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The Big Thread of MiniDisc Information

Discussion in 'Discmans, Minidisc, DCC and other players' started by Mister X, Jan 11, 2021.

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  1. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony MZ-R55 from 1999

    Audio-1999-07-08-OCR-Page-0091 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 11, 2021
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  2. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony MD from 1994

    Audio-1994-10-OCR-Page-0077 pdf.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jan 11, 2021
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  3. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony MZ-R55 from 1999, the world's smallest MD Recorder at the time.

    MZ-R55 Audio-1999-07-08 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 11, 2021
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    From 1997

    Audio-1997-10-OCR-Page-0069 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 11, 2021
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  5. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    The first MiniDiscs to be spotted in the Argos catalogue (Spring Summer 1996)
    First MiniDisc.jpg
     
    Longman, Jan 12, 2021
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  6. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    2003 and prices and sizes were down while the range was up to 2 pages
    2003 MiniDisc 1.jpg 2003 MiniDisc 2.jpg
    Unfortunately I have a gap in my scans up to 2007 by which time they all have gone replaced with pages of iPods and other MP3 players. So an interesting question is how long did MiniDisc actually stay on the market ? Certainly nowhere near as long as cassettes and CDs
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2021
    Longman, Jan 12, 2021
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  7. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jan 12, 2021
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  8. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    The Argos catalogue is a good indication of when it was popular. If an item is in there no-one in the U.K. needs to ask "Where can I buy one".
    I actually started looking much earlier (in 1992) and was surprised to find they didn't appear in Argos until 1996.
    There again Argos caters for Joe Average so they might have waited to see sales figures from specialist shops like Sony Centres before agreeing to stock them.
    Interestingly the 1996 catalogue didn't seem to have any blank discs which was undoubtably a drop off.
    They must have sold well for a while, since as you can see seven years later the range was bigger with Sharp, and Panasonic players.
    The BBC article you linked to is interesting. Around 2000 a friend who is a HiFi enthusiast, but is also into Amateur Dramatics said he had bought one because it was ideal for Sound effects etc in productions.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2021
    Longman, Jan 12, 2021
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  9. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Last edited: Jan 13, 2021
    Longman, Jan 13, 2021
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  11. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    I hadn't seen the price in that review. This neat little JVC was the most expensive Camcorder at Argos in the same year
    2000 JVC camcorder.jpg
    The cheapest was a chunky looking JVC VHS-C for just £279
    I wish him luck with his eBay sale.
    There is a JVC like the one above for £60 Buy it Now on Ebay.co.uk at the moment.
    The only reason I can imagine paying that much would be if you were desperate to transfer old footage only on MiniDisc.
     
    Longman, Jan 13, 2021
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  12. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    This is interesting, E. Paul Ratazzi wrote "MiniDisc: Successful Innovation or Just Cool Technology?" back in 2004. It looks like it was college course work but he's listed as working in the Air Force Research Lab.
     

    Attached Files:

    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  13. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    New Scientist Magazine 1994

    Screenshot_2021-01-13 Technology The certain winner in the digital recording wars.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  14. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    A very big (expensive) ad from Stereo Review 1994

    Stereo-Review-1994-03 1.jpg
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 2.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 3.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 3.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 4.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 5.jpg
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 6.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 7.png
    Stereo-Review-1994-03 8.jpg
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  15. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Q&A from Stereo Review 1994, $12 frickin dollars for a blank disc, that was big money back then. This was the age of Columbia House and BMG, where you could get 12 CDs for around $30 USD if you were smart.


    Stereo-Review-1994-03 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  16. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  17. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    From Billboard November 1992

    Sony Minidisc Billboard-1992-11-14 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  18. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony was really moving fast with MiniDisc Saturation at all levels, from Billboard 1993. The converter sounds interesting, from what I've heard, they like to preview music on different equipment, that's why the Yamaha NS-10s are so popular. My buddy says if it sounds good on the NS-10s, it will sound great on anything else.
    MiniDisc Pro1993-07-24-Billboard-Page-0068 pdf 1.png
    1993-07-24-Billboard-Page-0070 pdf 2.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  19. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    From Billboard 1993, some early prerecorded MiniDisc Facilities. Denon was an early manufacturer in addition to Sony. Interestingly, Mister X has never seen a pre-recorded MiniDisc ever.

    1993-09-04-Billboard-Page-0072 pdf 1.png
    1993-09-04-Billboard-Page-0072 pdf 2.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 13, 2021
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  20. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I was never aware of the "relaunch" but here's some of the sexy new models for 1998 from Stereo Review Magazine.

    Stereo-Review-1998-04-OCR-Page-0077 pdf.png
     
    Mister X, Jan 14, 2021
    #40
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