Ode to the MiniDisc - The 30th Anniversary of the MiniDisc 

I still use my MiniDiscs and I understand where you're coming from in listening to your Bluetooth and streaming music but, physical media adds that extra sensory element, the feel of the disc in your hand, the look of the discs and, on pre-recorded stuff, the artwork.

The best audio format ever created since the cassettes ! I’m still using it a lot nowadays and it will be super cool if Sony would create new minidisc devices in 2023 I think that there’s a real serious market even today 👍👌

Wow, getting nostalgic too. I have the same history with this format here in Brazil. The players and recorders were so expensive that I just managed to buy one a couple of years later. Still love it.

Great video! I was all in Sony MD back in 1993. I used my income tax refund to buy a Sony stereo deck unit & a portable player bundle. I loved the portable unit as it had a AM/FM radio in it as well. I used to listen to the local morning show back then. What really sold me was real digital recording from CD's that I went in big time in 1985. I was an early adopter of the digital formats. Being a 16yo teenager in 1985, I worked at my local grocery store for 2yrs after school to pay for my $1500 stereo system that came with a CD player. My parents bought me that stereo system & I made double payments weekly to pay it off! lol Both my Sony MD stereo unit & portable still work to this day. I literally have just over 300 mixed MD's I made. I got back into the medium a few years back & love watching MD videos. Thanks again & much appreciated.

You are one of the few and rare people who have hit the nail on the head with this format, in the sense that it was the perfect replacement for the mixtape. Minidisc was perfect for making your own compilations and I can understand why people still enjoy going back to them in the way that you experienced. I still have a number of home decks and portables which are Hi-MD, and they are still used and I enjoy the ritual of recording onto them myself. Here's a crazy thought for you: Of all this Sony digital formats that they introduce after CD, Minidisc was the longest running of all of them. Outlasting DAT and SACD format (in its original standalone/dedicated form). And we don't even need to mention that Philips format DCC! I still say if Sony had brought out an anniversary home deck that was a Hi- MD, It would sell out!

I still have 2 minidisc players and a minidisc full sized deck. I never bought prerecorded minidiscs (and I never bought prerecorded cassette tapes either). I even had a minidisc player in my car. I was all in on the format and loved it. Recording at double speed from CDs was a revelation- gone was the the tedious task of real time recording that took endless hours to compile a "mix disc". I still play them every now and then. Unfortunately cassettes and CDs had cornered the market and cassettes were a cheaper alternative. Mini disc was a fantastic portable medium but of course MP3 files and the iconic I-pod blew all competition aside in 2001

Practical shmactical! Who cares about practicality? They’re fantastic as is your blog. Expense of course is something holding back new users, but I am surprised at the number of people commenting on minidisc videos. I have been an avid minidisc fan and collector since the 1990s. Happy to give you a like and to subscribe.

I still have my Sony MZ-1 I bought in 1992. Still works. Just bought a 10pack of new old stock blank Sony MD's.

It was a perfect nostalgic video! You spoke from my heart! I feel exactly the same way myself and have been down a similar path. Except maybe that I started recording and listening to my devices again last year. Good old recordings in a now extinct format. It's a nice recreation and gives me good feelings to this day. True, prices have gone up recently, but I have bought a lot of equipment that I could only dream of at the time. Thanks for the video and greetings from Hungary!

The MiniDisc was for the CD, what the Philipps minicassette was for the Reel-to-reel bands. A really great standard, very convenient, killed by the 1.8-inch hard drive based players (think iPod). And contrary to the following MP3/AAC player, it is a stand-alone player and a stand-alone recorder (for recorders), no need for any computer, all play pre-recorded discs, recorders could record from Mic, from you analog equipment and your digital (CD) equipment. The magic was the ability to reorder tracks, delete any track and then add new tracks, and name them: nor the CD nor the minicassette had these abilities with so much flexibility!

