A440

OK, make that an OLD ffdshow codec pack. Don't want to infringe any patents on falsehood. Dex old buddy, I know you use ffdshow, but weren't you the guy who warns against using codec packs in general?

No need for giant files. Assuming the initial recording was decent quality, lectures will sound find as mp3s. Once you have uploaded the files to SonicStage, then use HiMDRenderer to make mp3 copies of the files you want. Only your Hi-MD files will upload--the ones from the R700 need to be rerecorded in realtime. HiMDRenderer will make that a little easier, too. You could also Save to .wav and use dbpoweramp, which is in Downloads. But Marcnet has made it even easier. Send him some $$ if you like the program.

So just add Simple Burner again from Downloads.

The Total Recorder method is near the bottom of this post. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=6330 I suggest you just let it run overnight and make a realtime recording for safety's sake. Then, just to experiment, add some track marks within that seven-hour recording. One long track might simply be too much for SonicStage or your computer to handle, while it might upload shorter tracks (you can always combine them again with SonicStage). Do you have a lot of free disc space for SonicStage to play with while uploading?

What device? What version of SonicStage? What kind of disc are you using? What are you trying to record: Mic-In, Line-In?

There may be hope if you didn't inadvertently add DRM. The new version of SonicStage, 3.4, may play back your files. Take a look at this thread. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?s=&sh...indpost&p=85968

I want to ask this question directly. Does this version save those poor folks who made copies of all their .oma files in the belief that they had a backup, only to find that a formatted hard drive or system restore or whatever had made SonicStage refuse to recognize the files. Can they now import those archives and play them again?

RH910 and RH10 are essentially identical except for the fancy light-up OLED display on the RH10. They're probably the easiest to find. Any recorder with a mic jack will do your job. NH700, NHF800, NH900, RH910, RH10, or NH1 (which has a lot of special hard-to-find parts and is expensive). The NH600 and RH710 have a line-in jack but no mic jack, not for you. NH600D, DH10P and anything else with a D in the number are for downloading music from the computer and have no mic or line-in jack. http://www.minidisc.org/himd_table.html Does your TV have an input for auxiliary sound? Stereo receivers often do, but I don't know if TVs do. Assuming there's an audio input, just find a connector cable (out of the stereo mini headphone jack to TV input) and try it. You'll probably have to switch the MD to Line-Out mode or crank it to maximum volume. Only the first-generation Hi-MDs record from external sources to old MD modes. Look for NH700, NHF800 or NH900. You'll probably have to find them on Ebay or at some store that still has one lying around from 2004. The RH generation will transfer music to old MD modes, but will not do direct recording. Here's info on remotes. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8147

With SonicStage not running, does Windows recognize your MD as a USB drive? Does a window pop up when you plug it in?

Do you have: ....a Windows skinning program (like Windowblinds?). Turn it off. ....a NVIDIA graphics card? You may need to change your driver. Search these forums for Nvidia. ....FFDShow codec pack installed? Uninstall it and reinstall individual codecs from their manufacturers. Yes, SonicStage is a pain. But if you're methodical you can make it work.

If there's anything in My Library, then you must use the Backup Tool (in Programs under SonicStage, but not IN SonicStage itself) first, before deleting SonicStage, so that you'll be able to restore your music if anything goes wrong.

You don't have a lot of choices. Let's see, there's: SonicStage, SonicStage or SonicStage. MD is a Sony format and only works with Sony software. Don't install the disc that came with your unit. Download 3.3 either from Sony (online installer, but best choice) or with the offline installer in Downloads. If you're just using it for a portable player and want to transfer your CDs to minidisc, then Simple Burner (also Sony, also in Downloads) is the way to go.

Glad you're giving them a try. It will be great if you can report back on your results and post some samples.

This is a very intriguing result. Those of us who have been using MD from the old days still use low sensitivity as a matter of course, because high would overload with almost anything louder than conversation. And once upon a time, I think Dex Otaku compared high to low and found that high worked like low cranked up, with basically the same amount of noise once the low-sens signal was amplified to the equivalent playback volume. Your results seem different. Does the amplified low-sens sound as loud as the high-sens? What recorder and mic are you using? Any further experiments you can do would be welcome.

I've never had a pair of those, though the specs look very promising. They do have a 30-day guarantee--want to be the guinea pig? Just looking at them, I'd be a little wary about getting the ones with the croakie mounts that slip onto your eyeglasses. Next to your ears would be an optimum spot, but because cardioids are directional, your sound might swing around every time you turn your head. Better to get a pair with clips and put them someplace raised but less mobile.

