Webmaster's Rec Room

iPods are everywhere and are undeniably cool but I've gone another route and am very happy with it .... MiniDisc player/recorders. Probably you've never even heard of them.

If you mainly download music or burn your CDs, then get an iPod or one of the many MP3 players out there.

But for some of you, MiniDisc players are much better because they are the easiest way to "steal" audio from other sources and enjoy them later.

Free music is EVERYWHERE... on FM radio, music television, streaming audio, etc. etc. etc. With a MiniDisc player, you pop in a $1 disk and you get five hours (minimum) of free music. Best yet, it is very easy to cut out commercials and the songs you don't like. It's so easy, I do it on my evening walks.

For example, I recorded the recent Grammy Awards and easily made a "Best of the Grammies" CD. It's a favorite now.

Recording just about anything is a breeze: with a $2 patch cord from Radio Shack, connect the earphone of any audio source into the line-in of the MD player. Press "record" and that's it! Endless free music.

Sony is the leader in MD players and has a huge range of choices, mostly because the Japanese are crazy about MD players.

There are so many choices that it can get confusing. Here is my buyers guide:

1. Cost: You can get an older close-out model for $75 or maybe less. Or you can spend +$300 on the newest high-end models.

2. Player-only vs. player-recorder: This is a no-brainer... get the player-recorder. (If you just want a player, by an MP3 player.)

3. "MD" vs. "HiMD": This is the hardest decision. A couple of years ago, the far superior HiMD standard was introduced but at about twice the cost. They sound about the same but the HiMD gets a lot more time on the disks.

Here's my guide to MD vs. HiMD:

a) If you plan on using your MiniDisc player primarily to "time shift" listen-and-erase, go with MD. It's much cheaper. If you search around, you can get a older model for around $50. Although MD's are an orphaned product, players and discs will be around on the used market for years.



b) If you're an audio collector, get the HiMD. The HiMD allows you to upload your "stolen" music to your computer. This solved the main criticism of the original MiniDisc.



(The only way to get music off the MD is by playing your MD -- real time -- into your sound card. The result sounds fine but it's slow.)

A note about uploading: You must use Sony's Sonic Stage software. On Amazon you'll read lots of bad stuff about SonicStage but this refers to the earlier versions. The new version is much better. Still, it is one more piece of software. Also, Mac compatibility is very limited and Linux is non-existant.

Random comments:

MiniDiscs are a favorite of audio professionals, especially public radio journalists. Rumor has it that Sony accidentally killed off the professional "DAT" (digital audio tape) by producing a consumer item that sounds just as good but is way cheaper.

MiniDiscs are terrific for live concerts... it would have been a Deadhead taper's dream. You'll need a stereo microphone like the Sony ECM-DS70P Stereo Microphone but be sure to buy a HiMD model with a microphone input. (Some models only have line in.)

The actual minidiscs are much better than CD-Rs... you an record, erase, record again almost endlessly. I use them all the time and I've had only one fail on me.

There are plenty of players that hold more songs but MDs aren't bad, either. A single HiMD disc holds about 600 songs which should be plenty for a day trip... but if you're travelling, toss a small box of five disks in you suitcase and you'll have all the songs you could ever want.

I have yet to find a better player for audio books, mostly because of the "mark track" button which creates a bookmark. You can also easily delete the parts you've heard. However, to use this feature, you need to dub the audio over analogue (real time, line-in) tricking the MD into thinking it is an original recording.