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MZ-RH1 removed from Sony Style USA Website

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RobA

By RobA,
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RobA Newbie

RobA

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It appears that the RH1 has been removed from the sony style USA website. See here: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....&Dept=audio

Click MiniDisc Players, and the RH1 is gone. The real question is, what does this mean? Is Sony giving up on the format? Or is it the sign of a new HiMD unit around the corner?

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UMWOOFWOOFF Newbie

UMWOOFWOOFF

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Yes, it does look like it folks, that this is, in fact, the end. When I clicked on "minidisc recorders" under portable players, I got:

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP...._p:pa_cdplayers

When I entered "MZ-RH1" I got no matches.

I'm glad I got mine a few days ago...but also VERY glad that I never got into Hi-MD, and I have way more than enough home and car Legacy MD decks to sustain my lifetime, as well as discs. I will continue to use minidisc until I'm no longer here, until another PHYSICAL medium can compete. But, since there is NO MARKET for ANY sort of physical medium (at the moment, until a decade or so down the line and people find their CD-R's/DVD-R's and hard drives WON'T recover files) I will not hold my breath, until the public at large come to their senses regarding being able to hold a PHYSICAL copy of their music/data that actually PLAYS 3 years down the line...

Farewell, MD...I've had the utmost respect for you. And, F Sony.

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Strungup Newbie

Strungup

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It appears that the RH1 has been removed from the sony style USA website. See here: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP....&Dept=audio

Click MiniDisc Players, and the RH1 is gone. The real question is, what does this mean? Is Sony giving up on the format? Or is it the sign of a new HiMD unit around the corner?

I brought the subject up a few months ago , and stated that I had inside info , from one of my guitar students who was teaching english in the engineering section of Sony , That one of the engineers said to him he felt VERY strongly that the RH1 was the last portable they were going to make.

It appears to be taking shape .

We will have to wait and see eh?

I kliked the link for the RH1 on the website

It said in big RED letters

" We are sorry , the Product you requested is no longer available"

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Richard Grand Master

Richard

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I am not worried as long as there is an "active" behind the ean-code:

I tend to agree. The fact it has been removed from the Sony Style US website is not really significant of one thing or another. It was never even for sale on the SonyStyle EU website to begin with (or if it was it has been missing for months) :D

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Avrin Newbie

Avrin

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Posted (edited)

Well, after some three months of selling like hot cakes, the RH1 suddenly disappeared from SonyStyle.ru. But it was still available for ordering by searching for it on the web site! Now it is officially back in the "Portable audio" category, along with three (somewhat useless) CD-players: http://www.sonystyle.ru/sonystyle/category...category_id=354 - but still available for ordering - already gone today (24.05.2007)!

Edited by Avrin
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BIGHMW Newbie

BIGHMW

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Thank goodness I have an MZ-1, an MDS-E10, an MDS-JE480, TWO MZ-NH700, TWO MDX-65 and TWO MDX-c5970 units. I got into minidisc thanks to my management, Len Enders of Label Cove Entertainment.

I also seem to notice fewer and fewer minidisc and H-MD units for sale on eBay, and when they were they were flying off the shelves and there were high bid amounts on the others.

This proverbial middle finger is for Sony for disrespecting fans and entusiasts their OWN technology (ATRAC and the MiniDisc/Hi-MD forget) after 15 years

Edited by BIGHMW
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boojum Newbie

boojum

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I am not worried as long as there is an "active" behind the ean-code:

Check this. It looks like they are saying "discontinued":DARRH1000.CEK,4901780950096,HCX1536.CEK,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

MDWMMZRH10BPN.YG,5013493065772,MZRH10B.CEK & MDWMCASE2.YG,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

MZRH10B.CEK,4901780939947,HI-MD WITH SELF-RECORDING FUNCTION,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

and then this

MZRH1B.EU8,4905524323207,Hi-MD W/Self Rec PC Connection Black, Active

Whazzup???

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Strungup Newbie

Strungup

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I went to an Electronics shop yesterday , and asked about their MD stock , They told me Sony MD was no longer going to be stocked , there were only 6 left on the shelf , the Home systems would still be there but to portables were being replaced by the MP3 , and flash Atrac products

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boojum Newbie

boojum

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I am pretty peeved at this. I kind of had expected SONY to keep this guy on the market indefinitely. They offer no approximate replacement and the Zoom H4 looks like the machine to do the deal. That, two pair of AA's, a couple of 2gB memory cards and I am in business. Sheesh, tell me this isn't so. I was tempted to order another RH1 but why? It is an orphan. Oh, well, not every day is Christmas, or Sunday, or lottery-wining day. Some days are just the shits.

