Talk:MiniDisc

message: Merged page histories after an improper cut and paste move of the article. -- Mic 20:37, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Merged Page Histories

message: Sony do appear to have made some strange decisions with their MD devices, and their marketing strategy (which includes some peculiar views of digital rights management - DRM, and compatibility with other formats such as MP3, WMA etc.), though taken in historical context these may be perfectly reasonable. The lack of an intermediate data rate encoder on the new Hi-MD devices does seem unfortunate, but on the other hand if you look at the specifications when recording in Hi-SP (256) mode 160 minutes of recording is available on a reformatted minidisc, which is exactly the same as for LP2 (132 - ATRAC3) recording on the same type of discs - though this is only available on an MDLP player. If Hi-MD discs are used then the time available goes up to 475 minutes. The cost of the Hi-MD discs may be an issue, though I believe it is possible to get them at prices which are not much higher than standard MDs. 
I'm also not quite sure - but it seems that there might be several types of Hi-MD discs - original (thick) and newer (thin). Is this worth writing about? Does it matter?
One thing I don't yet know - is it possible to use a Hi-MD recorder to generate a standard format
MD?
Compatibility issues are perhaps something Sony hasn't fully worked out - but then, maybe they have.
Does anyone wish to update this article, or the Minidisc article to reflect this? David Martland 10:10, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Data Rates

message: So, how lossy ATRAC really is? This page says that that "... due to limitations in human hearing and perception, some sounds cannot be heard under a variety of conditions ...", - a sentence actually doesn't belong here at all, but should be in Lossy data compression. And the article at ATRAC says that its quality is comparable to that of MP3, and when tested against MP3 and OGG, ATRAC even came last. That's some contradiction.--Amir E. Aharoni 21:39, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I toned down the flowery talk. --KJ 03:57, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lossy/Lossless 

message: The article mentions that only albums on Sony's own label were released, however a number were released by Virgin and Chrysalis; can anyone else confirm that these are record labels are not part of the sony group. In addition would it be worth having a list of albums released in minidisc format? Y control 09:46, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Would it be worth having a list of albums released in minidisc format - NO! Please not another list ... but a category would be fine.--Amir E. Aharoni 19:16, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The list wouldn't be particularly long.  The number of titles in MD format increased consistently from the format's introduction.  Even a couple of the cheap labels adopted the format (often a healthy sign).  Sales followed suit, but then almost overnight sales of pre-recorded MDs stopped.  It is, of course, entirely coincidental, that this occured at the same time that the price of a blank MD fell below the difference between the CD and MD versions of the Album. 20.133.0.14 08:35, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pre-recorded Albums 

message: Ah, the MiniDisc. Good times.
LOL
Any chance of MiniDiscs becoming more widely used, or has the march of technology passed them by with the advent of flash memory? --Nerd42 02:14, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  nothing very important 

message: "As of 2006, MiniDisc is nearing the end of its life as a format and may soon be considered obsolete;"
I DO NOT THINK SO (not only because since today i am one of the mini disc people).
Probably cassette tape declines- but it is very EASY to record audio cassettes.
As said in the article, it has very advantage in field recording (i.e. percussion/keyboard session).
For this user group, i do not see an "End of lifetime".
IMHO, the sentence (in quotation marks) needs edit. User:Akidd_dublin 20060315
Blonde2max 19:29, 26 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  NOT OBSOLETE 

message: For some years, minidisk recorder/player models that were convenient for field or live recordings (mic ports, etc.) were sold by several major electronics dealers, but for some time now, only the models that are usable only for use with PCs have been available--and it seems even they're being replaced by ipods, mp3 players, etc. (Sony still makes one 'field-recordable' model, but it's becoming less easy to get without mail-orders.). Therefore, I tend to believe that 'the market' has come, or is coming, to look upon the minidisc format as one that tends to appeal to a limited number of hobbyists and enthusiasts: if they want it badly enough, they'll go out of their way to get it, but they needn't bother stopping by the local audio store. Of course, this speculation is based on limited personal observations and probably needs to be verified (or modified perhaps) by users with a wider scope of knowledge on the issue.
--JWMcCalvin 05:37, 13 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  A Marketing Trend? 

message: We have to have a more democratic or debated way to decide things like the presence on this article of Category: Failed media formats. I don't think you can call it a failure. Past it's peak, yes, but the millions of blanks sold hardly means it is as much of a failure as DCC or DAT. Even DAT was a success in professional markets. --LeedsKing 16:10, 10 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Failed format? I went to a BBC open day and found out they use MD extensively. Totnesmartin 21:05, 11 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Category: Failed media formats ????? 

