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philpem

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Everything posted by philpem

  1. I think it's something along the lines of: - Sony set the trade price, i.e. the price they charge retailers for the machines - The individual retailer adds their markup - The retailer sells to the public at that price Last time I checked, the Sony Centres were all franchises. IIRC Jones of Oakwood run (or at least used to run) the Leeds Sony Centre, but I'm not sure who runs the Leicester one.
  2. I emailed them - they've "just sold out". I got one of my own from the local Sony Centre (Leeds) this morning. Even got a pair of HiMD discs free with it.. Not for me - Connect doesn't like my user account. "Licence is not valid for this software / computer". Fine, I'll keep getting my CDs from HMV and Play.com then, and rip them to MD as I've done before. I'm doing an MEng in Software Engineering. Good fun actually, and not too difficult. Well, aside from the comp. sci side of things, which is stuffed full with meaty chunks of very messy and nasty maths... It'll be nice to get the lectures recorded without swapping MDs mid-lecture. 46 hours per disc should be enough to get around 50 lectures recorded. I've got a drawer full of 80min MDs too. Need to work out how much stuff you can squeeze on to a HiMD-formatted 80min MD though...
  3. Indeed it will. Shame Connect won't let me log in ("your licence is not valid for this computer"), but I don't really care as long as I can rip from CD to MD. The only thing I really don't like is the little fleece pouch. For £229 they could probably have done a bit better, but the machine itself is pretty much flawless. I think I'm going to leave the filter blocks off the remote cable though - they're a bit on the heavy side. That's not mentioning the fact that (knowing my luck) they'll probably get caught on something in my pocket, then I'll either end up with the contents of my pocket all over the floor, or I'll end up with a broken remote... I think I'm going to scuttle off and cut up a screen protector for the RH1 before the plastic display cover gets scratched. Ideally I'd like my cute little MD recorder to remain cute for as long as possible. At the moment I'm handling it like the proverbial bottle of nitroglycerine...
  4. I've just got back from town with a new toy.. a brand-new MZ-RH1. Picked it up from the Leeds Sony Centre this morning (they had one more - call ahead if you want it). Price was £229, and they threw in a pack of two 1GB HiMD discs as well. I guess, in effect, I've paid £219 for the machine, which isn't too bad. It's a European model (obviously) - half the box weight consisted of no less than half a dozen copies of the instruction manual, in English, French, German, Spanish and a few other languages I don't recognise. For extra bonus points, they only got them in stock this morning It's been out of its box for ten minutes, and I'm in love. The sound quality is unbelievable - I haven't had to do any EQ tweaking to get decent sound out of my MX500s (I had to up the bass a little on my MZ-N710), and it's quite happy playing my old MDs. I'll have a look in my junk box to see if I've got a mini-USB connector, then I'm going to look into modding one of my old EBUs (External Battery Unit - basically a pair of NiMH AAs and a 5V step-up converter with overvoltage protection) to run the RH1. I'm installing SonicStage now (I feel dirty...) but I plan to use Simpleburner as much as possible. It's nice to get that with the player instead of having to hunt for it and install it manually... It does look nice sitting on my varnished pine computer desk, too (sorry, I'm a compulsive show-off, but I rarely ever have anything new enough and nice enough to be worth showing off...) If anyone wants to see the RH1 sitting next to my old N710, let me know and I'll dig out my camera. Now to cancel that "pre-order"... Thanks folks!
  5. I've got an RH1 on preorder with ASK. Unfortunately they're still waiting for stock (apparently Sony have pushed back 'a number of' deliveries). Just to add insult to injury, the price has gone up to £229, which now means I'd have been better off picking one up from the Leeds Sony Centre when they still had them in. Life has this wonderful way of kicking you when you're down. On the plus side, that gives me a few more weeks to save up the money for the MDR, and I can probably afford to replace the broken computer chair too. On the negative side, it's beginning to look very unlikely that I'll have an MZ-RH1 in time to take it with me when I go back to university in September I wonder if Ogormans have any left in stock...
  6. I read that as: - If you format an MD disc that has DRM'd music (i.e. stuff from CONNECT) on it, you'll lose the transfer authorisations that were used to transfer that music to the disc. - If you format a HiMD disc, the authorisations will be restored to the computer when you next hook the RH1 up to the PC with the newly formatted disc in the drive. Dunno, maybe I've got it wrong?
