Up The Octave Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 This is my first post so first of all, hello.I am a returning MD user. I used to use a MZR-55 to record live gigs with a T-Mic (I'm a pro musician) and I found it very useful. The results were surprisingly good.I also used / use a Denon deck MD with optical out to transfer the recordings into my mac.But, the MZR-55 broke (it just stopped working out of warranty) and I invested in a portable hard disk recorder / mixing desk / studio.However, I now find myself missing the ease of use of the MD for smaller gigs, plus for recording gigs where I am the side man and not the leader (I only take the portable studio to my own gigs).I travel a lot and would really benefit from a decent portable device to listen to. My wife has an iPod shuffle but I don't like the sound of MP3s. I could get an iPod and move all my CDs onto it using Apple Lossless but it wouldn't record - and I need something that records.Sound quality is important for me. To give you an idea - I simply cannot listen to a WMA file without my ears hurting. I once listened to some napster downloads - they sounded dreadful. MP3 is much better, but not that great. My old MZR-55, however, sounded pretty good when I simply copied a CD to it via optical out to optical in. Atrac works.Hi-MD sounds like the solution but I have a few questions. It is worth noting that as well as a Mac I have a Sony Vaio laptop and have been able to play around with the sonic stage software. 1) If I go the Hi-MD route, will I still be able to record my imported CDs onto standard MD blanks? If so, will I have to do it via the sonic stage software?2) The sonic stage software is a piece of junk, but I think I understand what I need to do - rip the CD to atrac3, and then transfer to the MD. Is this correct?3) Podcasting - I'm no fan of MP3 for music but I do listen to a lot of podcasts which, as you probably know, are just MP3s. Would I just import these into SS from iTunes and then drop them onto the MDs?4) How much room is there, in MB, on a standard MD. I have never had to know this previously, but, since SS wants everything to be imported and then thrown out again to the MD I presume I know need to know. This will also decide at what bit rate I import the CDs and I'm earger to get started on the importing!5) Will I be able to play the Hi-MDs and standard MDs recorded using the Hi-MD portable on my old Denon single play MD deck?6) I'm reading a lot about Sony using DRM. I thought this was just a microshaft thing. Clearly it is a problem for a lot of people. But, if all I am doing is recording live in with a T-Mic, or downloading ripped CDs to a MD, will it be a problem for me? I can't see a situation where I am going to run into trouble, or am I missing something.7) If I rip a CD to SS at the highest Atrac 3 setting will it sound as good as my old MZR-55 (which I presume was just converting to Atrac on the fly when I recorded CDs on to it via the digital input)?8) Gapless recordings are important for me as I own a lot of live CDs. If I rip these CDs to SS and then dump them to the MD will they still play gapless as they should so?Sorry for so many questions, I look forward to your thoughts,Ashley Morgan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROMBUSTERS Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 1) If I go the Hi-MD route, will I still be able to record my imported CDs onto standard MD blanks? If so, will I have to do it via the sonic stage software?Yes you can still record onto standard blanks except this time you can choose either legacy MD mode or the new HiMD mode (which reformats the discs to about double the capacity). It should be noted however that in HiMD mode you loose the ability to record to the disc in Atrac SP and the discs will only play on HiMD units. Other than that all other codecs (including the new HiSP) will work.Recording can be done via the unit itself (in some cases) or the PC software. If done on the unit itself you can record in PCM (1411kbps), Atrac3+ HiSP (256kbps), Atrac3+ HiLP (64kbps) or MP3 (128kbps) on 2nd gen units.2) The sonic stage software is a piece of junk, but I think I understand what I need to do - rip the CD to atrac3, and then transfer to the MD. Is this correct?SonicStage can import tracks from CDs and store them as PCM (wav), Atrac or MP3.In MP3 you get 320kbps ~ 96kbps (its important to note only 2nd gen units can playback MP3s natively, 1st gen require the MP3s to be transcoded to Atrac3/+ first.In Atrac you have a few more options. Atrac is made up of Atrac3 and Atrac3+In Atrac3 you get LP2 (132kbps), LP3 (105kbps), LP4 (66kbps)In Atrac3+ you get 320kbps ~ 48kbps, however current HiMD units only support HiSP (256kbps), HiLP (64kbps) and 48kbps.Or you can add your own MP3/WMA/WAV files from your PC to the SonicStage library. Once the tracks are in the library you can transfer them to HiMD3) Podcasting - I'm