lamewing

Here is what I don't understand..... I cannot remove the music due to DRM, BUT the disc is a mass-storage, so I just use another 6 dollar HiMD disc and copy the same music files, via drag-and-drop. Of course THESE files can be copied to anything later on. So what exactly is this "copy protection" supposed to do anyhow?

I am SO with you brother!!! My first MD was the MZ-R70. All aluminum and AA rechargable. Since then I have used the gumstick batteries because I wanted an all aluminum case. Since Sony has dropped an all metal case on even it top of the line models (NONE of the 2nd gen HiMD have a full metal case) I no longer need to look at the top of the line models. Something that records and uses AA seems to fit the bill. I will stick with my NW-HD1 for playback of my lectures and language classes. As to why Sony dropped a full metal case on even their top of the line model, I have no clue. Is cost cutting THAT important to them? I guess they feel that puttting in a low-res camera (and removing everything but download capabilities) as more important. I hope Sharp lisences the HiMD technology and puts Sony to shame with a nice Auvi HiMD unit.

Yes, and it is stated in the www.minidisc.org equipment browser that the unit records from mic and line in. I merely asked to confrim which one is correct. "... Record from multiple source: USB-in / Mic-in / Analogue-in / Digital-in..." It also shows pics of the red unit, but I cannot locate the red unit for sale anywhere. Was the red unit merely a mock-up? Joe

Unless I am mistaken the is HiMD/MD Photo unit can take photos, BUT cannot use a mic for recording in realtime. What the heck is the point of that? While the camera is low-res I was really interested in it as a way to take photos and make voice recordings of my trip to Japan this coming December. Now I am really bummed out by the lack of features. It would have been nice to carry just one device with me. Oh well.... If I am wrong, PLEASE inform me. Thanks. Joe

I don't see myself buying a North American model of any MD recorder due to the lack of Japanese script support. The imports supoort this, so if I got one for recording my classes (some anyway) I would get the Japanese model. The more I think about it, the more I realize I will probably need a recorder starting this summer or fall. My concern is to whether to get a 1st gen or 2nd gen HiMD unit. It looks like the 2nd gen don't record in ATRAC mode, which makes it difficult to use in my old MDLP deck. Can I upload ANY mic recordings with HiMD and then reencode in LP2/LP4 on a standard MD? Is it possible to burn a CD with uploaded recordings? Thanks. Joe

Hmmm, I guess you have a different outlook than most folks (HDD users) have. Most folks keep their music on the Hard Drives and then either transfer the entire library to the HDD player or just move portions depending on mood. With firewire or USB 2.0 this takes no time at all. I just sent my NH900 back for a refund (non U.S. warranty worried me) and until the NW-HD1 arrives on Wed. (which has about 25 - 30 hours battery life) I will just use my PSP. I only have 1GB of space on the PSP, but I just transfer the music I want to it every day or two. I agree with you that once flash becomes affordable (not necessarily cheap) to me...at least so I only have to sell one kidney, I will switch in a heartbeat. A 5 gig Flash player/recorder would be the only thing I ever would need (at least for the forseeable future). Until then, I will give the HD1 a shot and see how it goes. Perhaps a base model (AA powered) HiMD unit like the NH700 will be fine for recording classes and language practice.

