Entered the NH900 Twilight Zone?

[The Low Volta]

Hello, my first post on any forum ever, and it had to be this one...

I'm the proud owner of a MZ-NH900: sounds fantastic and never even had SonicStage crashes ;-) but then again I very quickly updated to the newest version...

"so what's the problem then?" I hear you asking... well...

since a few days, my buttons don't function the way they used to...

first a scetch of the situation:

I was just playing a track on a Hi-MD disc

my player was attached (line-out) to a stereo system so there was no remote attached and the anoying beep was turned off... (ah and my battery indicator only showed one block left)

and then:

I pressed 'stop' which resulted in my player jumping to the next track and playing on;

when I pressed stop again and again, it just skipped to he next track again, but never stopped.

'pause' didn't react at all.

when I deliberately jumped to the next track with the intended button, all problems diappeared (for now). 'stop' functioned as stop again and 'pause' had woken up.

a few hours later I experienced this exact problem again.

Can anyone tell me what happened? Was it the setup that caused problems? (I personnaly think not, but then again 'I knowa nothing' when it comes to technology issues.) The battery?

If it's a technical fault in my player, can and should I try to fix it myself (with your help ofcourse) or should I let the store and Sony handle it, but then I would have to miss my player for god knows how long :-(

allready eternally gratefull waiting THE answer to all

[The Low Volta]

well, it's time for NH900 twilight zone the sequel...

I was just handling my Hi-MD-player (same as above) when I encountered problems with entering the (basic) menu on the player. The manual instructs to hold the button 'navi/menu' down for about two seconds, but when I tried it, the display rapidly switched between the navi-menu and a 'cancel' message, even when I held it down really firmly. This looks like some kind of bad contact, or I'm really lousy at holding buttons down...

well, hope to hear from you all wether I'm the only one experiencing strange button behaviour and, if not, what I can do to cure my dear little machine

thanxalot (far cousin of Lancelot)

P.S.: sorry for the lousy pun

[Jenna]

I have exactly the same problem...and it is really annoying. I do a lot of editing with my 900 and sometimes it takes me 2 or 3 minutes to enter the menu's.

To cancel button also doesn't seem to stop the track, it just skips to the next one. I did find if you hit cancel twice really quicky it seems to stop.

I am gonna wait a few months before I send it in to get fixed. I did think it was just me that was having this problem...where did you get your unit...maybe it was a bad batch...I

well, it's time for NH900 twilight zone the sequel...

I was just handling my Hi-MD-player (same as above) when I encountered problems with entering the (basic) menu on the player. The manual instructs to hold the button 'navi/menu' down for about two seconds, but when I tried it, the display rapidly switched between the navi-menu and a 'cancel' message, even when I held it down really firmly. This looks like some kind of bad contact, or I'm really lousy at holding buttons down...

well, hope to hear from you all wether I'm the only one experiencing strange button behaviour and, if not, what I can do to cure my dear little machine

thanxalot (far cousin of Lancelot)

P.S.: sorry for the lousy pun

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[The Low Volta]

I bought my player on 18/12/2004 in a shop from the Selexion Group in Hasselt, Belgium so very unlikely that it's from the same batch, unless you're Belgian too

I guess that for now I too will wait with sending my player back to Sony (especially 'cause I don't like the idea of going without the brilliant thingy)

Anyway, it's nice to know I'm not alone out there :-) so thank you!

...but I still hope one of the very experienced people on these fora could solve our problems with some 'magic' advice

[Christopher]

Welcome, both of you.

Do you have these problems when you use the remote? I have no idea what this is all about.

[The Low Volta]

as I forgot to mention ofcourse (but then again, it was my first post ever), I'm talking about the buttons on the player... I haven't noticed any problems with the remote.

