zahne

Couldn't find a good review about this unit. Just curious really. I want to hear personal experience. I've heard it's terrible for music use, no surprise there. Anyone hear anything?

Thanks for the input!

Is this the only model that has phantom power?: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-R3.html

My Yamaha MD-4s can do it but what about any old MD recorder? Can you pause recordings then resume while remaining on the same track? I have an R70 and a MS-MD702.

It's a cheapo camcorder mic but it does the job. It's and HTDZ HT-320A. Thanks for the input.

I chose #7. I use it primarily for film and podcasting. I'll use my computer for podcast audio if I'm at home but I'm usually somewhere else recording with others at parks etc.

So do you need Phantom Power if your condenser mic doesn't have a the option of accepting a battery? My condenser mic has a AA battery, a feature I don't see on high end mics.

These Vmedia discs are probably not going to be played on a large screen. 1 gb gives you a feature length film encoded on H.264 with M-PEG 4. I just think it's stupid. If they could make a tiny media like that at 1 GB, they should have made something closer to MD size that could maybe fit 4-5 GB. A small handfull of those would be a hefty amount of data. At 1 GB, you're better off with an SD card.

If there was a revitalization of the MD, what would yours be? I put this under the Hi-MD because my imaginary device is Hi-MD. So here's mine: Sony Ericsson 10k -A 4" touchscreen mobile phone that's Sony's answer to the iPhone -Allows the downloading of apps and already has music/video and video game ability -Comes with basic apps for web and productivity -Built in 8 gig SSD -Bluetooth, GPS and all those other features that the iPhone has -Plays a new form of MD called B-MD based on Blu-Ray and holds 5 GB each (re-writable) -Also supports legacy, MD, MDLP, NetMD, MD DATA, MD View and Hi-MD -The interface for the legacy MD playing/recording app resembles a portable MD player -You send/receive media with Mac, Windows or x86 Linux Alternatively there is the PSP II that allows for these MD formats as well as UMD. It has all the functions of the Ericsson but no phone calls or GPS. These devices would be 4.5" long 3" wide and .4" thick. P.S. I understand the implausibility of this. It's not a real idea. Just something for fun. But I wonder, if there was an MD with a high enough capacity, it could possibly win out over SSDs. If you had an iPod that had a dedicated 40 Gigs and if it were possible to have a high density MD with 10 gigs that allows for a higher volume of media. Like a booster. If you get an iPod and your music library expands quickly and your iPod can't fit it all then you either pick and choose or buy a new iPod with more space. And before the iPhone you couldn't really acquire music for your iPod while out and about. I remember being at school and recording music onto my MD recorder without any trouble and little set up time. Just plug in the optical cables to the school library's stereo and record music.

Even Sony's XDCAM is on it's way out: http://www.vfcpug.org/images/xdcam_hd.jpg I've been told by some friends in the industry that there's going to be a switch to HDD and SSD. What would have been great is if Sony tried to revitalize MDs with the PSP. A higher density MD maybe. That'd would have been awesome. There's no real reason for Sony to do that exacpt maybe it might have been cheaper than buying the patent on UMD, then again maybe buying the UMB tech was cheaper. I don't know what kind of deal they got on that.

That's completely understandable and the only big concern anyone has about the move to Wiki. If there's anyway I can help make it happen. I think that Wikia gives you the option to appove or prohibited people from signing up or editing your content: http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia

I noticed that it had the MD DATA and MD logos on it the camera. Does it play back and record regular MDs? Does it just play? Dies it do neither?

Damn that stinks. Looks like a neat camera though. It'd be cool if they had an HD version. It could be conceivably possible, it'd have to be H.264 and not HDV codec. At 720p and H.264 those MD Views could probably hold 6.5 minutes per disc. Even then it'd be of a novelty as it would very compressed HD. Does it do anamorphic wide screen or is it just a letterbox mat or neither?

I know they were made for camcorders but would they work on my multitrack with higher recording time?

Let me pose one more question. Would this be the archival lifespan HHB blanks or is it the nature of MiniDiscs b/c of its technology?

Has there ever been a proposal for a MiniDisc Wiki? If not I think it'd be a great idea for these reasons: -Easier and more familiar to navigate in the now Wiki world of the internet. Wiki environments are popular now, so it may attract future MD users to have such an accessible database. -Less pressure on moderators to be the sole people to edit or add information. It'll community based! For a format that only now survives on community support. I love how helpful the database has been but I'm going to offer a constructive criticism, the site itself looks rather dated (circa 1997 style html layout). Wiki will be more attractive and well organized. I don't mind being the one starting it so long as others pitch in. Who's interested? Of course I'll leave things the way they are if no one like's the idea.

Any mechanical failure from so much use?

Well, once we grow and have a better budget we'll probably just have an HDD or SSD based portable recorder that can record lossless audio. I'm only talking about keeping our original source material that is on MD and not deliberately backing up all of our audio to MD. As a safety net when all else fails. But yes we are satisfied with the ATRAC codec sound quality, once it's captured and put into soundtrack pro and logic and mixed into a 7.1 surround mix, the viewer isn't really going to tell. If there are 70 people in a movie theatre hearing a 7.1 soundtrack that has at least 2 ATRAC channels the one audio aficionado in the crowd will pick up on the lossy sound (if that). From my experience, I've presented PCM and ATRAC audio to many people and no one has noticed at theatres or with headphones on with the audio pressing against their ears. Considering that and the fantastic price that standard MDs are it's good set up for now. I have a Sony R70 I got for $10 and blanks I got for $1 each. PCM would be good for our better funded projects but for right standard MD is A-OK.

Yeah it didn't seem like that great of a deal. It should be added to the equipment list though! Is there a MiniDisc Wiki? That might be easier to navigate and it's demanding on the moderators to be the only one's who can add or edit info. I'd be up for starting one if anyone's interested in pitching in!

I was wondering if these work on all MD Data supported machines? Since they are higher capacity at 650mb does that mean more recording time on a multi-track than 37 mins?

So what's the story on this?: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/peripherals/sto...itin-039700.php Really rare? Proto only? I couldn't find it in the equipment browser.

Come with any MD DATA blanks?

I have a few if you're interested. They can't be worth much but they're hard to get unless you buy a pre-recorded MD. If you couldn't tell by my signature I'm always on the look out for blanks! I guess that'd make this a trade. Interested?

According to the device info on minidisc.org: "Can play and record normal MD audio disks in 2 track (stereo) mode." But the manual says "MD DATA Record/Play" and "MD Play." Manuals can be wrong too, I'm hoping this one is. I understand the need for MD DATA to be needed for 4 track but I was hoping I could still record stereo with standard MDs. Can anyone confirm that this can or can't record standard MDs?

I don't mean to back up. If the MD was the source of the recording it would simply be a decision to archive the original source. HDD and BD are my main archival methods. But that's interesting about the whether conditions.