Avrin

neongod, if you like Windows Vista, dispose off all the the thigs you love.

And you may also try installing an Italian version of SS. It is contained in the European version. Although Italian operating systems should be fully supported by the English European version. Even Russian are! Also, try this utility to make sure your data access components function OK: http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=8 . One word of caution. Download the version from this forum, and not from the manufacturer - the latter is no longer free.

Another possibility is to use... Adobe Audition! Yes, you may get gaps/clips between tracks (these are actually created by SS, not AA), but you may then zoom in on them, and delete whatever you don't want. AA is really good in combining tracks when using the Open Append function. The whole problem is due to the good old trackmark misplacement "feature" of ATRAC3[plus].

Go back to XP SP2.

The set of device drivers used in SS43 has not been updated since the time of SS40. Probably even since the time of SS34.02 (I don't have that version to check). The latest driver it contains is the one for the RH1, dated 10/31/2005, when Vista was at an early beta stage. Make your conclusions.

Installed the KB927779 update on my Windows 2000 system. No problems with SS or any other MDAC applications.

comspec, all this is really sad. From "about 850MB's" I derive that it was presumably a 1GB Hi-MD disc, and from "Older transfers seem to be playing fine" I derive that the laser is working just fine in Hi-MD reading mode. This has nothing to do with SonicStage. The laser is deteriorating. Slowly and inevitably. It is no longer able to write correctly in the DWDD mode.

And I should probably add that LP2 (and LP4) files occupy less space on 1Gb Hi-MD and HI-MD-formatted legacy MD discs, since they are not bit-padded for compatibility with older machines. You get 4 hours and 50 minutes of perfect LP2 (and 9 hours and 50 minutes of LP4) on a single Hi-MD-formatted 80 minute MD disc. The reason behind this is a more efficient modulation method, and the lack of padding. The disc will only be playable on Hi-MD compatible machines though. And a 1Gb Hi-MD disc is able to store 16 hours and 30 minutes of LP2-encoded music.

A couple more methods: 1. Record the CD from a CD/DVD player with an optical out to a [Hi]MD unit. This way you'll get the best possible quality. 2. Do not allow the Copy Control software to run when inserting the CD (by holding down the Shift key long enough). If the software is already installed - uninstall it (the CDs contain an uninstallation program). Then rip the CD to WAVs with something like Nero (SonicStage won't allow ripping if it sees Copy Control files, even if those are not installed to the PC), import the WAVs into SonicStage, use Gracenote (it will work), and then encode the files into ATRAC3[plus] (all at once - to keep them gapless), and transfer.

Stuge, I would advice not to upgrade to SS42 from any previous version, even SS40, or else you'll get some remains of that version, like Open MG Limited Patches, etc., which are no longer used in SS42. Better backup your "My Library" wherever you want, uninstall any previous version of SS including all its components, clean up your computer of any traces of those (except the backup), and then install SS42 from scratch, and restore the library from the backup. But it seems to me that this is not the question here. lamplighter, if you install SS42 from scratch, it will not automatically spoil or import any of your music files, including those in the "My Music" folder. Although it will offer you an option to scan your hard drive for music files, but the "No" radio button will be selected by default. Don't worry! As far as I remember, this will even be the case during an upgrade.

At least it is worth trying for educational purposes. And it is not easy to get a new unit here in Moscow.

Certainly. But being that, those still sound way better than a plain CD. No placebo, man, - checked and tested using adequate analogue equipment! Years ago...

The service manual gives the following example values: 0213: 93 (7.35 mW) 0216: 74 (5.80 mW) You may try setting these to see if this helps. Or try something in between. Don't forget to press the PAUSE button to save the new values.

Ah, so it does have Alpha Processing! This explains a lot. greenmachine, this is certainly not placebo. The idea of DENON's Alpha Processing, and other sound improvement techniques from other manufacturers (Technics'es MASH, etc.) is to make the CD sound much closer to the original record, more detailed, warmer, clearer, etc. This is achieved through some really advanced processing, and can be heard on any decent stereo system. Redigitizing the resulting sound will definitely give better quality (as compared to digitally copying an unprocessed CD), as most MD ADCs are really good. But you should have good cabling, so as to avoid any possible noise or distortion in the analog line. And Pat Metheny (both with and without the Group) makes a reliable check in this case.

JG98258, it is less than probable that anyone here will appreciate you approach - recording from digital to digital via analog connection. But this approach really rules in some situations! If you have a really good CD player (I am not sure about the DCM-360, as it is a changer, but then again - it is a DENON!), which gives excellent sound at its analogue outputs - then it is much better to redigitize this sound using a good Hi-MD recorder. An MZ-RH[9]1[0] will do - all these have the same ADC.

