saaron

Looks like all the Supremes really did was overturn the appellate decision and send it back down for a new judgement without allowing the Sony Betamax case to decide innocence, but not overturning it either. It still seems fuzzy, but basically if the party selling the technology that has the ability to infringe copyright "incites" infringement, they're legally liable for the infringement. I don't see how this is going to clear things up; probably any new lower court decision will be appealed yet again and end up before the Supremes again... The Register has a nice breakdown of the details: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/27/p2p_goes_down/ Here's a more in-depth analysis, but until there's a final judgement from the lower court that's upheld, it's all speculation: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/27/su...nt_on_grokster/

I have a follow-up to this (sort of). I've seen Tascam and others offer pro MDLP decks that have the ability to disable SCMS. My question is where this comes into play? I'm thinking I'll get a high-end MDLP deck like a Sony JE980 and then a Tascam or pro-Sony deck to dub MDs, but I'm not sure if it's really necessary as I've already got a JE480. If the SCMS is removed on playback then I'll just need the Tascam and then I can freely dub to my JE480 which has optical input; if it only prevents SCMS from being recorded on the deck with the SCMS disabled, then I'll definitely want two decks as the JE480 lacks optical out (it can then just go into storage as a reserve deck). Any clarification is very welcome! <EDIT> Damn, looks like I was wrong. Whilst Tascam did make an MDLP deck, it didn't have the ability to disable SCMS. Does anyone know of an MDLP deck that did; if so how it worked?

Agreed. I think CF is probably the smallest reasonable size for media. I really dislike SD cards -- fine for a phone, but not as removable storage.

Windows will be able to run on Intel-based Macs, but OS X won't be able to run on other Intel-based hardware. I don't think this will alter your ability to run SonicStage or any other Windows software -- OS X may be running on Intel hardware, but that doesn't mean it will run Windows software or interoperate with Windows PCs any differently than PPC-based Macs do today. You might see a broader range of Windows emulators available that will run better, but you're still going to need an emulator to run SonicStage. I suppose it would make it easier to develop SonicStage for Mac, but unless SonicStage has an application beyond MD, I wouldn't expect Sony to put any energy into it; even if it does I'm sure OS X would need a larger userbase for Sony to take notice. They're just not the generic electronics company they used to be...

I'm afraid I see the writing on the wall for the format. I read today about the death of cassettes which is looming; interestingly a major reason for the format taking off was that Philips didn't charge royalties for producing compatible hardware -- I'm sure MD would have replaced cassette entirely if that had been true for Sony (I cannot imagine they wouldn't want a cut of every MD player/recorder and media sale). This apparent lack of confidence in the format in the face of HD- and flash-based portable music players seems to be behind the lukewarm promotion of Hi-MD as the future of the format. Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in a format that only exists on portable music players. I like to listen in the lounge, the kitchen and the car, and I don't like being tied to one portable machine or having to play with a computer to listen to music. I'm sticking with MDLP for the forseeable future, until some other media comes along. My most fervent hope is that the obsession with DRM and suing consumers blows up in the studios faces and kills them off so we can get back to enjoying music as it was in the pre-digital days. Maybe MD will make a comeback or be replaced by some kind of unencumbered solid-state media format -- who knows? One thing seems pretty certain: Sony isn't backing MD in the UK, but that's okay with me. I'm sticking with the format and keeping my money in my pocket.

Keep an eye out for blank media sales! Morrisons seems to have discontinued carrying it and I'm kicking myself that I didn't pick up more than one of the Sony colours 80min. 5-packs when they were selling them for £2.99 ea. Sainbury's still has them for £7.99 which is a bit rich when you can get 10-packs of TDK colours from Virgin for £9.99 or HMV for the same price with a buy one/get one 1/2 price deal (last time I checked, which was a couple of months ago).

I too have the previous generation shelf unit, which we got for the kitchen. I copied all my wife's music to LP2 MDs, which take up much less space than the random pile of CDs that would eventually accumulate before being put away only to build up again. I routinely use the High-Speed CD->MD dubbing feature which is quite nice. I'm really impressed with the sound on these speakers -- the bass isn't going to shake the floorboards, but it's quite nice and clear at volume. Tape-MD dubbing works really well (the tape deck is auto-reverse), although I noticed that the MD doesn't stop recording during silent periods, so a little editing will be necessary. I'll probably be looking to pick up another shelf unit for my daughter by year-end, but I'm not sure about the NetMD version -- does the system work well without a computer attached, or are some things no longer possible without a computer? Otherwise I'll just trawl eBay for a pre-NetMD system...

