Herri

If you imported into SonicStage, you can split the track by selecting it and go to the menu and select Edit > Divide Track. The rest is cake. After you have everything divided, you can burn it onto several CD's in a snap!

Let's not forget improved Mac compatibility! Sony will be releasing software later this summer that will allow transfer of audio to the RH1. MD-Love on a two-way street for Mac users!

I finally got around to testing Virtual PC 7 SonicStage 3.4 on my Mac. The results were a bit surprising... Hardware Configuration: iBook G3 900 Mhz, 640 MB RAM Software Configuration: Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 Virtual PC 7, Windows XP SP2, 320 MB RAM Allocated First, I should say that installing everything took eons. Windows XP, SP2 update, and SonicStage 3.4 left my thumbs twiddling for hours. After I finally got all the software installed, I plugged in my MZ-RH10 to see if I could get the ball rolling. The computer beeps a sound indicating that a USB device has been detected and installed. Windows recommends that I reboot to make sure that it works properly. So I rebooted and loaded up SonicStage just the same as before. I waited for a good 20 minutes and still wasn't able to see the the Hi-MD contents in the Transfer window. I opened and closed to make sure that my MZ-RH10 even worked as a USB Mass Storage Device. It did. And when I tried to access the file-system with Windows Explorer while SonicStage or SimpleBurner were running, it denied me access, so I was certain that these programs were trying to access the Hi-MD contents. I decided to pop in a different disc and went in the shower, hoping that I'd see it working. Lo and behold, it listed the 3 tracks I recorded in Hi-SP during band practice the other day. "It works!" I rejoiced and did a little dance. But how well did it work after that? My observations below. I decided next to test to see if it would transfer standard Atrac3+ files that I ripped on my beige box PC would transfer in a timely manner, so I copied them over to Virtual PC. Importing the tracks for 2 albums seemed to take like 5-10 minutes. That was insane! And transfering those Hi-SP files to the MZ-RH10 was just as fast as real-time recording, so theoretically I'd end up having to wait 8 hours to fill one Hi-MD disc. That's not acceptable, especially considering the overhead that Virtual PC causes on my iBook. Next I copied over an album in MP3 format. Importing took probably less than a minute. Transfering them over to my MZ-RH10 without transcoding seemed as quick as it would on a native PC. Yay! SonicStage running on Virtual PC is reasonable for something! I tried popping in the original disc I had popped in earlier to see if SonicStage would play nice with it this time. No luck, it seemed, after waiting 5-10 minutes. A Hi-MD containing PCM recordings also refused to show in a timely manner. I ended up popping in a blank 74 minute disc, and after a couple of minutes, it was accessible, displaying that 267.4 MB was available. Afterwards, I attempted to test MP3 playback within SonicStage, and it was perfectly fine. Attemping to listen to one of the Hi-SP files I had loaded earlier caused SonicStage to hang, and I had to force-quit. Damn that sucks! The verdict now stands that Atrac3+ has no home with SonicStage running on Virtual PC. MP3 OK. Which sorta sucks, considering that I despise the MZ-RH10 MP3 playback bug, and that all my friends who I swap MD's with own 1st gen Hi-MD models. I also do a lot of self-recordings for practice sessions with my band, and there's simply no chance of me doing uploads/downloads of those recordings on my iBook. If the upcoming MZ-RH1 offers the Mac-compatibility that I so-crave, then I will not hesitate on purchasing one. As I recall, the press release mentioned Mac-compatibility, but was not very specific. Sony could very well be releasing a Mac version of SonicStage, or at least offer some way of enabling transfer of audio files from a Mac to Hi-MD.

LUNA SEA in Hi-SP

If you're heading to university, you're likely to have somebody nearby with a PC you can use for SonicStage. Just enable Windows file-sharing and tell SonicStage to import the mp3's in your home directory.

There is no software for Mac OS that would allow you to transfer music onto minidisc. You have 2 choices: 1) Consider investing in a cheap PC to initiate transfers. I'm pretty much working with an old 800Mhz Pentium III that my friend gave to me (it was collecting dust in his garage). I use that machine strictly for my Hi-MD portables. 2) Or you can choose to do transfers to minidisc in real-time via line-in (just make sure to invest in USB optical-out adapter for the best quality recordings). I've tried Virtual PC in the past, but it never worked out for me. SonicStage would run (really, really slow), and I was able to load MP3's onto it, but the software would hang if I tried transferring to my NetMD. From that point on, I decided that it wasn't worth the effort. P.S. Have you considered iPod? I did, but I didn't like the idea of my thumb spinning for decades just to find one artist. I do have to say that the black iPod Video is indeed sexy. But is it sexier than my blue MZ-RH10? I think not.

I suggest that you load a track encoded with ATRAC3plus 256kbps on both devices and compare the difference.

