Sony to can MiniDisc Walkman

[MusicBringer]

While the news will prompt an uncomprehending look from 99 per cent of Brits, the few remaining fans of Sony's MiniDisc format will mourn the MD Walkman's passing when production ceases in September.

Last year, Sony canned production of cassette Walkman players.

The MD Walkman was launched in Japan in 1992, and that's one of the few places where you can still buy a player outside of eBay.

But not enough folk are doing so, and Sony is knocking MiniDIsc Walkman production on the head, Japan's Nikkei newspaper claims today.

MiniDisc was one of a number of formats launched to supersede the compact cassette, DAT and DCC among them. Only MiniDisc prospered as an audio format. DCC was quickly killed. DAT found a home not in audio but as a data back-up medium.

Having splashed out on CDs, punter seemed unwilling to buy into a second new format solely for mobile audio usage. Especially when cassettes were cheap and you recording your CDs to them was so convenient.

Nikkei says that, as of March, Sony had sold around 22m MD Walkman units - even today, with the shift to phones in full swing, Apple sells more iPods than that it in a single year.

Still, at a recording medium MiniDisc was a hit, and Sony will continue to make both discs and MD-compatible hi-fi kit.

source:Sony to can MiniDisc Walkman

[Soundbox]

That is sad - but I wonder what the MD compatable Hi-Fi they speak of at the end is?

[PsychoPimpKiller]

Even though we all pretty much knew that this would be the case, it still sucks. I should enough gear and MD's to last me for a while though. Maybe for the rest of my life, I hope so anyway.

[Jimma]

That is sad - but I wonder what the MD compatable Hi-Fi they speak of at the end is?

The Nikkei article itself says, "Sony will continue to make the MiniDiscs themselves, as well as stereos that can play back the audio discs. It will also keep producing CD Walkmans." which would suggest that they will still manufacture some MD decks, for the Japanese market at least. Whether that means separates, bookshelf systems or boomboxes is anyone's guess.

This is interesting as I previously thought the RH1 was the only piece of MiniDisc equipment that Sony still had in production.

[Odyssey]

The Nikkei article itself says, "Sony will continue to make the MiniDiscs themselves, as well as stereos that can play back the audio discs. It will also keep producing CD Walkmans." which would suggest that they will still manufacture some MD decks, for the Japanese market at least. Whether that means separates, bookshelf systems or boomboxes is anyone's guess.

This is interesting as I previously thought the RH1 was the only piece of MiniDisc equipment that Sony still had in production.

Well the article is OLD OLD OLD, it may be reposted today, but the message is the same.

I am glad to hear that the discs are still being continued as for the equipment, I have not seen any other than the RH-1 and the M-200. If there is anything else out there with the SONY tag, its a surprise to me.

Tascam is making units, they are the only one I know of. And considering the back luck I had with my SONY decks, they probably SHOULD STOP MAKING DECKS. They are JUNK!. This is probably what the buying public thought as well. Sonys name has been getting tarnished for awhile now and the fact that their advertising, at least on the MD product, Diminished to nearly none, is it really a surprise that minidisc is lost in popularity???

Oh I know you hard noses will try to say the IPUD has won, get over it but I prefer a piece of equipment that is built well, such as the MINIDISC walkmans. I keep reading reports where the users of IPUDS are unhappy because they stop working or they fall apart and yet the MINIDISC walkman keeps right on spinning.

As for finding the Minidiscs, all I can say is beware of EBAY, I don't think it is a good place to buy from and I loathe PayPAL, having had my problems caused by them in the past. I don't suggest you use PayPAL at all.

Minidiscs are still available mail order or web at decent prices, but you have to find them. And be aware that SONY is not producing huge numbers of discs so don't be surprised if you are on a back order for a month or so if you order any sizable quantities.

Victor has been the other minidisc producer and as far as I know, is still producing discs. Though there may be others, I know of no other manufacturer that is still in production of the MD.

AS for SONY to " manufacture some MD decks ", like I said I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY IN YEARS. Maybe they are still clearing out their warehouses but I don't know where they are selling them. Even the web stores are void of SONY minidisc equipment.

The MiniDisc was/is a great tool for most of us and still offers functions for a portable device that was unheard of. Time marches on and so does technology and the normal phase out should have been the advent of video. Obviously the SONY Minidisc player with the LCD screen may have been a forerunner of this only to be deemed too far ahead of its time.

Now SONY has thrown in the towel and succombed to the IPUD, just as they did when they stopped making BETAmax and made VHS equipment. It was all MONEY considerations and both were the direct fault of really bad marketing.

Get into the habit of making your master recordings on CD and make compliations on the MD discs. You can save what you like or erase and record a new compliation. This will help you save your minidisc stash and keep the Minidisc that we all enjoy in service for a long time.

Don't forget to get a couple of batteries, especially the weird ones.

Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning, WHY ELSE ARE YOU HERE?

[MusicBringer]

Sony to scrap MiniDisc Walkmans

Sony will stop making its MiniDisc Walkman from as early as September due to a decrease in demand.

The news comes less than a year after the electronics manufacturer stopped production of its cassette Walkmans.

The MiniDisc Walkman was developed by Sony to be more compact than portable CD players while offering higher quality audio than cassette Walkmans. Like cassettes, MiniDiscs were recordable but they also delivered digital music quality.

As more people shift to listening to music on the mobile phones or on iPods, Sony no longer believes it can sell the portable players. However, according to the Japanese newspaper The Nikkei, it will continue to manufacture the discs themselves as well as MiniDisc players for home stereos.

The MiniDisc was introduced in 1992, more than a decade after the first cassette Walkman. Though the format was popular in Japan, it was less successful elsewhere and Japan remains one of the few places where MiniDisc Walkmans can be bought today.

Last year, Sony stopped Japanese production of the cassette Walkman because of declining demand but it still makes a small number of the gadgets in China for sale in a small number of countries. Sony still makes portable CD players.

Source:The Telegraph