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Windows 10 installation (Net MD): 1) Download the files in description 2) Double click on "SS43_Ultimate.exe" and install the "SonicStage" program. 3) Go to Program Files (x86) -> Sony -> Personal Audio Drivers -> Sort by type -> Highlight all the ".inf" files, right click on one of them and hit install. 4) Unzip the second attached file "sony-net-md-drivers-win764.zip" and open up the folder "Sony Net MD Drivers". 5) Right click "NETMD760.inf" and hit install. 6) Go to Program Files (x86) -> Sony -> SonicStage-> Right click on "Omgjbox.exe -> Click on Compatibility -> Under the Compatibility tab, click the box and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" Launch SonicStage, plug in your Walkman and a "NET MD" tab should show up in Sonic Stage. If the "NET MD" tab does not show up for you, then you need to find the correct driver for the individual Microdisc player You may receive an error when starting it, just click "next" and agree" and open it up a 2nd time without problems. Learning how to use SonicStage is very easy. SS43_ULTIMATE.exe sony-net-md-drivers-win764.zip

Since the "Ultimate" 4.3 version seems to have gained quite a popularity, and appears to be less glitchy than any previous one, I decided to build a second release. This is purely a cosmetic update. What's changed from the first release: 1. Updated Registry Information Setup is used now. This doesn't affect minidisc functionality in any way, but may add support for some newer ATRAC phones (you still need to provide the respective drivers). 2. The link to Minidisc Community Forums in the Help menu is replaced with a link to Sony Insider Forums. 3. Installation package extraction path is no longer saved to registry. 4. Windows Installer 2.0 distribution package is not included. The complete list of changes from the official VAIO version (including changes introduced in the first release): 1. System prerequisites from Microsoft (Windows Installer 2.0, DirectX 9.0c, Windows Media Format 9, Windows Media Format 9.5, Data Access Components 2.5) are not included. 2. OpenMG Secure Module version 5.0 with the respective Registry Information is used instead of the original patched version 4.7. 3. Sony CONNECT Store support is no longer installed. 4. SonicStage Security Update is installed automatically. 5. Latest Personal Audio Drivers for SONY devices are installed automatically. 6. The VAIO support link in the Help menu is replaced with a link to Sony Insider Forums. NOTE: If you have applied the experimental SonicStage patch 4.3.02 for Vista/Windows 7, you'll need to re-apply it after installation. Download links: SonicStage 4.3 "Ultimate" Release 2 for Windows 2000/XP/Vista (you must register at Sony Insider forums to download) Mini-mode skins Recommended PxEngine update

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum, and let me say that I love to see the love and conversation about MiniDisc keep going on I'm popping in just to let you know that I've recently released an app for NetMD devices. I wrote the app mainly for myself, but I thought it might be useful for some of you too! So, and here's the link to use it -> https://stefano.brilli.me/webminidisc/ And here's a short demo of how app works Any feedback is welcome! Stefano

As promised in one of my previous posts, here is the trailer for 'The Field Recordist' which features some of the mini disc recorders, together with recorded tracks: UPDATED - HERE IS THE COMPLETE FILM: Best heard with headphones.

Hello! Just thought I'll report it here, if you're trying to create an account without a connection with an already existing account like Google or alike, it's simply impossible to do so, because of incorrectly loaded reCaptcha. To make this account I had to rewrite the part of the site responsible for the captcha. If anyone else is experiencing the same difficulties, here are the steps I used to create my account: Go to https://forums.sonyinsider.com/register/ In devtools, open the `head` tag and remove all the scripts that mention recaptcha Add a new script, with `src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js"` Execute the following JavaScript code: const captcha = document.querySelector("[data-ipscaptcha]"); const parent = captcha.parentElement; captcha.remove(); const newCaptcha = document.createElement("div"); parent.appendChild(newCaptcha); grecaptcha.ready(() => grecaptcha.render(newCaptcha, {sitekey: "6LdgERMTAAAAAC4kTmm7BH1laShX3teATAV_6FIY"})); After that, you should be able to click on the captcha and create your account by executing the following JS code (the submit button is broken): document.querySelector("form").submit();

