Opinions on Mini Disc Players

[jbachandouris]

I do not have a huge CD collection, so I don't really 'need' a hard drive based solution.

1 mini-disc=5 CDs. New Mini-disc player $99 w/1 disc, 5-pack $9.99. Total storage=30 CDs. The price is right, but hard drive based players have more uses. Any opinions?

[jbachandouris]

I do not have a huge CD collection, so I don't really 'need' a hard drive based solution.

1 mini-disc=5 CDs. New Mini-disc player $99 w/1 disc, 5-pack $9.99. Total storage=30 CDs. The price is right, but hard drive based players have more uses. Any opinions?

[Jason Dunn]

I don't have a MD player, so I don't have an opinion, but you might also want to post this over at www.digitalmediathoughts.com if you're looking for some input.

[tanalasta]

Minidisc players are now out of vogue but if you desire a small, portable device and do not wish to purchase the obvious alternative (recordable mp3 players with flash disks/hard drive memory) then they would be most suitable to your needs.

The only disadvantage, apart from the fact they're no longer as popular as they used to be is that you will have to transfer your songs onto the proprietary minidisc. You cannot transfer songs from minidisc back to your computer but you can rewrite/reorganise the discs.

Portability is not really an issue as both HDD, flash and MD's are the same size. Flash players are much smaller but expensive. As are memory cards.

You won't regret buying a minidisc unless you really really envy the more expensive hard-drive options (e.g. iPod) out there! Sound quality with minidisc players are acceptable, with the top-end Sharp and Sony models providing the best sound. Albeit you will have to buy yourself a decent pair of headphones as stock standard buds are terrible.

[Darius Wey]

You cannot transfer songs from minidisc back to your computer but you can rewrite/reorganise the discs.

As a matter of fact, you can. NetMD technology, which has been around for a while now allows you to transfer MP3s/WMAs/WAVs back and forth from the computer to MD recorder up to 64x the normal speed.

Existing MDLP technology allows you to record in long play mode 2x or 4x the capacity of the standard length of the disc. That's a potential 320 minutes per 80 minute disc.

There is a new technology known as Hi-MD that is to debut very shortly, so keep your eyes peeled. The technology is astounding. You can read more about it here: http://www.sony.co.jp/Products/Hi-MD/nf_index.html (in Japanese) or here: http://www.minidisct.com/md.php (to see the range of recorders - this is in English)

Sound quality with minidisc players are acceptable

The way MD works is that it only records the 1's and 0's that are audible to the human ear. Of course, decent headphones help, but overall, they rival most other audio technologies.


So what else about MDs?
Battery life is very good on the decent models, and it makes it very suitable for recording lectures, meetings, etc.
Blank MDs are dirt cheap - you can pick up a Sony 80 minute blank MD from their wide range of types for abt A$1.50 a pop if you shop around.

The list could go on...I carry both my PPC and MD with me as they both complement each other in many ways.

You can read more about MDs at: http://www.minidisct.com/
Alternatively, you can also read all the stuff in their huge forum: http://www.minidisct.com/forum/index.php

MiniDisc Australia: http://www.minidisc.com.au/
Very affordable prices on all devices + accessories.

What I can say is that MDs are only going up, and are a serious contender in the portable audio market. I've never regretted buying an MD recorder even though mine is a few years old. Hi-MD is making me consider an upgrade in the near future

[baker]

I've got a mini (because of price) and it works great.

[Kowalski]

mechanical storage devices use more power than static memory devices so i dont find harddisk based mp3 players and md players.
but if i have to choose one i would go for harddisk based because they have much more capacity and syncronization is much more easy

[Darius Wey]

but if i have to choose one i would go for harddisk based because they have much more capacity and syncronization is much more easy

That's the other thing you have to weigh up - whether you're willing to fork out wads of cash for flash memory, or take out the dollar coins and get yourself a whole collection of blank MDs that you can hold about 4 albums worth on each disc. The price difference is enormous! Best of all, you can carry around your collection of MDs and swap around when you want to! Let's say a 512MB SD card costs A$170 - you could store about 128 songs (e.g. each song is 4MB), or at $1.50 a pop for a blank MD that can store 320 minutes if you record in LP4 mode, that's about a total of 113 discs for the same price you pay for the SD card, which now totals to about 602 hours of music which equates to 25 days worth of continuous music for the same price! :mrgreen:

Those that disregard MDs are often impressed by their capacity and features once they learn more about it. Do a bit of research...and you'll be pleasantly surprised. :lol: Of course, there are those that hate MDs full stop...that's just personal preference

[Kati Compton]

Originally Posted by DJ Apod

That's the other thing you have to weigh up - whether you're willing to fork out wads of cash for flash memory, or take out the dollar coins and get yourself a whole collection of blank MDs that you can hold about 4 albums worth on each disc. The price difference is enormous! Best of all, you can carry around your collection of MDs and swap around when you want to! Let's say a 512MB SD card costs A$170 - you could store about 128 songs (e.g. each song is 4MB), or at $1.50 a pop for a blank MD that can store 320 minutes if you record in LP4 mode, that's about a total of 113 discs for the same price you pay for the SD card, which now totals to about 602 hours of music which equates to 25 days worth of continuous music for the same price! :mrgreen:

True, but then you have to carry around all those disks...

[Zack Mahdavi]

I used to be a big fan of Minidisc players.. I remember how superior I felt to those that were carrying around 64MB Rios and Nomads back in 1999.

Of course, things change... I finally upgraded when the iPod was introduced... why carry around a bunch of minidiscs when you can store your entire collection in one player? Minidisc players have better battery life, but the iPod's 8 hour battery life doesn't bother met at all.

Don't get me wrong.. I love minidisc players, but I think the technology has served its purpose well and will retire (at least in the US).

[Darius Wey]

True, but then you have to carry around all those disks...

ops: :mrgreen: ops:

Ok... hehehehehehh

Don't get me wrong.. I love minidisc players, but I think the technology has served its purpose well and will retire (at least in the US).

We shall see. I don't know about Hi-MD and whether it will take off. If it doesn't, you may be right! :lol: