1kyle

Here's some more info on the DRM issue etc. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4549036.stm Cheers -K

Actually wasn't intended as flame bait -- the small size is a REALLY serious problem for a lot of people who have hands anything even slightly bigger than a "Normal" 7 year olds -- I'm sure for example I'm not the only one who even has trouble typing on a laptop keyboard --never mind texting on some of the newer mobile phones --and my hands are not overtly large either. A "Keyboard" for me still consists of Black and White keys which produce sounds of great quality when pressed at the correct speed in clearly defined combinations ("Music" I think it's called -- great fun to do as well as listen). I like the post on the Boomboxes (or in the less PC times of those days they were known as "Ghetto Blasters") -- I have several myself from that period -- and these are now fast becoming quite rare and valuable collectors items --- whoever would have thought it. Anyway hope you all had a great Xmas and have a great new year. Cheers -K

Absolutely -- also I was given this as a prezzie so I didn't have to buy it. Mac use is really great. Cheers -K

Nice to feel a bit of "Schadenfreude" about Apple products. After the problems with the Ipod Mini the new Ipod Nano has also run into unsolvable problems -- apart from screens cracking etc the units are just TOO small for convenient use and have attracted a lot of criticism. This Xmas day a lot of people have found out as well that Ipods are just too limiting -- in the UK over 85% of music is still "Ripped" from CD's and this figure won't change appreciably in the future --- most people don't want to be bound to a computer for using / organising music collections. DRM has also effectively put off a lot of people about using downloaded music and until this changes both the quality and convenience of downloaded tracks will ensure both CD and Live music remain the main delivery mechanism for music for a considerable time to come. MD for professional use has undegone a real revival --especially with the MZ-M100 --affordable hi quality PRO field recording gear -- cost and archivability of solid state media is still prohibitive. In spite of Sony making the consumer version almost impossible to use via DRM etc , the MD format future in 2006 looks better than it has for some time now and any talk of its demise are wildly premature. And I really DO just love the MZ-M100 -- (Thanks Santa) --this does just what I want for a portable RECORDING device. Looks really nice as well. Happy Xmas every one. Cheers -K

Some Dixons (but fortunately by no means all) stores in the UK have stopped selling -- they seem to be concentrating on the RIO and Hard disk type of players as well as the inevitable Ipod stuff. However Minidsic blanks seem to be readily available (both Hi-MD and "standard size"). On Tottenham Court Road (It's a street in London full on both sides with electronic shops selling every electronic gizmo you can imagine) Minidisc units are still selling very well indeed -- seems that after people have worn off the hassle of being too much tethered to a computer for their music collections with Ipods etc -- minidisc appears to be undergoing something of a revival. BTW an excellent use for minidisc is playing AUDIO BOOKS in a car unit (I've got an old Kenwood MDLP car radio) . Speech at LP4 is fine and on a long trip a decent book is far more relaxing than hours and hours of some of the more noisier forms of modern music. A typical Audio Book is around 6 hrs -- just right for 2 80 min minidiscs. Hi-MD is obviously the better medium for this (could easily get the whole book on 1 Disc -- at Hi-LP could get 2 books --but until a HI-MD car unit comes out LP4 is fine for speech. I think the new year should bring the speculation over the future of the format to an end --certainly it looks better now than a few months ago. Cheers -K

NH1 although my N10 gets far more use --- external battery attachment is very convenient and an 80 min disc recorded at LP2 is fine for music on the move -- up to 160 mins -- over 2 1/2 hours per disc is fine for even the longest of journeys Easier also to handle a music collection and you don't have to fiddle with a remote. Actually even for the stuff I record in Hi-MD mode I've found myself going back to the standard 80 Min (or even 74 min) minidiscs. -- If I see a packet of 10 in a store I snap them up -- I've probably got enough now to cover all my needs for way into the future even if the whole format disappears tomorrow. I think the whole idea of a HD player is flawed -- I'm sure those of you that have them will see some of the drawbacks after "the Novelty Factor" has worn off. It might work with a "Removable HD" -- then I could have a reasonable backup and it would effectively be a "Super MD player" -- but once I've transferred my CD's to MD I don't want to have to be dependent on a computer for organising, storing, deleting etc a music collection --and what happens when you want to get new device , the disc gets full or it gets broken or stolen. With the NH1 / N10 the worst that can happen is that you lose 1 disc. Cheers -K

