raintheory

I've seen this done before, so it's definitely possible.

I got TrProtect when I tried on my MZ-R909 just now.

Looks intriguing! And it's even got OLED! EDIT: - Uses 2 AA batteries. - Even has a built-in (Mono) speaker. - Various bitrates of Mp3 & WAV (up to 24bit / 48kHz) - Built in stereo Mics, as well as Mic-input (Mic-in Plug-in power is switchable and offers 3 sensitivities -0dB, -12dB, -24dB). - Editing features on-unit -- I think I found my next recorder.

Correct, all MiniDisc units prior to Hi-MD use lossy compression. The maximum quality being SP mode, which is ~292kbps Atrac3. As I had mentioned, the newer Hi-MD units can record in uncompressed LinearPCM @ 16bit / 44.1kHz, though you are somewhat limited to how much you can fit on a disc using this format (~94min on a 1GB Hi-MD disc, or ~28min on a standard disc formatted as Hi-MD). We have quite a few discs from back when my wife first got the MZ-1 (back in '93) and they still play fine. The media itself is rock-solid, and chances are the discs themselves will outlive the units. I have no doubts about the longevity of the discs, but I do have doubts as to how much longer units will be available to play them back. I have already begun the (quite painstaking) process of uploading our collection of ~400 MiniDiscs and archiving them onto other media (currently spare hard drives and DVDs). Unfortunately I can't help with the flash-based recorders, as I haven't researched them too much. I know that others members of the forum here are tried a few out so maybe they can chime in or point you in the righ direction for reviews/info. Oh, and by the way... The MDS-E12 does convert 48kHz > 44.1kHz while recording via coax.

Another nifty feature with MDLP is that TOC-Cloning can be done. Due to the encryption on Hi-MD formatted discs, it is not possible with Hi-MD, although some people have had luck sending their discs to Sony for recovery.

Keep in mind that all of the professional decks are MDLP, there are no Hi-MD pro decks. In other words, the highest quality you will get from a recording is ~292kbps Atrac3... A lossy format. If you want to record LinearPCM uncompressed for the best quality, you will need to look into a Hi-MD recorder. Unfortunately I know of none that have coax, but they do all have optical input. I've never used any kind of adapter, but I would assume there is a coax>optical adapter out there.

Sony's MDS-E12 has coax input, as well as XLR: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-E12.html The MDS-E11 does as well it seems: http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-E11.html I have the MDS-E12, so I can certainly test out the sample rate conversion when I get home from work if that would be helpful at all.

Yes, although this does in fact erase everything from the disc. And as far as the initial question, I use Hi-MD & old-school MD about equally. For recording purposes mainly, which isn't a problem at all with the RH1 which allows me to upload any old-school MD recordings I make.

try downloading the newest version of the software from the downloads section here in the forums and re-installing it.

Stumbled across this interesting discussion at HA: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=62488 Pretty wild debate happening. Not surprisingly there is confusion stemming from the definition of "Atrac" (whether it's Atrac, Atrac3, or Atrac3plus).. Anyway the consensus there seems to be that Mp3 is superior. I say we get a bunch of 2nd gen Hi-MD recorders and put a combination of Atrac3plus and Mp3 files on them and see what they find.

Unless yr using Vista, you'd be best to stick with SonicStage 4.2... I tried 4.3 on XP and ditched it due to transferring issues (some similar to this). 4.2 can be found here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=17769 -be sure to uninstall 4.3 before installing 4.2

Also be cautious while using one without the internal battery installed. Since the unit thinks it's got AC power, there is the possibility that it won't conserve enough energy to write the system file before the batteries in the extender die and you could lose your recording.

Is there the possibility that using dual-cores is throwing Sonicstage off and making it actually take longer?

Sadly, I didn't have sufficient equipment to get a decent recording at the time, however I do in fact have a DAT recording someone did from the same night that I can put on (Hi-)MD or CD for you if you'd like. The show was March 04, 2003 @ 9:30 club in Washington DC here in the states. I saw Sigur Ros two weeks later at the same venue but don't have a recording of that one. Here is an unreleased song called "Albanian" from the show, it's an mp3 but will show the quality of the recording that was done: http://www.cosmicsky.com/private/gybe2003-03-04d1t06.mp3 Just a note: This band encourages live recordings of their shows, so there should be no problems with having the link up here. If there is a problem, please let me know.

