sfbp

#1 (your trick for playback) is definitely possible. However HiMD units don't seem to last that well. I do it from time to time, but a PC with SonicStage and thousands of hours of music is simpler and more robust. Sony didn't provide HiMD optical playback because (I think) they figured it was a way of preventing proliferation of digital copies and they could control it. It was always a matter of time before people figured out a way, IMO. (Off topic a bit - you may run into problems of sound artifacts using HDMI to transmit 44.1kHz S/PDIF. I would recommend a second USB device, effectively an offboard soundcard, to transform the PC's output to optical. Coax may have ground loop problems. These are available for about $15 on Ebay). Better yet is a PC with a "nice" soundcard (plugged into the PCI bus, not USB) that has optical out. I recommend TerraTec's line as producing the least tweaked optical out. #2 Yes I always record vinyl to SP on my 980 or 630. Always the highest quality. I remember when the first CD's came out that were "conversions" of vinyl. A well known DJ played something from my favourite album and I could tell the difference, his CD was worse than my LP. Minidisc is at least a 20-bit format, inherently a 24-bit format (although S/PDIF is actually "only" 20 bits), and although the early ones may not have used more than 16 bits, once we get past ATRACversion4.5 to Type-R, then they all record at 20 bits or better. However, store this at 16-bits PCM, and you're throwing it (highest quality) away. This is probably the reason that recreating a CD from the resulting recording (at SP) always sounds basically perfect. Mind you, the extra bits only matter when you come to edit the recording to adjust volume and the like. Rounding errors don't mess up a recording if you have another 4+ bits to "dither in" when you lay down the final PCM. For recording a well-behaved source that requires no real editing other than cutting things out of it, I record in LP2 or HiSP as both of these get transmitted bit-for-bit to the computer (and back again to MD if desired). I got into this technology in order to save my vinyl collection to CD. I stayed here because it's phenomenally interesting.

Sorry but exactly ONE unit (actually it has two model numbers but it's the same beast) allows upload of LP2, LP4 and SP. Actually, I tell a little white lie. If you can download LP2 or LP4 recordings to a HiMD (1GB or 80m reformatted), then THOSE SAME RECORDINGS can really be uploaded to a PC from any HiMD machine. The RH1 (or M200) can upload legacy disks made by a deck or a NetMD (there's another little problem with the latter but it's all about second generation copies of things). The RH10 and 910 (and their mac brothers the M100 and M10 respectively) can not upload LP2, LP4 and SP from a "regular" disk.

There are no HiMD units of any kind with optical out or USB playback. However your PC hooked via optical (or coax), to an amplifier with S/PDIF-in, is a good substitute. The closest you can come to a HiMD Deck is the all-in-one Onkyo "bookshelf" model(s). I have completely given up recording in HiMD-PCM mode. For line recordings I use either an MDLP deck, or a HiMD (NH900) or the (HiMD) Onkyo. For microphone recordings I use one of my Sony flash recorders, either the 8GB ICD-SX950 or the 4 (+16) GB PCM-M10 which for additional peace of mind records in 24-bit PCM. The only time 24-bits really makes a difference is when I misguess the recording level by setting the mic gain too low. Then it's much more reasonable to amplify up (digitally, with Sound Forge) the resulting PCM. With 16GB flash media for about $20, it seems unnecessary to use HiMD for outside recordings. The resulting PCM can still be compressed nicely to MP3 or ATRAC. I have a 630 too, and its one neat feature is the fast AND slow playback which is otherwise only found on much more expensive pro-level decks. Great if you recorded from legacy media which have been recorded at the WRONG SPEED, for whatever reason.

Danny, before you wave your hands in horror, try setting the IOP value to the one written on the optical head. It's quite critical to the operation of decks, as I found out. You may not even need any real tools to perform this service.

1. The point is that IMO you would do better to spend some money on an MDLP deck with optical out. Examples MDS-JE640,JE780,JB980. The MZ-RH10 line seem to have some laser problems too in the long term (I have two RH910's in for repair just now with an identical fault). 640's are not that hard to get hold of. 2. The best way for the car is to get: a. an MD changer and a CD headunit or b. a CD changer and an MD headunit. The only problem with a. is that there's only ONE MDLP-capable changer, the MDX-66XLP The only problem with b. is that there's very few MDLP capable headunits, and exactly one that has the Type-S reproduction (MDX-CA790X). Mind you the 66XLP is "only" Type-R and sounds good to me. My wife has the 790 and swears by it. I actually have an ATRAC-CD-, bluetooth-capable headunit (means I can have a small stack of disks with over 100 hours of 256kbps Hi-SP easily in my car), and connected to it by "BUS" changer cord the MD changer, the CD changer (with MP3, not ATRAC, sadly), and an XM satellite radio as well. Lots of scope for fiddling around and having fun with music in your vehicle.

