Ultimately, the popularity of hard-drive media devices, like the iPod and flash-based MP3 players, spelled the end for MinDisc.
![minidisc photo player minidisc photo player](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NUoAAOSwOqZfIUjP/s-l640.jpg)
With this format, Sony also finally embraced data storage-the Hi-MD Walkmans worked just like any other USB mass storage device when connected to a computer.īy March 2011, Sony had sold 22 million MiniDisc players and recorders, although many other companies also sold units, including Sharp, JVC, Panasonic, and Pioneer. Hi-MD was a notable development since the discs were not backward-compatible with older players. The final hurrah for MiniDisc came in 2004 with Hi-MD, a high-capacity variant that finally allowed for CD-quality recordings. In 2001, Sony launched its line of NetMD recorders, which allowed the transfer of music via USB cable and proprietary software on a PC or Macintosh. This contributed to MiniDisc’s popularity with radio stations because it could deliver high-quality recordings of interviews and live performances.
![minidisc photo player minidisc photo player](http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/minidiscs.jpg)
In 2000, the release of ATRAC3 allowed MiniDisc owners to record in MDLP (or Long Play), and sacrifice quality to fit more music on one disc.ĭespite the compression used, the sound quality was vastly superior to MP3s and the other digital formats of the time. The technology went through several iterative changes during its lifespan, though.
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Although it was a digital format, MiniDisc heavily used ATRAC compression to fit audio on the 60-, 74-, and 80-minute discs.Įarly MiniDisc devices were only capable of manual recording from a line or optical input. Despite some commercial releases, the format was primarily meant to be a replacement for analog cassette tapes. SonyĪ MiniDisc is a magneto-optical disc housed in a tough plastic case, similar to a floppy disk. market in 1998, it finally became profitable around 2000.
![minidisc photo player minidisc photo player](https://www.slashdigit.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Sony-MZ-RH910-Hi-MD-Walkman-Digital-Music-Player.jpg)
After Sony relaunched the format on the U.S. It took even longer for the format to see mainstream adoption outside of Japan. MiniDisc was first conceived in the mid-1980s but wasn’t commercially available until a decade later.