But still, even with a functioning remote, I would like a functioning player too...

so to recapitulate the problems:

- pushing 'stop' on the player while playing a track resulted in jumping to the next track (and playing on)

- pushing 'pause' on the player resulted in either jumping to the next track and playing on er did nothing at all

these problems disappeared after I had repeatedly jumped forwards and backwards in between tracks using the intended ('<<' & '>>') buttons (on the player)

My player was connected to my stereo (line out), so I couldn't use the remote

later I also encountered the problem that entering the (basic) menu, by holding the 'navi/menu' button on the player down for two seconds, was impossible. I only got the 'navigation menu' or a 'cancel' message (or a rapid alternation of both). (this is the problem Jenna too encountered)

so... I hope this more precise explenation gives you an idea of my problems...

thank you for your attention and I hope you could help us

P.S.: and just to reassure you, it's still under warranty, so I won't be dissecting it (yet) ;-)

[Jenna]

Yep this is exactly the problem on mine. This is my 4th MD player and only the 610 has never had any keypad problems.

The remote works just fine with mine as well.

I too would appreciate any feedback as to how I can fix this without sending it in.

[Christopher]

Compressed air for the input keys, perhaps? I'm stumped, to be honest.

[The Low Volta]

Have just tried the compressed air cleaning (about half a can!), but to no avail...

still skips tracks in stead of stopping...

this time I turned 'beep' on, and noticed that my little troublemaker squeels quite anxiously (beeps a few times, bee-ee-beep like) when it skips...

I'm getting quite worried (and annoyed), I'd hate to find out that my hard earned and precious (still a student) money (about $270) has brought troubles instead of endless Hi-MD-joy ;-)

[ROMBUSTERS]

this used to happen to me way back with the N505 but it dissapeared shortly before i got my HiMD (go figure)

[samplehunter]

I have exactly the same problem...and it is really annoying. I do a lot of editing with my 900 and sometimes it takes me 2 or 3 minutes to enter the menu's.

To cancel button also doesn't seem to stop the track, it just skips to the next one. I did find if you hit cancel twice really quicky it seems to stop.

I am gonna wait a few months before I send it in to get fixed. I did think it was just me that was having this problem...where did you get your unit...maybe it was a bad batch...I

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glad to hear that I'm not the only nh900 user with the navi button problem.

you're right, it's quite annoying when you have have to use it. It takes ages to even change the record mode. in rec-pause there is no navi menu so chances are higher to set in to the right menu, but you can only setup a bit recording-stuff here.

You also can change the recording mode only between HiSP and HiLP while in rec-pause. To change to PCM, you have to stop and go to the menu again WHERE THIS F**CK**%$§ NAVI-MENU POPPS UP. Aaaargh!

I've tested it in the Service-Mode.

There is a tool to test all knobs and keys. if you press a key a counter counts up and the display shows the pressed key.

The NAVI Button definetly has sometimes bad contact.

if you press it down slowly the counter counts 2-5 pressings sometimes.

I wanted to have it exchanged in the shop where i've bought it, but (as you also might have experienced) when i wanted to show this error it worked properly all the time.

[motown_junky]

Yep me too, I thought I was going mad, I purchased my MZ-NH900 from Amazon & straight away noticed the strange behavior of the nav/menu. I contacted Amazon who basically said 'not our problem, go to Sony' so I ended up sending it away to Sony to be repaired, when it eventually came back it worked for about 3 presses then reverted back to the fault, not only that it now seemed worse & to add insult to injury I started experiencing the stop button acting as forward skip !! Anyway to cut a long story short I went back to Amazon who agreed to replace it so I now have a new replacement that works perfectly.

[The Low Volta]

sorry people for not keeping you up to date...

I brought my NH900 back to the shop where I bought it. There were 2 technicians present... luckily, when I was showing the first one what happened (or didn't correctly happen) while pressing the buttons, my little wonderful machine acted 'as usual' (which means not!); but when the second guy walked in, he asked what the problem was and then he himself pushed some buttons and ...of course everything worked fine. If it hadn't been for the first technician, I would definately have been sent away, 'cause my problem was caused by me not being able to press buttons decently...

