jmsla

Interesting..., I didn't know there was an earlier version of the DG2 that had a switch on it. Maybe that's why it's called the DG"2" And, if by recording a CD, you mean playing it on you computer and recording the output directly onto minidisc using the DG2, I just tried that and I got track marks at the beginning of each new track. I played the CD in Windows Media Player and Real Player with SYNC REC both on and off. No titles but, track marks went onto the minidisc. (What does the switch on the other Digital PC Link do?) I had not done this before because if I want to record a CD in real time onto minidisc I play the CD on my stand alone Hard Drive DVD player/recorder that has an optical output. I think it

Just to interject briefly...I duplicated the process as described: Using an RH1, I formatted a 74 min disc to Hi-MD mode using the "Initialize" feature on Sonic Stage. After unplugging from SS I set REC Mode to Hi-SP and recorded a music clip from a web site using the DG2. I then re-connected my RH1 with Sonic Stage, choose "Transfer" which defaulted to Hi-MD and successfully transferred the track. SS created a file called "Hi-MD 2010-04-25 01_07_01\00" in My Documents/Sonic Stage where it placed the .oma file. In the SS library, the file is listed in the Album Colum as "Transferred from Hi-MD (2010-04-25 01:07:00)" I also have my "Advanced" transfer settings configured to "Save In WAV format when importing" therefore I also have the track as a .wav file in a folder I designated. So the method can work. Though I don't think it is necessary to format or initialize an MD disc in Hi-MD on Sonic Stage. You can just put the disc in your recorder and set the Disc Mode to Hi-MD in "Options" on the recorder's menu and then in REC Settings go to REC Mode and choose PCM, Hi-SP or Hi-LP.

I have several of these devices...they came bundled with many of the older minidisc units and as I buy used minidiscs I often get a Digital Port DG2 along with it. I'm not sure I understand why you are trying to have Windows record in relation to using the DG2. If I find something on the internet that I want to record to minidisc, I just plug the DG2 into a usb port and the optical output (TOS Link) from the DG2 into my MD's line in. It's as simple as that. It's also useful if you have a music file on your hard drive and want to make a copy on MD in ATRAC SP. Of course you have to make the recording in real time but, I think that is the only way to make an SP recording of a music file from your computer. Sonic Stage does not transfer in true SP. I've also disabled all beeps and chirps that my computer used to make. (Except that annoying alarm that Sonic Stage makes when it finishes transferring a file from it's library to an MD...anyone know how to turn that off??).

Hey Rainsire, I don't know about M.A.L or the others but, I was having the same probem and I just tightened the lid on my RH1 last week. The ends at the front edge of the of the lid were wobbling back and forth. If I happened to push down on the right side while handling the unit it would act like a mystery function button and interfere with whatever the unit was doing at the time. If you are having the same problem, here is what I did to fix it. First I carefully tightened all the screws I could easily get to that are associated with the lid. Then I held the unit up to my eye and looked across the front edge of the lid where I discovered that it was in fact slightly bowed. The middle where it latches was a bit lower than at the ends, thus it was swayback shaped. I fixed this bit of swayback by placing the unit on a firm surface like my desk top, and then with the lid open inserted my index finger, (fingerprint side up) just slightly under the middle of the lid. Then with my other hand placed my thumb and index finger at the two corner ends and applied very gentle pressure. I did not try to re-shaper it in one effort. After applying some gentle pressure, I closed the lid to see how much I had adjusted. I did this two or three times just until the ends held tight in place. Problem solved, the lid is now nice and tight when I close it. Lastly, I suggest not shutting the lid by pushing down only on the center of the front edge. That practice may contribute to the bend. Use two or three fingers across the front edge to apply even pressure when shutting the lid. Just go slow and gentle with the above procedure and don't adjust it more that it needs. -ja

