Editing MiniDisc (section)

=== Copy protection ===
All MiniDisc recorders use the [[Serial Copy Management System|SCMS]] copy protection system which uses two [[bit]]s in the S/PDIF digital audio stream and on disc to differentiate between "protected" vs. "unprotected" audio, and between "original" vs. "copy":
* Recording digitally from a source marked "protected" and "original" (produced by a prerecorded MD or an MD that recorded an analogue input) was allowed, but the recorder would change the "original" bit to the "copy" state on the disc to prevent further copying of the copy. A CD imported via a digital connection does not have the SCMS bits (as the CD format predates SCMS), but the recording MD recorder treats any signal where the SCMS bits are missing as protected and original. The MD copy, therefore, cannot be further copied digitally.
* Recording digitally from a source marked "protected" and "copy" was not allowed: an error message would be shown on the display.
* Recording digitally from a source marked "unprotected" was also allowed; the "original/copy" marker was ignored and left unchanged.

Recording from an analogue source resulted in a disc marked "protected" and "original" allowing one further copy to be made (this contrasts with the SCMS on the [[Digital Compact Cassette]] where analogue recording was marked as "unprotected").

In recorders that could be connected to a PC via [[USB]], it was possible to transfer audio from the PC to the MiniDisc recorder, but for many years it was not possible to transfer audio in the other direction. This restriction existed in both the SonicStage software and in the MiniDisc player itself. SonicStage V3.4 was the first version of the software where this restriction was removed, but it still required a MiniDisc recorder/player that also had the restriction removed. The Hi-MD model MZ-RH1 was the only such player available.