You're welcome. One of the good things about that install is that it tells you each step it's performing in some detail. Conclusion: something that didn't matter failed. It may even have failed for me - I don't remember. The "big deal" in that whole install is the "OpenMG Secure Module" (an oxymoron if I ever heard one). Once you get that installed properly you should be ok. It's highly likely that finding an old installation or files that turn out to be un-upgradeable or un-importable will cause the sort of errors you describe. Glad you got sorted.

Huh? Sorry but if you are trying to use SonicStage to get regular SP quality by downloading from PC over the USB link, you can give up now. Essentially what you are getting is LP2 dithered (or padded) to SP quality by adding zeroes in the data after it gets to the unit. ABSOLUTELY the only way you can get real SP recorded onto that unit is to: a. hack the firmware (which disables MP3 playback) and; b. record via optical. There's no point in your case since you already have a deck that can probably do the same thing. The firmware hack is not straightforward, shall I say. No more comments about being driven crazy; you clearly are already, as are the rest of us. Welcome to our little band of afficionados! Thanks for the data on Windows 8 - I expect I shall need it one of these aeons.... Stephen

Real windows? On a real PC? If so, my next guess would be that you have some cleanup to do. I'd start with some basic checks, and if those pass, try a system restore to some time in the past before you ever started installing SS. If not, especially if you are not booting from C:, you may have some serious studying to do. Tell us what you know and we'll try to help. I am almost thinking "malware" here. This stuff works.

Hmm.. not sure what you mean. There's no downloading involved. If you see downloading DURING THE INSTALL then you are not running the all-in-one complete installer that is from the site here. Sony's original method of delivery was by downloading. Forget it. I (believe I) know what your problem is - Sonic Stage Ultimate vs Windows Ultimate. The two "Ultimate"'s have Nothing Whatsoever To Do With Each Other. You need to get the version from our downloads section. Sorry. Good Luck PS You will need the NetMD 64-bit driver (also in the downloads section).

It works (for thousands, I think). I assume a. you did not have the NetMD unit connected when running the install b. You turned off driver signing (just in case) c. You disabled any antivirus, firewall (NAT is normal and fine), and possible also DEP. (Google it) d. You are properly connected to the internet (for validation of existing encryption keys). It's possible Sony's server was down at the time - this happens occasionally. When you describe when and how the error occurred in much more detail, we can help. You may have to start with cleanup - but if you are already an MD owner since the year dot, you probably know about that. Also if you are expecting to get music from your "Music Drive", you'd better: 1. Fire up Sonic Stage Backup on the old machine; or 2. Run the File Conversion Tool on your old setup to decrypt the files. Have a good day, and welcome to the forums.

Actually it's pretty simple to use. You can access it by selecting the centre bar of SS ("My Library") and you will find a menu option under "Tools" saying "Start File conversion tool". I can't remember whether it's important but I recommend always starting it from this place, NOT as a standalone program.

You're most welcome. I should have done this months ago but we were living in someone's basement with most computing stuff "in store" at the time I first considered it. Just one word of advice. LEARN TO LOVE THE FCT (File Conversion Tool) with your uploaded files. It will decrypt them for you. That way they are not locked to the PC you uploaded them on. As everything EXCEPT LPCM is actually encoded as 24-bit, you may want to choose the upload option TO Hi-SP (one of the import options) and convert to WAV later - it won't cost you in quality, is my sincere belief. Editing and handling of metadata is so much better with real ATRAC files. (Sony Sound Forge 9 or later will edit/convert .OMA (ATRAC) files directly, if that information is of any use). Provided they are decrypted (unprotected). I will be making an announcement shortly about serving up OMA files over a network. So I know whereof I speak.