Slinky, I've got the same mic; I was already aware this could be an issue. I just record sounds of my daughter playing and making noise and the occasional sound of the head moving isn't that big a bother or I'd use an extension cable to put more distance between the mic and the unit. Outside of that I find it an excellent and extremely sensitive microphone, quite capable of picking up sound in another room(!). I can't say I'd record live music with it, but certainly for ambient sounds, interviews and lectures I cannot fault it.

It really depends on the source. I only use it for recording DVD commentaries for listening on the road. Newer source material digitally mastered sounds okay (as KrazyIvan said "radio quality"), but if you have something older, originally mastered analogue, the results can be appalling. I had originally used LP4 quite extensively until I tried putting my Beatles collection on an LP4 disc, and Revolver was completely unlistenable. There were numerous dropouts to the point that half the audio seemed to be gone; the recording sounded completely garbled. After that I reviewed all my previous recordings and re-did everything in LP2 which I find quite excellent for audio generally. LP4 has promise, but I think it's kind of like 64-bit MP3 and really limited to those situations where you won't be bothered by audio quality.

What confuses me about all of this is why Sony isn't just pitching MD as a replacement for audio cassette; surely if they had done that as aggressively as LP records were forcibly retired by the big labels so they could re-sell everyone what they already had on CD, there'd be no tape and loads of MDs. I use CD-MD like I used to use LP-Cassette, only it's much much better. The editing features alone make it superior to any other recording medium you can get, but Sony just kept on making tape decks and boom-boxes/shelf-systems etc. with tape decks. Really, really, LAME.

Like atrain said, check the net for other etailers as well. I would check the minidisc.org page for UK and German-based etailers to save on postage costs. Amazon.co.uk electronics pages might be good as well and there's always ebay.co.uk.

You can get EX71s through Argos, Littlewoods, etc. quite easily for like £23. Might be worth checking at your local Sony/Panasonic shop as well.

Dunkin' Donuts, yes. Krispy Krap "donuts," no.

Agreed. If I cannot edit existing recordings using new hardware, then there's not much point in upgrading to the new hardware, is there? I've recently bought an MDLP deck for my hifi; I'm thinking about getting a pro-MDLP deck (Tacscan or other) to do digital MD copying to backup some original audio recordings, but no plans to jump on to HiMD if this is what is considered "progress" in the subsequent hardware generations of the format.

In my experience passive speakers are really rubbish: the average personal stereo just doesn't have enough power to give you anything you can hear unless the volume is at maximum. While I was in the States I picked up a nice pair at Radio Shack which I've also seen on offer at shops in the UK (Comet, I think). They take three AA/LR6 batteries (a bit awkward if you use rechargeables which normally need to recharge in twos and fours), have a power switch and volume control and can be powered by a 6V DC connection (not supplied). They're pretty slim profile and have decent sound for the price. No complaints. http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...%5Fid=40%2D1441 They're Radio Shack branded, but clearly made by a different company as I've seen them with a different branding in the UK.

What about full-sized headphones that enclose the ear? I don't carry them myself because I don't use a backpack and I'm happy with my EX-71s, but when I used to wear a backpack to work I often used a pair of JVCs and really, you get the best sound when you use your entire ear rather than just pumping the sound into your ear canal, anyway.

It would seem to me that noise-cancelling headphones would be more appropriate. Unless you're actually hard of hearing, upping the volume --especially on in-ear headphones -- is just going to damage your hearing in the long term if you do a lot of portable listening. Even if you're not feeling actual pain, it can have a negative effect. Personally I cannot understand people who have their personal stereos so loud I can hear the music bleeding off of their earphones. If the phones go into your ear nobody around you should be able to hear the music if it's at an appropriate level.

I bought one a few of years ago (October 2002) -- not the greatest; just a basic compact unit. Nice to see that you finally don't need a separate pre-amp or ground lead connection for these things! I think we'll probably have to wait to see what the product line-up looks like in a year's time. There's still the same line-up of MDLP decks on the sony.co.uk site that they've had for the past few years and one shelf-system. If they disappear in six months and aren't replaced by HiMD equivalents then I'd say any flavour of format is probably without much of a future. More worrying to me is the lack of 3rd party support. Denon is the only manufacturer in the UK that seems to offer components now -- nobody else has MD-equipped shelf-systems for sale any more and that wasn't true three years ago. It's all just portables that look like stock clearouts more than anything else and Sony's kit. Doesn't bode well, but I'm sure TDK/Maxell/Sony will continue to produce blanks for decades to come.

