Tristan

hi bob, I presume one can record from the radio onto mini discs also? Tristan

to Aeriyn, thank you so much for your detailed reply. I really appreciate it. to Kaotic, thanks so much for replying; am/fm radio is optional, saving pics is optional but it would be nice to download from the web. To both: Some 20 mins ago i lost out on a ebay bid for a 'new in box' Sharp IM-DR80 (red) that is probably what I am leaning towards, thanks to your suggestion Aeriyn, but when the bid got to $297 or so, I decided to just wait a bit, or go with one of the web import dealers I found for $319. Ebay does make me a little jittery, but the guy selling it only lives 45 mins from me, so i could have killed him it was a dud. That little red DR80 is so sexy. Lots of my friends travel a lot, so I'll probably wait a bit do see if anyone's headed to Japan, in which case I'll send them over with my money to snag me one. Knowing me, I won't be able to wait that long. I'm in trouble now. :grin: thanks again, Tristan

Firstly, thanks for the great site, lots of my questions have already been answered. I just came from a seminar where instrumentalists were recording lectures and music demonstrations with little silver units i'd never seen before. I'm pretty excited about this and feel like i've been in a cave for a few years. Help me find my new md recorder. :grin: Prime Uses: 1) record my own acoustic instrumental and vocal music 2) transfer it into my computer and burn a cd 3) record lectures, other live music, rock bands, symphony, small chamber groups, vocal stuff, individual jazz musicians. 4) record 2-5 hour long radio shows for long road trips 5) record family history interviews 6) copy my decaying cassette tapes onto md 7) would be nice to have am/fm to listen to also (optional) Secondary Use: 1) mp3 transfer from computer/net to md 2) storage for digital camera pictures, documents etc. Each time I perform (daily), people want a cd which i can't afford to make in the studio right now, is there a future plan for these mini discs to play on standard cd players? Is the quality of the mini disc recording such that i could sell a cd burned from it? (if I got a great mic, etc.) How do I copy minidiscs my friends have made? (don't howl, remember i'm new). Must I have their machines to make a copy? Or is it a transfer to the computer then onto cd process? From this site, I've gathered that the Sharp has excellent sound quality, which is very important for me, just a little worried about support if it goes wrong (japan is a long way away). Do I need to worry about that? Not sure if I need all the storage the new Hi-MD would provide, but i'm open. All suggestions welcome, from DREAM MD to any older models I could find on ebay. Ease of use also would be nice. Tristan