Anybody explain minidisc to me?

[cyfa2809]

At the time it was expensive to get a good collection going and mp3 was taking off with full force
I think even if it wa released at the right time it wouldnt have been a success for long as its still physical (blasphemy in this day)

 

[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.

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.

i thought minidisc was sony's brainchild and as such they controlled all the stuff that was going on in the background...which is why hmv used to have a tiny selection of music pre recorded on minidisc.

No doubt that mp3 was the nail in the coffin...but i remember that the original mp3 players cost about the same as a minidisc player at the time, but could only store about 10 songs!

 

[Neil]

i thought minidisc was sony's brainchild and as such they controlled all the stuff that was going on in the background...which is why hmv used to have a tiny selection of music pre recorded on minidisc.

No doubt that mp3 was the nail in the coffin...but i remember that the original mp3 players cost about the same as a minidisc player at the time, but could only store about 10 songs!

I think minidisc was Sony's development - but all the same, plenty of other manufacturers were making players and recorders.

And I guess the pre-recorded thing may have had a bearing. Personally, though, the pre-recorded discs didn't appeal to me - I bought a couple - more as a novelty, I tended to have original CDs for anything I put on minidisc, but what I really preferred was maybe pulling a couple of tracks of CDs, and also having the ability to reorder the tracks.

None of that was possible with the pre-recorded stuff (they were merely optical discs) so seemed to rob the format of something, really.

I think a combination of timing, cost, not much of a marketing impetus, and other developments were the death knell for minidisc taking hold.

The Sony thing - either them in isolation, or their software, didn't really affect me - or others I knew - merely the abilities at the time.

For a good while when many had adopted mp3 players, I still stuck to minidisc. It was only really when portable media started including video, that I bought into hard-drive / flash memory media players.

 

[paininthe]

At the time it was the only thong that could take all the tracks and wouldn't jump whilst out cycling.

 

[Neil]

At the time it was the only thong that could take all the tracks and wouldn't jump whilst out cycling.

Freud and his funky bakery, have got to have something to do with that...

 

[paininthe]

At the time it was the only thong that could take all the tracks and wouldn't jump whilst out cycling.

Freud and his funky bakery, have got to have something to do with that...

Predictive text on mobiles, don't you love it

 

[boxxer]

I still have full size technics and portable Sony minidisk - shit hot sound quality and useful for on the fly recordings for audio, plug in a mic and bingo

 

[FSR-Si]

It just so happens i have a sony minidisc car head unit and 10 cd changer for sale on ebay for £250




they come with a free vw polo 1.4se

 

[1duck]

It just so happens i have a sony minidisc car head unit and 10 cd changer for sale on ebay for £250




they come with a free vw polo 1.4se

link?


edit: found it...it was on at 200 a bargain for sure!

 

[Russell]

My 'big' stereo in the 'man room', has a Sony minidisc seperate as a part of it and I still use a personal minidisc player when I'm running or wandering about town.

I had a minidisc head unit in my old car. Really miss it.