You desperately need the rh1 driver files. Funny, I was in the same boat as ur brother in law until I discovered that in windows 7/64 basically everything is handled transparently. Even on the most basic "home" editions. You had it working before on xp. Any chance to look on that machine? Sony may have disguised the install file a bit but I am sure it will be on the cd that came with rh1. Meantime you have inspired me to post my "one driver fits all" solution for 32 bit Windows. I'll get it sorted asap. Cheers PS its actually slightly worse than the Russians made out. In the hidden windowsinf directory there are copies of anything installed but named oem <nn>.inf Get your techie family member to help you get rid of any recent ones that mention Sony Net MD in the text of the file. By the time you did this I should be organised. Done... go check in downloads!

That's what happens when I answer in a hurry. Everyone else has the opposite problem, that they need the 64-bit driver. My apologies. There is really no reason left for anyone to want to use 32-bit Windows 7, unless your processor is very low in capabilities.... in which case you should go back to XP (forget Vista!). You may have to remove all the "other" NetMD stub drivers. Please see The other thing you need is Sony's NETMD052.SYS driver. This is the one that comes with the RH1. If you got the "personal audio driver" install, that is for completely different hardware and may or may not get in the way of the correct driver. Check and see if you were originally attempting to install NETMD052.SYS, or some earlier version, such as NETMDUSB, NETMD031 or NETMD033. You've come to the right place... we'll get you running.

More later - in a hurry at the minute....

The key, Philippe, is surely the ripping. As we learned from our discussions with MDietrich about how 20 bits or so of resolution is dithered into 16-bit CD's, the challenge is getting the 20 bits back from the CD during the rip. It seems to go quite well with SS to the ATRAC formats. But don't use SS to rip to WAV, followed by compression, as I might be tempted to think that Philippe is implying. That way you get the worst of all worlds. Other rippers than SS do a great job, properly configured.

I strongly recommend importing in Atrac Advanced Lossless (256kbps lossy part), high quality setting. This will downcode to your 132 target perfectly nicely as well as giving the option to play in something with a few more bits of reproduction "later". The converting you see has to do with the fact that SS insists on encrypting everything for the journey to MD. In fact when it gets to the other end it is decrypted again... I guess they didn't want people spiking the USB cable and tapping the "good stuff" from there.

There's only one way to find out.... try it. I'm not going to predict, as for various reasons one's predictions frequently turn out completely wrong in this area.

Off the top of my head I would expect a letter suffix to indicate the COLOUR of the item. "T" for Taupe maybe?

Moved topic to main "classified" section. If you look carefully you will see a pinned article entitled "no hardware trades", because the "minidisc trades" section is for DISKS (with music on them), not units that will play those disks. Just in case you're wondering.

Yes, I use the MXD-D40, also the CMT-PX3 and the MDS-PC3. And the CMT-M333NT does it (M-Crew) via USB. I'll look again at the 940 schematic. I would be most interested (not for myself, just intrigued in a general way) if 980 and other decks could be tricked into doing PCLK. However the 980 has USB so I could use that if pressed (currently I have plenty of ways of doing titleing). Yes, it's cute when technological advances acquire internal names because they are secret.

Whatever plays your files will simply output optical signal from the PC. Of course no titles. You can title with a keyboard on many units. As I explained, it seems that units will either accept keyboard OR m-crew (pc-link) but not both (and I do not mean simultaneously, I mean there is no way to switch a given deck AFAIK). But I was forgetting, you can still use SonicStage to do titling. Clear as mud?

Call Sony. Be careful, I would assume that at least one version of reset will completely wipe the memory and require a firmware reload. You may have already done this. Again guessing, I might suppose that a 30 second reset might be different from a 1 second reset. Or you may be required to hold down some key at the same time as applying power.. Hopefully you have copies of your music. New preload including firmware should not be hard to come by, probably from Sony direct. Good luck!

Reading the reviews on the Sony website gives a most interesting profile of the consumers who bought this product. My biggest concern based on what I see is what the specs of the turntable, tone arm and cartridge are like. It's all very well trying to clean things up with Sound Forge but if the quality isn't there in the first place..... I recommend the way I do it: Technics SL1200 and a really good cartridge to good audio amp with Phono preamp, (inexpensive standalone preamps are apt to be dreadful), analog out to 24-bit MD (Type-R or better), upload with MZ-RH1 to PC, edit with Sound Forge. But it's entirely possible that the package Sony came up with produces as good a result if the WAV output option is used (one review seemed to say that was possible). Certainly easier. Interesting...