MiniDisc vs. MP3 Players

MiniDiscs more versatile

MiniDisc recorders still have a couple of advantages, primarily for those with specific needs. MiniDisc models have more robust recording ability than MP3 players. Although many MP3 players are able to double as a voice recorder, they're best suited for voice memos and other close-range recording. MiniDisc players, when equipped with an external microphone, are ideal for live recordings like concerts, lectures and interviews. Recording fidelity is great (dependent partly on your microphone). Since MiniDisc recorders use cheap, removable, nearly indestructible media (MiniDiscs), it is easy to archive recordings. Current MiniDisc players can interface with your computer, so you can download recordings to your hard drive and burn them to a CD for wider playback compatibility.

There are two types of MiniDisc media. Standard 80-minute discs can record up to 320 minutes at the lower-quality recording level. Newer Hi-MD discs store 1 GB of information, up to 45 hours at highest compression. Standard discs cost about $1.50. Hi-MD discs cost about $7 each. Both can be recorded and rerecorded thousands of times, and the discs themselves are virtually indestructible.

MiniDisc recorders have excellent editing options for recordings. You can change the order of your song tracks without having to rerecord or delete tracks. Multi-part tracks can be broken into separate and smaller tracks or these tracks can be combined into a single track. MiniDisc players can be used to transfer music from legacy media like vinyl and tapes with a line-in cable. All current recorders have a line-level input; however, that's not necessarily true of earlier models. In addition, while the only current portable MiniDisc recorder has a microphone input, that's not true with some earlier models. As with MP3 players, all current portable MiniDisc units let you transfer music and podcast recordings (prerecorded online radio shows) from your PC to the player.