At 10:34 AM 30/01/02, Irene McC wrote:
quoted 5 lines I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is
>I have never worked with MD, but somebody in need of quick cash is
>offering a 6-month old Sony minidisc player/recorder for what sounds
>like a good price, compared to what they go for new.
>
>Do I want this device? Is it yet ANOTHER format to fiddle with?
Personally, I love my portable MiniDisc. I bought it a couple of years ago
to replace both a failing CD Walkman and a failing tape deck, and haven't
regretted it in the least. I record MP3s and vinyl to it for portable
listening, and sometimes use it during DJ sets to play with on-the-fly
loops and such.
quoted 1 line Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay?
>Will it Betamax, or is it here to stay?
The format is popular enough in Japan (and the UK to a lesser extent) that
I don't think it'll ever disappear. The main reason it didn't catch on
strongly when it was first introduced a decade or so ago is because Sony
foolishly pushed it as a new pre-recorded medium in most territories at a
time when everyone was still busy getting used to CDs. If they had instead
pushed it as a great replacement for cassettes (i.e. "you used to record
your records to cassettes - why not record your new digital CDs to digital
MDs?"), it might've caught on a bit stronger. Advertising over the past few
years has emphasized this recordable aspect more strongly, and aside from a
handful of titles, the major labels have given up on releasing albums on
MD. So I think it's found a niche as a higher quality and more efficient
replacement for cassettes.
quoted 1 line Is the consumable media expensive or is it readily available?
>Is the consumable media expensive or is it readily available?
I think this depends on where you're located. In Canada (or more
specifically, Toronto), there are a lot of electronics stors that sell
blank MDs, although they are a little pricey (usually around CDN$5 per
disc). I mainly buy my blanks from an online store in Montreal, and get
together with a couple of friends who also have MDs so we can order 100 at
a time and get the best price - it think it was around CDN$3.50 a disc last
time we ordered.
I'd recommend checking out
http://www.minidisc.org/ - there is LOADS of
material there about everything you could ever want to know about MDs. I'm
sure there's a section somewhere or other about the availability and prices
of blank MDs in South Africa.
Greg
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