Lately I've become accustomed to using Hi-SP for everything. I've attempted a3+352 but it started getting annoying to have to rip as WAV and then convert. Since LP2 doesn't satisfy my ears much, and there aren't any other a3+ bitrates compatible with Hi-MD (Hi-LP my ass!) Hi-SP has remained the the de facto standard for ripping via SonicStrage. But... I always have an itch to want to be able to fit more on a single Hi-MD, and at that point, I wonder if ATRAC is really worth it. Especially since a lot of my music has already been encoded in AAC or MP3 format (these files include CD's that I used to own, but got lost in the process of moving to a new apartment). I have two MZ-RH10's that will gladly accept MP3's, which will give me more control over bitrates in the never-ending battle of size-vs-fidelity. I can employ a more space-efficient bitrate of 160 or 192... all I would have to is pimp a custom equalizer setting to combat the buggy MP3 playback. So I made several proposals to combat the issue. [Proposal 1] Use MP3 exclusively and take advantage of more flexible bitrate options. Since I am a Mac-user, this has the added effect of being able to use iTunes to organize my music library. There is a really neat AppleScript that exports playlists to .M3U format, which can be imported into SonicStage and transfered to Hi-MD with not too much hassle. To allow SonicStage and iTunes to share the same music library, I just mount my iTunes directory on the network, and have SonicStage import the music library from that directory periodically. Pros: More flexible bitrate options. Allows me to use my iBook and iTunes to sort out my library and playlists. Cons: Buggy MP3 playback. Discs not compatible with 1st gen Hi-MD players. Takes a little bit extra effort, in having to deal with network file-sharing and having to bounce between two programs. No gapless playback with MP3. iTunes playlist -> .M3U AppleScript is only available on Mac OS. [Proposal 2] Use Hi-SP and LP2 mutually. I understand that certain types of music is suited well to LP2 and produce reasonable transparency. To be able to use any of these bitrates on-the-fly, you would have to rip your CD's to WAV, and then manually convert each file to all respective formats. What I would do is just leave those converted files and then delete the WAV. This way, I can choose what bitrate I want transferred to Hi-MD that suits my application. Or, you can choose to keep the WAV in SonicStage and convert to different bitrates on-the-fly (without preserving the "optimized files"). Pros: You can now choose between bitrates. What dilemma? Cons: Takes up more space to have multiple formats or to retain the lossless WAV files. The resulting ATRAC files converted from WAV are not gapless. If only ATRAC lossless was "for real" and allowed you to convert to any bitrate from the original lossless source audio... [Proposal 3] Stick to one "magic bitrate." I say, just use Hi-SP and be happy. It sounds great and offers predictable amount of playback per disc if used consistently. Converting from WAV to a3+352 is a hassle and is a detriment if you enjoy gapless playback. Pros: You're happy. Cons: None. See "Pros."

1) Mario Kart DS (ONLINE, BABY!) 2) EDGE (Videogame magazine) 3) Coca-Cola w/ Lime 20 oz. bottle

ICO for PlayStation 2. Next item on my shopping list: a PlayStation 2.

DJ Krush - Zen Echostream - Identity Explosions In The Sky - How Strange, Innocence Explosions In The Sky - The Rescue Sigur Ros - Takk... Thrice - Vheissu Tortoise - It's All Around You Saul Williams - Amethyst Rock Star

Actually, I have a brand new US MZ-RH10 that came with new firmware, and it supports persistent backlight settings.

I'll second Explosions In The Sky, and add LUNA SEA and Radiohead to the mix-- I could never claim one absolute fave.

I've been using the RM-MC40ELK with an MZ-RH10 Hi-MD recorder and it doesn't seem to want to display the Artist/Album/Song information like it does in the promo pics. It only displays the Group#, Time-elapsed, and toggles between Artist/Album/Song info by pressing the "Display" button on the back. Is this due to a feature incompatibility with new Hi-MD recorders, or is my RM-MC40ELK faulty? I've tried holding the "Display" button down for 2 seconds and searched the menu options to no avail. Is there something I'm missing here? Perhaps that particular 3-line display capability for track information is only functional on Sony portables that come equipped with the RM-MC40ELK? Anyhow, this is how I want it to display track information: -Herri

Yeah, I thought shipping was at fault, too. Jun Ibaraki was very kind to offer a replacement, so as long as I send the unit to the specified address. But it almost seems that the casing has a natural inclination to be bent. This could be due to the particular design of the MZ-RH10, since I have never seen this occur on any other MD unit I've seen. I may go on to purchase an MZ-RH910/RH710 for a backup unit, since I don't want to bring much harm to the MZ-RH10. Oddly enough, the MZ-RH710 is starting to look mighty sexy (I used to think it looked a little cheap-ish). Now it's off to loading up my 5 Hi-MDs with MP3's so that I'll have something to listen to once the replacement unit comes in. -Herri

