MiniDiscs: The Future Is Now!

[elvis]

If the marketing would have been better and the prices cheaper then it could have been massive in the US.

It wasn't marketing nor price that held back MD. It was Sony's complete unwillingness to open (or even easily license) the format for other people to use freely.

Sony learned their lesson of course, as can be seen by BluRay (while still not cheap, it's far easier to get licensing for).

MD could have easily been the ubiquitous file storage format - replacing CD, VCD, floppy, ZipDrive and a host of other formats. But as always, Sony execs were too bull-headed about keeping their cards close to their chests, and as such the rest of the market ignored them after multiple failed attempts to get the format widely out to market. A total shame, as it really was brilliant tech.

Yet another example of good science and technology snuffed out by dickheads in suits.

[wakeup]

Kind of off topic, but one thing I never got is how popular VCDs are in Hong Kong and I assume in Asia as well. The VCD section of a movie store is larger than DVDs. It's beyond me. DVD players are like dirt cheap in Asia now, yet VCD still dominate the market.

[Hobie-wan]

Kind of off topic, but one thing I never got is how popular VCDs are in Hong Kong and I assume in Asia as well. The VCD section of a movie store is larger than DVDs. It's beyond me. DVD players are like dirt cheap in Asia now, yet VCD still dominate the market.

VCDs are CD ROM technology, so players and discs are cheaper to make than DVDs. VHS and audio cassettes held on a long time after CDs and DVDs came along because the technology was more mature and cheaper to make.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Very long and detailed explanation on MiniDisc players and personal experience with them.

I really, Really, REALLY want an MZ-M200 BAD, butt can't seem to find one that isn't going for an insane price.

And I know all about the various MD sites and eBay as well, but I'm hoping that some of the guys here on Racket might be willing to let go of some blanks or used players for cheap (Cheap, Used Hi-MD player anybody? I'm buying! And for as cheap as I can get it!) before delving into the madhouse which is eBay.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Same deal with LaserDisc, while I still find LD's to be cool flipping them is a pain in the ass.

You have a player that's old enough that you have to manually flip discs that still works? Cool. The one I have, and all the ones I've seen/used handled it themselves. Mine has a track and the head flips over to play the other side while the disc stops and then starts spinning in the other direction.

It's a Pioneer player that was manufactured in 1987.

If I recall correctly though, most LD players until the DVD era required flipping and even after the multiple laser diode players came out the player which didn't require you to flip were still double or more the price of a standard manual player.

[Hobie-wan]

Same deal with LaserDisc, while I still find LD's to be cool flipping them is a pain in the ass.

You have a player that's old enough that you have to manually flip discs that still works? Cool. The one I have, and all the ones I've seen/used handled it themselves. Mine has a track and the head flips over to play the other side while the disc stops and then starts spinning in the other direction.

It's a Pioneer player that was manufactured in 1987.

If I recall correctly though, most LD players until the DVD era required flipping and even after the multiple laser diode players came out the player which didn't require you to flip were still double or more the price of a standard manual player.

I had a roommate in 94 that his didn't require flipping. Then again he also had the first surround sound setup I'd seen and it was an expensive brand. I'm not sure the date on mine and I'm too lazy to pull it out. Its a Pioneer with only one head. It has a U shaped track so the head flips around the edge to go to the other side.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

If the marketing would have been better and the prices cheaper then it could have been massive in the US.

It wasn't marketing nor price that held back MD. It was Sony's complete unwillingness to open (or even easily license) the format for other people to use freely.

Sony learned their lesson of course, as can be seen by BluRay (while still not cheap, it's far easier to get licensing for).

MD could have easily been the ubiquitous file storage format - replacing CD, VCD, floppy, ZipDrive and a host of other formats. But as always, Sony execs were too bull-headed about keeping their cards close to their chests, and as such the rest of the market ignored them after multiple failed attempts to get the format widely out to market. A total shame, as it really was brilliant tech.

Yet another example of good science and technology snuffed out by dickheads in suits.

Exactly, it wasn't until 2006 when Sony launched the MZ-M200 Hi-MD player with support for use as a flash drive/floppy type hotplugged storage unit, multiple formats natively with hardware instead of software, included all the accessories that people would want and then some, but then again like Sony usually does they shot themselves in the foot by selling it at an obscene price. I'd have already bought an MZ-M200 if it didn't retail for what it does, even on the second hand market it's price refuses to come down.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

You have a player that's old enough that you have to manually flip discs that still works? Cool. The one I have, and all the ones I've seen/used handled it themselves. Mine has a track and the head flips over to play the other side while the disc stops and then starts spinning in the other direction.

It's a Pioneer player that was manufactured in 1987.

If I recall correctly though, most LD players until the DVD era required flipping and even after the multiple laser diode players came out the player which didn't require you to flip were still double or more the price of a standard manual player.

I had a roommate in 94 that his didn't require flipping. Then again he also had the first surround sound setup I'd seen and it was an expensive brand. I'm not sure the date on mine and I'm too lazy to pull it out. Its a Pioneer with only one head. It has a U shaped track so the head flips around the edge to go to the other side.

Cool, I've heard that some of those U-Shaped tracks can have horrible wear problems as they age due to the odd angle at which they track along the disc and even jam up on the loop up to the top side of the disc

[Upsidedown Fuji]

I've always wondered why the MD wasn't marketed better in the US. I think it is a pretty reliable media and very durable because they are in hard covers unlike a CD-ROM.

Portable MD players were no bigger than the actual media and were skip free. Great for jogging and working out.

[aaron]

my friend's dad has an in-dash MD player in his jeep cherokee.