[popocar]

Hi all

I'm here so many times to read many articles about audio player.
But I'm very newbie here, please guide me..

What different between (advantage) CD player, MP3 player and MD player.. in sound quality and portibility

Especially MD player, Why so many people look on it, is it good ? How it works ? Could I record a voice of my professor in a class with MD player and then play it after a class ?

Thanks guys

 

[KJ_Palmer]

Well, as a long-time MD user, the advantages of minidisc to me are, in a nutshell:

Easy editability on the recorder
size and weight (compared to CD) for portability
robustness of media - if I drop a disk it won't break or scratch.
great sound with ATRAC Type R/S
battery life (100+ hours on latest recorders)
independence from PC
easy recording from any source
removable media - so I can expand my collection ad infinitum without worrying about disk space
use with timer for recording radio programmes.

Basically, MD works like a cross between a CD and tape. Put a disk in, connect a digital or stero line lead and press record and play. You can divide the recording into tracks and use the CD-like random access to skip or play your chosen track.

There's also NetMD for fast downloading of your computer audio to MD.

Yes, you can record lectures with an external mike and play them back later. The Sony MZ-B10 might be worth looking into as it has a built in microphone and speaker.

 

[Superbaldguy]

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with KJ on all counts.

Unlike the other two mediums, MiniDisc is a recordable one with easy editing and tremendous flexibility. I'm still in awe every time I hear an ATRAC-R encoded disc on any of my MD units, and its sound is every bit as good as the CD original.

I'm equally amazed why these other formats are so popular, except the fact a lot of people don't seem to care about sound.

Excuse my obvious bias.........

 

[blessingx]

I'm an old MD user who happily switched to MP3, but too tired to answer this question again. The search button will provide guidance. Be advised though that many MP3 players do not record, though some do (Nomad Jukebox, etc.). The flexibility is greater in that case.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

one thing u guys forgot to mention...blank minidiscs are CHEAP...
a 128MB memory stick is around $70-$100+ and holds about 2 hours of music at 128kbps. while a blank minidisc is only $2 a pop (or even $1 each if ur good at ebay searching) and holds 80min of music on SP mode (highest sound quality, almost equal to a premastered cd), 160min on LP2 (second highest sound quality, but sounds very very nice), and 302min on LP4 (highest compression, but dont sound good enough to acutally ENJOY music)

of course harddrive mp3 players dont havta worry about media space, but they player itself cost wayy too much. and they arnt tough as the other players

*i used to own lots of different mp3 players, minidisc just blew all those away*

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

people who used to own a MD might complain recording takes too long..that's because older MD recorders requires 4 min to record 4 min of music (live recording). but newer ones recorders comes with NetMD, which allows fast music download into your mindisc player. they record at 32x, and the sony mz-n10 model records at 64x

there's no answer to which media's better, it all depens on your needs

 

[Superbaldguy]

Bottom line - listen to a new PCDP, MD unit (in SP mode), and an mp3 player using the same encoded recording, and the winner will be obvious.

These newer portable CD players *could* sound great if the makers wanted to put some effort into their DAC's, as the older models are way better in the sound department. PCDP's are for the mass-market appeal.

I see MiniDisc getting closer to that bigger audience, with a ton of new units from Sony, and, thankfully, they sound great despite the fact many are "low-end." I certainly hope that MD's sound does not go via the way of the PCDP, which is in the toilet.

 

[skagen]

Portable CD players are just inherently awkward in shape and size and these days they sound like crap - espeically considering that they are playing the highest fidelty mass-market medium (WAV files).

I love the sound and features of MD (that's what I use), but the inability to digitally upload is a fatal flaw. It means that you have torecord everything in real time and you can't mix and match. NetMD doesn't solve this becuase it doesn't allow you to record in the hishes ATRAC quality (SP) and also because its rights management is far to onerous. For that reason I wouldn't recommend Minidisc to anyone starting now. NetMD is too little, too lame, too late. Sony's refusal to make it a truly useful product is basically the kiss of death.

Basically if you get yourself an IPOD you can play AAC files which are apparently close to Minidic SP quality and unlike you don't have to record anything more than once.

But that goes only for IPOD becuase it plays WAV and AAC. If its MP3 v minidisc, I'd still go for the minidisc because of the sound quality/file size.

That's just my ubiased opinion as a minidic owner. I wish Sony had let Minidisc/ATRAC run a bit more freely and it would be a hands down winner. But they haven't, so its another needless betamax again.

 

[popocar]

Thanks all, I will try to search here again an old article about this story. So MD has the better sound quality and also can record so many times on the same Minidisc too ?..

More important that it could be transfer to a computer and convert to MP3, couldn't it ?..

Thanks

 

[Gainex]

no..the netmd i owned is sony n10.

it can download mp3 from ur computer to mdplayer,but can not reverse..that is mean u can not upload mp3 from ur netmd-player to ur computer.

 

[skagen]

Well actually you CAN upload to a computer from a minidisc - in analog, real time. But you cant just transfer that digital file that's on the minidisc.

That's one of the fatal flaws of minidisc - Sony was stupid and spent too much time trying to mimic the characteristics of cassette tape (makes bootlegging a pain in the ass) instead of looking forward and creating something great.

Trust me dude, just get an Ipod and save yourself the stress of minidisc. NetMD or no netMD, if you are already doing the MP3 thing, there's just no point in wasting time on minidisc.

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

Quote:

Originally posted by skagen Well actually you CAN upload to a computer from a minidisc - in analog, real time. But you cant just transfer that digital file that's on the minidisc. That's one of the fatal flaws of minidisc - Sony was stupid and spent too much time trying to mimic the characteristics of cassette tape (makes bootlegging a pain in the ass) instead of looking forward and creating something great. Trust me dude, just get an Ipod and save yourself the stress of minidisc. NetMD or no netMD, if you are already doing the MP3 thing, there's just no point in wasting time on minidisc.

sony didnt allow uploading because that'z part of their copy-right protection.
if you like fast mp3 download to your portable player, mp3 will transfer musicfaster. but if you like to record off anything (mic, anything with headphones/line-out, optical jack) minidisc will better.
and yes minidisc discs are re-writeable up to a million+ times, soo far, no one's able to prive it wrong

 

[KJ_Palmer]

Also you can't record lectures (or much else) with an iPod (part of the original question), so suggesting that's a bit of a no-no for a start

.

 

[popocar]

Ok Thanks everyone, MD is not suitable for me since bad support for MP3.