SimonMackay

Hi everyone! I have heard some people reckon that the MiniDisc format and its Hi-MD successor are worthless in both the audio and data contexts. The main issue that seems to be forgotten is the concept of maintaining backup data storage on a reliable medium. It seems to me that the CD or DVD format is the only one for the application but why isn't Hi-MD considered as an alternative, especially for small data collections. For photographers, the fact that the discs are inexpensive can come in handy with establishing an easily-manageable image-storage system. Think of using a Hi-MD Walkman alongside that MCMD-R1 card-reader and you mark up discs according to how you file your images -- according to each location or job for example. As well, most of the MiniDisc or Hi-MD Walkman units in use are the recorder units which often end up being used for "field recording" activities and let's not forget the MD decks which do a lot of recording. This is because they work as a logical "next step" from the cassette. I reckon that most people are buying the iPod simply because it is a _fashion accessory_ -- they have to have the unit with the white earphones and have to be seen with the white earphones. I also fear that Sony will pull out of the quality AV scene and just end up like most of the Japanese brands -- either on a highly-reduced list of products, selling poor-quality rebadged Chinese goods just like everybody else, not researching any new consumer-electronics technology and / or simply off the consumer-electronics radar especially outside Japan. The rest of the world will end up being swamped with poor-quality Chinese-built equipment that only lasts a few years. This could easily happen once Sony loses it with its "identity technologies" like MiniDisc. I would reckon that JEITA and other groups who represent the Japanese electronics and photographics industries should work towards supporting the MiniDisc / Hi-MD format as the magneto-optical removeable storage medium for these industries. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi! IMHO, the MD-105 model is pitched to be for a lower-package mid-width sound system which is sold at a cheaper price while the MD-133 is meant to be for a more-expensive "full-width" sound system. Often these decks are sold as being suitable for their particular systems, but could be hooked up to any receiver or amplifier. For those of you who own Bang & Olufsen , Bose or other high-quality "lifestyle" music systems that oozes with style, they, especially the '105, may be worth investigating. They are small units that look the part when positioned by the main equipment of your lifestyle-oriented system,The only issue is that they won't work with the system's control infrastructure which means that you can't work them from another room via Beolink for example. If you are to use them with a B&O system, you will need a 5-pin DIN -> 4 x RCA cable, which can be picked up from a B&O Service Centre or good electronics shop or catalog. The DIN end is to connect to the TAPE 2 inputs on your Beomaster, Beocenter or Beosound unit with the RCA connections to connect to the deck. Ask your dealer to tell you which cahle is which for recording and playback. I hope that this is of use to you , With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi! My wishlist for SonicStage for the Hi-MD would be to work alongside Windows Media Player and import playlists or "now-playing" lists from WMP if you use it as your music player tool. Perhaps, there could be "hooks" to the ATRAC codecs and Hi-MD functionality so you could work this format with WMP. As far as MD management is concerned, I would love to see a collection of utilities which allow for: * defragmentation of Hi-MD or "classic" MD filesystems (this would come in handy if you used a "classic" MD deck's editing functionality a lot and you end up with logical gaps in the disc. This would save batteries for portable units and make previously-impossible "Combine" edits in areas where a lot of editing took place possible.) * disc-integrity checking in case of file-system errors. * conversion between "Level 1" (SP / Mono-LP) MD, MDLP and Hi-MD formats. Think of consolidating your MD library to fewer discs or copying out selections from Hi-MD to classic MD for compatibility. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! The cassette adaptor that I prefer to use is the original Recoton / Discwasher / Jensen CD-20 and its RadioShack clone that was issued in 1987. These ones were designed according to the original Schotz design and I have had best performance with them. You can tell if they are the original Schotz design by a few factors: 1. There is a long wide ridge along the back of the cassete and there are wider holes at each end of this ridge and wide holes on the side of the cassette near that back edge. This is where the cable that leads to the source device trails out of the adaptor. In any way, the cable can be snaked out either side of the ridge, which caters for all car cassette players, whether they load with the tape facing left or right or with the tape facing frontwards. 2. Both reels have the cassette hubs, which fool the auto-stop / auto-reverse mechanisms These designs have been optimised for all players no matter how old or cheap they are -- I have used them in the most old or cheap cassette players ever such as cheap "music centers" (those stereo systems with a radio, turntable and cassette recorder in one unit), old car stereos and some of those "Fast-Forward / Eject" specials. Some of the recent cassette adaptors aren't designed for performance. They are often designed as something to get you by. I often find that it is best to turn up the volume on the Discman or MD Walkman to achieve a significantly loud signal and hook the adaptor to the unit's headphone output. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! Is it feasible to make a HiMD disc or a standard MD formated for HiMD bootable? This issue can be of concern for those of us who prepare bootable write-protected "recovery disks" that contain hard-disk diagnostic programs as well as virus-removal programs. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi! You may have to hunt around for secondhand equipment. One model worth looking for is the Sony MDS-JE520. This unit, IMHO, was a defining model for the classic MD specification as far as decks were concerned. I am still using one that is still working like new since '98. It has a digital output as an optical connector which will be relevant to your work. I would look for this unit on eBay or ring around the local pawn shops and "hi-fi disposals" shops. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! When you rip with Windows Media Player, it is set by default to "rip" to WMA-DRM files. I would recommend that you rip without DRM enabled. It is because most network audio players don't work with WMA-DRM files; and you can end up with limitations when transcoding for systems like SonicStage. This is achieved by going to "Tools->Options". Click the "Rip" tab and clear the "Copy protect music" option. You may have to re-rip your music so you can exposie it to WMP and be able to import it in SS. This might be a good chance to rip at 192kbps so you can get quality equivalent to a classic-format SP-encoded MD (which is close to CD quality). With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi! It often depends on what codec you are working with for your music-manager application. SS naturally would work with the ATRAC3 family of codecs while iTunes would work with AAC and Media Player with WMA. As well, even if you work with MP3 across all the applications, some of the applications install a decoder that may be more refined than the other applications. Often the DRM encryption method like MagicGate or WMA-DRM doesn't affect the sound quality because its role is to be a "sealed envelope" for the audio file. Other factors to remember include how many kbps you are encoding your audio files at. Different codecs can perform better even at lower "speeds" than other codecs. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! Another suggestion would be to use a cheap low-power car amplifier and some cheap speakers such as those from a wreck. The low-power car amplifier could be one of those old car "power boosters" sold during the late 70s to early 80s. Power the amplifier from the car's switched radio circuit. You may want to add an extra switch between the radio circuit and the amplifier's power input -- this could be obtained from a wreck of the same make and model as your car and filled in to a space in the dashboard. Wire the speakers from the amplifier's speaker output and connect the MD Walkman to the input terminals on the amplifier. You may get a decent sound out of the setup and yet be able to remove the MD Walkman from the car so it doesn't attract thieves. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! If you have an existing Sony CD, cassette or MD head unit, I would scour Ebay and keep an eye out for the MDX-66XLP 6-disc MDLP-compatible changer. I haven't used it myself but it certainly would equate to 16 hours of music in LP2 or 32 hours in LP4 -- a long drive certainly! The unit also apparently works with the RMX69RF FM modulator / CD-changer controller and if you feed the player's audio directly out to a head unit equipped with any form of "aux in" connection for tape decks, etc, you can avoid use of the controller's RF-modulated output. With regards, Simon Mackay

