1kyle

Even better if you have VMWARE as you can flip between Windows XP and Linux without a re-boot. Cheers -K

It uses the LOSSLESS part. In principle don't use a LOSSY file to convert to another LOSSY format. Converting from one LOSSLESS format to another is fine. (If I Cheers -K

No it won't fit in any case. (Or at least the one that came with my NHF800 won't fit). Cheers -K

Which disappears as soon as you stop paying your subscription or want to swap to another service, You STILL can't get UNCOMPRESSED high quality sound from ANY music service yet. Even with the best sound card in the universe and a ligtning fast broadband connection your "Streaming Servicve" is still goinfg to be no more than 128 kbs which might be satisfactory for portable music on the move - but for high quality serious music listening this bit rate isn't even off the starting blocks yet. Anything less than 256 or 320 (better) is really only of quality fit for "bud headphone" use with quite "Low Fi" gear. Might be OK for a car or a noisy train but not for a nice quite listening room with expensive top end gear. Cheers -K

I'm not sure what you'd do with a 256kbs lossless. I'm ripping a CD directly to 352 ATRAC lossless. This will re-convert back to WAV if you need to re-use the WAV file again without re-ripping. I'm not sure what the 256 "Lossless" is. Also I'm talking about 352 LOSSLESS not the 352 ATRAC3 COMPRESSED files that get written to the MD device. If you use FLAC then why not use AMAROK on Linux. You can store the files in a MySQL database complete with tags etc. I've posted details on this Forum. Cheers -K Cheers -K

Unless you've got something really unusual try SUSE 10.0 or Fedora (The Community version of Red Hat). Mandriva also has quite good hardware detection. If NONE of these 3 distros don't work then you really have got some horrendously non standard hardware which I'm surprised works on ANY platform. Linux hardware detection is pretty good these days. Cheers -K

Here's a possibility for Linux fans who don't want to be tied to SS. Assuming you can get your music files into the computer somehow (either via SS or by some manual method) you might like to try storing the files in a MySQL database (free for all platforms) and if you are a Linux fan try running Amarok as your player as it supports MySQL databases. (Tags etc are also supported). This gets over the nasty problem of having to have your library on one Physical Disc (and if you know SQL which is reasonably simple) you can generate some great queries and playlists with minimal effort. You'll be able to upload to your MD (in real time) via computers optical sound card output and optical in on your MD recorder. OK slower than using SS but at least it gives you the possibilty of using Linux with the MD recorder and you can use other formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC (although not DIRECTLY on the MD of course). Here's the link for those interested. http://amarok.kde.org/amarokwiki/index.php/MySQL_HowTo Cheers -K

I've been musing around for a while on how to store music 99.99% "ripped" from CD's again. I started off with Hi-SP @ 256, then experimented with WAV, and ATRAC 3 lossless and have finally decided on ATRAC 3 Lossless (again). Whilst I know people are pretty dedicated to FLAC and some other lossless formats I've actually found the Atrac Lossless fine for storing on the computer. I'm aware of the dangers of using a "closed" proprietary format but in this case it's lossless and you CAN convert to WAV so you are not "locked in". What I find fine with it is that you can easily convert stuff to WAV if you want (no generation loss as you are going from Lossless===> Lossless, and then convert the WAV to any other format you want if you need to rather like extracting a Winzip file and then compressing it to a WINRAR files for example. Having a smaller library definitely makes it easier to store and process and as I don't have an IPOD or any MP3 player I'm not worried either in conversions. Computers are pretty fast these days so doing a large number of Batch Conversions (say from AAL ==> WAV won't take a huge amount of time, or even if it does you can do it say at night or whenever. If the MD system goes the way of the dodo I can always convert to WAV and then use whatever is the next system. I suspect that if (and when) SONY does come out with a really neat Solid State player / recorder that meets my requirements I'm sure ATRAC will still be around, and there's gossip around that the format might finally be opened up (LINUX --YIPEE). The only problem I see with ATRAC Lossless (and this is an SS restriction, not a compression problem) is that SS libraries can't span more than 1 physical disc. (Your own WAV files can be stored anywhere as they are just "Data" as far as the computer is concerned - but your SS library can still only reside on 1 physical Disk). Since I've now got a dedicated 300 GB external disk for this purpose I should be able to store something over 1200 CD's on it using ATRAC lossless. I actually have about 500 CD's currently so this Disk should provide me with more than enough space for the forseeable future. I like a lot of Classical music and as I've more or less got what I need I don't really buy many CD's any more and for Classical Music don't even THINK of "Music Download Stores" the quality even if you could find the tracks you are interested in would be just too hideous to even bear thinking about. The 352 ATRAC Lossless seems to me a good method of storing good (lossless) compression and if I need a WAV file doesn't take too long to create one either. I even convert my own WAV recordings to ATRAC3 Lossless so I've got a consistent format in the library. I rarely listen to music via a computer but if I do then you can play tracks directly. It would be nice if the RH1 could play Atrac lossless -- mind you I'm quite impressed with the (compressed) 352 kbs playback in any case. I think the best advice would be always ensure you have some method of getting back to an original WAV file. SS 3.4 is not so bad so ATRAC 3 lossless is not as useless as some posts suggest it might be. Flac and other lossless compressions are good but not if you are using SS. Cheers -K

