How To Transfer Files On A Minidisc Back On To A Pc

[711]

Is there a way of carrying out the above? As Minidiscs are now all but defunct, I have a large number of them, the contents of which I would like to save. The only obvious way would be play them and re-record them all on a PC, But this would take me about 15 years, and I probably won`t be around that long! Judging from the popularity of minidiscs at the time, there`s probably a few million people out there with the same problem, so - here`s hoping.....
Thanks, as always. 711

[Buenchico]

^^^ While the output from a Minidisc player is analogue, the storage format is most definitely digital.

It's theoretically possible to transfer the files from a Minidisc directly to a PC (in a way similar to ripping an audio CD) but you need
(a) a Sony MZ-RH1 player (with prices starting from £190 on eBay) - it seems that other players aren't up to the task ; and
(b) suitable software.

It's actually the software bit that's the hardest. The original software that people used was Sony SonicStage but that was designed for Windows XP and, even if you could find a download, probably wouldn't install onto a Window 10 or 11 machine. SonicStage was superseded by Sony X-Application, which can definitely do the job. (See the video below). However I can't find any downloads for X-Application.

[Buenchico]

There are, of course, commercial services that can do the job for you but, with lots of discs to convert, they could end up costing you megabucks!

https://www.ghsmedia.co.uk/product/minidisc/