Re: Lack of respect for MD

I have been reading this months article on "cool portables" and noticed that there is a CD burner, but there is not a MD Player/recorder. Compared to .mp3, MD blows em all away. When you fill up your mem you have to erase songs in order to put on a new song. With MD all you have to do is buy another disc. At $2.00 each for up to 320 mins of play back, and designed for thousands of re-writes, the MD format is perfect. With its ability to take .MP3 and convert it to ATRAC (.omg) MD players ARE MP3 players and need to be recongnized. Sony has posted that since it''''s debut, NetMD has been the number 1 music management software out there. More than WM, more than Music match etc. Real even has a "MD" plug in. <p>I simply love my Sony MZ-N1 and now have a MD Deck, model JE470 that I picked up for $158 from Circuit City. When you record music in LP2 mode, (I believe it is less than 128k) it still sounds like 128K .MP3, or CD quality. Heck even LP4 mode (64k) sounds as good as 96k on .MP3 You never run out of disc space!!!! And since you can transfer .MP3 files, you are in great shape. I store all of my music as .MP3, either burn a .MP3 CD, burn a .OMG MD or simply use my PC to play over my stereo system.<p><br />Minidisc Rocks....<a href="http://www.minidisc.org" target="_blank">Here is the MD Bible site</a>

[apcarandang]

Minidisc have been around for years and have not taken off in the US like it did in Japan.<p>I own two portable player/recorders which I love. The new extended mode really makes it a great product.<p>Unfortunately a lot of people still have no idea what it is. It''s always funny to see people''s jaws drop when I load/unload a disc in public.<p>Even my students are not really aware of it. Most of them have MP3 portables.<p>Sony hasn''t really priced them aggressively enough to have broad appeal. At $250 that''s still a bit too much for younger people.<p>But they do have a niche market for people who love minidisc.<p><b>S & V Moderator</b> wink.gif border=0

MD is a wonderful thing that Sony has apparently decided not to market "whole hog" in the USA. To me it offers good digital sound (esp w/SP or LP2 recording) & easy editing. However, even though it''s (I think) about 10 yrs since its US introduction, you still see tons of boomboxes and minisystems w/built-in cassette recorders, but boomboxes & minisystems that replace the cassette recorder w/an MD recorder are only common in certain foreign countries. Also, in the US, as far as I know, you don''t have any factory installed MD car units, only aftermarket units. If I take a recording I made w/me when I go on the road, I want it to be playable on widely-available technology, not just my own special machine that I can lose or forget to bring along. This is why I''ve decided to put my MD recording on hold for now & stick w/CD recording. I have not invested enuff time & money in MD to feel like I''m "past the point of no going back". My MDs will still be there if I decide to get back into MD.