I hated it) and was looking for other audio devices. I then discovered Hi-MD MiniDisc. I was pretty amazed! 45 hours of music on something smaller and lighter then a floppy! I was hooked. I just had to have one. So I purchased a Sony MZ-NH600D for myself. It was amazing. Awesome. Words cannot describe it. Right now I am even adding a NOFX CD to it. When I first encoded a song into 48kbps atrac3plus I thought it would sound terrible. But 48kbps atrac3plus sounds like 192kbps MP3! Right now I am almost 13 and plan to get the Sony MZ-RH10 for my birthday (MZ-DH10P has no line input). Overall, I love minidisc!”
Mav Block Age 12
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"I’m a professional musician and long-time MiniDisc user. I currently have two pro units, two consumer models, four Walkman types, and one car MD with CD changer. I’ve been using them almost since they first came out (going on ten years now?) and saw my first one when a gadget-freak buddy of mine showed me the one he had just purchased. I think the MD format was and continues to be one of the, if not “the,” highest quality, most convenient, and most dependable stereo recording format available. That having been said, the MD format is probably entering the last stage of its life cycle as newer technologies, particularly non-mechanical ones, become less expensive and more feature-laden.
Sony has a knack for shooting itself in the foot (or at least some of its products) by hobbling them in the name of copyright protection. Evidently, their intellectual rights are more important to them than the success of products like the MiniDisc. Copyright infringers will continue to infringe regardless of the ease with which they are able to do so. Here are some of my pet peeves about MiniDiscs which I think at least partially contributed to its lack of acceptance in the U.S.:
A bewildering array of features that come and go, seemingly arbitrarily, on successive models.
SCMS – worthless for copyright protection but a great way to piss off owners.
Inability in all but their first ultra-expensive professional models to execute high-speed dubs that include all text labels.
Inability of the NetMD products and SonicStage to add material recorded originally on MiniDisc to the library. Again, no real copyright protection but a big disappointment to owners.
Still, all considered, the MiniDisc format is hardly a dog, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a flexible, high-quality stereo recording format."
Gene Ryan Orlando, Florida
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“My brother is a devotee of MD's too, we both think the technology is superior to iPod's or is it Ipod's? He has a website called "BeforetheIpod", and we both have walkman collections, his more extensive than mine.
http://groups.msn.com/BeforetheIpod/shoebox.msnw?Page=1
Many of the items like the Boodoo Khan--he has a repaired one that works, no sound like it on other walkmans--he has provided some history on; at least of the 16 or so pages, most of it is about his collection, a little space to guitars and photos of him taking apart a Cadillac and putting it back together to install a "new" sound system as the Bose sound system was broken.
My personal interest in Mini-Discs is that I sing/play clarinet so mini-disc recorders with mic offer me an opportunity to record things though so far I've used mainly MD's without mic to copy CD collections. From what I've read, iPod's or Ipod's added microphones, later, but the microphone technology on the MD was better thought out and accomplished with the sensitivity settings and mic settings. Also, consider the fact that compression applications are in fact altering time through digital codes, something Einstein couldn't quite do (time and space). Even though it's mathematical, it's still rather mind boggling.
It seems to me compression is the more advanced technology, though some people may want 60 Gigs for photos; that universality appeals to people, but I am personally more intrigued by mini-discs, sound quality and different settings, and constant improvement. Now one in Japan coming out (not the one with Hi-MD and camera) that copies a CD in 40 seconds (Hi-MD) on E-Bay. Problem is Sony tends to be expensive (now can get an equivalent Hi-MD with Mic for $170 on mysony.com with points; I spent too much money on a NH-1) and as soon as you spend your money, there is a better one! I'm not in a full-time job now, so my hobby may have to resume when I have dollars coming in.”
Beth Hanson Chicago, IL
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“Well, my story began in 2000 and it was an easy decision to make. When I used cassette, be it for the car or for portable means, I always splashed out a bit on good equipment including tapes as well. Going portable was okay, but the music library is just too big to carry around and that includes in the car, as well.
So, my first buy was the MZ-R55 and I still use it. But, I did treat myself to a MDS-JA20ES deck in a lovely champagne finish and personally what a machine. Flexibility, well I love it and why? Well, for me it’s simple. I can make recordings in the digital domain by matching word lengths on input and output whether it is 16,18,20,or 24-bit. So, now, thanks to my Meridian 518 with the 568, I can experiment by making recordings now that I could not make before. Playing back the recordings and comparing them whether it is using the Meridian 24-bit deck or the Sony minidisc deck just makes the whole experience educational. If I am honest, I did have my reservations about using compression formats but this ATRAC Type-R on my machine does produce recordings which are hard to distinguish from the original CD.
Some audiophiles may think I need to refresh my head if I was to say that listening to recordings made from this machine sounds as though I am playing the original source. Of course, this whole matter is purely subjective, but I am slowly beginning to make new recordings of my music inventory and trying to achieve 20-bit resolution recordings with which the 518 digital audio processor which comes into its own.
Every other feature this deck has speaks for itself and if I was pedantic I could find fault with some things about this deck but on balance it has more plus points than minus points and it’s reassuring to know that I bought a good machine as with my other equipment.”
Michael A McNamara Manchester England
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“I became interested in MD when I was 18 after I had seen the power of my mate’s portable device. I thought back then that the sound quality was superior to cd's even if that isn’t actually accurate! I liked how tracks could be cut up and manipulated so easily, so I decided to buy a portable Sony device and a Hi-Fi from JVC. I quickly copied all the cds I had to MD and listening to them on a portable device which was so small was brilliant.
Recently I saw the new Hi-MD and thought it was brilliant. The guy I bought my laptop from in the Sony shop recommended them over the Sony iPod-type device. I thought they looked more sleek, so I bought the MZ-NH1 with the fancy remote. It was more expensive than the iPod but I think the sound quality kicks ass and would recommend it to anyone!
Basically I can't understand why the MD's haven't taken off to the extent that the iPods have and to a greater extent what Walkmen did back in the day. All I know is that I am very happy with MD and I will be sure to purchase again, when I get back to England in a couple of months because I can't carry anything else back.”
Rich King Whistler B.C Canada
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“Dinosaur Days
We must program the time machine to 45 rpm and go back, back into time. This is a very good place to start, we come across a beautiful cave girl performing ritual dances, and generally ROCKIN' out in a cave. She is supposed to be cleaning the cave, but every 2 to 3 minutes, she has to stop and put another record with the big whole in the middle on the single play turntable. She performs this ritual for years, because she loves the little record with the big hole in the middle.
Then one day she meets a handsome hunk with a cassette deck in his "VW Bug" (Ancient Mode of Transportation). She falls in love with the cassette deck, it is the answer to all her prayers. She records all her 45's to cassette tapes, and now she has her own cave, with an awesome sound system by Sony.
But "Beautiful Cave Girl," is still not happy. The primitive cassette deck in the equally primitive car eats tapes and jams up the cassette player. Cave girl has to pull out a thousand yards of tape, and throw cassette and tape out of Donkey Cart window. Tapes jam up in the portable player, and tapes jam and unravel in the audio system back at the cave. Cave girl gets so frustrated she takes the bone from her hair and beats all the cassette players into total extinction. She throws all the components into the Brea Tar Pits, with all the other dinosaurs that have become extinct.
But while she is in Los Angeles, she goes into Best Buy and they have a Minidisc Recording Deck and a cool portable player, all packaged together. She has to have it, so since this is 1997, she flashes the plastic and takes it home.
I was hiking and bike riding with my tunes long before MP3. This addition to my sound system launched me into the audio future. After 8 years, this deck and my portable are still going strong. I bought a second portable, a Sony S2 recorder/player, so I could try out putting even more songs on a minidisc with the new recording format and using my computer.
I just love minidisc. I have put hundreds of 45 rpm recordings onto minidisc, and have thousands more to go. I am a 45-rpm record collector, and this format will preserve my collection of music a lot longer than any other format. I can upload my music from my mini disc collection into my computer, and even burn a quick CD for the car. I keep my record collection in mint condition, in my record room, but I can play all the songs over and over on minidisc. I buy tunes off the internet and load them onto my minidisc. It’s just as easy as loading my MP3 player, but I like the minidisc for permanent storage.
Cave Girl still dances and ROCKs OUT around the house, but the music flows steady from dawn to dusk on minidisc. LOL”
Linda Taylor Adelanto, CA
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“I have always had an interest in Hi-Fi audio beginning with stereo records. Over the years I've collected 200 + vinyl albums to play on our stereo system.
When I got into CD's, Hi Def TV's, & Surround sound I put together a Home Theater System that included a Sony CD - MD recorder/player. This seemed a perfect way to get rid of the boxes of records & create a neat, very compact method of saving everything to minidiscs.
I recently bought a portable minidisc unit (MZ-N510 ck) so that I now can record from CD's, Analog (records), & digital sources and play music while I jog, workout or drive. Thanks to MiniDisc Access I found a superb method of storing all of those minidiscs."
Art Logan Vista, CA
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“I first became aware of the minidisc player when I was working on the Pacific Princess. I was trying to cut into a large wheel of brie and the knife was getting stuck on something. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Italian waiter approaching to tell me to "get the hell away from the buffet table" for the third time but I was determined to cut through this uncooperative French cheesy comestible. Frustrated, I scooped the entire wheel onto a plate and took it to a corner table where I could have my way with it. To my surprise, the reason the knife would not penetrate the brie was that there was a large foreign object baked right inside. With my hands, I pulled apart the cheese and found a Sony minidisc player. I was hooked! But this was 1984, and although I had a minidisc player, the discs were not commercially available until around 1991, which was actually a good thing because it took me 7 years to clean the cheese out of the damn thing, but it works terrific and the smell has all but gone away. Thanks”
Michael Fic
Kelowna Canada
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"Well...(thinks back on when he first came across the minidisc) it was back in 6th grade (2001) when our class had a 3-4 day field trip and the first night we where in our camps and one of my friends had a minidisc. At the time I didn't think much of it, but it always stuck in my mind.
Christmas of 2002 I got a "RCA k@zoo" 64mb mp3 player, great player able to hold a good 2 hours of music, at first I didn't have that many Cd's so didn't listen to it much.
Freshmen Year I started taking it to school, and have carried it around listening to music to this day. During this summer my mp3 player broke and I sent it back to RCA. I got it back a month later. Although, it wasn’t completely repaired, I was fine with that. Christmas came around again and when my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I thought a new portable player would be nice.
Remembering my friend had a minidisc player, I asked him what he thought of it. Because he told me that the minidisc had great music quality and long battery life, I looked into minidisc some more. It came down to a 512mb mp3 player or a minidisc player. I picked the minidisc for its compact size, 5 hours of storage on a disc, long battery life (50+ hrs ^_^), and easily removable storage. I was able to get a Sony MZ-420D for only $80 (1/2 the price of the mp3) and a great deal on a 10 pack of discs ($15).
…and thats how I got into Minidisc."
Ry Haynes Loomis, CA
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“I first became acquainted with the minidisc format when the school at which I work decided to build a new theater in 1998. The sound designer on the project specified two minidisc units for the facility, one a player and the other a player/recorder. We use the decks for recording sound cues in order to replay them in a proper order without having to worry about constantly changing CD's.
Running a theatrical production can get hectic, but it is nearly impossible to make an error with this format. We like the convenience of the re-usable small discs and the ability to easily label each cue.”
Wayne Rasmussen New Jersey
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“The year was 1992 and I lived in Madison, WI. I went into a large electronics’ store and saw a display with a portable Sony recorder behind a plastic casing. It was very bulky as a portable unit but much smaller than a deck unit. It also weighed more than 5 pounds, which is quite heavy for a portable. I listened through headphones and was very excited. I thought to myself, you mean for a small investment of $ 799 and $15 each or a blank disc, I can digitally record my own MDs and listen to only the tracks I want to hear.
This was exciting to me. I purchased the unit and later a second one, but it was under the Aiwa name, but yet the same recorder. Six months later came the first Sony deck unit, it was a mini-system unit, not a full size deck, and the price had dropped 20%....WOW.
Why do I think MD is the best? I like to quick access to each track. I like the ease of recording and the extensive editing. It is more intimate than working with CD. You can erase tracks at any time or move them around. You can even do editing of a track. It is an amazing format. You can put in titles to each disc and track.
Over the years I have left the format for CD recording, I am very concerned about the format as the availability of a good deck unit are getting harder to find and Sony is the only maker still supporting the format. I am afraid it will soon go the way of beta. Sony did the same thing with MD as they did with Beta.
When it first hit the market, they kept the price prohibitively high and refused to allow other makers to share in the format and kept supplies low. This is a marketing plan to sink a product. When they finally released it to other manufacturers, CD recorders had already filled the market and at about the same price, MD was dead as a major medium. Sony did not play these games abroad, only in the US. Even now the games continue as the only deck unit available is almost impossible to get."
Bill Walter
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“I first came in contact with an MD when one of my friends in 6th grade had it.....I didn't know much at the time because back then CD burning was still really expensive to do (with CD burners running around $400) so fast-forward a few years...since 7th grade I have been burning CDs...and although I don’t have that many of them....i ended up having to buy a 72 cd binder because I had burned so many game backups and whatnot....so this year (2004) I decided "What the hey? I might as well get a better player.....mp3 or minidisc." So me n my dad walk on over to the store...and I see that the MP3 Players are only 128 megabytes...and with me being a computer wizz....I know that that can only fit about 32 4 megabyte MP3's at one time....so I see this MZ-NE410 sony walkman...it catches my eye..the price gets me....i find a REALLY great deal on a pack of 10 minidiscs....and as soon as i step in the house i rip open the package (and become frustrated with error messages from sonicstage and what not) and after solving the error issues w/ the software....I enjoy burning close to 80 songs on one minidisc! I take my minidisc to school...outside...the store..wherever i go! and i now learned that my cd carrying case can double to carry my minidiscs (though i DOUBT that i will EVER have enough music to fill up 10, much less 72)
So thats my story! I love minidisc, though I don’t plan on buyin 10 more players like most people do....but I am looking into the car adapter....and Minidisc access...I got my eye on you ;)”
Kadar (Prounounced Carter) Anwar Age 15 Woodbridge,VA,USA
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”I first learned of the minidisk format on your web site. I had done a Google search on replacement headphone pads and your site was one of several that came up. Of all the sites I visited, yours was the only one with "generic" ear pads of various sizes that would work with any headset. My particular headset is a Sony MDR-84. Sony no longer makes replacement ear pads for this model, so your site was most welcome. The pads fit and I'm using the headphones again.”
Ron Kelley Chatsworth, CA
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“I've got a laundry list of reasons for having an MD player. My deck got stolen out of my car a few years ago, along with all of my cds. After that, I bought a steel cd case for my cds because any case is so bulky that it often ends up getting tossed into a backpack, or left in the floorboard of my car. I figured the giant, steel monstrosity was the best way to protect my cds from getting damaged and it would be more difficult to make off with. How wrong I was... Those plastic sleeves for cd storage, if you take the cds out of them often enough, end up scratching the cds over time.
In addition, I don't have a stereo in the house. My laptop has been my stereo system ever since my kids were small because I haven't had time to research or the cash to put into a nice rack system. Maybe once they go off to college... until then I need a better way to store my music, and a better way to listen to it.
After years of trying to make the cd format work for me, I'd had enough. So... my friend told me about MD players. She's carried one for years, and I've seen the players all over the place, I even saw an MD player with minidiscs scattered all over the counter in the end credits of one of my favorite anime series (It's "Noir" for any of you anime fans out there).
I took a long look at them. Less expensive than mp3 players with comparable storage, great sound quality, they don't skip, minidiscs are hard to damage... and best of all, it's totally portable. I can shove my MD player in my pocket while I'm walking the dog or doing other things. When I'm not using it, my MD player can ride around comfortably in a backpack or my purse, without being an unintentional weapon for use against innocent passers by and I don't have to worry about it getting stolen out of my car, because it's always on me.
That's my story :-)”
Stacy Spokane, WA
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“I initially became familiar with the MD format in 1996, while serving in the Army in S. Korea. As we all know technology in Asia is usually leaps and bounds ahead of the US so when I saw this and what it could do I was interested...but not hooked.
Enter 2000 when I leave the military to join Corporate America. I traveled quite a bit for business and pleasure and hated hauling around all of my cd's in an effort to ignore the inane chatter of other travelers. Finally, after three years of doing this, in 2003 I break down and buy the Sony ME-410, since I love Sony products, and take it on vacation with me. Naturally, everyone was curious and I was constantly engaged in impromptu MD lessons. I was hooked! Sold that one to my best friend due to the fact that I needed an AC adapter for recording and I really wanted a remote. I commute to work via train and carrying the player in my hand or pocket is hardly practical. I buy the MZ-NF610. I like it, I love it, I want more of it make it... Oops I was having an Army flashback.
I love the MD format for its size, portability and durability. I initially was bothered by the fact that there was not a readily available supply of product in local retail locations. I'm over that now that I've found this and other sites that cater to MD lovers.
I believe that it hasn't taken off well in America primarily due to marketing or rather lack thereof. I think it also hasn't taken off because Americans are fascinated with the Bigger is Better concept. Cars, phones, etc. The phones in Asia are way smaller... Now that people are coming to appreciate the importance of portability, size does matter in this particular instance, they like the format. Not to mention the clarity of sound and the re-recordability. Who knew? Although I think proving Sony's '1 million times' is going to be daunting since most folks just buy more discs it will be great fun trying all while educating others about the format. Thereby, Hopefully, drumming up more business for the industry and more products for us users.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!”
Kimberly Goode Bristol, CT
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“As a musician, I have always loved recording performances and rehearsals. Listening to these recordings is the best way by far to improve and mature musically, because you can hear what works and what doesn't from a listener's perspective.
I had always heard that the minidisc format was not good because it used digital compression on the audio signal. However, when I finally heard a MD recorder from a friend, I found the sound to be incredible! Much better, and easier, than the DAT machine I had bought a few years ago. The editing features were amazing. For instance, I could easily edit different parts from several takes of a song and have one "perfect" take of a song.
The MiniDisc Access web site seemed to be tailored towards musicians (carrying hard-to-find MD models with external mic inputs). When I called, Phil was very friendly on the phone, and assured me that he hand-checked each machine before selling it. I was thrilled to spend my money with MD Access rather than buying from a huge corporation such as Best Buy or Circuit City. Thanks.”
Doug Largent Brooklyn, NY
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“I first became involved with the MD format two Christmases ago when my significant other bought me a player. Loved the format and the compact design. I’m actually thinking of getting an MD player for my car stereo system as well.”
