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MINIDISC

MiniDisc is the hi-tech alternative to cassette technology, bringing with it all the convenience and sexiness of digital recording and playback. Some critics thought that the earliest machines were more ''audio'' than true ''hi-fi'' but that situation has changed with newer players offering improved sound quality.

MiniDisc arrived at about the same time as DCC, Digital Compact Cassette, and both aimed to knock analogue cassette off its perch as the preferred home recording medium. DCC failed to capture much support, leaving MD and CD-R as the best bets for the digital home recordist.MiniDiscs themselves are similar to computer floppy discs, only smaller and slightly thicker.They manage to squeeze in far more information by using superior magnetic materials andadaptive compression. The latter is a technology that discards information it considers redundant so reducing the amount of data the disc needs to store. It works using complex algorithms that calculate whether one sound will mask another: if it will, the quieter sound gets the chop.

Robust, unlike tape, and compact, MiniDiscs lend themselves well to portable and in-car use as well as in domestic machines. Anti-skip features are fairly standard on all today’s portable devices. Small RAM (Random Access Memory) modules inside the players – more computer style technology - act as buffers to the digital data coming off the disc and heading for the audio circuits: this means that the players will withstand a degree of jiggling about, which is desirable in a personal stereo or in-car system. In effect, the music is delayed by a couple of seconds and if the data stream is halted the memory fills the gap, allowing uninterrupted play. MiniDisc recorders allow you to make both digital and analogue recordings. Like other digital recorders, they are restricted by SCMS (Serial Copy Management System) technology: you can make a “perfect” copy of a CD but you cannot then make a “perfect” copy of your “perfect” copy. You can, however, make unlimited analogue copies of your digital copy...although it’s unlikely you would want to, of course.

MiniDiscs are, like tape, reusable so you can record over unwanted recordings. Unlike tape, they also allow you to “drop in” new tracks and store details of what’s on your recordings that appear on the player’s display. And for those times when you’re in a hurry, they give near-instant access to any track on the disc: you don’t have to wait while miles of tape spool through the player until it finds the section you want to play. The best news is that this technology has dropped in price to the point where it’s truly competitive. There are full-size machines at manufacturers’ list prices as low as £150, which is what you would pay for a mid-range cassette deck. The disks themselves sell for about £1 - about the same as a cassette.

Related Topics: Digital, Leads and Cables, Recordable CD