In 1992 Sony launched the MiniDisc (MD) as an attempt to replace audio cassette technologies. The MiniDisc was developed based on magneto-optical storage media that allowed for writing and rewriting of stored information. The reality that the data could possibly be swiftly accessed without having the want to scroll through an entire tape created this technologies really promising for ease of use over the cassette. The data compression format known as ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) was used to allow the audio files to fit on the MiniDisc. In fact, at the SP compression ratio of 292kbps, 60 to 80 minutes of music could be stored on a single disk. Even at CD quality, 20 to 28 minutes of music could be stored on the MiniDisc.

The very first MiniDisc based machine was the MZ-1 recorder. The dilemma with this machine was primarily that it had a cost of more than $750.00. It had an optical line input, audio line input, and microphone input jack. It had an audio output. Some of the earliest versions had an optical line output, but this feature was discontinued. Sony licensed MiniDisc tecnhology to many different companies like Sharp, Panasonic, and Kenwood. It was only a matter of time before all of these companies had released their own lines of MiniDisc players and recorders. MiniDisc players had been also developed by Sony for use in the house and automobile in 1994. All of these efforts yielded no outcomes in North America and Europe, where individuals seemed content with cassettes for recording and CDs for music purchases. But in East Asia, the MiniDisc took hold and reigned as the top audio format medium through the rest of the 1990s.

In 2000, Sony launched the MiniDisc Long Play (MDLP) format. In the type of LP2, the MiniDisc player could compress audio at 132kbps for up to 80 to 160 minutes per disc. In the LP4 format, the audio could be compressed at 66kbps for up to 320 minutes of audio per disc. But a big difference existed in how the stereo channels were recorded between these two MiniDisc Long Play formats. The LP2 employed the very same discrete left and right audio channels as the original MiniDisc SP format, although the LP4 began the use of joint stereo encoding.

To keep up with the new MP3 players hitting the market, Sony developed its NetMD for launch in 2002. The NetMD featured a USB connector for exchanging music files having a personal pc. Nonetheless, in order to use NetMD on your personal computer, you'd need to install their SonicStage (SS) software. Many people discovered that SonicStage was problematic. In some instances, it froze their pc systems. In other cases it used up plenty of system resources, had file transfer errors, and put restrictions on how frequently files might be transferred. Though Sony swiftly came up with an update known as SonicStage CP (SSCP), which was much more usable. Their reputation was so tarnished by the original SonicStage that several former NetMD users still will not obtain Sony items.

Other individuals don't use Sony items anymore since of deceptive claims Sony produced about NetMD on the NetMD product boxes and on the Sony NetMD site. Sony claimed the NetMD could be able to play MP3 files. What they didn't bother to mention was that the MP3 files would not be played natively but would have to be re-encoded by SonicStage into ATRAC format during the file transfer method. This not merely meant that the sound quality of the MP3 files would be tarnished, but also that file transfers to the NetMD could take numerous hours.

It didn't aid that Sony did not offer great product info to NetMD retailers. All during this time NetMD retailers had been telling their customers that files might be transferred from the NetMD to their individual computers. Many individuals ended up deleting their original files on their computers after transfer only to discover later that they couldn't copy their NetMD files back onto their computers.

In 2004, Sony made a variety of fixes and upgrades to their MiniDisc product line with the release of the Hi-MD. Issues like USB two-way file transfers could now be carried out. For the very first time, recordings could possibly be uploaded from the recorder to the personal computer but only files that had been recorded within the Hi-MD format. But for several former MiniDisc consumers it was too late, as too a lot harm had been completed to Sony's credibility. Additionally to Sony, only Onkyo even bothered to create mini-component systems and house stereos making use of Hi-MD. But Kenwood, Teac, and Marantz still have MDLP systems available on the market, despite the fact that Hi-MD is backwards compatible with the previous MiniDisc formats. Hi-MD contains 1 gigabyte of memory and records in PCM, otherwise known as WAV.

In April 2006, Sony came out with the MZ-RH1 portable Hi-MD recorder. This recorder went the extra step, not just could Hi-MD recordings be uploaded but also recordings produced prior to the introduction of Hi-MD could possibly be uploaded. Without blatantly admitting it, Sony was giving MD users the opportunity to upload all their MD recordings to computer so the files might be transferred to other formats as the MD-age was now coming to a close.

A entire generation in East Asia has now grown up utilizing the MiniDisc formats. Lots of people have become hardcore fans. Many individuals haven't found a viable option for creating real-time copies of music for replay without having requiring the clunky intervention and use of a pc. Lots of people now collect MiniDisc systems just as a hobby. But the MiniDisc systems live on in common usage since many people just wish to be able to grab whatever they hear to hear once more later.