End of the MiniDisc.

[Morningside]

Thought it died out at the end of the '90s to be honest.
I still have a MiniDisc recorder in the loft and a car Sony MiniDisc/multi CD player. Quite a cool bit of kit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21297024

[megaphone]

Was/is still used in theatre and shows, great for reliable good quality sound effects and backing tracks. Far more reliable than using a CD! I have my portable MD which I still use.

[OldSkoolRS]

I have a player/recorder and a stack of blank disc (some still in the wrapping) and tried to sell them on AVforums. The only response I got was would basically have just covered the postage, so I removed the advert and binned it all (or it might be on the loft still, though I can't recall seeing it for ages). I thought interest had long since died in this format, useful as it was since you could edit recordings afterwards and cut out bits you didn't want such as on live radio concerts.

[Morningside]

^^^ bin

Mine looks like this.

[OldSkoolRS]

I think that's the one I had. The number was something like 530 I think (as I had a BMW 525 at the time it was a 'relevant number' ).

But yes, bin, since if it wasn't worth any more than the cost of posting it why bother wasting my time boxing it up and going to the post office? Plus if it got damaged in transit somehow, then it would have been more trouble than it was worth sorting out a claim.

[MagicalTrevor]

I loved the Minidisc. I had one of the early Walkman players and eventually got one of the compact recording Walkmans around the time that the iPod was gaining popularity. I backed Walkman thinking that MP3 was a bit rubbish and not going to catch on... Oops

[Furberger]

I have the player featured in the artical. Might dig it out. Retro is in!

[BalhamBadger]

My e46 M3 has got one, it's a factory fitted option and still works.

[harveybobbles]

I had a Minidisc player like the one above, purchased in 1998/9 I think. I seem to remember it was the 520. I also had a in-car Minidisc player in our Volvo and a Minidisc 'Walkman' prior to MP3 players becoming the norm.

I remember being able to code messages to the album or track which was great when swapping Minidiscs with like-minded 15/16 year old nerds. I think I still have one or two Minidiscs kept somewhere that have some quite retro (and meaningless to anyone else) messages on!

Flawed from the start and made completely obsolete by later technology; them were the days!

[essayer]

I sold my MDS-S39 for £20 on ebay last year. Better than binning it.

[OldSkoolRS]

I think it was about £20 I was offered for the '530 and about a dozen blank discs (some brand new), but they wanted delivery in with that, so just not worth it for what would have been left after postage. The guy was being a bit of an arse on the sale thread and I just had the feeling he would be more hassle than it was worth, so it was worth the few quid I lost just to tell him I'd rather bin it than sell to him...

Sometimes selling gear just isn't worth the bother to me anyway.

[Marvindodgers]

I'm surprised Sony were still supporting the format? I bought a Minidisc deck and Walkman in the mid to late 90s and it was a great format, so much better than cassettes and great for making mix "tapes" (and then being able to mix up the run-order when you fancied a change). I still have the deck in my HiFi rack as I have a number of recordings, mainly from the radio, on Minidisc and like to listen to them every now and again.
Shame, but technology overtook it. How many times have Sony been at the leading edge of tech and then been undone by a format issue?

[nonuts]

I loved them, had a Sony ES recorder for ages, even after buying a few actual albums I realised I was never using it to record as much as I thought, and never ended up getting a player for my car (which was always the idea at the time). Sold it to a mate with all the blanks and albums I had for not a lot of money.

[kingston12]

I used to love the format, and also had a deck like pictured above as well as a car deck and just about the tiniest portable player it was possible to have at that time.

It was so much better than CD for use in the car and on the move because the discs were so much smaller and it didn't matter if they got dropped or scratched. The main thing was not looking quite so stupid as carrying a massive 'Discman' around to listen to music on the move.

Retro-cool or not, I don't think I will change my current iPhone/Spotify listening habits, and that is coming from someone who still uses vinyl.

[megaphone]

Marvindodgers said:

I'm surprised Sony were still supporting the format?

Mainly because it was/is still used in Pro circles, theatre and shows.

[MartinM]

We used them in radio alot, a few years before everything went onto HD. Much more reliable and quicker than tape or DAT for TX. We had a Sony 'Hi-Fi'-size recorder in the production studio and two high-end Denon machines in the main studio with fader start, pre-fade etc.

Consequently I have loads of material and air-checks on MD and my Sony machine (like the one pictured above) at home that I'm not going to get rid of!