Sony MZ-R55 Personal MiniDisc Player

When I first heard about minidisc players, I didn't think that they were really going to catch on. Not many people had heard of them and still haven't. Artists generally don't release their albums on to minidisc, so I thought that the player's main purpose was to record CDs and tapes that you already own. Well, I was definitely wrong in some aspects.

Minidisc players are definitely the wave of the future. They will take over CDs just like CDs took over cassette tapes. It is very difficult to scratch a minidisc and it won't skip in your player. They're also the size of your palm! They are very easy to transport, making them must more preferred to a discman or walkman. Because it is so light and it doesn't skip, I love to take it with me running or to work out. You can make a mix of your favorite psyche songs and head off to the gym or on your favorite route. It is fairly durable and it comes with a little bag to carry it in.

I received my minidisc player as a graduation present, and even though I like gadgets, I didn't spend much time playing with it. At first, I just listened to a mix my boyfriend made me. When I actually sat down and figured out how to use it, I loved it! Now I record from CDs and most of all, mp3s! Yes, you can make a mix right off your hard drive.

So if you're anything like I was, you're probably thinking that it is a huge hassle to record anything on to a minidisc. You need a special cable and a really new stereo, right? No! There is a feature that requires an optical cable and an optical port on your stereo, but it isn't required. An optical cable allows you to play the songs you want recorded, and it will start recording when a song starts and stop when the song ends. It will automatically put the trackmarks in for you. This is by no means required when recording.

I take the cable that connects my speakers to my computer, disconnect it from the speaker and plug that end into the "IN" hole of my player. I then put the other end of the cable in the microphone port of my computer. Now you're set! I put my mp3s in a playlist on my computer, press record on both devices, and just wait for it to finish. Sometimes it will automatically put in trackmarks for you, but it is very simple to go back and do it yourself. There is a little button on the side that you press whenever the song ends.

One of my favorite features of this minidisc player is that you can name tracks and title your minidiscs. Just press edit while the song is playing and it will ask you if you want to name it. Press enter and then it is very simple to type in the name of the song. You can do the same to title the Minidisc. By doing something very similar, it is very easy to erase tracks from the disc without having any blank, unused space. Minidiscs are readable and writable. You can use them over and over.

I truly believe that minidiscs are the next big thing. I use them most of the time. I even hook my player up to my car the way I would a discman. The only gripe I have is that the battery life needs to be improved. I have to charge it whenever I go somewhere and sometimes it doesn't last the entire trip. I have heard that players that have come out since I received mine have better battery life.

If you're into new things or if you travel a lot, I would really check this out. Soon everyone will have them. It's right on up there with the DVD craze!