As it was now, it got sent back to Sony and was repaired (not replaced, I checked the serial number)! Ok, it took 5 weeks, but up until now all buttons function as intended (knock on wood) and I have successfully used it to record interviews and lectures and (a little less successfully, due to my inferior mono mic) rock/metal concerts... but that's another thread. So I would say success...

...albeit I DO encounter some mysterious gaps (right in the middle of a song) during playback now and then... will the horror continue? eek, eek, eek

[olijones1984]

i get gaps during playback too, except ive got a NH1. the timer carries on but theres no music. a quick tap on the unit brings the sound back but its annoying. seems to happen more in the cold too

[SlowMo]

... seems to happen more in the cold too

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hah, that´s funny, i once had that impression too, but it turned out, that the unit was swinging too much. ---> thread

-you two wouldn´t happen to have transferred vbr mp3 via SS2.3 or lower to your md ? (not supported)

that has caused gaps on my md too (probably whenever the bitrate changes )

i don´t know for shure how it is with SS3.0 and 1rst gen units, haven´t tried it yet..

[streaml1ne]

i get gaps during playback too, except ive got a NH1. the timer carries on but theres no music. a quick tap on the unit brings the sound back but its annoying. seems to happen more in the cold too

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I had this happen to me once with my NH1, ironically after reading about it here the day prior (cursed the forum for jinxing me for a bit). This was maybe 2 months ago in Ney York, so it was cold, but not overly so, and the unit stays in my inner jacket pocket so it was tepid at the worst. I never did figure out what caused the gap, but it hasn't done it since. We've had colder days since, and I always use it while walking so... Could be the cold, the anti skip stuff, or some combination of both I guess.

[minijoe]

I just want to add that I have a NH900 too and it had the same problems with the buttons not working. I am posting this because it seems like a strange thing to happen to so many people. Sony also repaired mine for free.

[conan]

I've had both the problem with the stop button and the random gaps.

I think the problem with the random gaps occured with a disc recorded from SS2 with "OpenMG (ATRAC3plus)" format instead of "OpenMG Audio (ATRAC3plus)" format which appears to be the current format.

I'm not sure if there is any difference or wether it just stoppped happening when the weather warmed up.

I've since upgraded to SS3 and spent long hours removing all the "OpenMG (ATRAC3plus)" files from my databse leaving only "OpenMG Audio (ATRAC3plus)" files.

As for the stop button I'm somewhat stuck. I have had abd experiences sending things back to SONY. A Digital Video Camera which reported a humidity error constantly consistently worked at their factory. Previously I have sent faulty products back to Amazon with all accesories and packaging for replacements but I cannot with this as I ripped the cable out of the remote by accident. Am I to have to put up with Sony's service centre.

[The Low Volta]

As for the stop button I'm somewhat stuck. I have had abd experiences sending things back to SONY. A Digital Video Camera which reported a humidity error constantly consistently worked at their factory. Previously I have sent faulty products back to Amazon with all accesories and packaging for replacements but I cannot with this as I ripped the cable out of the remote by accident. Am I to have to put up with Sony's service centre.

←

I just took mine back to the brick and mortar store I bought it from and insisted to show them what was wrong... the first guy aknowledged it immediately, the second one (that came in a bit afterwards) tried to laugh away the problem as "he got it to work perfectly, I wasn't pressing hard enough or something" (yeah, he only tried once and the problem didn't occur every time so he was just lucky) but then I and the first guy protested so it was sent back for repairs.

I do not know whether they have sent it back to Sony or to a registered Sony srvice centre, and I don't really care as it came back fully repaired, and withot any costs, as it was still under full guarantee... so that worked fine for me...

You can always contact Sony or the nearest service centre and try to explain the problem, say that you have heard of others like it and ask whether they think they could fix it, and if it isn't under guarantee any more (or only partially) what it would cost you...

hope this helps a bit, Volta

PS: haven't had any gaps since I wrote that post (March 14th) so that's again good news for me

[soundalike]

Me Too!!

Bloody thing! Great to know that I'm not alone

[Alexx]

I know this may be of little concelation but i have a lot of problems with the menu function too: especially if the Electromagnetic illumination is on low

[AMPlitude]

i have no clue...

try a repair shop?