Katherine Prioli Philadelphia, PA
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“I was a converted skeptic. When I first listened to A-B tests laid on by Sony dealers (that was in Paris), I knew I could hear a difference. That virtually ruled the format out for serious music (and really still does - I don't use it for classical music very much, where top quality has to be the prime consideration for me). The only classical music that really passed muster was prerecorded discs, but there was a marketing error there - at least in Europe. They cost more than the equivalent CDs, and could not actually be considered as good, with so much of the sound taken out - and of course everybody had CD players already. Some of the CD players cost thousands, and were bound to sound better even had other things been equal.
I did get some Naxos classical recordings, though, which were excellent and reasonably priced. However, this stupid marketing error did, I believe, virtually eliminate the prerecorded MD market, and may, I believe, contribute to the eventual demise of the format.
I could say, however, that although I also own an Ipod, the comments about quality apply even more to mp3 format. I doubt if anybody seriously considers mp3 a serious competitor to MD where quality is concerned, but it is just so convenient to have music as compressed as that, especially for portability and Internet transfer.
Anyhow, I bought my first MD in about 1998, when the really small recorders arrived, and have not regretted it. I used to do a great deal of travelling (that is the English spelling!), for which it was ideal, although good speakers were always a problem - but headphones were an alternative, although even there, bigger is still better.
I then got lazy and got a new CD player with built in MD, which made copying very easy, also got a proper Titler for even greater ease of use.
I don't believe that I have ever copied any music to MD that was not either my own or my family's - it was really just a convenience thing, to make life on the move more enjoyable, whether abroad or just walking the dogs in the UK.
By the way, I was very unhappy when working for a period in Egypt to find that the Sony guarantee was no longer world wide, and they did not want to know anything about it when something went wrong there. That is a really backward step for them - I have been buying Sony products since 1962, and the guarantee was always worldwide.
Anyhow, despite the advent of the usurper mp3, I always find myself listening to MD if both are available to me and if CD is impractical, although it's a little more work and more difficult to have such a range of music available on the move.
MiniDisc: A really good invention, worthy of the Sony name.
What do I want next? - A hard disc recorder that caters for CD, MD and mp3 - oh, and don't forget to make it affordable!”
George Duncan Newbury, Berkshire England
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“I've been involved in music for over 15 years as a guitarist. A particular recording that sparked my quest for capturing the live sound was Peter Frampton's double live album. I can still recall racing around Six Flags over Georgia when i was a kid and hearing "do you feel like i do" over the loudspeakers. But really until now, most of my attempts to record "live" have been through a line from the mixing board. This never works well, though, because the mix going to the PA just isn't the mix you want to here on tape. Until now i haven't been able to afford alternative methods. This is my second md recorder. My first was a Sony and it lasted about 18 months. This time I'm trying the sharp dr7 which seems to be better set up for live recording. I love the quality of the recording, the fact that it's digital, the long battery life, the rechargeable battery, the removable inexpensive media, the compact size, and, of course, the "cool" factor. very handy. :)”
David Milligan Augusta, GA
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“i came across the minidisc format back at Iowa State University. One of my friends had a sony md player and i just thought it was a neat format; small, rugged, different. i dunno, it caught my eye. so i found one i liked and got it. thats about it.”
SPC Chris VonAhnen Baghdad, Iraq
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“My wife and I are really newbies. We use a Sony MZ-NF610 player/recorder, which we decided was an excellent way to exercise/jog with our favorite jams piped in via an MD in an armband case. So far, so good.
We are an active ‘middle aged’ couple, who prefers recording our favorite Classic Rock/R&B/70's Disco tunes on MDs from our large CD collection using our massive home Stereo/AV system. Also, we use the Sony audio compression software through our personal computers' CD drives to give us HOURS of music on a single 74/80 min. minidisk...so cool.
My wife is an attorney, and mostly hogs the MD since she runs/jogs miles every day. I’m a retired Air Force officer, who now works as a civilian program manager for the U.S. Air Force and get to use the MD whenever I can drag my skinny old butt onto the treadmill for a workout.
As an experienced (primarily) electronics and computer system technician, I have always been deeply into the latest technology, especially audio, video, and (for the past 15 years) computer systems. I've owned, built, repaired and generally monkeyed around with everything from 8-track stereo, quadraphonic systems, and reel-to-reel systems to Sony Beta video and early Commodore 64 PCs.
And, yet, I consider MiniDisk to be one of the most innovative, simplistic, and truly rewarding technologies I've yet encountered. Just the capabilities of MD alone, along with the miniaturization of highly portable, high definition/digitized audio blows my mind. What else can I say?”
Chuck Petito U.S. Air Force Oklahoma City
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"It all started in a favorite used record/musical instrument store, Rustic Music at 13th and Pine. A part-time employee, full-time local treasure named Bernie introduced me to his new Sony MZ-R700. On that well-built metallic blue mite he had half the Beatles catalogue! A revolution akin to the advent of the transistor radio!
I just happened to be flush with cash at the time, and I was keen to take a bit of good advice from Bernie for once, since I regularly gave him reason to doubt my sanity in searching out numerous easy and sleazy listening versions of 60’s rock. (It’s what one refers to as a "Spirit of '66er" --see the cartoon on the wall at Rustic of the guy collecting 40 versions of "Wooly Bully"). So, I went right out and bought one of those little blue mites for myself!
*****
My first and last digital audio device had been a Sony CD player purchased in 1986 that provided no more than six years of service. And, this from a kid in high school who had no business paying $350 for it in the first place in 1986. To hasten its demise, I soon after bought an AR turntable and a Shure V15-IV cartridge in 1988. I don't remember listening to CDs much after that. Certainly not enjoying them unless played through an old, tube-circuit floor radio. Luckily, this was when new releases were still available on vinyl in the US. LPs played on my AR blew "digital audio" away, and new LP’s were half the price of a CD! In some cases, vinyl re-issues of the basic modern jazz repertoire were one-third the price of a CD-- and sounded better than their digital counterparts.
Once college began aggressively limiting my funds, new CDs were completely out of the picture... even new LPs. At least in a college town with two great record stores, you could find a vast selection of material on vinyl, new and used, that stodgy large record companies and "audiophiles" could only dream of getting on CD. "The Beatles For Sale," in stereo, is one good example to this day.
After school, I became a dedicated "digger" for the odd, obscure and sought after (and better left forgotten) vinyl, much of it never to be put onto CD. Fifty cents... one dollar... two dollars... a dime... twenty-five cents. And so it went for ten plus years. I've been more than content to keep out of the big brand name record stores, confirmed in finding new vinyl releases of new and old material remaining strong to this day. Perhaps vinyl will outlast the CD?
*****
So, imagine how good the Sony MZ-R700 had to be for me to buy another Sony product and re-enter the digital realm?
The build quality is jewel-like, yet tank-like. Well laid-out controls. Faithful reproduction. The original rechargeable battery is about to approach a third year of service. You don't even have to take it out of the recorder to recharge! Recording isn't even limited to old crusty vinyl, by any means. The computer, or a pair of stereo lavaliere mics, with a tiny pre-amp/EQ no larger than two 9 volt batteries can faithfully record your buddies band with the too loud drummer.
The remote control gave out inside the recorder (not in the cord, as you'd suspect), but why did it need a wired remote in the first place? On the whole, it couldn't be more convenient. You can gather six or eight classic 1960's LPs in less-than-pristine states of preservation, likely purchased for $2 to $5 (or even less with a bit more looking), give them a good cleaning, and get a $2.00 blank MD. Then, for between $20-$45 bucks, you'll have the most convenient (and cool) medium that would have cost no less than $70-$100 in bulky, hard-to-handle CDs. And still have the LPs to treasure, or give away to a needful soul wanting some righteous tunes.
Or, if you're paranoid, you're certain to recognize the overwhelming simplicity in the mechanics of vinyl reproduction compared to any medium since, coupled with the highest fidelity vinyl can bring to life, and you’ll clutch at those records for dear life!!!"
Gary Eichelberger Philadelphia, PA
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“It all started back in the 2002-2003 school year. One of my friends was a big digital music person (used the free download sites, before they were shutdown) and had purchased one. I was interested in the player, but never really thought about it much.
Once I started driving, I wanted some music other than the radio, so I used my portable CD player. It worked great, but the battery life was horrible and it would always skip if it didn't sit just right. So I started looking for something different. That's when I remembered about the MD.
I had thought about getting an MP3 player but you have to have a computer to switch out songs or a bunch of the expensive memory cards. So I went with the MD. It was probably one of my best decisions. I got the Sony MZ-N510CK just a few months ago. The car kit is great. It has the car remote so you can keep your eye on the road (unlike most CD players). Plus, I have dropped it a few times (luckily on carpet) and it still didn't miss a beat.
I think the main reason that they haven't been a big hit, is because you have to re-record your whole collection onto the discs. Which most people don’t care to do. CDs are there and ready. I don't know about you, but I think the wait to record is well worth the benefits of these great devices. They should see what would happen if they replaced the actual Mini disc CD with a Mini disc DVD! Think about that. There might possibly be over 10 hours on one disc.“
Ralf Meyer Flora Vista, NM
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“I first found out about Sony Mini disc technology approximately four years ago. I purchased a used SUV that had a Sony MD player in dash / 10 disc controller. For the longest time I went from store to store, even on the Internet, trying to purchase Minidiscs to play in my car stereo. After a month or two of searching, I gave up, and only used the CD and radio function. Then one day a friend of mine was riding in my car and asked me why I don't use the Minidisc player? I told him I could not find anyone who sold Minidiscs. After laughing for twenty minutes, he told me I had to buy an MD player and make my own. That was the day I went out and purchased the MZ-R70. As for why it has not taken off in the USA, I suspect that it was not marketed enough. Perhaps Sony figured that those people who would want to use it most will find this type of format naturally, and that the average consumer would not be swayed from burning cds. I used to burn CDs, but rarely do anymore. Frankly, if I had learned about the MD technology before I purchased my SUV, I doubt I would have went out and bought an MD player. But now, I find that the MD player is far superior for my needs. It is smaller, NEVER skips, disks are re-recordable (if that is an actual word) and I swear the battery lasts longer than my portable cd player...Now if they could only make my model record faster.”
Johnny Walker Black
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“I first heard about MiniDisc back in about 1991 or so when I read about it in an Audio Equipment magazine as the latest upcoming technology from Sony. I fell in love with the concept right then, and was cheering for MD to win out over Philips' Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), which it ultimately did (though I actually saw a few blank DCCs at London Drugs a few months ago!) I was frustrated that for the longest time you could only get portable walkman-type recorders rather than conventional component decks. Once those came available in Canada in the late 1990s, I jumped aboard. Decks now appear to be gone again in Canada with the exception of rack-mount pro gear units for radio and TV, but my Pioneer deck is still going strong. . As for why it's not taking off in North America, I suspect the real problem is that Sony hasn't been advertising properly. If they had run a TV ad campaign that pushed MD as the replacement for Cassette Tape, which it really is, alot more people would have appreciated the value of the medium earlier on. I always point out to people that where CD was the digital replacement for LPs, MD is the digital replacement for Tape. . I can't stop laughing at how MD has been taking off as a medium for MP3. In the early 90s, audio magazines were continually trashing MiniDisc, complaining about how ATRAC was a lossy compression algorithm, so why would anyone want to use it (they never pointed out that CDs are also lossy when compared to today's SACD or DVD-Audio). Now we have MDs being used to record files encoded in a lossy compression algorithm that is SO lossy, you can really hear the difference from the original - MP3s always have a slight but distinct glassy, tinny sound to them I find. However, I've never been able to tell the difference between a track recorded to MD from CD and the original CD.”
Chris Vancouver, BC Canada
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“I got my first minidisc in a Rolling Stone magazine in 1994 (still have it too! plays great!). No way to play it, no place within 100 miles that had a MD player - but, it informed me on the sleeve, I COULD BE A WINNER! Of course, I didn't find out until 1996, when I bought my first MD recorder, that I was a loser. No loss there. However, the MD recorder I bought was a display model from Best Buy and after 2 days of almost constant operation, it just stopped working. I brought it back, and they could not fix it, but suggested a local factory store - who were also unable to fix it, accusing me of dropping it! After 2 years without, I got a bundle (player & home deck) and got started up again. I still have both and they run great, though I have upgraded to two new "road dogs" - MZ-N410 and MZ-N510. They do a great job for the car, though I noticed the line out really didn't have a lot of gain - I'd have to max out the volume on the MD and even then had to go 40%-50% of the car deck's power to get decent sound. I found a headphone amplifier (the Boostaroo! www.boostaroo.com) that would boost the gain so I could use normal radio power, not to mention save my MD's battery power. Now I face the daunting task of transferring old archived tape to MD - and seeing how much of my beloved mid 80's tape collection survived.”
Steven Darchuk Minneapolis, MN
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“I CAME TO USE MINIDISC IN A SPECIAL WAY. I HAVE BEEN SINGING SOUTHERN GOSPEL MUSIC ABOUT THREE YEARS AND UNTIL LAST YEAR I WAS USING CASSETTE TAPE SOUNDTRACKS FOR MY MUSIC NEEDS. I MET SOME OTHER SINGERS WHO INTRODUCED ME TO MINIDISC. I FOUND OUT THAT THERE ARE MANY SINGERS LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE USING MINIDISC IN THEIR MINISTRIES. THERE ARE MANY PROFESSIONAL GOSPEL GROUPS, AS WELL, THAT STILL USE MINIDISC. I, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE THAT CONTINUE TO ENJOY THE VERSATILITY OF MINIDISC, NEVER WANT IT TO GO AWAY. THANKS.”
GARY JOHNSON NEWNAN, GA
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“My wife got me the Sony sports model last year for christmas. Its great, much better than an MP3 player in my opinion. Battery life in incredible. Thats it.”
Mike Hulin San Antonio, TX
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“I bought my first MD in a bundle (home/portable/and two disc) back in 1997. It is all of the best. It's the most compact of the recording devices. No worries about fingerprints or scratches, and has the easy music access of CDs. PLUS, the editing features during recording are matched by no other. Of course, all of us MD users already know these things.
HERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW!!!!! Sony has a video MD recorder. DCM-M1. It will record 10min. of video, or over 4000 pictures, and, of course, it fits in the palm of your hand. It has all of the editing features you would expect from an MD. If you dig (hard), you can find them on Ebay. I went to the Sony website, though, and couldn’t find them there. I don't believe that they are selling them in the States. We just don't seem to get it. Well, at least a few of us do.”
Troy
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“A few years ago I was looking for something other than cassette tapes to record my school music groups. A friend of mine had a multi-track digital recording device, and when I was in a music store doing some follow up research, one of the sales people asked me if I had heard of mini discs. Of course I hadn't, and he told me about them. I was still a little skeptical, but I politely listened and then turned my thoughts to other ideas.
A few weeks later I was browsing through a 'Good Guys' store and saw a minidisc recorder on sale. There was some promotional literature to read and it really seemed promising. I bought it, took it home and have been hooked ever since. I regularly record my groups, and this was SO easy. I bought a MD player for my rehearsal room, and then one for my office, and then another for my home and still another small portable to record concerts in the gym.
CD recordables are nice, but they're nowhere near as convenient or easy to work with. I only wish MDs would catch on better, because they are truly based on a superior technology.”
Ray Dietz East Wenatchee, WA
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“Hey All, It all began in late 2002....I bought my first minidisc player at BestBuy. I saved up for the longest time to get the MZ-NE410. I am a 16 year old BMX rider and I needed something light, something that DIDN'T SKIP, and something that held a lot of music, and this was the way to go.
I recently visited relatives in Japan over the summer and I saw that almost every person has an MD player in Japan... I was stoked! I went all out and purchased an MZ-N910. I now can get hooked up because I have relatives and they said it would be a good idea to let them help me out since the MD's that come to the U.S. are made in Malaysia, whereas the ones that are in Japan, are manufactured in Japan so its better quality.
I'm still biking and still going strong...I have purchased the N10 and E500 and a home recording deck MXD-D4 since my trip this summer! The thing I would like to see in the future would be that the minidisc will replace the CD! I am striving to convert all my friends to this hidden technology...its going to be a minidisc revolution!
God Bless to all the fans of the MINIDISC!”
Chris Hiramatsu Santa Maria, CA
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"I BEGAN USING THE MINIDISC JAN 1ST 2000. I OWN 2 RECORDERS 1 IS THE SONY MDS JE510 THAT I USE IN MY HOME AND WHEN IM ON THE ROAD WORKING AIRSHOWS I RECORD THE SOUNDS IN STEREO WITH MY MZ-R37 SILVER POCKET MINIDISC RECORDER. PLUS I RECORD THE RADIO STATIONS WHEN I'M OUT OF TOWN. I SAY THE MINI DISC IS 100 PERSENT BETTER THAN REGULAR CASSETTE TAPE. GREAT FOR RECORDING THUNDER STORMS."
ELLIOTT ALPER LOS ANGELES, CALIF
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“I became involved with mini discs from a friend I work with. He's very heavy into quality music -- both playing and listening -- and was looking for something he could carry to work and still keep the same high quality of listening as a CD. When I was trying to find something similar, he suggested I go this direction and I bought my first minidisc on eBay with his help, and have been thoroughly happy ever since.
Love the fact you can get 3 CDs on one minidisc ... or more for a little less quality ... and that I can throw a disc or two, with my player, into my backpack for work or travel. And, with this last order, I now have the cassette converter for use in my car and I'm really tickled about that. I have virtually my whole CD library on minidisc now and occasionally copy friends to get additional. They're great.”
Claudia Kent, WA
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“To be honest, I don't remember how I first heard of minidiscs. More than likely, it was during my frequent explorations of the internet. I do know that, at the time, I was looking for a way to preserve a large collection of home and pre-recorded cassettes, as well as an equally large LP collection. Discovering the minidisc format was like a revelation to me.
I went to my local Best Buy (they actually stocked MD gear in those days!) and bought a Sony MDS-JE330 deck, which came with a portable player and 5 blanks. I took it home, hooked it up, and got busy with the music collection. I now have most of my LPs and cassettes transferred & preserved on MDs and I love that they take up way less room in this format. I have archived family recordings as well, and it's good to know that my late Dad's sense of humor is forever preserved in this portable digital format.
Why hasn't MD caught on here, when it's all the rage in Europe and Japan? For some reason Sony's just dropped the ball when it comes to marketing MD here in the States and I don't understand why. You'd think they’d want their baby to succeed here as well. I've seen some TV commercials recently, but they are few and far between. In any event, I am giving the MD format a ringing endorsement and I highly recommend it to anyone who asks me about it. Long live Minidisc!”
Phil Vera
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“While on a Military trip to Australia in 1999, I was introduced to minidiscs and have been "hooked" ever since! Initially, I recorded about 500 c.d.'s that I already owned and used for doing d.j. work. Since then, I have added over 500 more to my collection.
