Think: What are you going to use MD for?Jun 08 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Think before you jump into MDs.
Before you buy a mini-disc recorder, you need to think about what you are going to use MD's for. Are you going to use a mini-disc player like a walkman for listening to music as you're jogging? Are you looking for a good portable digital recorder? Do you want to listen to music from the net? Mini-discs were a great media that never really took off when they were first introduced nearly ten years ago. Their appeal was that they were digital and could be recorded and erased like tapes. Unfortunately, MDs need to use compression techniques to fit audio onto their tiny 2 inch disks. For most people, the loss of audio quality will not be noticible with new equipment, but some have said the loss was significant on older equipment (I don't know myself). The arrival of cheap CD burners ended much of the appeal of mini-discs. If you are looking to make digital archive copies of your cds, digital copies for your car, etc, CD-burners are probably more appropriate than MD. If you are looking for a digital walkman you might again consider the portable CD player walkmans. Consider that you will need a MD recorder in order to get your source onto MD. (Sony Records released a few recordings on MD, but you aren't likely to find anything now). Unless your source has a digital output that can mate with the digital input of an MD recorder, you will not be able to preserve the digital signal through the recording (although you aren't likely to notice the difference). The portable MD recorders can be expensive if you are only planning on using them as a walkman. Where MDs really excel is their ability to be a portable digital recorder. I use a Sony MZ-R70 for radio production work and I'm very happy with it. Unfortunately, the portable recorders lack a critical feature (a digital output) that would make transferring digital recordings much easier. Still, it is much better than the alternatives : old portable DAT recorders or rack-mounted CD recorders. In summary, MDs are neat, but they are somewhat obsolete and you need to really think about why you want to make an investment in them. Oddly, it's actually easier to find MD equipment and blank disks now than just a couple of years ago, even though minidiscs are clearly less useful now than just a while ago. I think this has to do with more manufacturers entering the market (Sanyo and Panasonic). -A  |
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