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lamewing

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  1. lamewing

    durability

    Whether you use old MD or HI-MD, the transfers are still slow due to the write speed of the optical drive. That 500mb file will take 15 mins to copy. :ohmy: Plus, the old MD only reformat to 300mb, so the HI-MD discs are the only choice for a file that large. To be truthful, the HI-MD isn't a great idea for a mass storage system, but it will work in a pinch. It seems to be a better choice for backups. The neat feature is that any standard USB cable will work just fine. No need to rely on propriatary cables. I was able to use my wife's cannon digital camera and the NH600 by just switching the devices. Nice. It is a shame that the software, SS 2.0, still suck big weenies compared to the slick interface of iTunes. Who knows, maybe Sony will get the software right someday. :laugh: Joe
  2. Hey guys, I sat down and did the folowing last night to test transfer speed and capacity of the new 1GB disc. I made a copy of a 4:02 song in 135 LP2 compression via Sonic Stage 2.0. I made 400 copies to be safe! I transferred as many as I could and got the following results: 1GB HI-MD disc holds 224 135kbps LP2 songs. It took 26 minutes to transfer all the songs in one session. While this is quite a bit better than say the old MD, or even the NetMD, I am unsure if it is really enough. I have been contemplating a iPod mini for a few months. I have used one and was very impressed with its style, ease of use, solid construction, and quick data transfer. I can copy 4GB of music onto the iPod mini in less time than it takes to make a single 1GB HI-MD disc. I guess I can live with the speed of the HI-MD, but I am concerned about the construction quality of the machines. The 600 model really is cheaply made for a $200.00 machine. All of my MD portables (R70, R900, R909, DR7) have a solid aluminum casing which gives them a very solid feel when held. They don't "feel" cheap. I wonder if the new 900 model will be as solild as the other 900 series MD from Sony. Also, what is up with the scroll wheel on the fron of the 600 model? It really isn't easy to use. I hope the 900 model doesn't suffer from the same problem. Joe
  3. I have tried this. Once you format the old disc back to MD mode it will not allow the disc to be used for data transfer. What is odd is this occurs if I place on LP2 song on the disc. BUT, if I reformat to old MD mode, take the disc out, put it back in, and open Windows Explorer I can transfer data...but as a HI-MD disc. I guess it automatically reformat it for you. Hmmm Joe
  4. Actually it IS a FAIR contest. I am not trying to split hairs and say nah nah, ATRAC sounds better at the same bit rate, nah nah. We already KNOW this to be true. Or it seems so to my ears. What I stated was that for a comparable sound I can listen to an mp3 encoded at 256 vs a LP2 encoded song. They sound comparable. With what understood it is just a matter of comparing the number of songs that an iPod mini can hold vs. a HI-MD disc. The HI-MD can hold around 350 - 400 LP2 songs of various lengths found on most CDs. The iPod mini can carry about 200 - 225 per GIG, so it can hold about 800 - 900 songs (I made an error and didn't account for the 4 GIGS earlier, my bad). So, with equal quality sound: iPod mini = 800 to 900 songs on 4GB hard drive HI-MID = 350 to 400 songs per HI-MD disc 2 or 3 HI-MD discs can hold more info than one iPod mini. Not bad at all. THAT was what I was saying. Joe
  5. I am aware that the idea posted earlier included the ability to use both ATRAC and MP3. I mentioned the MP3 only idea since the designer of the device could avoid paying royalties to Sony for using ATRAC. With the MD reformatted to HI-MD format (in FAT) the disc holds about 290 MB, right. At 256kbps encoding, which sounds as good as LP2, the size of file eqates to about 1 minute = 1 MB. Therefore you could get about 290 minutes of MP3's on the disc. The provides almost 5 hours of music on a little $2.00 disc, in MP3 format. I agree with the earlier post, the hardware seems to make the difference compared to the compression scheme. If you use a higher copmression ration, the MP3 sounds as good as ATRAC, albeit the file is larger, but it isn't that much bigger. I have used an iPod mini, and all I have to say it WOW. The SOLID design, ease of use, and (with 256+ compression) it sound GOOD and LOUD (if you want it to) to my older ears. Too much rock in the 80's and driving duece-and-a-halves in the Army really have torn my hearing up compared to when I was a kid. Sony, and other minidisc manufacturers, have a tough road ahead of them when compared to Apple. Apple has the lead, a great product, and isn't hampered by their size like Sony is. Sony should cut down the number of minidisc devices and increase the quality for one thing. NO MORE PLASTIC MINDISC CASES!!!! Get a clue Sony, aluminum has a great solid feel to them, or use magnesium for the light-weight feel (if you're in to that - I prefer aluminum) I am the type of person who likes odd exotic things, devices, etc. Heck, I use minidiscs, old HP calculators (HP 42s, 11c, 15c, 27s), old computers such as a Atari 800, Apple IIc, and Amiga 600/1200. I drive a Civic Hybrid and I listen mostly to Jpop and Kpop these days. Yes, I am an anime/manga fan as well. Plus I will be teaching math in a couple more years. I WANT to use the minidisc format not because of the ATRAC scheme, but due to the simple idea of using cheap little discs that hold so much more infomation. It makes sense to have an eaisly removeable battery (unlike the iPod) that can be replaced, or augmented with a AA in an emergency. The idea of a hard drive based system seem VERY short sighted. Hard drives have limited usage (time) compared to a little minidisc. PLUS, minidisc has one advantage that very few of the hard drive players can sport; you don't need a computer to record. I can make all my minidiscs in SP or LP2 by dubbing them with my Sony CD/MD deck. The only reason I even considered the net/mi-md is for titling purposes, even though the higher capacity of hi-md is intriguing. My 2cents. Joe
