Sony Walkman MiniDisc MZ-R50

Sony Walkman MZ-R50

1998

The MZ-R50 was at the time of launch the smallest MiniDisc recorder in the Sony range. It was a typical third generation MiniDisc product based on the original version of the ATRAC format. This allowed for up to 80 minutes of digital recording in stereo or twice that if the mono mode was used. Recordings could be edited and titled on the machine using the jog dial wheel and large LCD screen. A remote control unit with a smaller LCD screen was also included. Recordings could be made from a microphone, a line source or a digital optical source, although the SCMS (Serial Copy Management System) prevented digital recordings being made from another digitally recorded MiniDisc. Outputs were analogue only, either at line or headphone level.

The MZ-R50 was one of the final recording models whose shape and size was considerably larger than the size of the disc. The section to the right of the disc mainly houses the battery (a lithium rechargeable type), it was improvements in battery technology that allowed the truly miniature recorders of the next few years to be a practical proposition.

Categories: MiniDisc