What / Who killed the Mini disk ??

[SEAWOLF97]

was inventorying my "project stacks", and found I had 2 identical Sony MDS-je320 mini disk decks. One had a mb problem and the other a transport issue. Sooooo......used 2 baddies to make 1 goodie.
Hooked it up to the main system and started experimenting, recording off the XM. Was VERY happy with the results. No hiss, within 99 percent of CD quality.

Its easy, convenient , cheap....so why did it not rule the audio world. ?????

(I remember the ATRACS controversy, but MP3 compresses even more, with more artifacts)

[hjames]

Hey, I remember the L-cassette - running higher "quality" tape speeds (double the speed of a standard cassette) ... it was another good idea that just didn't make enough of a difference to create a place in the market - much like the mini-disc. Minidiscs old well in the japanese market, and I have a few friends that loved the size and fidelity for bootlegging live concerts - but I think most folks preferred the longer playing time of full size discs ...

[SEAWOLF97]

but I think most folks preferred the longer playing time of full size discs ...

mini disks have a max playing time of 74 minutes and are editable.

[Bob Womack]

I think it was a combination of bad timing and loss of fidelity. Minidisk used perceptual encoding. At the time of their introduction, CD had just finally been accepted and people were in the middle of rebuying their record collections. There was just no way in the world that they were ready to re-re-buy. When you add to that the fact that it WAS a step down in fidelity, it just didn't make it.

It took another generation with lower expectations to introduce MP3.
Little bites, slowly taken.

Bob

[Zilch]

Cheap flash memory killed the Mini Disc.

All the mechanicals - gone....

[Wornears]

Mini disc is dead? <G>

Been using it for years; still do. Stupid marketing by Sony didn't help. Another case of their impressive technology getting bungled by their marketing arm.

Cheap flash memory sure didn't help, but Sony magnificently squandered their tech lead in portable sonics.

[SEAWOLF97]

long b4 flash memory was cheap. and flash really hasnt killed CDRs.

Maybe SONY mismanaged it , like they did with BETA. You know they developed VHS , but sold it off to JVC as it was "the inferior format"

Anyway , mini disk is nice for quick and easy "off the air" recording and quality is VERY good.

[johnaec]

Try buying hi-bias type II cassette tapes! I've got a little Tascam 4-track 424MKIII porta-studio and have to buy them online - all the stores carry anymore is normal bias...

John

[duaneage]

I bought a netMD player only to discover the sony source file management software was required. They can kiss my rear on that. I returned it the same day.
I have a TEAC MD-8 I brought back from Tokyo. It has sony internals but I like the interface and look, it matched my Yamaha stuff real nice adn Yamaha did not make a full size MD deck.

I have a MD changer in my car and a MD head unit. That is the smallest changer you'll ever see. I like the ability to move songs around on the disc, try that with a CDR. The small size and packaging is great too.

Sony now has the bigger MD that hods 45 hours. But their music division once again screws everyone with Digital Rights management software.

I am on the fence about keeping my MD setups. Might be time to eBay it all before they disappear completely.

As to the fidelity complaints all I can say is the format was cleaner than most of the source material, unless noisy analog recordings from the seventies sound better on a CD. Maybe a top notch digital recording under the most demanding conditions would reveal the weaknesses but I doubt it. There is more distortion in a loudspeaker than any other component in the chain.

[Rusnzha]

Sony bites the tubercles -- It's a sad story how they f%#@ed up super audio.

[Wornears]

What is so pitiful about Sony re: digital rights is that they are not learning!

duaneage: before you unload your MD stuff on EvilBay, give us a chance at it <G>.

I treat MD as a modern version of cassettes for packaging and ease of use and never-wear-out decent sonics, but with much superior editing ability.

Later versions of ATRAC really are improvements over the early versions. I've archived some of my rare '50 jazz 10-inch records to it: clicks and pops intact just for atmosphere. Easy to make vinyl compilations too.

[jdiamantis]

I loved the idea of minidisk when it came out. I really liked my first portable. I liked my first (of 3 )component decks. It wouldn't shut off or reject a disc after 6 months. Same with #2. #3 still works, because I've only used it 4 times. I didn't care for the two portables I bought for work; they both broke within 4 months. I really hated the $700 professional decks I bought for work. One units drive failed (after warranty of course), and Sony (no baloney!) wanted $450 for a replacement! PLUS $175 to align it!!! Out of 4 original pro units bought 2 years ago; that see less than 1 hour per day of usage, 2 still work.

The biggest problem with minidisk, other than piss poor marketing by Sony, was the fragile nature of the drives; the record "wand" was incredibly easy to knock out of alignment; ever so slightly bent slides on the discs would ruin the internals of the drives; the "cheapest flimsiest gearset" would break easily, ruining the drive.......

I really wanted to like minidisk. Thank goodness for flash player/recorders!

Thank you. Rant off.

jDiamantis