Finally, my homebrew laser power meter is put together. It cost $3 worth of surface mount components, a used disc sacrificed for the shell, a piece of pcb, and some other stuff I found in the back of my drawer. Initially I tested it with my digital multimeter hooked on those test terminals, but then I found this neat little five-digit Volt-meter I bought some time ago on ebay, I think it was five bucks or so with free shipping from China. Without much fine tuning, I popped this little probe into all the decks I had at hand, and measured the laser power. From the mV readings and the nominal laser power values I calculated the mV-to-mW multipliers, and I took the average of a unit I trusted the most, a 940. Using this sole multiplier as the "calibration", I recalculated the measured mW figures and compared to the factory recommended range. Most of the other units were nicely within specification, but this 530 in question, that immediately popped out, being near 40% below the necessary values, i.e., 0,55 mW and 4,32 mW versus 0,9 mW and 7,0 mW respectively. Now, it might be that easy, but before changing anything, I want to check the IOP, to see, whether that meets the specs, and set the measured value for further adjustments. For this I will need that rig connecting to the drive, currently waiting for the special connector to arrive. So much for now, I will update the thread as I progress. Some photos attached below, just for fun.

I received a similar, albeit slightly smaller, mix of boxed and unboxed discs today too 🙂

Which sort of cases are you after? You used to be able to buy the basic hinged jewel cases from Amazon but I've not seen them on there for a few years now: If you're UK based Retro Style Media sell them: https://www.retrostylemedia.co.uk/product/clear-minidisc-case Price per case varies depending on how many you buy. Note that the quoted price is ex VAT so you'll need to factor that in as well. They also sell the larger cases that pre-recorded discs used to come in back in the 90s: They come in a variety of colours but are a lot more expensive. You can find them here: https://www.retrostylemedia.co.uk/shop/minidisc-cases That website also has templates to download for the inserts etc. There's a bit more info (and a video) here:

Don't worry about it - I got myself a Sony LAM for testing and ended up falling in love with the whole LAM series of devices. I have 3 now, so I use that functionality regularly 😆

Over the past couple of months, I've been bitten by the MD bug again. I hadn't visited this forum in a VERY long time. I've used one of my MZ-NH900s at my work desk on almost a daily basis for 10+ years. It sits it's original cradle, powered from the AC adapter because the battery long since gave up the ghost. I have about 20 disc's (a mix of Hi-MD and standard MD My other NH900 has been broken for years after it fell out of my pocket and a disc got jammed. Was able to get the disc out by disassembling the recorder but when I all went back together the buttons were no longer responsive... So I put it in a storage box with my other MD stuff that wasn't used anymore. FF 1month ago, I was digging thru some things and came across my box MD recorders. Pulled out the NH900 and took it apart again. Long story short, it's had been returned to service! While looking for info on repair, I came across this site and an intro to Reddit MD. My interest stoked again, burned some new disc's, reorganized some of my favorites, and am trying my hand at labeling. I've also managed to buy a couple of new Hi-MD blanks and some used standard MDs. It's always fun to go thru used disc's from someone else to see what's on them 🙂 My MD arsenal consists of: MZ-R500, MZ-N707 (eprom nodded), MZ-N920, IM-DR420, MZ-NH600D, 2-MZ-NH900s, 2-MZ-RH10s (both with bad displays), and a MZ-RH910. 150ish standard MDs and 15 Hi-MDs. Most of my standard disc's are Hi-MD formated and most of the music is burned in ATRAC3plus @256k. I simply LOVE this format!

Nice to see SIF back up. Why was it down? It was quite a long time. I think many people have given up on it. That http://www.minidisc.wiki has turned out pretty nice btw. Still has a ways to go, but it has data on some devices not found anywhere else in English.

