BobS

If it is new, return it. Don't bother with "experts" finding out what is wrong with it. I would make no attempt at fixing it other than resetting to original condition, you may void your warranty

I just highlight the MP3 in Windows Explorer and then drag and drop to SS (left window in the transfer mode). The files then show up there with the name from the ID tag. I can then just transfer them

ISO is a standards organization. It sets standards on many things. ISO9660 is a file system. That is not the same thing as a file that is in an ISO image (xxxx.iso) . That image could have any file system. I regularly use .iso images for AIX file system use.

I do not believe the RH10 will support 2 lines. I have the 40ELK 3 line display remote and the RH10 only displays one line on it. The remote is probably OK, your MD unit cannot support it

You might look into Zip-Linq retractable cables. They are available in many end styles and have a model to fit the small 5 pin connection used on most MD units. They work just fine at USB 1.1 speeds and can be as short as 3" or as long as 36"

Does SS 3.1 treat uploads differently than previous releases? I have tried to edit uploaded, analog recorded, tracks and always got a warning that I cannot edit uploaded tracks.

The RH10 does not use the 3 lines on the MC40ELK remote. You get just as much info from a single line remote

By "can't edit" I was referring to divide, merge, cut etc. You can convert

I don't know but it is also possible that line out does impedence matching. When in headphone mode it would be configured for low impedence output. Line out is designed for much higher impedence. I do not know what Sony changes in line out, but it is possible to do this.

Not familiar with the iPod but here is some info for the RH10 You have a search by Artist, album or title. Only one upload, and you cannot edit that upload on your PC. No restrictions when used as a data drive. Just like any other removeable media USB drive. I believe the headphone amps of most modern minidisc players/recorders is somewhat wanting. On some units they are using class D amps that are mainly for longer battery life, not sound quality. They can be more picky about head/earphones. You can use the MZ-R900 remote ( I use the one from my MZ-R909).

A reminder: At one time Cassette was the most popular form of commercially recorded music. They have to be recorded, not stamped. Eight track was also very popular. Again, they needed to be recorded. Open reel was also available with commercially produced albums. Even the now defunct DCC had several hundred titles available commercially. They could be mass produced. I would like to see it. They could offer all a CD does and more. With the ability of both data and audio, many details could be added. Short videos (a few meg, Quicktime or rm) that could be played back on a computer could be added. Short trailers on a Movie Soundtrack album for instance along with bios of the actors and photos of them. Both without reducing audio play time compared to CD. When extra contend is added to a CD, play time is reduced below 78 minutes

Was their not a HiMD unit under the "Buffalo" name that worked with Mac ?

It is also NOT HiMD. NetMD only

Digital recording seems to have more problems with slow down / speed up than does analog. I have several MDs that do pitch change and none are as smooth as either my Sony or GE cassette recorders.

These have been recorded from SonicStage which sets a bit to keep the tracks from being erases. If you have access to an older MD unit (I use my MDS-JB920) it will ignore the TrPrt and erase the disc anyway.

To be safe, yes. Or just get on of the multivoltage adaptors. Best Buy sells the Sony ones, Radio Shack has their own brand of adaptor. These have folding prongs that make them small and they work on anything from 100 v to 240 v. They are about $20 US. Cheap insurance considering the price of an MD

Plucked insturments such as a harpsichord are difficult for ATRAC also

The reason VBR has not been part of MD is that MD is a recorder. How would you figure how much recording time you had left ? With VBR their is no way to know remaining time since it would vary. Not a good situation at a recording session. Knowing how many megabytes are left is of no use except to download mp3s

I believe you would get better quality. An MD is a recorder and makes the logic decisions about what data to record, what to throw away in real time. This happens even if you record a CD the recording is a known length (by you, not the MD). A record company could use a ATRAC algorithm that examined the entire track before encoding. Since you could have more powerful processors I would think it possible to have a more sophisticated algorithm also.

The purpose of the ferrite on the cord is to reduce electrical noise that can interfer with other electronics in the area (such as radio reception). The remote cord can act as an antenna and radiate signals (esp if you have a digital amp) and the ferrite reduces that. The unit will work just fine without it. The US has laws regulation how much interferrence consumer items can emit and this is one of the ways of complying.

Good observation. I believe the FAT system is why ATRAC is written in one large file. One of the characteristics of the is that space is allocated by clusters. On a 1 Gig disc the clusters are 32K. A 1K file takes up 32K. A 33K file takes up 64K. On average each file wastes 16K. If you had 300 files on a disc, wasted space would be 4.8 Meg. By putting all the tracks in 1 file, you can never waste more than part of one cluster. It also allows Sony to tell just how much recording time is left. If each track were seperate, remaining time would vary depending on how many files were used, how short they were and how much wasted space (cluster slack) they had. This will show up when using MP3s on MDs. The total amount of time, at the same bit rate, will be less with all those MP3 than with ATRAC.

Neato (search on the net) makes software to use with their own labels. It works quite well.

And the organic LED display on the MZRH10 looks really nice. But the current jog dial is gone

Keep in mind that the sound quality of the various bit rates is not just what earphones/buds you listen with but what your are recording. Example: A person speaking would sound just as good at 48K as at 256K (or any MP3 equivalent) You add a singing voice and one or 2 instruments and you may need to go to 132 for good sound. Try a full orchestra and 256 is sometimes not enough. It depents on how much acoustic energy is in how many frequency bands. That is why you can see different results on the various published listening tests that compare different codecs (mp3, atrac, ogg etc), depends on what you are recording. Some codecs do better with certain kinds of audio than others. You are the best judge of what sounds good to you.

You do not have to do the whole CD. Unchedk the tracks you do not want and they will not be recorded