Cheers B)

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raintheory Newbie

raintheory

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Posted

Check this. It looks like they are saying "discontinued":DARRH1000.CEK,4901780950096,HCX1536.CEK,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

MDWMMZRH10BPN.YG,5013493065772,MZRH10B.CEK & MDWMCASE2.YG,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

MZRH10B.CEK,4901780939947,HI-MD WITH SELF-RECORDING FUNCTION,01 Discon.W/o Repl'mnt

and then this

MZRH1B.EU8,4905524323207,Hi-MD W/Self Rec PC Connection Black, Active

Whazzup???

Those first 2 look to be the RH10.

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Avrin Newbie

Avrin

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is just a suggestion actually, but it looks like the SonyStyles, which had the Malaysian model, no longer have it, while the SonyStyles, which carried the Chinese one, are still selling it - also gone as of today.

Edited by Avrin
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Avrin Newbie

Avrin

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Let's face it - this looks like the end. Remember, last year SONY announced the RH1 in March, and discontinued the second generation in May. This year they announced no HiMD unit in March (only the new flash ones), and discontinued the RH1 in May.

I'll probably go out today, and buy as much HiMD blanks, as I will find in my neighborhood - HiMD blanks will follow the RH1, obviously! While legacy MD blanks will, most probably, be manufactured for years to come.

Edited by Avrin
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tekdroid Newbie

tekdroid

Posted
Posted

if this is the end, the replacement is...?

Sony sure haven't released a feature-equivalent replacement in Hi-MD's price range.

...and they haven't announced the non-production of the format as they did DAT a while back.

Until I see a feature-equivalent model in the same-ish price announced and until I hear official word that they are stopping production, I'm kinda doubting this is the end. If it is, it's been a good ride, and will continue to be for me, personally. I think I picked up some fine recorders that I'll be using for years.

countdown to removal on Sony Business & Broadcasting site:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusin...;p=10&sp=83

countdown to removal on:

http://www.sony.com.au/walkman/category.jsp?id=21995

:)

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kino170878 Newbie

kino170878

Posted
Posted (edited)

It is inevitable that the Hi-MD medium will be scrapped. The irony of it is that old MD (discs and equipment) will likely stay in production.

This should not really be much of a concern to dedicated followers though, who as we speak are probably stocking up on supplies. Hopefully the community here will continue to support each other.

Edit - I would almost kill to get one of the last M200s.....

Edited by kino170878
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Avrin Newbie

Avrin

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I'll probably go out today, and buy as much HiMD blanks, as I will find in my neighborhood.

There seem to be plenty of Hi-MD blanks available online still...

Yeah, and it seems that hundredloads of those are in my neighborhood (the Northwestern part of Moscow). Stopped at 35!

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Avrin Newbie

Avrin

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Same with Sony Russia: http://www.sony.ru/view/ShowProductCategor...assette+Walkman

But they still have the http://www.sony.ru/view/ShowProduct.action...+Net+MD+Walkman

And, lady, what do you have against cassette Walkmans? Just check this: ftp://ftp.vaio-link.com/pub/DNA/Wallpapers/W_wall010.exe - this is a self-extracting archive from SONY with Walkman wallpapers. I would give half of my life for having the unit in mint condition!

Edited by Avrin
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sallymae_hogsby Newbie

sallymae_hogsby

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By moving the unit to the pro audio section, it seems they are winding down for sure. Maybe just getting rid of stock-or perhaps there is a market for it still-in the eyes of Sony.

1. I can live with MD "going pro", but there doesn't seem to have been any development in this area either.

2. You'd think the ideal replacement for MD would be some kind of removable 1GB flash card as a "format" for storing large collections, or uncompressed music permanantly. (The idea of memory and the player being the same unit still seems so limiting to me, but I guess it works for most people.) With 1GB and even 2GB flash drives available now, it seems like it's almost at the point of being realistic.

