Future production of HI-MD

[Conguero]

Hi, I'm hardly waiting for the new model of hi-md, which would come in place of todays ruler MZ-RH1. Every year around april or march the new anouncement was about the new model. But this year nothing! What is going on with the developement? I'm quite scared that those other mp3 gizmos give the developers lots of focus of the new HI-MD's developement.

Does anybody know when will the new model come? And is mabe the future of HI-MD's greatly endangered?

[sector001]

this has been discussed many of times, it doesn't look like another HiMD model may be coming out....SONY is even shutting down CONNECT.com

but no one really knows though.........

[an0nym0usmuse]

this has been discussed many of times, it doesn't look like another HiMD model may be coming out....SONY is even shutting down CONNECT.com

but no one really knows though.........

Hopefully Sony will come out with another innovative portable audio device. I've sampled other portable audio products, but I still prefer the quality and versatility of Minidisc--for now. It's apparent to me that the Minidisc technology is being rapidly eclipsed by other formats. I would like to see what Sony could develop next--should they care to.

[Sparky191]

...

Does anybody know when will the new model come? And is mabe the future of HI-MD's greatly endangered?

That ship has sailed.

[bobzilli]

I'll chime in only to add that sadly, I agree. MD and HiMD are done... for now

[Sparky191]

I'm waiting for people to start off loading their old HiMD's so i can pick up few as spares. I only use them for recording but they are very handy for that.

[sector001]

i will be holding onto my MD stuff, but i wont invest in any more units.

[BIGHMW]

i will be holding onto my MD stuff, but i wont invest in any more units.

Me too, thank goodness I got two MZ-NH700 SILVER units and also an MZ-RH710 BLACK unit, and an MZ-1 unit as well, maybe I will get a legacy (MD/MDLP/NetMD) unit or two but for me I am all set.

It's just a matter of getting tons of blank MDs and Hi-MDs for use with them, with the Hi-MDs used as media storage or with my Connects2 ASONWHD001 interface, while the MDs are used in my MXD-D3 and MDS-JE480 home, MDS-E10 pro and MDX-C5970 car decks and MDX-65 changers.

I already have the perfect setups to go with each of my Hi-MD Walkmans, the RM-MC60 and MDR-EX85SL BLACK with my RH710, while the RM-MC40ELK and EX90SL team up well with my NH700. I also own a ton of circa 1998 Case Logic black MD cases to hold all my MDs and units, as well as some Sony factory-OEM (supplied with the units) and specialty MD-NetMD/Hi-MD equipment (remotes, earphones, headphones, cases, etc.) as well for collector's pieces, as they are practically worthless for resale on eBay (compared to the gouged-up Sony MSRP's for them)

Edited June 19, 2007 by BIGHMW

[bobzilli]

Everytime I get close to excited about a DAP, something happens and I lose some stuff forever off my hard drives. I learned finally to back it up, but its a pain. I've never lost anything off a MD and only had one disc (pre recorded) that didnt play right. Having said all that, I wish I didnt have a box of MDs to deal with every time I want to find something

[rayzray]

today i think i'll "Q-Tip" my 27 MD units;; give them a sheen;; perhaps whisper in their face and tell them how muck i love them..

along with my approx 900 standard MD's and probably 11 or 12 Hi-MD discs;; i will still continue to vast in musicality..

[THIS SUCKS]

damn! i thought i had a lot of discs. i have about 250 standard discs. they are awesome!

[mmp64]

this has been discussed many of times, it doesn't look like another HiMD model may be coming out....SONY is even shutting down CONNECT.com

but no one really knows though.........

Can you elaborate on Sony shutting down CONNECT.com...?

[rayzray]

gee,, i was just thinking of joining;; well;; i can stop thinking now;; there are some songs i needed that i can't find around the CD/Record stores here..

[sector001]

there was a thread here about that...would have to look for it.

[mmp64]

there was a thread here about that...would have to look for it.

Thanks. I did some surfing. All of the anti-Sony people are getting all moist about it.

[bobzilli]

The blogs jumped the gun (what a surprise). They are not shutting down CONNECT just laying off some staff

[rayzray]

see,, what happens when i ask my voodoo friends for help?? they came though..

[Sparky191]

Thanks. I did some surfing. All of the anti-Sony people are getting all moist about it.

Dunno why anyone cares. tbh.

[rayzray]

Dunno why anyone cares. tbh.

just came back from a local AM Radio station (i need a song from them);;but anyhowzz;; they had a Sony MD-Deck in EVERY room/studio;; and still use it emensely;; they LOVE it and don't intend on changing soon;; "THEY CARE".. "I CARE" he cares ,, she cares;; Joe cares;; smo cares;; and "i heard it through the grapevine" that Sally cared..

my wife cares cause it makes me happy;; my mailman cares cause MD helps me afford the house that the maie-man has to drop his mail at;; if i didn't have MD and the house ,, the mailman would have a shorter route and maybe laid off for not enough work..

i inderstand the French program personality at that Radio station cares too;; he converted his whole French library to MD's;; his wife should care too and his mail-man..

my my Butcher doesn't care;; and i don't care about him either..