From my experience with the AT822, I would say "yes", though I'm not familiar with the 957PRO . That AT822 is discontinued but, they can still be found in some stores or on line. There is a replacement for it that I'm told is as good if not a little better but, also a bit more expensive. I paid $250 for each of my two and located one on Craigslist last year for about $175 which I snatched up my brother. (I'm now using two with a mixer in my studio and still a single mike straight into the MD when I'm in the "field". I'm sorry about my harsh description of the Sony 957 but, I stand by it. I just couldn't believe how bad it sounded. I had started out using the Sony ECM-MS907, that $75 stereo condenser described as being just the thing for digital recording. A musician who was familiar with minidisc recording and sound mixing in general saw me recording at a session and recommended the AT822 mike. I also saw a member of MDCF, a guitarist I think, recommend the mike also. The difference between those two mikes was like comparing a Hugo to a Mercedes, which is essentially what my friend at the session had told me. I had purchased my first AT822 based on those recommendations and blind faith and have yet to be dissapointed. But, an A-B comparison is always helpful, especially when you're talking about an expenditure in the $300 range. I still have discs with raw live club recordings and possibly still a few discs recorded in my studio with one mike directly into my minidisc. If you PM me, we can figure out a way I can provide you with a few samples so you can compare the results with other mikes you're interested in. -Jim

Well, I received an ECM-MS957 bundled with a minidisc I purchased on Craigslist. I did an A-B comparison with my AT822 and must say that I simply cannot understand how Sony can charge three hundres dollars for this dreadfull microphone and most retail outlets for close to two hundres. I think it contains low end mike elements in an impressive looking housing. I'll gladly let it go for a nominal price. Mine even comes with a table stand and big foam wind screen.

I use my minidisc(s) to record everything that I do in my practice studio each day. Individual practice sessions and sessions with other players. I just start the recorder going first off and forget about it...except for changing discs...kind of like Richard Nixon's Oval Office, for those of you who get the reference. Two or three discs a day is typical. I also record bands at clubs (bars really) and concerts. I record w/ minidisc exclusively and my microphone(s) is the AudioTechnica AT822. It's worth taking note, for those who inquire often about what mike to use, that the best digital recording device is only as good as the microphone attached to it. All live recordings start as an analog signal. It's far better to have a very expensive high end field mike recording to a cassete recorder that a Hi-MD set to PCM using a $79.00 microphone.

Thanks for those tips.... What a goofy programs SS is. Sometimes, I get a choice in one of the drop-down menus called "Recover Rghts". I can't recall exactly what I'm doing when this choice appears, (in 'Controls' I think). Any insight what this does?

A further question on thei topic: When I upload from an MD that I've recorded live or from a commercial CD, I instruct SS to save in .wav to a file in my hard drive. Then I delete the .oma or.OMA files and it doesn't appear that the .wav files are copy protected. I can then import them to SS if I want to put them on a CD or an MD. Am I missing somethin or isn't this a better way? Additionially, as .wav files, I can import or run them in a program like Audacity for editing.

Hey All, I also own three. My first was actually an M200 but, that mike is useless. I got the second, an RH1, as back up because I immediately loved the unit. That one has been out of the box only once and just to test that all functions worked. I recently got my third on Craigslist for $250 and it is in pristine condition, hardly used at all. Even came with the 1gig disk still wrapped up. Now I keep the first one I acquired at my practice studio set up for recording...a stack of blank discs next to it and my AT 822 always plugged in ready to go. The newly acquired is at home for use with the computer and some playback. And the first back up is still in the box. If opportunity presents. I'll get a 4th to use as a portable player to carry around 'cause it's so thin and light. These are in addition to my somewhat extensive and growing collection collection of ATRAC and Hi-MD units. I just really dig this medium, even though I take a lot of grief and ribbing from pals who keep telling me to abandon MD for a flash player. I know better. Just wish we could TOC clone Hi-MD discs. jmsla Jim

Oh Great! Now if I can just remember which disc it was. I know it was a newly recorded Sony 80 min. Color Collection w/ a red case. Yiles!