I am convinced that they are the world's best medium for recording as, I put them in flip cases, print a ¼" label to identify the album or nature of the recording then, when I put a minidisc in a playback machine (don't buy anything but Sony) it is so easy to cue to a song and have it play instantly! At the drag strip, I have recorded sounds of top fuel and alcohol cars and the sound is incredible! I have taken cassette tapes of my "late" Mother and step-Father and divided each recording into multiple tracks and labeled each according to subject.
One of my favorite projects was, recording the L.P.'s of Cruisin' 1955-1969 and combining them with the contents of the same c.d. collection. There were different tracks on the albums and c.d.'s so, I have a comprehensive collection of both. Then, instead of having about 12-15 tracks as on the c.d., I divided every song and commercial so each can be cued in an instant, which is especially neat when doing car shows.
When I go to other countries, I take my recorder and have gotten some real masterpieces! During the last war effort, I found a computer that had 1000's of songs of many genre's and with only a ¼" pin stereo wire, I was able to copy as many as I had time to copy. With the purchase of a portable c.d. player, I was able to copy several c.d.'s of several G.I. friends.
There really is no end to the versatility of a minidisk. Try it, you'll get hooked too!”
George Salt Lake City
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“I was in Comp-Tech class listening to my old Sony CD player when it decided to just stop! I put in fresh batteries but it still wouldn't work! I then went to Sony.com to see if they had any cool new CD players when I saw that they had something called a MiniDisc.
I checked it out and found out how cool MDs were, till I saw the price. I was still only in High School with no job in sight. I then explained my problem to my friend in High School, a local audio guru (1 mp3 player, 3 MD players, 3 CD players and 2 iPods) and he told me that the best solution to my problem was an MD! He traded an older MD recorder (MZ-R37, I think....) for my Dad's old broken Palm VII (he also loves to fix up things) and it was awesome!
I could now record my notes directly from the teacher's mouth and write them out at my leisure later! I was doing this for about a month when I saw my friend with his MD recorder and realized what I had been missing out on! I then went and sold my old MD on EBay (Thank God for EBay) and bought a MZ-N505! It is totally awesome because i can now store up to 5 hrs on one disc which means I won't have to carry a big CD case, adding to my backpack load (its already up to 25 lbs), and I am able to just burn songs right on MDs!!! THANK YOU SONY FOR THE MD!!!!”
Jonathan Marinaro
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“...I started using MiniDiscs because they were digital and re-recordable and it was the new technology from Sony at the time (and Sony usually rocks!) My brother is actually the one who turned me on to them.”
Greg Phoenix, AZ
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“I started using MD several years ago in my home studio, as a mastering and archiving tool. It's the fastest and most direct way to capture and preserve audio content in an "amateur" studio context, and probably the cheapest too. I've archived cassette recordings I made as a child, old band rehearsals I'd recorded on a walkman, and samples I'd taped from movies and television. Tracks can be arranged however you like, and "false starts" can easily be erased and redone.
More recently I've used a portable MD recorder and a high-end Sony stereo mic to make recordings of live gigs played in coffee shops (mostly acoustic guitarists). MD technology means I can add or delete track markers, and edit out long stretches of silence or unwanted stage patter. MD is also an invaluable tool for recording band rehearsals, for the same reason-- it becomes a snap to find and label that "perfect" version of a song or that priceless riff, and practicing at home with a MD recording means no worries about tape speed and pitch issues. Veteran PC users will always claim that CDs are cheaper and easier to burn and share with others-- but how many of these folks will cheerfully haul their PC or laptop to a gig? My MD recording setup fits inside a tiny handbag.
Why hasn't MD technology caught on more in the States? Because MD is a tool, not just a medium, and Americans today are not as often skilled users of tools as they are passive consumers of culture. CD-Rs are dirt-cheap, that's for sure-- but they are static bits of audio candy, meant to be consumed and disposed of. Even if by some miracle MD became more of a "home stereo" standard here in the States, 95% of people would just listen to the albums and mixes the other 5% of us made for them. It's entirely possible, therefore, that MD will remain a "cult favorite" amongst audiophiles (and MP3 junkies, of course). Why expect the general population to harness the full potential that MiniDisc offers, when they can't even program their VCRs?”
Glenn Kindlmann Minneapolis, MN
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“I travel extensively for my work. Part of making the long flights bearable is to listen to recorded books. I check them out from my local library and this had generally meant that I was lugging borrowed CDs across the globe. When I thought I had left part of a CD-book in a hotel room and found out that it would cost $130 to replace because I had to buy the whole 12-CD book, I nearly had a heart attack. The good news is that I found the missing CD, but I was still left with the trauma of that potential cost.
Listening to the CD books on a plane was also frustrating because I had to keep the player and the stack of CDs close at hand, which usually meant on my lap. Every hour or so, I'd have to shuffle my stuff around to swap CDs hoping not to scratch them up too bad in the process.
I looked at MP3 players - I couldn't afford enough memory cards to get a whole book stored, and I knew I didn't want to unpack my laptop everytime I needed to load the next piece of the book. I've learned the hard way to mis-trust hard drive devices so these players weren't an option either. I considered a CD-R, but a portable player that would play CD-R/Ws was as much a MD and I would still be dealing with a bulky and somewhat delicate media. CD-R wasn't an option because I didn't want permanent copies of library "books”. I feel that as long as the recorded book was officially checked-out to me, the fact that I copied them to MD fell within the spirit of copyright laws as long as I erased the file when I returned the CDs to the library.
Enter the MD-N707: On days when I'm not travelling, I copy audio-books to MD as I'm getting other things done around the office. When I travel, I leave the player in my shirt pocket along with maybe one extra disc. If I do need to swap discs, it's only once (or twice on a very long flight.) The only problem is the inconvenience that almost without fail, you have to tell the guy sitting next to you all about your MD and why they should buy one too. My MD has been a great ice-breaker with strangers in airplanes!
I have since transferred a lot of music that I'll carry with me to listen to as well. I can carry a lot of music in my carry-on!
On a recent trip, I took a microphone along. I was able to record meetings, doing track marks at key points in the conversation. While walking through downtown Buenos Aires, I noticed a street musician was using an MD to provide his backup music. With his consent, I recorded about 20 minutes of his performance too. Let's see you do that with a CD-R device!
To get the most out of my exercise time, I've picked music clips at various degrees of intensity. There would have been no way to do this without the editing abilities of MD. I found that a few of the songs didn't produce the effect I had hoped for, in a few minutes, I cut out the bad and replaced them with new. For variety, I've got 3 different mixes on my exercise MD. I pick a mix and go for it!
Why isn't MD more popular? (1) Sony playing both sides of the fence with Sony Electronics and Sony Music. (2) Check-in/Check-out of ATRAC files. In practical terms, it doesn't stop anyone from pirating, but it's perceived as a limitation. (3) The separate format for data discs was a huge mistake, Sony could have owned the audio and Zip drive markets with a portable device that did both audio and data. (4) Sony has done a terrible job at marketing and product placement. Marketing of MD players in the U.S. is essentially non-existent. There are people, though apparently not at Sony, that are dedicated to placing their company's products in movies and TV shows. How often do you see a MD player in a movie or on TV? Let's face it, Q would have put an MD player in James Bond's car, why didn't we see it? Any movie placed in the future should assume that MD will be the default audio format. Buffy would have listened to MDs, you can't kill demon-spawn with a soundtrack that skips. The list goes on....”
Jason Beck
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"MINIDISC is here... That was the first thing I had ever heard about mini disc. I was amazed. In 1999 I was floored by the Idea of a recording medium that was smaller than the CD's of the time. I fell in love with the Sharp MD-SR60 that was in a Best Buy ad.
From that moment on I was hooked. I was unable to get hold of a MiniDiscplayer/recorder till Winter of 2001. Then, a friend of mine at Sears gave me a used MD player/recorder for .49 cents (U.S.) for the MD player of my Dreams, a Sharp MD-SR60.
From then on I have collected 3 other MD player/recorders, including a Sony MZ-R37 (my favorite unit) as well as a unit I don't currently have a number for. Since then I have devoted myself to finding as many MD player or recorders as I can. Then, just two weeks ago I found the web-sites Minidiscaccess.com and minidisco.com for ALL my mini disc needs here in America."
Raven East Virginia
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“Regarding how I got started with minidisc, I first discovered the medium probably about 10 years ago at the Sony Store in Chicago. I've always enjoyed making "Greatest Hits" and music compilations on tape, but couldn't believe in the quality and flexibility in this new medium to record with.
My home MD recorder cost $900 at the time and I invested in a car unit (MDX-400 -an in-dash 4disc changer which I loved but was somewhat flawed from an engineering standpoint with a removable faceplate). To this day I can't believe this format couldn't overtake recordable CD's as it is 100% more flexible and offers ability to change recordings without starting from scratch.
People are always fascinated with these little discs and to this day, some have never seen a minidisc before. One thing everybody loves is the text - to be listening to a song and see the title or artist (some CD units do this but certainly not to the same degree).
I am so glad it is surviving with MP3 (even tho! ugh I am still an old timer when it comes to recording the old fashioned way!) I will always be a Minidisc supporter as the best music recording medium available!”
Casey Grabowski Schaumburg, IL
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“About getting hooked w/ minidisks. A cousin of mine had bought an md player and I was amazed by the size of the disk and the amount of music you can fit on it. It's practically like a cd and w/ the same capacity. And because I'm always looking for easier ways to handle my music and to store it, md's were the best option 'til then.
My friends and I were so sure that md was going to be the biggest thing after cd's, but I think it was too fast for people to make the transition from cds to mds. They were just making their transitions from cassettes to cds, and then in came cd burners and mp3's that really opaqued the mds.
I hope that mds don't get forgotten. I think they are better than cds, since they are smaller, and they are protected so its very hard to scratch them. (Unlike cds that scratch very easily.) The only problem I've had w/ md's is that I haven't been able to download music from my md's to my computer or to record music from my md to another md or a cd.”
Carlos Jaquez Basalt, CO
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“Hello, I did a lot of research on a music format that would suit my needs, and MiniDisc was chosen. I have an MP3 player, but it only holds at most 2 hours of sub-par quality music. I like my audio crisp and clear, and this was starting to bug me. So, I invested in a Sony MZ-N505 player/recorder off of e-bay.
Needless to say, I'm sold on the technology. The music will not skip, the player gets up to 56 hours per single AA battery and the music is sharp and clear. When I work (be it mowing a yard or sitting in front of a computer) the MiniDisc is there with me.
I received my player a few weeks ago and I have yet to change the battery or complain about a lack of features. I've been telling everyone I know about the advantages to this format and I REALLY hope it takes off in the US (as it should have back in the early 1990's).
I think it's been slower to take off in the US because we aren't people that like to spend money. Everyone has a large CD library, why would they want to buy yet another format to replace those? Almost every car has a CD player, all computers can play CD's, but for MiniDisc, we have to buy a new player, new media and find a way to interface it with our out-dated technology (like CD players). That's my story and my opinion on MiniDiscs. Let me know if it made any sense to you (it is 1:00AM here).”
Nick Proy Corry, PA USA
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“Several months ago I started researching various MP3 players to purchase. I wanted a player that was small, had expandable memory, and that was reasonably priced. The MP3 players with a hard drive cost more than I wanted to pay for a player. The MP3 players with compact flash memory expansion (or similar type memory cards) were small, but the memory cards are pricey.
Than I started reading about Sony Net MD minidisc players and I was intrigued. The minidisc players were reasonably priced and the cost of blank minidiscs was a lot less than compact flash cards. I purchased a Sony MZ-NF610 because it also had the added feature of AM/FM radio tuner. I have been using my minidisc player since May '03 and I love it! The software that came with my player works flawlessly and I have no problems transferring music from my CD collection to the minidisc player.
I believe the reasons that minidisc players aren't more popular in the US are because the MP3 format is more popular in the US; Sony and other makers of minidisc players haven't been promoting the MD players effectively; the MD players use the proprietary ATRAC3 format for music compression. If MD players could record and playback music directly in the MP3 format, the MD players would be much more popular in the US.”
Teresa Wichita, KS
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“My first Sony MD was an MZ-1 purchased from a friend for $200. He bought it new for $700. I used it on my first Album. The sound quality was what I always wanted. It served as a virtual guitar player, and then I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if Sony made a four-track.
I found the MDM-X4 at a music store in NJ, and HAD TO HAVE IT. It was $700. It used the data disks ($10 per) rather than the audio disk, but sound quality was still great. The data disk allowed continuous 4-track recording for 37 minutes, as well as a host of copy/cut/mix/bounce functions.
I sold that to get the MDM-X4 Mark II model, which was much faster. I used that on my second project. I will however go to hard drive studio recording instead. After that unit, I bought the MXD-D3 Component CD/MD player recorder, and recently I picked up the NetMD with Jukebox software. This was to replace the much heralded, and rather missed MZ-1.
Why hasn't it caught on? I don't know. I think they are still experimenting with it, perhaps a dual between MD and mp3 in which one will replace CD.”
Jeff Rochester Hills, MI
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"My 18-year-old son who is an "intelligent dance music" devotee bought a Sony MD-700 with some birthday money. I'd never heard of the technology, but I saw him using it to create incredible personal mixes of his favorite music from radio, MP3s, and CDs. When I listened to some of his tracks, I was impressed with the sound quality.
I'm a pastor who works mainly with children in our church. We use a lot of music to lead our kids in worship. Although it's ideal to have a musician leading worship live, sometimes that isn't practical. And sometimes I want to use songs that a worship leader doesn't know. I invested in a Sony MD so that I could control what songs from CD I wanted to use without having to flip back and forth between different disks.
For example, in our KIDS Church service, if I want to sing four different songs from four different CDs with the kids, I can have them all on one MD and simply play right through the set, without any stopping to change CDs. Plus, if next week I want to rearrange the song list order, or add a new song, it's very easy. The ability to edit is the main reason I prefer MD to CD. MD is the only format I use for recorded sound.
When people see my Sony MD they assume that it's an MP3 player. I explain that I can store MP3s on it, as well as anything from any other recordable source.
I subscribe to a satellite TV company. My satellite company offers about 50 channels of digital music with everything from Americana to Hip-Hop to Contemporary Christian. I really like mainstream jazz. Fortunately, on the back of my satellite box are some stereo outputs. I connect a stereo jack to my MD player, record 320 minutes of jazz music, and then I can listen to it while I walk or ride my bike. Even using the LP4 mode, the sound quality is phenomenal. The only drawback is that I don't always know the artist I'm listening to.
MDs haven't caught on in America because....hmmm....maybe because the type of person who likes to create his or her own musical programming on one disc will usually have the ability to burn a CD from a computer. So they figure why invest in MDs when I can use CDs. But I much prefer handling MDs to CDs because of their size, and reusability."
Bill Henderson Yorba Linda, California USA
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“It has served as an incredible practice tool, because the sound is pretty much verbatim, and hearing yourself recorded is extremely different from how you think you sound when you are playing. I have used it to prepare for auditions, and have used it to prepare demos for gigs.
About 3 months ago, my locker at school was broken into and my MD recorder and microphone were stolen, along with about 20 MDs. After about a week of sobbing, I resolved to save the money again to buy another one. Well, I did, and I’m using it daily again.
...I just wish they sold the stereos here like they do in Japan, that play MDs!”
Max Matzen Jacksonville, FL
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“I am what people refer to as 'THE MAN OF MANY SOUNDS' because I collect everything on these little mini discs. It was y2k before I even realized md's existed. I first saw them in England, then in Denmark where they were used for all radio broadcasts at the student radio.
I didn’t buy one until 2001. I’ve used it everyday for over six hours a day since then. I used it probably 13 hours today because I’ve been sick in bed. I use 2 rechargeable batteries so I never run out of juice. Playback is at least fifty something hours on 1 AA battery... that’s one thing that’s hard t
Also, we're curious to hear your angle on why the format has been slower to take off in the US than in Europe and Japan. Email your story to us at: contactmda@aol.com. We will be posting all of the stories on this page, plus one will be featured on the MiniDisc Access home page. (For the sake of the kiddies, please make your stories G-Rated. Also, please include both your name and city, so we can give you credit for your work. Finally, please understand that by sending us your story, you are granting us permission to use it on the site.). So, why not go for it?! Then, YOU'LL BE FAMOUS! At least with the MiniDisc crowd!!
Now - Enjoy the following collection of stories from other customers that explain how they first got involved with the versatile world of MiniDisc. And don't forget to send us yours!!!
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“I am the assistant director of a women's barbershop chorus, the Merrimack Valley Chorus Recordings in various media have always been part of our rehearsal and education programs. We rely on recordings to have a record of major rehearsals and coaching sessions. In the past, that meant lots of cassette tapes, and the tedious process of reviewing and transcription (especially for extended coaching weekends).
Several years ago (thanks to a more tech-savvy member), we began using MD instead. MD allows us to record an extended coaching session (several hours at a stretch), then break it down into usable tracks for review and teaching purposes. Non-critical portions (extra talking, false starts, "white space") can be deleted easily, and key sections can be pulled out for critical review and/or as good exemplars for teaching. Out of a 3-day rehearsal, we can choose the best run-through of each song for members to review and model. Sections of the recordings are uploaded to the members-only section of our website, so that all members can have access to the recordings at home. The latest version of a song and its correct interpretive plan are available at any time, and can be updated frequently. Excerpts taken from our best performances are sometimes made available for the casual visitor to the site to be able to listen to the chorus - great for p.r. and recruiting!
Individual singers are also periodically required to record themselves while singing within the ensemble and submit their recordings for one-on-one review. The choice of medium is up to the singer and her assigned reviewer. Many singers use MD for their individual recordings (I finally made the switch myself about 2 years ago), then hand over a disc or simply upload and email the tracks to their tape reviewer for comment. Tracks can easily be forwarded to the director or section leaders for further critique or to use in future rehearsal planning. The director has her own MD recorder and uses it for more frequent review of weekly rehearsals.
The recording quality is outstanding - important when one is focused on the finer points of tuning 4-part a cappella music. (No more wondering if the singer was drifting flat or her tape recorder batteries were dying...) Mic sensitivity allows for accurate recording both at close range (an individual singer on the risers), and from a distance (the full chorus from across the room).
A great resource for musicians who rely on frequent review and critique for rehearsal and education.”
Carol Smolenski
Salem, NH
Assistant director, Merrimack Valley Chorus
North Atlantic Region #1
Sweet Adelines International
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“I was quite happy with cassettes - I could record at home on my twin deck, and I could record (and, of course, play back) on the move with a 'Walkman' - until I discovered the versatility of the 'new and improved' minidisc.
A few years ago, the highest amount of recording time on a MD was 74 minutes. This was not an inducement to stop using cassettes, where the maximum recording time was 120 minutes. I first decided to investigate MDs when Long Play (up to 4x the standard maximum recording time) and 80-minute MDs became available. With a new maximum recording time of 5 hrs & 20 minutes, I finally decided to invest some money.