You need a Hi-MD and a microphone. There are no units with built-in mics--a good thing, since built-in mics are usually inadequate. What's most widely available is the MZ-RH910 and the MZ-RH10. They're the same unit except that the RH10 has a fancier display. Any Hi-MD except ones with a D in the model number or the RH710 (no mic jack) will work. Here's the full list. http://www.minidisc.org/himd_table.html Units made before Hi-MD (called NetMD or, before that, just MD) would record but would not upload the recordings to your PC. Hi-MD units also record in better quality. To upload from Hi-MD, you need a Windows PC or another $100 to get the only Mac-compatible Hi-MD units, MZ-100 or MZ-M10. As long as it has a mic jack, the recording capability is the same. You'll need a MD unit, an outboard microphone and either an attenuator or a battery module, which prevent loud music from overloading the unit. My basic setup: MZ-NHF800 (a 2004 model, good but now hard to find)(You could search Ebay for the NH700 or NHF800, essentially the same unit with an added radio in the NHF800 remote). Sound Professionals BMC-2 microphones with clips http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2 Radio Shack Volume Control Cable (a cheap attenuator, $6.99) http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rentPage=search and/or Microphone Madness battery module http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm You can hear the results in the Live Recordings gallery.

How slow is that computer? Check the speed requirements for SonicStage. It may just be too much of a resources hog to work on that computer. System Requirements * Applicable Operating Systems (manufacturer installed): o Microsoft® Windows® XP Pro o Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition o Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Pro (Service Pack 3 or later) o Microsoft® Windows® Me o Microsoft® Windows® 98SE * Computer: IBM PC/AT or compatible o CPU: Pentium® III 450MHz or higher o Hard disk drive space: 400MB or more (the amount space will vary according to Windows version and the number of music files stored on the hard disk drive) o RAM: 128MB or more o Display: High Color (16bit) or higher, 800 x 600 dots or better (1024 x 768 dots or better is recommended) o Other: CD drive (capable of digital playback by WDM), Sound Board, USB ports (supports USB, previously called USB 1.1), Internet connection (for web registration, online music service access, and CDDB access), Windows Media Player (version 7.0 or higher for playing WMA files).

Try the MDAC Repair Tool from Downloads. It sometimes solves this problem.

You don't have to break the bank. Get the NH700 here. It records the same as any other MD, has a mic-in and line-in, etc. http://www.minidisc-canada.com/shopdisplay...iniDisc+Players Although the NH900 has some fancy features, there are three design problems with the NH900. 1) The battery latch has to be taped shut if you have the unit in a pocket. 2) The display has a smoked-plastic face that makes it dark and hard to read. 3) Pause and Stop are two halves of the same rocker button, and they do very different things. The NH700 will run all night on a Duracell. It's all you need.

Look at Iriver Flash players like the IFP 795 and 895 (each 512 MB) or IFP 799 and 899 (1GB). Both can record from the tuner as mp3, and then you can move the recordings to your PC. You can find the 795 and 895 for under $100 on eBay.

I think that what happened is that there was a physical defect on the disc that caused some kind of gap on the recording. But the cause doesn't matter--you need to deal with the effects. The problem is that you have Version 3.0 of SonicStage. Versions before 3.2 will do what yours did: delete the recording if you try to transfer it a second time. Sadly, it is now gone from the disc. This was one of the nastiest features of the old SonicStage. Do you still have the file on the computer that plays if you fast-forward it? I hope so. Get Total Recorder from http://www.highcriteria.com/ (It costs $12, it's worth it) and play back the file through SonicStage and record it through Total Recorder, which will record whatever plays through your soundcard. Fast-forward and record the rest of it. You can use the sound editor Audacity (from Downloads) to merge the two pieces into one. Not great, but better than nothing. For the future, please upgrade to SonicStage 3.3. (From Sony's online installer or from Downloads.) You can then upload the same track any number of times, so this won't happen again.

You're right about the gallery link--give it another try sometime and PM Kurisu if it's still stuck. The economy Core Sounds (Low Cost Cardioids) were the ones I had and eventually sold. I didn't like them. Well-built, yes; crisp, yes; rich, no. The effect was a little metallic. They just didn't sound as musical as my ultra-basic omni Sound Professionals BMC-2s. If you look at http://www.taperssection.com , where the extreme recording fanatics dwell, the Low Cost Cardioids don't have a good reputation there either. You'll have to extract another Benjamin from your wallet for serious cardioids. By the way, if you want to hear bad bass roll-off and/or tinny cardioids--hard to tell what the culprit is--try the samples here: http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs...y1.html#samples They think those sound good?

