dex Otaku

SP mode via optical is true SP. SP compatibility mode from SS is actually LP2 padded out. What you're listening to is actually LP2.

Use the SS backup tool.

Discussion can be useful, yes. There are, however, only so many billion times you can reinvent the wheel.

I can't help but disagree with this. I would say first - transcode to a minimum of the same bitrate. Second - any transcoding represents another generation of loss. The higher the rate you transcode to, the less audible the loss. If your desire is to maintain the quality of the file you already have, then transcode at the most transparent rate possible, even if it means doing so at twice the original bitrate. Knowing your codecs and where their threshholds of audible artifacting are helps, too - i.e. using 352kbps a3+ may be overkill when 256kbps is transparent enough already for a 192kbps MP3, and 192kbps a3+ might be noticeably degraded. At any rate, the only way to find out what works best is to try it yourself, and determine on your own what you perceive to be the best compromise. Your perception will be different from others', period, as this is totally subjective. Some people find HiLP encoding perfectly listenable for music, whereas others like myself find the artifacting to be near-equivalent to nails on a blackboard. What you like is up to you. And really [Chris G], that's why I find threads like this kind of silly - you're asking a purportedly objective question about something that is completely subjective. My advice? Spend the 15 minutes to find what works best for you. No one else's advice on the matter is tailored to your perception, so no matter what anyone else says, it's not the "right" answer [since really, there is no "right" answer].

So - what you're saying is basically this: Any company that produces any hardware must guarantee compatibility and interoperability with all future formats and media, even those completely unforeseen at the time of the format's original design. MD was designed as an audio format, to be used with SP/DIF and analogue connections. SCMS was the limit of DRM at that point in time, which I might add was 14+ years ago [not the date of introduction, but of format development]. It was NOT designed with computers in mind, not at all. NetMD itself was pretty much a hack of the original design, with limited DRM that quite honestly relied on the fact that uploading was impossible. Given the fleeting nature of "state of the art," I'd say that MD's continued-development-life of about 10-12 years [the point after which I at least consider the format to be deprecated, since they halted further development, but not support, of both the legacy hardware and codecs around 2001 or 2002] was not unreasonable. Technology, particularly in the worlds of storage media, connectivity, personal computers, and audio codec design has progressed a long way since MD came out in 1992. I think it's fairly ridiculous that anyone should expect that the format be supported indefinitely, especially if current technology that isn't even state-of-the-art itself surpasses the capabilities of the format in question quite easily by several orders of magnitude. I do not however find it unreasonable that customers ask for an upgrade path [i.e. the ability to upload recordings asis and play them on other formats by the same company, or at least to be able to upload the data in an open format so they can move to any other medium more or less unrestricted] so they can move beyond the obsolete format with fair ease. I'll reiterate something I've said a number of times on this board already: Given the recent changes in SS's handling of DRM with HiMD [i.e. allowing removal of copy protection, allowing multiple uploads, allowing conversion to WAV of optical-sourced recordings, allowing of ripping without copy protection to begin with, &c.] there is no longer any supportable rationale for excluding digital-domain uploading of legacy MD / MDLP-format recordings to PCs, whether that be with future netMD units [unlikely since it appears the development of such has already ended as I mentioned above] or with HiMD units [more likely since the format itself is still basically in its infancy and has not been officially axed at this point]. Point being: at the very least, I feel that Sony should provide an upgrade path that will let users copy their legacy recordings digitally with as little generation loss as possible via USB. Some of the practical parts for doing this exist already: SS with upload features, and HiMD with bi-directional transfers and backward-compatibility. Implementing this is a matter of doing the following: * including this functionality in future units, most likely HiMD, by writing firmware that supports it * possibly patching the firmware of older units, also most likely HiMD, to support it * writing the relevant modules for SS If MD had been released as a more open format, with basic hardware designs and audio codecs basically free of licensing costs, I'm pretty sure it would have proliferated much farther than it has. As reality stands, MD was basically a closed, proprietary format. Some companies did license the technology to develop their own versions of hardware [and that kind of licensing basically implies that they make no significant changes during development that would break compatibility]. The end result of this was that the only company who could extend the format's capabilities was Sony. Their interest in doing so with a format that actually shows very little future promise compared to other current media actually makes the development of netMD at such a late date fairly surprising to me. To expect any further extension of the original format is basically wishful thinking. To go back to the 8-track analogy - the made stereo 8-tracks and quadraphonic ones as well. By your logic, they would have been obligated to make 8-track digital, extend its playing times, &c. Final point being: there's a time to accept that something is dead [which MD, by all indications, is], and let go of it; hopefully the makers of the format will also provide a bridge to ensure that content stored on their media can be moved elsewhere before it disappears completely. They are not, however, actually under any obligation to do so.