[theblueraja]

I just bought an NH900 and it has these problems, but I bought it 2nd hand... do I have any options of getting it repaired??? Like, WHERE? (please provide link or phone number) Thanks.

[greenshank]

I just bought an NH900 and it has these problems, but I bought it 2nd hand... do I have any options of getting it repaired??? Like, WHERE? (please provide link or phone number) Thanks.

Me too. Mine was new, though, just like TLV, Jenna et al. Nice to know I'm not going mad or simply unable to press the stupid little buttons properly with my poor Caucasian fingers. (Why oh why Sony do you insist on making such unergonomic minimalist units? Tiny buttons, almost unreadable screen showing not enough info. I'm no MP3-player fan but at least the ones I've seen have suffer from neither of those annoyances, since they sensibly make use of most of the front face.)

How long did it take for people to get theirs back from Sony? (I got mine from Minidisc Australia who no doubt have none left so they would have to ship it back to Sony.) Time is of the essence at this point for complicated reasons.

[Jenna]

They couldn't fix mine. After 5 weeks I got a call saying they would send me an RH910.since they had no 900's in stock.

Me too. Mine was new, though, just like TLV, Jenna et al. Nice to know I'm not going mad or simply unable to press the stupid little buttons properly with my poor Caucasian fingers. (Why oh why Sony do you insist on making such unergonomic minimalist units? Tiny buttons, almost unreadable screen showing not enough info. I'm no MP3-player fan but at least the ones I've seen have suffer from neither of those annoyances, since they sensibly make use of most of the front face.)

How long did it take for people to get theirs back from Sony? (I got mine from Minidisc Australia who no doubt have none left so they would have to ship it back to Sony.) Time is of the essence at this point for complicated reasons.

[rayzray]

I just bought an NH900 and it has these problems, but I bought it 2nd hand... do I have any options of getting it repaired??? Like, WHERE? (please provide link or phone number) Thanks.

i have two 900's; and one has this problem; the other works well. i just use the deluxe remote and am happy with it this way.

i live near a SONY "Field Office" that handles these problems; next time i go by there i may stop in and ask what to do.

one of the guys that works there is a musician that worked the same clubs as me; and we rant about the "Old" days.

i may be able to pry some useful info for you. but, i think they are (On-to-me).

Edited March 8, 2006 by rayzray

[theblueraja]

i have two 900's; and one has this problem; the other works well. i just use the deluxe remote and am happy with it this way.

i live near a SONY "Field Office" that handles these problems; next time i go by there i may stop in and ask what to do.

one of the guys that works there is a musician that worked the same clubs as me; and we rant about the "Old" days.

i may be able to pry some useful info for you. but, i think they are (On-to-me).

Thanks bud, let me know... as you may recall I HATE remotes.

[greenshank]

i have two 900's; and one has this problem; the other works well. i just use the deluxe remote and am happy with it this way.

Unfortunately there are many functions missing from the remote's menu. You can navigate with it but not much else (no display options, no sound options, no recording options). Well that's true of the supplied remote, and I presume it's true of the 3-line one (sorry, can't remember its number) and anyway that remote costs almost as much as I paid for the NH900!

Jenna, how do you rate your RH910 compared with the NH900? I thought about buying an RH910 to begin with but you can't (or couldn't) get them in Australia.

[rayzray]

Unfortunately there are many functions missing from the remote's menu. You can navigate with it but not much else (no display options, no sound options, no recording options). Well that's true of the supplied remote, and I presume it's true of the 3-line one (sorry, can't remember its number) and anyway that remote costs almost as much as I paid for the NH900!

