Odyssey

Wow, I know this is a late answer and it seems you are using an 80 minute MiniDisc. If the battery died during the recording, only the parts that had a pause between them will be found on the disc. If there was no pause, it is all gone. OK, when the minidisc is recording, you should be plugged into power unless you are at a local concert or at school or such where plugging in the power supply is not a good option. The recording goes to disc and is completed ( not the TOC ) after every pause, the track number increases by one and it records a new track. any track that is in record when the battery dies is lost because it has not completed the track recording. With the loss of the TOC, the recorder cannot find the recordings that were saved on the disc. 70 and 80 minute discs can be saved, Tascam has a unit that does this easily by pusing a button or two. If you don't know anyone that has one of those units, go back to the minidisc forum where they discuss this in length and a couple of ways to try to get a TOC back. One method will give you a TOC but your recordings will come back a one long recording and you will have to put the breaks in manually. www.minidisc.org

------------------------------------------------------------ WOW! Most people make decisions to buy on quality, sound reproduction, ease of use etc, etc. This is the first time I have heard some one worried about old stock and moving over to an entirely different product without any idea of quality and performance. Good luck!

================================= The advantage of listening to UTUBE is someone usually has recorded a video of some of the old lost songs that even though they were good fun sounds, they never made it up the charts so the radio stations won't play them. I use the line in. if stuttering becomes a problem, wait till the song is completely downloaded and try that. I had a problem once and I had to use a mixer to try to get an acceptable recording. The quality is completely dependant on how the donor recorded it or where he found the recording. It is no more complicated as how well you record your recordings only in the case of UTUBE, you have very little control in how good it will sound since you are recording whatever comes from the donor. If the recording was done carfully from a good source, it will sound pretty good, if from a scratchy old 45, not so good. you can't do much about that. But a lot of the lost songs are there and a complilation would be a fun thing to do some time. Keep those MDs spinning

=============================================== You know, technology is funny. Everything keeps changing, technology never stops. But I have found that sometimes the older is better. For instance, I was into computers since they came out, went through the green screens then RGB then color TFT and then, the LCD. LCD was pretty good until I started getting into modifying pictures, editing and drawing on screen. The LCD screens lack clarity. I had to use one of my tube type color monitors and noticed that the tube not only was clearer than LED but I had a much better range in picture size formats. Older was better. I too have a Sony Bravia, its a nice bright set. I like to use it for playing movies. For general tv I like my Tube type set. The LCD screen still has some issues with contrasting colors where the tube is perfect. In sound I advanced from Reel to reel to cassette, ( R-R was better but clumsy) from cassette to MD, and there I am. I have commented before, the MD is the perfect portable sound studio for me, editing is fabulous and unlimited storage. I like the convenience of taking out a oldies MD and sticking in some nice Elevator Music. I like some of my music separated this way. I prefer the MD and doubt I will ever go to the lossy IPUD. But Technology waits for no one, not even the IPUD user. in time discs will be old and fade away, the ipud will become a dogs chew toy, being replaced by an ear piece. Until that time, keep those MDs spinning

================================== It does not matter whether it is encryption or Compression, ( compression would be the one )the act of recording uses both and the quality may have a subtle change, barely noticeable in the MD 1st gen. Sorry I don't have the numbers but I think it is a ratio of 1 to 6 where from every 6 bits, one is removed. But for a MD second gen recording, the same 1 out of 6 bits is removed making a second bit removed from every 6 bits in the recording, a factor of more then double removed ( 1st and 2nd gen combined) thus the loss becomes more preveilant. I have never done a 3 gen recording but I can't imagine it sounding very good since more than half the data bits would have been removed. I have used a 1st gen MD recording to record to a CD but I never expect it to sound great if recorded back to a MD for 2nd gen. I have only done it once when I did not have a CD Master recording. I would say it was ok but....... The best way to preserve your recording would be to CD for your Master. Use the MD for making any compilations you want to listen to on the road, riding a bike, walking a path, etc. make changes when you want or erase and compile a new session from the CD Master(s). This will become especially important when MDs become very hard to find. Keeping compilations on the MD may not be possible, or not all of them anyway. CDs are plentiful and make good MASTERS. MDs are great for portability. Its strange that we have these amazing portable editing sound stations, yet they are becoming an endangered breed... What a waste of great technology.............. A fast thought here.. Imagine how much music you could save, if they used the MD compression on the CD disk. Keep those MD's Spinning

