robo11

I think for a huge collection of music in lossless format, getting a mirrored raid server/setup would be ideal. Backup will always be a progression. There is nothing more secure than a continual maintenance and recovery plan. You can't really build for legacy these days as new tech trends develop. I was thinking about this, and imagine storing your library on a RAID SSD flash drive setup. Fairly expensive now (as they are only getting introduced as 16+32GB drives at present), but in the future prices should come down drastically and the viability of a Hard Drive with no moving parts will seem a smarter idea for futureproofing in the medium to longer term plans.

3.6gb would be a nice introduction, but I don't see it being compatible with current gen hi-md units/decks. unless ... double sided Hi-MD ...

Yeh very useful for the RH1 ... disappointing it never shipped with the unit itself...

I own one. best portable audio player i've had. I think it's well worth the cost if your usage is anything to go by. I use it quite alot for storing/listening to learning material, recording net radio session (can fit an amazing amount on hi-lp hi-md ), also store some data on a disk off-site for emergencies. I considered getting a zip drive, but seeing as I got the RH1 it's best of both worlds. My decision was made easier considering disc life is even better than CD-R

maybe Sony's next step is utilising SSD drives and making a hot-swappable recorder.

The RM-MC40ELK remote should do the trick

I had a thought in regards to transferring data from one device to another without the use of a computer, and thought wouldn't it be nice if I could transfer the contents of my digital camera's CF card to my RH1 Hi-MD discs on-the-fly. Is there something on the market that will let me do this? Has anyone else thought of other quirky ways of utilising the USB port on the RH1? I'd be interested to know.

Back in 1994 our high school had a sister school in Japan and one of my mates who was learning Japanese went there as an international exchange student. To cut a long story short, he came back with an MD player and a bunch of minidiscs and I was simply blown away. The slimline cassette walkman's were the rage back then and I really wanted one. But then the MD bombshell hit me and I haven't stopped since. I've had various players/recorders during that time until now. The MZ-R37 was my fondest unit. I since left the format until last year whereby my faith was re-instilled with the RH1. In between that I never really got into the whole LP, NetMD era... I've always stuck with MP3's and vowed I wouldn't get another Minidisc unit until Sony saw the light. The rest is history...

I've since fixed the issue. I realised I had mixed in some 2300mAh and 2500mAh rated rechargeable batteries. This for some strange reason would light up the LED, but it wouldn't charge; not even my phone or RH1. I soon later realised that it was a user error and switched all to the same batteries. It all works fine now Lovely recharge pack! Great for extended traveling. to ahsan: this charger won't work on the NH1 because the NH1 uses a proprietary plug.

I just got my (2) battery extenders from Gomadic. I put in some energizer alkaline rechargeable batteries into both ... tried and tested each. And so far it won't charge my RH1 nor will it charge my Motorola cell phone. It just won't charge anything or play off the AA batteries itself. ...not happy! Is it the batteries that are at issue here? or could it be that in Australia the voltage might be slightly different than in America?

Cool thanks. I just ordered from the site. The shipping rates are very nice indeed!

Anyone know if this can be bought in Australia? having a hard time finding on ebay too.

Damn, that sucks. Lucky I stocked up recently

Got my RH1 from sefu about a week or so ago, i'm very impressed with it! Perfect for my needs. Thanks again! one happy customer

Cool, thanks for the heads up Sefu. It's been an almost 1 month painful wait!

These look effn sweet!

Just so my previous post is a bit more clearer, I did not mention large backup procedures. Only security through obscurity as it has been coined via means of personal information - to prevent identity theft. Obviously I wouldn't backup everything I own onto a Minidisc. I too have a reasonable External Hard Drive for that reason. IMO, Hi-MD is feasible if you have constantly-changing, small amounts of information you need stored. Hard Drives fail, much like anything else. But even though Hi-MD's may be proprietory, there is still a chance of failures, pros/cons and risks in any devices no matter what you use. The idea is that the medium must be strong in the long-term. (re: MD whitepaper on longevity). And therfore adds another layer of protection to your already tried and tested procedures.

I don't know if anyone noticed this, but having to use MD's or Hi-MD's as backup formats increases the incidence of added security with another layer of protection. Add encryption to the mix and you have a powerful backup medium in the MD format. Things that are less popular among the MP3 saturated consumers, will work in our favor. I'm glad the MD format hasn't saturated the market to the not so savvy. It allows me as a user to have more choice. Every Joe and his dog has a DVD drive or access to a USB drive, security and data security is a big issue these days. MD's are perfect for people who don't want identity theft, and who would like a more secure/robust backup medium. The MZ-RH1 has overcome some speed issues via USB, and i'm sure having something close to USB2 speeds will suffice for many users. So i'm with the original poster. However I prefer just to backup to MD on a portable medium. It's no big deal just to plug and play. Given this, Sony won't release a Hi-MD 3.5" drive for computers, let alone standalone drives. Which I believe to be a good thing. Many criminals and social engineers would love to get their hands on unencrypted usb keys or dvd's that have vital data on them. But would they consider a Minidisc to hold valuable information, and would they in turn have readily accessible MD hardware to access such data. Of course this isn't valid for a high end corporate backup model, however in the personal backup arena I'd say with an informed decision that with the inception of the RH1 this is very valid.

Cool, so I can possibly expect my order to get filled around July 24th-ish. I guess it's all on Sonys end to deliver its promised shipments.

Has Sony pulled their finger out yet? Still an agonising wait. Are the July Pre-orders going to be filled in August?

man, I pre-ordered first batch and still haven't got mine ... It looks like batch 1 and 2 are sold out on minidisc australia. I wonder if Sony will release more after July.

Yeh, I'm guessing an improved High Def Amp will sort that out -- it's a 3rd generation Hi-MD btw

Mac software will be released sometime soon (Summer 2006, apparently). You can upload legacy recordings to a Mac as a result of the new software - No problem. DRM is of no concern for the RH1. Uploads in PCM (.wav) will be possible, therefor you can do what you will with the resulting file/audio. You can then do what you like with the uploaded file; Burn, Encode, Store, etc... DRM is only concerned when dealing with OMG files and their authorization. I can't really comment on this as I haven't received my MD yet, but from all the reviews it appears this is the best Hi-MD 3rd Generation device yet.

Same here. I've got a 3-line remote ready and waiting as well just in case. I think it will be time to sell up my NH3D to afford my new pre-order purchase Come on Ozzie! People around the world have already got their hands on one except us poor Aussie folk. July 15 is too far away for the first batch to arrive!

so the only new generation md getting released in Oz for 2006 will be the RH1 model? What about word on the M200? I really need Mac-Compatability, and it seems we're dying here in Oz.