message: I don't know about you, but in my area, FM radio transmits with a 15khz lowpass filter (i'm sure it used to be 19, but was lowered so that DAB wouldn't sound quite as horrid), and is effectively PCM ... well, ok, full analogue. No compression artefacts other than what the original recording had (as in... dynamic not data compression). Plus it's got fairly good stereo separation - not as good as CD, but with minimal crosstalk.
:No.  The upper frequency limit of FM analogue has always been 15 kHz.  You may be getting confused with the stereo pilot tone which is 19 kHz. 20.133.0.14 08:24, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Regardless of your rantings, DAB radio does sound vastly superior to FM analogue.  It wouldn't sell if it didn't.  Whether it sounds as good as it should sound is another matter. 20.133.0.14 08:24, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  some people's idea of FM quality 

message: I can imagine, that only the md-lovers do write and talk here, but hasn't anybody else noticed, that large parts of this article sound like official public relations announcements by sony?! the part about MDs benefits is outrageous long and positive and the part about the critical points sounds a lot like "but it's not that bad, is it?".
I'm not able to change this article myself, as I don't consider me to be such an insider to the md-universe. But I hope some of you might be able to lay down their heroic attitude about the md and change the tone of this article. That could prevent the impression, that a sony-staff-member wrote most of it.
I hope this doesn't offend anybody.
best regards, joe thanks.
82.83.105.235 01:22, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't find this as an advertisement at all.  I mean, if you're going to talk about a format and it's history, and that format was invented and driven by one company, then it's going to sound like a press release, sure.  But the article has criticism and I believe it has a fairly NPOV.  I learned a lot from it :)  dbs 19:57, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  advertisments 

message: There is a claim on this page that the various formats (HI-LP, HI-SP, and Linear PCM) are free of restriction in transport, meaning a recording done in Hi-LP on a Hi-MD unit is easily transferred to a PC or Mac.   
However, according to this page, the Hi-LP and Hi-SP formats cannot be transferred over USB to a host machine, only the Linear PCM can.  Can this be clarified?  As someone about to invest in a new recorder, this is important to me :) dbs 20:01, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The link you quote is correct and so is the article.  How can this be?  Because the link refers specifically to the Apple Mac, to which you cannot transfer the audio from a Hi-MD (apparently due to limitations deliberately built into the operating system by Apple).  But if you buy a real PC, the audio can be transferred. 20.133.0.14 08:28, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Only if you use Sonic Stage V3.4 or later - and then only in conjunction with the MZ-RH1 Hi-MD recorder. 20.133.0.13 (talk) 15:40, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Portability of recording formats?

message: I feel like the Hi-MD section is dominating the article.  Perhaps it should be made into its own article?  --ozzmosis 05:20, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Agreed.  added. —Down10 TACO 23:03, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

text: If anything, I think it belongs here, but also as a separate listing. There is too much common ground to separate it and enough different that it requires its own (more basic) listing, linking to more detailed information on the format under MiniDisc. Broooce 23:52, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

text: I think it should be split to its own article.--137.205.76.74 22:53, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hi-MD 

message: Removed from article:
:Defragmentation would require either two discs, or enough RAM to store the full contents of a MiniDisc, and computing power to rearrange the fragments so that each song is stored on the disc in one fragment only.
Why: not correct. To defrag it is not necessary to read a whole disc at once then write it all in one go. Windows has been defragging for many years with far less RAM than hdd capacity.
Computing power is no greater than needed to read or write to the disc.
Presumably the reason for no defrag is that
a) the software would cost money
b) the buffer makes it unnecessary
c) its a commercial product
Tabby 01:43, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Defrag 

message: Why no mention of the MiniDisc’s decline in popularity and eventual abandonment in recent years? — NRen2k5 18:03, 5 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Decline 

message: Minidisc had the potential to change the world in many ways and didn't. It arrived on the scene as a magneto optical storage medium long before iomegas 'ZIP' disc with a higher capacity, lower profile and much lower price tag per disc.
The devices themselves were designed as a recording format as much as a portable player. Players subsequent to the MZ-1 had the digital optical out removed and Net-MD players were completely unable to transfer recordings outside of the disc.
A petition with over 2000 signatures asking for this to be changed along with a proposal of how this could be achieved was sent to the heads of Sony in May 2002 and a reply was sent in September that year declining to make such changes in the near term. 
http://www.minidisc.org/netmd_petition_support.html
I would also mention that some of these concerns were addressed with Hi-MD, albeit with the adverse and somewhat strange side effect of deleting originals once transfer was complete.
I think these and other restrictions, in the context of the times, represent significant reasons such a fundamentally good format failed to achieve wider adoption. Although I have only skimmed the article as yet, I do not see any mention of them.
If no one out there wishes to write a section on this I may come back and do so later.
I'm new at this so feel free to edit My statement. This statement is false and should be removed or edited. "Stationary MiniDisc-player/recorders never got into the lower price ranges, and most consumers had to hook the portable player to the hi-fi in order to record. This inconvenience contrasted the earlier common use of cassette player/recorders as a more or less standard part of an ordinary hi-fi set-up, even before the break-through of portable cassette tape players." I owned a MiniDisc player and recorder, the media cost more than CDs but in CA they were reasonably priced. I think the player / recorder retailed less that $200 CAD and the Media was approx $16 for a two pack. The MiniDiscs also were incredibly usefull because they could be re-writen and that point CD-RW was uncommon. To that point CD-RW are still pricey because of low demand. Perhaps the author should make statements saying CD-RW was a fail media also? What killed Minidisc for me was the growing size of medialess portable "MP3 players" at about the point where they passed 256Mb. NRM Keith  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.10.146.43 (talk) 01:58, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I removed the offending statement, since it’s demonstrably untrue that home MD decks never came down in price. — tooki (talk) 15:57, 15 July 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Limitations placed by Sony on Minidisc as a recording format