Look at the frequency response of cheaper cardioids. Most just go down to 100 Hz, an octave and a half below middle C. Perfect, perhaps, for a string quartet, but not an orchestra or a piano. Even a pair I had that claimed 40 Hz were notably anemic in the bass. Then again, if you can spend a couple of hundred dollars, you can probably get a good full-frequency pair. Places like www.core-sound.com and www.soundprofessionals.com will let you try their mics for 30 days, so you could experiment for the price of shipping. The sound might be a little sterile with cardioids, though. A hall with good acoustics makes the sound richer from the bounce and dispersion. (Bad acoustics will be an echo chamber, of course.) From the back row the cardioids will still pick up every audience sound in front of you--no way around it. "Tinny" doesn't mean distorted--more like unnatural, without depth in the sound. There's a System of a Down recording in my album in the Live Recordings gallery with my (former) cardioids--you can hear what I mean. Very crisp, but no bottom. Believe me, there was bottom at the show. The only reason anyone needs bass roll-off is because the preamp in the MD unit can't handle a lot of bass. Rock clubs tend to be bass-heavy, so some people just eliminate the problem that way--but to me that's lessening the fidelity of the original recording. It's better, as you say, to use a sound editor later if necessary. In a loud situation or with heavy bass, you do have to prevent the preamp from overloading, either with an attenuator or going mic-battery box-Line In. But that's for loud, amplified music with serious low frequencies, not a classical ensemble. Unamplified classical music is far less likely to overload the preamp. You should have no problem recording an orchestra or chamber music going directly from mic into Mic-in--I've done it. You will, however, get equal fidelity from the music and from the coughers, the program rustlers and your own movements.

I'm sorry, but this guy doesn't sound like much of a guru if he told you that you can't upload PCM. What version of SonicStage are you using? You're just shooting yourself in the foot if you don't use 3.2 or 3.3. The old WinNMD, which is unnecessary now that Marcnet's HiMDRenderer does the same thing free, plays back the disc in a NetMD unit through SonicStage and records a separate track for each track on the MD, out of the (analog) headphone jack through Line-in on the computer. It's realtime recording from the NetMD units (before Hi-MD) that don't upload. Total Recorder is also realtime: it can record whatever is playing through the soundcard in the PC: from SonicStage, Windows Media Player, Winamp, RealPlayer, DVD soundtracks, whatever. It is entirely worth the $12. You can hook up your Hi-MD and play what's on the disc with SonicStage and record it through Total Recorder in realtime. (Older NetMD's don't play back through the PC, just their headphone jack, which is why the WinNMD/HiMDRenderer method was necessary.) None of those simply strips DRM from the existing file. They are all very slow workarounds to make a new non-DRM recording. You say you still have your Hi-MD PCM masters. Excellent. Have you uploaded them at all? If you can play back your .oma files with SonicStage you can convert them to .wav from SonicStage itself, with Save in .WAV Format under Tools. For 2.x versions of SonicStage, Sony has .Wav Converter (free) to do the same thing. http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/walkmanmc/wav.html But there is zero reason to cling to an older version of SonicStage, unless you're really eager for random uploads to get screwed up forever. None of this addresses the original problem: .oma files that won't play back because SonicStage no longer believes they are yours. That's the DRM problem. And if there's a mystery software that actually solves it, we're all eager to know what it is. Please ask your guru again.

You didn't perchance get the name of this mystery software, did you? A lot of people could use it. If it exists. You have been misinformed about SonicStage. It is a clunky horrible piece of...software, but it does do what you need. Maybe you're using 2.0 or the version that came with your unit. .Wav converter was a separate (free from Sony) program for 2.0, but it has long since been included in SonicStage. You need the latest SonicStage, or at least 3.2. Back up your Library (with Backup Tool, under Programs/SonicStage but not in SonicStage) and then install 3.3 from Sony's web installer or from Downloads at the top of this page. If you have PCM files on minidiscs, and haven't already uploaded them with a version of SonicStage before 3.2, then you can certainly upload from MD-->PC with Transfer and convert the uploaded files to plain old unencrypted wav with Save to .Wav in SonicStage. If you have files that were uploaded--not copied, uploaded--you can also use Save to .Wav. If you uploaded with a version of SonicStage before 3.2 and deleted those uploads, but you still have them on discs, you can copy them digitally in realtime with Total Recorder. http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=6330