Pug Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 I have just recieved my christmas bonus... you can see where this thread is going.The decision lies with MDCF;I am at a changing point in my life... What I have done: I have been using minidisc for the last 5 years and have absolutely loved every minute. I've recored realtime, traded, mixed, mic recorded, toc cloned, SCMS defeated, edited, and met some mates along the way. It has all been good, and then some. What I have never done: Draged and droped, synced, playlisted, 40 giged, not transcoded.What I have: 400 SP minidiscs, lots of units, a real love for minidisc,Zero inclination to increase the number of SP discsMore and more mp3's that need to be listened to on the move A bloody slow PC that will transfer mp3's ok via usb, but transcodes realtime. A love for minidisc that (I have tried to kill with a flash player) will not die.What I want:?? don't knowSynopsis:I love the removeable media, love the quirkyness, love minidisc generally, but have yet to experience the other side. I have messed with 1st generation Hi-MD with the 600, and it seems ok, but do I invest in a 2nd gen best of both worlds mp3? To cut a long bit of rabble (yes I have been chrimbo drinking) This christmas I will buy a portable that will probaly change my life... opinions very much appreciatedRemember I have never bought a full price MD player in my life and this decision will be influenced by MDCF CheersPugBtw I stuck this in off topic, as I'm not quite sure where this thread is going... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akijikan Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 (edited) If you have lots of mp3s and don't want to record in real time I say go for the 2nd generation Hi-MD. You could just buy an MDLP/NetMD unit, but you'd still have to deal with conversion of the file format with the slow computer. Though I would mention that I've seen instances of some mp3 files not playing due to the codec used or bit rate or program used to encode or edit id3 tags or something else, it's never clear and the reason is usually unapparent....no definable pattern, just some files work while some didn't so I can't say "if you encoded with this then it will/won't work".If you don't want to put out for the MZ-RH10 (223 shipped), I've seen the MZ-RH910 for 166 shipped (though out of stock). Amazon Marketplace has a refurb RH910 for 173 shipped and here is a ebay buy it now for 179 shipped.I just thought I'd share a little shopping I've done on the two as I am getting one myself. I am getting the RH10 as soon as I sell the MZ-NH1. I'd go for the 910 but I CANNOT pass up the organic el display! Edited December 9, 2005 by akijikan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 maybe it is time to consider a hdd player? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rule Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 (edited) You mentioned Drag and Drop...My iRiver H320 has (When it still worked, anyways) Drag and Drop, and personally I thought it had to be the most annoying way to fill up any high capacity player.Every single track had to be tagged perfect, or else it would be hard to find once inside. Ugh, just thinking about it brings back bad memories. I'm sure some people find it nice, though. But I can't stand it.Also, you said you have lots of MP3's you want to listen to on the move. I say go for a HDD Player, maybe even a Flash Player if you're MP3 collection isn't that big. Minidisc and HDD/Flash can co-exist quite well, although Minidisc is more of a specialty format to me now.Not sure as which HDD/Flash Player to suggest, though. Edited December 9, 2005 by The Rule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continuity Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 I second TheRule on the drag and drop thing. Personally I find it a pain. Ok, SonicStage has it's faults, but syncing is actually a very nice feature once you get used to it. It's one of the only reasons I actually like Jukebox software, be it Itunes or SS. I jumped 10 feet in the air when I first saw SS ask me to sync my whole library to my wife's 1 Gig Flash Player Add a new song to the library, plug up the player to charge and there it is on the go.Oh, and drag and drop doesn't have offline browsing. It's a really minor point, but sometimes you just don't feel like getting up and getting your player that is in another room that just happens to have a party in full swing. That 300 coats are piled up on yours and you have to dig through them to find your pocket. Just to see if you remembered to put a song in there. To figure out what to remove if there isn't enough room for said song. Ok, I exagerate a lot Enough with the D&D bashing Personally I can't live without removeable media. It just has to be that. It has to be easily labelled too. MDs are nice for that. I lived for years with a Sony Clie for my music. Can't write much on a Memory Stick, trust me I've tried. Can't really go lower then 4 pt with specialty fonts. Also do you know how easy those little things are to loose?? Personally, I always found 1 Gig for the media to be a nice size for music. Not too big, not too small. And the price in this case (MD) is right. It works for me.I love the MiniDisc for a lot of reasons, but also see why my wife prefers a HD or Flash unit. They both have valid points. I need to partition my music because I'm like that, my wife just likes to listen one way through. I like to lend music (knowing that in 90% of the cases the album doesn't come back like most books I lend) where my wife doesn't. I don't mind carrying a stylish leather case with a few spare discs, she does.I've tried iRivers, iPods and the like by buying them for my wife. They do what they do well, which is play music. To me it all comes down to the removeable media. You either like lugging extras around or you don't.You can get used flash players pretty cheap. I mean really cheap. I'd say start with that, try it a while and it will give you the feel for a bigger unit. And it's not like you have to cut one way or the other really in one go, you can always go back to your MD if that's more your thing. You don't have to go cold turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 i prefer drag & drop / file tree browsing, just don't like the hardware involved in it with hdd players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug Posted December 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 Thanks for the input guys..I did try a flash player - cheapo 512mb, but I found the navigation pretty much unusable. There was nothing more than a next/back button. Since I had up to 250 tracks on this thing i was near enough impossible to manage. My mp3 collection is increasing daily, and I now intend to rip all of my CD's -possibly MD's to a harddisk in one lossy format - MP3 or atrac (atrac may no be sensible give drm, or have things changed?) How does sonicstage deal with a lot of mp3's - perhaps 500 albums? Is it scaleable? I have used mediamonkey in the past and it is lightning quick. For me it may be "do or die" as I if I go the route of encoding everything to atrac I will probably be with the format for another 5 years. Not to mention if I buy a RH-10 I can't jsutify another purchase for at least two years.I totally agree with you about removeable media, I can't help it. I've had the same disc in my MD player for the past week now, but I love the fact that I can remove it if I want to!CheersPug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 if the removable media means that much go the rh10.with drm these days [ss3.3] atrac3/3+ files are free to be copied & moved from the individual computer provided they don't have the drm applied [ie. bought mp3s or digital recodings but not imported cds]of course you still need sonicstage to transfer them. if you like removable media why not bridge the gap with an e40x/50x/60x flash player then invest in an rh10 or equivalent in 6 months? it would lock you into sony but not prevent a later change of heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug Posted December 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 with drm these days [ss3.3] atrac3/3+ files are free to be copied & moved from the individual computer provided they don't have the drm applied [ie. bought mp3s or digital recodings but not imported cds]Now I'm interested!I'm half tempted to go all out atrac... If I can use atrac files between 2 pc's and back them up to CD I think I may be sold!CheersPug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted December 9, 2005 Report Share Posted December 9, 2005 yep you can. you need to search for the oma/omg files [in windows F3 search for *.om* to get them] but provided the 'drm' checkbox in ss is clear they're open files Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Although once they're transferred to Hi-MD in audio-mode they're locked/encrypted and can't be transferred/uploaded again. But i guess you're aware of that, aren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eryn Vorn Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 I have just recieved my christmas bonus... you can see where this thread is going.What I want:?? don't knowCongratulations for the Xmas bonus. Stick to the old PC and 1st gen (or 2nd gen) HiMD. Robust, reliable and removable MD.MiniDisk : one name, one legend.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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