nonesuch

Thanks Jaylen! I'm disapointed to hear Mac downloading is not supported. Maybe it would work in Virtual PC? I currently do have a PC, but I plan on selling it soon. I found the DH710 on eBay for about $125, not bad. Point taken about the recording, but MP3 playback without recompressing is more important than digital uploading for me right now. If I record on a non-uploading machine, can I later put the disc in an upload-capable player to dump it onto my computer? I realize you're not used to catering to the iPod people in here, but what I'm really looking for is something that combines the advantages of my old CD-MP3 player (cheap player & media, expandibility) with the advantages of an HD player (pocketable, larger data capacity). A mini-DVD MP3 player would be perfect, but they don't seem to exist. Given all this, I'm still concerned with my interface-related questions in the first post (2 & 3). Anyone else care to chip in?

I have several main questions about finding the Hi-MD player that's right for me. For starters, I'm your stereotypical broke college student, but I require native MP3 playback. Questions: 1. Among MP3-playing Hi-MD players, is this functionality provided by the hardware or is it just a firmware feature? In other words, can MP3 support be obtained on older (cheaper!) players by flashing new firmware? (I'm coming from the MP3 player side of things, where adding new features is expected. I'm not sure if this is a dumb question or not.) 2. When playing MP3s, how is the navigation? Is it folder-based, ID3-library based, or simply linear navigation through a flat folder? 3. The Sony MZ-NH900 description says it has an iPod-like wheel. Does it work similarly? Do you physically spin the wheel and click on it to do Volume/track change, or are those functions provided by the little nubbon in the center? How about the MZ-NH600D? Is that a wheel? The MZ-RH710? (wow, that's a sexy player... too bad I can't find any on US eBay!) 4. Can any player be used with newer versions of Sonic Stage software, or only with the software it shipped with? I need Mac support, which I understand newer versions support. Can the Mac program support older players? Wow that's a lot of questions. Any answers I can get will be gladly appreciated!