OTHER NEWS - May 27, 1992

Mini Disc to Hit Market: Sony Corp. said its new “mini disc” recording system, which it believes could be a successor to cassette tapes, will go on sale in Japan on Nov. 1 and abroad by Christmas. Separately, the recording company Polygram announced a long list of stars it says will release their recordings on digital compact cassette, or DCC, another new music recording system. Both mini disc and DCC record digitally, or in computer language. Digital recording, already used for compact discs, provides distortion-free playback. Sony said a portable mini disc player capable of recording will be priced in Japan at about $615, and a playback-only model at about $460. Pre-recorded mini discs are expected to sell for less than compact discs, Sony said. The new format uses discs only 2 1/2 inches in diameter, about half the size of regular CDs.