saaron

That, or get a new car deck that supports MDLP; there are a number of those out there so it might be preferable depending upon how many MDs you have recorded in LP-mode.

From reading the manual for a JE480, it appears there are a variety of reasons automatic track-marking won't work; I suspect that playback from a computer lacks the distinct signals you would normally get from a CD player to indicate track change as I've never had much luck with track-marking when recording from iTunes on my powerbook using a Xitel DG2 USB-TOS converter. Audio is fine, but I end up with a lot of spurious track marks and often none at all. Not too big a deal when I'm dealing with mixes that would otherwise necessitate a few dozen CD swaps, but it does go to show that just because a system has optical out, it doesn't mean flawless recording.

I've got a Sony MDX-CA790X and no complaints. It uses group function in a way that I wish was implemented on Sony home decks, i.e., play though the whole disc normally with the option to jump between groups -- no goofy "turn on group mode" crap. Sound quality is quite nice and it has a tunable five-band EQ. I got it on eBay from a car audio shop somewhere in England a couple of years ago -- eBay is definitely your friend for MD stuff, but if you're wanting MDLP it pays to note models and cross-reference with the equipment browser on minidisc.org because there's a lot of people still selling 1st gen kit.

Sorry, I was posting about the ones you said you currently have before I realised it! I picked up a pair of the MDR-EX71s in the States when I was there in February and I think they're the best ear-buds ever -- especially nice at cutting down background noise and the low-end is unbelieveable. I especially like the fact that the cord is in two pieces so I can use them with my G755's remote control without having loads of cable swinging about.

The Let It Be - Naked CD is "copy protected" as well and I was really angry after receiving it as a gift to find that my MD bookshelf refused to copy it. Turns out it was easy enough to mount on the computer and just copy the .wav files from a directory on the CD to my harddrive and then burn a normal PCM CD from it. I then returned the "copy protected" version. This is only time I've advocated "piracy." If I buy a CD I expect to be able to do normal things like copy it to my chosen recording format so I can play it on the go or in my car. I will never buy anything that doesn't have the CD Digital Audio logo on it.

7. Ability to record/edit LP2 discs WITHOUT Sonic Stage. 8. Cross-platform support for Sonic Stage, i.e., replace with a platform-neutral (java) application or port to Mac OS X/Linux -- remember that it is an electronics company and not a front for the Vaio business. After all the original Walkman didn't force people to buy Sony tape recorders to create tapes that played in it, now did it? 9. Open the format to enable different software for encoding in different audio or data formats. 10. Create a full product-line, including component decks, shelf systems, boom boxes, and car decks. Staying a portable-only format looks like a hedge and doesn't encourage people who are already established MD consumers to upgrade as the format could be abandoned in an instant. I think Sony's fundamental problems stem from their schizophrenic behaviour since acquiring Columbia. They used to be a pure play electronics company and even fought in court to be able to produce machines (betamax) that I doubt they'd even consider building today because of the copyright issue. So, instead of something that could have existed on a level playing field with CD and potentially replaced it by being an open format suitable for both data and audio, we ended up with something that whilst brilliant as a replacement for tape, is still hobbled because of the media arm's desire to protect IP. It's really a pity that Phillips or Sharp didn't invent MD because they would have had no such issues and probably wouldn't have bothered with the pre-recorded media and everyone might be using MD instead of CD-R/W. It's a missed opportunity, but it might not be too late for Sony to open the format and play up the fact that you don't need a computer to use it and it's more durable and can store more data than CD (in HiMD format). Of course, I'm sure Sony Music and Sony Pictures would continue to prevent such a thing from happening.

After the announcement of the new CEO and that Sony would start "putting consumer interests first" again, I mailed Sony UK to ask if in this new spirit Sonic Stage would ever be released for the Mac (one major reason I'm not interested in jumping on the HiMD bandwagon aside from an apparent lack of commitment to the format on Sony's part). The response I got stated that Sony UK was getting out of the MD business (I interpreted this to be manufacturing?) and that they knew of no plans to port Sonic Stage, and sorry, it's obvious you're a committed user of the format, blah blah. Not very encouraging. I note that whereas I bought an MDLP shelf system at Comet a couple of years ago, I can now find no decks or systems other than portables (NetMD or HiMD) at any high street retailer other than John Lewis (lovely JL) or specialty hi-fi shops and have resorted to eBay to try to find a new shelf system for my daughter and to buy my home deck. Personally I'm not too bothered by the apparent demise of the format as there's a substantial enough userbase that I don't perceive issues with buying blank media or getting ahold of hardware -- even if second-hand -- in the future; in fact I would hope that if Sony decides to bin MD altogether in favour of UMD or HD/flash-based players that they would finally open up the format so it could finally exist as it should have all along: a digital media/data format on par with CD.