With my newly-purchased Sharp MD recorder, I began experimenting. Live recording with a cassette was easy, I just had to press the record button - the recording level was automatic. With the Sharp MD it was a hit and (often) miss affair. Recording at home was easier, but I couldn't make 'timer' recordings of radio programs, as I could with cassettes. Also, with cassettes, when I removed the tape I knew when I reinserted it it would play from the place where I had stopped, MDs didn't seem to do this. I was happyish!
To bring things up to date, what's really needed (for my purposes) is a portable MD recorder, with an automatic recording level, and a deck that can (timer) record and, play back any track on an MD by just having the track no. entered.
My next MD was made by Sony. Any Sony portable recording MD, with a Mic. input, will make excellent live recordings of speech or music, as they all (appear to) have an automatic recording level. They can also play back, and record, cassettes, radio or TV via normal Hi-Fi equipment; and even with the 5 hour 20 minute LP recording selected the quality is excellent. I have to say that for live recordings 2x LP is the absolute maximum for quality recordings, especially of music, but 4x LP is good for both speech and music recorded from the radio etc.
To make things easier at home, I'd recommend getting an MD deck. The Sony one I have allows timer recordings, and tracks can be chosen by just typing in the appropriate track number - unlike the portable versions where it's necessary to press a button 37 times to get to track 37. Playing, recording and editing by use of the remote control makes things a lot more pleasurable.
The beauty of MDs is the cheapness of the recording software, i.e. Mini Discs, compared to cassettes, as well as their capacity - up to 5 hours 20 minutes of quality recording. I've now learnt that I can do anything on an MD that I could do on cassette. MDs are smaller than cassettes and CDs, more versatile than either, and don't need the involvement of a computer at any stage - unlike MP3 players (which don't record live and need computer back up). I can't fault them. I love them. Why would I need anything else? It seems that Sony, by winding things down, a lot, and making MD equipment hard to get wish to force us to other, less versatile media. It would appear that Minidiscs were just too good! But they're not dead yet! Long live the Minidisc!”
Andrew Deas
London, England
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"As a student, I often worked in the library and needed to listen to music to isolate myself. At the beginning, it was with an old CD player, but even if the sound was good, support wasn’t practical and it was fragile. An MP3 player solved the problem, but at the cost of sound quality.
In 2007, I decided to take another look at MiniDisc for the sound, size, battery life and recording capability. I had started with this system in 1997 and stopped in 1999. The format didn’t achieve as much success in Europe as it should have due to marginal equipment choices. Plus, it was difficult and expensive to find MD accessories. Now, though, I don't regret the return to MiniDisc.
Thanks MiniDisc Access for people who know MiniDisc equipment."
Erwan Gueguen Nice, France
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”A music teacher I knew, gee, way back in the early 90s, raved about the mini-disk. He had a deck and used it to make 70+ minute compilations of music from his library of CDs. I was amazed at these compilations... Song titles scrolled from the deck. Wow. You would use the remote to add text. If you wanted track # 1 to, say, be track # 7, well, you could do it. What flexibility.
For some reason or another, the mini-disk never caught on like I thought it would. Why it didn't catch on may have to do with the advent of mp3. When mp3 caught fire in the late 90s to present day, it seemed that the mini-disk was dead.
I got fed up with mp3 about two years ago. I had two hard disk players - RCA Lyra and I-Pod - die on me. Let me tell you, the Lyra was 40G and the I-Pod was 10G. That represented around 700 quality albums. While I backed everything up on CD-R, I was still livid. What a waste of time and money.
In early 2004, I went to Best Buy and was intrigued by the mini-disk. ATRAC compression immediately caught my eye with removable media that sounded great @ 132 k! No more worrying about a hard disk meltdown. I immediately started to use Sonic Stage to move my mp3s to disk. You know, despite what some may say, the conversion wasn't as bad as it is made out to be. I now have a portable and a home deck.
I bought a Hi-MD portable six months ago, along with five 1-G disks. This stuff is awesome. I started to rip CDs I have in Hi-SP. Stunning sound! While all my mp3 collection that I have has been converted to LP2, I am right now ripping the CDs I have in Hi-SP right on the 1-G media. I love both! I just wish a home deck was accessible which would play both types of disks. I want to listen to Hi-SP music through my home stereo. Yeah, an RCA jack could hook up my portable, but it isn't the same.
Conclusion: MD isn't dead; it's like the Illuminati, Free Masonry, or the Tri-Lateral Commission. It's there but not too many people know the power!”
Mark R. O'Flaherty Euclid, OH
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”I first used MD whilst volunteering at my local hospital radio station. I then bought my first deck, thinking it a bit of an unnecessary luxury...but then soon found it a necessity.
Despite the proliferation of MP3 and I-Pods, I have stuck with MiniDisc and have a built-in player in the car and several Walkmans, in addition to the decks I have in the house.
Though I have upgraded to Hi-MD, I find it disappointing that Sony have never released a Hi-MD deck or Hi-Fi and I've written to tell them so!
Hopefully, I have enough equipment, and more than enough blank discs to keep me going for the time being as I plan to stick with the format for the foreseeable future.
Cheers!”
Nick Oliver Leeds, UK
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“I became involved in the minidisc format so I could record in real time from my computer onto a disc. Using a minidisc meant that I could get more songs on the disc. And, I didn't need to purchase them. (If you download them electronically, you have to buy them. But, if you listen to them in real time, you can pipe them into your minidisc via the jack plug.)
As I listen to them on my motorcycle, the minidisc fits in my tank bag and is piped into my helmet earphones. In fact, that’s why I wanted the car adaptor, so that it plugs into my jack plug on the bike and then into the minidisc. So, I can ride for hours without stopping to change the battery on the minidisc! My phone is blue tooth and when it rings, the minidisc cuts off, then resumes playing when the call is finished.”
Charlie Vernon Lancashire, England
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“This just started for me....I am a musician and will be taking some fiddle classes this summer, and needed a recorder of some sorts.
My daughter was in the Czech Republic in 2003, and was interviewing Czech composers. She purchased the MZ-N710 there, and used it to record interviews and music. Upon her return, she used it on and off, but the battery (the "gumstick" type) died, and it was difficult to find a replacement, so she packed it away and used her Discman, and later her Ipod.
When I told her about the camp, she offered her MD player, but didn't seem to know where all the accessories were (typical - she offered my DH her CD player for his car - w/o the accessories, and just lately, her old laptop - without the power supply).
Although the unit was distributed in Europe (and not in US), when I called Sony, they did have replacement parts (charger stand, adapter, battery), but it added up quickly to well over $100. (I didn't know about your store then).
So, I got on eBay and ended up buying two MD Recorders (MZ-N707 and NF-610) for about that same price, with most of the original accessories! Not five minutes after the auction ended, my daughter called to tell me that she had located almost everything that went with the player (except the dry battery case : "so that's what that was!").
But, after I played a disc on her player, I was hooked. The sound is much better than my Ipod! And, the bonus is that I can record live! At first, I was considering selling off the extra MD players, but I think I'd better keep the back-ups, just in case.
So, now, instead of doing laundry, I put my favorite music on minidiscs....”
B. Hathaway PA
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“I am a professional recording engineer. I believe in hard disk digital technology. I have used a minidisc for years and love the clarity of sound that I receive. Recently, I purchased a Flash card recorder that was supposed to be the top of its technology. When I went to record at a show, I received a very distorted recording of what I had listened to. Take my word for it. At this time, flash card digital recorders are just not going to cut it in this application. Sure you have a lot of nice functions, but who cares when the sound is distorted? I put the recorder up on eBay, dusted off my trusted minidisc and haven't had a problem since.
At this time, stay with Mini Disc.”
Cowan Dawson
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“I first saw the mini disc in 1997. I'm a wannabe singer, and a friend and neighbor wanted me to meet a friend of his, who he said was a real good singer. So off we go to the club this gentleman was singing at. I think it was in August of 1997. We were introduced and I was invited to join the man on stage and sing. It turned out to be a great afternoon, and after the show he showed me the equipment he was using. I was fascinated when he explained all of the functions that the mini disc player/recorder was capable of. The ability to combine tracks, move tracks around and divide tracks is something that no other machine is capable of, at least not that I know of. I know you can do all this if you install the right program on your computer. A good program means that you have to be pretty computer literate, and I'm not.
One of the biggest selling points for me is the durability of the discs and the quality of the sound. There's no question that they're better than your standard CD's. I think that the reason they haven't caught on here in the USA as much as other places is that you can only play one disc at a time and then you have to physically change the disc. Whereas CD players, like the one my son has, hold five hundred CD's on a carousel. The thing can play forever (well, almost), and I think that's a big reason for the lack of minidisc popularity here in the US.
I've run across a few DJ's that use them, but that's about it. I think with the advent of the new mini disc that can hold up to 45 hours of music, this might change. I hope so, since I love these machines and want to be playing them for a long time to come.
I bought my first one in 1997, but it went south on me. It could have been repaired, but the cost was too high. I now have my fourth player, (a used one I just purchased on E-Bay) because I like to have a back-up. Hopefully these machines will be around for a long time.”
David Bell Chula Vista, CA
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”I got involved with minidisc in 1992 or 3. I was living in NYC and saw a Phillips, about the size of the transistor radios the cool kids had in the early 60s, and it cost $500. It was made to be plugged into your stereo, and I wanted to buy it on the spot, even though I had no stereo to use it with. I am old enough to have been thrilled when the first audio tape began to appear, and I've spent years recording music collections onto reel to reel and later onto cassette.
When I saw minidiscs, I was instantly hooked. The ability not only to record, but to edit seamlessly and to move tracks blew my mind! Honestly, the digital aspect of it was secondary to me- my musical addiction began when I was about four, staying up late at night and listening furtively to a 1954 Magnavox am clock radio, in mono, of course. I can't add much to what others have already said about MD technology - it's just unbelievably great.
Where I differ from most of the people whose stories I read is that I don't involve my PC- I don't really understand why anyone would, though I certainly understand why the industry wants it. From the very little I know, it seems like taking a very easy, on-the-fly recording/editing method and turning it into a real procedure. I'm no fan of Microsoft or of Sony; it seems to me that Microsoft just wants to push expensive, resource-hogging hard- and software at me whether I have a need for it or not, and the entertainment industry, in this country at least, wants to bring on a situation where the consumer pays to see video or hear music pretty much every time they do so, even after ponying up for the equipment, the connections, the monthly service, etc.
And that's why I think the MD hasn't taken off here. A Lot has changed in the American business climate in the years since the MD first hit. Sony didn't market it at all when it came out. Then, there were the licensing squabbles, and by the time that was over, American actors had won lawsuits regarding royalties for repeat showings of movies or TV shows, and the whole entertainment industry got serious. At the time, MD recorders were commonly being sold that could make 5 digital copies of another MD at once at high speed. I think someone wet themselves thinking about the potential for distribution of bootleg material, and those machines disappeared very suddenly, soon followed by any others that didn't have the SCMS thing.
I think the whole digital audio/video thing has been captured by the new business model, and the idea is to get everyone to spend as much as possible as often as possible to end up with collections that are at best impermanent, if only because we can no longer buy or repair the player, or the battery can't be replaced, or the music moved, or whatever. It's just not about what the consumer wants to buy, it's about what the industry wants to sell, and sell again. I am not more entertained now than I was 30 or 40 years ago, but I sure pay a lot more for it. Now that free internet radio is dead, analog can't be far behind, and we're all supposed to download our $1 copies of songs onto our iPods and toss the whole thing out when the battery dies 13 months later.
Which brings me to here. Like some of the other writers, I'd like to buy about 6 MD recorder/players and several zillion discs and keep using them into my old age, but wouldn't know what to buy of the recorders currently being produced. I can't tell if they even work without involving a PC- can someone please take pity on me and 'splain this? Obviously, I'm a dinosaur, and I don't want to move any more music into any more formats and keep any more collections. I have an ancient Denon M2000R which I treat with great respect, and I'm moving my MDs onto CDs, hoping that some combination of machinery and media will stay up and running till I go deaf.
OK, I'm done- if you're still reading, thanks for tuning in to my little rant. Now open your window, put out your head, and scream, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
J. Snyder Overland Park, KS
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“My name is David but my homies call me "Dirty". You can too if you want, 'cuz anyone down with MD is a friend of mine.
It all started back in '98 or so. I was working at Guitar Center of Lynnwood (great store by the way) and saw a lot of new products coming in before most people might see them. I started looking into multi-track recorders. All I knew is I did not want to use the cassette tape format, so when I saw the Yamaha MD4 it was love at first sight. I knew nothing of the minidisc, but it was one of the only digital recorders in that price range that was affordable for a starving artist.
So I bought it and have been in love ever since. The MD format is by far the best, and mixed with Yamaha's research power, the MD4/8 is worth every penny. Minidiscs are tough, like a mustang. I’ve dropped them, stepped on them, threw them against the wall, and spilled SODA on them with no problem at all. They still deliver clean, clear audio. They’re small in size, so packing them around is a cinch. With all the advancements made since, I still find myself using my minidisc to record my music. It always sounds better.
If you would like to listen to some of my projects using my MD4, check out my site:
http://www.soundclick.com/dtalks
and leave me a message or ask me a question.
Thanks People. Stay down for the MD!!!”
David “Dirty” Brown Lynnwood, WA
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“I was introduced to minidisc when I was working on a military base where I’m the sound guy for the USO and MWR (Navy recreations). Most of the bands that come in and entertain the troops have their minidisc and ask me to hook up their MD on my board for recording their sets. That’s when I got curious and ordered my first Net MD and got hooked on it ever since.”
Alex Verzosa Burbank, CA
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”My minidisc journey began in 1995 when I was a technical gopher at the World Science Fiction convention which was held that year in Glasgow, Scotland. These conventions traditionally include a "masquerade" (sort of a fancy dress competition) and I was put in charge of managing the musical and sound-effects backing tracks required by each of the competitors. Of course, every competitor turned up with a different medium - cassette tape, CD, even vinyl! - and some only needed part of the track they had in mind. I needed a way of collecting all the disparate pieces of sounds and music together into one place, and to be able to do some basic editing. Then one of my tech colleagues produced the answer to my prayers, a Sony MZ-1! I'd never seen one of these beings before, but as a keen technophile and "hi fi" fan I was blown away by the possibilities. Real digital recording, onto re-writable media, with instant track access and the ability to split, re-order and combine tracks! Fantastic!
As I was living and working in the Middle East at the time it was 3 years before I was able to acquire my very own MD (thank you Sony ME Marketing). My MZ-R30 was built like a tank and saw many hours of service as a sound-effects unit in amateur dramatic productions. I also began transferring my analogue vinyl and tape collection into digital format on standard MD. The small size and robust construction of the discs was a major plus. Eventually the MZ-R30 succumbed to a broken flexible cable in the lid and the LCD started blanking out. It still worked though, and my son was all too eager to get his hands on it. Even today it still plays, but has been battered almost beyond recognition! How do Sony build things this strong?!
When the MZ-R30 began playing up I needed to replace it quickly and cheaply as I relied heavily on it for theatre work, so I bought an MZ-R70 in 2001 to keep me going. There was nothing spectacularly different about the R70, except perhaps its ability to take a standard AA battery and run forever, at least compared to any other music player on the market then. At about this time I also invested in my first hi-fi separates MD unit, a Pioneer MJD-707. This has a nice noise reduction circuit which came in handy for transferring the dozens of cassette tapes I had lined up for digitization at this time. The Pioneer is still going, though it has occasional overheating problems.
I was getting quite serious about MD by now, and couldn't really understand why MP3 was getting all the limelight, except for the obvious fact that Sony couldn't be bothered putting up a fight. Why buy something so expensive, that can only be used with an even more expensive computer, and then only runs for a couple of hours - we're talking single digits here! - before the battery expires? On top of that, you have to store all your precious music, whether ripped or downloaded, on a fragile magnetic hard disk where it's vulnerable to everything from power surges to viruses. MiniDisc was, and still is, light years ahead of all that! I'd always resisted putting CD in my car because of skip problems and the bulky disc storage, but MD was perfect for in-car entertainment. My CDX-R6750 delivered excellent service until its lack of support for anything but standard MD meant it had to make way for a higher capacity ATRAC CD player. Anyway, although I didn't want to use my PC for long term music storage, I still used it extensively for effects capture, design, mixing, and editing so I was very interested when NetMD appeared and promised PC integration.
I dipped a toe in the water with the MZ-N710, but was instantly disappointed when it turned out that the MD-PC relationship was very one-sided and all that NetMD offered was MP3-like downloading and a choice of compression factors. Still, it was a step forward and when the Pioneer deck complained of overheating that summer I decided to upgrade it with a Sony MDS-PC3 deck. This is a very strange beast, part MD deck, part PC component. The most interesting part of the package was the PCLK-MN10 PC link device which, together with the Sony M-Crew software (even more idiosyncratic than the beloved SonicStage) provided direct PC control of the NetMD unit as well as a useful optical digital output.
Today I use the MDS-PC3 as my source device for live theatre productions because it's small, light, has a full complement of digital I/O, and most importantly has a permanently backlit LCD screen. Essential when working in a blacked-out control booth!
After this, Sony seemed to lose interest in MD even more than they had already. I treated myself to a new MZ-N1 which hasn't performed up to Sony's usual high standards and now functions as a semi-permanent PC peripheral for making quick copies of effects discs in Standard or LP2 mode. But this was only the calm before the storm! In 2005 HiMD arrived in all its glory, well most of it, and I just had to upgrade. My first HiMD purchase was an MZ-NH1, a gorgeous piece of kit, if slightly impractical due to its tiny on-board LCD and the fact that when cradled it can only be charged, not connected to a PC. Strange.
Shortly after the release of the NH1 the rumor mill went into high gear concerning Sony's abandonment of the long string of missed opportunities that we know as MiniDisc. In response I bought two more HiMD units, an RH10 and an MZ-NH600 because by now I don't think I could live without MD. The MZ-NH600 is my long-term insurance policy and has never been out of its box! I also picked up an end-of-the-line Sony CMT-SE9 hi-fi separates system which includes SA-CD, DVD and cassette as well as NetMD (including somewhat pointless PC connectivity) at a bargain price.
So, without realizing it, I've picked up examples of just about every development in the MD story over the last 10 years or so. I sometimes dream about buying an RH1, not because I need another MD player, but just because it reportedly allows digital upload of standard MDs, which would save a lot of time. But my real dream is of a revitalized MD world in which Sony finally understands all the benefits of the format and properly enables all of its functions, such as full bi-directional data transfer for all formats.
