Retro Buyer's Guide: MiniDisc!

Sony's MiniDisc audio format, to some, feels just as futuristic now as it did when it launched in November 1992. And that's perhaps why it's seeing renewed interest -- it's got a retro feel with modern usability. Let's explore the options for getting into the audio media that took over Japan, but was a bit too ahead of its time for most everywhere else. Featured music: "Oh No" by Dan Mason (https://danmason.bandcamp.com/album/f...) Sources and links: Aiwa MiniDisc battery adapter: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:277... SonicStage on Windows 10: https://www.minidisc.wiki/guides/soni... Web MiniDisc Pro guide: https://www.minidisc.wiki/guides/webm... 00:00 - Introduction 01:14 - Format overview 07:15 - Prerecorded discs vs recording your own 09:29 - Home component recorders 11:29 - Portable recorders -- the SP era 14:09 - Playback-only portables 16:13 - Battery considerations 20:35 - Portable NetMD -- the best option for most people 23:55 - HiMD, a niche and expensive choice 25:11 - Options for blank media 27:29 - Recording to NetMD with a modern computer 29:27 - The future of MiniDisc and summary ---------------------------------------­------------------------------------ Please consider supporting my work on Patreon:   / thisdoesnotcompute   Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! @thisdoesnotcomp ---------------------------------------­------------------------------------ Music by Epidemic Sound (https://www.epidemicsound.com). Intro music by BoxCat Games (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Bo....