I use the MD deck (JB980) for all my serious listening -- Hi-MD stuff for outside recording or if I want to take 6 - 7 hrs on a single Hi-MD disk. My car radio plays the older MD format so I don't have a problem with that and if and when the time comes to replace the EXCELLENT JB980 deck for a HI-MD one I can easily convert recordings to HI-SP format if and when I have to. Note the 80 Min discs can also record in HI-SP mode with your HI-MD recorder so you don't waste disks -- 2 Hrs is still a reasonable time for portable music -- 3 or 4 disks take up almost zero space in your pocket. There are discussions all over the place as to whether the old SP format is as good / better than HI-SP. Quite frankly I don't think there is a lot of difference --and for portable music even LP2 can sound OK --especially if you play it on a decent high end shelf unit like a JB980. Even if the format were to finish tomorrow (which it won't) I could still use the deck for years to come as I've plenty of disks. -- Remember unlike CD's which are normally bought pre-recorded YOU make the MD recordings so even if there wasn't another unit on the entire planet it wouldn't stop you from enjoying your music at home. In fact if you can grab a high end unit such as the JB980 with great Optical In and OUT you'll probably be getting a great piece of gear at an incredibly cheap price. The lack of high end HI-MD units has really stopped me thinking about this anymore --if and when one appears I might buy into it or I might not. --I'm quite satisfied with my current setup however. Cheers -K

Not that I ever went away from Minidisc -- but since I do a lot of Car journeys I find a minidisc more and more useful -- I absolutely LOVE some of the Audio books I can get now (on CD or Tape copied to MD) and listen to these in the car a lot now. My last set was a recording of Dan Brown's Da Vincii Code which I transferred from CD (5 X CD) to 2 X LP4 Minidisc (LP4 is fine for Audio reading of a book) . I'd prefer on a HI-MD unit but my Car radio only does MDLP --but even so it's far far better than carrying around bulky CD's. If you've never listened to Audio Books --they are great --if you are on a 5 or 6 hour Car journey I'm sure even the youngest listener can get fed up with an incessant "Boom Boom Boom" type of music --but pop an audio book in the MD player --great. I'm not sure about the availability of Audio Books in other languages than English -- but well worth trying. I still don't bel;ieve the minidisc is on its way out either --much too useful still. Cheers -K

I'm still confused with the USB device for this purpose. -- Exactly WHERE does the USB get plugged into on say a NH1 or N10 unit. These units don't have standard USB plugs but their own proprietary cable. It possibly could work on the NHF 800 (this has a standard Mini USB cable) Cheers -K

USB Adaptor in a CAR ---?? what do you plug the USB into when you are in your car. If you've got to take a laptop as well then you might just grab a decent portable radio with an AUX in and plug the minidisc player into that. For the car you need a "Stand Alone" FM transmitter with the input signal coming from the Line Out / headphone from your minidisc recorder. Cheers -K

These aren't really "Portable" devices in the sense that Walkmans etc are -- but most do have OPTICAL OUT so the sound quality should be excellent (always assuming the source is). You can also play direct into a Home Cinema type of sound system. Most will also play audio CD's CD/RW's as well and may even be able to handle MP3's (Ugh Ugh!! not my favorite format). Now as for transferring to / from a computer I think you'll have to do that in real time from the device (Optical). However this brings back the original problem in the first place --who wants to carry around a stash of largeish DVD's and CD's The MD is a perfect size for portable audio -- small enough to be easily portable without being too small so easily lost etc etc. And in any case the MD is NOT dead. Cheers -K

