How MiniDisc Worked

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25 points·ecliptik··10 comments

Still, to this day, have a crush on this tech ...

Right? I lusted after this tech and was jealous of my friend that had one. It seemed like such a giant step forward over CDs.

It really was. It worked incredibly well. MD truly was the light that burned twice as bright for half as long.

> MD truly was the light that burned twice as bright for half as long. reply

... this is so well put. MD was absolutely groundbreaking.-

I have always wondered how it came to be that it "failed" (quotes) in the market? A'la Betamax vs. VHS ...

... bet it'd make for an interesting analysis.-

And to a lesser extent, HD-DVD vs BluRay.

HD-DVD was elegant, lightweight, menus were HTML and CSS and the experience was fast. BluRay was this overbearing, sluggish Java experience.

HD-DVD was elegant and tech-superior.-

... MD, to boot, was sexy.-

Still is.-

It's going to be the "vinyl" of the post-digital age.-

I owned two MD players and used it for songwriting, along with a small directional Sony mic with a mini jack. This was the peak of non-DAW editing. The quality was incredible, and if SSDs weren’t around the corner, I think this tech would have had a chance.

So satisfying to use too. I miss it.

How, why did it fail? Any theories?

There's a YouTube video by "This Does Not Compute" that discusses this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCK89V4NpJY

Price. MD was expensive compared to cassettes, and so were players. It deputed in 1992 at $549 vs $150 contemporary high end Sony WM-EX 808. $17 blank disks vs $1-2 cassettes.

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