The Low Volta

I must say that (except for some with a good taste in junk food ) the cullinary standards for MDCF seem to rise with the number of members! Wasn't the old thread mostly about some sort of choc/caramel-candy bar? we should exchange recipies

I really think the mods should throw these last posts in a philosophy-thread, as we are going way off topic here hm, this is a bit out of my league but: isn't infinite defined as unmeasurable and therefore unreachable when applied to measurable units like distance and time this would still be true I guess call me ignorant, but why wouldn't we be able to see an infinite future stemming from a finite past... if, at any point in time (no matter 'how close' to the infinite future) you choose to look forward, you'd still see an infinite future (by definition) and at the same time you would be able to look back AND measure the time between that point and the finite past... this is the easiest part to answer: time has never reached 'the present', time has never left 'the present', as time can only be 'the present'. We can not know any other time but now, as any other either does not longer exist or has not yet existed...which could be extended ad infinitum until we realize that there is no such thing as time, there is only now and it has just passed by... Volta the Enlightened

that makes me think we need to open a philosophy-thread here on MDCF

I'm currently making some pizzas with pepperoni-salami and tiger shrimp (two pizzas, not together on one) but my cat is very bummed, as I'm all out of catfood

sorry, what I meant to say (in a very stupid and misplaced way) was: "erasing with an eraser reminded me a lot of the pencil and eraser days... Sytronik, could you please explain the specific qualities that make these labels special and worth their money" but you have already answered part of that, by stating even permanent markers can be erased sorry chaps, didn't mean to be so condescending or annoying best wishes with the sales, Volta

I studied chemistry/biochemistry at uni for 6 years and now study communication sciences... I do know something about the scientific methods and I think that this is really shortsighted (even though your opinion is shared by a lot of ppl)... Every and I mean EVERY measurement involves a human element! Otherwise we wouldn't be able to know what was measured. Let me explain... If you measure the lenght of something, you use a ruler... but the ruler was made by humans, or by machines, programmed by humans, the eye reading the ruler is human or again from a machine programmed by humans, the one interpreting the measurement is human or (you get it) a machine programmed by humans, the one presenting the results...well I won't repeat it again but... at each stage a human element. Heck, even the meter was a human invention (like dB, Hz, ...) ... So you can never "eliminate" the human element from any measurement! As we all are humans, we can never know anything about the universe but through the eyes of humans. (there are even some that take this to the level that there is no reality except for that made by human interpretation) The only problem that this human element poses for scientific research is that one can't rely on one measurement to reveal the truth... only through statistical processing (by humans or PC's programmed by H's) of large numbers of tests, one can come closer to an utopical universal truth that will allow us to pose statements that will work for most situations... as for the "trained listeners"-part, I would like to see someone untrained use some of the apparati whe used in the labs, sure there are degrees in which one can be trained to use the instrument, but that doesn't say anything about the scientific character of the instument used.. But all this still is besides the point, as I will show further... and who would choose which frequencies are redundant? A computer (programmed by humans) or humans themselves... encoding/decoding is about listening, not only about measuring frequencies...so ANY test evaluating the quality of codecs should contain blind listening tests (which can be just as scientific as measuring light intensity or anything else)...

I have only used 3.0 for a VERY short period, and besides I only use SS to upload my own recordings (not for a music library of downloading music to MD) so I'm afraid I really can't comment on this... but since 2.3 SS is quit stable (once it recognizes your player at least ) so there shouldn't be any big problems using 3.0 if you really want to have 3.1, check out the tip given below... this guy's workaround, seems to work for most ppl, though... It does involve a German version of SS and a some extra work...but in the second step, you can choose the language you prefer (as I understand it at least) and it really seems to work! another method that has worked (at least for one person) can be found here, but this also involves quite some work... good luck and greetings, Volta

