Minidisc Revival - article

[Ral-Clan]

Not terribly informative, but at least it's positive toward MD.

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/0,390...49259042,00.htm

Edited March 27, 2006 by Ral-Clan

[The_Stamp]

Chris (Your friendly neighborhood Kurisu, I believe) from our forums made that post!

Great write!

Edited March 27, 2006 by The_Stamp

[dural]

Good article, however I had to laugh at this bit relating to ATRAC:

"Sony's basic techniques would later be adapted and refined by the MP3 format."

I beg your pardon!!! ATRAC is a true Hi-Fi compression technology (although many people would probably argue that there's no such thing), compared to layer 3 of the MPEG format stripped from it's ugly mother and tampered with by everybody under the sun.

That's enough of my bitterness for tonight! Just can't help defending my precious MiniDisc format...

[Christopher]

I didn't write it, but they did link to us via the source post. I think Sony is making some solid decisions with the direction of the format, and it will become very obvious when the RH1 is available worldwide that Hi-MD can still be relevant in 2006 and beyond.

[ZosoIV]

It's nice to see MD being covered in a positive light, for a change - do a Google search of "minidisc," click "news," and almost every story listed has something negative/condescending to say about the RH1, Sony, or MD's in general. Either most people just don't "get" Hi-MD, or we're all clinging to a hopelessly outdated and unwanted format

I am a bit tired, though, of Hi/MD being portrayed as the ancient predecessor to MP3, or better yet, the buck-toothed, country cousin of iPod. It's a recorder, people!!

[jaylen]

I am a bit tired, though, of Hi/MD being portrayed as the ancient predecessor to MP3, or better yet, the buck-toothed, country cousin of iPod. It's a recorder, people!!

^ Lol.

I wonder if people who see that article and don't know about Hi-MD actually think you can stick a plug of that size into the RH1.

[Stuge]

I wonder if people who see that article and don't know about Hi-MD actually think you can stick a plug of that size into the RH1.

Then It will big Boom ..If i`m right that picture depicts Heart -Beat of Md player is still working ..

[jaylen]

Yeah, it says so in the first few sentences of the article:

"The MZ-RH1 (pictured, attached to a heart monitor) is set for release this month. You might have thought the format was dead, but MiniDisc is alive once more, and it deserves to be."

[chico75pi]

I don't think the majority of people knows that such a thing as a Hi-MD units and media exists,...and so they think that Sony is constantly trying to sell old MDs...

Something to change this situation could be done if Sony would produce some TV adv or something like that....

[JazzyBananas]

I agree on the advertising bit. Sony needs to let people know about Hi-MD... the right people.

-recording enthusiasts/vinyl record collectors

-musicians/singers/DJs

-reporters/anyone else that regularly would use a tape recorder

Imagine this for a tv commercial...

A great concert. Everyone is having a good time, and instead of the usual waving of cigarette lighters... you see a massive wave of Hi-MD recorders!

Market it as a High Quality Recorder, not as an MP3 Player!

They should make a matching hi-fi deck for the RH1, and offer a package deal if you buy both.

[bland10000]

I don't think minidisc is experiencing a revival rather I think md is finally being recognized for its primary purpose of recording and archiving. Until the advent of the popularity of the hd and flash player, md was viewed as a portable listening device but people were focused on the portable listening aspect rather than the recording aspect. Now that the portable listening aspect has been stripped away we are left with its primary function which people overlooked/ took for granted before.

[tekdroid]

Not terribly informative, but at least it's positive toward MD.

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/digitalmusic/0,390...49259042,00.htm

The article says:

Why the MiniDisc failed to gain popularity is something of a mystery.

It's not a mystery at all. We witnessed ultra-restrictive NetMD for years and Hi-MD was very restrictive until just recently. Early models behaved well and were well-featured. It's amazing how the article never mentions horrible Sony software and restrictions yet only talks about pre-recorded content.

One word?

DRM.

Another?

Crappy software.

More restrictive hardware than the early MD recorders.

High prices.

Combine all these...and there you have it. No mystery at all.

Sony's basic techniques would later be adapted and refined by the MP3 format.

No they wouldn't. MP3 was developed independenly of Sony (as was Philips' PASC). The difference is nobody in power at Sony (and Philips) believed in the power of the internet and changing hardware landscape would shape future formats. Instead of their own tech becoming the 'standard', they sat on their butts and now they pay millions each year in http://www.mp3licensing.com fees instead of having their own lossy compression technologies out there and collecting royalties from other manufacturers.

Oops!

[w3stoner]

I'd go back to the beginning of the format for MDs "failure" in the US at least.

Sony marketed it as a CD replacement instead of a cassette replacement.

