Help: Live Recording

[newmd]

Hi there,

sorry I know you must be bored of this questions and although I have read a bit, I am still slightly confused and would like some of you experts to state explictly for my situtaion. I greatly apprecaite it

The scenario:

To record live lectures in Hi-MD quality using a mic. The lectures need to be uploaded and edited in programes such as Adobe Audition.

The question: I am aware that SonicStage has restrictions on upload, and that there are other programes that can bypass this upload restriction, but dont know how reliable they are. I do no want to be locked by sony when uplaoding as I need to make duplications of the lectures and need to keep them in the highest quality, .wav format?

Can I upload to my computer without being locked by SS ATRAC format? ie can i change it to .mp3 or .wav or.thebest format? or will i have to use atrac, can i uplaod as many times as i like

Also is the SONY MZNH1 a good recorder for this? I heard the new generation of hi-mds are coming out. What advantage do they have over the current hi-mds?

[jadesmar]

I am by no means an expert, but I have opinions and some thoughts... here they are:

Since HiMD media is pricey compared to CDs, I use the HiMD recorder for transient data only. You may want to invest in a CD burner (if you don't have one) for storing long term copies unless you have a ton of harddrive space.

I think you can record the lecture (on one disc in PCM if the lecture is less than or around 90 minutes) and upload it as a PCM wave file. This file can then be edited with the software of your choice and, if you get it under 74 minutes, can be burned to CD without loss. HiSP will allow up to 8 hours of lectures and since you are using an analogue source (microphone) for recording, you should be able to use the wave converter utility in Sonic Stage to create wave files. Which can then be edited using the software of your choice.

Since you mentioned you want to make copies, I recommend a CD burner or mp3 converted, depending on who else is going to be listening and how they are going to be listening. 1 minute of mp3 sound is approximately 1MB at 192 bit encryption, so a 90 minute lecture would be about 90 meg.

There is also a HiMD Render program around these parts which also allows for the creation of wave files from .oma files (or Atrac audio files). This can apparently be used as many times as you like on the same files and does not have the limitation on the source material that ensures that it comes from an analogue source.

If SonicStage does not allow you to convert the same files to wave files more than once, you can use this utility to convert them as many times as you want. This being the case, to save on hard-drive space, you can store the .oma files on the hard drive and then, if you require an .mp3 or .wav of the file, you can use the render program at that point to create these as necessary.

If you want to listen back to the lecture at a future time on your MD player, you should be able to upload your final PCM edit to a minidisc (or your original recording).

If you compress at the upload stage, you don't need to worry about permanently altering the .wav or .oma file as the original stored on your computer or on CD. 64 bit compression will allow you to store a semesters worth of lectures on a single minidisc for your own personal playback.

When I return to University in the Summer, I plan on recording all lectures in HiSP, allowing me to fit a days worth (almost 8 hrs) of lectures on one Minidisc which I can upload and store on PC and edit later. After that, I can download the lectures using 64 bit encryption until I have the entire semester stored on minidisc.

[A440]

If SonicStage does not allow you to convert the same files to wave files more than once, you can use this utility to convert them as many times as you want.

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Sonic Stage allows you to upload only once from Hi-MD to PC. But once it is on your computer--and since SS 2.3 there have been hardly any reports of uploads getting trashed on the way to the computer--you can do what you want with it. Wav Converter is built into SS 3.0, so you can convert to .wav easily during the transfer. Wav files are not encrypted and yours to play with.

The old, separate .wav converter also allowed unlimited conversions. Once the file is in your computer, it's all yours. You just can't take the same file off the Hi-MD again.

[newmd]

Sonic Stage allows you to upload only once from minidisc to PC. But once it is on your computer--and since SS 2.3 there have been hardly any  reports of uploads getting trashed on the way to the computer--you can do what you want with it. Wav Converter is built into SS 3.0, so you can convert to .wav easily during the transfer. Wav files are not encrypted and yours to play with.

The old, separate .wav converter also allowed unlimited conversions. Once  the file is in your computer, it's all yours. You just can't take the same file off the MD again.

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OK let me get this clear : I can upload my live recordings without any restrictions EXCEPT being able to upload ONCE from the same disc. But once I upload it, I can make many copies of it? Lets say for e.g I wanted to make one into mp3, one keep as wav and one as .ram file? I can do whatever I like once its uploaded with other programes as well?

[jadesmar]

OK let me get this clear  : I can upload my live recordings without any restrictions EXCEPT being able to upload ONCE from the same disc. But once I upload it, I can make many copies of it? Lets say for e.g I wanted to make one into mp3, one keep as wav and one as .ram file? I can do whatever I like once its uploaded with other programes as well?

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That sounds right.

[dex Otaku]

This may seem like nitpicking, but to specify one additional thing:

People have been using MD in this thread as though it were interchangeable with HiMD. The two are not interchangeable when it comes to uploading.

Digital uploading via USB can only be done with HiMD-format discs.