first of all, sorry 'cause this is really getting off topic... ppl still interested in the MP3 behaiviour of the 2nd gen Hi-MD would better read this thread, as it really focusses on the MP3 playback (and the problems/limitations thereof) and hasn't been turned into some MP3 is always rubbish rant for all ppl still reading on: sorry for my late reply, but I hadn't seen that DJ_THE_CROW edited his post...(hey, he removed the 'white noise' test-object from his test setup, now my previous reply looks kinda funny, not?) The rest of my post will be my reply, directed at DJ_THE_CROW... I do not intend to flame, but I have serious problems with his methods AND the way he presents them... so you're actually saying stereo is crap? dude that's harsh... as I said before, I don't care about music being technically perfect reproduced, but I would like to get the best listening experience. If you would take away some stereo effects/images from a lot of CD's (Tool, The Mars Volta, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Godspeed You Black Emperor!,...) I really think that you'd be missing out on a lot stuff! Music isn't all about frequencies and waves, it's about moods, soundpictures, soundscapes, impressions, feelings, etc.... too I just hope you don't just choose your music 'cause it shows all frequencies sorry, this remark really is redundant I didn't say it was possible or impossible, I didn't even question it...I just don't believe in your method. There still is no pure blind/unbiassed listening part (like in ABX-tests) at all. So maybe one shows better/worse than the other on an oscilator...but I happen to listen with my ears, not with my eyes...so I'm actually only interested in listening tests. To make sure such a test is honest, it needs to be blind...and I don't believe in as a reliable blind-test method. Try a real, honest ABX test with some good honest encoded test-tracks, and honestly present your results, that would already be more convincing... so you've devided Hi-SP (256bps) by two to get the bitrate for each channel...so that would mean real-SP is 146bps/channel, as mono uses half the space (the amount of info doesn't double, it's still 146bps/channel, only twice the same info, while in stereo you'd get 146bps/channel but the two channels differ)... - first of all: 128><146 isn't that big a difference I would say - secondly: 1st gen Hi-MD can record in real SP too - thirdly: Hi-MD can record in the so loved PCM format so I would say, read some specifications before you throw away a complete technology well, until there really are some Hi-MD-discs with enough storage room, or any big-HD-recorders that really record well (playing music back is only half of the picture when dealing with MD users!) I guess we will have to use the next best thing (in my opinion Hi-SP)...BTW: FLAC is even better than wav, all (yes really ALL) the info/data/bit&bytes) but at 50% of the space needed...too bad it's not supported by Hi-MD well, this got me thinking: as you would like perfect reproduction of all frequencies, how can you use an equalizer? that really is just mutilating the 'music as it was intended', isn't it? PERFECTION??? while in mono? if music is recorded in stereo, to get even close to perfection wouldn't that imply keeping stereo? I really don't get you I guess We do live in a digital age, we also live in a free age! So who are you to go around shouting "NEVER USE MP3!" and "MP3 IS BULSH!T" (yes, you are free to do so, but then again, the mods are free to remove such things)... please keep the conversations at a less adolescent and simplistic level and formulate your opinions as opinions as that is just what they are... the opinions of one person who can hope to find likeminded ppl and even convince some others through the use of real, sturdy arguments...and definitely not with shouting... greetings, Volta

ah, greenmachine...this guy stole my idea I had the idea of a stealth mic cap, and it was actually designed for BMC2's (but as I never ordered them, I have never really made the cap myself) Greetings, Volta

well, first of all, ABX is a method, not a company or something, so "from the ABX-website" makes as much sense as saying "from the MP3-site". Second, if measuring and numbers are the only things hat would make something scientific...indeed ABX isn't, as it is comletely driven by the human element... but for something so subjective as "sound quality" (I have to agree with greenmachine that you can't express this in a graph or two) then you NEED this human element, as the human IS the end user...I don't give a rat's behind if my PC thinks one codec sounds better than the other if I myself can't hear it So ABX-tests were designed to suppress the subjective bias when performing listening tests, if you know you're listening to an MP3, your feelings towards MP3 will always color your evaluation. Well, ABX works for eliminating that bias. Ok, sure there still is another subjective human element "measuring" the quality, but now he's blind-testing and isn't that the whole idea! So whether it is scientific in your book or not (it is in my book)...just try it. If you honestly can't hear a difference that means that either the fragments sound alike or your ears can't hear the difference, doesn't matter which, as for you the codecs sound alike and you can save space by using the one with the lowest bitrate... if on the other hand you want to give a general opinion that works for most people, then get a lot of people to perform the ABX-test and do some statistics on the results! But if you think you will convince anyone with a graph (no matter how correct it is) on such a subjective subject as sound quality...then ABX-tests wouldn't have been designed at all.

for all windows services/processes that run on startup there used to be such a page by Blackviper... it was mentioned (and linked to) in kurisu's "How to keep your PC virus/spyware free"-thread but the page is down (and bought by Network Solutions)... I've seen that kurisu is aware of this (well I did mention it to him ) and that he is now searching for some similar site apparently...see