Apart from the well known DRM irritants and low quality of most music stores we have another one here which is trying to "rip off" people who want better quality http://www.betanews.com/article/Music_Stor...oads/1128014405 The trick here is that 1) It forces you to use WINDOWS WMA whether you want to or not. ... extract from the site So far, the service has been able to procure agreements from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music. All tracks will carry Windows Media digital rights management. The company also says it is actively pursuing agreements with smaller and independent labels to further extend its catalog. ................ 2) A Subscription required I really HATE this approach for all sorts of reasons. 3) The price for each track works out MORE EXPENSIVE than a CD so it in my view is a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. Why on earth pay MORE for something which only has the same quality as a CD (if that) and is full of restrictions on what you can do with the tracks once downloaded. (At USD 1.29 a track it makes buying standard 74/80 min Minidisc blanks at around 0.85 a real bargain). As for the other low quality unspeakable horrors like I-Tunes, Connect etc. 'Nuf Said. Cheers -K

1) Disconnect (remove) the battery completely for about 30 mins to completely reset the device. 2) If you've got one of those Minidisc Lens and Head cleaners (2 different devices) use them both. One cleans the recording "head" and the other cleans the laser. 3) you should now find the device as good as new. Any slight dust etc on the laser will cause tracking errors. It's the same with CD's, DVD's etc. If you can't find the Minidisc laser / head cleaning kits any more you can use pec-pads and clean it yourself BUT DO IT CAREFULLY. We often use similar tools in cleaning sensors / Lenses in professional digital cameras. A can of compressed air is also a useful tool for getting microscopic dust out of the machine. Don't press hard on the laser - it's a precision device and easiliy damaged. Cheers -K

Another easy option is if you have a scanner just scan the CD cover, then use a Photo type application or an imaging application to re-size the image to MD size. Typical apps are as Photoshop (expensive) Adobe Photoshop elements, Microsoft Photo Editor(comes with Office XP)or The Gimp(Free) if using Linux. Print on a photo / colour printer and you are done. This is easy if you use 1CD per MD which I tend to use. In addition you can store the images in a spreadsheet such as EXCEL or in a database such as MySQL (Free and works on both Linux and Windows - download from http://www.mysql.com ). Cheers -K

I don't think it actually does anything -- at least on my machine it doesn't seem to. It's possible that these settings just set the "optimisation" for running the conversions. Without decoding the program I don't think this actually does anything. For example these settings still exist if you use Atrac Advanced Lossless. Now in my book a Lossless encoding is LOSSLESS so settings like "High" or "Low" are irrelevant or meaningless. It's just possible that this could be part of a "New Interface" for say SS 3.5 or 4.0 if this ever appears. Cheers -K

SS 3.4 gives you more Bitrates for transferring to MD than SB does for example SS can transfer to MD @ 352 / 320 kbs compared with a maximum of 256 when using SB. PCM transfer is another issue of course. Now whether you can actually HEAR the difference between 256, 320 and 352 is something only your own ears can tell. For most purposes I'd think that HI-SP @ 256 is usually more than sufficient --especially for music "On the Move". SB gives you the advantage that you DON'T have to store the music on your computer first, however you might well want to keep music on your computer. I don't think at 256 kbs there would be ANY difference in using SB or SS 3.4 so long as you've stored the music on your computer in either Atrac Advanced Lossless or PCM (WAV). If you have already compressed (lossy) the music in SS then you will have another loss due to another generation of encoding before transferring to MD so in this case SB will be better as there's no extra transcoding loss. Cheers -K

