Editing MD Data

{{short description|Type of magneto-optical medium}}
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{{Infobox storage medium
| name = MD Data
| logo = MD Data logo.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| image = Sony MMD-140A.jpg
| caption = MD Data Sony MMD-140A
| type = [[Magneto-optical drive|Magneto-optical disc]]
| encoding = 
| capacity = 140 MB
| read = 780 nm semiconductor laser diode
| write = Magnetic field modulation
| standard =
| owner = [[Sony]]
| use = Data storage
| released = July 1993
| extended from = [[Floppy disk]]<br>[[MiniDisc]]
| extended to = [[Hi-MD]]
}}
{{optical disc authoring}}

'''MD Data''' is a type of [[magneto-optical]] medium derived from [[MiniDisc]].<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]|url=http://www.byte.com/art/9508/sec11/art11.htm|title=Sony's Mini-MO|date=August 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961220103438/http://www.byte.com/art/9508/sec11/art11.htm |archive-date=20 December 1996}}</ref> 

In developing and marketing it, [[Sony]] was trying to set the new standard for removable media to replace the [[Floppy_disk#3%C2%BD-inch_floppy_disk|3½-inch diskette]] it had also helped create.  MD Data competed in a [[format war]] with other disks such as SyQuest's [[SyQuest EZ 135 Drive|EZ 135]], Imation's [[SuperDisk]], and the [[Iomega Zip]].<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[PC World]] |title=Is Sony's 140MB MiniDisc Drive the Next Betamax?  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990117022714/https://www.pcworld.com/hardware/storage_backup/articles/jan96/jan9621.html |url=https://www.pcworld.com/hardware/storage_backup/articles/jan96/jan9621.html |archive-date=17 January 1999 |date=January 1996 |author-last=Lasky |author-first=Michael S.}}</ref> Ultimately neither MD Data nor any of its competitors succeeded in becoming the de facto new universal standard fully replacing the 3.5 inch diskette; with [[recordable CD|recordable CDs]] coming closest to filling the role, followed by [[USB flash drives]].

==Overview==
MD Data disks can be fully read-only, fully rewritable, or be a hybrid of the two, with a portion of a disk being read-only and while another is rewritable.

With 140 MB disks, MD Data offered about 100 times as much storage capacity as ordinary diskettes, and more than its competitors like the Zip (100 MB), SuperDisk (120 MB), and EZ 135 (135 MB), in a physically smaller medium.

The format was featured in products such as still cameras, a PDA, document scanners, and image storage and editing systems.

Another use was in 4- and 8-track [[multitrack recording]] decks. Meant as a step up from the popular 4-track cassette-based studios, these recorders enjoyed a brief prominence before they were replaced by relatively affordable and far more flexible direct-to-hard drive recording on [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] based computers. Some examples of products that used the format are a few multitrack "[[portastudio]]"-style audio recorders such as Sony's MDM-X4 and [[Tascam]]'s 564.

Sony's MDH-10 MD Data disk drive, meant for use with Windows and Mac PCs, could also play back audio MiniDiscs.  However, the drive was expensive compared to the Zip drive and others. 

== MD Data2 ==
{{multiple image
| footer = MD Data2 logo and disc
| image1 = MD Data 2 logo.svg
| image2 = MDview MD Data2 disk top.png
| perrow = 2
| total_width = 360
}}
In 1997, Sony introduced the MD Data2 format at 650 MB. The only product that used the format was Sony's DCM-M1 camcorder (capable of still images and [[MPEG-2]] video).

== Hi-MD ==
[[Hi-MD]], introduced in 2004 allows 340MB or 1GB of any type of data to be stored on a Hi-MD formatted MiniDisc, succeeding MD Data and MD Data2.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Sony CyberShot DSC-MD1 CP+ 2011.jpg|The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-MD1 was the only [[Cyber-shot]] camera using MD Data
Worlds first DVD Camcorder Sony DCM-M1 1999 MD DISCAM VIDEO MD.jpg|The [[camcorder]] Sony DCM-M1 records 20 minutes of MPEG2-Video on a MD Data2 disc
Sony MDM-X4 Minidisk Multitrack Recorder.jpg|Sony MDM-X4 Multitrack Recorder
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[MiniDisc]]
* [[Hi-MD]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.minidisc.org/md_data_table.html MiniDisc Data Product table]

[[Category:Optical computer storage]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1993]]
[[Category:Sony products]]