I have found articles that have stated that the MD is a near match, sound wise, to the CD. It did make the observation that there may be some degration due to the encryption, but in most cases you need equipment to find it on a good recording. I find that true also. If you record from a poor music source, the recording is affected as well. Kinda like garbage in, garbage out. The encryption can amplify any poor recordings noises. If you use an excellant music source, the MD recording will be excellant, as I always comment, near CD Quality. And of course don't forget, WE MD USERS have UNLIMITED storage. There are a lot more noisy music sources, like the IPUD, that should get some accurate revues. But there are a lot of statements from people who just have no clue, or are partnered with opposing equipment companies ( $$$ ), that want the MD do be scorned to bring more buyers to their product. As my dentist has said, The advertisers, reviewers and reporters can say anything they want to, few are made to PROVE what they say is true. Freedom of speech allows this. Face it. The people that know how excellant the md sound quality is and enjoy the editing abilities and portabilities of the MD units know they are a great product. The Naive have taken to the articles and followed what they read as gospel with very little research to see whether these articles are accurate or not. You know this to be true as a MD user. Can you imagine, how much music you could get on a CD, if they would use the MD encryption to record on the CD???? But then that would hurt cd sales so I DIDn't Say that. As for supporting one noisy product over another, it is two fold. Cost is cheap for the IPUD. There is not much quaility in them, they are produced by chip placing machines. There is very little human intervention during production so it is cheap to make. The other is people are naive and believe what they hear and read. If someone told you a pile of poop was worth its weight in gold, SOMEBODY is going to believe it and start collecting POOP. Same thing applies in advertising and so called equipment reviews. The MD had a good run and Those of us lucky enough to get involved with them know the great quality that the MD supports. No one has to tell us, we enjoy it every day we use the MD. We will most likely use them until we run out of discs or a better technology is invented. For me, it won't be the IPUD.

UPDATE: As of a month or so ago when I last looked for Blank MiniDiscs, I found the SONY 80 min and SONY HiMD, SONY Neige, HDD and VICTOR still being produced. I have also seen some SONY Color MiniDisc blanks but am unsure if they are being produced at this time. The big problem is Sony Underestimated the actual use of the minidisc in the US so they have limited production. Thus, now when you order blank minidiscs, you most likely are put on a back order list, minimum wait is about a month. Makes me think this whole MiniDisc Fiasco in the US was created by bad numbers through the SONY peanut counters. It certainly isn't the product, sound quality has always been great and I can live without Sonic Stage and NOTHING offers the portability and editing abilities a minidisc does. Shame Shame Sony, didn't keep your eye on the ball. The expensive SONY PROFESSIONAL Blank MD DISCS are being discontinued and are being sold as long as stock exists. At almost $5 a disc, I think they will be around for awhile but once supplies are sold out, there well be no more. TasCam DID introduce a couple of MD recorders this year ( 2010 ) but I am not sure what their Blank MINIDISC source was going to be. They do not produce their own Blanks and if this equipment was intended for the professional market, I would think the expensive professional MINIDISC was the target for use in the new machines. With these discs out of production, they will have to use the "normal" quality minidiscs. End Update

Should I a$$ume this gallery no longer exists?? I click on the link and the error screen says the server cannot be found. Any Ideas or is this gone??? O

When I worked in a big Dispatcher center, we had long intricate relief sessions. I used the MD recorder to record that relief session so I could go back to it if I needed a reminder of one of the subjects. - I also use them to record nature animal, bird and water sounds. - Though these days I am using the CD to MASTER and the MD to make compilations for travel music, I do have some nice music from CD, radio, tv and other sources recorded on the MD. I am waiting for some friends to call from up North, she says when the horny frogs start croaking for their mates, the woods are filled with the sounds of croaking, lololol..... - One thing that has come in very handy is my Video recorder with the hard drive. Satelite has the music channels and I can record to the hard drive, edit then record to CD or MD, depending on the intended use. I do have a mixer in the system if there needs to be some tweaking done and I built some hi end switch boxes that also have a level function if needed. I can record pretty much most things and do it in a quality result. - I try not to copy a 1st gen MD recording to a CD as 2nd gen recording. But I have done it if it was a one of a kind and not replaceable. But I wont copy a 2nd gen recording back to a MD as the sound deteriorates too much. O

