To MP3 or not to MP3... (FORUM: MiniDisc VS MP3)

Member Name: EazyDude

Product:	FORUM: MiniDisc VS MP3
Date:	01/02/02 (2976 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More music!!!

Disadvantages: Time consuming

... that is the question really. Bear with me on this one, as this is going to be a long haul really.

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|MP3s|
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What are MP3s?
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There are numerous sites out there to give you good details on what they are, including:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/mp3.htm

But quite simply put, they're a computer format that encodes audio, or sounds to you and me. If you recorded CD quality sound onto a computer it would take buckets and buckets of room up and be very intensive to work with, so instead MP3s compress the music.

To make the file sizes even smaller to work with, MP3s are usually recorded at a lower "bitrate", meaning that samples of sounds are not quite as good as they once were.

Point (1)
- MP3s are not as good as CD quality sound

Where do you get MP3s from?
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By far the easiest way to get MP3s is to just make your own from your own CDs, provided that you have the right software and a CD-Rom drive of course. :) But I don't think that most people actually do this. Instead what I do believe they do is to download them from the internet, probably not 100% legally either.

Point (2)
- Most MP3s are not legal copies

There are ways of getting them legally from the internet, but not a sector that I have really looked into. But if you do decide to start using one of many different file-sharing programs across the internet, please bear in mind that the files shared may not be condoned by the artist and if caught...

Downloading files off the internet can either be painfully slow or quick and painless. Files sizes are around 3Mb and upwards, dependent on:
- Length of song
- Quality (bitrate)

This translates to either about 15 minutes and greater on a 56K modem, or significantly less on a broadband connection.

Point (3)
- You have to get busy and find those MP3s and
download them, taking time

What are MP3s good for?
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Well obviously because they're recorded on your computer, you can listen to them on your machine. Well, whoopee doo. Usually you can just stick a CD in there and that would be enough, but the file sizes do create an instant jukebox, especially with the size of today's hard disks. Think about writing all those songs onto a CD-R. You can typically fit about 10 hours onto a CD, and then play them back on your PC as you wish.

Point (4)
- MP3s create instant jukeboxes

Modern technology has also developed the MP3 player, which involves hooking up your machine to your MP3 player and downloading them onto it to listen on the move. I don't really like the technology as it is at the moment as with about 64Mb of memory in your player, it won't give you much more than an hour's worth at a decent quality. Prices of memory are bound to come down, and popularity of these things is bound to pick up. The solid-state memory means there's never any skipping. What the battery life is on these things, I have no idea, as I've never looked into it. A major con has to be that if you want a fresh batch of songs, that you have to download another set of songs from your computer to your MP3 player everytime. Changeable memory chips are bound to pick up though.

Point (5-9)
- No skipping ever on MP3 players
- Limited size of players for the moment
- More computer time for new songs
- Expensive technology
- Portable players are very small

Beauty of technology is progressing. I've seen on the net and know one friend who has one, a portable CD player which reads CD-Rs in the MP3 format. Some DVD players will also do this, so hooked up to your HiFi system... see where I'm going with this?

Instant jukebox.

Point (10)
- Great for parties with the right equipment.


So... what about
Minidiscs (MDs)?

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|MDs|
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What are MDs?
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Again, some very useful pages out there. For some starters into the field, might I recommend:

http://www.minidisc.org/

Basically these are little magneto-optically based discs encased in a hard outer shell, much like your floppy disc is (ever wondered why it was called a floppy disc?), measuring 7cm square. Quite small really. They're great for throwing around in the car, in fact I can still remember the Sony ad where this guy on a skateboard ends up going over it and then listening to it later in the ad. They're capable of having near CD quality sound on them. They'll cost anything from about £1 upwards per disc, depending on how many you buy, what quality, how long and where. They come in 74 minute and 80 minute versions.

Point (1-2)
- Nearer CD Quality than MP3s
- Robust discs for the car

They have the capability of being recorded onto and re-recorded umpteen times. In fact, Sony (the creators) claims up to 1 million times. In reality, it's much less than this. I've found with cheaper discs that re-recording results in reading errors on the disc, much to my disappointment.

Point (3)
- Not flawless, can generate errors, can skip or lose date entirely

You'll need an MD player of course to use these. Portable players range from about 60-70 upwards. My Sony MZR91 cost me 149, but it was stolen. Now have my brother's MZR90 but he got the MZR900, from the insurance claim. Much nice little machine, but I thought I might be nice. If they have a recording ability, they'll cost more. Minidisc separate units about 100 and all-in-one stereo systems... well, no research done in this field I'm afraid. I'm against all-in-one units. I did pick my car MD player second hand for 60 though.

Point (4)
- Not cheap either

MDs are quite cool in one way in that they
are quite versatile. Once a disc is recored with the audio component on them, you can do lots of little things.

(1) Label the disc and the tracks with a digital title, meaning the title will be displayed when you stick it in a player, much like CD-text.
(2) Swap around the order of the tracks at any point in time

In all honest, I thought this was cool at first, but have given up labelling my tracks as it's too fiddly. I'm just saving up to buy an MD deck where I can plug a keyboard into the back and just type the titles rather than using clumsy menu systems.

Point (5)
- Track versatility - names and order

Technology has also been developed to longplay the discs, much like video tapes can be. One MD can potentially hold 320 minutes of songs, but I'd question the quality again. Like MP3s, the format is compressed on the disc, unlike video tapes when the tape just runs through slower, capturing fewer frames.

Point (6)
- Potentially 320 minutes per disc

Having an MD player
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Of course having individual discs, you can swap around from day to day and have a grand old collection to look at instead of computer based things. Downside is that you do tend to manually record them from a CD, which takes time and generates potentially quite an un-aesthetically pleasing collection. You can use the likes of http://www.cdcovers.cc/ to print out little CD labels for your MDs and stick them on, but you should really have the CD yourself and scan it in. Only reason the un-aesthetic result happens is because pre-recorded MDs are still quite expensive. I own a total of one, and I only bought that on my elective because I was bored of my music at the time.

Point (7-9)
- Can swap discs easily
- Pre-recorded MDs expensive
- Un-aesthetic collection

And on a final note... You can always record your MP3s onto your MDs! Just make sure that you have the best c
onnection possible, a digital one is best. I personally have an optical connection between my PC and my MD player/recorder as well as from the back of my CD player and DVD player. If you've got a Playstation 2, have a look on the back, you'll have one as well. You can use an analogue cable as well, but you may well lose quality down the connection. By analogue I mean just a cable that you can probably pick up from your local electrical store. Explain the situation, they'll help.

Point (10)
- You can do more with an MD player, including put your MP3s on your MDs

So in a nutshell
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|MP3s|
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1) MP3s are not as good as CD quality sound
2) Most MP3s are not legal copies, but are free
3)You have to get busy and find those MP3s and download them, taking time
4) MP3s create instant jukeboxes
5) No skipping ever on MP3 players
6) Limited memory size of protable players for the moment
7) Portable players are very small
8) More computer time for new songs
9) Expensive technology
10) Great for parties with the right equipment.

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|MDs|
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1) Nearer CD Quality than MP3s
2) Robust discs for the car
3) Not flawless, can generate errors, can skip or lose date entirely
4) Not cheap either
5) Track versatility - names and order
6) Potentially 320 minutes per disc
7) Can swap discs easily
8) Pre-recorded MDs expensive
9) Un-aesthetic collection
10) You can do more with an MD player, including put your MP3s on your MDs


The choice is yours... I'd know what I'd go for. I've kept it to 10 points a piece, if you think any different, leave me a note.

Thanks for reading.

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