Getting started with MD/live recording

[bcledfoot]

Hello

I currently tape using DAT but I'm finding in a steath environment and needing to get through metal detectors which are creeping up more and more...I need the small design of MD...what units should I be looking at? I'd like to match the quality of DAT if possible...I need a small design...manual recording level adjustment, etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-Brain

[tekdroid]

  bcledfoot said:

Hello

I currently tape using DAT but I'm finding in a steath environment and needing to get through metal detectors which are creeping up more and more...I need the small design of MD...what units should I be looking at? I'd like to match the quality of DAT if possible...I need a small design...manual recording level adjustment, etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-Brain

Any Hi-MD recorder will do what you want (manual recording level adjustment, recording in linear PCM like DAT, etc). It's a choice of how much you want to spend and the size/shape/features of the device that will be the determining factor(s). If you have the money (and if it's available where you are), go for the new MZ-RH1, which will remember your manual recording settings and really is purpose-built for (stealth) recording. Recording with other Hi-MD devices will make you shuffle through the menu to turn manual levels on before recording (tedious, to say the least; the defaults are AGC).

If you record a lot outdoors, perhaps an LCD-based unit is more in keeping with what you want to do since the MZ-RH1 has a luminescent display not easily seen in the sun (but great for sub-optimal lighting). The MZ-RH10 has a luminescent display, too (and larger). The MZ-RH910 unit's display is LCD. If ease-of-playback is a bigger priority, most older units (MZ-RH10 and MZ-RH910, MZ-NH700, MZ-NHF800) also have bigger displays on the unit, allowing easier track selection and more detailed info to be seen at a glance. The ability to easily switch to another AA battery is another option that can't be overlooked too easily (missing in the latest model, MZ-RH1). Date/time stamp is a useful feature that 'remembers' when you made a recording, which the MZ-RH1 has. As does the older MZ-NH1. Probably an idea to download their manuals and see what you'd be most comfortable with.

Edited June 5, 2006 by tekdroid

[A440]

Get Hi-MD if you want PCM (CD-quality) recording and/or want to upload directly to PC. Older units--NetMD, regular MD--do not upload and only record in compressed formats.

They're all palm-sized. They will be detected by metal detectors, but if you look innocent you can just say it's your mp3 player.

The recording capability of all Hi-MD units is the same. Recording at PCM, the quality is as good as your input. Manual recording levels take clicking through a menu each time you start recording, but it's not a big deal. The only MD recorder that will save Manual as a default is the MZ-RH1.

The cheapest with a microphone jack is the NH700, around $125 on Ebay (new from Sony's Australian closeout). The NHF800 is the same unit with a radio in the remote control.

You'll need a unit, an outboard microphone, and either a battery module or, if you're really broke, an attenuator.

Here's more:

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showt...993entry49993

Edited June 5, 2006 by A440