I was a teenager when MiniDisc was in it's hay day and i loved it. I never could afford my own one but i played around with my cousin's one. They are simply better quality than chinese MP3 players & iPods. Even if they are not made by sony, the minidisc technology was always backed by highquality components. Then NetMD came out, that was awesome. It was probably the first portable media which allowed you to swap in & out lossless audio.
To me is exactly the same .., Both use almost same tech specs (bits per sample, sample rate, compression). But I like how it looks...., Like total recall Schwarzenegger movie...,haha
Great video! I still use Minidisc too, but I've been using the format for a while now. I bought my first portable in 1995 (a Japanese Pioneer unit), and I have several decks and portables including two car stereos with MD players!
So long as blank media is made for the format, I'll keep using it!
I feel the same way too. Those MP3 and Ipod crap, the music lost it's soul and sound horrible. A joke. You can do alot with a MD that those two crappy inventions (MP3 and Ipod) can't give you.
You know, I picked up a minidisc player the other day (old formats fascinate me) and I'm shocked to find that they sound absolutely amazing. I've been transferring music using the optical from my PS3. Incredible bass and vocal clarity!
@Legion2000 Excellent video! I have an old Sony MDS JE510 (yes I bought it in the nineties and absolutely still love it for the same reasons mentioned).
I've read it's a 20 bit A/D.
If the 1BIT is better than the 24BIT of the portable one in the video... how does that stuff work? Higher is usually better so... I'm confused. I'm looking at buying an MZ-RH1 too, can't find info on the A/D but I bet it's reaaaally good. One of the last... Yep strange days :-) Bedankt.
The 1Bit / 24Bit thing is extremely confusing imo ^^ I heard of both things: "the higher the better" and "1-bit is the most precise" or something similar. I have the feeling, that my sharp 24-Bit recordings sound better than my Kenwood 1-Bit recordings though, but maybe it's the ATRAC-Format used (Sharp uses it's own ATRAC).
What do you think?
I saw a MZ-RH1 lying around in a store nearby for 300 Euros xD It's too much for me though, don't want to use Hi-MD anyway.
@Legion2000 I do remember the 1BIT as top of the range models when MD was released. I think the JE510 uses 20bit as ENcoding and something else as decoding. If the ATRAC is different on the Sharp it should mean a different algorithm is used when encoding/recording. Putting different nuances in the sound spectrum as the lenght or size of the files should remain compliant to how much minutes a disc can contain and all other brands should be able to DEcode it (reproduce the sound in audio)
@Legion2000 part 2 continued. ).There are indeed different ATRAC versions, they kept improving for sure on Sony's official side. 300€ for a MZ HR1 is too much. You can get them new for less. I'm not planning on using the Hi-MD aspect but it is the ultimate version in functions and portable, even for normal MD use. Can't find exact specs on the encoder but a review clearly stated it is far beyond SSD/SD type mp3 versions as far as recording audio on the go, goes.
@Legion2000 part 3 (damn short comment boxes!!) It is still acknowledged as a very practical means to exchange and record tracks/recordings of pre-master audio. I especially want an loss-less transfer of recordings. I don't have an s/pdif IN on my pc so I can't use the JE510 in that way (besides it's very much not portable :-)) I want to go out in the open with a condenser sennheiser mic on battery. Maybe send a PM if we continue dialogue.
@laxiton 1Bit & 24bit are not just incredments in data. They are totaly diferent digital audio formats. Infact both are just difrent ways to mathematicaly describe a wave. 24bit is now the typical format known as "PCM" where wave is described as Time & Intensity. 1bit is a newer digital format called "DSD" where a wave is described by translating density of bits. Mathematicaly 1bit should be infintiley better but in reality 24bit is nearly indistinguishble.
The quality you can get off a minidisc even with ATRAC1 (292kbps) is still better than a 192kbps MP3 file that you might get with your iPod. Although unfortunately ATRAC1 is not very efficient coding because the MD players were limited in processing capability, no match for CD or DAT (especially at 48KHz). I personally prefer DAT as a physical digital format. It's a great way to record FM broadcasts digitally, has a long playing time, and sounds great through my DAC Magic.