I don't have a question, just wanted to post a brief homage to my Sony MZ-R90 which I got, unexpectedly, as a birthday present in 2000. It transformed portable audio for me, but unfortunately, six short months later, my MZ-R90 was stolen by an opportunistic thief. Not long after that, I moved on from MD to MP3 players, but just recently I've been reminiscing wistfully about that beautiful little piece of music technology. I had the black version, and I think the industrial design is really magnificent.

Back in 1997, long before MP3 was anything more than a concept, I was serving in the Air Force and frequently deployed overseas. Some guys on the squadron introduced me to a strange format for making music portable. MiniDisc. I soon got to learn that those tough little discs survived the rough-and-tumble of life in a kit-bag. We each bought portable players, and would ‘pool’ our discs together to make little music libraries, would trade discs with one another, and would copy CD’s for one another back home. No matter where we were in the world, AA batteries were easy to obtain, and just a handful of batteries would literally last weeks. It was a pocket-sized bit of luxury that we could carry with us, and I loved it. ......then, along came MP3 players and the ubiquitous ‘iPod’. Suddenly we could carry all of our music in a small space, and it seemed that the MiniDisc was dead. Within about 3 years everyone I knew had ditched the format and were literally giving away their discs and players, as were oil-rig workers, fishermen, and other locals who worked away from home for extended periods. I too, confined my MiniDisc collection to a box in the loft, and bought an iPod Classic. Fast-forward to 2005, and I deployed for a 4-month tour to Iraq. My iPod came with me, and I had the small luxury of my music collection to fall back on, OR SO I THOUGHT. By the second week I had the sickening ‘Sync Reset’ display (which of course was impossible without my PC) and in one fell swoop I lost my music. Other guys had problems with the portable power-generators cooking their wall-plug chargers, and soon quite a few of us had lost the use of our players, just when we would have appreciated them the most! Back home, and I was quickly falling out of love with my iPod. It seemed that whenever I updated my collection there would be issues with mixed/missing title-tracks and artwork. Any albums entitled ‘Greatest Hits’ would become an amalgamated mess, and whilst the battery-life seemed to get ever shorter, the demands for a ‘sync reset’ increased. The love was fading. I noticed something else, too. My listening habits were changing. My seemingly endless access to music made me a lazy listener, and I would frequently jump from album to album, track to track, and would often skip mid-way through a track. My days of listening to an album the way that the artist intended, had gone. This wasn’t music enjoyment. ....and so, by 2008 I was back to my MiniDisc, and what I revival it was! Equipment that had previously been prohibitively expensive was now dirt-cheap, and I was living the hobby like a millionaire! I soon had units for every occasion with Sony JA20ES and JA50ES decks for hifi use, numerous portable players, and a Pioneer MEH P9000 head-unit for the car. I could afford to be extravagant with discs, and my well used dozen or so swelled up to over 1,000. That was 10 years ago, and nothing much since then has changed. I still indulge in the childhood enjoyment of putting a ‘mixtape’ together in real-time, copying music from my CD’s and vinyl to Type-R SP to listen to in the car, or out walking the dog. Because space is at a premium my playlists are more carefully considered, and I listen to each track in full. My listening-habits are back to where they should be. In 20 years I can count on one hand the number of corrupted discs I’ve suffered, only ever having to re-copy one album. I keep discs and a spare player at work, in the summerhouse and in the car, and I have a physical, tangible connection with my music collection again. MiniDisc as a commercial format is dead, and I’m OK with that. It continues to live on in my household, and probably will do for years to come, maybe even for another decade or more. I continue to love the ‘forgotten format’, and those robust little discs give me everything I need.

Hi Folks, Long time no post, busy with child rearing. :-) I do stop by to read up on new posts and topics. I ran across this video on YouTube yesterday, sorry to post if everyone has already seen it but it was good to see and I wanted to share with all. Cheers!

