KJ_Palmer

As to your first point, that would surely depend on the copy protection scheme (if any) of the software itself. Presumably it may have a similar 'facility' as Sonicstage for adding/not adding DRM/protection. If you use the convert to Wav option in Sonicstage, these will be completely protection-free, in fact you may as well just delete the files imported to Sonicstage and use the wav files instead (after you've checked they're OK).

As long as the Add copy protection box is unticked (you have to be careful to do this as by default it's ticked - of course) whenever you do a transfer/conversion your uploaded files will be protection free. If I remember correctly (I haven't done it for while), the box should appear in the options for the transfer screen. Wav files are always unprotected anyway. Someone else can doubtless do a better explanation. As for Hi-MD Renderer, it's so great at it works seamlessly with your Sonicstage library and has bags of conversion features and easy to use. I've got quite a substantial high bitrate SS Library, and whenever I want to convert an album or two to MP3 or whatever, I just open Hi-MD renderer, select batch mode, add some files, press the Go Render button and everything comes out neatly in album folders, tagged and ready to go. Nothing else seems to give that level of convenience. Anyway I like it, a lot...

The RM-MC37LT works with the NH700 (I bought a couple for spares) - see here.

Definitely - the built in speaker and microphone in a sense beats any Hi-MD unit made, not to mention ipods etc. I find my B10 invaluable for music practice, with one-touch recording and playback without fiddly wires, and digital pitch control for those tricky passages. Those 2 AA batteries seem to last forever. It's only a shame they're not going to be made any more, and there's no Hi-MD version...

If you've converted the files to wav format, could you just burn those files to a CD (as CD-Audio), using something other than Sonicstage (eg, Roxio, Nero). Otherwise, you can use Hi-MD Renderer as mentioned above. I gave up using SS to burn CDs ages ago after similar problems...

Or perhaps 100 min is too long to transfer as one file, though in theory you have enough space - 80 mins SP means 320 mins LP4. You should be able to chop up the .oma file a bit using the Edit > Divide function in Sonictstage. Also what error message do you get when trying to transfer the whole file? Maybe there's snme copy protection in force or something like that?

I'd keep the R700 for it's MDLP capability (handy for portable use), and the fact it takes a normal AA battery without 'sidecar' pack, and is reasonably compact. However if you have no deck and want quality line output, maybe keep the R50 (too) as a sort of mini-deck.

That's Auto Pause - only the Decks have that feature, none of the portables (at least that I'm aware of).

Ok, Marc, I unzipped everything to a 'clean' folder. As you guessed, I'd simply unzipped v1 into the same folder. It seems to convert single (.oma) files fine - I tried one conversion to wav and one to mp3 with no problems. However, I still get the 'Hi-MD renderer has stopped working' message and crash when using the batch mode, which I would normally use. It doesn't seem to be able to find any oma files in my library, although it correctly identifies the location of my SSLibrary folder (I've moved mine to under C:\KJP\SSLibrary). Again, version 0.54 works flawlessly in any mode. Hope that helps, and you manage to crack it! Cheers for your efforts, Marc

Sorry, I'm not sure to get the error log, the program just crashes without the option to save the log. TBH I'm happy with 0.54, so it's not a big deal (for me) anyway.. Cheers

I don't seem to be able to get either version 1.0's to run under Vista (Home Premium). I get the error - Hi-MD Renderer has stoppped running and it crashes out. Version 0.54 works fine under Vista and I've reverted to that. Any chance of Vista support for the next version? Cheers

You'd be lucky (to say the least) to get an MZ-RH1 for £150. Perhaps the MZ-NH700 would be more realistic, and just takes a 'normal' AA battery. The recording quality would be about the same. You'll also need a microphone, and as you mention, some blank discs. Don't go for the NH600 though - this has no microphone input.

The outlook for MD doesn't look too good at the moment, though I reckon I've stockpiled enough blanks, portables and decks to keep me going beyond the caring stage. Who knows, maybe someone will buy out the format and keep it going or maybe even Sony will ressurect it. Fat chance really, but I'm still enjoying MD while I can...

As kevs mentioned, the previous generation of decks had the "record over" feature - play the track, press pause at the required point then record. Eg. my JE640 does this and presumably also the JB940 etc., but my JB980 doesn't. They also took away the handy AMS divide function - which gave you dynamic track divide/rehearse by a press of the AMS button. It's all done by menus in the last generation. One reason I still hang on to my old decks...

In terms of usage, the MZ-NHF800 wins by a long way - I need that radio, it has the convenience of running off an AA battery, and it sounds very good too. I'd go for the NH900 as a player/recorder only unit for the line out. The RH910 comes a close runner-up though. In terms of desirability, the best Hi-MD unit would have to be the Onkyo MD-133, which gets my vote. Not sure if I'll ever get round to owning one though...

Er.. that's what I was saying, perhaps it wasn't clear enough. That the 907 mic couldn't be used with line in and must be used with the mic in. I have used one. Oh well, never mind, it's christmas.

Indeed, the ECM-MS907 is still unpowered in the sense that it doesn't provide enough output for a line-level signal - you still need the plug in power (mic-in) to amplify it to a high enough level for recording. The AA battery is just for the mic itself to operate. Some microphones are amplified to line level (usually needing at least 9V batteries) and can be used directly with the line-in jack, but not the 907, or the majority of consumer mics.

Probably the latter, I'm afraid - Sony have surely dropped Hi-MD along with Sonicstage...

I think the display/play options are lost when you open the lid. Just get used to pressing display on your remote (if you use one) 3 or 4 times when inserting a new disk.

My only qualm with stockpiling MD units (about 15 decks/portables I think) is whether they'll still work in 10+ years. Or will they seize up from under use, or just die of old age, like us all. Hence the backups on other media. Oh well, time will tell...

It's a huge shame on Sony, not to mention disappointment for us about the demise of MD. I've stockpiled a few - units and blanks - over the years, so as long as the equipment holds out, it should last into the foreseeable future. I've also got a huge pile of CD-R's and hard disk backups to futureproof my collection.

Unfortunately your MZ-S1 is a Net-MD recorder, which means you can only 'transfer' your recordings to PC via real-time recording, as detailed here: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=7070. The MZ-RH1 (or MZ-M200) is the only machine that would be able to upload your recordings directly via Sonicstage.

Not that I know of, though perhaps 3.4 might perform better on a low-spec machine, I suppose. I installed SS 3.4 first from the RH1 disk, then 4.2 over that, so that should cover all the bases.

SS 4.3 is the'Vista' version of Sonicstage. Not sure if it will install/work with XP, but it doesn't add anything new, and doesn't support MD Simpleburner. So 4.2 is probably best for you...

Blimey - just goes to show there's still a considerable interest in quality MD gear. I wouldn't mind one myself, but not at that price! Sony are fools for dumping the format and persisting with their mediocre flash players.