My view on back ups has not changed for many years.... The Minidisk is not meant for first gen back ups or Masters. The Encryption takes away, though miniscule, some of the excitement of the recording. And if you were to record the MD to a CD or tape and re-record to MD, the second encryption would make it very noticable. I currently use CD as first gen MASTER copies. I will make a compilation from the MASTERS to the MD for my portable listening enjoyment.... I can erase part or all of the minidisc for a new compilation whenever needed. If you record a first gen to minidisc, such as remote nature sounds, and save the sound on the MINIDISC, you are good but you can only record to a CD as second Gen and never back to MD as 3rd gen. Well you could but it would sound like a frog croaking. In the case of using the MD for remote recordings, you won't have a lot of choice since the 1st gen recording was on the MD so just live with the fact that copies will be limited. As far as life span, it is a coin toss. Of the discs I have used, mostly SONY but some memorex, etc... I have only had 2 discs actually fail where it would not record again. That would be less then 1% of the discs I have used. The "iffy" one is when the TOC fails. Again, I find this occurring another coin toss. There are many reasons it could happen, including low batt, MD Recorder being dropped/bumped, static, more distant reasons, md recorder failure, and more. I have not had it happen often, but it has happened a couple times. do everything you can to restore the TOC and you won't lose anything.... been there, done that.... Keep those MD's spinning

I have seen SONY 80 minutes, SONY Professional and the SONY HiMD as well as HHD and Victor. ProTape.com and TapeOnLine.com seem to have decent prices but the SONY 80s are back ordered a lot. Odyssey

Part of this is Sony's fault. They should have marketed MD for its <i>recording capabilities</i>, not as a replacement for CD's. That created a huge amount of prejudice against the format in the American market.

This is an interesting phenomenom.... I have recorded with SONY disks off of my stereo to my MD walkman and had the drop outs. BUT I Have recorded from different sources and had none. For awhile I thought it was the disc but now I am thinking it is the source, perhaps a mismatch in source or clipping during recording. I use both line in or mic for recording. The clipping seems to occur during line in recordings. I have tried lowering the source level with some good results. There had been some talk over the years about some manufacturer discs having problems more than others but I never experienced any of it. So could it be true that there were problems, maybe, or there could have been a problem with a batch of discs that got out. All manufacturers have quality control but it goes so far. anyway, right now I will say the cutout problems sounds like a mismatch or maybe the level too high for the recorder, it could happen! There may be a much better answer but this is where I am pointed to so far.... Keep us informed.... Odyssey

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I agree that every brand MD will do the job, but from what I have seen there are only two left, SONY and VICTOR.... There might be another but I haven't seen them out there. There is a Pro Blank, and its price indicates it is aimed at the professional, whether it is an inflated price or for better quality material??? I tried to get more info on the Pro Blanks ( SONY ) and all I can figure is the disk is made of a more dense material and should hold up to rigorous recording and erasures. If you figure a studio will probably record and erase on the disk a few times a week, over a period of time that disk will have seen more recording and editing then we will ever do. If our supplies of discs goes away, the Pro Disc may be our only choice as the Professional decks by TASCAM should indicate some longevity in Pro Disc availability.... Just my thought Odyssey ( UPDATE Sep 15 2010 ) It seems the Professional disc, made by SONY is not being made anymore... The stores still have them but the prices are not coming down... They are in a " available as supplies last " mode and when they are gone, that will be the end of the expensive PROFESSIONAL SONY disc. This has me wondering what the professional users will do, considering that TasCam only makes recorders/player for MD but not discs.... I had thought the TasCam market might help keep the MD supply available longer but SONY has taken another step at orphaning us MD users again. Sony Still has 74 and 80 minute MD in production and I believe the Neige Discs are in production. Correct me but I believe the color disc series has been discontinued as well, being sold until supplies are exhausted. Make sure you look for the deals, some of the prices I have seen are beyond silly, or porpose price gouging. I have seen some fair prices still for some MDs blanks. Good luck

