The Low Volta

a powerbook G4 12"+ wireless mouse/keyboard and 17" flatscreen ... well, I haven't really 'bought' this... I just ordered it on my bosses account which makes it even much more fun

indeed a great accomplishment and my sincere congratulations to the staff/mods and our administrator! but... (there must always be a but )... how many of us have double or even triple identities as this distorts the members counting as well? I personally do not (k. can confirm this) and how many are still active?

fear of pirating music ... as if one would use the analogue in for that

just do not install the version of SonicStage that comes with your RH10 but instead download the most recent version of SS (3.3) from our downloads section... SS now allows unlimited uploads (since 3.2) so no worries there... still, might be good to read Dex otaku's "guide to uploading and gapless burning" (somewhere in the live rec pinned threads) hope this helps

just place the downloaded directX files in the exact folder the error mentiones (if you haven't got it...create it) and run the SS installer again... it should find the stuff (at least this worked for the WMP9 files with the old standalone version)

I guess you won't be going stealth really, for open taping that does look brilliant mr.S. be sure to point us to the finished recordings afterwards

* The Mars Volta - ScabDates (fantastic live stuff...but my recording would have been better ...if it wasn't made with a Sony mono mic ) * Explosions in the Sky - bought everything they have released in one sitting... as I nly "owned" their albums in HiSP (gift from a friend ) * Death from Above 1979 - you're a woman, I'm a machine /UK limited edition with bonus live CD (same deal as with EITS)

just for the record... I eh...borrowed that pic from the Minidisc.org equipment browser which is a brilliant place to get more info on all models... (I do not own the RH10 ...and no RH910 either, I'm still at 1st gen HiMD with a NH900) also be sure to check out the product reviews and pictorials section as there is about a ton of info on all models overthere as well (with even better pics than the one above)

indeed... have fun browsing/posting here, be sure to check out the live rec galleries and stuff BTW: still do write/mail/call Sony and demand a solution... they won't give it to you, but if all ppl that experience problems keep doing this we will have a better chance of getting one in the end

hi and welcome to MDCF... to see whether there is actually anything on the disc you could view it with windows explorer (but do not copy/move any files off the disc that way, as it is of no use at all) there is currently no way of restoring recordings lost in this way with HiMD, but hang on to the disc in case Sony comes out with one... which brings us to the next point: write an email explaining the situation (but try not to mention that you were bootlegging...rathersay you were recording live music with permission) and demand/beg/plea that they provide a solution for corrupted recordings I for one think that such a method must exist (at one time there was a user overhere that claims he had restored unplayable OMA files, but he wasn't at liberty to share the method and hasn't returned to MDCF either) so if we keep bugging Sony, they might cave in, in the end

welcome to MDCF... a bit besides your question, but the aiwa isn't HiMD, so the best possible sound quality would be SP which is a loss compression at a bitrate of 292kbps... CD's are 1400 (or something...someone will correct me, I'm sure) kbps so you are losing a lot of info! for archiving/back ups just use a non-lossy compression (like flac, wavepack, ...) and burn to DVDR/CDR *edit: if the source material is MP3 you will be recoding in another lossy format (MP3->atrac/SP) which degrades SQ even further...just burn the MP3's to DVDR/CDR as a back up

in short... from Belgium ... for more info see this older "where are you from"-thread or the great but unfortunately quite silent "google earth"-thread

well... I must admit that I haven't really used a lot of codecs for more than just small tests and even then I never used anything under 128kbps...ever but as I understood it from other (more knowledgable ) ppl, WMA is quite ok at lower bitrates, but once we enter the bitrate levels in which you actually want to listen to music (so 128+ and more like 256 etc.) it starts to fail, whereas a good encoded (lame) VBR MP3 with a avarage bitrate the same as the WMA sounds better by far... then again, this is somewhat speculation on my side, as I actually only use HiSP for listening (haven't got an MP3 player or something and no PC-music-library) and PCM/HiSP to record all in all I simply used it as an illustration of my explanation...please feel free to fill in the correct coedcs according to your taste while reading

OLED= organic light emitting diode (or something alike) = a newer type of screen that uses bright, light emitting letters/symbols and stuff that sort of look like being projected on the plastic surface instead of those boring LCD screens you see everywhere the biggest thing is that it is the only lit up screen on the recorder itself as far as HiMD is concerned... other models do offer a backlit remote, but no lit screens on the recorder itself...so could be handy for recording in dark situations about the qualities: - PCM (CD-quality, of course limited by the mic you use) is the highest quality and offers 94 minutes on a 1gb disc and 28 min on a standard 80min MD - HiSP (265kbps) is a compressed format (like MP3) but still good quality and offers 8 hours on a 1gb disc - HiLP (48kbps) is a much more compressed format that is ok for speech but not really useful for music etc... this offers about 34 hours or something on a 1gb disc... but for recording it really should be avoided in my honest opinion... so with the M-models you could use all these modes, but only the PCM-recordings will be transferable to MAC (HiSP and HiLP can only be transferred to PC)...but still it's a good thing that the best quality is useable for mac users PS: if you wish to learn more about the HiMD format, be sure to check the 'HiMD'-section (the pinned threads and faq) here on MDCF and perhaps also the HiMD faq at minidisc.org

