meatbingo

Yes, the dreaded End Search button. That was one of the main things I hated about my MZ-R35. I can sort of understand why Sony might have done it, perhaps to make using an MD more like using a cassette tape, so you basically record from where you last pressed stop. Still a daft idea though.

So is there a hardware reason why other Hi-MD units can't upload old formats? I assume so as otherwise it would have been a feature of the latest Sonicstage rather than of the RH1. Is it theoretically possible that uploading of old formats could be made available on Hi-MD units other than the RH1?

I've also been searching for a new MD unit for field-recording/sampling purposes. When I saw the RH1 I was very impressed. But after a bit of research I decided to get an NH700. What swung it for me was the ability to use AAs. I have a load of high capacity NiMH rechargables that I use with my digicam. Plus it was a lot cheaper! I'll miss the ability to upload my old SP recordings, but for me personally, that isn't worth the extra cash for the RH1. Now my faithful old MZ-R35 can finally be put to rest!

Anyone seen a realistic 'street price' for this yet? Maybe it's still too early.

Ah, that's good news. I really want to get my hands on one of these. It just looks so much better in black.

Definitely black for me. Everything is silver these days. Will we be getting a black option in the UK, does anyone know?

Yeah, I record from MD into Soundforge via line-out at the moment. Then I edit the sounds for sequencing in other software. That DR77 is ideal. Exactly what I'm looking for. Can't find it for sale in the UK though, is it going to be released in the UK at all?

Thanks, it definitely looks like I'll be going for a Sharp unit. I'm not that up on the various features of MD models, but from what I've seen the Sharp models seem to have the features I want. I've just looked at the manual for the DR7 and it confirms that it remembers the recording mode! That's really important to me as I record mostly in Mono and it's such an annoyance to have to set it every time I record. Especially when I need to capture something fast and the MD is in my pocket! Is this (remembering the record mode) common to all Sharp recorders? The DR7 certainly looks great for my needs, the only thing is that I couldn't see was that it recorded from the remote, but I may have missed it. Anyway, it's something I could do without as long as I can feel for the record button in my pocket. I do a lot of stealth recording and want to have as much control as I can without being seen. :grin: Only other problem seems to be the lack of Sharp units in the UK.

Well, anything up to around £200, but for the right model I'd be prepared to go higher.

Well, after deciding that Hi-MD is not for me (at least not until it fulfils its potential) I need to find a replacement MD recorder for my failing MZ-R35. I use MD primarily (that is pretty much exclusively) for field-recording samples for use in my music. I'd like a recorder that I didn't need to use end-search on, that could remember mono-mode recording (does such a thing exist?) and that had the ability to start recording from the remote. Is there a portable deck that fits these criteria? I'm thinking that there probably isn't, but hope I'm wrong. I'd appreciate any pointers to suitable recorders. Thanks.

I know Sony have a vested interest, but the amount of people that might pirate music using minidisc is miniscule next to those who use MP3 for the same purpose. And besides, I (and many others) only want to upload and edit unique recordings that I have made myself. Those that Sony have no copyright over. In fact, the more I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony already have (and have had) the Wav conversion utility ready for as long as they've had Hi-MD. I think this is more a case of differing departments with differing interests. The engineering arm of Sony possibly intended Hi-MD to be fully uploadable, but were hampered by the music company side, who paranoically feared that they'd lose a few quid. Get real Sony, whatever money you might lose through piracy, you'd gain many times over through sales of fully functional Hi-MD units to people who use them for genuine unique recording purposes.

What Sony need to do to make up for their lack of insight into user's needs when (hopefully not if) they make their mythical Wav converter, is make it as simple as possible. What I'd like to see would be a simple uploader program that would allow me to browse the contents of a minidisc and preview them before choosing the ones I would like to convert to Wav. Then it would upload these files, convert them and place them in my designated folder. Why do I get the feeling that it won't be that simple. I can imagine having to upload to Sonicstage first, then have to launch the seperate Wav converter. Talking about real-time workarounds just doesn't work for me. That's not what Hi-MD was supposed to be about. I've been real-time uploading since 1998! This was supposed to be the thing that should have happened when NetMD came out. I really hope Sony get this Wav program right. That's if it happens at all. If not, then surely someone could crack the format and write a third-party converter? Let's hope either happen soon.

I didn't realise that. I thought that any analogue recording would be convertable to wav. I mean I don't have any problem with using 256 ATRAC, but like you say it doesn't make sense not to be able to convert PCM recordings. Basically, the more obstacles Sony put in place, the more pointless it becomes to me. I'd rather just stick with my current method of recording via my M-Audio Audiophile into Soundforge. I like minidisc, I've used it for five years and got used to it, but it SHOULD be much easier to get recordings from MD to PC and actually do things with those recordings. I've looked into other options, but just don't like the idea of carrying a hard disc around and all those HD units just don't seem designed for recording. And anyway, how hard is it to make a wav converter?! Hurry up Sony!

For me, the whole point of interest regarding the new Hi-MD format was being able to upload faster than real time and convert to wav. Everything else, like the larger storage capacity was just icing. Real time workarounds are pointless for me because I don't care about keeping things digital, I just want faster uploading. What's worse for me is that my old MZ-R35 is starting to act weird, like track numbers changing on their own and seeming to get stuck on certain tracks. I think it's soon about to die on me, so I need a replacement. But until there is a way of converting recordings to wav faster than realtime I'm not going to be buying a Hi-MD unit. So, when CAN we expect Sony to release the wav converter? Will it even ever appear? And when it does, will it do the job properly or just be a half-hearted effort?

My local Index shop had them in the catalogue but they were all out of stock, not surprisingly. Currys told me they'd have them by the end of the month, but the guy I spoke to also showed me an 80 minute blank and told me it was a Hi-MD disc, so... :whatever: £189 is an amazing price for the NH1. I'm almost tempted to place an order.

I got the impression from reading other posts that we would only be able to upload recordings made in compressed formats. For me, being able to record in PCM and upload then convert to WAV would be the ideal. Like you say, a conversion from PCM to WAV should be quick and excellent quality. I hope this is the case.

This WAV conversion program sounds interesting (and essential for how I want to use the Hi-MD), but surely it should be something built into Sonicstage rather than a seperate app? Having to upload the recordings into Sonicstage and then having to use another program to convert them into WAVs before loading them into Soundforge for editing sounds somehow less appealing than just recording the output of my MD player directly into Soundforge, which is what I do now... :

Quick question - Will I be able to upload recordings made with my old MD (MZ-R35) with a new Hi-MD unit?