In relation to the latter I was equating NetMD with HiMD -- I dislike both equally for their SonicStage component. In relation to the former, it may have changed with more recent versions of SonicStage, but I distinctly recall reading that if one records tracks to a disc using Sonic Stage, then you could not use player controls to delete the tracks so downloaded; nor could you do join/split or name edits on the hardware after downloading -- is this no longer the case? Also, as far as I'm aware the only way to modify an LP2 disc with HiMD is to use SonicStage -- ditto for this...true or not?

This is a major reason why I've not been interested in HiMD. In my mind the lack of a full product range including car decks indicates that Sony is not fully committed to HiMD as a format. They appear to be treating as a niche product to compete with flash-based MP3 players, which seems a really narrow focus for a format that would logically also appeal to professional recording enthusiasts. The fact that a 3rd party is first to market with a deck is definitely troubling, unless Sony is preparing to open up the format for others to carry on. Of course the Onkyo is a Japan-only product, so means little to people in Europe for sure and will only be had in the US by die-hards willing to import.

In addition to above suggestions you'll find several USB or Firewire audio interface options for digital realtime upload. I use a Xitel DG2 to get digital audio from my powerbook to my G755 MDLP recorder and outside of track-marking issues which are probably due to the way iTunes plays the audio, I get a nice digital recording. The newer devices include optical in as well as out to facilitate recording to your Mac via Wiretap Pro or whatever other recording software you're going to use. The major downside is that you're doing a realtime upload/download, but keep in mind that a major downside to using Sonic Stage to facilitate upload/download of tracks is that any future edits you want to make to the tracks/disc will need to be made with SonicStage as well. I think that is a major drawback to the HiMD and NetMD units as I often make edits "in the field" following a recording via mic, CD, or Mac, so I personally am not bothered too much about not being able to use SonicStage and have other reasons for not upgrading to HiMD. If I've got a lot of recording to do, I just get it going before I got to bed: my powerbook goes to sleep once the playback stops and my MD shuts down and writes the TOC once it stops getting signal. It takes a little scheduling of your life, but unless you're on meth and awake 24/7 I shouldn't think it would pose that big a problem.

Could you be more specific? I've really not been keeping up on HiMD developments since I've seen little change in the hardware output, i.e., until the announcement of a deck from Onkyo, nothing but portable units.

I can recommend the one I bought: Sony MDX-79XX (you can check it out in the equipment browser on minidisc.org) -- it will also control a Sony CD-changer; I suppose you could plug an aux device into the RCA jacks on the back instead, but I've not tried it. Alternatively you can get a CD head unit that supports an MD-changer. Sony makes a 10-disc MDLP changer with the ability to eject the discs individually whilst another is playing. I elected just for the MD head unit, and got the wife to agree to an MD-equipped shelf unit for the kitchen and then proceeded to record all her CDs and LPs on MDLP to negate any conflicts ;-)

My Sony Fonotopias did me well for about 5 years and then the left channel failed; didn't discover it until an intercontinental flight *sigh*. I picked up a really nice pair of new Sonys which have the best dynamic range I've ever seen in a pair of ear buds, plus the speaker goes right into the ear canal and has silicone sleeves which reduces external noise and I find much more comfortable than the normal foam/rubber covers. I think the model is MDREX715LW and they're under US$100. They have a very short cord and come with an extension in case you don't have a remote. Available in white and black. They've got a 1 year guarantee, so it can't hurt.

The real solution would be for Sony to make MD an open format like CD so anyone could write software to encode them and create players/burners to create them. If they'd done that in the first place CD-R/W would probably have a smaller share than it does today and we'd have lot less functionality and interoperability issues. By restricting the market so that you need to own a certain brand of computer in order to fully utilise HiMD Sony is really shooting themselves in the foot. If I'm just interested in upgrading my existing MDLP kit to HiMD, all of a sudden something that was totally irrelevant (my operating system) now is a major factor as I can only make changes to my vast MDLP library using software that only runs on one platform. So, you've got something that was already niche among certain people and then with the next update reduced the market further? Really intelligent strategy. Did anyone at Sony actually think about this as a consumer product or just a way to sell more Vaios? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it used to be the case that Sony sold electronics to anyone that could buy them and it used to be that they just worked. I don't recall having to write tapes using a Sony tape deck in order to be able to play them on my Sony Walkman; Apple didn't keep the iPod a Mac-only device did it?