I love this format and still use it to this day. I agree with you, people are LAZY and have a issue with conveinience. I hate Ipods. I enjoy MDs alot.
This is a great video, and you make some very good points. I too have began to feel, tired of the music on my ipod classic. i've got a NH1 and a RH1 MD player. I'm gonna get them out and start over.
minidiscs are more of a collectable now some think there meuseum pieces but yet something from the feuture there still very reliable (they dont die like an MP3 player does if your player dies you still have your music ware as an ipod or mp3 player if it gives out you loose whats on it so minidisc all the way ^-^
it is an awsome format, i bought my md-ms702 at a garage sale for $20 and ive used for many times my guitar recording-- its amazing. i still dont get that it never caught on my guess it was the price $400.mu only complaint is that the battery is unique and mine doesnt charge any more.I plan on doing a video of it in the future.
I don't think it's just because of nostalgia. Many people feel the same with the files on their Player/PC.
I also use CDs just because of the Sound Quality of course. MDs are just more fun overall with the great editing features, portability, design and sound on par with CDs. It's the perfect format for me. On top, there are some rare pre-recorded MDs which I like to collect.
Bought an Onkyo MD 2321 in 2000 but never really used it that much. I think the ATRAC III compression is pretty good but I did not prefer it to redbook cd. To me the format was especially nice for car audio decks but for home use it never caught on with me.
Worth mentioning, most people seem to think you can only burn to minidisc in real time. This isn't true if you purchase a netmd player you can burn to minidisc through a usb connection at up to 32x for most players (i believe 64x might also be possible), As well as being fast this method transfers your track, artist and album info the to the disc negating the need to manualy enter it
I can summise the downfall of minidisc in two words - Sonic Stage.
I love minidisc and still use it today over any other format but sonic stage is a god awful piece of garbage and sony should burn in hell for creating it. Anyone who's own a netmd player will understand.
To record for me in real time is no big deal, like people are too in a hurry, can't relax or breathe in this world. They are so so in a rush that they have all the time in the world to listen to one of their favorite albums on a minidisc. What is 45 mins or so gonna hurt? Like really is it gonna kill people to be patient? Seriously! Like the Howard Jones song "Don't Live Your Life In One Day". :)
sony dumped minidisc, i remember the price of the discs was too much and the piracy too easy, still miss the minidisc, i have a sony standalone and a sharp portable.
This should have been the replacement of cassette and cd, alltogether! What happened? I had mine 5 years ago, I quited using it because I couldn't get sonicstage for Vista, I hadn't internet in that days. Why sony has such bad support for minidisc? I ended up using a SE phone instead. :'(
@TrueSegaFan it'll sound pathetic, but I didn't have an internet connection to download the program, Sony only deploys the installer and then you install it directly from internet, there is not a stand-alone installation. And must be directly the pc that will contain the program! So I had to wait until a year ago to have broadband and finally have sonicstage for Vista. I love it, it's a wonderful machine. I'm like the vynil fans, I still find MD better than cd and cassette! :D MZ-RH1 is awesome!
@janX9 Why are you going to bother converting them to MP3? That will just result in a loss of sound quality. Why not continue to use MiniDisc. It is far far superior to MP3.
I loved MD back when it first came out, but now it's just a pain in comparison to MP3. I converted all my CD's to MP3 too. It's just easier to have thousands of albums on a harddrive than on discs.
As for loss in sound quality...yes technically there is loss in sound quality when doing the transfer, but with the highest MP3 quality settings, it is unnotticable to the human ear. Even sound engineers have a hard time distingushing the difference.
It's not inconvienant for me. I'm not lazy. I rather have the advantages of MDs and along with it's quality than a useless cheap sounding compressed sound garbage like IPODS AND MP3's.