3. This morning I searched online for the MZ-NH600's, for (relatively) inexpensive portable players for future commuting playback of my Hi-MD compilations. Most places don't have them anymore. Amazon has them for $149 (after shipping & taxes in PA). I have 2 that I got for $99 last year.

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MDGB2 Newbie

MDGB2

Posted
Posted

Can't be a pro format without a dedicated full-size deck.

Do Sony still produce the "legacy" decks? Many sites still have the JE480 for sale.

Quite fancied a JB980 but held back after expecting Sony to produce Hi-MD decks. How foolish of me.

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ZosoIV Newbie

ZosoIV

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'd like to think that perhaps sony is moving Hi-MD towards the pro market, but I'm not sure that any "pro" I know would even take the RH1 seriously. Why? For one, it has consumer-level 1/8" inputs and outputs, not XLR or even 1/4". Secondly, upload (at least on the PC) requires use of consumer-grade "jukebox software" as opposed to allowing one to drag-and drop audio right from the unit (or upload directly into audio editing software packages). Third, the world has been moving away from 16/44 PCM for a while now - 16/48 was standard when DAT was around, and now portable recorders are beginning to have the ability to record in 24/96, 24/192 or even 1-bit, 2.8MHz DSD

I suppose how one defines a "professional" is important here - maybe I'm over-defining the term? Still, I just don't get the impression that the RH1/MZ-M200 is truly a "professional" level recorder. It's great for people wanting to record thier gigs, lectures, recitals, etc - but not quite suited to what a lot of "pros" would want to use it for in 2007.

Edited by ZosoIV
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e1ghtyf1ve Newbie

e1ghtyf1ve

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I'd like to think that perhaps sony is moving Hi-MD towards the pro market, but I'm not sure that any "pro" I know would even take the RH1 seriously. Why? For one, it has consumer-level 1/8" inputs and outputs, not XLR or even 1/4". Secondly, upload (at least on the PC) requires use of consumer-grade "jukebox software" as opposed to allowing one to drag-and drop audio right from the unit (or upload directly into audio editing software packages). Third, the world has been moving away from 16/44 PCM for a while now - 16/48 was standard when DAT was around, and now portable recorders are beginning to have the ability to record in 24/96, 24/192 or even 1-bit, 2.8MHz DSD

I suppose how one defines a "professional" is important here - maybe I'm over-defining the term? Still, I just don't get the impression that the RH1/MZ-M200 is truly a "professional" level recorder. It's great for people wanting to record thier gigs, lectures, recitals, etc - but not quite suited to what a lot of "pros" would want to use it for in 2007.

It's all about actual sonic performance and the ol' garbage in, garbage out routine. We recently used multiple different recorders (24-bit flash, 24-bit hd - computer, DAT, HiMD) at the output end of some high-priced preamps and German-made mics, XLRs, the works. Guess which recorders excelled sonically according to our customers? DAT, followed very closely by MD. It was an interesting experience, to say the least.

Numbers are great and all, but when they don't have the analog stages to back it up, it'll all sound like s**t. ;)

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pfflamingo Newbie

pfflamingo

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Posted

Went to the SonyStyle site this afternoon, there isn't even an option anymore to view MiniDisc portables! I could not find any listing or sub-menu. But you can view their lone MiniDisc deck if you go to the "Site Map" and click on "MiniDisc Components":

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...8&langId=-1

Is this high proof of Sony abandoning the American market?

They do, however, have some MiniDisc media listed as for sale:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores...1&langId=-1

pfflamingo

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Sparda Newbie

Sparda

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I actually feel a bit depressed right now. But its good to know that SonyStyle Canada still has it up for sale. I'm going to stock up on blanks and maybe buy a play only unit. What about Japan? Is it still in production or for sale?

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BIGHMW Newbie

BIGHMW

Posted
Posted

this means that my hope for a HiMD car unit is meaningless?... :(

post-3268-1223246912_thumb.jpg

Hey, there is always the Connects2 ASONWHD001, it works with Hi-MD Walkmans as well as MD and NW-HD and NW-A series Walkmans, and it hooks up to your Xplod system with the Unilink system. It reads the Walkman just like a CD changer.

You can find out more at http://www.Connects2.com

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tasdisr Newbie

tasdisr

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Posted

I was just looking at Sony's site and noticed that the RH1 was not listed anymore.

I never did get one because I had purchased an extra RH10 when they were still available.

Guess I will stock up on blanks like everyone else.

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