Edited June 21, 2007 by rayzray

[Sparky191]

just came back from a local AM Radio station (i need a song from them);;but anyhowzz;; they had a Sony MD-Deck in EVERY room/studio;; and still use it emensely;; they LOVE it and don't intend on changing soon;; "THEY CARE".. "I CARE" he cares ,, she cares;; Joe cares;; smo cares;; and "i heard it through the grapevine" that Sally cared..

my wife cares cause it makes me happy;; my mailman cares cause MD helps me afford the house that the maie-man has to drop his mail at;; if i didn't have MD and the house ,, the mailman would have a shorter route and maybe laid off for not enough work..

i inderstand the French program personality at that Radio station cares too;; he converted his whole French library to MD's;; his wife should care too and his mail-man..

my my Butcher doesn't care;; and i don't care about him either..

I was talking about Connect. What are you talking about?

[rayzray]

I was talking about Connect. What are you talking about?

i had posted that i was thinking of joining Connect;; so i guess connect was the subject..,, which is indirectly and directly connected to Sony;; (Who i HATE but love their MD products)..

i just wanted to stress that some ppl DO care;; but you are right in assuming many don't;; so it's a tie;; we both win this time..

so,, when DOES Harry Potter come out??

[Sparky191]

Your Butcher uses Connect?

[rayzray]

Butcher is just an expression i use for a "Bad" person;; and of course;; NOT meaning any of youzz guyzz;; (oh,, there goes those zzz'z again..

we know all of us here are "Good Guys" (and gals)..

thanks wizard of oz for the HP date;;

i was invited to go to the Grand Book opening TONIGHT by on of my piano students that will be working at Barnes & Noble;; but,, she had the right date but the WRONG MONTH..!!

ironically i DON"T read books and NEVER did;; what would i do at a HP opening anyhowzz??

well,, i'm going back to my MD-Decks and do some more editing;; and pondering if i should leave the house today and "connect' with some outsiders..

[rayzray]

yeah;; i would only go because my student invited me;; but there ARE some good books there on recording and using things like,, Sonic and stuff like that..

i wonder if they have any books on operating MD-decks and portables??

i usually go in da coffee shoppe section and study these books.. ((and,, of course listen to my Hi-MD#2 and my remixes))..

my student took karate and she would protect me..

i could get thrown out for saying a "Stabbing comment' to an iPoder though..

[tekdroid]

Hi, I'm hardly waiting for the new model of hi-md, which would come in place of todays ruler MZ-RH1. Every year around april or march the new anouncement was about the new model. But this year nothing! What is going on with the developement? I'm quite scared that those other mp3 gizmos give the developers lots of focus of the new HI-MD's developement.

Does anybody know when will the new model come? And is mabe the future of HI-MD's greatly endangered?

This just in:

Sony to release Hi-SD.

All the features of Hi-MD in a smaller size SD-based portable, with removable batts & media, too - just like Hi-MD. In a shock announcement, Sony have abandoned all forms of MemoryStick in favour of the more widely-adopted SD flashmemory format. Stay tuned.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

To be serious, the encryption (get rid of it) and filesystems (UDF please), speed (Zzz) and capacity of Hi-MD are the only really substantial things I think they can improve on (and allowing straightforward copies of copies of Hi-MDs to Hi-MDs, for instance). The rest is nit-picking. The choice of remotes is awesome, the editing on disc is awesome, the removable batts are awesome, the input choices are great, the sound is good, the recording chemistry seems robust..

Even if they did nothing but get rid of the encryption and/or allow native drag n drop with new models, that would be enough for me to invest in the format. There is still nothing out there like it. Hell, who am I kidding? A cheaper price is enough for me to invest in my fourth unit

[MDGB2]

Perhaps recordable UMD was another possibility for a future "minidisc" style recording format. Alas, I think that ship has sailed too.

People just don't seem to record anymore. Quite sad really. Used to love making my own compilation tapes and MDs.

Edited June 23, 2007 by MDGB2

[ZosoIV]

I think some people do record still, and there will always be a need to capture audio for various reasons (voice recording, audio off the radio, TV or DVDs, concerts, band practice, etc). The way that we accomplish this has changed to become (more) media agnostic. The MP3 file you record on one device will easily upload and can be played in your car, your clock radio, your DVD player, a portable HDD player, or even your RH1. People aren't as concerned with the media itself as much as the ability to play what's on it wherever they want to. That's the reason why compressed audio players and recorders have caught on, because it's certainly not a result of higher quality. (I've found that many cheap MP3 players/recorders build and component quality can't hold a candle to MD/Hi-MD, even though I find ATRAC as a codec to be lacking in quality and interoperability).

That's why I don't see another physical "media" format for music like MD or Hi-MD. Music on MD's was locked inside the disc; the disc WAS the music. Even though Hi-MD will record and upload PCM for conversion/playback on universal devices, for me it relegated (more like, demoted) MD to a temporary repository for recordings until I could shift them to another more universal medium (i.e., freeing the data from the disc and onto my computer and DVD+R discs). The last thing consumers want is another proprietary media, and you KNOW that Sony would love to unleash another dead-end format that requires special software, hard-to-find media, and draconian DRM.

