drew_

thanks for trying to help Low Volta. i've managed to figure out what was wrong. after uninstalling SS and OpenMG components, then reinstalling, i found out that i couldn't have my usb key plugged in at the same time as the rh1. it's working perfectly now. i've managed to transfer and listen to music. this is an awesome unit. can't wait to show off to my workmates tomorrow.

am very excited that i received my mz-rh1 today (it's my first hi-md unit). the only problem is, i've hi-md formated one of my old 74 min discs and the computer won't recognise it. it just comes up as an 'unknown device' under device manager and i get the 'USB Device Not Recognised' bubble popping up. before i even connected the unit to the computer, i installed SS 4.0. it does however recognise net-md discs and does transfer in mdlp formats. can anyone help?

i think i'll buy into these second generation units - need an update from our n10 (share it with sister). quite keen on the rh10 with its organic EL display but don't know if it is worth it over the rh910.

used to own an r50 until my sister lent it to someone and they trashed it. just remember it was a very sturdy unit, with great battery life (it had a removable lithium ion battery) and a jog wheel which made titling easier than the forward and backwards keys. also remember it was the first to have a backlit remote. also have a r91 which is on its last legs i.e. occasionally does playback but no record.

i've got a lot of stuff on tape which i treasure and have begun the process of transfering to my hard drive. basically, line out from my stereo system (RCA output) to the line in of my sound card (3.5 mm minijack input, built into my motherboard). i record the sound as a high quality .wav file (44.1 kHz, 16 bit, stereo or mono depending on whether its music or talk respectively). then i make some tweaks to it such as alter its level and remove the hiss, all done with the free program Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. i've then encoded as .aac files using itunes. but if i wanted to transfer to minidisc i would simply transfer the .wav files using SonicStage or Simple Burner using i think Dino's method (just do a search of this forum to find more info about this method). i've found the recordings i've made have been most satisfactory...well they sound a better than the tape and won't deteriorate with time. quality of the final recording will depend on the quality of the tape and quality of the sound card (usually a separate sound card is better than the built into the motherboard ones because they reduce the amount of electromagnetic interference from the motherboard). don't quote me on the last bit, i could be talking out of me ass.

hi, just wanted to get people's opinion on v-surround. been playing around with it on my sis's n10 and feel that it makes the music sound 'hollow' and 'less colourful'. the 6-band equaliser seems more useful though. anyway...again, would like to hear some opinions which may influence whether i will have it on my next purchase of a portable player. btw...reckon the e620/e720 in green looks fantastic. drew. (a little worried because of research and design project)

ok, it seems like your heart is set on either the n910 or the n10. IMHO I would choose the cheaper of the two units because to me they are virtually the same. n910 - aluminium body n10 - magnesuim body the difference, no idea, magnesium a harder metal? if you want to look into the minute details of the differences between the 2 units, go to any good minidisc page like minidisc.org or minidisc t-station and look up the 2 units.

the mz-n10 and mz-n910 are both top of the range models with good remotes and very good battery life. the n10 has an internal Li-ion battery while the n910 uses the more convention NiMH 'gumstick' battery. That's pretty much the only difference between the models. IMHO these units are not rock solid players that will last esp. if you intend to go jogging with them. my experience has been they last roughly 3-4 years before something goes wrong and they give up the ghost and die (which is pretty acceptable to most people as by then a unit upgrade is warranted). if you're a bit more budget concious, you should consider the n707 or n710 which have many (but not all) of the top model features. they also don't have the extra snazzy remote of the n10 but should be backlit (i think only the north american model of the n707 doesn't have a backlit remote). hope this helps.

after transferring the files, does the unit do a toc edit or data save? if it doesn't go either of these, you won't get any music on the disc.

hi, the mz-n505 is probably a good unit for your son's purposes. to answer some of your questions, i believe that cds or mp3s are converted first convertd to openmg (.omg) files before being transfered to the unit (please, correct me if i'm wrong). programs that are usually used to do this are OpenMG or SonicStage (Sony software, one of these programs will be supplied with the n505) but many people don't like them because they leave files on the hard disk. there's another program called SimpleBurner (should also be supplied with the n505) which directly transfers a cd to the minidisc unit without creating files on your hard disk. you can also couple the mp3 'burning' process you mentioned along with SimpleBurner to get mp3s to minidisc (read more about this in the NetMD forum where they'll probably explain it more clearly). the minidisc unit is connect to the PC via usb. not sure able what specs are required to run the software. if you do get a unit from the US, you'll either need to buy a new power adaptor or get a step down transformer. also, be aware of warranties. a US model may not be covered in the UK (don't quote me on this, check with whoever you buy from). hope this helps, drew.

hi, been using the n10 for about a month, mainly for transferring cds to minidisc. no problems yet but usage hasn't been heavy (i use an old portable recorder for playback). no problems yet with SonicStage or SimpleBurner, touch wood. drew.

correct me if i'm wrong but i believe you're are only allowed 3 check outs per song.

sorry, can't answer your comparison question but as an n10 user, i can say that it definitely doesn't have digital out or a dedicated line out. i'm pretty sure all consumer level portable recorders don't have digital out and all consumer level sony portables since the r90 don't have a dedicated line out. line out is via the headphone jack and can be selected through the menu system.

i remember reading on the Repair Q&A board of MiniDiscussion - i think it was in an interview with the guy who answers the questions (i think his name is David) that it is better to get a stand alone deck to record minidiscs and a player for portable listening. the record head on a portable recorder is delicate and can easily get damaged just from general wear and tear.