HOW do you come to the conclusion that the iPod and HiMD cannot be compared? I mentioned that the iPod and Auvi units don't give me a headache, while the Sony HiMD (not the MDLP Sony models) do. I also mentioned the iPod vs. HiMD in comparison in price, yes. Why? Because, overall, recording isn't a major concern to the the majority of the population. Sorry, it just isn't. If Sony was only marketing towards the folks who need reoording capabilities then why make players and downloaders? Also, I can look at the the (japan only) HiMD downloader and HiMD player which cost just about the same as the NH1 recorder. All in all, Sony needs to understand that most folks just want a player and that the player (if it records, that is cool too) must compete with the Apple iPods (especially) the minis. When I say compete I mean compete in price AND in mindshare. How can they do this? 1. Keep recording capabilities, in ALL models; no downloaders. (but don't try and sell it at a premium). 2. RECONSIDER the cost cutting of a cheap plastic case. I remember that my MZ-R70 was solid aluminum and felt very sturdy. While the plastic devices may be just as useful, they don't "feel" as if they are worth the money. Remember, we are selling to the general public here. 3. Stop cutting abilities out of the North American units (Kanji/Kana support), both in the units and Sonic Stage. What is the advantage of taking out east asian support? It just drives folks to buy imports. 4. Provide us with all the same accessories....remotes, cradles, etc. 5. How about providing units with true ease of use? I SO MISS the simple jog wheel on my R909 and the jog levers on my R900 models. WHY SONY, WHY did you add those hard to use circular jog weels to the front of the HiMD units? Simply to give them and iPod appearance? Silliness. 6. How about backlighting on ALL UNITS. 7. How about SIMPLE NAMES? iPod versus MZ-N??, MZ-NH??, etc, etc.They need a name that focuses peoples' attention on the product. ie. Sony HiMD Walkman Recorder or Playerr. Even the other compainies are trying to do this....like the Kharma, Carbon, etc. BUT, Apple has a serious advantage in their naming scheme...they ALL are iPods, with simple variation. Ipod mini.. Ipod. Ipod Photo. The capacity is irrelevant to the name, that merely informs the buyer of the total HDD capacity. Sony screwed this up also with their newwork walkmans...NW-HD1/3/5. Come on how many folks know what that is? BUT folks know what a Sony PSP is!!! 8. Also, give us common usuability on the units. What do I mean? To load files on the HiMD I have to use Sonic Stage...period. To load files on the PSP, I can choose to use Sonic Stage to add ATRAC/plus files, or I can just drag and drop the mp3s. Why force DRM on my mp3s on the MD, but not on the PSP? SONY NEEDS to do what Apple did, only better, keep the DRM on the online purchased files, okay, but don't restrict us with Sonic Stage DRM. I had so hoped we would have true drag and drop support on version 2 of the HiMD. I really cannot understand how Sony cannot SEE how much they are hurting themselves. 9. Provide NATIVE OSX support. What the heck is Sony doing cutting off potential buyers? It instantly alienates all Mac Users who simply want to be able to play music. Oh and it stops all those Mac Users who want to upload files recorded on the HiMD units. All this said. I like the iPod. I DON'T like the short battery life or the lack of removeable battery. NO OTHER unit has the ease of use as the iPod and I don't think anyone ever will. Instead of trying to do better than that wonderfully simple UI, GIVE US a product with BETTER features; inline recording on the NW-HD* models (like a MD unit), stop the restrictions placed on the buyers. Make us WANT to own a MD or Sony HDD unit. I could go on, but I am just (as my wife says...) bramblimg....

I have used a NH900 - same headace. I haven't tried the NH1 model yet, but they have the same amp, don't they? Joe

LP2 and Hi-SP are the dodecs. I have used LP2 and SP previously with my earlier Sony units (non HiMD - R900 and R909) with no issues. These were recorded with a Sony CD/MD deck and NOT Sonic Stage. Could this be the culprit? The source is the same when using the iPod, the Auvi (and old Sony units) or the HiMD units; CDs copied off the deck or using Sonic Stage.

Not much luck with the Sony units...all give me a headache. I have tried the EQ to no avail (at least it works, unlike the iPod). I am going to try the HD1 this week. The iPod causes me no issues. Neither did the Auvi units. Maybe Sharp will come thru.

How is Apple going to stop someone from writing a Sonic Stage for the Mac platform? This is simply a matter that Sony doesn't want to, or is incapable of doing so.

Thanks! Installed just fine. Has anyone had experience with the quality of these mp3s? They max out at 256 and I don't think they are VBR. My question is why doesn't Sony provide easy access to this program add-on? Weird.

Kurisu, I have use MD before and up til last fall was happy with it. I sold my DR7 to buy an iPod because of the extra storage. The iPod went away (it was used anyway) and I bought another Auvi DR7. Unfortunetly it arrived broken, without the ability to record, so it went back to Japan. That was when I tried NetMD with a Sony unit...810 or something like that (a downloader only). It had issues, so I backed off of MD for a while and bought another used iPod (2nd gen). I then tried the NH600D and at first it was nice, but there is something about the Sony's sound that gives me a major headache. I have used LP2 for 2 years with no issues, but every Sony HiMD unit has driven a spike into my head. I have a NW-HD1 on order from Crutchfield. I figue I would give it a shot. If it does the same thing I will be forced to go back to an Auvi unit or an iPod unit again (just love the ease of iTunes). Has anyone else had issues with the sound from the HiMD units?