SKY Movies in the UK announced recently what I thought would be great. SKY Movies is a subscription TV service - part of SKY TV in the UK - rather like CANAL+ in Europe etc. If you are a suscriber to their SKY Movies channels you can download (legally) some movies and play them at a time convenient to you - especially if you missed the original screening and didn't record it. http://www.sky.com/skybybroadband/faqs/0,,...141-180,00.html However reading the faqs brings up some severe restrictions. 1) You can only watch the movie for up to 30 days after downloading ........Can I watch downloaded videos more than once? Yes. Once you have downloaded a video, it will appear in your library, telling you the number of days you have left to watch it. This is your licence to watch the video and, for a movie, this is usually 30 days. If you do not get the chance to view the movie in this time, you should search for the movie on Sky by broadband again and download it again. For sports, the length of the licence can vary depending on the type of sports clip you wish to view. After your licence to view, or our rights to show the video, expire the video will automatically be deleted from your library. If this has not answered your question please email us or call us on +44 (0)870 609 4508 (national rates apply) .................. 2) You can only view it on the same computer it was downloaded on --you can't copy it to DVD and watch it on a nice DVD player --so what's the point I'll just record off air (whilst you still can) ...........Can I save to another hard drive, CD, DVD or other device? You will only be able to play the video on the PC it was downloaded to. Items cannot be downloaded on to DVD. If this has not answered your question please email us or call us on +44 (0)870 609 4508 (national rates apply) ................. 3) quality seems a bit better than Divx --nothing like as good as original DVD quality. ......What will the picture and sound quality of the movies/sports video be? Videos are encoded at a variable bit rate of 860 kbps, and resolution of 540x432. If this has not answered your question please email us or call us on +44 (0)870 609 4508 (national rates apply) ........... If I'm watching a movie I certainly don't want to be stuck in front of a computer. I want to see it on a nice large screen in my living room. Even on a computer I'd want to see it on a 24 inch screen or bigger and not in some tiny window. OK I know if you are in a hotel / airport etc watching a DVD in a computer is OK in those circumstances but even then I want decent full screen resolution. I think we've got shades of the crud that downloaded music has here - loads of DRM, poor compression and eventually more expensive than the traditional CD. I hope that DVD's aren't going this way especially with High Definition TV now available. I've got a feeling that after this service is implemented we'll get a restriction on recording movies on our own DVD recorders. Let's hope the video industry doesn't go the way of the music industry. Thank goodness High Definition TV is already here where you can really see the quality difference so people I believe won't put up with poor compression and crappy resolution like they have with downloaded music services. The idea was great - download stuff and play at your own convenience - but as always the actual implementation is full of Dog Poo. Cheers -K

That's a good one too Cheers -K

Cost is of course "Relative". I don't suppose how many people on this Forum can remember back what Computers etc. cost back in the days of MD introduction. DVD players were yet unheard of, and your average domestic CD player could cost a whopping 800 USD / 500 GB to say nothing of a decent portable unit. Your computer hard disc if you were lucky had a "Massive 20 MB" (yes 20 MB not GB) and cost more than you can buy an entire COMPUTER these days. The media now is comparatively cheap and even then it wasn't expensive compared with the price of other media apart from casette tapes. The main issue was marketing --casette tapes apart from the obvious problems of "sequential access" i.e you have to scroll the tape forward to get to where you want, and no "random access" i.e you couldn't do playlists etc. were always getting tangled up and the quality wasn't too god either. The MD was never meant to replace the CD as a high quality music source although IMO it has done pretty well. The main limitation today apart from marketing is probably the type of music that gets downloaded on to ipods etc. Most people probably FIRST experience the type of music they download on to ipods in Nightclubs, bars, gigs etc which aren't the best environments to enjoy the best and most subtle auditory experience. (These places can be enjoyed for lots of other reasons but if you just want to listen to "music" there are hugely better venues). I doubt whether for example you'd find many Opera lovers listening on Ipods etc. although there might be a few. With the downgrading of broadcasting standards (lesser bandwith means more stations, more advertising etc) a lot of people probably have never experienced listening to decent UNCOMPRESSED music without a lot of hideous amplification and after one has got used to certain sound quality that tends to become "The norm". This board though shows that when people HAVE tried high quality music sources the DO like it so perhaps there's hope for the future. In the long term as the price becomes cheaper solid state media is likely to replace the MD (and even the hard disk). There's no reason in principle why a computer or a recording device can't use 300GB solid state units instead of hard disks. We just have to build them as cheap as disks. However for sheer convenience AT THE PRESENT TIME you can't beat a MD for flexibility. As to design -- I don't actually like the white design of the Ipods anyway and hate those rediculous small silver mp3 players a lot of people wear round their necks. The looks of the old N10, NH1, and above all the RH10 and new RH1 are in a class of their own and usually get admiring glances from people who've never seen these devices before. Cheers -K

I tend to burn 1 CD per 74 / 80 standard MD in Hi-SP mode @ 352 kbs. Doing it this way you can "Screen grab" the CD cover of the CD you are burning to MD, shrink it to MD size and print. Then attach it to the MD case. The CDDB database will for most CD's show the cover as a little picture at the bottom of your screen which you can re-size and capture with any decent screen grabber program. I find this is the best way for handling CD==>MD transfers. OK this is not much use for the 1GB discs but if you are using the standard discs and ripping CD's to MD's without generating playlists etc then this seems to be a nice way of storing your MD collection. It's best if you have a photo colour printer and print the image on decent paper. http://www.1kyle.com/mdisc.jpg (If you use the 1GB discs then Ok this won't be of any use). Cheers -K