I've recently got a new JE480 MDLP deck on eBay for a good price and read the manual and found there's no group function on it. Now, I'm not as concerned with not being able to create/edit groups as I've got a shelf system that can do that, but I was hoping that the player would at least allow me to navigate between them like my car deck does. Does anyone know if there's a hack that can be used to switch on the function? I cannot imagine there's that much difference between the 480/780 (which don't have group function) and the 980 (which does) -- they all have the same remote after all -- so I have to think there's some kind of change in firmware or system board (a dipswitch setting would be the easiest to deal with!) that disables it that I could then change to enable it. Has anyone got a service manual for this system or hacked them around? Any info is appreciated. I've searched, but cannot find anything on the net.

I've got a Citroen Saxo and was thinking of getting an MD head unit and CD-changer, but as the in-dash CD that came with the car also has CD-Changer controls on it, I started thinking it might be an idea to get an MD changer instead, like the MDX-66XLP 6-disc changer. I've seen a site that sells it with an interface for stereos in the Saxo, but I'm wondering if there's anyone with first-hand experience trying this. Cheers,

The now-discontinued Sony G750 has mic-input (and AM/FM radio on the remote) and it's a midrange portable. I've used it to record audio (with a t-microphone directly plugged in you get a little noise from the mechanism from time to time as the recording head realigns, but it's not bad, so you might want a powered mic with a lead to reduce that for other recording) and like the results. I got mine at the Sony Store in Stirling a year ago for £157; I'm sure you could get one cheaper online now.

I use a Xitel DG2 which allows for digital transfers from USB to Optical In. The downside is that it's real-time recording, however I only use it for doing mixes and start recording overnight. I've got some other tips to impart if you're interested. As far as uploading, you can get the iMic, which would be an analogue output, as you're using your headphone out, but that would be true anyway if you're using a portable, and that also connects to USB. There are also higher end things that will do all kinds of I/O to USB, but these are your lowest-cost options.

This page has links to information about current open source projects: http://home.kabelfoon.nl/~bertrik/netmd/index.html Currently the best you can do is control playback and edit track/disc names and edit/move tracks; downloading isn't yet possible, but it's being worked on. I'm sure Sony defectors would help!

The RM-D20 is some kind of wireless remote that Sony came out with that has titling features. You can find details about it on the Minidisc.org website in accessories, but you have to hunt a bit. The unit is _not_ compatible with any off-the-shelf keyboard for a PC, although in the past there were some high-end players sold that had PS/2 plugs in them that were. This thing appears to be not readily available outside of Japan and it's too small to type on properly -- I think if it was cheap it would be okay, but I expect not.

Doesn't this already exist? I was in Debenhams recently and noted a new line of portable CD players from Sony which are, more-or-less, MD on CD. They're portable CD players which also record ATRAC format and come with PC software to enable PC owners to encode music into ATRAC format for outputting to these CD drives. Seems kind of lame, but it looks like they're pitching ATRAC as a higher quality alternative to MP3. Seems kind of bizarre and I cannot imagine people buying them in large numbers when they can already burn MP3 CDs, but then I don't know the availability of portable players that can play MP3 CDs so maybe there is a market there for this. Anyone else come across these?

If this had existed 6mos. ago I'd have one now, but instead I got the DG2 so I could record from iTunes. It's just an adaptor to allow optical/analogue transmission from/to USB -- strictly realtime recording/uploading, so music isn't going to be transferred at high speeds or in ATRAC format. It works pretty well. Only issues to note: in OS X all sound output gets redirected through it, so be sure to clobber applications like Mail that make noises to alert you of things or you could end up with little bongs and bings in your recording -- I leave mine recording when I'm not around so there's no issues with other applications running. I've also noted that sometimes extra trackmarks get inserted, or don't get inserted. Since I like to label all my tracks I just go through and do that and remove/insert tracks as necessary. It's worth it for the convenience in making mixes or the fact that the DVD-ROM drive in the powerbook is less sensitive to damage on disc surfaces than my DVD Player or car CD player for ripping tracks.