My $0.02 worth....
I'm new to MD. I re-discovered the format only as the result of the
MP3 revolution. I listened to and didn't like the portable MD3
players. And I surely didn't like the $100 price of flash cards.
Nonetheless, I was in a Best Buys to buy a player when I just
happened to see the display of minidisc players and my eye caught
the blurb on the MZ-R55PC where it claimed USB recording
capability. Fortunately for me and par for the course at Best Buy,
they didn't have any in stock which gave me time to research things
on the net. I ended up with a MZ-R90* and Storm Platinum sound
card.
The important thing to realize is, I would never have paid any
attention to MD had I not first gotten interested in MP3 music. I
like all sorts of music including hard rock, metal, old country and
big band. Most of the modern big band reproductions suck and I
don't seem to be able to find Hank Williams Sr. music, other than
the crappy "Best of" stuff. The net and particularly the Phonograph
Webring has been a godsend.
As much as I'm enjoying the MD players, I'm not sure I would have
committed to the format had I realized that Sony has kept high speed
duping/recording equipment off the market. I really hate being
forced to occupy my computer for hours at a time to dub off to MD.
I think that the interest spurt in MD is the result of MP3. I also
suspect that it will end up being just a flash in the pan if Sony
doesn't loosen up a bit. You'd think they'd have learned from the
Betamax debacle.
These walkman-like MP3-on-CDR players announced this week may just
be the first notes in the death knell for MD. IMHO, what will kill
MD will be when some company introduces a mini-CD-sized writable
diskette along with a mini-CD-only mini-player. For most people, I
suspect, having to record on the PC is actually a benefit.
Certainly the claim that having to have a PC is a straw man argument
considering that PCs can be had for about the same money as a HiFi
component and are becoming as ubiquitous. I know for sure that when
such a mini-CDR device comes out, my MD stuff will be bundled up and
sold.
Whatever eventually dominates will almost surely not be optimal for
the simple reason that it will be non-optimal technology adapted to
audio use. The reason is the copyright law and SCMS. People have
been remarkably perceptible of the issues involved and have soundly
rejected copy protection just about everywhere. DViX is just the
latest example. With audio copy protection coded into law, whatever
the successor to the Diamond Rio-type devices will be
computer-oriented instead of audio-oriented. The new copyright law
is the posterchild for election reform, as it is the perfect example
of the best law money can buy.
Partially related topic: Can audio recorded on a DAT tape be ripped
off or put back on the tape as a data file using a data DAT drive?
If so, then my interest in DAT suddenly got really strong.
John
* I love this little jewel. After suffering with a CD player that
ate batteries every two hours, battery life is a major issue. I
think Sony has understated the battery life in the -R90. Last
weekend I played my player ALL day into amplified speakers for two
days at our RV campsite on the same gumstick battery without
recharge. I've yet to be able to run down the external battery
using an Ni-MH AA battery in the case. Yeah, it's a little slow
responding to the controls but who cares? I thought the idea of
listening to music was to relax and not to race.
John
--
John De Armond
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://personal.bellsouth.net/~johngd/
Neon John's Custom Neon
Cleveland, TN
"Bendin' Glass 'n Passin' Gas"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word
"unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
