My thoughts on the demise of MD

[SleepingInRlyeh]

Hey all,

I lurk around occaisionally reading, but the rumored doom of MD has caused me to post some random thoughts

The comment about only people in Japan would buy playback-only MDs is interesting. But, what would you do if you were Sony? Huge market in Japan, minimal market in the US. Who are you going to cater to?

I have an MZ-N10 that I bought to record some audio, but I also use it to listen to stuff. Mostly I use my Creative Zen for music. The reason is the stupid MagicGate. Sony screwed up with this. It's not like MD is going to be the preferred choice of pirates. If I can send MP3s or lossless files over the net, why would I bother trading MDs with someone? The amount of piracy stopped by MG: I would say near zero. It just makes the format hard to use.

Where MD shines, IMO, is for recording. If you record on a MD and transfer it to your computer (uh, with the newer ones that actually allow it), you have a backup on the original MD and the file on the computer. The swappable media makes it a natural for situations like this. A flash recorder by nature doesn't give you a backup. Generally the files are on there temporarily and then moved to the computer. I think Sony missed the boat by not pushing this advantage and by not allowing self-recordings to be uploaded pre-HiMD.

Anyhow, I'll get to my general point. If I were Sony, I would converge UMD and HiMD. People do want portable video. The problem is that until the PSP and UMD came around, you have to sync everything with your PC. If they converge HiMD and UMD, you could both buy pre-recorded movies and sync with online purchases and/or your homemade video. Also, car players are becoming popular. MD is a really durable format for the car unlike DVD (which my kids destroy). The marketplace is really missing a durable usable portable video format. I think Sony can fill the niche here.

To succeed, they need > 1GB format. So, I'm thinking the next thing we will see is a converged UMD/HiMD with like 5GB capacity and players with video playback. I think this will actually put them in a position to compete against the video iPod. Unless they blow it with stupid MG restrictions again or do the licensing nightmare like BetaMax/MemoryStick - they need to affordably license the format so multiple companies make things for it.

Anyhow, that's kind of my forward look. The EH products are definitely for Japan, but who can blame Sony for producing for their biggest market? To break in the US, they should ride the PSP/UMD success (relatively speaking) and fill the niche for a removable, recordable, and durable portable video format.

What do you guys think?

BTW, if this belongs in its own thread, please move.

[Syrius]

I think that SS 3.2 with no DRM and unlimited uploads (provided the disc is just fine) puts an end to all our worries.