Recording in real time is a pain. Well that is for those who are in a hurry for nothing that they can't relax and enjoy time than having life rush you by. The same is for those who drive cars. Always in a hurry to go nowhere and that is why we have more accidents than ever. They should take the speed signs down, cause no one listens anymore. The sign says 55MPH...that's it! Not 85MPH!
IPODS and MP3s suck! I hate them them(IPODS/MP3) with passion. MD is a format that i love and am compassionate about. You can't do the things on IPODS and MP3 players that you can do on this format...Hello!
I have quite a bit of Minidisc kit - Got a nice MD deck on my stereo & a little portable one, I'm still impressed by the sound quality of these things! Good vid.
In the childhood I dreamed of the MD-player, having read music magazines, but at us (in Russia) it was expensive. Therefore used the cassette player :)
Certainly, MiniDisc - is much better MP3, but only in house use (as well as a compact disc)
You can get everything you need at ebay or amazon (ebay has more to offer though). From stationary and portable devices to blank discs and original pre-recorded MDs. I'm also able to buy blank MD's at a huge electronic-stuff-store. But for most people, Internet is the best way!
Ah, yes, the MiniDisc, I remember it quite well - another one of Sony's failed attempts to take over a market with one of their formats (Betamax, anyone?^^). They basically overhauled the MiniDisc design to create the UMD, so kudos to them that their efforts didn't totally go to waste after mp3-players took over.
All in all, I still love to buy CDs more than anything else. =).
Interesting. Never knew about mini disc music or systems. The same thing you're saying about music is the same way i feel about most stuff including games, movies and music. It's kind of a big system and that's a downside. I like that you have Nas, but that's not his best album.
I also think the same about games, movies etc. I think that many things loose value for some reason. Just look at the download games. You get the game. That's it. Where is the booklet, the manual, the smell of a freshly printed manual :D I will never get the satisfaction of "popping in" a cartridge in my video game system from newer systems.
I hear Killer Instinct music in the background. Awesome!
cartoonworld1000 3 weeks ago
I was a teenager when MiniDisc was in it's hay day and i loved it. I never could afford my own one but i played around with my cousin's one. They are simply better quality than chinese MP3 players & iPods. Even if they are not made by sony, the minidisc technology was always backed by highquality components. Then NetMD came out, that was awesome. It was probably the first portable media which allowed you to swap in & out lossless audio.
Neojhun 1 month ago
To me is exactly the same .., Both use almost same tech specs (bits per sample, sample rate, compression). But I like how it looks...., Like total recall Schwarzenegger movie...,haha
davidRios622 2 months ago
Great video! I still use Minidisc too, but I've been using the format for a while now. I bought my first portable in 1995 (a Japanese Pioneer unit), and I have several decks and portables including two car stereos with MD players!
So long as blank media is made for the format, I'll keep using it!
laserdiscphan 2 months ago
I feel the same way too. Those MP3 and Ipod crap, the music lost it's soul and sound horrible. A joke. You can do alot with a MD that those two crappy inventions (MP3 and Ipod) can't give you.
chadergeist 2 months ago 2
You know, I picked up a minidisc player the other day (old formats fascinate me) and I'm shocked to find that they sound absolutely amazing. I've been transferring music using the optical from my PS3. Incredible bass and vocal clarity!
Zunecrazy 4 months ago 2
@Zunecrazy
Yeah I experienced the same which led me to stick with the format. I hope you will have a lot of fun with it ^^
Legion2000 3 months ago
What software do you use to make your md labels??
domon123sback 4 months ago
@domon123sback
It's called MD-Cover
Legion2000 4 months ago
@Legion2000 Excellent video! I have an old Sony MDS JE510 (yes I bought it in the nineties and absolutely still love it for the same reasons mentioned).
I've read it's a 20 bit A/D.
