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MD or MiniDisc is a magneto-optical disc-based data storage device which can store up to 80 minutes of digitalized audio. Each disc is housed in a cartridge with a sliding flap, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This format can be recordable or premastered. Sony, the original MiniDisc developer, has claimed that the MD can be re-recorded up to one million times!
The audio content is compressed using the ATRAC format (Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding). The latter was created for MiniDisc so that this physically smaller disc could contain the same amount of information as a standard CD.
The MiniDisc has not seen as much success as originally predicted as it was intended to replace the Philips analog cassette audio system. In addition to its high cost, an initial lack of interest from record labels in the MD format meant that pre-recorded albums in this format are very hard to come by.
For more information on the MD format, please visit Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiniDisc This Link Will Open A New Window
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