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Confirmed Third Generation Hi-MD Release Date For USA


Christopher

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According to Sony, the MZ-RH1 will be in the released in the USA on..+++

Hi Eric*,

We showed the new minidisk product at our Open House/line show in March so

it is definitely intended for the US market. My latest understanding is that

is will be available around May of this year.

Best,

Valerie Motis

Corporate Communications

Sony Electronics

Availability in most common retail stores is unknown; it may only surf esoterically at the usual websites but I imagine more prominently in stores and e-tailers that have other recording devices.

* Eric = Head honcho of minidisc.org.

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This is great to hear. Considering Sony USA hasn't put out a press release on their site (that I can find) nor have they included the device on the sonystyle.com site available for pre-order. Hopefully they also release the upgraded SS 3.4 so importers can use an English version of the software here in the States.

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Hopefully it's the "black" version for the USA.

May isn't too far off.

I assume that at this date Sony has a boatload of them manufactured already and are either already here or on a boat.

Paul

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This is great news!

I cannot wait to get one of these here in the UK!!!!

I was in Montreal the other day so just for a laugh went into Maison Sony and tried to quiz a bloke about the new RH1.

He didn't have a clue, never heard of it. Wasn't showing up in his catalogues either.

Was a similar story when I recently asked in my local Sony Centre.

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The is an article on the MZ-RH1 on www.sony.co.uk. But as all the discontinued products (i.e. all other Hi-MDs) are also shown, this could mean anything.

Will it allow timed recording? That’s something I really want. Surely it would be easy to make the firmware allow the thing to start recording when external power is supplied? For me that would justify the cost, almost whatever it turns out to be. Otherwise, I think I may buy a couple from ebay, and hope they last till something else comes along.

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May is good. I still have some of my tax refund left.

I still haven't seen word on whether Dynamic Normalization works well. But the rest of the features are such that I'll probably buy an RH1 anyway and try it for myself.

Does anybody know if a 12V car power adapter will be available for the RH1?

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At the NAB2006 convention this week, Sony pro audio was showing the MZ-M200, which is the "pro" version of the MZ-RH1. Like the M10 and M100 Hi-MD machines, the M200 has an all-black finish and will come bundled with a Sony mic. Delivery of the M200 is supposed to begin in a few weeks.

I wouldn't be surprized if the USA RH1 has a silver finish to distinguish it from the more expensive M200.

Flintstone

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I'm pleased to hear about the MZ-M200, since that means the "one model per year" statement wasn't to be taken at face value.

Does the May release of the MZ-RH1 in the US mean that the Mac software should be available early too?

At the NAB2006 convention this week, Sony pro audio was showing the MZ-M200, which is the "pro" version of the MZ-RH1. Like the M10 and M100 Hi-MD machines, the M200 has an all-black finish and will come bundled with a Sony mic. Delivery of the M200 is supposed to begin in a few weeks.

I wouldn't be surprized if the USA RH1 has a silver finish to distinguish it from the more expensive M200.

Flintstone

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Will it allow timed recording? That’s something I really want. Surely it would be easy to make the firmware allow the thing to start recording when external power is supplied? For me that would justify the cost, almost whatever it turns out to be. Otherwise, I think I may buy a couple from ebay, and hope they last till something else comes along.

That may be a little difficult considering the external power supply is USB only afaik.

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I find it interesting how a Sony rep can mispell minidisc as minidisk!!! Was this a hastily typed reply or does she really know the Sony MINIDISC products?

We would also appreciate a firm US release date of the MZ-RH1.

Don

Quote below:

<<Hi Eric*,

We showed the new minidisk product at our Open House/line show in March so

it is definitely intended for the US market. My latest understanding is that

is will be available around May of this year.

Best,

Valerie Motis

Corporate Communications

Sony Electronics>>

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This is great news!

I cannot wait to get one of these here in the UK!!!!

I was in Montreal the other day so just for a laugh went into Maison Sony and tried to quiz a bloke about the new RH1.

He didn't have a clue, never heard of it. Wasn't showing up in his catalogues either.

Was a similar story when I recently asked in my local Sony Centre.

*** If Sony would make a Hi-MD deck - with opt or coax I/O - I would go that route. It'd be a really Good Thing. Until such time, I'm sticking with my SP/LP decks and portables (MXD-D400, MXD-D40, MDS-JB940, MZ-R50 etc etc). I know Onkyo has made a Hi_MD deck, but the thing has no digital out! What were they thinking??

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Americans spell 'car' as 'car'. You are correct in saying that Americans spell 'disc' as 'disk'.

We americans spell Compact Disc with a C at the end. Floppy Disk with a K, Car with a C... MiniDisc with a C at the end too.. unless we are reps who don't know our companies products very well.. ;)

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We americans spell Compact Disc with a C at the end. Floppy Disk with a K, Car with a C... MiniDisc with a C at the end too.. unless we are reps who don't know our companies products very well.. ;)

Exactly - and to think Valerie is from Korporate Kommunications speaks volumes on the state of Sony US's marketing department, I'm afraid. The language used in the email was a bit clumsy, too: "showed" and "is." Sigh. :blink:

Fortunately, much of Sony's product palette has better quality control than the competition! B)

Edited by e1ghtyf1ve
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Exactly - and to think Valerie is from Korporate Kommunications speaks volumes on the state of Sony US's marketing department, I'm afraid. The language used in the email was a bit clumsy, too: "showed" and "is." Sigh. :blink:

Fortunately, much of Sony's product palette has better quality control than the competition! B)

I was always under the impression that "DISK" implies being for computers where "DISC" referrs to being for audio. A floppy disk was developed for computers, the Compact Disc originated for audio.