Privet, ru_stray! I don't know much about "official" service centers here in Moscow. But I am not sure that they can fix the problem the way it should be fixed. The way they seem to do it now is by replacing as much as they can, instead of re-adjusting the "still alive" parts. But fortunately, it is possible to find some "Kulibin" here, who is really good at repairing electronics, and has the required equipment (mainly, the calibration disc). This is not very easy, but still possible. Ask people at Gorbushka, Mitino, or visit some Russian forums. Unfortunately, Hi-MD equipment is not very popular here. What it may take in your case is simply re-adjusting values at addresses 0213 (nominal Hi-MD writing power/0.05), 0214 (Hi-MD writing temperature coefficient * (-100)), and 0216 (minimum Hi-MD writing power/0.05), but the repairman has to know exactly what to do. I do not now exactly, but most probably address 0213 will be the key. Just for your reference - the values of my RH10 at these addresses (it's the last two digits that matter, all hexadecimal) - address 0213: 8D, address 0214: 28, address 0216: 69. These amount to 7.05 mW, -0.4 %/°C, and 5.25 mW respectively. Avrin. PS. I used to repair microelectronics for a living some 15 years ago, but stopped doing this very long ago. That was a nice time of NO service manuals whatsoever, and very scarce replacement parts, if at all! Never repaired an MD unit though.

greenmachine, there is no way to adjust brightness on RH10! ru_stray. Your problem seems to be due to the fact that your aging laser is no longer able to write to 1Gb Hi-MD discs correctly. Writing to legacy MD discs, even in Hi-MD mode, is a different story. The laser mode for both MD and Hi-MD-formatted MD is the same (Magnetic Field Modulation in both cases). The higher capacity in the latter case is achieved through more efficent data modulation (1-7RLL instead of the good old EFM). But when it comes to 1 Gb Hi-MD blanks, the laser is switched to a totally different writing mode (Domain Wall Displacement Detection). The problem can theoretically be solved by changing laser settings in service mode, since the laser is calibrated separately for all these recording modes. I have no idea how. Certainly more than one setting needs to be changed, and it will hardly be possible to re-calibrate your laser without a special calibration 1Gb Hi-MD disc.

Problem #1 in the first post is the result of poor, dirty, or oxidized battery contacts. When the unit is subject to a shock, the battery gets disconnected for a moment, and the unit turns off immediately, without saving the current position to memory. When it is turned on again, the last memorized position is used to continue playback. I was able to easily reproduce the problem by simply opening the battery compartment door during playback. When I close it again and turn the unit on, it starts playback from the position it was turned on previously. Try cleaning battery and compartment contacts (be VERY careful!). But there is one more problem with ALL RH10's. It also applies to the RH1. The OLED display is deteriorating quite quickly. Switch your RH10 to the service mode (as described in this forum). You do not have to change any settings there. The first screen you get is a repeating sequence of "version number", "all pixels on at low brightness", and "all pixels off". Press and hold the STOP button when all pixels are on to keep them this way. Now look at the display. You will see that the pixels that are used the most (play sign, battery icon, track time, etc.) are much darker than the surrounding ones. The OLED is wearing out! The more you use the unit, the darker the pixels get! If you use the unit only battery-powered, then track time pixels do not wear that much. But play sign and battery icon pixels are wearing out in any case. There is a simpler way to cheсk this, though it will probably work only for those, who use the unit powered from the adapter and have their track time pixels worn out. Just press the MENU button during playback. The uppermost item will be "Edit", and at the right side of the same line there will be darker pixels exactly at the place where the unit usually displays track time. I really regret I bought an RH10, and not an RH910 with its eternal LCD.

LP2 is actually perfect for voice, even for Tuvinian throat singing with its high overtones! The frequency response of LP2 is 20 - 17,500 Hz, which covers all possible vocal ranges, and the compression algorithm (ATRAC3) is really good. Don't worry, just use it, if you want double capacity, as long as you are not a drummer. And buy 80-minute discs - these will give you additional 12 minutes in LP2 in comparison to 74-minute ones.

Adobe Audition. Its "Open Append" feature really rules.

All settings are described in the first message of this thread. No advanced settings were changed. Try experimenting by starting SS before or after connecting the player, switching keyboard layouts, etc. The technique itself is not 100% reliable.

S Rozhdestvom! (Merry Christmas!) S Novym Godom! (Happy New Year!) Best wishes from Russia!

1. If you just play complete albums from start to finish (as I mostly do), there is no problem at all. 2. If you switch tracks during playback or use the Program mode, things start getting annoying, especially if there are loud tracks before low-volume ones. 3. If you want to to re-sort tracks, you are in deep trouble.

THERE IS NO WAY TO HAVE TRUE SP ON THE COMPUTER. When you upload SP into SS, it is converted either into Hi-SP (lossy) or into PCM (lossless, but with quality obviously not exceeding true SP). When you download as SP, the file is first converted to LP2 (lossy) before download, then converted back SP in the unit (possibly adding more distortion during the process). That's why it takes so long. The reason behind this is that there is no ATRAC codec for a computer, only ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus. So, the only option for a non-MDLP deck with a computer is to have SP format files with the quality never exceeding LP2. Alternatively, you may record in SP on the RH1 (or on the deck itself) via optical in - this is the only way to get top quality.

As many of you already know, SonicStage 4.2 includes the DSEE sound enhancement technology, which really enhances some sound formats, as discussed elsewhere. A very easy way to enhance the music you have, using the technology, and to keep it that way: 1. Play the files in SonicStage with DSEE on. 2. Record them via your computer's optical output to your HiMD unit in Hi-SP or PCM. PCM will keep all enhancements, but even Hi-SP is quite enough, if you want to save time uploading. 3. Upload and organize the music (split, merge, name, encode, etc.). This may be useful for lower bitrate MP3s and other formats. Even ATRAC3[plus] in some cases. Yes, you'll lose trackmarks and tags, but quality may sometimes be worth it.