Devilbunny

I'm not kidding. Obviously the two can communicate, but it's not as though the MD is a general-purpose machine that can be hacked to communicate any kind of data through any available interface. If you want your audio off the MD, you'll have to record it in real time, or get Sony to alter the machines. If you want actual ATRAC or ATRAC3 data, you'll have to get an MD-Data drive (or build one).

The hardware does not exist for USB MD->PC transfers. You want it off the MD, you use an MD-Data drive or do it in realtime. "Check-in" only means that it deletes the file from the MD. Sucks, eh?

It's linked to somewhere on here. Probably on the R50's page. It's only effective on some early Japanese model R50's; the firmware was fixed in later ones. If you want to beat SCMS, either run your data through a PC (which can strip the SCMS bit) or TOC clone onto the disc (so that players will think it was an analog-recorded track).

There is a difference between G protection and the 40-second buffer. I've had an MZ-R70 (with only the 40-sec buffer) and an MZ-R700 (with buffer and G-protection), and the R700 never skips while walking. The R70 did, occasionally.

Regarding 1), no MD unit can do this. As for 2), look in your owner's manual for how to split and delete tracks. Then create track marks at the beginning and end of the dead spot, and delete it.

It's $254 for a Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 (20-gig version) at newegg.com that will record directly to .wav or .mp3 and upload via Firewire or USB. It has a line-in, not a mic-in, so you'll have to get your own preamp. It's a little more than you wanted to spend, but not too much, and it does pretty much everything you want. (Can you tell I wish I had one?) Unfortunately, :evil: MD doesn't.

In short: Sony did make some MD-Data drives. They didn't catch on. My personal guess is that MD never caught on because it was too expensive during its window of opportunity (i.e., before CD burners became cheap and CD/DVD players started including the ability to play MP3's burned to the disc). Think about it: you could get a tape deck and a walkman for maybe $60 combined (with blanks costing as little as 50 cents) or an MD deck and walkman for perhaps $600 (unless you get the portable recorder, in which case you're in for maybe $300). Those blanks cost a lot more than 50 cents. And your car stereo plays the tapes, too. Don't forget the cost of replacing that. Yes, tape would be expensive if you bought all-Sony gear. But there were cheap alternatives, and that made a huge difference. Plus, everybody already had a tape deck, and while they weren't good, they were good enough. Nowadays the DRM limitations of MD make it infinitely less flexible than MP3 - which will play on any computer over 100 MHz, can be copied easily (and perfectly), and enjoys fairly extensive support among manufacturers of home A/V equipment. (As the music industry is known to point out, they allowed CD recorders to be treated as computer peripherals rather than audio equipment, which meant that they didn't have to respect SCMS - a decisive advantage when it comes to digital music.) I like MD; it has some distinct advantages. But I don't do live recordings that I can't transfer to my PC in native ATRAC (or even ATRAC3). I don't trade MP3-filled CD's with my friends. And those are big strikes against MD - after all, your iPod will let you copy a song off it onto your friend's computer, very very quickly, with no generational loss.

Well, your optical-out on the PC will probably output without any SCMS at all. The deck will flag it not-for-copy, but it'll probably record onto PC if you have an optical-in on the PC (PC's can usually be told to ignore just about anything). You could try adding an optical-out to the 320 using the method described <a href="http://www.meyer-piening.ch/robert/je330">here</a> for the 330. I have no idea how similar the breadboards are, though.

KD-MX3000 here. I must say that the CD part of the mechanism hasn't gotten much work - even if I'm just listening to CD's, MD's are a whole lot smaller. And I could bring my R700 along for MDLP, but I've just gotten more blanks and dealt with it - I actually don't use the R700 that much, except as a recorder. I'd re-record to LP2 if I were taking a bunch of music on a flight.

You'll have to power the mics separately, but the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3 has the ability to record in MP3 or WAV, 1394 or USB2 jacks for uploading, and even a digital in.

If weight and size are not issues, why not get an iPod or Creative Nomad Jukebox 3? They're much better suited to what it seems like you want.

Ack, that was me. Didn't think it would let me post if I weren't logged in.

Are you recording streamed net radio sites? Those won't break into tracks. You shouldn't be generating a signal for the sync unless you're playing something. You might try using the sound card properties to kill off non-WAV outputs.