When you are talking noise, what are you hearing??? I have a MZ-R50 that I used to use extensively for remote recording. I had made a stereo mic, with the mic in a stereo plug body and it all plugged into the recorder. I used it one time to record some nature sounds, started record and walked away. Went back later to get it and played the recording. The mic was sensitive enough that every 10 or so seconds, I would hear a really low Whrrrr sound as the pickup head would move to record more music information to the disc. It was barely noticable but it was there. My fix was to use extension cable so the mic would be no where near the MD recorder body. Is that the sound you guys are talking about??? Odyssey

I recently made a live music recording using my Sony Net MD MZ-NF810. --< SNIP >-- I pressed the stop button, and observed the "Data Save" message flashing in the display. --< SNIP >-- I later inserted the recorded disc into the same unit for playback, and after several minutes of searching, it returned a "Blank Disc" message. Does this mean that the recording did not actually take place? ----------- No, The recording could have been completed, the TOC did not complete successfully.------- Does this mean that the recording is actually on the disc but cannot be read? ----- YES, the recording can be on the disc but if it cannot find or read the TOC, it cannot be found ------ I've tried playing some other recorded discs and they work fine. What should be my next step in finding out if there is a recoverable recording on the disc? ------- If you know someone with a TasCam 801R MKII , that machine can find the data recorded and create a TOC so you can play it. I think the TasCam 301R MKII can do this also, I need to read the instructions, but if the data is there, and the TOC is missing or damaged, These TasCam MD recorders can make it so you can play again. ----- ------- One thought though, if the concert filled the entire disc, this might cause a problem for the TOC, I have had that happen once before... just a thought -------- If there is a recoverable recording on the disc, how do I access it? ------- Yes, the complete recording should be on the disc, see above comments.------- This is the first time that I have ever encountered this problem. Any and all insight is greatly appreciated. ------- This is an very very intermittant problem unless you filled the disc completely. If the bettery gets low, if the MD recorder is bumped when the toc tries to write, various reasons, the unit will have a " Brain Fart " and may not be able to read the TOC, thats when this happens ---------

Just one question, maybe two.... Did I miss it or is there no LINE OUT on the MZ-DH10P?? I have little use for Sonic Stage so the very least needed item is the LINE OUT port. IF there is no LINE OUT jack, do those electronic adapters that convert the HEADPHONE OUT jack down to LINE OUT levels work well?? It would be the only alternative I think. I saw the pics of other MZ-DH10P owners and they are really quite good for a cam that was thrown in an MD unit for a CD jacket photo and doubling as a regular cam. By the way, the black MZ-DH10P against the booze bottles really made a great picture, if only SONY thought of it first. Thanks for the review. Ody

