HI-MD will be take out any other format!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

This is a major step for Sony to introduce the 1GB minidisc that acts as an external hard drive. This will put minidisc in the forefront of all formats out there for portable music ect. As if minidisc weren't already the best thing out there for their ability to be written over and over again and NetMd took it to another level, this will put it in the spotlight now. All the critics can just kiss it now!

[Guest Anonymous]

You're sadly mistaken.

Hi-MD will fail, because Sony again made the mistake of not giving it playback support of any other file formats but ATRAC.

While other players like the iPod and the iHP are playing MP3, WMA and Ogg Vorbis, you're still chained to ATRAC if you buy a Hi-MD.

[Guest Anonymous]

And you are mistaken because the transcoding really isn't a big issue. So what if Sony is playing the proprietary game! Who else has married the rugged benefits of "old" technology with the new? Once people get over how cool it sounds to say "MP3," and get down to functionability, fidelity, and preservation, they'll import all of their MP3 files into OpenMG where they "become" ,gasp!. ATRAC3plus files, and this new Hi-MD will be unbeatable.

[tekdroid]

the markets will be split, just like they are now, IMO. Solid-state technology won't stay still. Neither will MiniDisc. Neither will the the compressed or lossless formats we record in, for that matter.

I don't think there will be a clear 'winner'. I don't think there has to be.

They each have strengths and weaknesses. Some are technological, usability and cost-related, while others are political. But it's good there's choice.

In an ideal world, a device with no moving parts, unlimited rewrites, almost unlimited capacity, flexible recording formats, ease-of-use, insane transfer speed, excellent data and video capabilities, low cost, wireless compatibility & universal slots for interfacing with everything from phones to video cameras to music players to computers to whatever would be highly preferable. So there's always room for improvement in so many areas for any format (or product) out there now.

There is no format that's ideal in every area, that's is why we have so many, and plenty more to come as technology progresses.

In 5 years a lot can happen. In 10 who knows what things will look like? I could get my dream of terabytes on a grain of rice, ultra-reliable and interfacing wirelessly with almost every device on earth at insane speeds and offering me lossless multichannel audio and high definition video recording in the palm of my hand, making physical formats themselves seem highly antiquated.

You never know what breakthroughs are around the corner This is just the latest in a long line of endless technological improvements, IMO. They might keep it for another 5-10 years, before offering the Next Big Thing. Technology marches on. No clear 'winner' if u ask me.

[Guest Anonymous]

And you are mistaken because the transcoding really isn't a big issue.  So what if Sony is playing the proprietary game!  Who else has married the rugged benefits of "old" technology with the new?  Once people get over how cool it sounds to say "MP3," and get down to functionability, fidelity, and preservation, they'll import all of their MP3 files into OpenMG where they "become" ,gasp!. ATRAC3plus files, and this new Hi-MD will be unbeatable.

Okay, you're just talking out your ass now.

Transcoding is a big issue, especially when you're transcoding from a format like MP3, which most people really don't know how to make high-quality files with... and going to ATRAC, which is only about as good.

[voodoofish]

Yeah, I mean I can understand Sony forcing NetMD to use ATRAC as the NetMD players used the same 10 year old format, so it needed to be backwards compatable with non-netMD players. However, Hi-MD is effectively a brand new starting point - MD players will not be able to play Hi-MDs anyway. To me it seems stupid that Sony are only supporting ATRAC, I mean I can understand them wanting to push their own format, but I've never really seen an AAC or WMA player that doesn't support MP3 aswell. Sony have tried to give this format the same advantages as MP3 players that make good use of their PC connectivity, but this will only confuse consumers as they'll get confused with all the different formats, by which I mean SonicStage will say things like 'converting' and the every day user will be like what?!?!?! (after all, alot of people on this board don't really know what they're on about half the time and they're bound to know more than most because they're here in the first place. Also I've seen people using 'iPod' to just mean MP3 player instead of the specific Apple product - most people don't know or care about all the stuff behind all this).

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't think that many iPod fans are going to be swayed by Hi-MD. Money permitting, I will get a Sony Hi-MD, but that's because I sold my iPod well before I even found out about Sony's latest technology and about the new mini iPod. The disadvantages of Hi-MD outweigh its positives for many people, with myself excluded. I prefer longer battery life, better sound quality, and higher durability, but most consumers want easy usability, multi-format compatibility, and higher storage.

Also, iTunes plain rocks, while Sony' software is not only limiting with its strict copyright laws, it plain sucks :x