If the 1BIT is better than the 24BIT of the portable one in the video... how does that stuff work? Higher is usually better so... I'm confused. I'm looking at buying an MZ-RH1 too, can't find info on the A/D but I bet it's reaaaally good. One of the last... Yep strange days :-) Bedankt.
laxiton 4 months ago
@laxiton
The 1Bit / 24Bit thing is extremely confusing imo ^^ I heard of both things: "the higher the better" and "1-bit is the most precise" or something similar. I have the feeling, that my sharp 24-Bit recordings sound better than my Kenwood 1-Bit recordings though, but maybe it's the ATRAC-Format used (Sharp uses it's own ATRAC).
What do you think?
I saw a MZ-RH1 lying around in a store nearby for 300 Euros xD It's too much for me though, don't want to use Hi-MD anyway.
Legion2000 4 months ago
@Legion2000 I do remember the 1BIT as top of the range models when MD was released. I think the JE510 uses 20bit as ENcoding and something else as decoding. If the ATRAC is different on the Sharp it should mean a different algorithm is used when encoding/recording. Putting different nuances in the sound spectrum as the lenght or size of the files should remain compliant to how much minutes a disc can contain and all other brands should be able to DEcode it (reproduce the sound in audio)
laxiton 4 months ago
@Legion2000 part 2 continued. ).There are indeed different ATRAC versions, they kept improving for sure on Sony's official side. 300€ for a MZ HR1 is too much. You can get them new for less. I'm not planning on using the Hi-MD aspect but it is the ultimate version in functions and portable, even for normal MD use. Can't find exact specs on the encoder but a review clearly stated it is far beyond SSD/SD type mp3 versions as far as recording audio on the go, goes.
laxiton 4 months ago
@Legion2000 part 3 (damn short comment boxes!!) It is still acknowledged as a very practical means to exchange and record tracks/recordings of pre-master audio. I especially want an loss-less transfer of recordings. I don't have an s/pdif IN on my pc so I can't use the JE510 in that way (besides it's very much not portable :-)) I want to go out in the open with a condenser sennheiser mic on battery. Maybe send a PM if we continue dialogue.
laxiton 4 months ago
@laxiton 1Bit & 24bit are not just incredments in data. They are totaly diferent digital audio formats. Infact both are just difrent ways to mathematicaly describe a wave. 24bit is now the typical format known as "PCM" where wave is described as Time & Intensity. 1bit is a newer digital format called "DSD" where a wave is described by translating density of bits. Mathematicaly 1bit should be infintiley better but in reality 24bit is nearly indistinguishble.
Neojhun 1 month ago
Never learnd the flash/usb stick stuff! But I like it, too.
khpn666 4 months ago
Great video. I have the Sony MZ-R50 walkman which is very well built and am thinking of integrating it into my systems.
lunhil12 5 months ago
can't go wrong wit Nas...even if you didn't know what you were buying lol
hiphopsocnroc 6 months ago
The quality you can get off a minidisc even with ATRAC1 (292kbps) is still better than a 192kbps MP3 file that you might get with your iPod. Although unfortunately ATRAC1 is not very efficient coding because the MD players were limited in processing capability, no match for CD or DAT (especially at 48KHz). I personally prefer DAT as a physical digital format. It's a great way to record FM broadcasts digitally, has a long playing time, and sounds great through my DAC Magic.
monty78pig 6 months ago
I love this format and still use it to this day. I agree with you, people are LAZY and have a issue with conveinience. I hate Ipods. I enjoy MDs alot.
chadergeist 6 months ago
This is a great video, and you make some very good points. I too have began to feel, tired of the music on my ipod classic. i've got a NH1 and a RH1 MD player. I'm gonna get them out and start over.
gqsmooth0801 6 months ago
minidiscs are more of a collectable now some think there meuseum pieces but yet something from the feuture there still very reliable (they dont die like an MP3 player does if your player dies you still have your music ware as an ipod or mp3 player if it gives out you loose whats on it so minidisc all the way ^-^
evelluchia 7 months ago
MiniDisc - best portable format ever... even professionals are using it (e.g. GZ pressing plant is still accepting MiniDisc)
BlueNeon81 7 months ago
it is an awsome format, i bought my md-ms702 at a garage sale for $20 and ive used for many times my guitar recording-- its amazing. i still dont get that it never caught on my guess it was the price $400.mu only complaint is that the battery is unique and mine doesnt charge any more.I plan on doing a video of it in the future.
hifijohn 7 months ago
Lol Someone is playing Killer Instinct in the background.
jblucio3177 8 months ago
If you not like the quality of mp3 format why not use flac it has a higher quality them mp3 format.
virusmatt12 8 months ago
@RioTroloMolo
I don't think it's just because of nostalgia. Many people feel the same with the files on their Player/PC.