MiniDisc is still the most robust solution around, has twice the power-efficiency of any other format, and a proprietary compression format which knocks the spots off the competition but co-exists alongside uncompressed PCM and MP3 support. I'm sure professionals would welcome multi-track solutions either direct to MD or to hard-disk with optional mix-down to an on-board MD device as a safety.
MiniDisc is far from dead, but looks like it will live out its remaining days in dignified obscurity.
Cheers,”
Alistair Cameron Banchory, Scotland
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“Hi there folks here is my story;
It all starts back in 1992, the Blue Jays bringing the World Series trophy north of the border for the first time and a high school kid who enjoyed portable music reading the local business section of his paper. There, like so many others who have become famous, I first read an article about the next step in portable recordable media. I thought it sounded fantastic, but at those prices and my savings I figured I would never own one. After that I promptly forgot about the MD and its possibilities.
Is that where this story ends? Of course not. Fast forward 5 years and I was now a 3rd year university student on an exchange program in the hot bed of MDs, Japan. Everywhere I turned MD called to me, so as a present to myself I splurged and bought a SONY MZR-55 and the accompanying boom box with MD Link technology. So not only could I record from the CD player, but with the proper cables hooked up I could control and enjoy the MDs thru the speakers!
Eventually, my R-55 was stolen and replaced by the R-90. When mp3s first came on the scene I bought a little USB adapter allowing me to record mp3s to MD. Then I took another trip to Japan and purchased a wonderful compact stereo called the LAM-1. It gave me my first taste of true NetMD performance and also gave me high-speed CD-to-MD recording. I absolutely loved that little thing and got about 18 months of hard use out of it before a motor went on it. Because it was Japanese and I live here in Canada, Sony said there was nothing they could do and no one else since has been able to work with it.
Now I run with an MZ-N1 and MZ-E10 as well as an in-dash MD stereo for my car. Whenever I make a new MD, I print off my own labels for them and they all look great.
As for the question of why MDs haven't come on in North America. It is simple to me. With the exception of Axia, Sony is the only mainstream hardware company (at least in Canada and I use the term mainstream very loosely). There is no competition in the market. Sony does no advertising for the MD to let people know what is out there, unlike Apple who have put the iPod everywhere.
And the final straw for me was the introduction of the UMD for the PSP. Here was an opportunity for Sony to exploit the MD/Hi-MD format and link 2 of its products together. I certainly would have considered a PSP and upgraded to Hi-MD if they had linked them. Having the ability to play music on two different systems and having the rewritability of the MD format could have resulted in greater popularity for both the MD and PSP. Instead the UMD is all but officially buried, the market for Hi-MD is miniscule and everyone and their brother have or want the popular thing (iPod). Hmmm, do I sound a little bitter? If I do it's because I am. Sony really dropped the ball, just like BETAMAX.
Anyway, that is my story of how I fell in love with the MD and will continue to love everything about it for the rest of my days.”
Russell Crowe (yes, that is my real name)
Toronto, Canada
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“Mine isn't much; I have a Fiero I made a convertible of, and like to spend good weather using it for most transportation. Storage is at a premium, I can't stand commercials on radio, so needed a means of carrying good music in small packages. MD looked like the way to go. Still does.
As far as why the format has been slow, I have one reaction to your question - Betamax! It seems that the same marketing genius who was in charge of Betamax at Sony was given responsibility for MD as well. The philosophy appeared to be "Let's price this stuff so high that everyone will think it is really great and will pay whatever we ask in order to get it."
Today, I'd bet few people under 25 have even heard of Betamax despite its very good quality. MD seemed to be the same, and now that solid state is coming on strong, I doubt there will be much further development. Hope I'm wrong.”
Bill
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“My wife bought a component-sized Sony md player/recorder for Christmas many years ago. I hadn't even heard of minidiscs before that morning. I had always enjoyed recording my own collections of songs and was still using cassettes. She can't recall how she came to hear of the technology; she was convinced I'd appreciate being able to record onto a digital medium and be able to access particular songs during playback (like a cd). Home-cd burners were still pretty far off into the future; DAT recorders were available but really expensive (and to her DAT was just a glorified cassette anyway).
That Sony JE330 was one of best Christmas presents I ever received (and it recorded only in a "standard" mode: there was no LP2 or LP4 modes to extend recording times). I've stuck with the md technology since; I have no i-pod. There’s probably trouble on the horizon though....I was also a big fan of the Sony Beta VCR's.
Long live the minidisc! ("i-pods....we don't need no stinking i-pods")”
Jeff Jones Topton, PA
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“I was a Minister of Music in Houston when my life with MiniDiscs began. A fellow Minister of Music in the Houston area told me of this amazing technology called Mini Discs. I was skeptical at first and didn’t give him much credence. But later, I was to lead music in a revival in Oklahoma and I didn’t want to take all of my cassette accompaniment tracks with me! The cassettes were just too bulky and to worry about magnetic scans as they went through the security stops at the airports was the final straw.
I borrowed his recorder and a smaller “walkman” type of a player and headed off to Oklahoma. I have been hooked ever since! I bought a “Bundle Pack” where the deck unit was placed in our sound booth and the portable player stayed with me.
I later moved to Mustang, Oklahoma, where I had to buy a stereo unit in my office that had a Mini Disc recorder built in. I also purchased two more bundle packs where I could put one deck in the sound booth and the other deck in my choir room. The two portable players stay with me in a drawer in my desk until I need to go out of town with them.
Most recently, I went to Mexico on a mission trip and took a player with me with some discs that I had recorded with Hispanic music for use there!
Its main purpose is to take the accompaniment cassettes I have and dub them over to a digital format that I can modify as I need. For instance, I can put rehearsal cues in an accompaniment track so that I can better work with my choir. And then later, I can take those cues out if I so desire! With a CD, I have one chance to put the cues in where I want them and if I miss my mark, it’s just too bad. Plus, that CD is toast after I finalize it! With a MD, I can go back and add songs, modify cue points, add titles, whatever I want or need to do! The ease of editing is so amazing! In fact, I once added some material to make a particular stretch of music longer for one of our Easter Pageant scenes! I dubbed the original music to the MD about 5 or 6 times; edited it to make it fit in this particular slot, and then inserted it into the spot to make this section long enough to accomplish my purpose in this Pageant!
Another time, one of my teen-aged singers was entering into a contest where she could have only a certain amount of time. Her material was longer than that prescribed time slot and she asked me if I could help her. I was able to cut out a section to make the song shorter but kept the integrity of the original song!
I’m sold!”
David Baker Associate Pastor / Worship Ministries Chisholm Heights Baptist Church Mustang, OK
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"As far as when I began with the Minidisc, it was probably at least 9 years ago when I got my first Sony MD player, back when I was a bachelor tech geek, and along with my best friend, there really were not many geek toys we didn't try out.
However, since I got married, my toy allowance got cut back quite a bit so I've been sticking to MP3 players and CD-R portables."
Brendan Vila Frederick, MD
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“ I was in high school, it was about 1991 and i was looking through an Audio magazine that was in my library in school. I saw a format for a thing called Mini Disc technology. I thought to myself, man that looks so cool, a new format you can record on?
Tapes were getting old by this point, but i was still using them. I really wanted an Md player back then, but couldn't afford the $2000.00 they wanted for a home deck. Even the portable was over $700.00. That was way too much.
But i thought to myself, hey the price will come down. Look at the cassettes when they first came out, they were pretty pricey. A few years later, i saw this technology surviving DCC format, and also CD. I couldn't believe it was still around. But still a little too pricey, ( if i was rich, i would have owned one back in 1993).
Anyway, i used to walk around with a Realistic cassette walkman which i loved. It had a 3 band graphic EQ on it, and sounded amazing for a cassette deck. A friend of mine sold me a Fisher CD walkman a few years later which i dropped about 10 times, but still worked great. The only problem with that piece of machinery was that it was an early CD walkman and ate batteries for breakfast, and also skipped like crazy. It had a 10 second shock buffer, but if i used that, i only got about 4 hours of battery life, as opposed to 8 hours without it.
One day, my mom was carrying it out to the car and dropped it, and it finally died. She felt bad and bought me a new one for Christmas. It was a red Sony CD walkman. I used that from 2001 up until this year. I never had a problem with it.
I met this guy at work who used a Mini Disc player. The one day he said, hey Joe, i have a song i want you to hear and pulled out his player, and i thought, omg! A mini disc player!! He said yeah, i like this little machine, and we went on for about 20 minutes about how he liked how user friendly it was and such.
Then, another guy started working at my company and we went over to his house because he had a pair of speakers he wanted to sell me. He said, have you ever heard of Mini Disc players? I said yeah why? He told me that his wife just bought him one. It was a Net-Md.
For awhile, i tried buying it off of him, but he wouldn't part with it, lol. I started looking into getting one. I did all kinds of research on what people were saying about certain model's. Finally, i decided to go with an MZ-NH600D. I love that you can put over 45 hours of music on one disc! I love this thing. It’s the best piece of electronic equipment i ever purchased.
You see, I’ve been listening to Walkmans for over 23 years, and this thing is better and more versatile than anything you could possibly imagine. Before i bought this, i looked into buying an Ipod. But eh, i don’t like the fact that you don’t have removable media. You really can’t beat technology like this. I hope it sticks around because I’m going to buy another player and get a home deck as well.
The reason this technology hasn’t taken off is because Sony markets for crap. If this was my product, i would have made sure that commercials, ads, and poster boards and such told the world about the best format for recording music EVER. All they had to do was say that, drop the price and license it to other's earlier, and they would be sitting pretty right now. Nothing would have been able to compete.
Here’s to hoping this technology sticks around for eternity, because i love it. I’ll be on here buying stuff in the future trust me. I saved your site to my favorites.
Thank you for putting a great site online for people who know audio equipment.”
Joe Bomenka Pennsylvania
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"I first heard about MiniDisc back in 1993 when I started seeing articles about this new digital music format that was going to replace cassettes, and that, according to Sony, you could record and erase on them 'a million times'. My first reaction to this was 'that sounds amazing - got to look into that!' since, with all due respect to the cassette, its days were numbered and the time was right for some digital audio format to replace it. About the same time, this other new audio format called the DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) also came out by Phillips, which we MiniDisc supporters know was supposed to rival MD. From what I remember, DCC supposedly claimed to have higher audio quality (less compression, a 4:1 ratio) than MiniDisc (which had 5:1), but the DCC didn't really have a prayer - good as it was, it was still a cassette format, and in the mind of the mid '90s audio consumer, that was on the way to becoming obsolete. I had thought about the 'MD vs. DCC' debate for some time after hearing about both - knowing I would eventually invest in some new way to record music.
Then in 1995, I got a job in an electronic store, selling audio equipment. At the time the store had a few Sony MiniDisc portables and home MD units, and also carried the Phillips DCC deck. I got to hear the MiniDisc there for the first time - with every listen, my ears could not tell an MD from a CD. All the dissertation about compression rates and that the DCC had better quality went out the window - it make no practical sense to invest in a DCC unit once you took into account everything else - the portability factor, that MD, like CD, was an expandable format (in that down the road, the CD eventually begat the CD-R; with the ever-increasing popularity of MP3's, would hold far more music than when it originally came out, and MD eventually went this route by way of MD-LP and now Hi-MD ... could a cassette hold a candle to this?).
So having worked in the electronic store, I saw first hand that the MiniDisc was going to win the new digital format battle. In the time I was there, about nine months till spring of 1996, MiniDisc wasn't a big seller, moving maybe one or two units a week, but nobody in all that time bought the DCC deck (to be fair, it was the 8-track tape of the 1990's! At least DAT, which never really took off with the general listening public, is still used among the music recording community).
Some time between working at the electronic store and my getting my first MiniDisc units, I started seeing ads on the subway for MiniDisc - "where music is going" -- a woman on roller skates listening to an MD walkman. Also saw an ad somewhere that proclaimed "I can record on a disc! I can record on a disc!" with a very enthralled young guy who really seemed quite elated that, in fact, he could now record on a disc.
I eventually got my first MiniDisc units in 1998 - Sony had a bundle where they sold the MDS-JE330 home recorder/player with the portable MZ-E33 player -- with rebate the whole deal was $250, a great price to get one started with MiniDiscs. Once I put it together and started making copies of my CD collection to MD, I did feel like that guy in the ad ... it was real cool to finally be able to make digital copies of my favorite albums on a disc. To be able to transport them very easily with the MZ-E33 was just as cool. It felt like the second phase of a digital audio era (the first one being of course when CD's first came out -- now we had a convenient way to duplicate them, make mixes of our favorite songs, etc). I even took to the editing function where you can delete entire sections of a track, merge it with another, chop off part of a track and so forth. Sure, you can do this and much more with computer software, but for simplicity and convenience, you can't beat using the MD for basic editing.
The MiniDisc made it possible for me to edit together a 24-minute version of Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". As you Pink Floyd fans know, on the 'Wish You Were Here' album, it comes on 'Parts I - V' then later 'Parts VI - IX' (really a part one and two with section numbering the different movements) ... using a copy of the original WYWH disc plus the version of SOYCD that appears on their compilation 'Echoes', I was able to edit seamlessly where part V and VI would've faded together, had the group decided to fill one side of the original LP with the track. With all the ways Pink Floyd has released this classic, it was never in its full 24-minute glory ... but with some MiniDisc editing and a good ear, you can make one yourself!
I went on to get the MD-LP when it came time to need to bring more music on a disc around (and stave off the desire to get an iPod or any MP3 player) and now am considering getting a Hi-MD unit since I don't yet have one that records live audio. Sure, I've burned many a CD-R in my time, and also went on to get MP3 playback devices, but they've never really done it for me the way MiniDisc has.
Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only one who bought into MiniDisc - very few people I know did and some wonder 'how come in the age of CD-Rs and iPods do you still use MiniDisc?' Well, my Pink Floyd story is one reason, the fact that the MiniDiscs themselves are designed the way they are (protective case around the disc, unlike regular CD's) is another, plus it's always a conversation piece, something to bring up that shows that not everyone is the same, not everyone does what everyone else is doing. Having an iPod today is like wearing jewelry -- many people do it, many people have it, it's more a status symbol and showing off one's social status than a display of intelligence and thought into what you're buying and using -- which is to me what owning MiniDisc is."
Robert Ciccone
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“Well, I'm kind of an audio nut. I first heard of minidisc back in 1993 and saw my first one in a mall in Colorado. I wanted one so bad. Back then they were almost $1,000 just for the portable non-recording one. It was about as big as a stack of about 3 or 4 CD cases. I didn't get on myself until 1998 when the price came down and I finally had the money to get one. I loved it, I had that system until 2004 when it broke. It was my fault that it broke. I took it apart just to see what exactly was inside. I got another one though. Mini-disc is great, you can re-record, move track around to where you want them, etc.
I think the reason MD hasn't taken off here in the States is because we don't like change. Unlike Europeans where they accept and embrace change. When I put a MD deck in my car in 1999 my friends said it reminded them of 8-track. Why I don't know. I love my MD system. I remember also wanting a DCC deck. I was finally able to purchase a used one. Now, comparing the two I'm glad I invested in MD first. It's more user-friendly and compact. I do have a CD recorder which I don't like as much. I've noticed that home burned CD's are very flimsy and the sound quality has a tendency to deteriorate. I never had that problem with MD.
I wonder if the PSP is capable of playing a regular music loaded MD if you transfer the actual disc from the square case to the PSP case. Maybe I'll try it later. For now though I still enjoy using my MD system, especially to record From LP to CD. I just record my LP songs onto MD and then digitally transfer them (via optical cable) to my CD recorder. There's more control that way. On a CD, once you make a mistake you basically have to "scrap" the whole disc and start all over again. Thank goodness for MD. Hope it stays around.”
Daniel Anglada Taos, NM
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“I first heard about minidisc back in '00 when my friend who was going to school in Japan had a portable and a deck in his car. I liked that fact you could record for hours.
I bought one soon after. I had the Sony sports edition (white & orange). It had an input portal, but unfortunately, I lost it.
Now I have a new one. The newer ones don't have the same input, probably because of the Download issues. I used to be able to record from the tv, pc, and anything with an output.”
Sean Scott
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“I went the Minidisc route years ago to cope with an hour's subway ride to and from work in New York City. I'd been using cassettes, but was aware of the MD's potential advantage from the first tentative articles about the technology in Popular Science. Not the hardware -- it hadn't been developed to that degree, and they showed a SONY mockup -- but the idea that I could compile my favorite music on a CD format that'd let me instantly listen to a favorite track without having to stop - rewind - play - check it - rewind - play, and maybe find what I wanted to hear again.
My first was a Sharp, about the size and shape of a Klondike bar, followed by an elegant Aiwa about the size of a deck of cards. And later, a small, similarly-sized SONY that offered the advantage of working with two AA cells on board, rather than with the clip-on AA battery cases used by the others.
Then, somewhere along the way, J&R Music in New York City offered an elegant Aiwa boombox that featured a cassette deck on top with a CD-player and MD recorder side-by side in the lower third of the unit. With a full-size readout and graphic depiction of the tracks as I added them, with time elapsed and time remaining, it quickly became the one I used for recording. I'd happily have bought a back-up unit, but it wasn't long before Aiwa abandoned the MD format entirely.
Anyway, to make a long story intolerable, I bought about 20 of the flip-style jewel boxes a few years back, but quickly learned that they're hard to manipulate with one hand when changing MDs while driving. Both my beautiful Oldsmobile and my equally delightful Honda CRX have tape decks that go backward and forward -- continually. They won't play tapes, so I've modified my armrests and the bottom of my MD players with Velcro and have the best of everything.”
So, since I was going to continue to use the slip cases, I gave the 20 jewel boxes to a nice lady to add to her garage sale (very big here in upstate New York where I now live). Why order new ones from you? To avoid having to describe what it was I gave her last year, asking for them back, and trying to find them in the enormous house where she lives.”
Steve Quinn Leeds, NY
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“My interest in minidiscs I can't exactly explain. I bought my first unit/deck back in late 2000, I think. I wanted something better than CD and better than cassette tapes for my trips to the gym and my walkin' about town. Minidiscs provided a combination of portability and customizability. And the many styles of discs I've gotten from you guys are really attractive! So much so that I hate putting labels on my discs. However, I knew when I bought them that the technology was already obsolete, but I wanted to have some FUN.
Then I got a deck with LP4 mode. That let me record radio programs (Air America's Al Franken Show gets recorded every day around here), something I simply could not do with tape or CD. And then I got a portable with LP4 mode so I could listen to recorded radio shows while I walk.
Now, Hi-MDs allow me to catalogue all of Billy Joel or ELO or Mellencamp, maybe even Elton John, on a single disc. Wow! That's some obsolete technology!!! (The iPod and podcasting now allow anything MDs can do, except the interchangability of physical media, so I still think MDs are doomed, but I am having FUN!!! And I think I've ordered from you guys three times now.)
