kino170878

At that price I'd buy 10 NH600s, that should sort you out.

I bought a Technics SJ-HD501 from ebay and when I insert a disc (recorded or brand new) it keeps saying 'Disk Error'. In the manual it says that the MD is bad and to change it, but as I have tried many different minidiscs and they all say the same thing I must conclude that the problem is the unit itself. Any ideas about what I should do? The seller has agreed a refund if I like but I was thinking whether or not it is repairable.

If you talking about portable units, then I would definately agree that MD is on its way out. There is I think only one Hi-MD unit and one NetMD unit left both made by Sony. After those are gone I think that is it. There is a professional portable recorder by HHB which is still being made though. When it comes to Hi-fi units and decks, you have more choice but only if you stick with MD and not Hi-MD. Every once in a while Panasonic, Kenwood, and even Sony seem to come out with products that have an MD slot but these are only available in Japan. Tascam also makes professional MD decks and I think these will be made for many years to come. Sony have never officially said whether or not they have stopped or plan to stop production of MD decks like the JE480. Grab whatever equipment you can would be my advice.

I get that happening when I put a disc copied in Hi-MD mode into a standard MD or NetMD device. Make sure you are only using the NetMD format and not Hi-MD on the disc. Also make sure you are not using the 1gb Sony discs in the unit as those discs are only Hi-MD compatible (your unit cannot read Hi-MD at all).

Buy whatever you can find. MD is on its way out.

I think the 352kps Atrac rate for CD ripping is only available in Sonicstage....

This is interesting. I wonder can multiple portable MD players be connected through this setup? Since you can use multiple CD/MD changers with a Sony car head unit then perhaps it might be possible... And that remote controller I've never seen before: is that part of the Connects2 / head unit package or do you have to buy it separately?

While they cannot playback LP recorded material, older pre-LP units should be able to play Mono fine in addition to Stereo SP. For some reason LP2 and LP4 recording times cannot be extended by the Monaural option like with SP mode.

When is a stand alone blu-ray recorder going to become available outside of Japan? I would like to buy one but I don't think Sony have any in the UK.

With the setup I described, you download entire album track titles from an online provider into a spreadsheet, open MCrew, and then copy all the track titles with one single command. It takes about 6 mouse clicks in total. I doubt you would need more convenience than that.

The solution (in addition to Barock's inventive idea) unfortunately involves buying more equipment. You actually need to downgrade one model to the MXD-D40 which has the 'PC link' output enabling connection to the PCLK-MN10A external unit. With the latest MCrew CD software this will allow direct control of the MD via the computer. I have this setup and you can perform very quick 2-way copying/pasting of track titles using Microsoft Excel. It's so easy you will wonder how you ever managed without it. I have no idea why Sony took that facility away with the newer MXD-D400.

I saw a youtube video of this unit in action. The whole setup - on the unit itself and also via a computer - seems to be designed completely with Japanese language menus. Unless you are fluent in that language, or can somehow hack the hardware to access english settings, I wouldn't go near it. Originally I had intended buying it, but Sony being Sony I ended up changing my mind.

Technically Minidisc has been obsolete for years. That doesn't stop people from using them.

The MZ-RH1 is the most elegant solution for copying track marks and track titles. Alternatively you can buy a standalone CD recorder and use the digital out from an MD deck - this will copy track marks but not track titles. Alternatively again, you can buy an MD deck with PC link connection and MCrew software - this WILL transfer the track title and disc information into Microsoft excel on the computer although it won't copy the track audio itself. Good luck.

I think 4.5 is perfectly fine myself. Heck even Atrac 4.0 which my old MZ-R37 uses seems fine to me. Unless you are obsessed with listening out for the slightest differences under laboratory conditions I wouldn't worry too much about it. Incidentally, the MDS-W1 double deck can take raw Atrac SP data and copy it at 4x speed. How it manages to do that I will never know. There are times when I wish I could hire an electronics specialist to take the unit apart (I have two so I can spare one) and to carefully figure out a way to replicate the lossless copying procedure into a software program. I would call it 'LegacyStage' just to infuriate Sony!

1) It might be possible. I have always believed that the Atrac codec on the hardware side is fundamentally different to the Atrac codec on the software side. No one really knows because Sony gaurds it with total secrecy. 2) The D40 has Atrac type R, which it uses when you record SP either from its own CD player to MD in real time or if you recorded via an external CD drive. However, when you use the 4x speed recording option it uses the lower Atrac 4.5, not Atrac type R. But I doubt the difference is significant to matter that much.

Maybe try MONO instead of LP2 and see what happens. It could also be because you are mixing up different bit rates on one disc. Keep experimenting until it works. It's a shame you only have one model to play your discs on, get another model from ebay as soon as possible if you intend to stick with the format.

Perfect news. It looks like Sony will continue NetMD support for a long time to come. I wonder if the same will apply to its portable range of MD though. Logic dictates that if hardware MD continues so too must portable MD....?

A big plus point for the B100 is the remote. It looks like it has *gasp* a TRACK MARK button that can insert tracks at any time. Unless the special remote for the B100 (RM-MZB10) can also be used with the MZ-B10? Then just get the B10. However I have no idea if the B10 would indeed work with that remote.

On page 22 of the manual for the MZ-R55 it states "TRACK MARK on the remote does not function during playback". I always assumed that meant I would not be able to insert track marks from the remote at all. Are you sure you can insert tracks from the remote? Or does pausing the track and then pressing the track mark button on the remote manage to do the trick? If it works like you say I will have to get this unit because no recent minidisc units offer that facility I believe. Just to confirm then, after making the recording on the minidisc and then listening to it over, you are able to insert track marks through the remote?

You will never get the exact full amount of time on a minidisc. The manual tells you the approximate time I believe and as mentioned before you also have to factor in fragmentation on top of that.

Maybe you could try sending the other bidder a polite message saying that if he doesn't withdraw his bid he will end up floating in the harbour. I'm sure he will understand and give you extra money to spare his life lol.

I heard the same theory. I have no idea why they would continue to do that, but if they have then perhaps a simple phone call between the parties could.....ahh it's all speculation at the end of the day but interesting nonetheless.

Sony never wanted it's precious SP codec to get mixed up with big bad computers. The SP codec at all times was implemented by the hardware side only. Maybe this is also the reason Sony keeps making bad software - to teach consumers a lesson for choosing to upload and download via the PC.

From the following link, it looks like it was released in July 2006 http://www.akiba.or.jp/select/20060701/df102series.html Legacy MD survives, in Japan at least.