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Probably, if they're Sony ones. The remotes for my Sony decks appear to be reasonably interchangeable, only missing buttons for functions that appeared as MiniDisc developed (e.g. MDLP, Group etc). I've got three different types of remote: RM-D10E (MDS-JB980) RM-D49M (MDS-JB940) RM-D7M (MDS-JE500) They all appear to be able to control any of the various machines, although I have not tried every single function. Do you know what other remotes you have (or what decks they would have come with)?

* Can somone move this to the software forum please? Apparently I can't seem to do it...

Does anyone know if a remote other than the supplied RM-D17M will work with this unit? I misplaced mine but have several others in storage I haven't found yet.

Pleased to hear you figured it out (and thanks for posting the solution for anyone who might come looking in future). Does your Hi-MD device use the "normal" gumstick batteries (i.e. NH-14WM equivalents) or the later, and harder to find, lithium ion ones? Can you attach a standard AA battery in a sidecar or connect it directly to a DC power adaptor?

I dug deeper and I found the answer, It comes down to putting the device into HiMD mode, Which means I have to disconnect it from the computer, Which means I have to get a gumstick battery, Darn it. Here is the steps in case someone bumps into this thread: To access a HiMD device in unrestricted mode, you need to: Connect the HiMD device to the computer, while it's in MD mode (either with a regular MD inside, which has at least one track, or just set to MD disc mode and without a disc) Connect it to WebMinidisc, as you would do if you wanted to use normal NetMD mode. Open the '3 dots' menu, select settings, then 'enable homebrew mode shortcuts', then close the settings (this step needs to be done only once) Open the '3 dots' menu, select homebrew shortcuts, then 'Switch to HiMD unrestricted mode'* At this point, you'll see Web MiniDisc's loading screen, then a 'Loaded.' dialog will appear. After closing the dialog you'll be put back at the 'connect' screen. --- At this point the exploit is already loaded onto the device and it will stay loaded until the device goes to sleep, unplugging the USB cable will not erase the exploit --- Insert a HiMD disc (either a HiMD formatted MD with at least one track, or a blank one with the device set to HiMD mode) (Windows only) Install Zadig again for this new HiMD device. It should have 0x5341 as the VID. (Linux only) Add a udev rule for the new device: SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="5341", ATTR{idProduct}=="5256", MODE:="0666" Click the downwards-pointing arrow next to the connect button, then select HiMD (Unrestricted). A WebUSB dialog will appear. Select your device, then wait. Make sure the device is called "HiMD", and not "NetMD/HiMD". You might need to wait a few seconds for the "HiMD" device to appear. Done. You can now upload ATRAC3/3+/PCM/MP3 audio *If the 'Switch to HiMD unrestricted mode' is greyed out, it means your device isn't supported yet and you'll need to download its firmware and send it to the developer, so that it can be reverse engineered. To download the firmware, click on 'Enter Homebrew Mode' in the same menu, then once the homebrew mode loads, open the menu again and select "Read Firmware". It might take a while.

I have a blank 80 min MD disc and trying to format it in HiMD format, When I select HiMD Full it gives me this error: Failed to execute 'reset' on 'USBDevice': Unable to reset the device. When I try to connect as HiMD restricted it directs me to a folder looking for a file, I read the WiKi but did not quite understand it. I'm using the Sony MZ-NH3D via USB cable. Any help ?

Definitely the paste fix doesn't work, Had to clean it all up and go the solder way, I had a hard time getting the solder to stick to the copper pads, Tried two different flux, still no go, it just creates a giant ball of soldier, Put a piece of de-soldering wire mesh and it held it together, Now I was able to wipe a disc, Still not sure about the HiMD protect switch, but that's not a big concern to me right now.

I applied the conductive paste and it did not do the trick, Still getting write protected message and wipe disc is grayed out. It's either very high resistance or needs to solidify first. Before applying it, I cleaned the copper pads with cotton swabs and alcohol, then scratched them for better adhesion, Filled the switch cavity with the paste using a supplied needle, It's still wet now, hoping that it will work, but I'll give it another shot when it dries up, Not keeping my hopes up.