I can agree with the battery issue, no problem. BUT the HDD failure argument really doesn't hold water, You mention the HDD can fail, sure, but so can the minidisc optical block. In the case of a HDD failure, you still have your music on your PC, right? Also, you have it on CD as well? After replacing the HDD unit, just recopy the music to the player. In the case of an optical block failure, you have the music on your PC and still on the discs themselves, but no way to carry them around without replacing the unit. No different than having to replace the HDD unit and reloading the songs from the PC (as above). Overall, I see no advantage of the minidisc, other than recording in realtime, that would even allow the MD units to cost close to the same as a HDD unit. Don't get me wrong, MD is nice, but for a new, potential customer, there really isn't much of a reasonf for the extra cost of a MD recorder when compared to a HDD unit. With the state of the market now, IF the customer decides on a HDD unit, they most probably will buy an iPod, simply due to brand recognition. Speaking of brand recognition. No matter what someone might say about the Apple iPod's quality, you HAVE to give Apple credit on something so simple...yet something the other companies (ESP. Sony) haven't really hit on. A SIMPLE NAME. Really, which are you going to remember? The name iPod or NW-HD1?

Hey folks, I have been checking out prices of MD/HiMD units lately after giving up on my old iPod. I have been looking at a higher end MD/HiMD unit or even another HDD unit like the NW-HD1 from Sony. After much searcing I am a bit confused as to why the MD units are price so very expensive compared to HDD players. The DR77 is over $300.00 anywhere and it is only MDLP. The HiMD are rather pricey too; for the units I would want, compared to the H1 or an iPod, or other HDD. Can someone with more knowledge than myself elaborate on why the cost of MD is so high in comparison to the HDD units? It seems that getting new converts to MD/HiMD would be difficult with the price of HDD units being equal or cheaper. I am not ranting, but instead just curious as to what is going on with the MD/HiMD business model. Thanks dudes. Joe

I have a PSP that I imported. SS 3.0 recognizes it, but won't transfer files to it. Supposedly my Duo Pro mem card isn't compatible since it isn't Magic Gate tech. Also, if I drag and drop the Atrac files to the PSP nothing happens. Maybe there will be an update to the PSP firmware. I did test this out at my local coffee shop and it perfectly connected to the wireless network and checked for the latest firmware update. Nice.

I don't think we are talking about the same thing. I have a 512MB Memory Duo Pro and SS 3.0 clearly states that this isn't MG technology and will not download to it. Sony wonders why Apple is kicking so much butt with the iPod and iTunes. I have given up on iPods after REALLY listening to the quality difference between them and HiMD. I know I will regret having to deal with the hassels of Sonic Stage, but WOW, I guess I just don' appreciate the neutral sound the iPod has. Anywho, I picked up a HiMD unit today (just the 600D for now) and am pleasantly suprised. Even though I have given up on the iPod, many many folks haven't. And I can truly appreciate the intergration between all the iPods and iTunes. Why cannot Sony accomplish this? Look at my situation. I have a new HiMD unit which works fine with SS 3.0. I have also have a nifty PSP that plays mp3s (drag and drop). According to the manual, the PSP will play ATRAC. I can drag and drop them, but I cannot get them to play. Sonic Stage recognizes my PSP as "PSP (memory stick)" but will not copy songs to it. You would think that Sony would make sure their new toy worked with their music program. Sony is so trying to cover so many bases, and they COULD do this if they would just intergrate all their devices to Sonic Stage (or iTunes - I wish!!!) If Sony would only add mp3 encoding as well as 100% compatibility with all their products: Clie, PSP, HiMD, Pocket Vaio, etc. they would have some very happy customers. They won't dethrone the iPod, but at least they might gain more customers. Do I hear a "Hell Yes"??

No dice. It has to convert them to ATRAC before transferring to MD. I noticed in the index that SS 3.0 can encode in mp3 "with the MP3 encoder add-on that is supplied with some Vaio computers". What the heck is this. I googled around and only really saw one or mentions of it online. Is this program still being supported or did Sony just cut and paste the index?

Sounds good in theory, but I cannot seem to even google a Magic Gate Memory Stick Duo. It seems there aren't any MG Duos. UPDATE: Found some, but nothing over 128MB.