I don't intend to flame you vitvip...so I offer you my excuses if this comes over to personally. But I just don't think telling my advice off without any arguments/alternatives will help Freud in choosing a Hi-MD-model. So here's my reply: do we? The NH900 has also been sold cheaply at certain times... and even if your statement is true, that would be a big reason to ask questions! why would the top model cost less? Perhaps 'cause it has drawbacks the customers found out about? try this thread, the guy even wanted to build ac->usb-cables my severe "NO" was meant for this person only... I know of a lot of NH1 users who are quite happy...but that's a bit besides the point. for one thing, he likes the lipstick-remote better than the NH1's 3-line. The only thing that made him choose the NH1 was the fact that it is called the flagship...so A440 and I stated that the NH900 is definitely as good and at certain points even better than the NH1. Or as others before me have called it: the NH900 is exactly the same as the flagship model, minus some (important?) features (clock, timestamp, looks, all magnesium body) and minus some (serious?) drawbacks (proprietary stuff, NEEDS charging cradle and remote to function, no battery addon,...). IMHO, the features aren't really that important, but the drawbacks are! I really think that he should forget about the NH1 and get a NH900...just search around for a good deal. Freud still is free to choose of course, and maybe for him the features/drawbacks equations goes the other way...but I can only give my advice as a Hi-MD-user, who tried to give an honest opinion. sorry if I have offended an NH1 user with my remarks, but it's just my opinion...if you do not agree, just give some good arguments against it, don't just say: "you're wrong", that won't help anyone greetings, Volta

I found this reference recently in a HD5 advert but of course it didn't mention any technical evidence... Volta

haha, me neither, except for that beautiful OLED... I just missed the "spare"-part (pun not intended) in the title, so you just want one to be safe when the first one would die on you... good idea if you have the money...

I definitely prefer the NH900 over the NH1 see this post/thread and this one for reasons... but this is only my opinion of course! greetings, Volta BTW: just out of curiosity, why get two (1st gen) players?

welcome to MDCF supertonin, but this is an unrelated question to the topic covered in this thread... search the forums a bit, there are quite a few threads covering the region hacks of the 2nd gen Hi-MD's...please read them first and post your question (if it isn't answered already) in one of those threads (leeching on an existing thread isn't nice and neither useful for you as only a couple of ppl will know that there's a question relating to region hacks hidden in here, as this covers and the title relates to MP3-playback) see, this part fits perfectly in here so please respect the structure of MDCF, that's what makes this place such a nice and useful forum thanks, Volta

yes indeed ...untill 10 years ago anywhere but in Italy exclusively known as some sort of unwanted weeds. But it sure tastes great on pizzas or in salads and pastas

between which two versions? SS3.1 and ...? (if you mean the Italian version that came with the RH10... we won't know unless you get the version number)

just made myself some pasta pesto with fresh homegrown rucola as a late lunch (it was about 15.30 local time) and now I will have an espresso and some nougat (nothing like an Italian diet to get over a sore throat )

it's the last player to be fully covered with a magnesium body...it IS very strong (to be honest, I've not yet seen any complaints ever about the plastic body of MD-players breaking) but that doesn't say anything about the insides of course the USB connector on the player itself isn't any standard connector. It is a Sony only and even NH1 only type of connection. This means that no standard USB-cable can be used as a replacement. If you want to use the Hi-MD at different places (like for file transfer) you always have to take the cable with you. Also since all charging has to be done through the cradle, this is yet another bit to take with you... but all said, despite these limitations, most of the NH1 users here on MDCF are VERY happy with their machine, so...it has to have something extra, which we not-owners can't see, that really makes it top of the line... so go for it and report back with your impressions, Volta to read more about the NH1, check this

darn, what I would pay to have such a stand near me! but in a supermarket near me, they have this fresh sushi stand and every day someone is in there filling plastic boxes with everything you order... not really cheap, but yummy! *edit: haha...just noticed the google ads above this thread! don't know about your region, but here it is all filled with diet and home-recipy ads! way to go for a MINIDISC forum

this is getting a bit off topic here, but I had IE-view installed, but with the upgrade to 1.03 it didn't work anymore...haven't seen an updated version yet... BTW: if you open windowsupdater, it will find IE itself! even if you think you've thrown it off your PC

I don't mind what other ppl think, puns ARE funny!

well, that would explain part of your sleeping problem I don't have a clue why you wake at 3am, but I sure know why you can't sleep afterwards

if you would read the post thoroughly... you'd see that it indeed contains analogue decoding...which also implies (some) quality loss, even though - due to all of the proces taking place in one machine, especially designed for the transfer - it porbably won't be very severe I guess greetings, Volta