The most recent
MD players and
recorders can also use a new format, usually referred to as
MDLP or
MDLP 4. Basically, it encodes the sound more efficiently, so that (without losing
quality) you get 4x the play time per MD. So an 80 minute MD gives 320 minutes of
play time. That's
five hours and twenty minutes on one disc. I currently have six blank 74 minute discs and two blank 80s, which, using MDLP, gives me a total of 2,416 minutes of recordable time, in perfect quality (barring
degradation from my recording setup, which should be minimal since it's
optical). That's 40 hours and 16 minutes, using only eight tiny discs.
I think I'm in love.
Currently (2000/01/10), there are only two portable MD recorders which support MDLP 4,
afaik, both of which are Japanese
imports (i.e. no North American versions yet, but they can be
obtained easily from
online vendors):
Hopefully, this node will soon
evolve to detail most MD equipment that supports playing/recording MDLP 4.