Awesome! I may be seeing them sometime this summer. I saw GY!BE back in '03, great show. One of the best shows I've been to... I'd be interested in hearing the Silver Mt. Zion show if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Remember that there is no true SP codec on the PC (due to Dolby patent issues IIRC), so the RH1 is spitting out PCM data via USB, that is either being recorded as PCM by SonicStage or encoded as Hi-SP, depending on your settings. Point being, with SP the unit isn't simply copying the Atrac data over, as it does with the other formats. So naturally this takes longer than other transfers because of the decoding to PCM and possible encoding to Hi-SP. From my experience even though it takes longer than other formats, it is still faster than a real-time recording.

What version of SonicStage are you using? If yr using Vista, the newest version 4.3 is yr only option. Operating Syatems prior to Vista work better with version 4.2 ( http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=17769 ). Many people here (including myself) have had numerous problems with 4.3 on non-Vista machines. Version 4.3 doesn't offer any functionality over 4.2 aside from Vista compatibility. If you are using an older version, you'd do best to upgrade to 4.2 or 4.3 depending on yr OS. One thing you could try is just transfer a handful at a time... then the next set, and so on. "Priming the pump" as we say here. SonicStage can be picky about certain mp3 encodings regardless... Are you trying to transfer the mp3 as-is? (if so, what recorder do you have, as they aren't all mp3 compatible), usually, if yr recorder isn't mp3 compatible Sonicstage will try to convert the mp3 to Atrac3+, then transfer. For the heck of it, if you have the time or inclination could you post the encoding specs of the mp3s (i.e. encoder, bitrate, sampling frequency, etc)? The "Mr. Questionman" program is a great freeware tool for in-depth info on mp3 files: http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=5 Bottom line, there are some mp3s that trip up Sonicstage and cause errors such as this. Sometimes it is the encoding, sometimes it is the tags, sometimes it's neither. Another option would be to strip / redo the id3 tags. Failing everything SonicStage related, the other method is to burn a CD-RW or burn/mount an image of an audio CD and use SimpleBurner to transfer to Hi-MD.

With discs we run into a tricky situation. From what I understand, there is a coating of lubricant on the top part of the disc itself (where the recording head glides during recording). Cleaning and/or submerging the discs in even just plain water could mess with the lubrication. Also, if you have hard water you'd be better off using distilled or spring water IMO. I would recommend not recording on the discs after you clean them, as the recording head may then scratch the top of the disc itself.. This also includes TOC edits or anything where the data structure of the disc needs to be changed. This would be an interesting experiment though, provided you have both an extra recorder and extra discs. I wouldn't try recording on important discs after submerging them in anything though. Playback should be fine though after cleaning, as it only uses a laser/

If yr going pretty music directly from CD>MD you could try SimpleBurner (unless yr on Vista, I don;t think it's compatible)... It's available from our downloads section here. What format are you trying to get to Hi-MD? Also, are you using a standard disc or a 1GB Hi-MD disc? EDIT: Welcome to the forums by the way!

The MZ-M10 uses a standard "Mini B" (I think) connection. Regardless of the name of it, it is not proprietary. There are however a few cables that Sony has used that are in fact proprietary (MZ-NH1, etc?). But for the most part, the USB connections are USB Mini B...

Interesting, Now only if they would release the encryption keys so that we can remove DRM from recordings that have been inadvertantly locked up (or in connects case, purposefully locked)...

Another thing to try is to strip the ID3 tags from the mp3 and then try to transfer. It's been a while but I think I recall certain tags tripping SonicStage up. http://www.mp3tag.de/en/ Beyond that, perhaps convert the mp3 to WAV and import that... Is it only this particular mp3 giving you trouble or all of them?

Only time will tell, but we can hope! The RH1 is definitely built pretty sturdy by todays electronics standards, so we'll see!

Well, ours was purchased in '93... And has been used quite extensively over the past ~15 years. It still works fine.

Welcome to the club! Heres an interesting MZ-1 vs MZ-RH1 comparison I did: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16150