NH900 vs NH1

[andrewdc]

Hi folks

I want to transfer my 600-some CDs to a permanent digital storage system that is portable but that I can also easily use to play through a line-in stereo. Of course, being able to download mp3s would be nice as well, and being able to record live may turn out to be an added bonus someday.

I've really only done research on MD. Would the NH900 and NH1 be my best option? Have folks tested out other hard-drive-type brands?

What is the big difference, outside of AA compatibility, between the two?

Also, is it possible to backup disks? As in, can you easily record what's on a 1GB Hi-MD disc to another Hi-MD disc? Haven't seen that discussed anywhere.

Thanks for any feedback at all - sorry if my questions are rudimentary or posted in the wrong place ....

[dex Otaku]

I want to transfer my 600-some CDs to a permanent digital storage system that is portable but that I can also easily use to play through a line-in stereo. Of course, being able to download mp3s would be nice as well, and being able to record live may turn out to be an added bonus someday.  

I've really only done research on MD. Would the NH900 and NH1 be my best option? Have folks tested out other hard-drive-type brands?  

What is the big difference, outside of AA compatibility, between the two?

Also, is it possible to backup disks? As in, can you easily record what's on a 1GB Hi-MD disc to another Hi-MD disc? Haven't seen that discussed anywhere.

Well..

MD and HiMD are, I would assert, the only portable formats currently existing that are both recordable and removable, without being solid state [and thereby prohibitively expensive, for now at least]. That is with the exception of both CDR and DVD+/-R, neither of which are as small or as durable as MDs or HiMDs.

Hard drive brands? Do you hard disc recorders? Most of the hdd-based players out there that also support recording are rather anemic when it comes to supporting features that one would expect on a recorder [like record level meters, record level controls, &c.]. If you're not that interested in using the unit to actually record on location, this won't be a big issue for you. I also would not consider anything hdd based as permanent storage - portable hard drives [as with all hard drives] have limited lifespans. We're talking about 3-4 years with ginger treatment vs. a probable 10-30 years for an MD [figures I'm making up but feel fairly comfortable have done so - if I'm totally out to lunch on that - anyone - please do correct me].

Backing up discs - the simple answer is no. Thanks to Sony's DRM, you can't transfer something back off a disc once you've put it there. There are workarounds, such as copying off the disc by analogue means, or copying it digitally in realtime using a program such as Total Recorder, but I doubt this is the solution you're looking for in this case.

On the other hand: generally, you put things on HiMD by adding them to your SonicStage library on your computer first. When you put something on HiMD, it doesn't disappear from your library; you can put it on other discs. You can also backup your library to DVD+/-R or CDR, which, with 600 CDs, is likely to take both a large number of discs and a lot of time. Mind you - ripping, encoding, and transferring 600 CDs to HiMD would take a lot of time to begin with.

NH1 vs. NH900: Most of the differences are superficial, but some of the key ones are:

All-metal case [NH1] vs. half-metal case [NH900]; one-line vs. three-line display; the NH1 comes with a slightly nicer remote that includes record level meters on its display; and the NH1 is slightly smaller; the NH1 does date/time stamping on recordings you make with it; the NH1 uses and comes with a Li-ion battery, whereas the NH900 uses and comes with a NiMH battery.

Take a look here: http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-NH1.html

Note that at the top of that page you can jump to the NH900 specs, or by clicking 'all' you can see all of the HiMD models on the same page.

Cheers.

[aamd]

About a year ago, I decided to give up on Sony allowing uploading, so I bought the iRiver HD120. I experimented with the recording levels (no meters) and finally managed to make a decent sounding recording.

Alas, while editing it, I noticed the signal dropping out on a repeating basis, clearly some kind of software bug. As it was brand new, I called iRiver, and confronted with the evidence, they admitted they knew about this. They had no plans on making any fixes and claimed that the recording feature was meant for "casual" usage, not "serious" recording.

Fortunately, I was able to return it to my retailer for a full refund. I waited patiently for the 900 to become available and I bought it. (From the same place that offered me the refund.)