Updated to Internet Explorer 7 (beta 20 Mar version). Updated Windows as well. Now SS hangs when you try and change the location of where you import files I NEVER use the default location 'C' as I always like to separate DATA from the OS (Windows). That way if I have to restore / re-install Windows I don't have to recover my data again. Anyway SS 3.4 hangs. A re-install fixes it however (and you don't LOSE your library). Note that Microsoft DOES state that Internet Explorer 7 IS a beta so like all beta software it could have some bugs. I DO like the "Anti-phishing" feature however so it's worth a try if you are using Windows (which you proably are if you have SS). Cheers -K

It's the same as the N10. Cheers -K

In general Utterly abysmal. OK you got a gift but avoid this stuff like the plague. This type of music is usually in a horrible "lossy" compressed format and DRM issues which make it a hassle playing it on a variety of players. If you DO manage to convert it to WAV or record via Analog in real time you'll get even more loss in transcoding. Just buy the CD'd -- FAR FAR better quality (usually), No DRM / format issues and usually these days just as cheap as the downloaded crud. Cheers -K

Nothing sinister about this one --it's a very simple explanation. There's MORE DATA to handle therefore the unit has to do more work, more energy higher battery consumption. You'll probably (haven't actually measured it but looking at data sizes can guess) get around 10 - 15% less at 352 compared with 256. (On typical MD units - NH1, RH10, NHF 800 etc). If you use PCM / WAV you'll get less. If you remember the previous MDLP units when recording / playing back in SP mode gave shorter battery life compared with LP2/LP4 (although a little extra complication here --some extra power is needed for "inline" transcoding). This is normal behaviour, there's nothing wrong with your unit. Even at 352 battery life is respectable ( In most MD units).. I use 352 as my standard now. OK Some people say there's no difference between that at 256 but the extra bit rate IMO is well worth it --you don't reduce the playing time of the discs by much and if you need to re-transcode to something else and haven't got the original WAV file the quality at least for the ist generation copy is fine. Storing on a computer at 352 seems to me the best compromise between storage space (WAV / PCM) and quality. Of course my observations are for MD units. As I've often pointed out one disadvantage of Hard Disk units is that Hard Disks consume significant power. So any extra drain such as using larger files (352) will be noticed far more on a Hard Disk unit than on a MD unit. Cheers -K

Actually MD is FAR from dead in the UK. You only hear about Ipods because these people tend to be the younger readers of all the "Teen and Celeb" mags and are often the most vocal. There's quite a large user base of MD's in the UK --even that "Temple to MP3 heaven" (or should it be hell) HMV in London's Oxford street always has a HUGE amount of MD blanks -- selling the TDK 80 mins one's in packs of 5 for about GBP 4.50 and you get 3 Packs for the price of 2. The NH1 IMO is actually a very good unit indeed especially if you can get the decent remote. It's not volume crippled either --full 5mw output and it has a proper line out too. For that price grab it. OK the display isn't as sexy looking as the RH10 but the unit really works. Battery time is fine as well so don't worry about that. It doesn't have MP3 capability which is why I suppose the price is reduced but as a recorder who needs mp3. Cheers -K

Ususally (at least in the UK) no probs getting the 74 / 80 min discs. These work well at Hi-SP --you don't have to get the 1GB ones which are a bit harder to find. However buying on the Internet is easy enough and usually deliveries are within a day or two. Cheers -K

Just lable the Discs as suggested 1, 2, 3 etc. Now get the content on to a spreadsheet -- you can cut and paste either from Marcs execellent Lister program or cut and paste from Simple Burner or SS. Make each workbook in the spreadsheet correspond to a disk. Keep data such as the bit rate etc etc. This works as well with Open Office spreadsheet if you don't have Microsoft Excel. For example http://www.1kyle.com/moosik1.jpg Cheers -K

Glad the time function is back (that existed as far back as the RZ90 which was PRE Net MD). I'm surprised on a top end piece of gear the volume restriction is there. If the "Froggies" need it then just cripple it for their market or don't sell it in France. That country has long had an over exaggerated sense of its own importance as anybody whose been over there recently knows -- You always hear nothing other than "La Gloire de France". They should remember the number of times they've been dug out of a hole by others. They need to worry about getting the streets of Paris safe again instead of worrying about whether you can have more than 3mw headphone output on a portable music device. There's no legislation in the UK about this and this law is NOT EU wide so where SONY got the idea from I just don't know. I'm sure it will be hackable as the poster on the Dutch board says, or the other solution is to source your unit from Asia. We'll know soon enough. However it does have a Line Out so no probs playing through an amplifier etc. Whilst I like silver units I think in this case the Black one will be very nice. (Pity there isn't a red one as well - that would have been nice). Cheers -K