Problem with HDD devices (and non removable memory card devices). 1) If (and when it gets full) it's a pain to re-organise music, decide what to delete etc etc. 2) If it gets broken -- you have to re-create all your music library. 3) If it gets lost or stolen -- as 2) above. 4) You buy a new device --as 2) above 5) When listening on the move you might want to play say 60 mins of something and then play something entirely different. Organising play lists is a bit of a pain unless you want to listen to the same stuff over and over again. With MD's you can use standard disks (approx 2 Hours per disk) or a longer HI-MD disk (at 256Kbs that's approx 7 - 8 hours -- roughly 7 CD's. If you get a new device --no probs --just pop in a disk. On the move grab say 2 disks -- you've got a decent play list that's easily changed (put a new disk in). There aren't too many DRM issues now with SS 3.2. MD can RECORD as well and you can still organise all your music needs without being tied to a computer. MD can record in .wav (PCM lossless) . I don't care about MP3's but the later MD units can play these (although I don't beleieve you can record direct in that format -- and why would you want to anyway). (BTW for those advocating using removeable memory card devices -- even a 2gb card costs many times more than standard MD disks). If you have shelf units or systems you can play your MD in that as well --you don't need the device plugged in to AUX or wherever. HDD devices look nice etc --but they are a bit too inflexible for me --I'm sticking to MD's for the forseeable future. Cheers -K

I'm surprised at a Corrupt Disk problem -- I've been using Minidisc for YEARS and in all that time I've NEVER had a Disk failure with any make of Disk. You could try and rescue it as follows. 1) connect the MD recorder to the PC IN DATA MODE 2) Use Windows explorer to format the disk (FAT) 3) write some files on it (cut and paste --windows explorer) 4) do this 2 or 3 times -- try to nearly fill the disk. 5) now quit Windows explorer 6) start up SS and Re-Initialize disk --- if it works then your disk should be fine. Incidentally if the disk works in data mode on Windows then there is nothing wrong with the disk it could be the original recording hosed it up somehow. Cheers -K

That "Razor" thing looks like some horrible gizmo in a 1940's science fiction movie. Even the most dedicated "must have" gizmo fanatic inhabiting "Chav Central " would hate this one. Video on the move has been pushed around ever since the early 1950's -- once the initial enthousiasm wears off people really don't want to watch video on those tiny screens -- the minimum practical screen size for watching movies are those smallish portable DVD players . Watching video / tv on a tiny mobile phone screen will never IMO really take off. Mind you the person who designed "The Razor" really needs to go back to school again -- UGLY, UGLY, UGLY. Cheers -K

The N10's were the unit with a USB extension -- you could put the unit on the cradle and there's another slot at the bottom where you can connect the cradle to the usb slot on the computer. The N10 also came with a nice battery case -- pity these 2 features weren't carried through to the NH1 -- although you can mod the battery case of the N10 to work with the NH1 (see another post on this topic). Cheers -K

I'll take a pic once I've got the camera ready Battery pack is EBP-N10 Just hacksaw off the little protruding screw --this won't stop it being used either on the N10 --but of course it won't be solidly attached to the unit unless you do the elastic band trick. Works fine with AA or even re-chargeable batteries. (actually you only put ONE in the case). External Power supply is 6V so same electrics as the N1. Cheers -K

If you have an old battery case for the MZ N10 you can "Modify" it so it works for the NH1. All you have to do is to remove that silver protruding screw whic holds the unit tightly into the older N10 unit. The bottom connector is identical for the NZ N10 and the NH1 -- and what's even better is that there is also a slot on the external battery case where you can plug in a DC supply for recharging etc. Be careful if you want to use the battery case for the N10 as well as you can break it easily while trying to get the screw out -- it's easier just to hacksaw it off. Also don't shake the connection too much as unlike the N10 it won't be rigidly bound to the unit. I've found quite a good way is to have some elastic bands holding the unit to the battery case -- works fine. I was lucky to have a spare case to play with -- be careful if you still want to use the case with an N10. Cheers -K