Hello comunity. Please help!!!! My HDD of NAC HD1E failed and I bought another one. What I need is the contend of the HDD. Where from can I find it? It is difficult to find. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Hello comunity. Please help!!!! My HDD of NAC HD1E failed and I bought another one. What I need is the contend of the HDD. Where from can I find it? It is difficult to find. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

In an effort to simplify the process of MD tracks transfer to computer using the Web MiniDisc Pro app, I'm using the built-in conversion on the fly to uncompressed WAV feature, Then from WAV to losslessely compressed FLAC using dbpoweramp app. How good this conversion is in terms of audio quality versus transferring the native file format and convert later to uncompressed WAV then lossless compressed FLAC?

I think @sfbp has pretty much nailed it above. I'll take a look at some schematics and datasheets to see what I can learn... In the E10, the AK4524 is clocked at 45.158MHz. The DFS value is set by firmware so I've no idea what sampling rate (44.1/48/96) is configured. However 45.158MHz/2^10=44.1kHz and that is supported by Table 3 in the AK4524 spec. 48kHz and 96kHz would not be achievable with that input crystal frequency. The common view seems to be that with decks (particularly those with "better spec" analogue sections) and the best source, then you aren't going to go far wrong recording via that route. Using a digital input should in theory give a "lower noise" source, but from CD you will be "limited" to 16-bit samples, not that should matter. Are there other digital sources that can give 20 bit samples on SPDIF/TOSLINK? (Those standards will support up to 24-bit). 96kHz sampling - yea, maybe that is relevant in the studio with a complex audio chain and mixing stages, but for 1:1 copying, nah, 48kHz or 44.1kHz is going to be adequate. Not that I'm any sort of reference expert in this field.

All of the decks (just about) use the AK4524 or AK4584 (so you don't need the E10 or JA555ES, a lowly JE440 uses one). But a :codec: is not a piece of h/w. I don't believe it's running at 96Khz, but the real "chippy" guys here can confirm that. There seem to be two reasons higher rate sampling components might be used: 1. Upsampling can clean up waveforms. Someone should chime in about dithering which is the same process that must happen on downsampling, which may be relevant. 2. High speed copy sometimes depends on doing everything at double the normal frequency. The MDS-W1 actually doesn't use AK4524 but some other chip, though, and in any event its copy takes place in digital mode, no A/D required. I'm no waveform expert, but there are waveforms shown in every MD service manual. Bottom line - nearly all the Sony gear (I don't have knowledge about other manufacturers but Sony did invent MD) uses very good digital circuitry, and the high-end machines are sometimes more about marketing something, that is perceived to be better, by putting a higher price tag on it, than any real differences. Better capacitors, sure. The 24-bit thingy is part of ATRAC's definition - it's a logarithmic encoding of the digital signal with a 24-bit mantissa, so you can get better than :pure: 16 bits in a lot less data bytes. A CD supposedly contains only 16 bits per PCM data byte - but that has been oversampled and dithered (smoothed, in effect) before writing to the physical CD. Quite how CD playback gets oversampled data (they always claim 20 bits) played back to give better fidelity is a mystery to me, but again someone else lurking can probably give us a tutorial. Exactly how CDs get ripped is a related question - there are choices to be made at rip time. And ATRAC is a winning encoding. It lost out to MP3 almost 25 years ago due to (IMHO) a flawed testing regime that didn't actually use the data conversion paths that happen in real MD (and later) equipment. Yes, SP is probably better than straight PCM, but the ATRAC3 and ATRAC3+ codecs are probably more accurate than SP. But we are always using ATRAC3 (and ATRAC3+) at lower data rates than SP, so it's like comparing apples to oranges. There, I've shown you a simplistic argument the real techies could drive a truck through, but differences between implementation of digital codecs are relatively unimportant, from my limited understanding and my limited experience. The crucial thing is that they are digital. That's how people (eg the police) can recover details from bad images, for example, so-called "computer enhancement".

I will make the switch work whether the transfer requires it or not, I ordered a conductive paste, I will update the thread when I apply it. I have to admit that I have no clue about the technical stuff you were talking about. But I don't use Sonic Stage so I'm assuming that all netMD HiMD devices work the same way with Web MD Pro and homebrew mode option can remove copy protection.

