zerodB

I might be able to offer some help too - I have the 333NT - a similar unit. As far as I recall there are three drivers needed for the unit to fully function: - Sony PCLK Driver (for unit operation with M-Crew) - Generic USB Audio Codec Driver (for playback of PC audio on your hi-fi) - NetMD Driver for your unit (for use with SonicStage/MD Simple Burner, etc) As Ishii pointed out, the version of M-Crew is specific to your unit, so the one from the M-Crew website won't work. I can confirm that all OpenMG compliant software (SonicStage and MD Simpleburner, etc) functions perfectly with the 333NT, once the NetMD drivers are installed. However, you cannot use M-Crew and OpenMG compiant software at the same time. Glad to hear the NetMD part seems to be working. The latest SonicStage should work fine for you I presume. Does M-Crew work for you now?

IIRC, there was also tag information at the end of *.omg files in XML format.

New news: It appears the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool for December (on Windows Update) removes the XPCD rootkit mess.

I was just thinking the other day Greg, if you want to get a digital copy of a dvd to MD, you could do it via the PC. I've done it before to record the audio of a live music dvd to cd and then on to md. Used DVD Decrypter to extract the AC3 stream from the approriate parts of the DVD, and then used the AC3 plugin with Nero to burn to a CD. Alternativley, convert to AC3 to WAV with Nero, and then use SonicStage. Or do the simple burner trick. But if you want to go straight from DVD to MD I guess this kinda defeats the purpose. Unless you have a digital out on your PC soundcard.

Enough said. Now if you boys and girls will excuse me, I have to go and take my anti-epilepsy medication. EDIT: Actually, it's not pissing me off that much... I kinda like it... (perhaps there should be a new thread titled "What do YOU find mildly annoying but can deal with - have a whinge!"

I'm pretty sure I had a login here before this place was under chris' management. But that was ages ago, and I just plain forgot it. Hung around the T-Board for a bit under the alias 'zerodb', before settling down here. These days I read more than post.

Upgraded to the official (en-us) release of Firefox 1.5. Still no go. Perhaps it's an issue with the latest version of firefox? Can anyone confirm? Oh, and atrain, yes I will be reverting back to the en-GB version when it officialy comes out. Now if only microsoft could do the same. Was a huge shock to discover "organize" is actually spelt with an "s", and "favorites" has a "u" in there...

Ok, it looks as though my ebay sale fell through. Luck of the draw I guess, you win, you lose. Some guy asked a whole bunch of questions about the unit, to which I replied. He then committed to the purchase, Paypaled me an incorrect sum of money (which I refunded) but I haven't heard a thing from him since, despite a few polite emails in his direction. Well I launched a dispute with ebay, to which this buyer is still yet to acknowledge. I'm pretty sure the sale will fall through though, and I'll be refunded my ebay fees. The seller still has a couple of days, but I'm pretty sure if he hasn't responded by now, it will be highly unlikely that he will anyway. I do get a free relist credit with ebay, but if anyone else here is interested in the mean time, feel free to PM me. Cheers, zero.

I've never had a problem with SonicStage. It's relativley straightforward to use too. The only gripe I have with this program is that it takes ages to load up and hoggs memory like crazy.

DRM and OS issues aside, it seems that a new chapter in this saga has unfolded. Yes, a new security risk has been discovered with DRM software in a different set of Sony/BMG Music CDs to the titles previously afflicted with the "rootkit" software. This security vulnerability involves copy-protection software made by a company called SunComm technologies, and can allow hackers to gain control of computers which have run this software. At present, just under 30 CDs seem to be affected, including releases by Alicia Keys and "popera" group Amici Forever. (See here for a complete list of affected titles.) But the scariest aspect of this latest news, is that these releases have been avaliable for quite a length of time now, the security flaw only having been discovered recently. We can speculate that this may have been due in part to the recent attention such copy-protection software has recently raised. Fortunatley, Sony BMG have released a patch (available here). So, I guess the main question to ask is: when will the fun ever stop? -zerodB. NEWS SOURCE: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5984764.html

I'm pretty sure that's it MusicBringer. It's the ability to quote using quick reply - To the left of the button marked reply is the "toggle multiquote action". Click it and appearing under the fast reply text input box is a button marked "add selected text as quote". Normally I can highlight some text using the cursor and hit the button, and it will come up quoted in the fast reply button. I get the button, but nothing happens when I click it!

