dex Otaku

I don't know if there's that big a difference between SS 2.0 and 2.1, but I've had no problems whatsoever transcoding mp3s from quite a wide variety of sources.

I've used it for recording from the radio [analogue, fm stereo] and it sounds okay for that. It is also [once again by analogue using binaural mics] decent for speech recordings. I wouldn't use it for most music recordings. Basically, if I know the source is pretty rough to begin with [as with broadcast TV/radio] then I'll consider using it.

The 957 has quite decent specs. I've never used one but have enough experience with M/S mics to know that there are situations where you don't want to use them - mostly where the source is liable to get very close to the mic [stereo separation disintegrates if the source is too close to one or the other side, it's okay right in front]. M/S mics are generally recommended for broadcast use [because you get a true mono mixdown without any phasing].

Sound to me like either: * You have a defective NH600 or * You have a bad USB cable or * You have a crap USB interface or * You have software running for one USB device that is interfering with the HiMD working correctly. Without more info I can't be more specific.

The M-Audio Revo 7.1 has coax digital out only, and mixer sources for recording are simply "mic/line" [both on the same slider]. There is no wave option, there is no stereo mix option. Just "mic/line". But this is what you get what when a pro/semipro company makes a consumer product.

Better prepare the mod's thwapping stick. Or do you not have those here? Maybe MacFora for unique for that.

On units that don't automatically start with a new track after the last track [numerically] on the disc, you -MUST- press "end search" first, then record. Otherwise you will be recording over whatever track the unit was sitting at beforehand. Also, most MD recorders have a 'hold' switch. Turning 'hold' on disables all of the controls on the unit itself.

Since SonicStage is pretty much what we're stuck with as NetMD and HiMD users, I think it's pretty important that Sony get it right. If their aim is to have a music library/player that is actually usable, they're going to have to listen to us eventually in order to get it right. As it stands now, SonicStage is basically little more than a nuisance that we're forced to use. As someone with a rather large music library [my mp3 collection, mostly from my own CD collection, is over 26GB] I'd like to be able to have a single comprehensive library that is easily accessible and transferrable to my HiMD without hassles. I'm not very concerned about not being able to send tracks to my friends, to be honest, since my library is mostly for personal listening, not for filesharing. I sent another long email to Sony Canada tonight detailing certain things I think they should change in SonicStage.. keeping in mind that I'm using 2.1, these are what I said: * fix the bug that occasionally corrupts tracks being uploaded from Hi-MD formatted media [specifically: it does not finish uploading the track, then corrupts the track on disc and updates DRM info to make it impossible to do anything further with the track] * Comply with SCMS standards - i.e. allow uploading from standard MD media when SCMS tags allow it. Many users are staying away from Hi-MD specifically because of this incapability. Your strict adherence to DRM'd media is ridiculous considering what MD and Hi-MD is going to be used for by most consumers: recording their own material, which they possess the copyright of. * Integrate the forthcoming wave convertor [further: make wave convertor comply with SCMS standards, allowing upload and in the clear conversion of SCMS '00' user tracks recorded from outboard A/D convertors] * An EQ would certainly be nice [i understand there was one before SS 2.1 - why remove it?] (Note: the -only- reason I wont use SS as my main player on a regular basis is its lack of even simple EQ, which my Logitech speakers require in order to level out the bass) * A way to select quality vs. speed with encoding - it's been noticed by many [myself included] that SonicStage's encoding does not sound as good as recordings made from analogue sources right on Hi-MD units, which would suggest the codecs have been compromised for speed's sake. I would rather have the best quality possible, myself, as would many others. * A way to batch-queue tracks to be encoded so they can be done at a later time would be useful, considering SS's problems with single-tasking - iTunes has SS beat in every way possible when it comes to this * For advanced users, a way to specify process priority for encoding would be useful - I am constantly manually turning down the priority of the encoder since it bogs the entire system down. By now users are accustomed to multitasking - having to leave the system alone because SS makes it completely unusable why you rip a CD or transcode some mp3s is completely unacceptable. A lower priority by default might also be a good thing to consider. * If hardware allows it, enable editing functions right on the unit controlled through USB [i.e. split, combine, etc. right on the disc, whether MD or Hi-MD, controlled by SS] * A browse window that shows artists in a list, album, and then tracks in the library [something more similar to iTunes] would make general use as a music player much easier to handle. The way things are right now, the interface can be considered awkward at best and is often frustrating as heck due to the limitation of being shown only the current album. * Information for release date [i.e. equivalent to the year tag with mp3s] should be included in tagging. Users with large collections of their own CDs that include multiple albums by one artist often look for chronological sorting. * There should be a way to specify what output device [sound card] if a user has more than one available. * Mac support would be a good thing - iTunes and iPod exist for the PC, but Sony refuses to acknowledge the Mac, cutting themselves off from an entire market which are predominantly made up of media professionals. Issues surrounding file handling that need to be addressed: * An option to have the OMG file deleted once transcoding and writing to disc has been done, rather than having multiple copies of the same track taking up space on the user's computer * An option to have the OMG file kept and the original deleted * A better delete mechanism is ABSOLUTELY needed - the current method of asking whether to remove a track from the library, delete OMG or other format files is completely useless. What if the user wants to delete only the 'other format' track and keep the OMG file in the library? There is currently no way to do this. Most of the problems here occur because users don't want the duplication and total waste of space that SS forces. * A simple way to remove dead files [especially duplicate ones that have been deleted manually outside the library since the library does not properly allow it] * As an extension to dead file removal: the choice to simply remove entries or search for the file if it has been moved. Look to Sonic Foundry's software for a good way to implement this: files that were originally placed in the same album/folder are the searched for en masse, meaning the user only specifies the search location once for a specific album, the software finds the rest automatically. * A way to differentiate between altering tags on OMG files and original files [in the case of mp3s already ripped from a user's own collection, for instance] is essential; SS has thoroughly mangled parts of my mp3 collection by first reading tags incorrectly, then writing new tags to the original files incorrectly * A way to differentiate between altering filenames based on changes to tags is necessary - i.e. an option to alter -only- OMG filenames, but leave source files alone Please.. post your wishes for changes to SS.. Maybe if a bunch of us contribute we could send a collective message to Sony's software engineers.. this is EXACTLY what they need.. to hear from us, the users, on everything from the unlikely [sCMS compliance and MD uploading] to the outlandish.. So please - post your wishes! Let's see what you want.. and let's tell them what we want! Edit: * Track numbers should be editable; they should be editable regardless of format, too * Artist names starting with "The" should not sort alphabetically under "T"; if forced to sort under the letter they belong under, they should not sort under "T" there, either

