Are the new RH1 upload features worth it?

[javertim]

I am the proud owner of a new RH1 and I love it. However, every single SP disc that I upload to my computer contains moments where audio is dropped, literally snipped out. It's just like if I were to go into Audacity or any other program, highlight about 1/2 a second of sound and delete it, so that there is a very noticeable skip (and, even more unfortunate, lost information/audio!). Has anyone else had this problem? I am using the cable that was supplied with the unit, coils and all.

So far, even though I enjoy the unit for its powerful recording features, the legacy upload feature has me INCREDIBLY disappointed.

[an0nym0usmuse]

I am the proud owner of a new RH1 and I love it. However, every single SP disc that I upload to my computer contains moments where audio is dropped, literally snipped out. It's just like if I were to go into Audacity or any other program, highlight about 1/2 a second of sound and delete it, so that there is a very noticeable skip (and, even more unfortunate, lost information/audio!). Has anyone else had this problem? I am using the cable that was supplied with the unit, coils and all.

So far, even though I enjoy the unit for its powerful recording features, the legacy upload feature has me INCREDIBLY disappointed.

This does not sound normal; I have uploaded many legacy SP recordings (primarily vinyl records recorded with my MDS-JE510 deck). I select standard transfer mode ("as is"), and the resulting file is transferred as 256kbps Atrac3, which, to my ears, is indistinguishable from the original SP. I have not noticed any audio loss, dropouts, or artifacts. I am very picky about my audio files, so I would notice anything amiss, but I've been very happy with the RH1 upload features and process.

The problem may not be with the RH1.

About a year ago, I had problems transferring photos from a digital camera that I had just purchased. When I transferred the files to my computer, the images were all chopped or distorted (even though they looked fine on the camera). I returned the camera for a refund. A few weeks later, my hard drive crashed. Unbeknownst to me, my hard drive was going out and all of my files had CRC errors. When I replaced my hard drive and examined the SD card that I had used with the camera, the images transferred fine. Problems with my hard drive had caused the problem, even though I was convinced I had purchased a faulty camera.

If possible, try transferring some files on another computer. If the files transfer fine and sound normal, there may be a problem with your PC software/hardware.

Hope this helps.

[tekdroid]

So far, even though I enjoy the unit for its powerful recording features, the legacy upload feature has me INCREDIBLY disappointed.

don't own the unit, but I coulda sworn I heard something about track marks being misplaced slightly when uploading legacy MDs from the MZ-RH1! Perhaps it's related.

[heathenmagic]

don't own the unit, but I coulda sworn I heard something about track marks being misplaced slightly when uploading legacy MDs from the MZ-RH1! Perhaps it's related.

Hello there,

I haven't had the same problems fortunately. All me music is in hi-sp mostly, with minor stuff in lower. At the best quality, I have been blown away by the quality. With SP legacy stuff, I have been fortunate and I was suprised that I had no problems. The time mark misplacement I have spotted. I have an album with music, and some tracks have spoken intros. For space reasons, I encoded the talking parts in 48k, and the music in hi-sp. The misplacement is noticeable when the talking track merges into the music track. But thats the only way I have encountered it. I would say it happens when there is a big gap in recording quality.

[mdmania]

Hello there,

I haven't had the same problems fortunately. All me music is in hi-sp mostly, with minor stuff in lower. At the best quality, I have been blown away by the quality. With SP legacy stuff, I have been fortunate and I was suprised that I had no problems. The time mark misplacement I have spotted. I have an album with music, and some tracks have spoken intros. For space reasons, I encoded the talking parts in 48k, and the music in hi-sp. The misplacement is noticeable when the talking track merges into the music track. But thats the only way I have encountered it. I would say it happens when there is a big gap in recording quality.

Same here, I have uploaded some of my SP disc without problem perhaps whoever it is might have a problem is gonna have issue with either the RH1 or Computer itself.

[raintheory]

I know the Atrac3+ codec has had trackmarking problems in the past.. As has been stated, when you upload SP you choose if you want it uploaded as WAV or Hi-SP.. Uploading as Hi-SP uses the Atrac3+ codec which has the possibility of placing trackmarks incorrectly.

Upload SP as WAV (better anyway because it isnt transcoding from lossy to lossy) and you should be fine. I've uploaded about 100 SP discs with no issues.

[jrhughes]

I am the proud owner of a new RH1 and I love it. However, every single SP disc that I upload to my computer contains moments where audio is dropped, literally snipped out. It's just like if I were to go into Audacity or any other program, highlight about 1/2 a second of sound and delete it, so that there is a very noticeable skip (and, even more unfortunate, lost information/audio!). Has anyone else had this problem? I am using the cable that was supplied with the unit, coils and all.

So far, even though I enjoy the unit for its powerful recording features, the legacy upload feature has me INCREDIBLY disappointed.

Hmmm... I have had my RH1 for a few months now and have only uploaded one full legacy disc before today. The difference is that todays was the first mix album, where each track runs right into the next with no gap. What I've found is that the very end (less than 0.5 sec) of each track is lopped off, so it appears to jump into the start of the next track. There is no gap, but the transition to the next track is not seamless. This is with Import settings to transfer legacy MD as ATRAC256.

I've just confirmed with another mix MD and the same happens. I've tried transferring several tracks together and each track individually.

Now, if I change the Import settings to PCM instead of A256, the end of each track is intact and transitions are, once again, seamless.

I have serched the forum and have found threads on displaced track marks, but I don't think this is exactly the same issue. With displaced track marks, it seems that the track mark is offset but that all music data is still there. With the problem I have, a small piece of data is missing at the end of each track.

Is there a way around this without filling up my HDD with PCM?

Edit to add:

It seems that the track truncation happens on encoding and has nothing to do with the actual transfer. In other words, I can import legacy MD tracks as PCM which preserves all trach data and there's no truncation at the end of each track. As soon as I convert to ATRAC, though, either through transfer or directly on the PC, the truncation returns and track transitions are no longer smooth. This scuppers my idea for a workaround.

So it seems that I can only import legacy MD tracks in PCM, and leave them as PCM, unless I can live with jumps at track transitions due to truncation. Sometimes this doesn't matter, but with tracks that run into one another, it does Does anyone have any ideas?

Edited January 9, 2007 by jrhughes