have mindiscs changed?

[roofrabbit]

I have an older Sony portable minidisc recorder, about 6 years old, that can record up to 80 minutes only.

Recently I bought some Sony minidiscs at Circuit City described as "Premium Gold -- 80 min -- compatible with Hi-MD." When I insert one of these into my minidisc recorder, a loud racket is heard followed by the recorder message "Disk Error." Taking the minidisc out of the recorder, I see that the circular disk is broken cleanly from side to side into two pieces. This is repeatable for a new disk.

Examining the Sony disk, the portion of the disc inside the dime-sized window on the reverse side is shaped differently. The Sony disks all have a center hole about 1/10", a larger dime-sized circular ring, and two sharp points at about 90 degrees to each other that joins the dime-sized circular ring. All other minidiscs that I have used before do not have the sharp points.

To test the recorder, I found an old unopened minidisc that dates back perhaps five years. Inserting it into the recorder, it registered quickly with no unusual noise. I can also play recorded minidiscs with no problem.

Has the specification of the minidisc changed recently? If so, where can I get the older-style minidiscs that don't break into when inserted in the recorder?

[atrain]

that shouldn't happen contact sony's customer support & demand a refund.

[D-EJ915]

Or rather, take it to Circuit City and get a replacement, but tell Sony about it too I guess...although they won't do anything since they were probably made like 4 months ago.