Transfering From Md To Computer

[MittensUK]

Hi Sorry,

This may be a covered in one or other posts but there are so many its a bit daunting.

I'm a composer/producer/audio artist and as Apple won't let me record at sample rates greater than 8kHz on my iPod I'm looking to MDs to give me greater fidelity for instant recordings.

I've purchased a Sony ECM MS907 mic to capture sounds that I can take to my Mac/PC and incorporate into my music.

I don't need any flashy editing features, bass boost etc etc I'm purely using this a a convenient, lightweight recording medium. Can anyone recommend any portable MDRs out there that are cheap and fulfill my requirements of: -

I) allow quick easy transfer from the MD to the computer.

and,

II) record if possible un-compressed PCM data at 16-bit, 44.1kHz or greater bit-depth and greater sample rates.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tim

[dex Otaku]

The answer in both cases is Hi-MD [look at the equipment browser on http://www.minidisc.org for model info], however - Sony's software [to which there is no altrenative] does not support Mac.

[MittensUK]

Thanks Dex,

I am correct in thinking however the software is only needed to transfer CDs or MP3 music onto the MD via means of a proprietry browser/uploader window.

If the MD that has had the audio recorded onto it is seen as a FAT32 USB drive then I should be able to browse the drive using OSX just like any other PC formatted HDD. Or do the MDs have to be formatted sepcifically in FAT32 first which only allows them to be used as USB key drives and prevents them being used for audio?

Thanks for your time.

Tim

[Christopher]

You can view the contents of a disc, but the files are chock full of encryption and DRM and you won't get very far - but viewing the contents doesn't require any sort of format. OS X should have no problems transferring files to the discs just in the data sense. You can only manipulate the [music] contents in Sonicstage/Simple Burner.

[dex Otaku]

HiMD hardware uses protocols set on top of the normal USB protocols to handle audio I/O, yes.

You can use them for USB storage, and even see the files that make up the audio. They are, however, encrypted. There is no way [currently] of copying them directly from the disc in any usable format.

This can only be done with SonicStage, which uses Sony's drivers to speak directly to the HiMD.

[iosono]

SO, to make it perfectly clear for us MAC users who are musicians, composers who want to RECORD LIVE music with a Sony Hi-MD unit.... there is NO WAY to do ANYTHING BUT play the music back through headphones or a stereo... we can't transfer the musical data into our MAC's to burn a CD for someone else to play on a regular old fashioned CD player, right?

OR, is the only way to do it in real time with a line out from the MD to the computer. In that case it would probably be analog and I'd have to have some sort of software on my MAC to convert the signal to digital... like an a/d converter. Don't know?

This is all such a mess. I run MAC OS 9, by the way. All this great new technology to record with and it looks like I can only use about half of it's capabilities. I had thought that Sharp might have a better more friendly way to transfer files from the MD to the computer for us MAC users but from what I've read on this site, this is not true, right?

Thanks. =)

[leenuss]

...and as Apple won't let me record at sample rates greater than 8kHz on my iPod

There is a hack to remove the iPod software and install Linux on it. With iPod Linux, you can record in 96kHz. Though, your iPod UI won't look too good...

[Christopher]

we can't transfer the musical data into our MAC's to burn a CD for someone else to play on a regular old fashioned CD player, right?

←

Correct.

..the only way to do it in real time with a line out from the MD to the computer. In that case it would probably be analog and I'd have to have some sort of software on my MAC to convert the signal to digital... like an a/d converter.

←

Correct, unless you had a deck or bookshelf unit with optical out and a soundcard or native optical in on the computer.

I had thought that Sharp might have a better more friendly way to transfer files from the MD to the computer for us MAC users but from what I've read on this site, this is not true, right?

←

Sharp has never had compatibility for Mac in any previous generation, doubt it will occur now.

--------

There is a hack to remove the iPod software and install Linux on it. With iPod Linux, you can record in 96kHz. Though, your iPod UI won't look too good...

←

Neither will the battery life..

[LowMD]

You can easily record analog out of your MD's headphone jack in realtime, assuming you have a line-in to your Mac.

Audacity

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

is a free recording and sound-editing program.

If you don't have a line-in connection, get the iMic (not a microphone but a USB line-in and mic-in connection) from Griffin Technology.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

And then you can fire off a letter to Sony asking what right it has to encrypt recordings you make yourself.

Edited March 6, 2005 by LowMD