I live right across the Hudson from New York City. Finding MD stuff, even there, is tough. So you guys are a lifeline to fun Fun FUN!!!”
Mike Engling Hoboken, NJ
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"I went the Minidisc route years ago to cope with an hour's subway ride to and from work in New York City. I'd been using cassettes, but was aware of the MD's potential advantage from the first tentative articles about the technology in Popular Science. Not the hardware -- it hadn't been developed to that degree, and they showed a SONY mockup -- but the idea that I could compile my favorite music on a CD format that'd let me instantly listen to a favorite track without having to stop - rewind - play - check it - rewind - play, and maybe find what I wanted to hear again.
My first was a Sharp, about the size and shape of a Klondike bar, followed by an elegant Aiwa about the size of a deck of cards. And later, a small, similarly-sized SONY that offered the advantage of working with two AA cells on board, rather than with the clip-on AA battery cases used by the others.
Then, somewhere along the way, J&R Music in New York City offered an elegant Aiwa boombox that featured a cassette deck on top with a CD-player and MD recorder side-by side in the lower third of the unit. With a full-size readout and graphic depiction of the tracks as I added them, with time elapsed and time remaining, it quickly became the one I used for recording. I'd happily have bought a back-up unit, but it wasn't long before Aiwa abandoned the MD format entirely.
Anyway, to make a long story intolerable, I bought about 20 of the flip-style jewel boxes a few years back, but quickly learned that they're hard to manipulate with one hand when changing MDs while driving. Both my beautiful Oldsmobile and my equally delightful Honda CRX have tape decks that go backward and forward -- continually. They won't play tapes, so I've modified my armrests and the bottom of my MD players with Velcro and have the best of everything."
S.Q. Leeds, NY
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”Here is my MiniDisc Tale:
I LOVE music. I have to have music on to do much of anything. Music in the morning, on the train, just walking around, at the gym, and at school. I am in college to become a graphic designer (web, print, etc.), and I always need music to help me think.
I have always carried around a Discman and a case of my favorite CD's, but then one day, in a hurry, I forgot my Discman in class. I went back to get it, but it had already been taken. In a panic, I jumped on-line and looked for a new Discman. I was searching for a sale, when I thought about a Portable MP3 Player. They were too overpriced and I didn't like the limit of space on them.
While looking at them, I happened to see a MiniDisc player, but didn't know much about it. I Googled "MiniDisc Players' and 'MiniDisc Access' came up. I browsed the site and saw all the great accessories and all the nice looking discs, and all the time each disc held and decided that I needed to get a MiniDisc player.
I rushed to Best Buy and bought my NetMD (MZ-N420D) for about a hundred bucks. I rushed home, burned a few songs onto my MD player and listened to them. I was amazed at how fast the songs burned onto the player because I have a pretty slow computer. I loved the way the songs sounded.
In my opinion, it sounded better than my Discman ever did. I now take my MD player everywhere and will never go back to a Discman ever again.
I now only have to carry my MD player, a few discs, and thanks to my new case bought from MiniDisc Access, it all literally fits in the palm of my hand.”
Jose Hernandez Alhambra, CA
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“Well, I discovered my MiniDisc player while just browsing the web. I had sold my iPod (I hated it) and was looking for other audio devices. I then discovered Hi-MD MiniDisc. I was pretty amazed! 45 hours of music on something smaller and lighter then a floppy! I was hooked. I just had to have one. So I purchased a Sony MZ-NH600D for myself. It was amazing. Awesome. Words cannot describe it. Right now I am even adding a NOFX CD to it. When I first encoded a song into 48kbps atrac3plus I thought it would sound terrible. But 48kbps atrac3plus sounds like 192kbps MP3! Right now I am almost 13 and plan to get the Sony MZ-RH10 for my birthday (MZ-DH10P has no line input). Overall, I love minidisc!”
Mav Block Age 12
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"I’m a professional musician and long-time MiniDisc user. I currently have two pro units, two consumer models, four Walkman types, and one car MD with CD changer. I’ve been using them almost since they first came out (going on ten years now?) and saw my first one when a gadget-freak buddy of mine showed me the one he had just purchased. I think the MD format was and continues to be one of the, if not “the,” highest quality, most convenient, and most dependable stereo recording format available. That having been said, the MD format is probably entering the last stage of its life cycle as newer technologies, particularly non-mechanical ones, become less expensive and more feature-laden.
Sony has a knack for shooting itself in the foot (or at least some of its products) by hobbling them in the name of copyright protection. Evidently, their intellectual rights are more important to them than the success of products like the MiniDisc. Copyright infringers will continue to infringe regardless of the ease with which they are able to do so. Here are some of my pet peeves about MiniDiscs which I think at least partially contributed to its lack of acceptance in the U.S.:
A bewildering array of features that come and go, seemingly arbitrarily, on successive models.
SCMS – worthless for copyright protection but a great way to piss off owners.
Inability in all but their first ultra-expensive professional models to execute high-speed dubs that include all text labels.
Inability of the NetMD products and SonicStage to add material recorded originally on MiniDisc to the library. Again, no real copyright protection but a big disappointment to owners.
Still, all considered, the MiniDisc format is hardly a dog, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a flexible, high-quality stereo recording format."
Gene Ryan Orlando, Florida
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“My brother is a devotee of MD's too, we both think the technology is superior to iPod's or is it Ipod's? He has a website called "BeforetheIpod", and we both have walkman collections, his more extensive than mine.
http://groups.msn.com/BeforetheIpod/shoebox.msnw?Page=1
Many of the items like the Boodoo Khan--he has a repaired one that works, no sound like it on other walkmans--he has provided some history on; at least of the 16 or so pages, most of it is about his collection, a little space to guitars and photos of him taking apart a Cadillac and putting it back together to install a "new" sound system as the Bose sound system was broken.
My personal interest in Mini-Discs is that I sing/play clarinet so mini-disc recorders with mic offer me an opportunity to record things though so far I've used mainly MD's without mic to copy CD collections. From what I've read, iPod's or Ipod's added microphones, later, but the microphone technology on the MD was better thought out and accomplished with the sensitivity settings and mic settings. Also, consider the fact that compression applications are in fact altering time through digital codes, something Einstein couldn't quite do (time and space). Even though it's mathematical, it's still rather mind boggling.
It seems to me compression is the more advanced technology, though some people may want 60 Gigs for photos; that universality appeals to people, but I am personally more intrigued by mini-discs, sound quality and different settings, and constant improvement. Now one in Japan coming out (not the one with Hi-MD and camera) that copies a CD in 40 seconds (Hi-MD) on E-Bay. Problem is Sony tends to be expensive (now can get an equivalent Hi-MD with Mic for $170 on mysony.com with points; I spent too much money on a NH-1) and as soon as you spend your money, there is a better one! I'm not in a full-time job now, so my hobby may have to resume when I have dollars coming in.”
Beth Hanson Chicago, IL
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“Well, my story began in 2000 and it was an easy decision to make. When I used cassette, be it for the car or for portable means, I always splashed out a bit on good equipment including tapes as well. Going portable was okay, but the music library is just too big to carry around and that includes in the car, as well.
So, my first buy was the MZ-R55 and I still use it. But, I did treat myself to a MDS-JA20ES deck in a lovely champagne finish and personally what a machine. Flexibility, well I love it and why? Well, for me it’s simple. I can make recordings in the digital domain by matching word lengths on input and output whether it is 16,18,20,or 24-bit. So, now, thanks to my Meridian 518 with the 568, I can experiment by making recordings now that I could not make before. Playing back the recordings and comparing them whether it is using the Meridian 24-bit deck or the Sony minidisc deck just makes the whole experience educational. If I am honest, I did have my reservations about using compression formats but this ATRAC Type-R on my machine does produce recordings which are hard to distinguish from the original CD.
Some audiophiles may think I need to refresh my head if I was to say that listening to recordings made from this machine sounds as though I am playing the original source. Of course, this whole matter is purely subjective, but I am slowly beginning to make new recordings of my music inventory and trying to achieve 20-bit resolution recordings with which the 518 digital audio processor which comes into its own.
Every other feature this deck has speaks for itself and if I was pedantic I could find fault with some things about this deck but on balance it has more plus points than minus points and it’s reassuring to know that I bought a good machine as with my other equipment.”
Michael A McNamara Manchester England
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“I became interested in MD when I was 18 after I had seen the power of my mate’s portable device. I thought back then that the sound quality was superior to cd's even if that isn’t actually accurate! I liked how tracks could be cut up and manipulated so easily, so I decided to buy a portable Sony device and a Hi-Fi from JVC. I quickly copied all the cds I had to MD and listening to them on a portable device which was so small was brilliant.
Recently I saw the new Hi-MD and thought it was brilliant. The guy I bought my laptop from in the Sony shop recommended them over the Sony iPod-type device. I thought they looked more sleek, so I bought the MZ-NH1 with the fancy remote. It was more expensive than the iPod but I think the sound quality kicks ass and would recommend it to anyone!
Basically I can't understand why the MD's haven't taken off to the extent that the iPods have and to a greater extent what Walkmen did back in the day. All I know is that I am very happy with MD and I will be sure to purchase again, when I get back to England in a couple of months because I can't carry anything else back.”
Rich King Whistler B.C Canada
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“Dinosaur Days
We must program the time machine to 45 rpm and go back, back into time. This is a very good place to start, we come across a beautiful cave girl performing ritual dances, and generally ROCKIN' out in a cave. She is supposed to be cleaning the cave, but every 2 to 3 minutes, she has to stop and put another record with the big whole in the middle on the single play turntable. She performs this ritual for years, because she loves the little record with the big hole in the middle.
Then one day she meets a handsome hunk with a cassette deck in his "VW Bug" (Ancient Mode of Transportation). She falls in love with the cassette deck, it is the answer to all her prayers. She records all her 45's to cassette tapes, and now she has her own cave, with an awesome sound system by Sony.
But "Beautiful Cave Girl," is still not happy. The primitive cassette deck in the equally primitive car eats tapes and jams up the cassette player. Cave girl has to pull out a thousand yards of tape, and throw cassette and tape out of Donkey Cart window. Tapes jam up in the portable player, and tapes jam and unravel in the audio system back at the cave. Cave girl gets so frustrated she takes the bone from her hair and beats all the cassette players into total extinction. She throws all the components into the Brea Tar Pits, with all the other dinosaurs that have become extinct.
But while she is in Los Angeles, she goes into Best Buy and they have a Minidisc Recording Deck and a cool portable player, all packaged together. She has to have it, so since this is 1997, she flashes the plastic and takes it home.
I was hiking and bike riding with my tunes long before MP3. This addition to my sound system launched me into the audio future. After 8 years, this deck and my portable are still going strong. I bought a second portable, a Sony S2 recorder/player, so I could try out putting even more songs on a minidisc with the new recording format and using my computer.
I just love minidisc. I have put hundreds of 45 rpm recordings onto minidisc, and have thousands more to go. I am a 45-rpm record collector, and this format will preserve my collection of music a lot longer than any other format. I can upload my music from my mini disc collection into my computer, and even burn a quick CD for the car. I keep my record collection in mint condition, in my record room, but I can play all the songs over and over on minidisc. I buy tunes off the internet and load them onto my minidisc. It’s just as easy as loading my MP3 player, but I like the minidisc for permanent storage.
Cave Girl still dances and ROCKs OUT around the house, but the music flows steady from dawn to dusk on minidisc. LOL”
Linda Taylor Adelanto, CA
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“I have always had an interest in Hi-Fi audio beginning with stereo records. Over the years I've collected 200 + vinyl albums to play on our stereo system.
When I got into CD's, Hi Def TV's, & Surround sound I put together a Home Theater System that included a Sony CD - MD recorder/player. This seemed a perfect way to get rid of the boxes of records & create a neat, very compact method of saving everything to minidiscs.
I recently bought a portable minidisc unit (MZ-N510 ck) so that I now can record from CD's, Analog (records), & digital sources and play music while I jog, workout or drive. Thanks to MiniDisc Access I found a superb method of storing all of those minidiscs."
Art Logan Vista, CA
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“I first became aware of the minidisc player when I was working on the Pacific Princess. I was trying to cut into a large wheel of brie and the knife was getting stuck on something. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Italian waiter approaching to tell me to "get the hell away from the buffet table" for the third time but I was determined to cut through this uncooperative French cheesy comestible. Frustrated, I scooped the entire wheel onto a plate and took it to a corner table where I could have my way with it. To my surprise, the reason the knife would not penetrate the brie was that there was a large foreign object baked right inside. With my hands, I pulled apart the cheese and found a Sony minidisc player. I was hooked! But this was 1984, and although I had a minidisc player, the discs were not commercially available until around 1991, which was actually a good thing because it took me 7 years to clean the cheese out of the damn thing, but it works terrific and the smell has all but gone away. Thanks”
Michael Fic
Kelowna Canada
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"Well...(thinks back on when he first came across the minidisc) it was back in 6th grade (2001) when our class had a 3-4 day field trip and the first night we where in our camps and one of my friends had a minidisc. At the time I didn't think much of it, but it always stuck in my mind.
Christmas of 2002 I got a "RCA k@zoo" 64mb mp3 player, great player able to hold a good 2 hours of music, at first I didn't have that many Cd's so didn't listen to it much.
Freshmen Year I started taking it to school, and have carried it around listening to music to this day. During this summer my mp3 player broke and I sent it back to RCA. I got it back a month later. Although, it wasn’t completely repaired, I was fine with that. Christmas came around again and when my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I thought a new portable player would be nice.
Remembering my friend had a minidisc player, I asked him what he thought of it. Because he told me that the minidisc had great music quality and long battery life, I looked into minidisc some more. It came down to a 512mb mp3 player or a minidisc player. I picked the minidisc for its compact size, 5 hours of storage on a disc, long battery life (50+ hrs ^_^), and easily removable storage. I was able to get a Sony MZ-420D for only $80 (1/2 the price of the mp3) and a great deal on a 10 pack of discs ($15).
…and thats how I got into Minidisc."
Ry Haynes Loomis, CA
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“I first became acquainted with the minidisc format when the school at which I work decided to build a new theater in 1998. The sound designer on the project specified two minidisc units for the facility, one a player and the other a player/recorder. We use the decks for recording sound cues in order to replay them in a proper order without having to worry about constantly changing CD's.
Running a theatrical production can get hectic, but it is nearly impossible to make an error with this format. We like the convenience of the re-usable small discs and the ability to easily label each cue.”
Wayne Rasmussen New Jersey
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“The year was 1992 and I lived in Madison, WI. I went into a large electronics’ store and saw a display with a portable Sony recorder behind a plastic casing. It was very bulky as a portable unit but much smaller than a deck unit. It also weighed more than 5 pounds, which is quite heavy for a portable. I listened through headphones and was very excited. I thought to myself, you mean for a small investment of $ 799 and $15 each or a blank disc, I can digitally record my own MDs and listen to only the tracks I want to hear.
This was exciting to me. I purchased the unit and later a second one, but it was under the Aiwa name, but yet the same recorder. Six months later came the first Sony deck unit, it was a mini-system unit, not a full size deck, and the price had dropped 20%....WOW.
Why do I think MD is the best? I like to quick access to each track. I like the ease of recording and the extensive editing. It is more intimate than working with CD. You can erase tracks at any time or move them around. You can even do editing of a track. It is an amazing format. You can put in titles to each disc and track.
Over the years I have left the format for CD recording, I am very concerned about the format as the availability of a good deck unit are getting harder to find and Sony is the only maker still supporting the format. I am afraid it will soon go the way of beta. Sony did the same thing with MD as they did with Beta.
When it first hit the market, they kept the price prohibitively high and refused to allow other makers to share in the format and kept supplies low. This is a marketing plan to sink a product. When they finally released it to other manufacturers, CD recorders had already filled the market and at about the same price, MD was dead as a major medium. Sony did not play these games abroad, only in the US. Even now the games continue as the only deck unit available is almost impossible to get."
Bill Walter
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“I first came in contact with an MD when one of my friends in 6th grade had it.....I didn't know much at the time because back then CD burning was still really expensive to do (with CD burners running around $400) so fast-forward a few years...since 7th grade I have been burning CDs...and although I don’t have that many of them....i ended up having to buy a 72 cd binder because I had burned so many game backups and whatnot....so this year (2004) I decided "What the hey? I might as well get a better player.....mp3 or minidisc." So me n my dad walk on over to the store...and I see that the MP3 Players are only 128 megabytes...and with me being a computer wizz....I know that that can only fit about 32 4 megabyte MP3's at one time....so I see this MZ-NE410 sony walkman...it catches my eye..the price gets me....i find a REALLY great deal on a pack of 10 minidiscs....and as soon as i step in the house i rip open the package (and become frustrated with error messages from sonicstage and what not) and after solving the error issues w/ the software....I enjoy burning close to 80 songs on one minidisc! I take my minidisc to school...outside...the store..wherever i go! and i now learned that my cd carrying case can double to carry my minidiscs (though i DOUBT that i will EVER have enough music to fill up 10, much less 72)
So thats my story! I love minidisc, though I don’t plan on buyin 10 more players like most people do....but I am looking into the car adapter....and Minidisc access...I got my eye on you ;)”
Kadar (Prounounced Carter) Anwar Age 15 Woodbridge,VA,USA
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”I first learned of the minidisk format on your web site. I had done a Google search on replacement headphone pads and your site was one of several that came up. Of all the sites I visited, yours was the only one with "generic" ear pads of various sizes that would work with any headset. My particular headset is a Sony MDR-84. Sony no longer makes replacement ear pads for this model, so your site was most welcome. The pads fit and I'm using the headphones again.”
Ron Kelley Chatsworth, CA
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“I've got a laundry list of reasons for having an MD player. My deck got stolen out of my car a few years ago, along with all of my cds. After that, I bought a steel cd case for my cds because any case is so bulky that it often ends up getting tossed into a backpack, or left in the floorboard of my car. I figured the giant, steel monstrosity was the best way to protect my cds from getting damaged and it would be more difficult to make off with. How wrong I was... Those plastic sleeves for cd storage, if you take the cds out of them often enough, end up scratching the cds over time.
In addition, I don't have a stereo in the house. My laptop has been my stereo system ever since my kids were small because I haven't had time to research or the cash to put into a nice rack system. Maybe once they go off to college... until then I need a better way to store my music, and a better way to listen to it.
After years of trying to make the cd format work for me, I'd had enough. So... my friend told me about MD players. She's carried one for years, and I've seen the players all over the place, I even saw an MD player with minidiscs scattered all over the counter in the end credits of one of my favorite anime series (It's "Noir" for any of you anime fans out there).
I took a long look at them. Less expensive than mp3 players with comparable storage, great sound quality, they don't skip, minidiscs are hard to damage... and best of all, it's totally portable. I can shove my MD player in my pocket while I'm walking the dog or doing other things. When I'm not using it, my MD player can ride around comfortably in a backpack or my purse, without being an unintentional weapon for use against innocent passers by and I don't have to worry about it getting stolen out of my car, because it's always on me.
