SilverBlade

How about a date for Canada?

Its funny how they called it a 'Universal Mini Disc'..when...only ONE product had the capabilities to read it. Compact Disc is universal, Floppy is universal..UMD..ha.

I'm looking forwards to an english review as well.

I love making 'mix discs'... It forces one to pick and choose their favorite songs. Spending near 500 dollars for the convienence of carrying all of your music is insane to me. "Well, a Personal CD player can do that" Physically, they are TOO big, plus, if you get tired of one song..you have to format the whole disc..lame. Minidisc is perfect size. Most flash-players are almost -too- small for me. And I'd hate to be tied to 1 gig of music on my player, I like to switch songs and not have to use a computer for that. I'd love to see an mp3 player come out which uses *cheap* re-recordable media like minidisc that one can switch at will. If not, I guess I'll wait for the RH-1..or the 'downloader' version of it.

For me, looks arn't that important, its the features that are important. The reason NetMD and Hi-MD didn't sell well is because they didn't playback mp3 files. (that's my theory anyways.). If they did play back mp3's (NON-CRIPPLED) from the start then they would have had better sales. I think it would be a mistake for Sony to market MD as a pure recording format only and not for playback purposes. They should, at least, market it for both types of crowds I love the idea of removable storage that Hi-MD offers. $12 (canadian) for 1 gig is reasonable, $60 for a 1 gig SD card is not. Also, Hard-drive players arn't for me (who *needs* 20 gigs with them at all times?..that's crazy), and I hate the limited amount of space flash-players have. CD/MP3 players I hate with a passion..can't erase a single song without formatting the whole disc. When I read that the 2nd gen units could play mp3's, I almost purchased one..then I read it was cripped..that deterred me from purchasing it. Now that it is not (apparently), I'd be willing to buy one if they offered a unit without the mic input. I think Sony would make a mistake by not offering one now.

I hope more 3rd gen units come out, and not just one.

I'm there there are others like me that don't have a need for recording. I personally like the idea of switching discs (I was born in 1984, I'm used to making mix-tapes and mix-CD's of my favorites). I don't see a point in carrying ALL of my music with me. Plus, the ability to replace the music on the go is a nice feature. Flash-based memory is expensive compared to Hi-MD media.

Are more 3rd generation units going to come out? If I was going to get into minidisc again, I'd only get a 'downloader' unit..

I am going to be purchasing a car stereo with a USB port to listen to mp3s while driving. I was originally going to purchase a 1 gig USB drive to use with it, but another thought occured to me: I can use a Hi-MD player as a USB reader. Some things I'd like to know: 1) Is this a good idea? 2) Do I need to install any software for Windows to detect the Hi-MD unit as a removable drive? If I do, then my idea won't really work 3) Would this require batteries? or would the USB be able to power the unit while being used as a data drive? This would be a lot better (to me) because of the cost of Hi-MD media vs cost of flash drives.

I too, want a unit like it which plays mp3's properly. Flash memory is still too expensive, and I personally have zero need for recording, only playing. I've also heard the saying "If you want an mp3 player, get an mp3 player, minidisc is for recording." I'm sure a unit like this will never ever exist by the time I need portable music. I'm opting for a car stereo with a USB port instead, as the car is the only place I'll be needing portable music.

Sony probably thinks "Any music recording on OUR machines is OURS and not that of the person who recorded it, even though the music being recorded isn't ours" My thoughts anyways, We all know that Sony is famous for making stupid decisions

I say let them do this. It only pushes honest people into copying. They will go bankrupt at this rate

I'm planning on purchasing the RH910 in about June or July. I only intend to play mp3's on the unit and will only convert them to atrac3 if its necessary. Most of my mp3's are 192kbs and above. Not many are below 192, but some are. I do know that one must adjust the equaliser on the player in order for the mp3's to sound right. For those who do own the RH910, is it possible to adjust the equaliser while playing a song? or do you have to adjust the equaliser while the player is stopped?. My intent is to use it through the car stereo by hooking this up to it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOY-AUX-Toy...sspagenameZWD1V (I've done the research, and my car can support this product)

You don't need to convert mp3's to atrac to play on the 2nd gen Hi-MD units. Sonic Stage just wraps them in DRM.

I recently just purchased the entire Transformers (g1) series on DVD. 13 DVD's in all for $60 from ebay. I'm also *thinking* about getting an RH910 in the future, around June/July

I would like to know Sony's future MD plans as well. More units? Good mp3 playback? drag and drop? bigger discs?... Even though it seems like MD is dieing (even cassette's are easier to come by), I hope they arn't scrapping the MD tech altogether. I like it, I just don't like how its been executed.

My friend, who is selling his MZ-N707 (blue) to me, with 10 discs, for $90. He's used it about 10 times, so its in good condition. Should I go for this, even though it doesn't have mp3 playback on it? Or is this grosely overcharging for an older model of NetMD?

I really don't think there will be a 3rd gen of Hi-MD...why? well..have you noticed that most retailers, outside of ebay and internet shopping sites do not sell any minidisc units at all?. The consumers have said "Too much restriction, we're going to HD or flash". I think that is what sony is going to do, release more flash-based and hard drive based units and let MD die. I used to own an MZN-707. It was good, I just hated the conversion process. If Sony had let their consumer electronics division give us drag and drop without sonic stage at the NetMD generation, then there wouldn't be as many flash or HD players out there. They came into the mp3 game a little late, and lost the market to flash, HD, and mp3/CD. Unless I see a Hi-MD unit which has drag and drop without sonic stage, I'm not using it again, unless of course, I can get a Net MD or Hi-MD unit at a more then reasonable price.

sorry about the double post, and for not having the poll up..for some reason it didn't work for me. >.<

The reason I'm asking this, is because I may want to get an mp3 player for my car. Since I'm getting my mothers car, she doesn't want me to remove the stereo. So I'm getting a wired FM modulator. My choice is with the mp3 player. I don't want to get an mp3 player which has a built in battery which forces you to send it to the manufacturer and have it replaced at $50/battery. BUT..they do have software which is easier to use then sonic stage. So..I'd like peoples opnion..If you had to choose one of these, which one would you choose? 1) Easy to use stable software + non-user replacable batteries 2) Crappy software + user-replacable batteries. This is the choice I have to make.

in the 2nd gen Hi-MD units, is the mp3 playback limited? I've been reading on minidisc threads about the mp3 playback is not that great. Is that true?

unfortunatly, this will only excite current users of minidisc/Hi-MD. I doubt this will bring more customers onto the MD scene. An example of "Too little too late" from Sony comes to mind.

Speaking of DVDR, I'd so love a car stereo that played mp3's burned onto a DVDR, I would buy that in a flash

who uses MD anymore in canada? I don't since my 707 broke and have found very little reason to get another MD unit (buggy software, Units not sold in stores, Sony Rootkit fiasco)

So..in other words, don't bother with the format, get an mp3/CD deck?