I've been involved with many of the formats for recording and am familiar enough to know what works. Having been introduced to the MD with the MZ-R50, and yes I still have it and it still performs flawlessly, more than I can say for my Sony Deck. I have 3 other MD walkman including my MZ-R200. My needs are easy enough to meet. I want to be able to play recorded material at home, car or walking and keep a backup system that is copyable. ( I do not consider MD recordings copyable because of the encryption break down when recording from a MD source.) I do have Cassettes but they are fading out and for difficult recordings I have a Reel to Reel deck, yes that is fading too but it sure can beat some recording problems. I also use my Panasonic DVR to record and mix sound recordings. The recordings go directly to a Hard Drive and can be edited almost as easily as the MD recorder. From here I can record to my CD's, and or MD's. CD's seem to be the best for home/car and backups as they don't use encryption like the MD does or the worse encryption of the IPod. I am happy with the CD Backups and unless I am recording live, I can record an MD from the CD back ups, then I can carry the MD in the car, motorcycle, Segway or when walking. Thats not to say that I do not use the MD at home also. What can I say, the size of the MD disc makes all the difference and sound quality is great. I am told the encryption makes a mark on the MD sound reproduction making the CD the better of the two, but as of yet, I can't hear a difference. I also like to record nature sounds and the MD recorder was the way to go. You have to face it, the versatility of the MD recorder is like taking a recording studio with you out in the wilderness and make nature recordings. If I want the Nature recording on CD, I can record it over but as I said, recording from MD to a CD is not my first choice, but it does work, If you only record over that one level. Up to this time, I have had no use for Sound Stage and until I do I won't deal with it. Hi-MD has opened interesting windows as well including Data Storage, which I do use a few disks for that purpose. I have not yet gotten too dedicated to HiMD yet because I still have the older MD's that use the old 70/80 min MD's and I have a MD changer for the car that is not HiMD compatible. I was sold on the MD technology a long time ago but I have often shuddered when Sony was playing those gadget games with the MD units. You know what that was about? Offering units with limited abilities instead of just one great unit, like the MZ-RH100 or MZ-R200. Of course these are being labeled as "Professional" units today. I am a lifer as I don't see anything on the horizon that can be any better with the sound quality or ease to change music or what ever you may have recorded on those MD disks, be it 70/80 min or HiMD types. I have begun to stockpile MD disks incase Sony decides to stop production as my current plans are to let the MD be a very important mode of storage for my music and other storage. I laugh sometimes because I check some of the places that sell the current model MD Walkman recorder and they generally cannot keep them on the shelf. The reason I find it funny is because I have not seen ANY Advertisements of any kind for the MD recorders. Maybe if I looked at some sound recording rags, I may find something since they are the target market. I talked to some people in Japan and they say the MD is a very heavily used recorder there. They love them! Also I am told Europe really likes the MD recorder. The US customer group was the only one that stayed away from the MD technology. It was a matter of being in the wrong place in a wrong time. That does not say that anything else is superior, I don't think there is, it just was not able to build up a following fast enough. Someone mentioned that the American public did not want to get caught in a product war and get "stuck" like the Sony BetaMax was caught up in. That reminds me, seach the net for a title called "Blue Ray Is Dead", the article is scarry for this new technology. My opinion of the MZ-R200 is "what a great, great recorder!!!" Why did Sony wait so darn long to get to this quality? Alright, so Sony is like everyone else, they needed to learn and discover like everyone else to build an MD product but Sony would commonly design MD players and not offer recording or recorders for net only, limiting the usage of the product. It just did not make sense to me. Sony could have made a recorder with all the toys, minus HiMD a long time ago, which might have made a difference in the popularity of the product. Then coming out now with the HiMD option and fancy screen display just tops it off. So, in the unlikely event that something else may come and be more user friendly (yeah, right) and offer more than the MD recorder, I will look at it but I really don't have any reason to change. The MD does everything I need it to do and much more. It will be in my future for a long time. O

These are quite interesting comments flying back and forth. Let me put it this way, At one time or another, we have all been moaners(PERIOD)! I can truthfully say, that I have never had a problem with any MD that I have had in the portable units. The decks are another story, but I won't go there. Now, to clarify my statement, I have never owned or used a "net"MD and have never used Sonic Stage. Then again, I have never needed it. I have two MDs and two players and I wouldn't give up one of them. The MD should have taken its rightful place as the Phillipes Cassette faded away but, as we all know, it didn't turn out that way. But the MD has held on and with the MZ-RH1 and MZ-200, has replaced any type of MD recorder ever make. And being backward compatible, your old MD recorders will still be of use for many years to come. I did think it interesting that SONY turned the market a bit, making the MZ-RH1/200 a professional interest. In reality, the professional market has been using MDs for some time. The forums will back this statement up. The lack of a deck or car player does bring fears of limited production but who knows what Sony is thinking. You have to figure, they dropped millions to produce these recorders, to a limited market. This is quite a task for a company to invest money into and secure a profit. but hey, they built it and its the best ever. All I can say is, ENJOY. Nothing out there can match what the latest MD recorders can do. O

Well, just for kicks, can you tell us why you would want to get rid of one of the newest and best supported MD PLAYERS ever made? Maybe you found a problem that we all might want to know about. thanks O