Well, into the usual list of things to check then [some for problems with any piece of software, some specifically for SS and SB]: * what else is running? can you close the other programs and see if SB works then? * what else is running in the systray [down by the clock on the title bar]? can you stop/shut down these systray programs and see if SB works then? * does the software behave the same whether you have a netMD/HiMD plugged in via USB or not? * are you plugging your player in using a USB hub? DON'T. Plug straight into a port on your PC. * are there other USB devices plugged in that might be interfering somehow? Unplug anything other than your pointing device [mouse/trackball]. * have you scanned for adware/spyware/malware of any kind recently? Chances are the problem your experiencing is not caused by SB itself, but by something else you are running. Chances also are that whatever is causing the problem is something that you're not even aware is running.

Why MD/HiMD won't replace audio cassettes: [and this relates to why CD- and DVD-R won't replace 1/4" tape] Tape is mechanical, and electromagnetic. There is absolutely no need for digital circuitry of any kind to be involved in the manufacture of a tape recorder or player. Ergo, facilities and/or countries with low-tech manufacturing [i.e. developing nations] can build or repair a tape machine, but don't have a hope in hell of building a CD player, MD recorder, DAT, &c. The most complicated "unknowns" of tape recording/playback involve things like recording bias and pre/de-emphasis equalisation. Bias depends on tape formulation, and actually isn't required at all for units to record [it's not used during playback at all], all that suffers is linearity - you still get a recording, though. Pre/de-emphasis are well-established in well-publicised standards that have been around for many, many years. No mysteries there, no patents to worry about, no proprietary encoding formats [unless you want to get into noise reduction or dynamic range compansion], no special concerns about only one brand of tape working .. Old-tech has many advantages that newer technologies don't and even can't have. Foremost among them are design simplicity, all-analogue construction, and potential longevity [as a format, not of a specific tape] that no digital format can even begin to profess to compete with. 100 years from now, your descendants will be able to take some bits of metal, some coils of wire, and the simplest analogue circuitry [whether they use tube, transister, op-amp, or what have you] along with some motors and other parts [which they'll likely be able to find in junkyards] and make a working tape player, assuming that no one is making players at that point. Do you think they'd stand a chance of making a CD player? MD player? DVD player? Do you think anyone will still be making any of those? Digital formats are closed-loops. They will die, and with their death, we'll be left with tonnes of media that will be completely inaccessible for the rest of eternity [or at least, until someone decides to spend the carloads of money required to manufacture one single player, assuming they can find the infomation on the built-in proprietary systems used by most digital formats that will even allow them to do anything with the data they contain].

I have experienced this with the NH700 and RH10, in HiSP and PCM modes. My assupmtion is that the fault applies across all models of both generation 1 and generation 2 recorders. It appears to be caused by a bug in the track marking routine's seek-ahead buffer, and could be related to the sector size used by HiMD or by the framesize of whichever format is being recorded. Depending on what you're recording, this may or may not be a problem for you. The only time it's actually bothered me was with a live recording [30+ hours worth] made "off the board" via line-in [of both the NH700 and RH10 at different times] .. crowd noise, stage noise &c. would experience tiny repeated sections at the trackmarks. If your recording doesn't have background noise like this, you shouldn't even be able to notice that it's happening.

What versions of SS and SB came with the player? What version of Windows are you running? What servicepack level are you updated to? Have you updated your SS to v3.4? It may or may not solve the problem to try installing the version of SB in the downloads section here. It might also help to disable SB's "load at windows startup" option.

atrain++

See here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8071 Once done removing SS, install v3.4.

There's nothing there to see, really. The actual "site" that used to be there has been removed [by me] and its only remaining function is as an image server [the original reason I set it up anyway].

It doesn't really make it any more vulnerable to hacking than it was beforehand. What it -does- do is make you a more visible target, since you are now inviting incoming traffic. Apache itself is unlikely to be the source of any hacking troubles [unless you install insecure scripting modules or something]. I have been running Apache on my home [Windows] machine since about 1998. In that time I've never had a single successful hack related to Apache. I get logged attempts on the server every single day, but most of them are aimed at attacking various exploits of Microsoft server software [the rest are aimed at specific Perl, PHP, Python &c. scripts that are http server-independent]. The fact that Apache runs the majority of the net, but that nearly all exploit attempts are aimed at MS products is rather telling, if you ask me. I'll note that in that same time period, I've also never had anyone successfully hack my machine by any other means. As an addendum to that: since 1998 I've had a pretty steady logged attack attempt rate of between 100-500 per DAY when using broadband connections of any kind. And no one has ever gotten in, that I'm aware of. Mind you .. I run AV software with scanning turned OFF 75% of the time, and I don't run anti-malware scans more than once a month; despite this, and the fact that I use the net daily, I have never gotten a virus that I did not apply myself out of curiosity [i was about to reinstall anyway] and I don't get adware, spyware, popups, worms, or trojans. This is mostly because I know how to avoid them by using available tools such a firewall software properly. It's also because the only reason I ever open Internet Exploder is to run Windows Update. In the end, it's important for me to say, perhaps, that my suggestion above is more jest than anything else. The majority of users do not have the time nor the inclination to learn how to manage a server themselves. Anyone not willing to learn what needs to be done should clearly NOT attempt to do so.

