It's the end of the road for MiniDisc

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published

Sony is about to end its support for the digital recording format it launched in 1992

Sony will make its last MiniDisc hi-fi system in March, bringing an end to the format which it launched in 1992. It ceased production of MiniDisc Walkmans in 2011.

The Japanese firm had hoped at the time that MiniDisc would become the digital recording format of choice to replace analogue cassette, but it faced a format war with Philips's rival Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) system, and neither ever really took off.

MiniDiscs initially offered 74 minutes recording time, and this was later increased to 80 minutes. Data was stored on re-writable magneto-optical disks 2.5in (64mm) in diameter, and housed in a square plastic shell.

In other news from Sony, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the successor to the PlayStation 3 games console will be revealed at a New York press conference on February 20th.

A teaser video has been released by the firm promoting a PlayStation event with the slogan "Be the first to know".

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Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.