Don't beat me up about it, but I think I really like the new skin. Sure the user pics on the right take some getting used to, but in some ways its good, the thread conversations seem to flow more. I like the style - it could probably use some tweaking in some parts I would imagine, but at the moment I'm just enjoying and getting used to the new look. Give it a shot, the new Refault grows on you. It's nicer than the default IPB skin. Nice choice, chris.

Yeah, for some strange reason this doesn't appear to work for me in Firefox. It works fine in IE. I'm using the Brit English localisation of Firefox version 1.5 RC3. Anyone else get this issue with FF? I'm sure it worked before with Firefox 1.0x. Strange. It's a really useful feature for replying to posts and I'd like to be able to use it!

Quite likely Ivan. It really depends on the equipment you use. On that note, does anyone know how to convert a coax signal to an optical one? (Excuse the blatant ignorance here!)

All recording MD units will playback music as well. After all, how else are you going to listen to the recording you just made? Both of the models you listed will also let you hook the unit up to the computer, and transfer your music onto minidisc. You can also (for example) transfer your violin recordings to computer for storage, or burn them to a cd later. Just a question, what format is the music on your PC? Those units are both able to play back MP3 and ATRAC3 (Sony's format). If your music is in another format (ie WMA, OGG) you will need to convert or re-rip your music into one of these formats.

Good summary MDFreak. In addition old-skool MD utilises standard MD media (60, 74, or 80 minute discs). HiMDs can use both the new 1GB discs or standard media.

Haven't tried marc's app with NetMD yet, but i'm pretty sure winnmd has some other cool features like freedb disc titling. Anyway, off to try out himd renderer.

All I can say is that I'm pretty sure the faceplate is metal - magnesium or aluminium, and the back is plastic. Not a great deal of help, I know...

Microsoft claim that WMA is better than MP3 at identical bitrates. I personally feel such a claim to be a little optomistic, especially since Microsoft also claim 96kbps WMA to be "CD Quality".

I would also like to know how to get into the service mode of the 373, as I own the 333NT. The two units are identical except for the colour of the LED display.

The only way to get your music into LP2 quality is to re-record it from the original source (cd, etc.). You can't just record something in LP4 and then decide you want to have it in LP2. And besides, that would be transcoding and your music will end up sounding even worse in LP2 than it did in LP4 mode to begin with.

And then you can use WinNMD (winnmd.net) to automate the real-time digital "uploads" from deck to PC.

It's PCM, but in an OpenMG header, if that makes sense. So it's just like a WAV file, or the data from your CD. But wrapped in all the same compression and file-type nonsense that ATRAC3+ files are in. And yes you're right, it's uncompressed. Lossless. 292 is the old SP mode on normal MD. You can't use it with SonicStage, and on 2nd generation HiMD models. Some prefer the old SP sound to HiSP 256 ATRAC 3+ because of the colour it adds to the sound, but in reality HiSP is pretty much the same as SP in terms of quality. Perhaps one is infitessimly better than the other, but if you can check it, you must have good ears.

I agree with indeego partially on this one. HiMD, with it's PCM recording capabilities, and the non-sequential nature of the media has true potential. But at the moment it's unlikley it will see it's full potential. Professional technologies with likley go in the direction of hard-disk or flash based storage IMHO. The only real advantage that HiMD has is cheap removable media, but given the proliferation of usb-thumb drives and flash cards on the market, I'm not too sure whether this gives enough edge over the competition. Also, i'm not so sure how much of an advantage removable media is in the studio anyway. One thing Hi-MD does currently excel at is field/live recording. Sony should promote HiMD as a tool for musicians, hobbyists, amatuers and pros alike. I'm not to sure I like the branding of "MZ-M" models - sure it's a good incentive to offer a mic with the units, but in reality the versatility of the format should be promoted. Again, it's the same crap we keep having to deal with - if only Sony took our concerns seriously and did something proactive about it, they could be making squillions off the MD format. Hence the continued importance of internet fora such as these. It's a sad day for DAT, yes, I know a few institutions who still rely on it as a primary recording media, but HiMD seriously has the potential to provide a viable alternative. Whether or not we will see this remains to be seen.

TBH, I think the hardware wasn't simply designed with that in mind. Also, Kevin just mention the fact that there was no software SP codec available. I speculate that this may be due to licencing arangements between SONY and DOLBY, who unwittingly developed some of the ATRAC technology independently of Sony.