Hi there TS, Thanks for the input. I don't see a lot of Sharp MDs listed and 4X would still be more than 15 minutes. I've have heard that some Sharp units are very good. Arvin's method, on the other hand, accomplishes my purpose in 4 minutes using my RH1. It's a really good process if you want to start with an unaduterated disc before making a live recording. -j

If I convert the .wav file to LP2, aren't I creating one of those OMA files we are advised to delete in preference to the .wav format? And, I've noticed that the conversion part takes place rather quickly...2 or 3 minutes. It's the transferring, (recording), onto the minidisc that requires more time. Also , nothing in my SS library is copy protected and I put tracks on disc in NetMD mode all the time. Everything I have is a .wav file; line in and mike recordings as well as commercial CD tracks. I just check the box that instructs SS to convert the tracks to .wav when uploading anything. If SS tells me that it can't find or play or import a file that is "not associated with SonicStage" I simply go to the file in my hard drive folder, right click then tell it to play in SS. Then it magically become "associated " with SS and I can import it. I don't claim to understand what's happening, I just know how to make it go. -jmsla OK Arvin...I should have known better than to try and second guess a master. I improted the .wav file, convetted it to a 132kbps ATRAC file, checked the box to add copy protection and then purged the huge .wav file from my hard drive. So I have an OMA file in SS that is 149:52 long @ 132kbps. It downloads, w/o conversion, to minidisc in 8 minutes using an MZ-NH900. I'll test if its any faster downlosding to the RH1. Now I can clean up the dozens of second had discs I've got and record confident that if I trash a live recording I can get it back clean. thanks again.

Thank You Gentlemen, Your discussion has guided me to the solution. First off, I did read the long thread quite sometime ago about slow uploads w/ (I thought it was the NH1), and performed the fix as described because I had in fact attached some older Net MD units to my computer. I thought the warning was to avoid attaching any units that were not at least 2nd Generation Hi MD. But, the real solution lay in the LP2 suggestion. It is indeed light years faster transferring from SS to an MD...6 minutes for a 00:74:56 track from .wav to LP2 as opposed to 30+ minutes to SP. It did take me a minute, well honestly a bit more, to finally figure out that I needed not a 74+ minute track of line recorded silence but rather, a 148+ minute track. Transferring the 74 minute track in LP2 onto an erased disc left exactly half of the objectionable original recordings on the disc, which I discovered after erasing the transferred track and cloning a fresh TOC to the disc as a test. Good that I did. So I loaded my 74 minute track into Audacity, which doubled it for me creating a 148+ minute track of line recorded silence. (Although it manifests as 'white noise' static when played but, not after being erased and recovered with a cloned TOC. Then it's silent.) The 148 minute .wav track is 1.47GB which I am storing on a thumb drive and import to SS to use only when I have some discs to clean up for future use. SS imports and accesses the track from the thumb drive so I never have to load it onto my computer hard drive at all. The transfer from SS to MD takes 11 to 12 minutes and completely obliterates the original recordings. Many thanks, you guys are great, -jmsla James Brooklyn, NY

Thanks for the reply sfbp. The RH1 was my choice for the initial experiment to see if this scheme would work. It seemed to take half the length of the track, (about 37 minutes for the 74 minute track), for the transfer to complete. That seems like a long time and a lot of wear and tear on my best machine. Wasn

Hi All, A question...and sorry if it's already been answered but, I couldn't find ecxactly what I was looking for. Which Hi-MD unit has the quickest transfer (download?) speed from SonicStage in SP, (yes I know it's fake), mode? I have available an RH1, an NH1, an NH-900, an NH-600 (no "D") and an MZ-DH-710. I have up-loaded both a 74 and an 80 minute analoge SP track to SS, saved in .wav. I want to be able to transfer (download) a track to a disc thai I am recycling from some prior owner. The reason being that if I only erase or format a previously recorded disc and then need to TOC clone to recover my own mistakenly erased tracks, I get remnants of the original recordings as well. But. if I record a single track of silence after erasing, (and then erase the silent track of course), I can then record on the disc and if necessary recover my own lost tracks with TOC cloning without getting bits and pieces of the truly awful music some people put on their minidiscs before giving them away. I don't want to have to do this in real time, hence the 74 and 80 minute tracks of analog silence I uploaded to SS. Now I want to know which of my machines wil transfer theses tracks to a disc the quickest. Thanks in advance for any replies.