Jenna, how do you rate your RH910 compared with the NH900? I thought about buying an RH910 to begin with but you can't (or couldn't) get them in Australia.

i do have the larger remote and can't find my instruction book; but anyways; unless you have a warranty; you are up the creek.

there is a Chineese electronic repair man here in RI that claims he can fix these units; he says he has connections in china;; lol; but i belive him.

the cost thought would be close to "maybe don't do it".

in my case; i love my 900's sooooo much; i wuold pay a large amount to keep them going; cause i don't trust the 2nd generation Hi-MD units; nor Sony.

i have switched to buying everything but Sony.

i , myself would NEVER buy any electronic unit used;; ive been burned too many times. even the Sony Referbished stores suck;; i got burned there 3 times.

moral of the story; buy new; get warrantee; and buy a lot of units. (give up smoking if you have to; or drinking; or in the case of my piano students; i tell them give up you cell phone for 3 months and you can buy any electronic unit you want.

(::!!)

Edited March 8, 2006 by rayzray

[theblueraja]

i do have the larger remote and can't find my instruction book; but anyways; unless you have a warranty; you are up the creek.

there is a Chineese electronic repair man here in RI that claims he can fix these units; he says he has connections in china;; lol; but i belive him.

the cost thought would be close to "maybe don't do it".

in my case; i love my 900's sooooo much; i wuold pay a large amount to keep them going; cause i don't trust the 2nd generation Hi-MD units; nor Sony.

i have switched to buying everything but Sony.

i , myself would NEVER buy any electronic unit used;; ive been burned too many times. even the Sony Referbished stores suck;; i got burned there 3 times.

moral of the story; buy new; get warrantee; and buy a lot of units. (give up smoking if you have to; or drinking; or in the case of my piano students; i tell them give up you cell phone for 3 months and you can buy any electronic unit you want.

(::!!)

I completely agree, but I went out on a limb since this was the only black NH900 left in the world apparently.

[rayzray]

I completely agree, but I went out on a limb since this was the only black NH900 left in the world apparently.

well, i think you have learned a lesson; color never matters.

my advice to you is get the most out of your unit; turn it into a basic player or (audio_ slave); and get another new unit.

my studio is chuck full of half-broken units that have significant jobs; act as intermedialte converters; and life goes on in my world.

perhaps , put it permantently next to your bed and have a few HiMD discs specifically for falling to sleep with.

myself; i plan to convert my van's music system to a DVD player > into my big a*s boom box; and be happy the rest of my life.

(::!!)

Edited March 8, 2006 by rayzray

[theblueraja]

well, i think you have learned a lesson; color never matters.

my advice to you is get the most out of your unit; turn it into a basic player or (audio_ slave); and get another new unit.

my studio is chuck full of half-broken units that have significant jobs; act as intermedialte converters; and life goes on in my world.

perhaps , put it permantently next to your bed and have a few HiMD discs specifically for falling to sleep with.

myself; i plan to convert my van's music system to a DVD player > into my big a*s boom box; and be happy the rest of my life.

(::!!)

1) Color matters to ME.

LOOK at just how beautiful a my black NH900 is:

2) I've thought about how I can still use it, but it can't be used as a "player" since it won't STOP when I want it to... it could be used as a permanent 'downloader' PC hook-up, but I'm already using my first NH900 (that I've dropped a few times) for that. Plus it would barely be visible, and I want to show off this pretty unit.

Edited March 8, 2006 by theblueraja

[rayzray]

1) Color matters to ME.

LOOK at just how beautiful a my black NH900 is:

2) I've thought about how I can still use it, but it can't be used as a "player" since it won't STOP when I want it to... it could be used as a permanent 'downloader' PC hook-up, but I'm already using my first NH900 (that I've dropped a few times) for that. Plus it would barely be visible, and I want to show off this pretty unit.

it IS very pretty;; and you answered your own question; about how to use the unit.

it's exactly what i (rayzray) do/does. i use one unit to save the legnth of the life of another unit.

i have the slave units and the king units.

so, use the black 900 to "Download" all the time; and keep it there permanently;; thus, saving the other unit.

and i have a gutt feeling that these units 9including mine) can easily be fixed by my Chineese repairman here; but why whould we;? we have everything under control.

another unit may cross your path; and for the right price; maybe that one will work better.

by the way;; you say the unit will not stop; but can you just program it; or just play on "Favorite" mode. there must be a way.

to make you feel better;; the problem with one of my 900's IS the Stop Button; but i use it at my bedside ONLY and with the remote.

if you whine (sp) as much as i do over these things; maybe your wife will release some "dough" towards a new unit; like my wife can't stand my whining (sp); almost as much as she can';t stand my spelling/typing.

and yes; it IS Beautiful.