Long time lurker here. I'm a DJ and I use MDs to spin with because I like them, I don't get finger prints on their surface, and they're cool. No one ever knows what they are at my gigs. But MDs do take some effort. I often find all my MD answers by reviewing posts. So this is my first posted question. I have sifted through much conflicting info here and at other places, I would like to know your opinion given all the current tech and years of knowledge with all the available MD decks.... (excluding Hi-MD), what procedure would render the best sound quality onto a Minidisc? What is the current best practices, techniques, software, and gear to get the upper most sound/bit rate out of MD? My current practice is to use the highest quality sound possible (96/24 or higher) to analog-in on my JA555ES using SP. I am aware codecs will down sample HD sound to 44/24 or lower depending on the method and deck. I considered using a digital source using software like sound forge but haven't tried that yet. I did some research and found the MDS-E10 has the AK4524 which is a 24-Bit 96kHz Audio codec. Reference info link is here.... https://people.freebsd.org/~lofi/4524.pdf The information listed mentioned the chip and codec processes 96/24 A/D and D/A. 44/24 was what I believed was the upper recording limit from a digital source from select MD decks. Perhaps it down-samples? Anyway thank you for your insights. Get some!!!

If my memory serves, it's worse than that. If you cannot establish writeability, transfer FROM a HiMD disk is impossible. One of the reasons a lot of folks abandoned HiMD, because SonicStage doesn't work right in this case. Fortunately Sony came out with a bunch of HiMD play-only machines which removes the possibility of making a disk completely unusable because of a 1-bit error (unless you sent it into Sony). Of course none of THEM had USB connectivity at all. This unusability usually happened when someone ran out of battery, or tried to open a locked drive, or (.... add list of weird scenarios). If everything is read-only, I am not sure anything very much works. Why? Because Sony had to update the (stupid) transfer count to "check in" the song from the MD and thereby preserve rights for the music owners. Lost cause. It may well be that WebMinidiscPro and other software have magically eliminated that problem. I have no idea. With everything you describe including the fact that this a first-gen unit, I would highly recommend sourcing an RH1. For transfer purposes only, not to use as a player. Good luck!

* Added yellow banded wrapper variants

The third and the easiest solution that just popped in my mind is using an electrically conductive paste, However not sure if it can be removed later on since it's an adhesive.

Hi folks, I recently acquired a Sony MZ-NH3D for transferring files to computer, When the seller said it plays back only it doesn't record I was okay with it because my goal was transferring to computer not recording, When I received it I found out that the reason is because the record/erase protection switch is missing, the switch housing is still there except one out of 4 tabs that hold the spring and contact button is broken which could indicate it had snapped off previously. Now my problem with this is that some people do ask for personal recordings to be erased if they don't want the media back after the transfer, But with the switch non functioning I'm no longer able to erase the mini discs. I can go two ways in repairing it, The hard way or the easy almost impossible way, The hard way is to short out the 3 legs of the switch (one ground, one HiMD protect, one MD protect, this is a dual function single switch). It's hard because of the space around the switch which could mean taking it a part to avoid damaging other components with the soldering iron. The easy way (at least I assume) is find a candidate cheap model or broken with a good switch, Remove the top part of the switch and snap it back on in my player, But I have to find out what models used the exact same switch, I'm assuming all HiMD devices used this dual sensing function switch setup but not sure. So my question is, Do you know any model used this switch? or at least look at your model under the disc lid and tell me if it looks like the picture I posted below. Here is some info about the switch from the MZ-NH1 service manual which I know it's a sister model with some extra features, Switch# on the PCB: S891, Switch model: 1-786-672-21, Switch type: Push (2 KEY) (Protect detect).

I see, I had to enable home brew though to switch from recording to downloading but like you said I didn't need to enter home brew yet.

I think the only time I've used Homebrew mode was when it was the only way of transferring tracks from a MiniDisc to your PC. You can now do this from the main UI so I've not used it since. I think you can use it for trying to recover MDs with corrupted TOCs, remove the SCMS flags etc but I've never needed to use any of those additional functions tbh.

What is Home Brew feature in WebMD Pro and when do I need it? Yes I read the Wiki but it is very brief.

Well, you might not consider them "pro" @Richard, but they certainly look very professional to me. And your pictorial posts are always very much appreciated.