From The Mini Disc; Is There Any Sound Degradation After Repeated Ping-Pong Recording; How Long Is The Pickup Laser Life; Does The Compression Process Lower The Sound Quality - Yamaha MD4 Frequently Asked Questions Manual

11. How does the Yamaha MD4 identify and differentiate the MD Data

from the Mini Disc?

The shape of one corner is different: tapered or round. Also, the TOC in the disc itself
contains a code that identifies the disc.

12. Is there any sound degradation after repeated ping-pong recording?

No apparent degradation will occur, thanks to digital recording. However, since the
ping-pong operation is performed on an analog mixer, after many repeated ping-pong
operations a slight degradation may be noticed. This is still much better than a cassette
recorder.
13. How long is the life of a disc?
No degradation occurs, even after one million instances of repeated recording/playback. It
has an indefinite life time, as long as the disc is not damaged physically.

14. How long is the pickup laser life?

Almost the same as CD players.

15. Does the compression process lower the sound quality?

ATRAC system offers virtually no audible loss in sound quality.
16. Is there a "No Compression" mode that sacrifices total recording
time?
No, the ATRAC process is always applied.

17. What types of information can be stored in the disc using the MD4?

TOC(Table of Contents) can save the start/end locate information of each song, remaining
recording time, and the title of a disc and each song, and eight MARK points in each song,
which can be edited by users.

18. Does a disc have a front and back side?

Yes. You cannot insert a disc upside down.
19. What will happen if a 4TR disc created on the MD4 is inserted into a
normal MD ( Mini Disc) player?
The MD data disc cannot be played back on a normal Mini Disc player.
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