I have a small studio and still bounce down to MD….I enjoy being able to listen to different mixes of tracks I do…….When I get my final, i save to wav file……but in the meantime, I can just have a hard copy of my work……though compressed, still better than MP3….thanks for your video, enjoyed it

Still have a LP player in my car, a deck at home, a bookshelf system, and a NetMD portable recorder.

Still using MD today best way to listen to audio

Great video! Such a shame MD didn’t take off more. I bought mine in I think 1999. I never liked burning CDs. They often malfunctioned and were just not as nice objects as cassette tapes or minidiscs. Minidiscs were basically superior cassette tapes to me (and cassettes are the medium MD should be compared with). MD didn’t wear out as you listened to, sounded better, you could easily skip songs and they were lighter and more durable. I bought a nice Sony stereo condenser mic for my Sony MZ-R70 which made incredible field recordings when I was backpacking. And the minidisc was just amazing for picking up music while travelling. I would bring a couple different audio cables so I could record from headphone and aux outputs. So in hostels and cafes the owners would often let me record a cd I liked. Or when meeting fellow backpackers I would connect my MD Walkman to the headphone output of their Discman and get new music. So amazingly portable for travelling. Much more so than mp3 that requires a computer. Even today I can’t plug a discman straight to my iPhone and record it. Much less make a mixtape to give away. Plus minidisc runs on AAs which I could buy anywhere. Greatest travel format of all time.

I love my MD players and always stock up on new discs when I go to Japan

Thanks for this wonderful expose. I have rediscovered my like new Sharp 721 minidisc player-recorder. I have been listening to recordings I did off of my recording studio demo disks and other fun stuff. I love it and it is really like new including the remote and battery adapter.

Just ordered a MZ-R50 and a nakamichi MD for my landcruiser. Can't wait to start making my own albums again.

In early 2000 i bought a mini disk player and used it fore a while... At that time it was very cool and covnient, but at the same tine a couwldn't explain to myself, why sony uses an unknow atrac format instead popular at that time mp3... Nowdays, in 2023 i bought a minidisk deca and a lot of minidisks and use it to listen music at home... sometimes a take with me my pleer and listen music on the road to work. Yes, bluetooth headphones and smartphone is more convinient, but surprised looks of passers-by on the process of minidisk change are priceless! )))))

Fun….thanks for sharing. I still have & use 2 Sony MZ-N1’s w/remotes…all for my recorded selections, portable listening. After 30 yrs I am just now going to portable DAC with FLAC files and just completed conversion of my forty 10Inch reel tapes. Thanks again

I've been a Minidisc user since around 98 and used for a few years, even on my car. I then moved on to Sony mp3 player. I've only recently bought my first MD deck and it's now my main sourse for music. It's a beautiful Pioneer MJ-D707 which sounds much better than my QS series Sony.

Great video. You have a real great presentation style, very chill. I also got into MD in the 90s and never entirely got out of it. I don’t have a massive collection but I do have a fully working deck as part of a hifi, a mint R37, and a couple NetMD recorder-players. Still use them all and grab a box of blanks off ebay every so often.

I think we lived parallel lives. I too drove tractor trailer OTR and used MD on the road. I always hated tapes and vinyl sucks (sorry golden ear audiophiles but snap, crackle, pop & skip blows) but it was all we had in the 80’s and 90’s. I used to record my vinyl to tape to try and preserve the record. When CDs came out I was in love and spent a ton of money rebuying all my records on CD then selling the vinyl to used record shops. I have zero regrets about that. Good riddance as far as I’m concerned. The introduction of MD recorders and players were the answer to all my musical needs. I just wish they came out before CDs, everyone would have loved them as much as I did. Nobody “needs” MD anymore (I guess) but nobody needs a 65 mustang either. A Tesla is better in every way but I’m sure the Mustang lovers wouldn’t agree.

Minidisc rocks!

They were a secondary, portable format designed for conveniance. So as soon a more convenient format became available with MP3, people abandoned it. I had a fit of Nostalgie recently and started browsing auction sites for a MD Recorder. But as soon as I saw the all the cables, proprietary remotes and need for wired headphones etc. I abandoned the idea real quick. CD on the other hand, I still enjoy.