That's my story :-)”
Stacy Spokane, WA
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“I initially became familiar with the MD format in 1996, while serving in the Army in S. Korea. As we all know technology in Asia is usually leaps and bounds ahead of the US so when I saw this and what it could do I was interested...but not hooked.
Enter 2000 when I leave the military to join Corporate America. I traveled quite a bit for business and pleasure and hated hauling around all of my cd's in an effort to ignore the inane chatter of other travelers. Finally, after three years of doing this, in 2003 I break down and buy the Sony ME-410, since I love Sony products, and take it on vacation with me. Naturally, everyone was curious and I was constantly engaged in impromptu MD lessons. I was hooked! Sold that one to my best friend due to the fact that I needed an AC adapter for recording and I really wanted a remote. I commute to work via train and carrying the player in my hand or pocket is hardly practical. I buy the MZ-NF610. I like it, I love it, I want more of it make it... Oops I was having an Army flashback.
I love the MD format for its size, portability and durability. I initially was bothered by the fact that there was not a readily available supply of product in local retail locations. I'm over that now that I've found this and other sites that cater to MD lovers.
I believe that it hasn't taken off well in America primarily due to marketing or rather lack thereof. I think it also hasn't taken off because Americans are fascinated with the Bigger is Better concept. Cars, phones, etc. The phones in Asia are way smaller... Now that people are coming to appreciate the importance of portability, size does matter in this particular instance, they like the format. Not to mention the clarity of sound and the re-recordability. Who knew? Although I think proving Sony's '1 million times' is going to be daunting since most folks just buy more discs it will be great fun trying all while educating others about the format. Thereby, Hopefully, drumming up more business for the industry and more products for us users.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!”
Kimberly Goode Bristol, CT
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“As a musician, I have always loved recording performances and rehearsals. Listening to these recordings is the best way by far to improve and mature musically, because you can hear what works and what doesn't from a listener's perspective.
I had always heard that the minidisc format was not good because it used digital compression on the audio signal. However, when I finally heard a MD recorder from a friend, I found the sound to be incredible! Much better, and easier, than the DAT machine I had bought a few years ago. The editing features were amazing. For instance, I could easily edit different parts from several takes of a song and have one "perfect" take of a song.
The MiniDisc Access web site seemed to be tailored towards musicians (carrying hard-to-find MD models with external mic inputs). When I called, Phil was very friendly on the phone, and assured me that he hand-checked each machine before selling it. I was thrilled to spend my money with MD Access rather than buying from a huge corporation such as Best Buy or Circuit City. Thanks.”
Doug Largent Brooklyn, NY
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“I first became involved with the MD format two Christmases ago when my significant other bought me a player. Loved the format and the compact design. I’m actually thinking of getting an MD player for my car stereo system as well.”
Katherine Prioli Philadelphia, PA
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“I was a converted skeptic. When I first listened to A-B tests laid on by Sony dealers (that was in Paris), I knew I could hear a difference. That virtually ruled the format out for serious music (and really still does - I don't use it for classical music very much, where top quality has to be the prime consideration for me). The only classical music that really passed muster was prerecorded discs, but there was a marketing error there - at least in Europe. They cost more than the equivalent CDs, and could not actually be considered as good, with so much of the sound taken out - and of course everybody had CD players already. Some of the CD players cost thousands, and were bound to sound better even had other things been equal.
I did get some Naxos classical recordings, though, which were excellent and reasonably priced. However, this stupid marketing error did, I believe, virtually eliminate the prerecorded MD market, and may, I believe, contribute to the eventual demise of the format.
I could say, however, that although I also own an Ipod, the comments about quality apply even more to mp3 format. I doubt if anybody seriously considers mp3 a serious competitor to MD where quality is concerned, but it is just so convenient to have music as compressed as that, especially for portability and Internet transfer.
Anyhow, I bought my first MD in about 1998, when the really small recorders arrived, and have not regretted it. I used to do a great deal of travelling (that is the English spelling!), for which it was ideal, although good speakers were always a problem - but headphones were an alternative, although even there, bigger is still better.
I then got lazy and got a new CD player with built in MD, which made copying very easy, also got a proper Titler for even greater ease of use.
I don't believe that I have ever copied any music to MD that was not either my own or my family's - it was really just a convenience thing, to make life on the move more enjoyable, whether abroad or just walking the dogs in the UK.
By the way, I was very unhappy when working for a period in Egypt to find that the Sony guarantee was no longer world wide, and they did not want to know anything about it when something went wrong there. That is a really backward step for them - I have been buying Sony products since 1962, and the guarantee was always worldwide.
Anyhow, despite the advent of the usurper mp3, I always find myself listening to MD if both are available to me and if CD is impractical, although it's a little more work and more difficult to have such a range of music available on the move.
MiniDisc: A really good invention, worthy of the Sony name.
What do I want next? - A hard disc recorder that caters for CD, MD and mp3 - oh, and don't forget to make it affordable!”
George Duncan Newbury, Berkshire England
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“I've been involved in music for over 15 years as a guitarist. A particular recording that sparked my quest for capturing the live sound was Peter Frampton's double live album. I can still recall racing around Six Flags over Georgia when i was a kid and hearing "do you feel like i do" over the loudspeakers. But really until now, most of my attempts to record "live" have been through a line from the mixing board. This never works well, though, because the mix going to the PA just isn't the mix you want to here on tape. Until now i haven't been able to afford alternative methods. This is my second md recorder. My first was a Sony and it lasted about 18 months. This time I'm trying the sharp dr7 which seems to be better set up for live recording. I love the quality of the recording, the fact that it's digital, the long battery life, the rechargeable battery, the removable inexpensive media, the compact size, and, of course, the "cool" factor. very handy. :)”
David Milligan Augusta, GA
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“i came across the minidisc format back at Iowa State University. One of my friends had a sony md player and i just thought it was a neat format; small, rugged, different. i dunno, it caught my eye. so i found one i liked and got it. thats about it.”
SPC Chris VonAhnen Baghdad, Iraq
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“My wife and I are really newbies. We use a Sony MZ-NF610 player/recorder, which we decided was an excellent way to exercise/jog with our favorite jams piped in via an MD in an armband case. So far, so good.
We are an active ‘middle aged’ couple, who prefers recording our favorite Classic Rock/R&B/70's Disco tunes on MDs from our large CD collection using our massive home Stereo/AV system. Also, we use the Sony audio compression software through our personal computers' CD drives to give us HOURS of music on a single 74/80 min. minidisk...so cool.
My wife is an attorney, and mostly hogs the MD since she runs/jogs miles every day. I’m a retired Air Force officer, who now works as a civilian program manager for the U.S. Air Force and get to use the MD whenever I can drag my skinny old butt onto the treadmill for a workout.
As an experienced (primarily) electronics and computer system technician, I have always been deeply into the latest technology, especially audio, video, and (for the past 15 years) computer systems. I've owned, built, repaired and generally monkeyed around with everything from 8-track stereo, quadraphonic systems, and reel-to-reel systems to Sony Beta video and early Commodore 64 PCs.
And, yet, I consider MiniDisk to be one of the most innovative, simplistic, and truly rewarding technologies I've yet encountered. Just the capabilities of MD alone, along with the miniaturization of highly portable, high definition/digitized audio blows my mind. What else can I say?”
Chuck Petito U.S. Air Force Oklahoma City
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"It all started in a favorite used record/musical instrument store, Rustic Music at 13th and Pine. A part-time employee, full-time local treasure named Bernie introduced me to his new Sony MZ-R700. On that well-built metallic blue mite he had half the Beatles catalogue! A revolution akin to the advent of the transistor radio!
I just happened to be flush with cash at the time, and I was keen to take a bit of good advice from Bernie for once, since I regularly gave him reason to doubt my sanity in searching out numerous easy and sleazy listening versions of 60’s rock. (It’s what one refers to as a "Spirit of '66er" --see the cartoon on the wall at Rustic of the guy collecting 40 versions of "Wooly Bully"). So, I went right out and bought one of those little blue mites for myself!
*****
My first and last digital audio device had been a Sony CD player purchased in 1986 that provided no more than six years of service. And, this from a kid in high school who had no business paying $350 for it in the first place in 1986. To hasten its demise, I soon after bought an AR turntable and a Shure V15-IV cartridge in 1988. I don't remember listening to CDs much after that. Certainly not enjoying them unless played through an old, tube-circuit floor radio. Luckily, this was when new releases were still available on vinyl in the US. LPs played on my AR blew "digital audio" away, and new LP’s were half the price of a CD! In some cases, vinyl re-issues of the basic modern jazz repertoire were one-third the price of a CD-- and sounded better than their digital counterparts.
Once college began aggressively limiting my funds, new CDs were completely out of the picture... even new LPs. At least in a college town with two great record stores, you could find a vast selection of material on vinyl, new and used, that stodgy large record companies and "audiophiles" could only dream of getting on CD. "The Beatles For Sale," in stereo, is one good example to this day.
After school, I became a dedicated "digger" for the odd, obscure and sought after (and better left forgotten) vinyl, much of it never to be put onto CD. Fifty cents... one dollar... two dollars... a dime... twenty-five cents. And so it went for ten plus years. I've been more than content to keep out of the big brand name record stores, confirmed in finding new vinyl releases of new and old material remaining strong to this day. Perhaps vinyl will outlast the CD?
*****
So, imagine how good the Sony MZ-R700 had to be for me to buy another Sony product and re-enter the digital realm?
The build quality is jewel-like, yet tank-like. Well laid-out controls. Faithful reproduction. The original rechargeable battery is about to approach a third year of service. You don't even have to take it out of the recorder to recharge! Recording isn't even limited to old crusty vinyl, by any means. The computer, or a pair of stereo lavaliere mics, with a tiny pre-amp/EQ no larger than two 9 volt batteries can faithfully record your buddies band with the too loud drummer.
The remote control gave out inside the recorder (not in the cord, as you'd suspect), but why did it need a wired remote in the first place? On the whole, it couldn't be more convenient. You can gather six or eight classic 1960's LPs in less-than-pristine states of preservation, likely purchased for $2 to $5 (or even less with a bit more looking), give them a good cleaning, and get a $2.00 blank MD. Then, for between $20-$45 bucks, you'll have the most convenient (and cool) medium that would have cost no less than $70-$100 in bulky, hard-to-handle CDs. And still have the LPs to treasure, or give away to a needful soul wanting some righteous tunes.
Or, if you're paranoid, you're certain to recognize the overwhelming simplicity in the mechanics of vinyl reproduction compared to any medium since, coupled with the highest fidelity vinyl can bring to life, and you’ll clutch at those records for dear life!!!"
Gary Eichelberger Philadelphia, PA
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“It all started back in the 2002-2003 school year. One of my friends was a big digital music person (used the free download sites, before they were shutdown) and had purchased one. I was interested in the player, but never really thought about it much.
Once I started driving, I wanted some music other than the radio, so I used my portable CD player. It worked great, but the battery life was horrible and it would always skip if it didn't sit just right. So I started looking for something different. That's when I remembered about the MD.
I had thought about getting an MP3 player but you have to have a computer to switch out songs or a bunch of the expensive memory cards. So I went with the MD. It was probably one of my best decisions. I got the Sony MZ-N510CK just a few months ago. The car kit is great. It has the car remote so you can keep your eye on the road (unlike most CD players). Plus, I have dropped it a few times (luckily on carpet) and it still didn't miss a beat.
I think the main reason that they haven't been a big hit, is because you have to re-record your whole collection onto the discs. Which most people don’t care to do. CDs are there and ready. I don't know about you, but I think the wait to record is well worth the benefits of these great devices. They should see what would happen if they replaced the actual Mini disc CD with a Mini disc DVD! Think about that. There might possibly be over 10 hours on one disc.“
Ralf Meyer Flora Vista, NM
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“I first found out about Sony Mini disc technology approximately four years ago. I purchased a used SUV that had a Sony MD player in dash / 10 disc controller. For the longest time I went from store to store, even on the Internet, trying to purchase Minidiscs to play in my car stereo. After a month or two of searching, I gave up, and only used the CD and radio function. Then one day a friend of mine was riding in my car and asked me why I don't use the Minidisc player? I told him I could not find anyone who sold Minidiscs. After laughing for twenty minutes, he told me I had to buy an MD player and make my own. That was the day I went out and purchased the MZ-R70. As for why it has not taken off in the USA, I suspect that it was not marketed enough. Perhaps Sony figured that those people who would want to use it most will find this type of format naturally, and that the average consumer would not be swayed from burning cds. I used to burn CDs, but rarely do anymore. Frankly, if I had learned about the MD technology before I purchased my SUV, I doubt I would have went out and bought an MD player. But now, I find that the MD player is far superior for my needs. It is smaller, NEVER skips, disks are re-recordable (if that is an actual word) and I swear the battery lasts longer than my portable cd player...Now if they could only make my model record faster.”
Johnny Walker Black
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“I first heard about MiniDisc back in about 1991 or so when I read about it in an Audio Equipment magazine as the latest upcoming technology from Sony. I fell in love with the concept right then, and was cheering for MD to win out over Philips' Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), which it ultimately did (though I actually saw a few blank DCCs at London Drugs a few months ago!) I was frustrated that for the longest time you could only get portable walkman-type recorders rather than conventional component decks. Once those came available in Canada in the late 1990s, I jumped aboard. Decks now appear to be gone again in Canada with the exception of rack-mount pro gear units for radio and TV, but my Pioneer deck is still going strong. . As for why it's not taking off in North America, I suspect the real problem is that Sony hasn't been advertising properly. If they had run a TV ad campaign that pushed MD as the replacement for Cassette Tape, which it really is, alot more people would have appreciated the value of the medium earlier on. I always point out to people that where CD was the digital replacement for LPs, MD is the digital replacement for Tape. . I can't stop laughing at how MD has been taking off as a medium for MP3. In the early 90s, audio magazines were continually trashing MiniDisc, complaining about how ATRAC was a lossy compression algorithm, so why would anyone want to use it (they never pointed out that CDs are also lossy when compared to today's SACD or DVD-Audio). Now we have MDs being used to record files encoded in a lossy compression algorithm that is SO lossy, you can really hear the difference from the original - MP3s always have a slight but distinct glassy, tinny sound to them I find. However, I've never been able to tell the difference between a track recorded to MD from CD and the original CD.”
Chris Vancouver, BC Canada
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“I got my first minidisc in a Rolling Stone magazine in 1994 (still have it too! plays great!). No way to play it, no place within 100 miles that had a MD player - but, it informed me on the sleeve, I COULD BE A WINNER! Of course, I didn't find out until 1996, when I bought my first MD recorder, that I was a loser. No loss there. However, the MD recorder I bought was a display model from Best Buy and after 2 days of almost constant operation, it just stopped working. I brought it back, and they could not fix it, but suggested a local factory store - who were also unable to fix it, accusing me of dropping it! After 2 years without, I got a bundle (player & home deck) and got started up again. I still have both and they run great, though I have upgraded to two new "road dogs" - MZ-N410 and MZ-N510. They do a great job for the car, though I noticed the line out really didn't have a lot of gain - I'd have to max out the volume on the MD and even then had to go 40%-50% of the car deck's power to get decent sound. I found a headphone amplifier (the Boostaroo! www.boostaroo.com) that would boost the gain so I could use normal radio power, not to mention save my MD's battery power. Now I face the daunting task of transferring old archived tape to MD - and seeing how much of my beloved mid 80's tape collection survived.”
Steven Darchuk Minneapolis, MN
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“I CAME TO USE MINIDISC IN A SPECIAL WAY. I HAVE BEEN SINGING SOUTHERN GOSPEL MUSIC ABOUT THREE YEARS AND UNTIL LAST YEAR I WAS USING CASSETTE TAPE SOUNDTRACKS FOR MY MUSIC NEEDS. I MET SOME OTHER SINGERS WHO INTRODUCED ME TO MINIDISC. I FOUND OUT THAT THERE ARE MANY SINGERS LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE USING MINIDISC IN THEIR MINISTRIES. THERE ARE MANY PROFESSIONAL GOSPEL GROUPS, AS WELL, THAT STILL USE MINIDISC. I, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE THAT CONTINUE TO ENJOY THE VERSATILITY OF MINIDISC, NEVER WANT IT TO GO AWAY. THANKS.”
GARY JOHNSON NEWNAN, GA
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“My wife got me the Sony sports model last year for christmas. Its great, much better than an MP3 player in my opinion. Battery life in incredible. Thats it.”
Mike Hulin San Antonio, TX
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“I bought my first MD in a bundle (home/portable/and two disc) back in 1997. It is all of the best. It's the most compact of the recording devices. No worries about fingerprints or scratches, and has the easy music access of CDs. PLUS, the editing features during recording are matched by no other. Of course, all of us MD users already know these things.
HERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW!!!!! Sony has a video MD recorder. DCM-M1. It will record 10min. of video, or over 4000 pictures, and, of course, it fits in the palm of your hand. It has all of the editing features you would expect from an MD. If you dig (hard), you can find them on Ebay. I went to the Sony website, though, and couldn’t find them there. I don't believe that they are selling them in the States. We just don't seem to get it. Well, at least a few of us do.”
Troy
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“A few years ago I was looking for something other than cassette tapes to record my school music groups. A friend of mine had a multi-track digital recording device, and when I was in a music store doing some follow up research, one of the sales people asked me if I had heard of mini discs. Of course I hadn't, and he told me about them. I was still a little skeptical, but I politely listened and then turned my thoughts to other ideas.
A few weeks later I was browsing through a 'Good Guys' store and saw a minidisc recorder on sale. There was some promotional literature to read and it really seemed promising. I bought it, took it home and have been hooked ever since. I regularly record my groups, and this was SO easy. I bought a MD player for my rehearsal room, and then one for my office, and then another for my home and still another small portable to record concerts in the gym.
CD recordables are nice, but they're nowhere near as convenient or easy to work with. I only wish MDs would catch on better, because they are truly based on a superior technology.”
Ray Dietz East Wenatchee, WA
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“Hey All, It all began in late 2002....I bought my first minidisc player at BestBuy. I saved up for the longest time to get the MZ-NE410. I am a 16 year old BMX rider and I needed something light, something that DIDN'T SKIP, and something that held a lot of music, and this was the way to go.
I recently visited relatives in Japan over the summer and I saw that almost every person has an MD player in Japan... I was stoked! I went all out and purchased an MZ-N910. I now can get hooked up because I have relatives and they said it would be a good idea to let them help me out since the MD's that come to the U.S. are made in Malaysia, whereas the ones that are in Japan, are manufactured in Japan so its better quality.