It is currently admitted that the MZ-RH1 has the best DAC, ergo the best sound. I prefer however the sound of QS and ES Sony decks.

Hi all! So I've started a little project for myself. Minidisc never really caught on too well in canada so I won't be stmbling on any racks at the thrift shop anytime soon. I've been looking for storage solutions, haven't been a big fan of the wine box idea, generally I haven't seen anything that really caught my eye. For some reason it never dawned on me in the last year to 3D print some racks... I'm not sure why, I've been 3D printing everything else for years.... So I designed these up yesterday with some spare time. They're very rough still and very utilitarian. The larger one holds 10 discs and is meant to stack vertically (and has holes for nesting feet, and holes for screws). The smaller one to the right I haven't tested yet but I am thinking of a wall unit that makes the discs look like they are floating out of the wall. Edit wise I'm going to shrink the width by 2mm and perhaps put the discs at a slight downard angle rather than 90 degree so that if they were on an uneven surface, they'd still stay in the rack. What do you guys think? Feel free to toss any ideas my way! (also, for curiosity sake, the larger one took 8 hours to print! 3d printing is pretty cool but it's still a very slow process.) (The render) and printed

I got the drivers installed on my computer. I recommend watching this youtube video thats how i did it.

In case anyone is interested... I´ve written a review of the Sony MZ-R 50. http://marlene-d.blogspot.de/2013/07/the-legendary-sony-mz-r-50-review.html

I just wanted to say that it is nice to have some new members who are clearly MD lovers around to join in on the discussion and add new thoughts, ideas and opinions. Welcome all. :-)

Buy LIP-4 battery. First open all the cover of LIP-4. then you can small PCB. just remove the PCB using soldering iron or else. Do the same things with LIP-3 batteries. take the small PCB from LIP-3 and put to LIP-4 battery cell use soldering iron. Then cover you new battery, make sure it won't have electronics shortcuts. You'll have a new long lasting battery. It works on my MZ-N10.

I have a Sony MDS-JE780 for sale. It is silver and in mint condition as it has been hardly used. It is based in Wolverhampton so can be collected, or can be posted at additional cost. (I estimate about £7 with recorded delivery) £80 ono. Spec taken from the Sony website: Hybrid Pulse D/A Converter ATRAC DSP Type-S Long Time Recording and Playback (LP2, LP4) Pitch Control Scale Factor Edit NetMD Control A1 Keyboard Terminal 1 x Optical & 1 x Coaxial Input & 1 x Optical Output Available inblack and silverSee the link for more info.... http://www.sony.co.u...=TechnicalSpecs