Anywhere along Tottenham Court Road in London -- this street is a well known area for loads of electronics stores --and you can "Haggle" the price as well. Tube stations --Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus etc etc. Cheers -K

Since a lot of people use their computers for playing music you CAN store FLAC etc on HI-MD in DATA MODE and then use the computer to play it using a player of your choice. This should also work for MP3 --bypassing the reported problems with some MP3 conversions with later units. (Of course you will if you use this method have to play THROUGH a computer - but a lot of people do this anyway.) OK for portable music you'll still have to convert the stuff to ATRAC+ but in DATA MODE with a computer you can play the Non Atrac stuff on ANY machine (Linux included) Does work BTW on Linux as the MD is recognized as an external Disk unit. While this won't help with Portable music directly --it does mean that you could store your FLAC / OGG etc stuff away from the computer , pop in a minidisc into your player and then play. This might be of use to people who want to play music on different computers without having to bother with exporting / importing / library backups / restores. Note as explained above --to play music from the MD device directly (i.e without using a computer) then of course this method won't work -- but at least it gives you an option of using the MD a bit more flexibly. Cheers -K

Atrac+ Drag 'n Drop would be great --especially if it could be ported to Linux and Mac Atrac3+ is (usually) a far better compression system than most current MP3 systems and it is a DEFINITE standard. A big problem with MP3's is that MP3 can mean different things to different people. If Sony wasn't so paranoid about copyright issues this whole issue would have been done and dusted a long time ago. Actually I have seen a couple of portable radio units that can play ATRAC CD's but making these again seems like Sony is shooting itself in the foot -- if MD is available why on earth BOTHER with atrac CD's. Why not have a few portable radio units incorporating play back MD rather than CD. I agree with most posters that Sony's Left Hand doesn't know what its Right hand is doing. Go into any electronics store now --what are the gizmos people are buying Apple Cinema LCD displays for their computers (these work on PC's as well as Macs) Panasonic LCD TV's (including the new HDTV standard) JVC / Philips (yes it's still around) / Toshiba / Panasonic DVD recorders Ipods / MP3 players of all sorts of makes EXCEPT SONY. DAB radios --again from everyone EXCEPT SONY. In fact you'd be hard pushed to find a noteworthy SONY product now --and this was from the company that almost "Invented" modern consumer electronics. Cheers -K

Hi there Has anybody used one of these devices for playing HI-MD discs in a car http://www.cavuk.com/product.php?productid=1140&cat=2&page=1 What's the quality like --- are they actually feasable. Cheers -K

Actually small sizes have significant disadvantages for some purposes. If you take Canon's latest high end Professional Digital Camera (the 5D) it has gone back to only having a slot for a Microdrive or a CF - Compact Flash card. This is high end Professional gear only just released. Canon's previous Professional Digital cameras (I mean PRO stuff like the 1DS Mk II or 1D MK II--not the consumer end smaller cameras) had a slot as well for the smaller SD cards. --These have been dropped in favour of the larger CF cards. A certain amount of "ruggedness" is always required in professional gear (or even SERIOUS portable gear). I'm not sure if I were a journalist whether I would rely 100% on ANY hard disc device -- the disc goes belly up and you've lost your precious recording. Tapes and MD's can usually survive far more knocks and bangs than a Hard Disc can -- and in certain critical situations if the Police confiscate your gear you've usually got time to get a MD or tape away to your paper / TV station or whatever. I tend to think the MD's future is a lot more secure than might seem to be at the moment --- certainly for PRO gear. I also tend to think that the HD type of device won't have a long term future --for two main reasons 1) The necessity of having ALL your library on a single disc -- this makes the sheer hassle of organising it a pain --- people always want MORE music and whilst you MIGHT think 20GB enough -- it's NEVER enough --- look at computer discs these days -- any decent Desktop will have 200 GB discs as a matter of course now wheras a few years ago they might have had just 20GB. 2) New devices always appear -- the "Ipod Mini" generation want new gadgets frequently --so what do you do about upgrading your "Old 20GB" HD player to the new snazzy 50GB model that's just appeared. --OK you copy all your music (DRM Crud permitting) and on day 1 you trip over and the device breaks --or worse someone steals it. You haven't got your old player anymore --so your music is in limbo land. No I quite like the idea of the MD --the size is just about right IMO -- large enough not to get lost etc etc and small enough to be easily portable. I used an old MZ-N10 recently and was amazed at how much some people liked it --especially those who had NEVER seen an MD recorder. Maybe Sony should introduce something like the MZ-N10 again -- the "Retro" look is VERY popular again. One guy said after listening to the MZ-N10 with Bose headphones (even though I was using a disk at LP2) he couldn't BEAR the sound of his Ipod anymore after that --he did like the white phones however. Maybe SONY execs shoul READ this Forum. Cheers -K