  7. Looks like a nice microphone - shame I don't speak a word of German. They're beautifully made though, going by the pictures... I built a couple of microphones (a stereo "stealth" similar to the one you're selling and a mono plug-type mike) with some Projects Unlimited POM-2738L microphone elements. Sound quality from the stereo mic is really nice. I really need to re-cover them, though (the Araldite didn't last very long). Heatshrinking might be a bit difficult though - they're absolutely tiny - 2.7mm long by 6mm diameter. The specsheet is at http://web.pui.com/AudioCommerce/images/ca...s/POM-2738L.pdf if you're interested.
  8. I think the blue tint is meant to improve the contrast of the display, and maybe to make it easier to read in daylight. That or it's just there to make the MD player look that tiny little bit cooler
  9. I seem to recall there being a case called an "Otterbox" that some PDA users were buying. I don't know if they still make them, but they made them in a few different sizes. IIRC the big selling feature was that if you dropped the (closed) case into a swimming pool or other "large body of water", the case would float...
  10. I think hell is likely to freeze over before I buy a minidisc recorder from an eBay seller...
  11. I nipped down to the Leeds Sony Centre the other week (admittedly that's not in London, but I figured it was worth mentioning anyway). Up until last week they had a couple in stock at £229.99. Went in yesterday and they'd sold it, with no more stock expected until the end of August/middle of September, "and that's assuming Sony send us any". Might give ASK Direct a nudge - I've got an RH1 backordered through them, and I'm wondering if they've been affected by Sony's acts of 'creative rescheduling'...
  12. And then you'll have people whining at the customer service reps that their laptop won't charge. They'll return the laptop.. and the "charge enable" switch will be in the "Off" position. Generally, with Li-ions, you can't leave them on charge all the time (unless you like the idea of the battery ejecting flaming electrolyte and other crap through the safety vent). All Li-ion chargers detect end-of-charge and stop charging the battery when that point is reached. Well, there are the cheap "import" and "non-OEM" chargers that are cheap for a reason, but given that Sony actually makes Li-ion batteries themselves (via their Sony Energytec division), you'd expect them to know what they're doing
  13. Personally I'd take a piece of paper and fold it over the front of the MD player to get an idea of how big the cover needs to be. Then cut that piece of paper along the creases and make sure it matches the MD player. Keep going until it covers the display. Now cut a screen protector down to that size, peel it off and stick it on the display. Make sure the display's clean first - a (clean!) microfibre cloth and a bit of water should get any fingermarks and dirt off without scratching it.
  14. >>fabric case with a belt-clip. Do Sony still bundle these with the MZ-RH1, or not? >GRF - I am afraid not, all the R+D dollars were blown on the unit itself. It comes with a usless cloth bag. Well, as long as it stops the MD getting all scratched up.. > GRF - The ear buds are junk and unmarked so stay with you MX500's That's what I planned to do anyway - the MX500s have gained some "I can't believe they still work!" value after they survived a trip through the washing machine in my trouser pocket. I wonder if the earbuds are a sneaky way to get around the European "volume limit" legislation. I seem to recall the wording is something to the effect of "less than 100dBa output with the stock earphones" -- bundle cheap, ultra-inefficient earphones with the thing and in theory you'd be able to give it a 5mW output without incurring the Wrath of the Law . Just idle speculation - IANAL... > GRF The remote is a nice Black RM-MC38EL which is a good remote. I have tried it with a RM-MC40ELK and it is not worth it as the display does not show the full information possible (Group AND Track for example). In other words, a backlit RM-MC33L with a HiMD indicator on it. Nice. > GRF - The RH1 is a very nice machine, its definately a show-off item which will impress. Then it's probably a waste buying one - I tend to shove my Minidisc into my coat pocket and leave it there. I'm not much of a show-off, unless someone actually asks about it... I must admit, the upload feature is tempting. I'm a student, so my MD gets used a lot for recording lectures and such. At the moment I'm stuck fumbling around with line-out patch leads and audio recording software... Ah well, I've got until the end of the month to decide - thanks for answering my questions, GRF.