As has been stated in the other threads that talk about this: * it only happens when recording with line-in [which has auto-trackmarking which can not be turned off] * the repeated sections are made by the recorder itself while recording, not during the import process * this is a hardware issue, not a software issue I suspect that combining tracks on the disc itself before uploading will not get rid of the repeated sections, as they are caused by the recorder in the first place. The only way to get around this is to upload, convert to WAV, and then check every track boundary during editing - and remove every repeated section yourself.

Install Apache and a DYNDNS client, use your own puter as a webserver. You have total control, you pay no one for anything but your ISP bills, you have access to raw logs... Been doing it for years.

1 - AFAIK, the M100 comes only in black. 2 - As I have no access to an actual M100, I have no way to answer this. If someone with an M100 can confirm or deny that the MP3 playback is consistent with the RH10's [i.e. the rolloff above 1kHz dropping to -9dB around 10kHz and holding above that], that would be nice. 3 - Because Sony are like any corporation. They rebrand their own product, tweak a couple of things in the firmware [most likely just the USB device ID] so it will work with Macs, and then add a bunch to the price tag. As others have pointed out, the M100 usually also comes with a basic microphone as well. In the end, what you're supposedly paying extra for is Mac compatibility, even though they could probably add it to every single RH10 already out there with a simple firmware upgrade, at 0 cost to the users.

lame isn't a system codec. It's either a .exe or .dll which is usable from any given program that knows how to use it. SS relies on directshow filters, which lame is not one of. As for how to fix it, count me lazy on this one - there are so many possible things to go wrong with just a mp3 dshow codec alone .. trying to step a user through finding if they have one that's misbehaving or is missing is, IMO, something that has to be done by actually looking at their system. Telling them to go to the codecs control panel is next to useless advice, because even if there's anything obvious listed, there's no telling if it's working or not just from the information presented there. Aside from this, there are other dshow/ACM codecs that install and don't show up in that list at all, yet have the gaul to hijack other filters already installed [some DVD software include codecs like this]. IMO, there is no simple advice on how to fix this, because there are too many fault permutations involved. If someone is really desperate and is willing to use remote desktop to allow me to try and figure out what the issue is, I'm usually game.

If you're recording with a mic which is powered by the unit - this is actually normal and will happen regardless of what AC adapter you use. Solution: buy good batteries. [P.S. If you find this offensive, I'll note that film sound recordists generally carry around a cart of equipment that includes not only a heavy-duty AC filter, but also a lead-acid 12V battery and a power inverter for equipment that requires AC power .. When possible, they'll NOT use mains power specifically to avoid all the problems it causes. So, don't be offended by being told that using a <$1 battery is the best option when pros spend thousands on equipment to do exactly the same thing.]

Not to be too obvious, but in the very forum you posted this in, several lines up, and stickied: How To Record From Any Line Source i.e. stereo components with outputs

No, it doesn't. "My Library", for all intents and purposes, is a database only. Tracks should only have one file associated with them* unless you have transcoded them to another format using SS. Also, if you move tracks on your hdd, SS will lose track of them, since My Library is really just an index of pointers to the files your have added to it. * - notwithstanding the SS bug that adds the same tracks to the library multiple times [creates duplicates] if you add playlists containing the same track

cdex &c. use the lame dll. That is NOT a system codec. Last I recall [within 2 months ago] the lame acm wrapper [which enables its partial use as a system codec, and that's for encoding only if I'm not mistaken] is still experimental and unstable. Point being - the lame dll is NOT a system codec, and is completely useless to SS [which requires a directshow filter]. The ACM wrapper is unstable and [last I knew] still for encoding only, also making it useless to SS.

Perhaps for noobs. JetAudio 6. Falls. Flat. Compared. To. Fb2k.

Good point. I tend to miss that one myself, since I don't even own [and never have owned] a component DVD player.

Why not just rip the section of the DVD that you want, and demux the audio?

Is the lame ACM codec not still experimental and stated to be "very unstable"?