(::!!)

oh; PS; just a thought; if you have the AC/DC adapter plugged in while you are using thie BLack unit; it may be in the "Charging" mode; or stuck there.

what is it; if you press stop twice, it starts charging; but, is that only if it is on the cradle? i am so confused.!

Edited March 8, 2006 by rayzray

[greenshank]

i do have the larger remote and can't find my instruction book; but anyways; unless you have a warranty; you are up the creek.

I bought new so I must have a warranty somewhere (ahem, it's not in the box it came in, oh dear...) and I presume it's a worldwide warranty so I will in theory still be able to get it fixed/replaced after leaving these shores.

Meanwhile it's just a nuisance, most often when I want to adjust recording levels or toggle line-out.

theblueraja: black, eh? Nice. Where's my paint-pot?

1) Color matters to ME.

LOOK at just how beautiful a my black NH900 is:

Yes indeed, apart from that garish "45 CDs etc" sticker.

I've thought about how I can still use it, but it can't be used as a "player" since it won't STOP when I want it to...

If yours (mis)behaves like mine, you could just hit Pause instead of Stop. Works a treat and times out eventually into an actual stop.

[theblueraja]

Yes indeed, apart from that garish "45 CDs etc" sticker.

That was gone 2 seconds after I took the photo.

If yours (mis)behaves like mine, you could just hit Pause instead of Stop. Works a treat and times out eventually into an actual stop.

That's a good idea; I'll try that... I just figure if the button is glitchy NOW, it's only gonna' get worse.

[greenshank]

That was gone 2 seconds after I took the photo.

Glad to hear it!

That's a good idea; I'll try that... I just figure if the button is glitchy NOW, it's only gonna' get worse.

Mmm, but really it's two separate switches under the same button, isn't it? That's why Stop is glitchy but Pause isn't. Well not yet...

[SHion]

Dammit !

I bought a new NH900 from ebay without a warranty just to discover the same problem

with the stop, navi and group buttons.

I'm now sure after try extensively that IS NOT a hardware problem !

The firmware doesn't handle the pressure time of a button.

I'm so p***** off to think that at sony they don't test their cheap gears before producing them.

Now I sold it as new to the next victim and blame sony for that. Dammit.

[theblueraja]

Now I sold it as new to the next victim and blame sony for that. Dammit.

Though I empathize your situation, your selling it to someone else is downright assenine. And we wonder why there are terrorists in this world. I hope you get the Ebay feedback you deserve.

[SHion]

I agree with you Raja.

And unfortunately, I don't have enough money to terminate the bad deal on my head.

I need the money back to invest on a serious and safe Sharp.

Sony does the mess and we all have to bear the consequences. As harsh it may be.

Plus, I have already a N505 with exactly the same problem and I'm still living with it.

Take a look on the web and you will find hundreds of people complaining about the buttons issues.

Though I empathize your situation, your selling it to someone else is downright assenine. And we wonder why there are terrorists in this world. I hope you get the Ebay feedback you deserve.

[KrazyIvan]

I agree with you Raja.

And unfortunately, I don't have enough money to terminate the bad deal on my head.

I need the money back to invest on a serious and safe Sharp.

Sony does the mess and we all have to bear the consequences. As harsh it may be.

Plus, I have already a N505 with exactly the same problem and I'm still living with it.

Take a look on the web and you will find hundreds of people complaining about the buttons issues.

Whatever your excuse is, remind me never to buy anything from you. I purchased an R500 on eBay a couple of years back that was supposed to be "near mint" only to find that it did not record and looked like it had something spilled in it. I cut my losses and resold it on eBay as a player-only, but was very honest about its condition.