Of course given what happened when DAT was introduced I wouldn't be suprised if at least part of that was to avoid pressure from the RIAA. Who were of course worried

that unrestricted DAT would mean the end of music commerce as we knew it.

Any way it's sad. the format should be ubiquitous...

I can't wait to get an MZ-RH1 especially as my MZ-NH900 was stolen a couple days ago. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_3')

The guy who took it probably won't even know what to do with it :-( Though it did have the AA pack on it. So there is hope I guess... java script:emoticon('','smid_15')

[Stuge]

I'd go back to the beginning of the format for MDs "failure" in the US at least.

Sony marketed it as a CD replacement instead of a cassette replacement.

Oh!! This was never known to me ..but why this weird Publicity

[ZosoIV]

Sony marketed it as a CD replacement instead of a cassette replacement.

I keep hearing people repeat this statement, but alas, it is false. Sony did NOT intend to replace CD with MD; it even says so in their first press-release on the format (see the MDCF page). MD was intended to be a high-quality portable alternative to CD's and tapes; it was never intended to replace CD's. The reason why it never replaced tapes was because of the high cost of the discs and hardware. Even today, 15 years later, tapes are still far cheaper and more unbiquitous than MD's. THAT is where Sony failed, IMO - if they had made MD as cheap as tapes to begin with, they would have caught on almost overnight.

[Stuge]

I keep hearing people repeat this statement, but alas, it is false. Sony did NOT intend to replace CD with MD; it even says so in their first press-release on the format (see the MDCF page). MD was intended to be a high-quality portable alternative to CD's and tapes; it was never intended to replace CD's. The reason why it never replaced tapes was because of the high cost of the discs and hardware. Even today, 15 years later, tapes are still far cheaper and more unbiquitous than MD's. THAT is where Sony failed, IMO - if they had made MD as cheap as tapes to begin with, they would have caught on almost overnight.

This Explanation seems to be better Then the previous one..Yeah I wil aslo agre taht they couldn`t make MD cheaper & popular also ..they never relase MD player here (India except for one or two models )..SO how can they except MD to become popular ..they were entangled in their own WEB

[w3stoner]

Perhaps it was just a cost issue. While I wasn't really overly aware of the format back at introduction. I do remember a big push on pre-recorded MDs, so I guess that's where I got the impression.

[1kyle]

Perhaps it was just a cost issue. While I wasn't really overly aware of the format back at introduction. I do remember a big push on pre-recorded MDs, so I guess that's where I got the impression.

Cost is of course "Relative". I don't suppose how many people on this Forum can remember back what Computers etc. cost back in the days of MD introduction. DVD players were yet unheard of, and your average domestic CD player could cost a whopping 800 USD / 500 GB to say nothing of a decent portable unit.

Your computer hard disc if you were lucky had a "Massive 20 MB" (yes 20 MB not GB) and cost more than you can buy an entire COMPUTER these days.

The media now is comparatively cheap and even then it wasn't expensive compared with the price of other media apart from casette tapes.

The main issue was marketing --casette tapes apart from the obvious problems of "sequential access" i.e you have to scroll the tape forward to get to where you want, and no "random access" i.e you couldn't do playlists etc. were always getting tangled up and the quality wasn't too god either.

The MD was never meant to replace the CD as a high quality music source although IMO it has done pretty well.

The main limitation today apart from marketing is probably the type of music that gets downloaded on to ipods etc.

Most people probably FIRST experience the type of music they download on to ipods in Nightclubs, bars, gigs etc which aren't the best environments to enjoy the best and most subtle auditory experience. (These places can be enjoyed for lots of other reasons but if you just want to listen to "music" there are hugely better venues).

I doubt whether for example you'd find many Opera lovers listening on Ipods etc. although there might be a few.

With the downgrading of broadcasting standards (lesser bandwith means more stations, more advertising etc) a lot of people probably have never experienced listening to decent UNCOMPRESSED music without a lot of hideous amplification and after one has got used to certain sound quality that tends to become "The norm".

This board though shows that when people HAVE tried high quality music sources the DO like it so perhaps there's hope for the future.

In the long term as the price becomes cheaper solid state media is likely to replace the MD (and even the hard disk). There's no reason in principle why a computer or a recording device can't use 300GB solid state units instead of hard disks. We just have to build them as cheap as disks.

However for sheer convenience AT THE PRESENT TIME you can't beat a MD for flexibility.

As to design -- I don't actually like the white design of the Ipods anyway and hate those rediculous small silver mp3 players a lot of people wear round their necks. The looks of the old N10, NH1, and above all the RH10 and new RH1 are in a class of their own and usually get admiring glances from people who've never seen these devices before.

Cheers

-K