I also use CDs just because of the Sound Quality of course. MDs are just more fun overall with the great editing features, portability, design and sound on par with CDs. It's the perfect format for me. On top, there are some rare pre-recorded MDs which I like to collect.
Legion2000 8 months ago
@Legion2000 You can get lossless MD's, you know.
monty78pig 6 months ago
Bought an Onkyo MD 2321 in 2000 but never really used it that much. I think the ATRAC III compression is pretty good but I did not prefer it to redbook cd. To me the format was especially nice for car audio decks but for home use it never caught on with me.
shodulik 9 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Worth mentioning, most people seem to think you can only burn to minidisc in real time. This isn't true if you purchase a netmd player you can burn to minidisc through a usb connection at up to 32x for most players (i believe 64x might also be possible), As well as being fast this method transfers your track, artist and album info the to the disc negating the need to manualy enter it
ste022 11 months ago
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ste022 11 months ago
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ste022 11 months ago
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ste022 11 months ago
I can summise the downfall of minidisc in two words - Sonic Stage.
I love minidisc and still use it today over any other format but sonic stage is a god awful piece of garbage and sony should burn in hell for creating it. Anyone who's own a netmd player will understand.
ste022 11 months ago
To record for me in real time is no big deal, like people are too in a hurry, can't relax or breathe in this world. They are so so in a rush that they have all the time in the world to listen to one of their favorite albums on a minidisc. What is 45 mins or so gonna hurt? Like really is it gonna kill people to be patient? Seriously! Like the Howard Jones song "Don't Live Your Life In One Day". :)
chadergeist 11 months ago
As far as i know and have been a lover of the minidisc for more over a decade. Movies never where made on a minidisc and i wish they did.
chadergeist 11 months ago
minidisks are fantastic !!!
inn3rligh7 11 months ago
sony dumped minidisc, i remember the price of the discs was too much and the piracy too easy, still miss the minidisc, i have a sony standalone and a sharp portable.
Jaqshit 1 year ago
I love my Sony Net MD MZ-N520
soan1989 1 year ago
This should have been the replacement of cassette and cd, alltogether! What happened? I had mine 5 years ago, I quited using it because I couldn't get sonicstage for Vista, I hadn't internet in that days. Why sony has such bad support for minidisc? I ended up using a SE phone instead. :'(
solnegrolunaroja 1 year ago
@solnegrolunaroja But sonicstage works fine on Vista O_o Btw i have HI-MD Sony MZ-RH1 japanese edition =) the silver one
TrueSegaFan 1 year ago
@TrueSegaFan it'll sound pathetic, but I didn't have an internet connection to download the program, Sony only deploys the installer and then you install it directly from internet, there is not a stand-alone installation. And must be directly the pc that will contain the program! So I had to wait until a year ago to have broadband and finally have sonicstage for Vista. I love it, it's a wonderful machine. I'm like the vynil fans, I still find MD better than cd and cassette! :D MZ-RH1 is awesome!
solnegrolunaroja 1 year ago
I still have my MiniDisk from back when they came out.
It's a shame it didn't cach on. It's cool, and reminds me of the original star trek series:D
Awsome!
volmerswing 1 year ago
@volmerswing Yep, I still have all my MD players and discs. MD trumps CD's, I wish MD would have taken over CD's in stores.