I was most concerned about the discs' trip in the dryer. It was very warm when I discovered it and, thought the outer case seemed fine, I was concerned that the disc could have warped from the heat. I've seen CDs that warped in a hot car or from being on a shelf that was sitting directly on a room radiator. Also, I can't see how the disc cases could be waterproof because of the little metal door that slides open to reveal the disc surfaces. Becausae of that enterance point I do worry about dust and very fine powder migrating into the case and from there into the guts of my machines.

Hi All, Another report on the toughness of these dics. I'm not proud to reveal this but, last night I not only sent a Sony 80 minute disc through the washing machine, in hot water but, then put it through the dryer...on Hi Heat and it's one of thos big industrial type dryers that get really hot. The disc plays just fine...and it's really clean! I have had trouble, however, washing and drying Memorex discs. Just kidding but, I have had troublesome Memorex discs in general and am reluctant to use them. If someone has a disc they recorded in 1980, we could now test the 30 year question. Anyone? jmsla -Jim

Hi Raintheory and All who are into TOC cloning with the G750 and R700, There is a way to elegantly and "gracefully bypass" the first switch connected to the opening button without breaking anything. Furthermore, it's reversible if you should ever want to turn you unit back into one that shuts off when you open it. Looking at Raintheory's two photographs of the mechanism, (enlarge them on you screen), you see what looks like a piece of sheet metal in front of the black tab. The tab sticks up slightly above the notch in the piece of sheet metal. This piece of sheet metal moves forward when the "open" button is pushed in and slides over the black tab forcing it down. Pushing down that black tab is what has to be avoided. This following procedure should be performed only after removing the lower portion of the outer casing, which is also necessary to modify the other "second" switch. This gives you full access to the part that needs to be adjusted. Here goes: Rather than removing the tab by breaking it off, leave it completely alone. Instead, using very thin meddle nose pliers, grab the piece of sheet metal refered to above and gently turn it upwards to the left so that it is in a standing position instead of laying flat. Thereafter it will slide past the left side of the black tab instead if engaging it. Note: You twist / turn up only the portion of the piece of sheet metal up to the spot where it has a notch for the black tab to stick up, Once it is turned / twisted upward, make sure it does no rub against the bottom side of the deck that is just above it. A very slight downward adjustment will cure that. I will try to photograph my result and post it here so you can see exactly what it looks like when finished. jmsla James

Sure, I'd love to get them or some of them if somebody else wants some also. either way. send me a PM or I think my home e-mail is at my profile. I'll pay for mailing if you aren't local to me. thanks, Jim

Don't know if you got my PM or if my account is set properly to receive responses since the move to this Sony forum. But, I'm interested if the unit is still available. My e-mail address is in my profile. Hope to hear back, - Jim

PM sent

I've got 2...an M200 and an RH1 which is still pristine in its box. Brought out only once to check for flaws and proper operation. I'm about to buy a third because I want two actively working units and a back-up unit. Does anyone know of blank Hi-MD discs for less than $5.27 per from a reputable establishment?

Yes, the descriptive title Sony gives the two versions of the feature is confusing and seems to change over the years and from model to model. I would just like to find a Hi-MD model that has a speed+pitch feature for the clean sound. I have an RH710 that is still encased in its clam shell packaging. Perhaps I'll break it out and see if it can be hacked and the result.