# Minidisc (ATRAC) + MP3 = benfits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681 "2000-04-03T15:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/1 "2000-04-03T15:34:00Z")
I’ve recently seen portable Minidisc players that support playing MP3s from the minidisc. Since both Minidisc (ATRAC) and MP3 are compression formats, how well do they work together? Granted ATRAC is a fixed rate and MP3 is not, but if I were to put a 128KBPS MP3 on a minidisc, would it take up less space than if I simply recorded the track from a CD to Minidisc? Would I notice sound degredation from combining the two? I guess the basic question is: other than a possible time saver (eliminating MP3\>WAV conversion time) are there any benefits/drawbacks of a Minidisc player that supports MP3? ---
**Author:** ![ubermensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bcef8e/32.png) [@ubermensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ubermensch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/2 "2000-04-03T23:03:00Z")
are you sure this just wasn’t a “put MP3s on a minidisc and go” kinda thing? i know several people (myself included) that have soundcards with digital outs so we can record MP3s to minidisc as audio (not data)… i know there’s plans for portable CD players that do that (MP3 data on CD) but i don’t think any of those are shipped yet. personally i don’t think that you could get much more compression out of the MP3 without reducing quality…however, those new portable video cameras that put the data on MDs are pretty sweet. so, i guess what i’m saying is, i don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![RoboDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@RoboDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoboDude)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/3 "2000-04-04T02:01:00Z")
What are the names of these players you speak of? * * * Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think. ---
**Author:** ![Lawmill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lawmill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawmill)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/4 "2000-04-04T03:15:00Z")
From sunday’s Best Buy catalog in the newspaper: Sony Model MZR55PCIF Download your favorite MP3s onto minidisc…arrange new music from the internet… It’s 279.99. The description is a little vague, so I can’t tell either way. ---
**Author:** ![ubermensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bcef8e/32.png) [@ubermensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ubermensch)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/5 "2000-04-04T03:32:00Z")
that mzr55 is just a straight up portable…just a fancy portable. if that’s the one the OP is talking about, then the feature is “hey, you can d/l MP3s and record them on this and go” meaning, “this has a digital (or analog) imput, which most portable recorders don’t have, so you don’t need a home deck to record your MP3s on to listen to music as you go, and you don’t have to buy a stupid Diamond RIO.” ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minidisc-atrac-mp3-benfits/9681/6 "2000-04-04T05:10:00Z")
Te blurb also says that it comes with an adapter and software. I’m thinking that it just copies the track to the minidisc, converting it to .WAV in the process- just like you can do with Winamp and a soundcard with audio ins.