To all MZ-RH10 owners: I had just received a Blue MZ-RH10 Hi-MD Recorder from Jun Ibaraki (eBay ID: buyfromjapan - a reputable seller from what I heard), and my unit came in with a bent outer-case. Specifically, the metal lining covering the sides of the unit are bent so that the seams are exposed on the top and bottom lip, with a 1-3mm depth for the opening gaps. I'm wondering if there are any other MZ-RH10 owners here on this board whom have experienced similar defects with their Hi-MD units, and if so, please share your experiences. This was quite displeasing, especially for paying $334 on it. I'm hoping that the eBay auctioner will be kind enough to replacement, or if it is replaceable by warranty. I could open it up and try to bend the metal back to the way it should be, but that would void my warranty. What to do... -Herri

Listening to Echostream (mp3 streams recorded in ATRAC3plus 256 kbps). MP3 streams found on their myspace and this flash player. 01 Just Kill Me 02 One Last Cigarette 03 Simplify 04 Repeater 05 Dali Thought 06 Melt 07 Fall Down 08 Burning Sky 09 Creep (Radiohead Cover)

Atari Lynx!!! I had fond memories of my old unit. I remember lugging it to elementary school like a brick. Sadly, I now remember very little of what games I had on it. Of course, I could never forget the experiences I had on my Game Boy units (2 Brick-Boys, 2 GB Pockets, 2 GB Colors, 1 Ghetto-Boy Advance) and my Game Gear (loved that Sega Master System cartridge converter!). As far as the PSP goes, the latest EGM had a full feature on it which made it seem a bit more enticing (there were previews for a bunch of games in it), but I still see nothing remarkably special about it. The Nintendo DS has far more potential (for games) IMHO. Multimedia functions seem cool on the PSP but are not exclusive to it (the DS/GBA has the "Play-Yan" cartridge add-on that can play music and movies off of flash media). Sony is hoping for the PSP to be an "iPod killer" but I think they really should be focusing Hi-MD or their Network Walkman to take those reins. I expect Sony to fail miserably on that front, but lucky for them their product is also supposed to be a games-machine. The PSP is vastly inferior to the iPod or any other portable audio player, but i guess Sony is depending on customers to be oblivious to that fact. I bet if Sony marketed Minidisc in the U.S. as well as they marketed the PlayStation brand, we'd have an entirely different picture all-together.

I really can't see what the big deal is with the PSP. If I want to play PS games I already have a PS2 at home. I find that the Nintendo DS will have more compelling, innovative software (Nintendogs, Electroplankton, Animal Crossing DS, etc.) and the PSP will be more port-crazy. I may have to get one once the price drops and there are loads of cheap software available (much like I did with the PS2). But if SEGA brings out Virtua Fighter for PSP I'll be forced to get it!

I almost placed an order yesterday, and how I'm glad I hadn't, because the lack of remote rather upsets me. Right now I'm debating on which would suit me better: a ) MZ-RH10 (with its backlit OLED goodness and better battery life), or... b ) MZ-RH910 w/ RM-MC40ELK (the remote I find essential for night-vision purposes) I'll most likely get the MZ-RH910 now and purchase the remote later, as I am impatient and hard on cash at the moment.

I had a dream last night where I was given a used portable md player by a friend, but it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Sylistically, it looked like the sports version (mz-s1) except it was about 1/3 taller (about as tall as a PDA, but twice as thick), and had an amazing 15-line backlit display where you could see nearly the full listing of tracks, including the group divisions. Maybe I'll make a 3d drawing of this fictional md player in Blender when I have the spare time.

My modest guess is that Sony would just create a tiny-app to initiate conversions and file-transfer to the PSP, kind of like SimpleBurner is. And no MD/Hi-MD support. I'm still crossing my fingers though!

The link in the first post leads to nowheres-ville. Click here to read the original Bloomberg article.

I'm employing some shitty earphones at the moment, so I really can't hear much, but in speaking from experience (I haven't ABXed), transcoded Mp3's to Lp2 in SS 2.3 are listenable as long as the original bitrate is > 192kbps Lame. But there are some Mp3's I downloaded off the 'net that were > 192kbps and sounded harsh after transcoding to Lp2 (I suspect they were Xing-enc/non-Lame). I also transcoded some 192kbps AAC (after wav conversion) to Lp2 which seemed to sound pretty good. Quality of transcoding is also an issue to me because I lost about a dozen CD's (possibly more) through the process of moving and the only trace I have of them are Mp3 and AAC rips (some rip which were not my own, i.e. I downloaded the albums before I bought them, many of which were at encoded at lower bitrate than 192kbps and probably with crappy encoders). If more people could report their experiences it would be interesting, because although transcoding or re-encoding is a bad idea to start with, there are some people (like me) who have no choice. Boy I can't wait to grab a 2nd generation Hi-MD so I don't have to deal with transcoding anymore!