doclloyd

Very cool! I had noticed the NW-HD1 being available on the site for a while, but always had the "pre-order" button on it, saying available 8/6 or something. It's amazing that this product made it out to market (in the US) before some of the Hi-MD models. I wonder if these will end up in any stores for sale.. like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. I would love to see one up close. (Not that I need something else to listen to music on... ) LeLand, I can't wait to hear about your thoughts and experience with this new device.

As a programmer/web developer (in my limited scope) putting the CSS information into a file vs. inline on each page does a couple things: * Cuts down on filesize for each page * Allows the browser to cache the CSS information and not have to retrieve it on every page view. This should cut down on hits on the web server. * Only one place to modify the stylesheet info. Makes changes everywhere all at once. Hope this helps

Well, the upgrade actually went really well for me! Did the backup, after the reboot, no problems with starting up the software. Interesting fix: I can now write CD's that are 80 minutes in length (or at least close). It properly shows the available space on the blank CD-R. So "Yay!" for being able to create a full CD. It seems a little bit faster on startup, but hard to tell. Here's some info about what you can transfer to a Hi-MD: (directly from the Help file. Not sure if it was there before, but it's here now) Change the transfer mode, if necessary. With the default settings, tracks in the following formats are transferred in their original format and bit rate (Standard transfer mode). OpenMG Audio (PCM) OpenMG Audio (ATRAC3) OpenMG Audio (ATRAC3plus) OpenMG (PCM) OpenMG (ATRAC3) OpenMG (ATRAC3plus) That's all I've found for now... looks like they offered this update for those who will be getting the new NW-HD1 and finally some of the newer Hi-MD units. What have others found in 2.1?

Well, I'm going to do the backup and then try the upgrade. It would be nice if there were more info on wha the actual upgrade provided. If it really botches things up, how difficult is the restore process for those who have actually done it?

Except that MD (and Hi-MD) is a portable disc format vs. a HDD player. People now expect to be able to play their CD's just about anywhere... I can now. how convenient would it be for people to have the "digital tape" that is (Hi-)MDand take their music with them into the car or living room or wherever life takes you on the same disc... I personally would be all for it.

Very interesting... now who is the "we" that you work for? Just so everyone here knows...

The only challenge would be adding the circuitry for a traditionally audio-only device to output information to a TV. Does it start crossing boundaries of its use? Either that, or only allow control via a TV interface (not a good idea IMO) and have built-in visualizations for fun

I agree about the extra info that will be availble on Hi-MD due to the additional space. The idea of linking up with your TV for browsing a disc is interesting. However, I think if people saw that there were more devices available to listen to their (Hi-)MD discs, they may be more apt to purchase them because they seem more useful. I love the fact that I can listen to my MD's in my living room just the same as on the go. Releasing a full line of equipment to playback/record Hi-MD - including home decks and cars - would make life great. Which also brings me somewhat offtopic - will Sony start making their CD/DVD players/decks/"Mega storage" multi-disc players support ATRAC? If they really want people to use their technology, you need to support it across more of your products and not MP3.

I got the 1400mAh version (two of them) from zbattery.com. Once I get my NH900 (whenever that will be), I'll followup on their performance.

Thanks all for the links. I think I may give the GP batteries a try. onlybatteries.com ebay store has 3 for $22 + shipping, which isn't too bad. The sony batteries, while cheaper, get very pricey w/shipping - even with the US people. So, we'll see where this goes.

Thanks for the replies. Mat, is that only available via that website? Too bad I don't know any places to just buy these at stores. I haven't ever seen these gumstick batteries at the likes of Best Buy/Circuit City in the US. I'll check ebay too.

I'm not sure what version of SS2 you downloaded, but I'm on Windows 2000 Pro here and grabbed the "Beta" version and I've been able to burn CD's without a problem (well, mostly. Separate thread to come.) I have a home-built box with a Sony CD-burner (maybe that's why it works fine ). Most downloads via COnnect allow 5 audio CD burns + 5 ATRAC CD burns. Unlimited MD/portable device transfers. Some are more limited, but I haven't downloaded any of those yet.

Not sure if this is the right forum, but.... I've ordered the NH900, but I know the battery that comes with isn't very high capacity. What's the biggest one I could find that would work with this model? Minidisco.com has the sony NH-14WM http://www.minidisco.com/nh-14wm.html Is this my best choice or are there better ones out there?

A reply I received from a minidisco.com sales rep said that the silver model is the only one initially available for the US. So, I suppose if an e-tailer decided to import them in from japan, they'd be available here.

Wow, while I'm not completely surprised by this move on Sony's part, it still saddens me. The ability to not be able to at *least* burn uploaded material to CD is quite stupid. I wonder if this would warrant some form of petition to Sony, similar to the original one regarding this same issue.

From what I know, this is not generally possible.

Interesting... I added the NH900 to a cart just to see what would happen.. "shipping date not available." Doh... but this should be a good sign, right?

Most excellent... if that is the case, then hopefully my pre-order with minidisco.com will be arriving within 2 weeks or so

In a week's time for 800? Wow, that's great. How much longer after that is the 900 and NH1 coming, if you know?

The manual (at least for the 900 that was posted here recently) stated some pretty high character count for discs in Hi-MD mode. Check the manual and see if you may be reaching that limit. It's hard to believe, but possible I suppose.

Thanks for posting these! I read up on the model I have on order (the NH900) and am excited about it's arrival sometime this month. What's interesting is that there is still little to no information about what happens when you transfer recorded material (in Hi-MD mode) back to the computer. It just mentions that it can be uploaded to the PC... and then silence from the manual. I would have to imagine users would have more questions about this functionality. Why isn't there documentation about this anywhere? Does anyone think some of that info would be updated with the supposed 2.1 update coming this summer (which may include updates to the Connect store as well)?

It's amazing how almost nobody has anything good to say about Sony... ever. Not that I particularly care, but people are completely anti-Sony. I see it on Slashot.org frequently and other places on the Web. People boo ATRAC technology like it's the devil. Now I'm not personally 100% pro-Sony, but it's just interesting to watch. What do other people think?

I am still confused as to why it's still only allowing one vs. both. First the portable HDD that does MP3, then one that does just ATRAC3(plus)... is it a design restriction to have hardware to play both?

For those with Hi-MD portables already, how does the audio playback over USB work? Do you have to use SS to control the portable at that point or can you control the playback from the unit itself? I'm mainly asking because it would be nice to play that audio over USB in Linux. It would be convenient for when I'm at work or at home while booted in Linux to listen to my MD's in the home office.

I have heard from a Minidisco sales rep that the silver is currently the only color available in the US. The other colors are for Japan/other countries...