Originally Posted by Kojack:
“Wasn't Betamax made by Sony First ? and then they made the mini disc and now they throw all there eggs into one basket. lol”
Yes Sony are Innovators in Technology.
They also learn from the past though...
When Recordable DVD first came available there were two formats DVD- and DVD+ Manufacturers stuck to their preferred format.
I think that the DVD+ was a philips invention, anyway...
Sony's DVD recorders were all manufactured able to record on DVD- and DVD+.
Salesmen touted this as a comparison between VHS and Beta and was a major selling point with comments like "whichever format wins the war you'll be safe".
Nowadays all new set top or VCR type of DVD recorders sold record on both formats and of course computers (where most DVD recording is done) can write on any media short of a recycled paper bag!
Minidisc was an awesome invention it was portable, compact, and thoroughly recordable, eraseable, convenient all at a time when an alternative to tapes was sorely needed.
Professional producers used it and relied upon it, hi fi enthusiasts adored it.
It is not Sony's fault nor a problem or flaw in the invention that it did not achieve mass market take up.
At the time when it became possible to record on a cd at home using your computer the technology was unreliable as data had to be burned in a single session, write errors were frequent and disc failures common even after burning a sucessful disc that had been used continuously.
The blank media, software, and hardware used to create CDs is now so good these errors almost never occur!
The development of computing technology with buffer protection so that flawless cds became the norm, and the massive growth of MP3 and its quality meant that devices with no moving parts could be used for portable entertainment giving longer battery life etc.
Minidisc was installed as a data/music drive in many Sony VAio laptops sold when Windows 98SE came out.
The software that allowed music to be recorded to minidisk in hardware devices (hi-fi's and portable players) was largely incompatible with windows and mass market computers and SONY failed to reach agreement with other manufacturers in the industry on how data and music would be read/written by devices.
This meant that there was no scope for take up despite it being convenient and making laptops smaller with no need for a cd-rom drive, and the fact that minidisc can be used immediately without the need for "closing" or finalising" unlike a cd, which must be closed before some devices can recognise it.
Betamax was a far superior quality than VHS its sound was rich and the tape guides and motor system more refined.
Its loading mechanism though complex was smoother and more reliable.
VHS became the market leader when tape lengths achieved using Long Play technology allowed 8-10 hours recording on a single tape at a tiny cost.
Consumers wanted to be able to record a weeks worth of soaps whilst away on holiday, or save a few football matches and watch them again and again...
When Betamax came out the tapes had an hours recording time! Rental movies were frequently on two tapes, part one and part two!
Sony are innovators, the sucess of any invention and its take up relies on the demand and acceptance from Joe Public. Anything that Sony have produced that has been resigned to the technology dustbin or museum is not necessarily SONY's fault more what the public could afford or found acceptable.