mangizmo Posted June 16, 2005 Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 Hi Folks, I am very confused about the future of my beloved minidisc format, and would like to hear anybodys opinions on the following :I have had minidisc for a decade, and between myself and my kids, we own 3 S2 net minidisc walkmans, a car multichanger system, a CP505MD microsystem, an ancient blue Sony MD boombox, and recently I have bought a MZ-NH1 AND a MZ-RH910....I think that is a fair commitment to the format, I havent noticed any issues with MP3 quality on the RH910 probably because I use it mainly for audiobooks, and I am even reasonably happy with Sonic Stage !!!!So these are my concerns : It is looking horribly like Sony are about to pull the plug on the format in the UK, the hardware has all but vanished from the high street, Sony Style online shop list NO 2nd gen minidisc hardware, 1GB balnks are very hard to come by and are only produced by SONY, I am very happy with the latest advances in the format and feel that it still has loads of potential, but will we see further development?? I am hoping that you guys can give me some reassurance, I dont mind buying my hardware from specialist outlets (ie, the fact that MD is not mass market is no concern as long as I can still get it and it continues to move forward), Sony have confused me by releasing Hi-Md, taking it to 2nd Gen Hi-Md, then apparently giving up on marketing and distribution.....whats going on guys....anybody any ideas PS I also have a HD5 hard drive player.....and I still prefer my minidisc RH910 in many ways!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saaron Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I'm afraid I see the writing on the wall for the format. I read today about the death of cassettes which is looming; interestingly a major reason for the format taking off was that Philips didn't charge royalties for producing compatible hardware -- I'm sure MD would have replaced cassette entirely if that had been true for Sony (I cannot imagine they wouldn't want a cut of every MD player/recorder and media sale).This apparent lack of confidence in the format in the face of HD- and flash-based portable music players seems to be behind the lukewarm promotion of Hi-MD as the future of the format. Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in a format that only exists on portable music players. I like to listen in the lounge, the kitchen and the car, and I don't like being tied to one portable machine or having to play with a computer to listen to music. I'm sticking with MDLP for the forseeable future, until some other media comes along. My most fervent hope is that the obsession with DRM and suing consumers blows up in the studios faces and kills them off so we can get back to enjoying music as it was in the pre-digital days. Maybe MD will make a comeback or be replaced by some kind of unencumbered solid-state media format -- who knows? One thing seems pretty certain: Sony isn't backing MD in the UK, but that's okay with me. I'm sticking with the format and keeping my money in my pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Well, I did dish out €250 for a NH900...and I'm glad I did!Even if the format is doomed...my NH900 still has got some life in it and will last for some time... the media can still be found (ok, 1gig discs are not that easy to find here in Belgium, but I've got 4 and 80min discs work fine too). For listening in different situations I'm pretty happy with the line out mode. And I really can't see any real alternative (in this price range) when it comes to quality portable recording gear that will allow uploading to PC...So you don't want to jump on the Hi-MD wagon, that is your good right...but I'm a bit fed up with a lot of ppl (especially older MD-users) complaining all the time about the end of the format and Sony's weak attempts at promoting it. Be careful, you could do as much damage to the Hi-MD-format as Sony... cause as it is now, Hi-MD is no opposition to the i-puddle (indeed mismarketed) so if we want to keep the format alive, at least the MD-users should evolve towards Hi-MD...but with everyone whining about the drawbacks in stead of adopting and pushing Sony for more con-/prosumer-oriented moves you're even scaring of a number of real potential adopters.If Sony wants to keep the format alive, they should start reading this forum and listening to the different suggestions made here (for the players, shelves/car-units etc, marketing strategies,...) and start marketing Hi-MD for its strenghts (imagine an i-pod that can record in cd-quality and will never run out of storage space, stand out from the i-puddle...you all know the drill) AND we 'early adopters' should try to do our bit by showing all podders and old MD-users around us the great qualities of our little machines...If Sony has already given up on the fomat, this whining won't have any effect... just choose now for yourself: - will I take the chance, invest some money and enjoy all the qualities while it lasts (perhaps it won't even end, we still don't know for sure and even then, it could live on in a niche for many years after it has commercially died) and do my best to keep the format alive and let it evolve further (by suggesting things = being constructive in stead of always pointing to the drawbacks =being destructive)- or I will stick with what I have or move on to a completely different format, but then that is your choice, and please don't go scaring off other possible users so the format definitely will die...If I can get a couple of years out of my NH900, I'll be happy and if there is no succession at that time, well I'll have to look for something else... but even now, after a couple of months (had it since December) I dare to say that it has been worth the money even if it died on me right now...so please choose for yourself and stop whining from the sidelinegreetings, Volta (a proud Hi-MD user, hopefully for many years to come) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physya Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I agree witht The Low Volta. I was balancing between a 60 Gb jukebox and something else. The jukebox looks as a good choice, but no active sports allowed. (and I had two creative nomad jukeboxes before - in both the hard drive died).I think we jump to conclusions too soon. 1 Gb discs are sweet. I have 20 and I am ordering more (the internal counter on RH910 is 64 discs, so that's the goal). I am reading increasingly positive reviews of the new gen. MDAs for proprietary formats - I don't really care as long as it plays by my MD unit. (... and I keep all my music in WMA/Mp3 on a 300 Gb HD anyways....