Past Tech: MiniDiscs

Despite rooting for the format (I also briefly backed HD DVD), I never actually bought a commercial album, just blanks so I could convert my CDs to MiniDiscs. Minidiscs hit the sweet spot between tapes and CDs. Digital format with fantastic skip protection. Re-writable too.

I used my Sharp MD-MT15 plenty and it was the first device I ever owned that had inline audio controls.

The format itself just arrived at the wrong time. MP3s were just around the corner, making music far more portable and physical media never hit a price point that would help with adoption. Bluetooth headphones to ask age to take off but the iPod really changed the game almost overnight and rest is history.

I’d love to find my old player and see how the audio quality would hold up compared to both an iPod with wired headphones and AirPods.

Retro Tech got me thinking about the different bits of tech that have come in and out of my life. The MiniDisc is the most recent example of that I can think of that actually faded away.