Overview

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• A MiniDisc (MD) is a disc-based data storage device intended for storage of digitized audio.
• The recording is performed by a magnetic recording head,
  and requires an increased amount of (battery) power (laser in write mode).
• The playback is done by the laser alone, similar to a CD player.
• The technology was announced by Sony in 1991 and introduced January 12 1992,
  and is capable of storing any kind of binary data.
• It is based on ATRAC/ATRAC3, using various bitrates, and sampling directly from the analog input.
• It includes a digital rights system for recording from the digital (optical) input.
• Some modern recorders have USB connectors but require special software for operation.
• Standard discs can store 80 minutes of recordings (or indeed a few minutes less).

Market history

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Along with Philips and Matsushita' Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) system, the MiniDisc was targeted as a replacement for analogue cassette tapes as the recording system for Hi-Fi equipment but, as a consumer format, MiniDisc has met with only limited success, though it has enjoyed a loyal niche following in some circles. It did not catch on in the U.S. and Europe as well as Sony had hoped; in Japan, it is still relatively popular, though quickly being replaced by flash and HDD-based audio players like Apple's iPod. The low initial uptake of the format was attributed to the small number of pre-recorded albums available on MD as a relatively small number of publishers embraced the format. The initial high cost of equipment was also a factor. The pre-recorded disks disappeared from the market rather suddenly — coincidentally, once the cost of a blank disc plus the cost of the compact disc version became less than the cost of the equivalent pre-recorded minidisc.

The company avoided the mistake that it had made in the 1970s with the Betamax video recording system, and this time licensed the MD technology to other manufacturers, with JVC, Sharp, Pioneer, Panasonic and others all producing their own MD systems. In recent years MiniDisc has faced new competition from CD-Recordable, solid-state memory recording (flash memory), and hard disk recording, while the popularity of traditional cassette tape refuses to wane in certain quarters. MiniDisc is widely respected as being a very reliable format when it comes to portable audio storage, such as field recording.

More on [ MiniDisc ]

NYT > Dining & Wine

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Planenews Aviation News Portal

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