Hi Johann, Thanks for the note, I'm forwarding my answer to MD-L as well. >I have a question regarding the General MiniDisc FAQ; in the >second-to-last question, which deals with the length of time an MD >recorder can remain in record-pause mode without damaging the disc, the >worst-case interpretation was given as roughly 20 hours. My question is: >is this value the *total* length of time a disc can endure in its >lifetime, or the length of time the disc can endure in each record-pause >session? The IEEE paper seems to be discussing the durability of the recording head to disc surface contact cycle. As I understand it, it's refering to the length of time the magnetic head can be in contact with that section of the disc. So, if you leave your MD deck in REC-PAUSE at the beginning of track 3 of a certain disc for twenty hours, you shouldn't do that again on that disc unless you're at track 3 + <some minutes> the next time. The number of minutes (the minimum amount the head would have to move) has to do with the width of the head and the track pitch. I imagine that one could determine a minimum required offset that would work for all blanks and equipment. This topic is one of the vaguest in the MD domain, the "1 million times/passes" number is bandied about, but I wonder what the real hard numbers are behind it. And there are different lubricants and ways of applying lubricants. Is the 1 million number good for all discs? Will some discs stay lubed longer? Fortunately modern MD decks no longer spin the disc in REC-PAUSE mode, so the 1 million number goes back to being a quantity few folks will ever reach, and hence the question of its real accuracy is once again a mute point. >Many thanks for a wonderful resource, You're welcome! Rick ----------------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