Now I have to find an easy way of converting my 350 MD collection to MP3. Man that's going to be a lot of work.
janX9 1 year ago 2
@janX9 Why are you going to bother converting them to MP3? That will just result in a loss of sound quality. Why not continue to use MiniDisc. It is far far superior to MP3.
PanikJimma 1 year ago
@PanikJimma In a word "convenience"
I loved MD back when it first came out, but now it's just a pain in comparison to MP3. I converted all my CD's to MP3 too. It's just easier to have thousands of albums on a harddrive than on discs.
As for loss in sound quality...yes technically there is loss in sound quality when doing the transfer, but with the highest MP3 quality settings, it is unnotticable to the human ear. Even sound engineers have a hard time distingushing the difference.
janX9 1 year ago
It's not inconvienant for me. I'm not lazy. I rather have the advantages of MDs and along with it's quality than a useless cheap sounding compressed sound garbage like IPODS AND MP3's.
chadergeist 1 year ago
Recording in real time is a pain. Well that is for those who are in a hurry for nothing that they can't relax and enjoy time than having life rush you by. The same is for those who drive cars. Always in a hurry to go nowhere and that is why we have more accidents than ever. They should take the speed signs down, cause no one listens anymore. The sign says 55MPH...that's it! Not 85MPH!
chadergeist 1 year ago
IPODS and MP3s suck! I hate them them(IPODS/MP3) with passion. MD is a format that i love and am compassionate about. You can't do the things on IPODS and MP3 players that you can do on this format...Hello!
chadergeist 1 year ago
I have quite a bit of Minidisc kit - Got a nice MD deck on my stereo & a little portable one, I'm still impressed by the sound quality of these things! Good vid.
ThePhoneUpdate 1 year ago
I'm lazy so I listen my music through Internet Radio, lol!
HLM190586 1 year ago
Respect.
Shame on me actually.
BringBackMy90s 1 year ago
In the childhood I dreamed of the MD-player, having read music magazines, but at us (in Russia) it was expensive. Therefore used the cassette player :)
Certainly, MiniDisc - is much better MP3, but only in house use (as well as a compact disc)
LiquorGeorge 1 year ago
it is cool. im getting one because of this video. thanks!
alecrubin69 1 year ago 2
aaahhhhh right ok ill check these tools out dude,
PheonixGamersLegacy 1 year ago
i know that soundtrack in the background, its from killer insticnt n64 at the start!!!
awsome, interesting indeed!!
where can i get these mini disc things?
What else do i need to make these things perfect to get legion2000?
awsome interesting video dude!
PheonixGamersLegacy 1 year ago
@PheonixGamersLegacy
You can get everything you need at ebay or amazon (ebay has more to offer though). From stationary and portable devices to blank discs and original pre-recorded MDs. I'm also able to buy blank MD's at a huge electronic-stuff-store. But for most people, Internet is the best way!
Legion2000 1 year ago
I very nearly bought one back in the day. Nice vid Sir.
LeShark75 1 year ago
Ah, yes, the MiniDisc, I remember it quite well - another one of Sony's failed attempts to take over a market with one of their formats (Betamax, anyone?^^). They basically overhauled the MiniDisc design to create the UMD, so kudos to them that their efforts didn't totally go to waste after mp3-players took over.
All in all, I still love to buy CDs more than anything else. =).
TheronInc 1 year ago
Interesting. Never knew about mini disc music or systems. The same thing you're saying about music is the same way i feel about most stuff including games, movies and music. It's kind of a big system and that's a downside. I like that you have Nas, but that's not his best album.
AdyShearer 1 year ago
@AdyShearer
I also think the same about games, movies etc. I think that many things loose value for some reason. Just look at the download games. You get the game. That's it. Where is the booklet, the manual, the smell of a freshly printed manual :D I will never get the satisfaction of "popping in" a cartridge in my video game system from newer systems.
Legion2000 1 year ago
@Legion2000 I know, i find the same with some compilations, although some are good, but they don't feel like the real thing.
AdyShearer 1 year ago
i remember wanting one so bad and then GONE!
lemonlimestiv 1 year ago