Anybody explain minidisc to me?

[Grannygrinder]

I've been given a replacement car stereo which happens to have a minidisc player in it.
I've never used one before, how do i go about loading music onto the minidiscs?
It came with a copy of Dark side of the moon and the sound quality is really good so i think i'll keep it, if only until something better comes along

 

[legrandefromage]

heres more info than I can type


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc


You'll need a minidisc recorder too - plenty here:

http://electronics.shop.ebay.co.uk/Mini ... 86.c0.m282

 

[Andy B]

I've been given a replacement car stereo which happens to have a minidisc player in it.
I've never used one before, how do i go about loading music onto the minidiscs?
It came with a copy of Dark side of the moon and the sound quality is really good so i think i'll keep it, if only until something better comes along

Think of it like a tape recorder

You can put music onto discs via a normal audio cable or via an optical cable

I have a Sony portable minidisc player sat here doing nowt it's in mint condition, if you want it you can have it for £10 + postage if the one in the car cannot record music onto the discs for you

 

[Neil]

Think of them as small, perfectly formed, to all intents and purposes, practically CD quality (in SP mode), totally editable (even if it's just re-ordering the tracks).

Most recorders are capable of digital recordings.

They were really very good, and in the words of James May "watch it flop" - true to form I've still got 3 or 4 portable recorders, and a bookshelf recorder. Worth keeping, if nothing else for posterity.

 

[dbmtb]

If it is HiMD capable, you're onto a winner.

If not, it's manual recording all the way.

 

[Grannygrinder]

.

So can i record onto minidisc direct from a cd? or from the computer?
Maybe just cheaper to get a cd player for the car forget about the minidisc :? :roll:

 

[technodup]

I loved my MiniDisc, nothing better at the time for recording mixes off the decks.

 

[Neil]

Re: .

So can i record onto minidisc direct from a cd?

With a minidisc recorder, yes. Don't think I've encountered one without at least an optical in, so you'd probably need a CD player with an optical out.

To clarify on that, nearly all portable minidisc recorders have optical ins. Standalone recorders may well have both - optical and coax.

You can always record on them just using analog connectivity, too.

or from the computer?

With a soundcard with a decent optical out - sometimes there's issues with track marks from none pure audio digital sound (say digital out from DVD players, or from computers).

Or analogue recordings, or them new fangled HiMD minidisc player / recorders.

Maybe just cheaper to get a cd player for the car forget about the minidisc :? :roll:

That's just peachy - spoil all the fun, reminiscing, nostalgia, and misty eyes. Have you forgotten where we are?

Think of it as retro audio.

 

[1duck]

minidisc was the superior format, unfortunately sony as usual cocked up...with their frankly rubbish sonicstage software. It should have been the replacement to CD for music, instead we got ipods and such like...because they took too long getting it sorted and they never really did sort it.

I'm still a fan, loved my minidisc player and its still mint condition boxed somewhere in my room.

 

[Neil]

minidisc was the superior format, unfortunately sony as usual cocked up...with their frankly rubbish sonicstage software. It should have been the replacement to CD for music, instead we got ipods and such like...because they took too long getting it sorted and they never really did sort it.

I'm still a fan, loved my minidisc player and its still mint condition boxed somewhere in my room.

It wasn't just Sony who dropped the ball - I've had quite a few minidisc units (probably still got 4 or 5 portable recorders, and have had at least 2 bookshelf units - including one you could plug a PS/2 PC keyboard in, for disc titling) - and none of them were Sony.

Actually, I've just remembered, that's not quite true, I did have one Sony unit - but it was a car minidisc headunit. And although I appreciated using it, I suspect I was happier with the previous headunit, using a cassette adapter, and not losing that automatic speed thing (think it was called GALA on VW Passats).

It wasn't a failure of one company or one piece of software, it simply wasn't marketed enough to the people that may have bought into it, perhaps the timing wasn't right, perhaps the market wasn't big enough to sustain it at the time when prices started becoming more realistic, when mp3 had started getting it's foot in the door.