Big scary recording person? Me? I'm a hack, really. As far as a mic recommendation goes - The omnidirectional mics used for "stealth" recording rigs are actually quite good in that they're exactly the type often used as lavelier mics in the broadcast industry. Getting a simple pair of omni condensors such as those produced by Reactive Sounds [who have a presence of their own on this forum] or Sound Professionals would give you something good for general-purpose location recording, whether that be pinned to your shirt to capture the sound of your own voice, for recording concerts you attend, recording interviews, or whatever else you can think of. They're usually highly sensitive, and they're omnidirectional [they pick up sound from all directions equally well] so they can be placed almost anywhere. They also won't break the bank at under $100US for a pair of quality mics, or even a single mic if you're not interested in ever making stereo recordings. I would try to find a unit with a mic input for your purposes, though. If you're trying to keep costs down, it's much easier to deal with a single unit that cost $150 on ebay than it is to deal with having to power a recorder and preamp [which costs additional money] for something that I'm imagining you want to keep as uncomplicated as possible. Cheers.

I've experimented with the various encodings so far.. Hi-SP is the only encoding method I consider worth using, even for portable use. Hi-LP actually performs admirably well for recording from the radio, or doing voice recordings [both from analogue sources]. Even with the worst playback system, I can tell the difference between Hi-SP and LP2 like night and day. LP2 sounds like absolute garbage to me, whether over speakers, through my cheap Koss canalphones, or over my Sennheiser headphones. I almost don't know how anyone can stand it, but then, I'm hypersensitive to these things. Still, there's no way I would use this, even in a noisy environment like a car. I can hear the compression used by radio stations' computer-based libraries even at the worst of times [such as when driving down the highway at 100km/h with all the windows down in the height of summer], and it drives me nuts, to be frank. And LP2 sounds worse to me than the radio. That said, it would have been really great if there was a 128-160kbps mode for atrac3plus, which seems to perform much better at a given bitrate than atrac3, IMO. I can't really see using OpenMG PCM as I'm using standard MDs formatted to Hi-MD mode, and there's not enough space there to get much music on. What it comes down to is that I can't see myself -ever- using the Atrac3 modes at all. They all sound horrible to these ears, except for SP which appears to only be available when recording in NetMD mode from analogue sources... Which I might have to do eventually, as CBC use MDs quite extensively [all of their fielt reporters/recordists carry MD recorders]. ..And I'm about to try and test for myself whether it's real SP or not. edit: SP from analogue sounds like SP to me. I can hear the difference between it and LP2 quite readily - but [and none to my surprise] LP2 recorded from analogue sounds a heck of a lot better than that encoded by SonicStage. So - I digress - yes, I would consider using LP2 in certain situations if they improved the SS encoder. Right now it's crap, IMO.