============BEGIN QUOTE====================== Lastly, Sony has released a "Hi-MD storage" drive [dubbed DS-HMD1] for use with the computer. ==========CUT image detail============================ USB 1.1, and all transfers will be powered by USB; compatible with Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP. This unit will accept Hi-MD and regular MD discs formatted in Hi-MD mode. The highest transfer speed will be 9.8mbps + 4.73mbps for MD discs formatted in Hi-MD mode. This unit does not need Sonicstage to transfer data, and can also transfer music to your library [requires Sonicstage 3.1]. Dimensions: 86.0×79.3×22.9mm, and weighs just about 100g. No word on North American/Europe release, so the rest of us will probably end up importing it. ============END QUOTE====================== A big question about this data drive is whether it will support the playback of "legacy" MDs through the host's sound infrastructure. This is because, since 1999, I had built up a sizeable collection of MDs recorded to "original" specs (SP or mono LP, ATRAC codec, classic MD file system). Other issues in relation to this include whether Sony will develop "transcode" and disc management utilities for the MD format, which could do things like: * defragment an MD or HiMD disc irrespective of file system for efficient playback on portable equipment * transcode MD content to newer ATRAC codecs for improved disc-space use * "remake" a classic-format MD to Hi-MD specs or * perform audio-content tasks like volume levelling, "scale-factor" editing and the like. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi! Any accessory that "clips" to the iPod or connects to it via the "blade" socket under the unit, like the iTrip, won't work with other personal-audio devices. If I was considering an FM transmitter, I would go for Belkin's unit with the LCD -- the TuneCast. This battery-operated unit would have PLL transmitter circuitry like the iTrip, which means that it would yield a highly-stable signal, especially if the radio is a digitally-tuned set like most car radios that have come in to use since the late 80s. It would even work well with good-quality analogue-tuned sets that are known to pull in and lock down signals in a highly-reliable manner. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi all! If the deck is available as a separate purchase rather than one buying it _as part_ of the Onkyo suite of components, it would be worth its salt in many applications. Think of applications where long audio recording / playback time is necessary like radio logging and business background music for example With regards, Simon Mackay

In this setup, are you sure that the radio will "wake up" and play the audio from the MD when you select "AUX" or will you have to push a tape in to the tape player to "wake up" the radio? Depending on the system, the tape player will either "short to ground" or raise a 12-volt potential at the "trigger" circuit which is wired to the radio's "ext input trigger" terminal. What you may have to do is use a DPDT relay to switch inputs as far as the signal is concerned and use another SPDT relay for signalling duties. Then you wire both the relay coils in parallel and use the selector switch to turn on / off the current to the relays. In the case of a system which "shorts to ground", the SPDT relay contacts are wired between the vehicle chassis ground and the "ext input trigger" on the radio. In the case of a system which provides 12-volt potential for signalling, these contaxts are wired between the relay's power source and the "ext input trigger" on the radio. Then you should be able to flick that switch and start your MD Walkman without needing to push in a tape or press the radio's SW-VOL knob to play MDs. It is worth knowing that some cars made through the 70s and 80s came with an AM/FM radio that was capable of working with a tape deck that was available as a dealer-installed option. These radios could be given this treatment so you could use your MD Walkman in thse cars. As for this switch, I would rather go to a motor wrecker who is wrecking your particular car model and obtain a spare switch that suits your car's dashboard. Then the switch will not look out of place in your car. With regards, Simon Mackay

Hi everyone! I have put most of my CD collection on my PC's hard disk for personal use (no BitTorrent / Gnutella here!) and have built up some playlists based on this collection using Windows Media Player 10. All files are stored as WMA files. As well, I am considering the purchase of a Hi-MD walkman, especially the MZ-NHF800 and want to know what I can do about "dumping" playlists or selected songs to Hi-MD. Would SonicStage in its current version or SimpleBurner allow one to "dump" just the contents of a user-selected Media Player playlist to Hi-MD -- render the WMA files as ATRAC3 files and make them to the Hi-MD? Also, would the second-generation Hi-MD units that can do MP3s be able to natively play WMA files? With regards, Simon Mackay