Which one should I get???

[campekenobi]

Ok, I'm new here, and I'm new to the MD world. However, I've had my eye on those cute discs since they came out ages ago.

Now that the mp3/ipod craze is going on, I figured this was the perfect excuse to finally enter the MD world. Here is my dilemma, and I will tell you my needs and hopefully you all can help. I also have a few specific quetions I'll throw at the end.

Need: something under $150

Need: LCD screen that shows artist/title of track

Two basic needs that make the whole thing complex, because if I'm not mistaken, it is only the hi-MD players that show the artist/title in the LCD, correct me if I'm wrong. I saw the cnet review/video of the entry level hi-MD and what really turned me off is how he said it feels CHEAP and like it will break. I love to have at least half of a metal body, but either way I don't care for the tiny joystick type of control.

For the longest time I've been considering getting the NE410, just to kinda' play around and experiment w/ the whole MD concept. I don't mind the look of the model though the LCD is lame, and the no input mic/line issue is unfortunate, but my needs for direct recording are almost non-existent, tho it's always nice to have the option, but the price is very very appealing (about $60).

So it kinda' boils down to this; buy the NE410 for minimal cost, and see how much I can live w/ a non-recording machine w/ bad LCD, or I double, even triple the cost and get an entry-level hi-MD to take advantage of the nicer LCD, and of course, bigger storage space. But again, the low-end hi-MDs look like they'll BREAK easily.

My final question is this; can a hi-MD recorder BURN/RECORD on a REGULAR MD disc, or does it only PLAY regular MD in addition to using hi-MD discs???? I ask that because (and this will sound silly), I actually love the LOOK of the MD discs (the clear shells, the color series, etc) as the hi-MD is very bland, PC-looking, and zero variety.

Any thoughts folks?? I like some of the older units I've seen on Ebay, but I'm concerned if they don't have this 'net-MD' capability I might feel left in the dark. Thanks in advance, this looks like a friendly & responsive forum :smile:

[mrsoul]

Welcome to the forum. You should check the minidisc.org site for info on the HI-MD but to answer your final question, you can record and play the standard MDs on the Hi-MD but you only get 1/3 the amount of memory on the reformatted MDs compared to a Hi-MD disc.

My MZ-S1 Net MD shows the title of the track on the LCD, not sure if that answers your question.

[campekenobi]

I've seen several contradictions on line in regards to the LCD screen for the NH600 / NH600D. The bluetin site lists it as 1-line LCD display, yet I've seen a stock photo of it display 3 distinctive rows "ALBUM / ARTIST / TRACK". Then Amazon.com shows the LCD w/ ALL characters showing, so there are 3 rows just saying "WALKMAN", but again, THREE rows... THEN on a rolling video review from cnet.com, I watch the guy and it looks like JUST the track song kinda SCROLLS (annoying) across the bottom row while being played, then while using the jog WHEEL, a listing of 3 rows shows up (as if searching groups).

What I'm looking for is an MD player that displays at the very least - ARTIST - TRACK - the whole time the track is playing.

Thanks

[mrsoul]

Yeah, the MZ-S1 just scrolls the track title, nothing fixed during playback. My NH900 does show more info like Disc Title, Artist, Group Title depending on which of a number of display options I choose. Not sure if the NH600 has the same options, did you try downloading the manual from minidisc.org?

Take a look here for display options:

http://www.minidisc.org/manuals/sony/MZNH600D.pdf