1) I'd NEVER BUY downloadable music -- for starters I tend to like classical music and there aren't any "downloadable" stores for this. I don't also want to pay for "compressed" music of "dubious quality" and then be tied in to only being allowed to play it on certain devices or in certain formats (DRM crud) without going through a lot of geeky processes to bypass some of the more irksome restrictions. 2) I HATE the whole idea of becoming more and more dependent on the computer for obtaining, storing and playing music -- I do some professional photography and after a few hours processing pictures with Photoshop etc. I'm usually heartily SICK of computers for a while -- It's just nice to pop a disc into a high end unit and listen with a nice glass of Single Malt Whisky and just enjoy. 3) I don't like the idea of having an entire library on a hard disk type of unit -- if it gets stolen or breaks you've got to go through the whole process of building a library again -- with over 600 CD's this is NOT a trivial task and can be very time consuming. 4) Ipod type of things require you to use a computer for organising / deleting / adding music to the device -- can't be bothered with a lot of that. 5) When travelling I like to have about 3 - 4 hours worth of music -- this fits easily on to 1 or 2 standard LP2 minidiscs or 1/2 a Hi-MD --very easy to carry and organise -- . If I want more I just take some more discs --not too inconvenient either. 6) When I buy a new CD ( I still get them ocasionally) I can make a decent copy both on to my bookshelf unit AND portable device without going anywhere near a computer as my MD unit has an Optical in AND an Optical out --so I can from the same CD make both an LP2 and a HI-MD (HI-SP) at the same time. OK it's real time --but I usually want to listen to the CD ONCE after I've bought it. BTW on a really good high end unit LP2 can be very very good indeed -- minimal difference from the older SP -- a high end unit really does produce quality -- and I've got one of the best Sony ever made --the MDS -JB980 --if you can find one of these go for it --even if Sony does drop the format this will last you for YEARS and give you quality an Ipod couldn't even DREAM about. If the MD DOES go the way of the dodo I still have a HUGE amount of media so it will last me for ages --and I've still got an old portable DAT recorder somewhere. However I think that there is STILL some life left in the MD type of format --after all if only Sony would produce a HI-MD car unit this would make MD more acessible to loads of people who currently have to fiddle around with those stupid CD changers stuck in the boot of their cars while taking an armful of bulky CD's with them. Cheers -K

NH1 -- OK it could have had a better (larger) screen on the main unit but the remote is fine --and since I usually play normal (I.e LP2 or SP) minidiscs (or even HI-SP but using the "Old" Minidiscs) in it I know what's on the disk and don't need to scroll the screen anyway. Everything else looks fairly cheap by comparison --there's something "Classy" looking about the polished metal of the NH1 that doesn't exist in the other units --"Oozes quality". Cheers -K

A PC in a living room is not appropriate for a lot of people -- A living room tends to be a family / communal area for activities that usually several people participate in together. A computer on the whole is more suited to Individual activities which is why IMO a computer is best left in a room / area designated for that purpose. I'd imagine you'd be quite popular trying to rip CD tracks on to a PC situated in a Living Room when other members of the family / colleagues / housemates etc etc were trying to use the same PC's sound sytem at the same time to watch the latest DVD they'd just bought / rented. Cheers -K