I still have two minidisc decks, but I haven't used them for about 10 years. The MD SHOULD have been the replacement for cassettes - does everything cassettes did, but a lot better.

exactly the point mini-disk is durable writable media for stereo reproduction not like tapes or self burned audio CDs i owned RedBook capable CD-writer (still have it around) but many audio CDs i burned 20 years ago are not playable anymore and i lost my music archive from the time on HDDs due to raid failure wish i would have this knowledge 25 years ago

I just got back into minidisc after about 20 years. So far I am really enjoying it, other than the wired headphone thing. I really hate having my earbuds ripped out accidentally haha I might just get a bluetooth dongle thing like you mention.

Still use MD, I got into it on day one. Even had a Sony car desk. Shame the price of the used stuff is going up and up. I didnt have the first MZ-1 initially, but when they had the next revision my local HiFi store was clearing the MZ-1 out so I got the very first unit for cheap. It still works today but I like using full size decks. Then I use a super slime playback only model. But I also jumped from tape to MD for my recording. Great format. Pleased Sony for now still make blank MDs in Japan.

Thanks for sharing,

thanks for sharing

MiniDiscs were marketed and priced for "Prosumers," so I stuck to Compact Cassettes, which I could afford. (Besides, there wasn't much pre-recorded content and Sears and other stores kept them locked up next to the cash register.) When music CDs and recordable CDs became available, MiniDisc became irrelevant. "Techmoan" has done videos about MiniDiscs, which was informative, letting me know what I missed. Oh well, copyright restrictions imposed by record companies and high prices for hardware and media made MiniDiscs a non-starter for working class me.

I still have a mini disc recorder & a hifi mini disc cd tape recorder..

Still got and use my Sony also a full size unit. So many duo entertainers used them simply because they could quickly select the backing track they wanted.My Sony has a lithium cell and a external 2 aa battery box.So so well screwed together(not plastic)

Still ues mine today got about 20 portable recorders

I’m trying to release an album on minidisc.

thanks

When I first got into it, it only cost $9.99 for a mini disc pre-recorded at Best Buy. They were all the same price that’s a shame that CDs have different pre-recorded imports Boston tower records they were the only ones that cost more than $9.99 unless you bought a two minidisc they were more than that like Billy Joe greatest hits would cost more because it’s two minidisc I have a lot of them only problem I have with a lot of pre-recorded. The sticker was upside down and so was the word mini but they re-issued them made in Australia and they were fine. I wish I could find what’s got to do with it Tina Turner soundtrack on Minidisc Billy Joel minidisc 52 second Street on MD and some Elvis Presley to that my favorite singer is I wish I could get everything by him on MD because they do not scratch or skip only time. One of them did is when the battery was low on my Walkman and I need a new battery and I don’t know where to get one because I left it in the machine too long. It is no good now but the play is still good and I wish I could get me drive I can hook it up to my HP computer desktop and put it into iTunes

I also have a minidisc holder like the author of the video.

the first md players sounded terrible, only by the late 90s the quality became something like that of the cd.

nice hat

Uhhhhh. Wot? I'll have what he's smoking

This guy is wrong pre-recorded mini disc an expensive get cheaper than CDs. They were like I said there was $9.99 at Best Buy in Warwick, Rhode Island and brain tree Massachusetts. I remember when I bought them for $9.99. I cannot believe it they was all the same price unless you bought a double one there was more money unless you bought

I use minidisc walkman and at home burning from CD to MD if I want to share some music with my friend, I record it easily. . Battery lasts for ages and can be easily replaced, while my phone is full battery for calls and no need to mess the music with it. MD can be erased milion times without degrading. The best device and medium ever.

It's just an older, much shittier way to compress music. It's digital. Bad digital. There's no magic to recapture. At least an argument can be made for the cassette and vinyl record as those two formats provided a lively sound experience. CDs and MDs are just digital on physical media.