Well, this is a big improvement from 2.3. SS 3.0 now recognized my PSP!!! Unfortunetly it will not transfer as the Memory Pro Duo card I have isn't magic gate and therefore doesn't support non-DRM files. To top it off, the PSP won't recognize ATRAC files even though the manual says it will. My japanese is limited so if anyone else has a better understaninding, please let me know. Too bad SS 3.0 doesn't support direct mp3 encoding (for the PSP) and transfer (again for the PSP). Grrrrr. When will Sony get their act together? I should divorce Sony, but they keep tempting me. It seems that SS 3.0 will play mp3s just fine. I had hoped that the mp3's (no DRM) would transfer via SS 3.0 to my PSP. Nope. This SS 3.0 won't even transfer mp3's due to DRM limitations. Why Sony, why? Joe

I can see this argument from both sides. In fact I made use of my local CompUSA and Targets return policies to test out the HiMD and the iPod mini. Up front. I hate the new iPods. I did like the original design with the mechanical scroll wheel, but that is story for another time.... I kept the PINK iPod mini for a week and used it daily. The pink actually has a more redish-pink color thanks to the anodized aluminum shell. Really nice looking and I god MANY comments by the young ladies at my university. The iPod mini is very easy to use, but the remote is worthless, and the earbuds are very average in sound reproduction. I LOVE the fact that the iPod mini can display kana, kanji and hangul perfectly with no hacks to iTunes or the player itself. The mini is also very sturdy. The aluminum body just screams durability and quality. The mini also has a nice heft to it. Light, but not magnesium light, if you get my drift. I also tried the NH600 from Target. Ugh. The plastic body made the unit feel very CHEAP and not very durable. The lack of line-in really bothers me. At least is is still in the higher level units. I miss the old scroll wheel from the R900, R909, R910, N910, and N920 models. That wheel was fast, well located and simple to use. The new scroll wheels are pretty much flush with the front of the unit making it a slower and more difficult process to use it. I returned both of them as I was far happier with my DR7, S1, and R909 models. I figure I can spend the cash on a nice sharp player like the D8, D70 or D77. The mini looses on battery life, hands down. I was very unhappy with the idea of having to recharge every night. Heck, I have troulble keeping my cell phone charged. I drive 55 miles to school (one way) and if my battery dies, I am out of luck. With the mini I would have to carry a charger, while the HiMD unit lets me use a standard AA. Even the higher end models use replaceable batteries...just cary a spare gumstick for them. Music transfer is much better on the mini, but I didn't take advantage of it much. With the MD format, I make a disc with 3 LP2 encoded albums and call it a day. The music stays on the MD. I have a couple of speacial MD (both are Hello Kiity -> hangs head in shame) for compilation discs Loading those up every so often is a bit slower with the HiMD, but so what? I go make a cup of coffee and all is set. All my units are solid metal construction and I have no intention of buying a plastic MD. It really shook me to learn that the NH900 has a plastic back! This reminded me of the first days of MDLP when the R70 replacment, the R700, came with a metal front and a metal back. THAT act alone forced me to start using the 900 series MD units. Of course once I heard the Auvi sound of the DR7 I was hooked on Sharp. The sound quality of the NH600 vs. the iPod was pretty similar, but then again I used LP2 vs. 256kbit VBR (iTunes encoded) mp3s. SP and HiSP sound better, true, but I prefer the most music I can get on the disc and after two years LP2 has grown on me. I realize I could up the quality on the iPods songs, but by doing so the battery life would drop. Not a good solution. In the end, standard MD (sharp protables) is where I will stay until a HiMD deck is released. If I have to import it, so be it. I admit, if the iPod mini had a user replacable battery and lasted longer than 6-7 hours per charge I might reconsider it.

Yep, so very, very sad. I have a R900 and a R909. I was hoping to add a 9xx HIMD model to my collection, but I don't want a plastic (or partially plastic MD player/recorder). That is why I gave up on the R700 model. Ick. Why sony why? Joe

Never say never... But, I say it will never happen. Sony isn't interested in working with others. It would be nice, though. I can just imagine hooking up my HI-MD, NetMD, or Sony branded HDD player to my computer and watching iTunes load. Drag and Drop without iTunes crashing (unlike SS). Imagine iTunes being able to rip to Wave, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, mp3, ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus. That would provide support for all companies that want to work with Apple and we, the customers, would win. Heck, even the Mac folks could take advantage of MD. Yeah, just a pipe dream....

Well, that was quick. It is sold and will be heading to its new home tomorrow. Damn you iPod, damn you!!!! :laugh:

Hey folks, I have lost the war. I just bought a iPod mini and find it can do just about everything I need it to do, so I am selling my trusty Sharp DR7. I placed the DR7 on ebay before I even realized I could mention it here. No matter, I am going to leave the item number here if you wish to look it up. Thanks and good luck. Joe Edwards Item number 5712368453