no fan of MP3 for music but I do listen to a lot of podcasts which, as you probably know, are just MP3s. Would I just import these into SS from iTunes and then drop them onto the MDs?As long as the MP3s do not contain DRM you should have no problem using them on HiMDs. However some podcasts have such a low bitrate or frequencey that 2nd gen HiMDs wonts support them. I believe 2nd Gen HiMDs only support MP3s between 96~320kbps at 44.1kHz.SonicStage should be able to use any MP3 you throw at it however problems do occur. If you can temporarily convert the MP3s to WAVs and import the WAVs you will have no problems.4) How much room is there, in MB, on a standard MD. I have never had to know this previously, but, since SS wants everything to be imported and then thrown out again to the MD I presume I know need to know. This will also decide at what bit rate I import the CDs and I'm earger to get started on the importing!legacy MDs roughly double their capacity.I'm not sure about 60min discs, however 74min discs give you about 270MB in HiMD mode and 80min discs give you nearly 300MB.5) Will I be able to play the Hi-MDs and standard MDs recorded using the Hi-MD portable on my old Denon single play MD deck?No for HiMDs, maybe for MDs. Any disc that is formatted in HiMD mode can only be played back on HiMD units. If you record a MD in legacy MD mode any MD player can play them however if you deck only supports standard SP MD you will have to avoid the LP modes. Generally speaking if your going HiMD your leaving everything else behind.6) I'm reading a lot about Sony using DRM. I thought this was just a microshaft thing. Clearly it is a problem for a lot of people. But, if all I am doing is recording live in with a T-Mic, or downloading ripped CDs to a MD, will it be a problem for me? I can't see a situation where I am going to run into trouble, or am I missing something.With SonicStage 3.2 there are now an unlimited amount of transfers from HiMD to PC via sonicstage. Anything recorded via analogue in HiMD mode can be transfered to the PC and converted to a WAV file for editing/burning7) If I rip a CD to SS at the highest Atrac 3 setting will it sound as good as my old MZR-55 (which I presume was just converting to Atrac on the fly when I recorded CDs on to it via the digital input)?Depends on your ears and what you consider the highest setting. If you are using PCM (which isnt really Atrac) then you will get CD quality bit for bit. If you are using Atrac3+ 256kbps (the highest currently supported bitrate) maybe people condsider this completely transparent from the original and thus on par with your previous unit.8) Gapless recordings are important for me as I own a lot of live CDs. If I rip these CDs to SS and then dump them to the MD will they still play gapless as they should so?As long as you import them with Atrac or PCM (which are both gapless) then when you transfer them to the HiMD they will playback gapless just like every other MD. This also depends on the song being gapless but as you stated this is a live recording we're talking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 If done on the unit itself you can record in PCM (1411kbps), Atrac3+ HiSP (256kbps), Atrac3+ HiLP (64kbps) or MP3 (128kbps) on 2nd gen units.most of what Rombusters answered is correct and well explained I think BUT just to be correct:- 2nd gen HiMD will not record in MP3...- 1st gen cannot play MP3, they have to be converted to an atrac type- 2nd gen can play MP3, so you can transfer them as MP3 from PC->HiMD, but the recorder itself won't "create" MP3's of any kind whatsoever...so:- 1st gen will record in HiMD formats (HiSP, HiLP, PCM) and the legacy formats (real SP, LP2,...)- 2nd gen will only record in the HiMD formats (HiSP, HiLP, PCM) and will allow PC transfers of the legacy formats (fake SP, LP2,...) and MP3's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROMBUSTERS Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 - 1st gen will record in HiMD formats (HiSP, HiLP, PCM) and the legacy formats (real SP, LP2,...)- 2nd gen will only record in the HiMD formats (HiSP, HiLP, PCM) and will allow PC transfers of the legacy formats (fake SP, LP2,...) and MP3's←My bad, not owning a 2nd gen made me miss that. However I thought I read on Sony's website (or early 2nd gen postings here) that MP3 @ 128kbps was available on unit. guess i was wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwakrz Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 I think MP3 recording went the way of the USB connection on the NH1 cradle. It never happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROMBUSTERS Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 gotchaalthough it really is a shame, would have made things much simpler for those whose recordings are going to end up in MP3 form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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