I'm still biking and still going strong...I have purchased the N10 and E500 and a home recording deck MXD-D4 since my trip this summer! The thing I would like to see in the future would be that the minidisc will replace the CD! I am striving to convert all my friends to this hidden technology...its going to be a minidisc revolution!
God Bless to all the fans of the MINIDISC!”
Chris Hiramatsu Santa Maria, CA
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"I BEGAN USING THE MINIDISC JAN 1ST 2000. I OWN 2 RECORDERS 1 IS THE SONY MDS JE510 THAT I USE IN MY HOME AND WHEN IM ON THE ROAD WORKING AIRSHOWS I RECORD THE SOUNDS IN STEREO WITH MY MZ-R37 SILVER POCKET MINIDISC RECORDER. PLUS I RECORD THE RADIO STATIONS WHEN I'M OUT OF TOWN. I SAY THE MINI DISC IS 100 PERSENT BETTER THAN REGULAR CASSETTE TAPE. GREAT FOR RECORDING THUNDER STORMS."
ELLIOTT ALPER LOS ANGELES, CALIF
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“I became involved with mini discs from a friend I work with. He's very heavy into quality music -- both playing and listening -- and was looking for something he could carry to work and still keep the same high quality of listening as a CD. When I was trying to find something similar, he suggested I go this direction and I bought my first minidisc on eBay with his help, and have been thoroughly happy ever since.
Love the fact you can get 3 CDs on one minidisc ... or more for a little less quality ... and that I can throw a disc or two, with my player, into my backpack for work or travel. And, with this last order, I now have the cassette converter for use in my car and I'm really tickled about that. I have virtually my whole CD library on minidisc now and occasionally copy friends to get additional. They're great.”
Claudia Kent, WA
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“To be honest, I don't remember how I first heard of minidiscs. More than likely, it was during my frequent explorations of the internet. I do know that, at the time, I was looking for a way to preserve a large collection of home and pre-recorded cassettes, as well as an equally large LP collection. Discovering the minidisc format was like a revelation to me.
I went to my local Best Buy (they actually stocked MD gear in those days!) and bought a Sony MDS-JE330 deck, which came with a portable player and 5 blanks. I took it home, hooked it up, and got busy with the music collection. I now have most of my LPs and cassettes transferred & preserved on MDs and I love that they take up way less room in this format. I have archived family recordings as well, and it's good to know that my late Dad's sense of humor is forever preserved in this portable digital format.
Why hasn't MD caught on here, when it's all the rage in Europe and Japan? For some reason Sony's just dropped the ball when it comes to marketing MD here in the States and I don't understand why. You'd think they’d want their baby to succeed here as well. I've seen some TV commercials recently, but they are few and far between. In any event, I am giving the MD format a ringing endorsement and I highly recommend it to anyone who asks me about it. Long live Minidisc!”
Phil Vera
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“While on a Military trip to Australia in 1999, I was introduced to minidiscs and have been "hooked" ever since! Initially, I recorded about 500 c.d.'s that I already owned and used for doing d.j. work. Since then, I have added over 500 more to my collection.
I am convinced that they are the world's best medium for recording as, I put them in flip cases, print a ¼" label to identify the album or nature of the recording then, when I put a minidisc in a playback machine (don't buy anything but Sony) it is so easy to cue to a song and have it play instantly! At the drag strip, I have recorded sounds of top fuel and alcohol cars and the sound is incredible! I have taken cassette tapes of my "late" Mother and step-Father and divided each recording into multiple tracks and labeled each according to subject.
One of my favorite projects was, recording the L.P.'s of Cruisin' 1955-1969 and combining them with the contents of the same c.d. collection. There were different tracks on the albums and c.d.'s so, I have a comprehensive collection of both. Then, instead of having about 12-15 tracks as on the c.d., I divided every song and commercial so each can be cued in an instant, which is especially neat when doing car shows.
When I go to other countries, I take my recorder and have gotten some real masterpieces! During the last war effort, I found a computer that had 1000's of songs of many genre's and with only a ¼" pin stereo wire, I was able to copy as many as I had time to copy. With the purchase of a portable c.d. player, I was able to copy several c.d.'s of several G.I. friends.
There really is no end to the versatility of a minidisk. Try it, you'll get hooked too!”
George Salt Lake City
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“I was in Comp-Tech class listening to my old Sony CD player when it decided to just stop! I put in fresh batteries but it still wouldn't work! I then went to Sony.com to see if they had any cool new CD players when I saw that they had something called a MiniDisc.
I checked it out and found out how cool MDs were, till I saw the price. I was still only in High School with no job in sight. I then explained my problem to my friend in High School, a local audio guru (1 mp3 player, 3 MD players, 3 CD players and 2 iPods) and he told me that the best solution to my problem was an MD! He traded an older MD recorder (MZ-R37, I think....) for my Dad's old broken Palm VII (he also loves to fix up things) and it was awesome!
I could now record my notes directly from the teacher's mouth and write them out at my leisure later! I was doing this for about a month when I saw my friend with his MD recorder and realized what I had been missing out on! I then went and sold my old MD on EBay (Thank God for EBay) and bought a MZ-N505! It is totally awesome because i can now store up to 5 hrs on one disc which means I won't have to carry a big CD case, adding to my backpack load (its already up to 25 lbs), and I am able to just burn songs right on MDs!!! THANK YOU SONY FOR THE MD!!!!”
Jonathan Marinaro
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“...I started using MiniDiscs because they were digital and re-recordable and it was the new technology from Sony at the time (and Sony usually rocks!) My brother is actually the one who turned me on to them.”
Greg Phoenix, AZ
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“I started using MD several years ago in my home studio, as a mastering and archiving tool. It's the fastest and most direct way to capture and preserve audio content in an "amateur" studio context, and probably the cheapest too. I've archived cassette recordings I made as a child, old band rehearsals I'd recorded on a walkman, and samples I'd taped from movies and television. Tracks can be arranged however you like, and "false starts" can easily be erased and redone.
More recently I've used a portable MD recorder and a high-end Sony stereo mic to make recordings of live gigs played in coffee shops (mostly acoustic guitarists). MD technology means I can add or delete track markers, and edit out long stretches of silence or unwanted stage patter. MD is also an invaluable tool for recording band rehearsals, for the same reason-- it becomes a snap to find and label that "perfect" version of a song or that priceless riff, and practicing at home with a MD recording means no worries about tape speed and pitch issues. Veteran PC users will always claim that CDs are cheaper and easier to burn and share with others-- but how many of these folks will cheerfully haul their PC or laptop to a gig? My MD recording setup fits inside a tiny handbag.
Why hasn't MD technology caught on more in the States? Because MD is a tool, not just a medium, and Americans today are not as often skilled users of tools as they are passive consumers of culture. CD-Rs are dirt-cheap, that's for sure-- but they are static bits of audio candy, meant to be consumed and disposed of. Even if by some miracle MD became more of a "home stereo" standard here in the States, 95% of people would just listen to the albums and mixes the other 5% of us made for them. It's entirely possible, therefore, that MD will remain a "cult favorite" amongst audiophiles (and MP3 junkies, of course). Why expect the general population to harness the full potential that MiniDisc offers, when they can't even program their VCRs?”
Glenn Kindlmann Minneapolis, MN
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“I travel extensively for my work. Part of making the long flights bearable is to listen to recorded books. I check them out from my local library and this had generally meant that I was lugging borrowed CDs across the globe. When I thought I had left part of a CD-book in a hotel room and found out that it would cost $130 to replace because I had to buy the whole 12-CD book, I nearly had a heart attack. The good news is that I found the missing CD, but I was still left with the trauma of that potential cost.
Listening to the CD books on a plane was also frustrating because I had to keep the player and the stack of CDs close at hand, which usually meant on my lap. Every hour or so, I'd have to shuffle my stuff around to swap CDs hoping not to scratch them up too bad in the process.
I looked at MP3 players - I couldn't afford enough memory cards to get a whole book stored, and I knew I didn't want to unpack my laptop everytime I needed to load the next piece of the book. I've learned the hard way to mis-trust hard drive devices so these players weren't an option either. I considered a CD-R, but a portable player that would play CD-R/Ws was as much a MD and I would still be dealing with a bulky and somewhat delicate media. CD-R wasn't an option because I didn't want permanent copies of library "books”. I feel that as long as the recorded book was officially checked-out to me, the fact that I copied them to MD fell within the spirit of copyright laws as long as I erased the file when I returned the CDs to the library.
Enter the MD-N707: On days when I'm not travelling, I copy audio-books to MD as I'm getting other things done around the office. When I travel, I leave the player in my shirt pocket along with maybe one extra disc. If I do need to swap discs, it's only once (or twice on a very long flight.) The only problem is the inconvenience that almost without fail, you have to tell the guy sitting next to you all about your MD and why they should buy one too. My MD has been a great ice-breaker with strangers in airplanes!
I have since transferred a lot of music that I'll carry with me to listen to as well. I can carry a lot of music in my carry-on!
On a recent trip, I took a microphone along. I was able to record meetings, doing track marks at key points in the conversation. While walking through downtown Buenos Aires, I noticed a street musician was using an MD to provide his backup music. With his consent, I recorded about 20 minutes of his performance too. Let's see you do that with a CD-R device!
To get the most out of my exercise time, I've picked music clips at various degrees of intensity. There would have been no way to do this without the editing abilities of MD. I found that a few of the songs didn't produce the effect I had hoped for, in a few minutes, I cut out the bad and replaced them with new. For variety, I've got 3 different mixes on my exercise MD. I pick a mix and go for it!
Why isn't MD more popular? (1) Sony playing both sides of the fence with Sony Electronics and Sony Music. (2) Check-in/Check-out of ATRAC files. In practical terms, it doesn't stop anyone from pirating, but it's perceived as a limitation. (3) The separate format for data discs was a huge mistake, Sony could have owned the audio and Zip drive markets with a portable device that did both audio and data. (4) Sony has done a terrible job at marketing and product placement. Marketing of MD players in the U.S. is essentially non-existent. There are people, though apparently not at Sony, that are dedicated to placing their company's products in movies and TV shows. How often do you see a MD player in a movie or on TV? Let's face it, Q would have put an MD player in James Bond's car, why didn't we see it? Any movie placed in the future should assume that MD will be the default audio format. Buffy would have listened to MDs, you can't kill demon-spawn with a soundtrack that skips. The list goes on....”
Jason Beck
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"MINIDISC is here... That was the first thing I had ever heard about mini disc. I was amazed. In 1999 I was floored by the Idea of a recording medium that was smaller than the CD's of the time. I fell in love with the Sharp MD-SR60 that was in a Best Buy ad.
From that moment on I was hooked. I was unable to get hold of a MiniDiscplayer/recorder till Winter of 2001. Then, a friend of mine at Sears gave me a used MD player/recorder for .49 cents (U.S.) for the MD player of my Dreams, a Sharp MD-SR60.
From then on I have collected 3 other MD player/recorders, including a Sony MZ-R37 (my favorite unit) as well as a unit I don't currently have a number for. Since then I have devoted myself to finding as many MD player or recorders as I can. Then, just two weeks ago I found the web-sites Minidiscaccess.com and minidisco.com for ALL my mini disc needs here in America."
Raven East Virginia
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“Regarding how I got started with minidisc, I first discovered the medium probably about 10 years ago at the Sony Store in Chicago. I've always enjoyed making "Greatest Hits" and music compilations on tape, but couldn't believe in the quality and flexibility in this new medium to record with.
My home MD recorder cost $900 at the time and I invested in a car unit (MDX-400 -an in-dash 4disc changer which I loved but was somewhat flawed from an engineering standpoint with a removable faceplate). To this day I can't believe this format couldn't overtake recordable CD's as it is 100% more flexible and offers ability to change recordings without starting from scratch.
People are always fascinated with these little discs and to this day, some have never seen a minidisc before. One thing everybody loves is the text - to be listening to a song and see the title or artist (some CD units do this but certainly not to the same degree).
I am so glad it is surviving with MP3 (even tho! ugh I am still an old timer when it comes to recording the old fashioned way!) I will always be a Minidisc supporter as the best music recording medium available!”
Casey Grabowski Schaumburg, IL
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“About getting hooked w/ minidisks. A cousin of mine had bought an md player and I was amazed by the size of the disk and the amount of music you can fit on it. It's practically like a cd and w/ the same capacity. And because I'm always looking for easier ways to handle my music and to store it, md's were the best option 'til then.
My friends and I were so sure that md was going to be the biggest thing after cd's, but I think it was too fast for people to make the transition from cds to mds. They were just making their transitions from cassettes to cds, and then in came cd burners and mp3's that really opaqued the mds.
I hope that mds don't get forgotten. I think they are better than cds, since they are smaller, and they are protected so its very hard to scratch them. (Unlike cds that scratch very easily.) The only problem I've had w/ md's is that I haven't been able to download music from my md's to my computer or to record music from my md to another md or a cd.”
Carlos Jaquez Basalt, CO
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“Hello, I did a lot of research on a music format that would suit my needs, and MiniDisc was chosen. I have an MP3 player, but it only holds at most 2 hours of sub-par quality music. I like my audio crisp and clear, and this was starting to bug me. So, I invested in a Sony MZ-N505 player/recorder off of e-bay.
Needless to say, I'm sold on the technology. The music will not skip, the player gets up to 56 hours per single AA battery and the music is sharp and clear. When I work (be it mowing a yard or sitting in front of a computer) the MiniDisc is there with me.
I received my player a few weeks ago and I have yet to change the battery or complain about a lack of features. I've been telling everyone I know about the advantages to this format and I REALLY hope it takes off in the US (as it should have back in the early 1990's).
I think it's been slower to take off in the US because we aren't people that like to spend money. Everyone has a large CD library, why would they want to buy yet another format to replace those? Almost every car has a CD player, all computers can play CD's, but for MiniDisc, we have to buy a new player, new media and find a way to interface it with our out-dated technology (like CD players). That's my story and my opinion on MiniDiscs. Let me know if it made any sense to you (it is 1:00AM here).”
Nick Proy Corry, PA USA
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“Several months ago I started researching various MP3 players to purchase. I wanted a player that was small, had expandable memory, and that was reasonably priced. The MP3 players with a hard drive cost more than I wanted to pay for a player. The MP3 players with compact flash memory expansion (or similar type memory cards) were small, but the memory cards are pricey.
Than I started reading about Sony Net MD minidisc players and I was intrigued. The minidisc players were reasonably priced and the cost of blank minidiscs was a lot less than compact flash cards. I purchased a Sony MZ-NF610 because it also had the added feature of AM/FM radio tuner. I have been using my minidisc player since May '03 and I love it! The software that came with my player works flawlessly and I have no problems transferring music from my CD collection to the minidisc player.
I believe the reasons that minidisc players aren't more popular in the US are because the MP3 format is more popular in the US; Sony and other makers of minidisc players haven't been promoting the MD players effectively; the MD players use the proprietary ATRAC3 format for music compression. If MD players could record and playback music directly in the MP3 format, the MD players would be much more popular in the US.”
Teresa Wichita, KS
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“My first Sony MD was an MZ-1 purchased from a friend for $200. He bought it new for $700. I used it on my first Album. The sound quality was what I always wanted. It served as a virtual guitar player, and then I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if Sony made a four-track.
I found the MDM-X4 at a music store in NJ, and HAD TO HAVE IT. It was $700. It used the data disks ($10 per) rather than the audio disk, but sound quality was still great. The data disk allowed continuous 4-track recording for 37 minutes, as well as a host of copy/cut/mix/bounce functions.
I sold that to get the MDM-X4 Mark II model, which was much faster. I used that on my second project. I will however go to hard drive studio recording instead. After that unit, I bought the MXD-D3 Component CD/MD player recorder, and recently I picked up the NetMD with Jukebox software. This was to replace the much heralded, and rather missed MZ-1.
Why hasn't it caught on? I don't know. I think they are still experimenting with it, perhaps a dual between MD and mp3 in which one will replace CD.”
Jeff Rochester Hills, MI
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"My 18-year-old son who is an "intelligent dance music" devotee bought a Sony MD-700 with some birthday money. I'd never heard of the technology, but I saw him using it to create incredible personal mixes of his favorite music from radio, MP3s, and CDs. When I listened to some of his tracks, I was impressed with the sound quality.
I'm a pastor who works mainly with children in our church. We use a lot of music to lead our kids in worship. Although it's ideal to have a musician leading worship live, sometimes that isn't practical. And sometimes I want to use songs that a worship leader doesn't know. I invested in a Sony MD so that I could control what songs from CD I wanted to use without having to flip back and forth between different disks.
For example, in our KIDS Church service, if I want to sing four different songs from four different CDs with the kids, I can have them all on one MD and simply play right through the set, without any stopping to change CDs. Plus, if next week I want to rearrange the song list order, or add a new song, it's very easy. The ability to edit is the main reason I prefer MD to CD. MD is the only format I use for recorded sound.
When people see my Sony MD they assume that it's an MP3 player. I explain that I can store MP3s on it, as well as anything from any other recordable source.
I subscribe to a satellite TV company. My satellite company offers about 50 channels of digital music with everything from Americana to Hip-Hop to Contemporary Christian. I really like mainstream jazz. Fortunately, on the back of my satellite box are some stereo outputs. I connect a stereo jack to my MD player, record 320 minutes of jazz music, and then I can listen to it while I walk or ride my bike. Even using the LP4 mode, the sound quality is phenomenal. The only drawback is that I don't always know the artist I'm listening to.
MDs haven't caught on in America because....hmmm....maybe because the type of person who likes to create his or her own musical programming on one disc will usually have the ability to burn a CD from a computer. So they figure why invest in MDs when I can use CDs. But I much prefer handling MDs to CDs because of their size, and reusability."
Bill Henderson Yorba Linda, California USA
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“It has served as an incredible practice tool, because the sound is pretty much verbatim, and hearing yourself recorded is extremely different from how you think you sound when you are playing. I have used it to prepare for auditions, and have used it to prepare demos for gigs.
About 3 months ago, my locker at school was broken into and my MD recorder and microphone were stolen, along with about 20 MDs. After about a week of sobbing, I resolved to save the money again to buy another one. Well, I did, and I’m using it daily again.
...I just wish they sold the stereos here like they do in Japan, that play MDs!”
Max Matzen Jacksonville, FL
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“I am what people refer to as 'THE MAN OF MANY SOUNDS' because I collect everything on these little mini discs. It was y2k before I even realized md's existed. I first saw them in England, then in Denmark where they were used for all radio broadcasts at the student radio.
I didn’t buy one until 2001. I’ve used it everyday for over six hours a day since then. I used it probably 13 hours today because I’ve been sick in bed. I use 2 rechargeable batteries so I never run out of juice. Playback is at least fifty something hours on 1 AA battery... that’s one thing that’s hard t