While I admire your enthusiasm, I can't resist but to knock it down a notch or two Well, with some of the opinions flying here, I expected this..... For medium/big runs (frankly, only popular artists are worth releasing on Hi-MD, as the more obscure would get too few sales on CD, let alone Hi-MD), Any recording format ventures in ALL sound areas. Popular artists take a large chunk of the pie chart but there are many more areas that bite into that pie. nature sounds, sound books, less popular music etc. What I find difficult or perhaps it would be a large advantage for commercial use, is how Sony, or one of thier contracted companies, would fill a disk that can record continuously for 35 hours. Where perhaps a smaller amount of time might have been more manageable, in the selling market, these HiMD disks have a huge amount of record time. the cost prices to Sony would be a world of difference compared to the far more expensive Hi-MD - and that means a big difference in profit margin when you are pumping out thousands/millions of discs. I think so, but remember, He who owns the disk (SONY) pays LOTS less for the blank. Profit will always be determined by the public and the areas of sounds that have been recorded for sale. Marketing is a tricky business, but only a marketing expert can understand all the ins and outs of profitability and even then they would tell you that 50% of that is a good guess. These things always matter (particulary the way media affects buying patterns, necessitating occasional 'bursts' of production). Absolutely Shelf space in record stores also matters. I haven't seen audio cassettes (or racks dedicated to cassettes) for some time. Though still straining to keep in the market, the CD did a good job of giving the Cassette the K'Bosh. The MD would have been a reasonable replacement with recording ability but I don't think the marketing was very good. Informing the public of the bloody format is another one It's faaaaaar to obscure. Joe luvs his iPod, tho. Yes for some reason, the marketing never has been any good. Shame to let a superior recording/play back device lay in limbo. The marketing for IPud has taken a large share of the sales and is well ibedded. I prefer to not have to suck music from a computer, especially at the encryption rate that IPud uses. We are talking about a format that was intro'd in 2004 Real figures for just Hi-MD (and not MiniDisc/NetMD) are probably far lower. I never cared for the Net/MD units myself. They took a lot away from them so I considered them a waste. Not many would pay the same (or more) to get less (worse sound, smaller artwork, etc) unless they only had machines to play the small discs (and couldn't record). Hmmm worse sound (less), this too is interesting since most people cannot tell the difference between the CD reproduction vs MD. YET, the inferior recordings of the IPud have the market awash. I still think it is all marketing. Maybe that plays a part. But I think it has more to do with something simpler: compatibility. There are CD players everywhere. They are standard. You need to remember that when MD first hit the market, the MD decks were available from many manufactureres. CD had just taken a good hold over vinyl records and everyone liked the new smaller size and the fact that the disk was difficult to damage. MD with its portable recording abilities came in to replace the cassette but by then, cassettes were being bought from the store and just used in car stereos. Only die hard cassette buyers were actually recording. Too, there were many types of cassette tapes to buy depending on the noise level and you had to have a compatible machine to take advantage of that recording sound ability. It had gotten messy. CDs are great. Archiving to flac is better What is a flac? yes, CD is great, I like them for home but I prefer to use my CD's as a master and record onto the MD for travel. What ever you care to hear, you can pop it in anytime without hooking up to anything. The MD disk is small and very transportable. And the MD sound reproduction is most like the original CD. They need you and the masses. One of the reasons we see iPod toilet docks nowadays is because the units are selling like Big Macs. Hmmm, I don't like Big Macs either. Companies go where the sales are. Sony had its chance. It blew it. Perceptions (bad ones) are very hard to shake. As far as the public is concerned, Hi-MD = NetMD = MiniDisc, and all that was bad or not-so-good with it (software and hardware). I have to agree here all the way. The MD technology is matched by none other and yet its like "our very own big secret". You are almost in a private club if you like and use the MD/HiMD technology. Sony had a nice window of opportunity of at least 5 years - where they were still considered king - to get things right with NetMD/MiniDisc. They totally blew it. I think pre-recorded Hi-MDs make no sense whatsoever economically speaking and customer desirability wise). I have to think that sony has changed their perception of the market and no longer cares about the "hobbyist" recorder. Though the response to the MZ-RH1/MZ-R100 hitting the market here on this board was/is amazing, it seems everyone on here either has one, ordered one or will get one at some futrue time. I dont think Sony is looking at us as a primary consumer target anymore, at least not in the USA. Does anyone know how popular the MD/HiMD formats are in other countries??? Last I heard, you can't find them in the store in Japan, they buy them up as they are delivered. Now that they are adding the Professional interest, the HiMD is being prepared for use as a tool rather just a musical playback device. Face it, If a reporter used it for recording reports, and it caught on with other agencies, sales might take off in a few years. Djs have always shown interest in the MD for their work and I have read where Radio stations have used them for injecting commercials, sound bits and other things that the old cart machine was becoming difficult to do. If you think about it, the HiMD has grown to quite the machine now. Ease of use, simple change out of media (disk), long battery life, built in metering and small portable package makes this desireable for a professional market. Obviously, all consumers are welcome but Sonys sights are turning to a seemingly more profitable market. I say this because where would a consumer like you and I use a media disk capable of 35 hour recording, even 20 hour recording?? Managability comes to mind whenever I hear this amount of storage time. For long trips, I love it cause I don't have to change the disk. Hear it a couple times then come home and re-record the disk for fresh entertainments. In the meantime, Happy Recording...and long live CD AND HiMD