Anyway, I saw a Sony catalog on-line where they spelled it "minidisk" so it's not as big a mistake on her part.

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I was always under the impression that "DISK" implies being for computers where "DISC" referrs to being for audio. A floppy disk was developed for computers, the Compact Disc originated for audio.

Anyway, I saw a Sony catalog on-line where they spelled it "minidisk" so it's not as big a mistake on her part.

True enough, but I still expected better command of the English language from someone in her position. ;) Where on earth do they find these people? For example, contrast Sony's marketing literature with what the leading competition (you know who) provides. It's like night and day in my opinion.

BTW, to my utter horror, the local Fry's store just stopped stocking Hi-MD recorders.

Cheers

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which shop in Brussels Ysl? I'm in Brussels as well and I really could use a bit of shopping to help me get through these rotten days (deadlines just as we finally have some good weather!!)

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Now that you mention USA release plans, I am beginning to wonder whether Sony has retained any interest in hard drive MP3 players stateside. The NW-HD5, whose battery had less than half the listed time capability for me, was deleted some time ago. There is still no mention of the NW-A3000 or the NW-A1000 in the US. It's almost as though the US marketed was conceded to Apple. The NW-A3000 has been out in the rest of the world since November. Either Sony has some sort of amazing covert project that will be released in the US soon, or it is really missing the boat. The boat-load of customized iPOD products burgeons daily, with little or no incentive to render accessories for Sony products.

I suppose it doesn't help that Sony seems to make its hard drive players BIGGER and HEAVIER over time, that the latest one went from magnesium to what looks like plastic, and that Sony has an unstated aversion to color screens. Any hard-drive MP3 player must have a color screen and be able to play video to compete with today's iPOD. Hell, before Sony chases Apple, it actually has to catch Creativ first. Perhaps Sony should swallow the medicine in one nasty gulp and make its products compatible with I-Tunes. Of course, that also comes with the undeniable NEED to open up ATRAC. It has no future at all as a proprietary ball and chain.

Edited by himd_anxiety
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Now that you mention USA release plans, I am beginning to wonder whether Sony has retained any interest in hard drive MP3 players stateside. The NW-HD5, whose battery had less than half the listed time capability for me, was deleted some time ago. There is still no mention of the NW-A3000 or the NW-A1000 in the US. It's almost as though the US marketed was conceded to Apple. The NW-A3000 has been out in the rest of the world since November. Either Sony has some sort of amazing covert project that will be released in the US soon, or it is really missing the boat. The boat-load of customized iPOD products burgeons daily, with little or no incentive to render accessories for Sony products.

I suppose it doesn't help that Sony seems to make its hard drive players BIGGER and HEAVIER over time, that the latest one went from magnesium to what looks like plastic, and that Sony has an unstated aversion to color screens. Any hard-drive MP3 player must have a color screen and be able to play video to compete with today's iPOD. Hell, before Sony chases Apple, it actually has to catch Creativ first. Perhaps Sony should swallow the medicine in one nasty gulp and make its products compatible with I-Tunes. Of course, that also comes with the undeniable NEED to open up ATRAC. It has no future at all as a proprietary ball and chain.

Agreed. I'll probably buy an RH1 so I can conveniently upload all my old SP recordings. But I'm going to still resent the fact that it's lagging their other players (since Sony is now supporting AAC). They should have supported FLAC too; that would be the best quality/capacity compromise for a portable.

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According to Sony, the MZ-RH1 will be in the released in the USA on..+++

Availability in most common retail stores is unknown; it may only surf esoterically at the usual websites but I imagine more prominently in stores and e-tailers that have other recording devices.

* Eric = Head honcho of minidisc.org.

Hi guys,

very good news!!!! today I have seen the new model MZ-RH1 in a shop here in Milan in Italy :good:

domenico

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hmm, after being excited about the prospect of finally trading in my 1G ipod (that replaced my MZ-R900 (god i loved that thing)), i was looking at the fine print on the sony japan site.

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/audio/walkman/p...KM=MZ-RH1#feat5

i dont know if anyone else reads japanese, but on the forth bullet from the top, it says that you can only UPLOAD music to a Mac, but cannot download. These facts are conveniently left off the sony-europe site. If you look at the graphics used to illlustrate, there is no arrow that points from the computer to the unit itself.

It also says music recorded in Hi-MD mode on the MZ-NH1 and RH10 cannot be uploaded to a Mac.

Maybe my japanese is lacking; feel free to correct me is that is the case. all i can say is I'm disappointed. i was considering sabotaging the iPod to help make my case to my wife that i need new things. i suppose i'll just get a new ipod.

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I too have been waiting for the mz-rh1 to finally hit the USA, I have been tempted to just get one from a japan importer, but I have been holding off, I think I will wait it out, but this is killing me!

-ezra

hey ezra, come on resist I'm sure the wait won't be too long B):D

domenico from italy

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I think i was really lucky...in the Czech Republic they imported only 3 pieces (of the MZ-RH1)..and i picked up the last one this morning...next date in here will be 20th of June...why they hesitate to ask for more?Release, release!!!!

PS:I'm surprized that the remote is somehow for ''lefties''...(the previous remotes had the volume/play levers on right),you can adjust the volume with the left hand...but thats really a minor detail :D ...its AWSOME!!!!!

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I think i was really lucky...in the Czech Republic they imported only 3 pieces (of the MZ-RH1)..and i picked up the last one this morning...next date in here will be 20th of June...why they hesitate to ask for more?Release, release!!!!

PS:I'm surprized that the remote is somehow for ''lefties''...(the previous remotes had the volume/play levers on right),you can adjust the volume with the left hand...but thats really a minor detail :D ...its AWSOME!!!!!

I heard the clip on the remote is reversible...

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