MDrocks

Units: Sony MZ-NH900, Sony MZ-N1, Sharp MD-MT15, Sony MDS-JE640 deck Discs: approx. 270 MDs mostly with live concerts recorded from the radio and recordings from my band, 6 HiMDs, approx. 50 prerecorded MDs daily use: listening to music at home and in the car (portable with adapter cassette), recording from radio, computer data transfer professional use: beneath my studies I work as a dancing teacher and thus need to be able to "cut" and modulate music quickly on the set without a computer. MD does an excellent job! favourite use: recording live music at home (radio) and on the go (my and other bands with permission) alternatives: not really.. I prefer to have music in my bookshelf and not on PC (an I do already have a big collection). Spontaneous radio recording not possible with PC, the same true for dancing lessons and band recording on the go (see above) request: high quali-portis with mic in, line out, enlightened display and solid case (metal), a HiMD-deck (PLEASE!) !! a Hi-MD car unit (welcome, but not absolutely necessary) I will keep the faith to MD and am looking forward to my requested products ;-) Keep it alive!

One general quesion: what does dropping the MD really mean? What about the users who have hundreds of minidiscs with recordings and music at home (like me)? As for dropping the further EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT of MD I agree. In the last few years MD has finally reached the major aims: 1. SOUND COMPRESSION may be useful for some purpose, no doubt, but has always been an obstacle for MD to become acknowledged in a more "professional" user community (which again is important for a long time existance of a format). -> PCM recording is now possible! This has been a point of critizism for the MD I heard almost from the beginning in 92. It´s now solved and 90 mins of realtime recording are a decent success, aren´t they? 2. the PC CONNECTION which finally EXISTS in both ways. Sure, I have been tortured by SonicStage myself often enough, but this is a POLITICAL not a TECHNICAL problem in first line. The technique itself is working fine. It´s the restrictions that are stupid (and a major reason for this whole thread). So while for Ipod etc users SoS is nothing but one major bug, it is acceptable for musicians, theaters, journalists etc, who simply want to upload their field recordings. Still there might be a better solution, but again, it´s not the technique! -> No better way to get high quality field recs with a comparable tiny device! As for me this is what Sony should keep in mind before abandoning the format. MD covers a NICHE, yes, but an important one, and one which will always exist (and where no one needs 40 or more GB of memory). The competition should be perceived BETWEEN IPOD AND NETWORK WALKMAN, NOT BETWEEN IPOD AND MD or MD and Network Walkman. Would be like comparing apples to pears. As described above MD has reached an excellent performance. So finally dropping the MD may only mean dropping development, and licensing the format away and/or offering a "final" series of Sony HiMD products and keep it in the offer for many years: - one or two portables (the requirements have been discussed in MDCF in a different topic) - a HiMD-deck (many of todays MD users with big COLLECTIONS will sooner or later buy it, be sure) - a car unit - and a professional portable (not just with a microphone bundle - professional users usually already have a mic or prefer to choose it one their own, but a TASCAM-standard like: with XLR, distinct recording buttons...)

One general quesion: what does dropping the MD really mean? What about the users who have hundreds of minidiscs with recordings and music at home (like me)? As for dropping the further EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT of MD I agree. In the last few years MD has finally reached the major aims: 1. SOUND COMPRESSION may be useful for some purpose, no doubt, but has always been an obstacle for MD to become acknowledged in a more "professional" user community (which again is important for a long time existance of a format). -> PCM recording is now possible! This has been a point of critizism for the MD I heard almost from the beginning in 92. It´s now solved and 90 mins of realtime recording are a decent success, aren´t they? 2. the PC CONNECTION which finally EXISTS in both ways. Sure, I have been tortured by SonicStage myself often enough, but this is a POLITICAL not a TECHNICAL problem in first line. The technique itself is working fine. It´s the restrictions that are stupid (and a major reason for this whole thread). So while for Ipod etc users SoS is nothing but one major bug, it is acceptable for musicians, theaters, journalists etc, who simply want to upload their field recordings. Still there might be a better solution, but again, it´s not the technique! -> No better way to get high quality field recs with a comparable tiny device! I don´t wanna tlk about the many other advantages of MD which have been mentioned above. As for me this is what Sony should keep in mind before abandoning the format. MD covers a niche, yes, but an important one, and one which will always exist . The technique has reached an excellent level as described above. The competition should be BETWEEN IPOD AND NETWORK WALKMAN, not between MD an Ipod or MD and Network Walkman. Would be like comparing apples to pears. As described above MD has reached an excellent performance. So finally dropping the MD may only mean dropping development, and licensing the format away and/or offering a "final" series of MD products of HiMD products: one or two portables (the requirements have been discussed in MDCF in a different topic) a HiMD-deck a car unit and a professional portable (not just with a microphone bundle - professional users usually already have a mic or prefer to choose it one their own, but a TASCAM-standard like: with XLR, distinct recording buttons...)

YES, it worked! Voila my new identity Thanks for your advice! I´ll write a PM to the admin to clear the "old" account. good thing