Why should I get a MiniDisc recorder/player?
Sony intended the format as a replacement for the Compact Cassette. It provides a relatively low cost solution to making high quality recordings, and compared to Recordable CDs, it’s smaller, cheaper and re-writable. Compared to all forms of tape, it provides random access, meaning that you can quickly select songs with the touch of a button. Its primary competition, the Philips Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), does not appear to have reached critical mass, and it is not clear it ever will. The only drawbacks to MD are the fact that you cannot make a perfect digital copy of one (there is generational loss in every decompress/compress cycle) and the relative high price of blank MDs (US$10-$15 for a 74 minute disc). However, in Japan prices are as low as $5 for a 60′ blank and $6 for a 74′ blank, and we can assume that eventually prices will reach these levels worldwide. An unabashed Minidisc fan argues the MD case (vs. DAT) in this mail message.