Latest news is, Sound Professionals has received the MZ-RH1 and it came in BLACK!!! Also, MiniDisco received their stock and it also is in Black! Pricing is at $329 US, and only Sound Professionals include a Mic ( No idea what quality a free Mic amy give you. Obviously the MZ-RH1 IS NOT the last of its kind as it has a SISTER unit coming out, the MZ-M200.\ Ya'all need to just enjoy the technology and for get about the guys with their death predictions of the MD. This unit is way too advanced to hint at an early demise. Cost of Research and Development alone screams follow up models. AS said before, if you are that afraid but love the format, stock up on discs and worry no more. Silly worry, but people get nervous. And as a last thought, if the MD died tomorrow, WHAT IS THERE ON THE MARKET THAT COULD POSSIBLY REPLACE IT?????? I don't see anything close to the new MZ-RH1 and MZ-M200 units. Nothing matches portability with ability to change the music data (disc), this includes size, weight, battery life. - Nuff Said So rest assured with your new purchase, MD has a future. And now that it is available in the color I wanted, I need to decide where I want to order one from...... O O

Most of America has a problem with the English language and top of that list is SPELLING. Have you read some review articles lately or even news papers? ///// Where on earth do they find these people? Cheers \\\\\ Look at your neighbors, look at the schools, look at all of America, answer your question? O TRUE, the first release of US version is Silver. At least this was true until someone stated that Sound Professionals told them the BLACK unit was expected to be released a month after the silver unit. If you look at MiniDisco, they have the BLACK unit (without mic) up for orders now. The ad states BLACK UNIT. Go Figure O I don't think I would be too concerned with customs. We ship from Chicago to Canada on almost a daily basis, and depending on how much you are willing to pay for shipping, can get it in a couple days. Shipping STANDARD takes us 4 days but Shipping World Wide Expresss is 2 days. ( these are UPS shipping ). Even at the Standard rate of 4 days, that isn't bad, except for the fact that we want THIS product YESTERDAY!!! O

//// The minidisc is rightfully represented as a replacement format for the cassette, and not a challenger to the CD. //// True, the target market was the dying cassette users market. At the timeCassettes had exceeded their technology and better replacements were on the horizon. I had thought that the MD might have been a challanger to the CD if it did not hack the music data when it formatted it. //// Although in my world, HiMD HAS replaced the CD. I only grudingly make CDs for friends without Minidisc players //// I use the CDs for master (this is pre-MZ-RH1 and MZ-M200 ) and use the MD for portable players. This is because of the fabulous quality that the CD maintains which is great for copy to MD. The MD, on the other hand, only records a high portion of bits when it is compressed. This slightly affects sound quality, most won't notice it. But if you try to record MD to MD, the compression will remove more sound bits from the MD data already compressed and sound quality will begin to deteriorate quickly. Though not a great problem, MDs can lose the TOC and that destroys the music data and sometimes renders the disk un-useable. Keeping the CD for Master prevents this loss by simply providing a permanent ( at about 100 years life )medium that can be used to record again to replace the lost MD data. Everyone has their methods, the NetMD users may use the hard drive but they can crash too. Keep it safe and it won't be lost, so to speak. O

???? (I noticed Sound Professionals just dropped their price to $328 to be in line with Minidisco. Ain't competition grand? Does anyone know the official US MSRP of the RH1?) ?????? HUH? Sound Prof price was originally discounted to $299 and they RAISED it to $329 to be in line with MiniDisco. O