MiniDisc is not useless; it's obsolete. There is a key difference. Nothing as multifaceted as a MiniDisc recorder can be said to be useless. That said, I think that even if Sony had marketed MiniDisc successfully, it would be obsolescent today because its competitors are more feature-rich. I have difficulty following some of the logic in this thread. MiniDisc and MP3 players both have shuffle functions. It's up to the user whether or not to use them, and absolutely nothing about an MP3 player compels one to do so. It SHOULD go without saying that either is just as capable of playing entire albums chronologically. You're arguing against your perceptions of MP3 users' supposed preferences, which are likely exaggerated and unfounded. The issue was the native functionality of the devices and which better suited the questioner. I still have my MiniDisc players, though I almost exclusively use my MP3 player (and never on shuffle). I may be returning to reporting soon and thus would use my MiniDisc to record, even though my MP3 player has a voice recorder. I also take out MiniDisc sometimes just for nostalgia. Whereas many of you are exalting album listening, I actually got into MiniDisc because it facilitated playlists, but now MP3 players do this better because the track need not be re-uploaded to form the playlist. Album listening has its advantages and purposes, but playlists demonstrate the user's creativity and make for great time travel. In my moments of nostalgia, I can call up playlists of the songs that defined eras I miss. It's a beautiful thing. One of you said you found MP3 players useless because they could not do all the things a MiniDisc player could. That depends on the MP3 player. (Further, it's a bogus statement because any mass storage device that plays music clearly has a twofold desirable purpose.) I actually can edit titles and move files on the go, but let's be honest: It is rare that such an act is of such pressing import that it can't wait until one gets home. My MP3 player is an Archos 5, which, like many MP3 players, has great sound quality, radio, a 250-gigabyte hard drive, a voice recorder, Wi-FI, Web radio and TV, DVR, picture display, and video. Useless because it's an MP3 player? Oh, brother. Much of this stems from your zeal to vindicate the MiniDisc, which I love. Another example is the citation of an intangible such as "cool factor," which lies in the eye of the beholder. Consider that being in the in-crowd like an Apple user can be said to be cool. Also, cool as in different just means anything opposed to the leading product, and that doesn't necessarily mean a MiniDisc. A lesser-known MP3 player can turn heads, but turning heads is not where the joy in product use lies. It is also flawed logic to assert that one likes MiniDisc because one prefers to carry around just a few albums. One can choose to listen to just a few on an MP3 player, first of all. The mere presence of all the other tracks you have neatly stored on the hard drive will not weigh heavily on the mind. Second, both MP3 players and MiniDiscs are mass storage devices. That's like one compulsive overeater defaming another because the other is even worse. That does not make you the icon of restraint; rather, you prefer a lesser example of excess. I do believe there still are real advantages to MiniDisc that relate to its native functionality. It's durable, sounds great, and records. It edges out MP3 in battery life, line-in recording, and usually voice recording. Actually, recording is where its greatest strength is now. Another strength is that different models are tailored to different uses; some have radio, some record and others have a digital amplifier, for instance. I love that my MP3 player works with Windows Media Player, which keeps track of the tracks you have and have not added to the device. Syncing automatically adds the new tracks. If I went back to MinDisc, I'd have to guess where I left off as I tried to upload all the music I have purchased since then to MiniDiscs. Also, I don't have to be bothered with SonicStage or ATRAC anymore, and I am glad. I don't have a second-generation Hi-MD player, so I can't put MP3s on them.

I have an N510 and a DN430. Both sound really good. I also have some S1's which, I know, are type R. They both sound excellent to me. I figured I'd take the (possible) slight noise quality hit and lack of remote for bombproof (especially in Orygun) performance of the S1. I can say those DN430's sound just fine. I think you can find that model with a radio too

I've been wondering where I knew that guy from as he looked familiar. Was even wondering if it was someone I actually knew before I finally twigged 🤦‍♂️ One of the little pleasures the format brings 😀

Hello @asivery. Welcome to the forum! Just wanted to say a huge thanks to you and @cybercase (Stefano) for the amazing work you've done with Web MiniDisc and Web MiniDisc Pro. It's been a real game changer for me and it's great to see you've continued to develop it, enabling transfer of recordings from MDs to a PC without needing an MZ-RH1 and the improved ATRAC3 encoder. When I started getting back into MiniDisc around 2015, I never thought I'd see people bringing the format back to life in the way that things like Web MiniDisc have. Fantastic 👍

Here are a couple of snaps:

Trigger pulled:

Hello. I have recently rediscovered my Minidiscs and also purchased my first Net MD capable player / recorder. Even though people keep telling me not to use SonicStage, I've come to prefer it. I got SS 4.3 from these forums and installed it in a VirtualBox VM running Windows XP SP3. I like ripping my CDs to ATRAC Lossless and using those files to transfer to MDs using either LP2 or SP (if I want to play on my older MD units). However, I got sick of typing the CD info in and was looking for a way to automate this in SS 4.3 and I have come up with what I feel is a halfway decent solution. I've created a new Windows app that I call SonicStageTitles that I can paste the track listing into and this program generates a VBScript that can type the titles into SS. The basic work flow is: search the CD catalog number at Discogs.com highlight & copy the track info paste this into SonicStageTitles click the "Extract Titles" button, verify or fix anything that looks incorrect click the "Generate Script" button check what it generated in the "VBScript body" text box (make sure there aren't any bad characters) click the "Run VBScript" button SonicStage will be brought to the foreground A dialog will appear stating that after you click "Ok" you have 7 seconds to get the first track in edit mode Click OK Click on the first track (click again, if it wasn't already highlighted) See that track 1 is in edit mode with all characters highlighted Sit and watch as the generated VBScript script types all the track names in for me I know that seeing 13 steps listed there might seem like a lot but, it's really pretty dang easy and a lot easier than typing titles manually. If anyone else is interested in using SonicStageTitles, let me know and I will hook you up with a copy to try out. I've only tested it in WinXP with SS 4.3 so, I have no idea if it works in other versions of Windows or with other versions of SS. Also, I hear that the latest Win 10 update prevents VBScripts from using the sendKeys command. If that's true, then this script will not work on those versions of Win 10.

You're trying to record an MD? Then the cable needs to go into Opt. In. of the deck.

As far as getting sonic stage to work again it is possible. Many people have gotten it to work on Windows 7 and 10 (not me, ha!) But I had success reviving my abilities to transfer music by using an older XP laptop...

Prices fron Buyee are similar to what I get in Vietnam for those ES decks. I am happy.

The output from the headphone jack is analog(ue) so a DAC (Digital to Analogue converter) wouldn't convert the signal, even if it accepted an analogue (line level) input, which most don't I think. It would be best in this case to use a headphone amplifier which would connect with a simple stereo line lead: 3.5mm to 3.5 / 5mm depending on the headphone amp input.

Don't know if this helps - found a copy in my archives.....

For those who can understand french or just can translate french text, jonathanpotato has repaired and comment a lot of portable and deck units, even made a repair guide : Articles / Accès par thèmes / Minidisc, http://www.jonathandupre.fr/ . Note that there are dozens of comments even hundreds for some of them on each unit on Sony Insider. Non Sony units like Sharp's however are not that much analysed and commented so that could be a welcome add. I don't know if your topic will have a good success and I just cross my fingers for you. Perhaps I will had my own comments when I will have more time.

Just a quick one. Ordered all of the Hi-MD blanks he had plus a case for my minidisc and it was a great experience. Great communication, pricing and super fast shipping. 100% Recommended

Please contact jonathanpotato, he can help you I think http://www.jonathandupre.fr

I tried the HQRP gumstick batteries and I never had any luck with them. They all had high self discharge characteristics and developed high internal resistance pretty quickly. The only NH-14WM replacement I've used that wasn't high self discharge is the Sofirn 3000mah battery from China. Don't let the name fool you , it's no where near 3000mah. Its like 1200mah but will hold a charge. The Sofirn battery is all white in color and its still going after a year now. It's not as good as the original Sony pr Sharp gumsticks were but way better than any HQRP I've ever tried.

Somebody know that one ? HQRP Portable CD / MD / MP3 Battery for Uniross RB103244, RB103246 Replacement plus Coaster http://www.amazon.com/HQRP-Portable-RB103244-RB103246-Replacement/dp/B0047ZW4BM

Hi macbob. It is highly unlikely to be the write head or its cable at fault. In my experience faults such as this are caused by the optical pickup assembly on Hi-MD recorders. And replacement is a very delicate job. The disc may or may not play back on another unit - it depends on the nature of the problem. But it is certainly worth trying before reformatting it. Jim

Did you ever find these? I have a whole box of a bunch of MD stuff getting rid of and recall seeing various cases in there. Good chance I have what you are looking for.