  6. How about this: Why doesn't a company make a mp3 player that doesn't carry the name minidisc at all, but uses the minidisc as a storage medium, just as the ipod uses a standard hard drive? Joe
  7. I cannot tell much of a difference between HI-SP and LP2 either. Just for kicks, tonight I transferred 400 songs to the 1gb disc in LP2 mode. WOW, 400 songs! OH, and the device being powered via USB in much better than what I had to put up with using a S1 netmd model. I really used up many AA's with that machine (it went back after a week). On an iPod mini using 256bit encoding for MP3s (about 1MB per minute) I can get about 225 songs!!! Not too shabby Sony. Of course the SS 2.0 still sucks big weenies compared to the ease of iTunes. When will Sony learn? Also, iTunes can natively display kana and kanji info downloaded from Gracenote, while the english version of SS 2.0 cannot. Instead I am treated to a bunch of ????????????s. Lovely. Sony is a Japanese company, yes? Oh, the irony. While I have used the NH600 for a few days, I am sure of a few things: 1. The NH600 is going back due to the lack of inputs AND THE CRAPPY PLASTIC CASE!!!! I am so happy with the solid aluminium case on my R70, R900, R909, and the DR7 models. Why does Sony feel the need to provide such cheaply constructed models? I HAVE HELD THE IPOD MINI and it has a truly SOLID CONSTRUCTION THAT RIVALS MY DR7! 2. The transfer rates are very slow compared to firewire. I understand the limitations of the optical heads writing speed, but the speed difference cannot be ignored. 3. The new jog-dial (at least on the NH600) is TERRIBLE compared to the jog dial on the R909 model. The NH600's dial is hard to turn and POORLY located on the front of the machine. What worries me is that the others seem to have the jogdial on the front too. Hmmmm. 4. The dang thing is loud when transferring data as the head seems to have to move after ever 10 or so songs, no matter if they are in seperate groups or just a listing of 100+ songs. Kind of annoying. 5. The USB data drive benefits are nice in theory, but it took me almost 30 minutes to transfer 1gb of data to the disc. While this makes it okay for data archiving, it really doesn't say much for using it an extra hard drive. 6. SS 2.0 is still a RESOURCE HOG!!! I hate to say this, but after using this machine, the NH600, I will be returning it to Target and buying: 1. ipod mini 2. r909 or dr7 as a back up I have a CD/MD combo deck that allows me to fairly quickly make a MD (4x) with no extra DMR nonsense. I lose the titling, but hey, that is okay. I a worried that Sony's offering is too little, too late to make a difference. While they sat on their collective duffs infighting amongst themselves trying to decide what is acceptable in a digital musical device, Apple has pretty much taken the proverbial horse by the reigns and left everyone else in the dust. I hope I am wrong as I, like many here, would like to see the MD survive in the States. I guess it is a waiting game. OH I DO HAVE A QUESTION!!!! In the past, all the new sony MD models were released in Japan first. Why is this not the case with the HI-MD models? Thanks in advance. Joe
  8. Hey folks, I have a question. I can import music into iTunes, which uses Gracenote, and all of my Jpop music is titled correctly, using kana and kanji. BUT, when I use Sonic Stage 2.0, which also uses Gracenote, all I get are question marks. What gives? If I pull up the cd info off of Gracenote, using SS, it shows the info in Japanese, but when I try and apply it to the music in my library all I get are a bunch of ???????????????. Can anyone give me advice on how to fix this situation, or is the english version of SS crippled in this respect. I would hate to think that iTunes can do it and also, that the iPod can show the kana and kanji, but the HI-MD cannot. Any info would be helpful. Joe
  9. Guys and gals. Sorry about the mix-up in the non-Sony section. I mentioned that there would be a Sharp MD-DR7 on ebay. My apologies, but after doing some reading, I have decided to keep it. Instead I am selling my Red Sony MZ-R909 on ebay later today. Feel free to check it out. (I am going to miss that jog dial!) Thanks. Joe P.S. Could someone also give me advice on the Sony MZ-R50? Any info would be appreciated. Joe
  10. I had one before my r-900 and r-909. It was a bit noisy (motor wise), but it was fine for a portable unit. Plus the battery bump is actualy a blessing...any AA battery can run the thing in an emergency. Joe
  11. Yes. I have purchased two units from them and Randy has been very helpful on both occasions. Plus, they support the warranty. Joe
  12. GD|eNSo My request for info relates BOTH to NetMD and Find your Minidisc. Therefore it is valid to request info form folks who might not happend to read both areas. It isn't going to hurt anyone. It isn't SPAM. It also doesn't appear to be a burden to the forums considering the few number of post altogether. If you are going to lock a thread, please use a bit more common sense please!!! Joe
  13. Hey from Texas! I have been into the MD scene for a few years now. I am the proud owner of a MDX-D40, MZ-R900, MZ-R909, and Panasonic SJ-MJ55 (in the mail!). To this date I have yet to get (and keep) a NetMD recorder. I tried the MZ-N1 but retrurned it for the MZ-909 simply because I didn't like the very light feel to it (magnesium case) or the software. I have gotten over the magnesium case issue and now there is the great Nero/Simple Burner solution, so I am considering the NetMD once again. I am in the market for a laptop and I know that Sony makes a VAIO that has a NetMD removeable drive. The problem is that it is only sold in Europe and Japan (Australia too?). IS IT POSSIBLE for this lone Texan (never met another one who uses MD) to find this laptop? Does anyone know the model and who might sell it? Thanks in advance. Joe Edwards PS...totally unrelated here...but what type of voltage is used in Australia? Thanks again. Joe
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