Transferring MD-SP to SS3.4 via Hi-MD Losslessly

[Woodgnome]

At last the new version of Sonic Stage allows me to transfer MD-SP to Sonic Stage 3.4 and save as WAVs.

How is that - you may ask.

Remember the original MD player, the MZ-1. Well it had digital output. So by playing the MD-SP out of the optical and recording it with my Hi-MD via optical in I have a lossless copy on the newer format.

Upload to SS 3.4 and convert to WAV and voila - SP converted to Hi-MD to WAV!!!

Anyone else tried it (the only limitation is the MD-SP must be a firts generation copy - although I haven't experimented. If anyone else has tried please let me know!!!

[1kyle]

Works fine as well on my mds-jb980 --this has an optical out --of course you are limited to real time but it works.

You will have to label the tracks manually as your SP disks probably didn't have any track info on them.

Now with SS 3.4 you can make HI-SP copies of your tracks even if the SP is not a first generation copy -- ===> Optical out on the recorder to Optical in on your computer and record in WAV / PCM. After you've done this tansfer to library in ATRAC3 Lossless.

If you still want to make SP copies for use in legacy decks, car radios etc etc then you'll have to play the track via a computer and connect the optical out on the computers sound card to the optical in on the legacy MD recorder -- Note the latest models won't RECORD in legacy formats (SP/LP2/LP4) but will play back these formats.

Cheers

-K

[dex Otaku]

Thoughts:

* This has been one of the recommended methods since day 1 - use a deck [or any unit] with an optical out to a computer with optical in, or a HiMD via optical in in PCM mode [if you're not recording in PCM mode you're not getting a "lossless" copy, debate on "lossless" notwithstanding since the source [MD] is already lossy]

* The MZ-1 uses the original ATRAC decoder, so the full benefits of later incarnations of ATRAC [i.e. Type R / 20-bit converted recordings] are not realised in the process [there is still some benefit to it, but the window-scaling of later ATRAC versions is missing]; the quality of copy this way might actually be -less- than if you just used a current portable's [analogue] headphone or line-out to your computer's line out

[1kyle]

If you use say the RH10's analog play back you might get a better sound as the manual seems to imply that certain features in the amplifier have been added to improve the play back of the earlier formats (SP/LP2/LP4).

However if you've got a decent deck such as the JB980 which is ATRAC-Type R then I think the Optical Out from this type of deck to optical in on the computer will yield a better result -- although the quality of the RH10 is very very good as well. An Analog ==> Analog ==> digital (the final ATRAC3 Lossless file) will probably introduce more errors than the optical out from the JB980 to the optical in of the computer.

In either case the result won't disappoint you.

It's probably better as Dex has said not to use the old unit for making the transfer to the computer but to use a newer model.

Cheers

-K

Edited February 18, 2006 by 1kyle

[Qwakrz]

The main feature, I would have thought, of going from SP >> Hi-MD in PCM via optical >> PC via USB would be the copying of track marks. I dont know if a PC soundcard is capable of copying the marks when they appear on the digital cable.

One other thing, not everyone has digital inputs on their PC.

[dex Otaku]

It's probably better as Dex has said not to use the old unit for making the transfer to the computer but to use a newer model.

Whoa. I didn't say not to use it; I just said there might be ways with better fidelity. What I'd do is compare the digital copy with the best possible analogue copy I could make, and go with the one I feel sounds better.