Ahhh... I see the problem.. I'm using the actual M-Audio drivers for my Revo card, which don't support Wave as a recording source.

Yes. Yes. This is the express purpose of the aforementioned software. it is unknown at this point whether it will comply to SCMS standards and allow "SCMS 00" [first generation] digital recordings to be converted, though. The assumption is that only analogue-source recordings will be allowed to be converted to WAV. The DRM info for the track is updated to not allow any further uploads. Tracks that are uploaded can still be played from their source disc, but not transferred to a computer again. No. Totally digital, no conversions take place. No. Though MD and NetMD recordings do contain SCMS info, Sony are not complying with SCMS at this point and do not allow uploads from MD or digital playback via USB at all. Sony is requiring that DRM info be integral to whatever media audio is uploaded or played from. See previous answer. It's highly doubtful, but if enough people pressure them to re-implement SCMS compliance in SonicStage, this might be possible. See also Suggested method for uploading recordings from Hi-MD. Cheers.

People keep pointing to Audacity as being able to do this, but - how? The only sources it allows on my machine are analogue. If I try to use the TR driver to record in Audacity, it doesn't work. So how do you get to digital sources in Audacity?

How is this supposed to help? It only lets me select analogue sources.

Correction to myself: joint stereo should switch between stereo and m/s encoding based on how complex the differences are. Which is why it's called joint stereo. Given even weight for both channels, m/s encoding [mono/side or mono/difference] is lossless and should not affect the stereo image at all. [of course, in atrac3 / 3+, mp3 etc. compression, both channels aren't given the same weight] This is one method for properly side-chaining compressors and such, specifically to avoid image artifacting and phasing.

Yes, but what we need is completely free control over what we record ourselves. DRM is a crock of doo-doo.

I'm starting to look at the whole fora like that. You're welcome.

Excellent.

Here's how I understand things: You can copy to more than one disc. You can play those discs in any player. You -cannot- copy those discs to another computer. Now.. the issue of digital vs. analogue source from the recorder itself.. I believe that at the moment both digital and analogue source tracks are treated the same. When the wave convertor is released it will enable decrypting of tracks from -analogue sources only- into a WAV file. hmm.. does that sound right?

I don't actually know the answer to this question, mactra. The only specified differences in the current model line are for output amps: the 900 and NH1 use digital amps, models below those have traditional analogue [op-amps, I'm assuming] on their output. My NH700 performs quite admirably for a 'bottom end' machine. The mic pre gets a bit hissy when used in high sensitivity mode, but otherwise the only portable equipment I've ever used that was better than this was a $4k DAT recorder [and that was in 1991]. If havnig a quality pre is a priority for you, I'd suggest an outboard mic pre/batt box such as Sound Professionals sell. Eventually I will be getting one of those myself.

See here: http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5721 Then here: http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5836 And finally, here: http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5858 Cheers.

AFAIK the tuner remote works only on the NHF800. In terms of durability the NH900 has a metal front and plastic back; the NH1 is magnesium all around. I can't attest to whether that would make either as durable as some of the older units I've seen/used though. What's your budget, mactra? Perhaps a solid-state recorder might be better for you in terms of long-term durability during travel. The Marantz PMD-670 is one such unit and is made for actual broadcast use. Power tends to be a problem when travelling, though. The NH900 uses both NiMH batteries and AA with an outboard adapter - AAs being cheap and available just about everywhere, this would be my choice in terms of that criteria alone.

I concur with kurisu here, but I'd recommend the 900 over the NH1 strictly because of the battery issue.

I've noticed my NH700 doing this a couple of times. My solution has been to just wait until the unit is actually -off-, and to make sure to hit stop, etc. I don't recall any of the older units I've used doing this. Perhaps it is a firmware bug in the Hi-MD series. In the meantime, I'd suggest treating it like a CD Player: wait until it's off, when it should be fully spun down, before ejecting.

Goodgood. Happy recording.