hi littlecarrots (great name!), welcome to MDCF... 1. any HiMD allows this 2. the catch: there are only 2 models that allow this the MZ-M100 (with OLED) and the MZ-M10 (see the minidisco site for more info) and then still only recordings in PCM (CD quality) so maximum 94minutes/1gb disc 3. the models mentioned in 2. have both got a 'line in' and a 'mic in', the 'line in' allows you to record from preamplified sources (like a stereo/tv/...) and the 'mic in' allows you to use cheapish (but often pretty good) electret mics that require 'plug in power' and a pre-amp... for more info about mics, be sure to check the 'live recording'-section of these forums! 4. ah that could be a pickle, as I believe the models are priced a bit higher, but they do come with a basic mic (good for speech, not really for music)... just check the minidisco site and perhaps other sites with the modelnames we provided (Sony MZ-M100 and Sony MZ-M10)... the M10 is the 'cheapest' as it doesn't come with the OLED screen

it figures they needed a mixer...as they can't even do gapless just kidding... but it shows how much of a lifestyle-symbol the puddle has become, I definitely do not see this happening for other MP3-players BTW: my g-friend wants a nano for x-mass

really my sincere thanks to alexx for this post (and his/her other posts as well, you come up with a lot of refreshing questions)... but as kurisu already said I had to decline even though I would have loved to be able to do it... but really, it is only because I have a couple of "slow weeks" that I have been able to post again...mostly I'm way too busy (trying to get a PHD-scholarship and working as an academic researcher in the meantime and numerous other things including the girlfriend ) so I thought either I do it properly or I don't do it at all... but thanks again...

yes you can... but for music, you won't want to

it is (as greenmachine said) just a case of chosen standards... at one time the CD-audio specs got accepted as standards for audio... and as far as I understand it every codec that: - tries to keep the same sound (accoustic transparancy) while reducing the bitrate (and data) is called lossy as it ditches data/info which isn't 'really heard'... of course the (sound) quality can vary enormously by the bitrate and the codec used (wma < MP3 @ the same bitrate and 48kbps<320kbps) - keeps the exacte same data (and thus sound quality) is called lossless like PCM and wav which are uncompressed and take up the exact same space as the track would on an audio CD Then there are some compressed lossless formats (like monkeyaudio, flac, wavepack,...) that save space by means of data compression (somewhat like 'zip') which means that they do not remove stuff that is supposedly inaudible, but they use repetition and other things in the raw data patterns (so '11111111111111111111' becomes '20x1') to simplify/shorten data... this type of codec really requires decoding before being playable, but this could even be done in a portable DAP (some models can play flac for example)

thanks alexx... then it seems that for stealth recording in the dark, the RM-MC40ELK remote is still the best way to go... which brings the choice down to two simple questions: - do you have enough budget for the RH10 + RM-MC40ELK? if not -> RH910+RM-MC40ELK - do you think the OLED is worth the extra money, given the fact that you won't be really using it for stealthing as it is too bright? if not -> spend that money on 1gb discs and get the RH910+RM40ELK still only my opinion of course

just had somecoffee and white-and-milk chocolate "sinterklaasjes" ...little chocolate figurines of a 'santa'-like pseudo-saint that goes by the name of Sinterklaas, Sint-Niklaas or Sint-Maarten in some areas of Belgium and that brings gifts to all good children (does that sound familiar or what) and punishes bad ones on 6 December

no pressure Ishii, I already enjoy all your pictorials as they are...

as I do not own a RH10, I cannot say this for sure... but I kinda remember soneone telling about different options for the OLED like 'brightness', 'always on/auto on off' etc. so perhaps someone might pop up and confirm/reject this or otherwise someone might just search the RH10's manual for these features

the often mac-using (semi-)pro market would easily buy more than 1 portable HiMD recorder. They would buy a couple, and also get decks and optional other stuff (computer docks that make downloading/uploading easier without wear-n-tear on the portables etc). They would also be willing to pay a bit more while a number of "show elements" (OLED, MP3-playback,...) could be dumped ...but only if the remaining useful functions would open up for mac users (for example a3+ recordings need to be uploadable for journalists, so they can use the huge amount of rec-time as well) and the build qualtity is further worked on (sturdy looking models will attract more semi-pro attention than plasticy looking gadgets...even if they actually are sturdy or not) so yes, I do think that further opening up to mac could help make HiMD (a simple line with one good portable, one brilliant deck and perhaps some other application) profitable as a (semi-)pro niche medium...as no other type of recorder yet offers the same SQ, ease of use (but Sony, this could still be improved...let the recorders remember manual settings!!), options and (let's be honest) reliability (even though there's still room for improvement as well, but other machines like the m-audio stuff aren't really risk-free either or are they?) for this price!! The disappearance of DAT creates a big hole in this market... thing is that Sony needs to act fast! If they do not come out with a semi-pro range (full option deck, 1 well-built portable,...) and promise to support it as a (semi-pro-)format for years to come, the gap will be filled with all diferent sorts of (flash/HD) recorders which still offer less for the same money, but that have companies behind them that actually believe in their product... just my opinion though, feel free to differ... not you Sony, you just listen to what I just said and put in some effort for once

not as much the low bitrates but HiMD can only play MPEG1, not MPEG2 mp3 files such as those from BBC and/or some audiobooks/podcasts. So you need to convert them to a MPEG1 or some other format (WMA or wav) that SS understands