Why is this? Minidisc wont be around forever and we will need a viable flash player to move on to. I have tried giving up on minidisc several times and always end up coming back because even the Sony flash mp3/m4a players never sound as good as hi-md. Maybe its because md was designed solely around "sound" whereas all the new mp3 players have colour screens, wifi, video playback etc. I would prefer to pay $500 on audio only as my phone does everything else I need. I have tried several of the A series walkmans, several phones (galaxy s2, galaxy note) and even the ICD-SX813 but nothing is as good as a real-time recording on my rh1 via optical. I would save sooo much time and effort if i could get the same quality of an optical hi-sp recording with a flash based player using my PC to covert to m4a/mp3. Frustrating!

Hello. read all of my posts There's a problem with big lists, because u need to use search function that is available only in folder mode. Also NAC-HD1E hasn't enough memory to operate if the artist/album list is very big, many records in database that also freezes. Now I'm working to solve this problem by changing upgrading modifying and reprogramming all system.

Rear panel is now ready to be replaced onto the deck: Here we can see how the mounting plate and wiring fits inside the deck: The +5VDC, GND, SPDIF (MD), and SPDIF (CD) supply leads are connected to the top row of the distribution block: All wires are now connected. Reconnect the mains cord - we are almost finished! About to test the digital output connections to my A/V receiver - happy to report that all four digital audio outputs tested perfectly: The top cover was replaced (do you remember where you put those screws? ), and I decided to use the TOSlink connections to my A/V receiver for it's final hookup: FINALLY our MXD-D5C deck is settled back into it's place on the A/V stand, in full SPDIF digital audio output glory IN CONCLUSION: If you've made it this far, boy, then congratulations to you! I cannot express how thrilled I am with this mod, and I hope others can learn and improve upon what I've done here. I know now how I'd simplify a few things if I were to do this again, but it all worked out in the end. I do have one small issue with my new digital audio output connection - but it is a shortcoming of the A/V receiver, not the mod to the deck. During playback of CD's, which often have a two-second space of silence between tracks, the receiver momentarily loses the digital S/PDIF signal lock. When the next song begins, my receiver takes about a quarter-second to re-lock the signal again before it plays the audio stream, so I often miss the first beat of music after the two-second silence. However, this is also true when playing back the same CD's on my Panasonic DVD player when connected via TOSlink to the receiver, so I know it's not the fault of the MXD-D5C Digital Audio Output Mod. I am hoping a newer receiver will solve this issue in the future. Input on this issue is very welcome. I cannot thank enough the folks mentioned earlier in this guide that modded their decks and wrote to tell about it for others to learn, but I'd especially like to thank sonyinsider forums administrator Stephen sfbp for his constant and incredibly helpful communication throughout this project - THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thanks for reading. camroncamera We'll finish this writeup with the following videos of my project:

With the extra info I tend to agree with Stephen. If you can record ok and replay on another unit, most likely there's nothing wrong with the motors. It does sound like the play on MO discs laser power needs adjustment. I take it play on CD-type factory recorded discs is ok, assuming you have one of these? Jim

Hi guys, as some of you guys may have already heard, this year's Google Summer of Code has begun as of today and we're participating through VideoLAN (the makers of VLC) who were so kind to assign one of their students to us to work on the NetMD code. The other student is working on finalizing support for ATRAC3+ for VLC/ffmpeg including a generic OMA decryptor which will allow ALL ATRAC/PCM files saved in the oma format be decrypted and played back by VLC/ffmpeg. A very first status update has just been posted by this student on the mailing list "vlc-devel" and can be found here: http://mailman.videolan.org/pipermail/vlc-devel/2011-May/080430.html The general timeline for GSoC can be found here: http://www.google-melange.com/document/show/gsoc_program/google/gsoc2011/timeline I will keep you updated, Adrian

