viridens

Many thanks for the advice. I am keen to consider all possibilities before starting the transfer marathon. I like new toys, & I would love to own a RH1/M200, but I simply can't afford one. (None on eBay at the moment!) -Any chance of a loan anyone? I am still keen to capture the raw ATRAC data stream. I calculate that at the bitrate of 300Kbit/s would give a file size of only 2.2Mbyte per minute, which was the advantage of ATRAC in the first place! I calculate that capturing the raw data stream from the spdif line (about 3Mbit/s) would give me file sizes of 21Mbyte per minute & no real advantage, so I have ruled that out. I note the factor of 10 'data inflation' of the SPDIF stream compared to ATRAC, so 10 times more hard disc space required for archiving. I now realise that ATRAC3 codec is NOT backwards compatible, but I am still confused by the statement that there is no software decoder for standard ATRAC on a PC. Surely SonicStage has one, & I seem to remember ffmpeg would also do this? Without a RH1, I will have to go for a quick-n-dirty approach. I have identified a suitable ATRAC data stream tap-off point on my Sony cct board. I plan to add a TTL buffer, & to dig out an old laptop with a serial I/O port to input this data stream, then worry about software decoding of the captured file. If (when) I reach a dead end & find I have wasted my time, I can always fall back to the SPDIF sound card method. Please correct me if I have got something else wrong.

Thanks for the replies, but we seem to be putting the cart before the horse. I am looking for a way to import raw track data from MD to PC via an optical link. This is step one. I want to see exactly what is there. If there are decoding problems or whatever beyond this I will worry about that AFTER I have captured some data to work with. Has anyone any practical experience of doing this, &/or can anyone suggest suitable capture software? (My original question).

But I am able to play files like the attached ATRAC3 (at 132K) sample file using windows media player. I am using an ATRAC3 codec. NOTE I have changed the file extension from .oma to .txt to get around site attachment upload restrictions. mc_sich_at3_132.txt

Thanks for the reply & the corrections. My recordings are standard ATRAC, not ATRAC3. -I added the '3' in the last paragraph accidentally. Please note that the PC optical input is working fine, and I can already upload tracks as WAV files, but even that involves a decoding/recoding process which I am trying to avoid. What I want is a bit-for-bit copy that I can play on a PC using the ATRAC codec. Logically, just copying the data across to the PC should be a more simple process than decoding & encoding again. What I need is suitable data copy software. I saw what looks like an expensive solution HERE which has many features I don't need but still only gives WAV files, and I'm not even sure it is still supported (SCSI interface?)...

Which software will allow me to record ATRAC data from MD directly to a PC via an optical link? I would like to archive my MD collection to hard disc. I have recently bought a generic USB sound card with a SPDIF input (only £10) and sucessfully linked this to the optical output from my trusty Sony MDS-JE530. My current audio software will allow me to import MD tracks to the PC through this optical link as WAV or MP3 files, but I wish to avoid this unnecessary re-coding with consequent loss of quality & added artifacts. I would like to have the option to save the original ATRAC data for each track to disc, to be played on the PC using the ATRAC codec which works fine with the online ATRAC demo tracks I have tested. Maybe SonicStage is what I need, but years ago I vowed never to use the security-obsessed horror again.... P.S. All MDs are standard ATRAC3, there are no LP or other types. These MDs are a mixed bunch of old music, radio shows & live recordings, so there should be no protection issues. I don't mind having to save track by track manually in real time. Sorry if this topic has been covered elsewhere on the site - I have searched and had a look through, but I have not read every page. Thanks!