The demise of MiniDisc?

As those of you following my MP3 Audio thread are aware, I've recently gone out and bought an MP3 player. Thinking even more, it's made me wonder if it's worth the hassle to bother keeping MiniDisc equipment around anymore.

Once the time-consuming task of ripping all my CDs onto my PC's hard disk is done, it's simply a case of sending tracks to the player when I want to hear them and ripping the odd new CD I buy. It also means that unlike MiniDisc. I no longer need to record everything to a different medium - which takes a while with 550+ CDs. MP3 is also convenient for background listening.

I never used the NetMD function on my current portable (due to the checking in/checking out music hassle and the general unstability of the software). The seperates deck is used mainly as a recorder and the other portable (a Sharp) is simply used down the gym. I'm seriously considering selling my two portables and single seperates deck.

What do you guys reckon? Is it a wise decision.

 

If you have found a level of quality in MP3 that you like, and you've got the hardware and software to play MP3s, then you might as well get rid of your minidisc stuff.

Personally, I am going to stick with minidisc for the time being, as I have a portable that I really like, and I also use it for live recording of the two bands I play in. However, if MP3 works for you then there seems no point in you hanging on to MD.

Hope this helps,

Tom

 

Thanks Tom - I don't use it at all for live recording. Basically for a way to enjoy my music on the move/at work without hauling around a ton of CDs.

 

No problem - surfing this forum is a great excuse not to revise for exams

 

I always thought Sony really missed a trick on this one - if they'd released the new 1 meg MDs a year or two earlier or even built MP3 playback and encoding into the little buggers a few years back, they'd have grabbed a big chunk of the mp3 player market before the hard disc models came out. If the choice were between buying memory sticks or minidiscs to store your MP3s, which would you have picked (afforded)?

It'll be sad to see, but I can honestly see my MD deck and portable going the way of the dodo

 

Yup my portable (died after about four years heavy use and knocks ) and seperate deck have both now been retired. Flogged the deck to a friend (one of the first sonys, je510 that I bought from Richers for about £180 or so I seem to remember)and the knackered portables sitting gathering dust. Much easier to fill the Iriver 120 up with mp3/ogg and just bung it in the pocket before leaving for work

 

Yep its a question I have been asking myself too. I have a seperates deck and two portables that I never use. I actually copy mp3's to an sd card and listen to them on my phone. Admitably the quality once on my phone is not as good as the minidisk, but the convieniance is hard to ignore. No more hours wasted copying cds. And playing mp3's from my pc through my DAC has quite suprisingly good results. So I might say good bye to my minidisks too. I think the only thing putting me off is, with threads like these, WHO is going to buy them

Ah well they were good whilst they lasted.

 

Well if any of you want to sell your separates decks, let me know! I currently record on my portable and wouldn't mind picking up a recording deck cheap.

 

Tom,

I have an MDS-JE480 I might be selling. Looking for about £60 inc. P&P. PM me if you're interested and we might be able to sort something out.

 

Flogged my MZ-N707 portable recently (fetched £75 on eBay ) and have got an iPod. Never looked back. There is no comparison.

Anyone want about 30 minidiscs for the cost of postage (in the UK)? They've got stuff recorded on them (CD's I'd ripped to them but obviously they can be recorded over again).

I really think that MD has a very limited future. Maybe a niche market for making live recordings but I can't see more than that.

Michael.

 

One of the reasons I keep using MD is because of recording. Regardinh the MD deck, nsherin, I'll think about it and get back to you!

 

i use minidisk in my car (as i had a md/radio lying around and the stock rover radio / cassette is utter toss). unfortunately since i got a cd5 i've been unable to record on it properly thanks to naims no digital out policy. i occasionally use my portable to listen to whilst excersising but usually just crank my main rig.
michael i'd be interested in the md's but not just yet, could you hang on to them for a week or 2?
cheers


julian

 

Michael I'd love to have them. I bought a MD recorder for school recently to record the kids work, and it would save me and my department a considerable amount of money .
Got to say there is no other format that offers MD convenience for live recording. When I was making up GCSE compilation tapes it saved me about 10 hours of editing.
I think for that reason alone MD will survive.

 

i certainly wont be replacing my minidisc machines,as has already been mentioned there great for live recording,also there almost a standard playback medium for sound effects in theatre,i can record stuff at home,take a small disc into work and be certain it will play straight away without messing around with converting between diffrent standards.
hard disk machines are slowly making an apearance but there out of the budget for alot of venues,if anyone is considering selling a md machine (not portable) that has A pause i may know of someone intrested

 

Hippy & Lordsummit - I can definately see where it's got niche uses, so can understand why you'd both be happy using it. Just that for general listening, I can see that the end could be near.

I listen to MP3s on the move/on the train/in work ripped at 128kbps and to be honest, there's so much other background noise, 128kbps is certainly good enough for the use. It also gives me a reasonable compromise between sound quality/player capacity.

My PC is linked up to my amp (both are in the same room), so I can use a PC for analogue recording or if push came to shove, even my Sony NICAM VCR and then send it down to a PC for editing later on. With CD-R discs being so cheap and CD burners at 52X, it makes far more sense.

 

Julian - you asked first, but lordsummit needs them for a good cause. Tough decision :tempted: . They're in my desk at work in London, where I will be from Monday and the following two weeks - I'd really prefer to send them out next week sometime......

Michael.

 

i shall bow to the good cause. if lordsummit can teach some little scrotes not to nick my hubcaps with the aid of some minidisks then i'll consider it a worthwhile deed.
cheers


julian

 

Having bought one for school I don't think I'd buy one for my own personal use. I'd rather stick with CD or even good old tape. But it undoubtably is becoming a niche product. Interestingly enough you couldn't find one in Manchester for love nor money when I was looking. Plenty of cheap tricksy ones about, but to find one with a Mic. input was not easy. I guess it's kind of a successer to DAT featuring more loss, but better track accessibility. For what I want only hard drive would do better and that starts at about £600, and would need downloading and emptying at regular intervals. At the moment for those of us that want cheap and convenient live recording there's no comparisom. Now if someone wants to give me a pro-walkman....

 

Nice one Julian . lordsummit - PM me your address and I'll send them out early next week.

Michael.

 

Methinks reports of Minidisc death are greatly exgarrated, e..., well, overdone.

Ok, I have a lot tied into MD (Sony 555ES/Sony 940QS) and over 1200 compilation discs so I'm biased.

But for me the shear versality and ease of use sets it leagues ahead of CD RW etc..

Saying that, I follow the MP3 / i Pod thing but I readily confess to being a bit in the dark about it - I do know anything connected to computers has caused me nothing but grief down through the years.

So I'll stay put for a while - as did vinyl buffs and it did them no harm.

What goes round comes round...........