the best thing i like about minidiscs is that theyre small ENOUGH - no need for smaller stuff, i like to feel things in my pocket - and last forever. otherwise the format is lovely but dead. to my thinking if you cut a blue ray disc to the size of a minidisc youd be able to fit about i dunno - around 4 gbs of data on it? mass production in china should lower the cost of the laser head so why still use the freaking huge cds dvds and etc? all the cds ive written lasted me about a day-2. all my old cds are scratched useless and are not pocketable.i always loose stuff - imagine how it will be when theyll start selling micro sd albums all over for cheaper - people will lose data on the floor i hate it. i also hate sony for ruining aiwa. i actually bought a yamaha md8 8 track mixer couple days ago and realised that there would be no way for me to export the split tracks cause it uses md data discs for recording 8 tracks at once and nothing else really reads them so the only way is to rip them separately realtime which sucks cause im not only messy as hell im also lazy. the 2 md data the seller gave me may be the last on earth so i wont be opening the one in wrapping i guess. it can only record 2 tracks at once on a regular minidisc so talking about dead formats md data is one and so is the original minisisc cause it wont really transfer the data when it can and shoud like the hi-md lets you, right? love the machine tho! and i love md - just b/itching since its dead anyhow. so i think sony shouldve just kept increasing the minidis's storage space - not too hard a task for a giant. and the best things about the format in general is the casing and the latter direct wav rec support. i dunno how atrac really differs from flac mp3 vbr cbr ape whatever. i only want the best one to win. if i count all the money ive spent on scratched round plastic im pretty sure id be better off with the minidisc cause it is obviously much more rewritable than cdrw dvdrw plus minus - awful stuff to keep in mind, these subtypes of things. i grew up on cassettes and im used to carrying portative stuff with buttons and mechanisms cause you feel it better than carrying tons of music you cant remember where you downloaded from and why. btw i think the rh1 and hi md was a sweet start for the new era of md. and opening the codes is a must do for a corp that no longer makes money of the product it released and created the buzz then shut it down. i used to love sony portable stuff but the last thing i liked was the hd5 and it was too quiet for me even with the volume unlocked. anyone actually ever used the avls button on anything? )) whata long open letter. ))

You got it in one. The difference between 1a/b and 2 is that 2 is NOT from the receiver TO the TV. Actually now I think about it there's probably a setting to let the receiver use the TV's speakers (via HDMI), but you'll never get surround sound.

As for MiniDisc being "dead", on behalf of myself, GuitarFxr, bobt and many others from the old MDCF who still use it, all I can do is say this..... BULL. As for Sony and ATRAC, Sony mis-marketed (at first) the MD as the successor to CD, in which it is not. But, it is the perfect replacement for the ever-flawed cassette tape, and when I got into MD back in 1998, I pretty much did away with using cassette tape as a recording medium. How ever you are right that the market wanted to carry more than just a few MD's worth of music, that is why, even with Sony trying to counter with Hi-MD, that the format failed, but, only on the portable playback unit basis. Even I gave in by getting a few NW-HD5 units, many for parts or accessories that came with them, and 2 others that were N.O.S. (new in U.S. blister package!!!) at that!!! I still use MD on a regular basis for all home, car, and studio recording purposes, including for upload (through my MZ-RH1, in which I own 3 of) onto SonicStage CP 4.2 to my NW-HD5 HDD Walkman, so the ATRAC family of formats is still alive and well here at BIGHMW.com Headquarters. I also use it to record most of my vinyl and cassette collection to preserve the original tapes (many of them over 20 years old from my days in high school and having gone to school with Cindy Margolis for a year at that in 1983-84!!!), and we all know what happens when you run a tape over and over... it wrecks it that much more, so MD can still be quite handy when needed. "I'm Ray Jackson and I approved this message."

These were improvements in ATRAC encoding. Type R was a 2 pass system that was incorporated into portables when processing power became powerful enough to do the extra processing. Type S improved the ATRAC3 performance in a similiar fashion. Both of these changes were to the encoder and required no changes to the playback processing