  15. Hi guys, I've just ordered an MZ-RH1 from Ask Online - ETA for stock is the end of this month, which gives me about two weeks to scrape together some more cash. But until then, I've got a few little questions for any of the lucky few who managed to get one of the first-run units: I've got a feature-hacked MZ-N710 at the moment, and it came with a little fabric case with a belt-clip. Do Sony still bundle these with the MZ-RH1, or not? What's the download (PC-to-MD) speed like, in comparison to NetMD (MZ-N710 or similar)? Has anyone done a real-world test on the lifetime (i.e. charge to full, hit play, see how long it lasts) of the RH1's Li-ion battery? Does anyone know what earbuds the UK-model RH1 comes with? I've got some Sennheiser MX500s so I'm not too fussed if the bundled 'buds are junk; I just want to know for the sake of curiosity Finally, does anyone know which remote control is included with the UK-model RH1? Thanks.
  16. Let's see.. what am I listening to.. OK, this is what's in my MZ-N710 at the moment: 1- King Konga - Something Good (full album) 2- The Beautiful South - Gaze (most of the album) 3- The Beautiful South - Solid Bronze: Great Hits (full album) And on other MDs: - Linda Ronstadt: Greatest Hits - Lucie Silvas - Travis: Singles - Keane: Hopes and Fears - REM: Around The Sun - REM: In Time - The Best of REM (1st CD only, I've got the 2-CD set) - Green Day: American Idiot - Gorillaz: Demon Days Now what I'd really like to get my mitts on is copies of the other two King Konga albums (Halo and Monkey See Monkey Groove). Chance of finding them in the UK is pretty slim though - none of the staff at the local HMV or Virgin Megastores had even heard of King Konga. Same applies to everyone I've mentioned them to Damn shame really, their music is great. IMO of course, not everyone has the same "weird, mixed up" taste in music that I do One of these days I'll buy a HiMD. The MZ-RH10 looks nice (the one with the green-blue OLED display).
  17. Uninstall MS Hotfix KB840987 through the "Add/Remove Programs" applet in Control Panel, then Sonicstage and Simpleburner should start working again. It took me three reinstalls to find this out.... Later.
  18. I had that earlier this week. I removed a bunch of service packs and ended up with a machine that wouldn't boot. After reinstalling, I started installing Hotfixes one by one. The one that kills OpenMG/NetMD/Simpleburner/Sonicstage is Windows 2000 KB840987. If you're using Windows 2000 (or XP, not sure if the same patch applies to XP), DO NOT INSTALL KB840987. It relates to MS Security Bulletin MS04-32 iirc. Later.
  19. Already have. I installed the MD driver kit off the Sonicstage 1.5 CD I got with my '710, skimmed through the MD FAQ and grabbed the Sonicstage 2 installer. If they've removed checkin/checkout I might give it a shot. Will do - thanks. Cheaper than the "We might be able to get you one, but it'll probably take a few weeks and cost about ninety quid" response I got from the local Sony spare-parts dealer. I'll keep an eye open - there's bound to be someone who dropped their '810 down a set of concrete stairs, smashed the casing and wants to recover some of their investment Thanks.
  20. First off, my MZ-N710 (I actually wanted an MZ-N910 but the local Sony Centre had one listed in stock but couldn't find it!) is my first MD recorder of any type, so if I make any silly assumptions or say something that's downright incorrect, feel free to comment I've read various messages on this forum regarding the low output on the MZ-N710. Just out of interest, what headphones/earphones/whatever are you guys using with your N710s? I've got a set of Sony MDR-Q22LP clip-ons. When coupled with my N710 at full volume, the output is downright painful. Sony's specsheet for the Q22LP lists the sensitivity at 103dB/mW. Does anyone have the specs for the "stock" in-ear "blob-on-a-stick" earphones that Sony bundle with the N710? I'm from the UK and my N710 came from a Sony Centre store, so I guess it's probably the European "crippled" version. Only thing worth noting is that it's a refurbished unit, so I guess it might be possible that it was sent back due to low sound output, then modified to provide 5mW output instead of 1.2mW by whoever worked on it... BTW, thanks to whoever came up with the "Nero and SimpleBurn" trick to bypass the check-in/check-out DRM on SonicStage. Very nice Anyone have any suggestions for low-cost microphones suitable for the N710? What about online music services - is anyone using iTunes or Sony CONNECT with an MD recorder? Finally, besides Ebay, does anyone know where I could get one of the Sony RM-MC11EL backlit MD remotes reasonably cheaply? Thanks,
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