Editing MiniDisc (section)

=== Operation ===
[[File:Sony-MDS-JE780.jpg|thumb|MiniDisc Deck MDS-JE780 (2002–2005)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony MDS-JE780 Minidisc Deck Manual |url=https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/mds-je780.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003134556/https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/mds-je780.shtml |archive-date=Oct 3, 2020 |access-date=30 May 2020 |website=HiFi Engine}}</ref>]]
[[File:Sony MiniDisc MD Recorder MDS-81.jpg|thumb|MiniDisc Recorder MDS-B1, normally used in [[Recording studio|recording or broadcast radio studios]].]]
[[File:Minidisc2.jpg|thumb|Detail view of the MZ-R30 MiniDisc recorder (Sony, 1996)]]
The data structure and operation of a MiniDisc is similar to that of a computer's [[hard disk]] drive. The bulk of the disc contains audio data, and a small section contains the table of contents (TOC), providing the playback device with vital information about the number and location of tracks on the disc. Tracks and discs can be named. Tracks may easily be added, erased, combined and divided, and their preferred order of playback modified. Erased tracks are not physically erased, but are only marked as deleted. When a disc becomes full, the recorder can simply direct the data into sections where erased tracks reside. This can lead to fragmentation but unless many erasures and replacements are performed, the only likely problem is excessive searching, reducing battery life.

The data structure of the MiniDisc, where music is recorded in a single stream of bytes while the TOC contains pointers to track positions, allows for [[gapless playback]] of music, something which competing portable players such as most [[MP3]] players, fail to implement properly. Notable exceptions are [[CD]] players, as well as all recent [[iPod]]s.

At the end of recording, after the "Stop" button has been pressed, the MiniDisc may continue to write music data for a few seconds from its memory buffers. During this time, it may display a message ("Data Save", on at least some models) and the case will not open. After the audio data is written out, the final step is to write the TOC track denoting the start and endpoints of the recorded data. Sony points out in the manual that the power should not be interrupted or the unit exposed to undue physical shock during this time.