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I also agree with The Low Volta. I have just upgraded to HiMD and love it.It's too easy to focus on the problems when the kit doesn't do exactly what we'd like. HiMD is a great format and we should tell Sony that. OK we may have to jump through some unnecessary hoops and SonicStage can be a pain but I haven't had any real problems. This is the best format for making my own recordings, uploading to pc and burning to CD. And now with 1GB disks I even use it for listening to music as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangizmo Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Hi folks, thanks for your words, please dont think I am negative about Minidisc in any way, I have noticed though that this forum is loaded with posts from people who whine about the negatives, I actually struggle to see ANY negatives with minidisc, its excellent, which is why I am so baffled by its apparent demise I also think that like your 900, my 2nd gen RH910 is a brilliant peice of equipment, so much so that I cant actually think of anything I dont like about it........Minidisc is a truely unique and innovative invention, lets hope that if Sony let it go, that they let Sharp or someone else carry it on by selling the manufacturing rights of Hi-Md to them. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangizmo Posted June 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Well, I did dish out €250 for a NH900...and I'm glad I did!Even if the format is doomed...my NH900 still has got some life in it and will last for some time... the media can still be found (ok, 1gig discs are not that easy to find here in Belgium, but I've got 4 and 80min discs work fine too). For listening in different situations I'm pretty happy with the line out mode. And I really can't see any real alternative (in this price range) when it comes to quality portable recording gear that will allow uploading to PC...So you don't want to jump on the Hi-MD wagon, that is your good right...but I'm a bit fed up with a lot of ppl (especially older MD-users) complaining all the time about the end of the format and Sony's weak attempts at promoting it. Be careful, you could do as much damage to the Hi-MD-format as Sony... cause as it is now, Hi-MD is no opposition to the i-puddle (indeed mismarketed) so if we want to keep the format alive, at least the MD-users should evolve towards Hi-MD...but with everyone whining about the drawbacks in stead of adopting and pushing Sony for more con-/prosumer-oriented moves you're even scaring of a number of real potential adopters.If Sony wants to keep the format alive, they should start reading this forum and listening to the different suggestions made here (for the players, shelves/car-units etc, marketing strategies,...) and start marketing Hi-MD for its strenghts (imagine an i-pod that can record in cd-quality and will never run out of storage space, stand out from the i-puddle...you all know the drill) AND we 'early adopters' should try to do our bit by showing all podders and old MD-users around us the great qualities of our little machines...If Sony has already given up on the fomat, this whining won't have any effect... just choose now for yourself: - will I take the chance, invest some money and enjoy all the qualities while it lasts (perhaps it won't even end, we still don't know for sure and even then, it could live on in a niche for many years after it has commercially died) and do my best to keep the format alive and let it evolve further (by suggesting things = being constructive in stead of always pointing to the drawbacks =being destructive)- or I will stick with what I have or move on to a completely different format, but then that is your choice, and please don't go scaring off other possible users so the format definitely will die...If I can get a couple of years out of my NH900, I'll be happy and if there is no succession at that time, well I'll have to look for something else... but even now, after a couple of months (had it since December) I dare to say that it has been worth the money even if it died on me right now...so please choose for yourself and stop whining from the sidelinegreetings, Volta (a proud Hi-MD user, hopefully for many years to come)←Hi Thanks for your words, I agree that the new Hi Md players are brilliant, I went out yesterday and bought another MZ-NH1 for my son to replace his S2 net minidisk walkman, it was discounted, but I would have paid full price as it is excellent. I have managed to get a handful of 1GB blanks..this should keep me quiet for a while yet I think Minidisc is just to good to die completely, surely another manufacturer (Sharp??) will buy the rights to continue production, as there should be a market ther (albeit specialist) for many many years yet In the meantime, I will continue to show everybody who is interested just how cool Hi-Md is and hope it lives on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breepee2 Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Maybe the format has to die, in order for it to be reborn into a format we want. Using the same discs, but better codecs, better software and better units (not the stripping down of top-end units Sony is doing now, but a more Apple-like approach). Hope Sharp will jump in on HiMD (or NextMD). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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