We don't need another MD - we need flash/HDD recorders that offer the quality and build of MD with the portability, interoperability, and convenience of high-res PCM or DSD recorders. I hope that Sony will take what they know about MD recorders and marry those features to something a little less proprietary and more user-friendly....but I'm not holding my breath.

[BIGHMW]

Basically, I got my MZ-NH700 Hi-MD Walkman in which I have both enjoyed and accessorized extensively for almost three years now, and I don't see the demand from blank MD/Hi-MD media going away anytime soon (although Sony would do anything to get you to get rid of it in favor of another crappy inferior format, such as flash or MP3 players).

As far as I am concerned with Sony, I took the link to SonyStyle USA off of my favorites list and have decided to go the route of third-party aftermarket stores (such as MiniDisco, MiniDisc Access and also eBay among others).

I have been contemplating getting an RH1 ever since joining this board and have done extensive research on it, the reason why I have been hesitant about getting one is because I am worried about possibly losing my MD masters' content upon upload (transfer) to my PC (I prefer instead to burn CDs of my MD masters before loading them up to SonicStage 3.1 for use with my NH700 and RH710), so I still use the old-school MiniDisc Format greatly and have for almost 10 years, and have this one slogan:

"ATRAC or DEATH!!!"

I currently own an MZ-1 (for the obvious, the optical output), two NH700's an RH710, two MDX-C5970 HU's, two MDX-65 changers and two Connects2 ASONWHD001 interfaces (one for each car), an MXD-D3, as well as an MDS-E10 pro deck and HHB CDR-850 (in HMW Studio One), and an MDS-JE480 (with a potential to upgrade to an Onkyo MD-133 Hi-MD deck soon), why change because Sony wants us to??? OLD-SCHOOL FOREVER!!!

[mmp64]

....why change because Sony wants us to??? OLD-SCHOOL FOREVER!!!

I'm sure Sony would love a world in which ATRAC ruled and everyone used their proprietary formats. Unfortunately, ATRAC and their portable audio products have become the laughingstock and whipping boy of the electronic industry (Edsel, anybody?) and widely rejected by consumers.

I know this has been beaten to death and is probably off-topic, but I was looking on eBay the other day for some used MD stuff and realized that what really killed the format in the US, at least IMHO, was NetMD. They essentially lied about that format's ability to play MP3 natively (which is why most eBay options inevitably describe NetMD units as "MP3 players) - and the whole "check-out/check-in" thing. Many of the "normal" people that did buy the format felt duped and spread the word. The other issue - even to this day - is that many people think that the only way to get music on an MD is to record real-time.

Too bad.

[Justin42]

I have been contemplating getting an RH1 ever since joining this board and have done extensive research on it, the reason why I have been hesitant about getting one is because I am worried about possibly losing my MD masters' content upon upload (transfer) to my PC (I prefer instead to burn CDs of my MD masters before loading them up to SonicStage 3.1 for use with my NH700 and RH710), so I still use the old-school MiniDisc Format greatly and have for almost 10 years, and have this one slogan:

You'll have to upgrade to at least SonicStage 3.4 that comes with the RH1, but you shouldn't have to worry about losing anything. I've never had any problems with the original disc being messed up in my RH1. It's quite a nice unit, if you're serious about buying one you kind of need to do it soon since models are disappearing all over. If you end up not liking it, I am sure you'll be able to get 90%+ of your money back (if not make a profit) selling it on Ebay, especially once all the supplies are gone from stores...

[BIGHMW]

You'll have to upgrade to at least SonicStage 3.4 that comes with the RH1, but you shouldn't have to worry about losing anything. I've never had any problems with the original disc being messed up in my RH1. It's quite a nice unit, if you're serious about buying one you kind of need to do it soon since models are disappearing all over. If you end up not liking it, I am sure you'll be able to get 90%+ of your money back (if not make a profit) selling it on Ebay, especially once all the supplies are gone from stores...

In other words, I won't have to worry about the original MD being wiped out (erased) if I transfer the MD to SonicStage when I get the RH1, right? It just merely makes a duplicate of all the contents on the MD onto SS 3.4+, right?

I do have a download of SS 4.2CP (made available by our sister affiliate, ATRAC Life) all ready to go except I am worried about three things:

1) losing my MD Simple Burner 2.0 (installed in 2004)

2) losing my WAV conversion Tool I also installed back in 2005 (made available back then by MiniDisco)

and

3) It not working with older NetMD/Hi-MD units such as my MZ-NH700 and RH710

your input would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,

Ray Jackson

[Sparda]

I don't think you really have anything to worry about.

1) Simple Burner is available for download here in the Downloads section

2) I'm sure you can find the conversion tool again, if not, SS CP already has it built right in.

3) I'm willing to risk a blank that all your NetMD capable units will work.

[BIGHMW]

I don't think you really have anything to worry about.

1) Simple Burner is available for download here in the Downloads section

2) I'm sure you can find the conversion tool again, if not, SS CP already has it built right in.

3) I'm willing to risk a blank that all your NetMD capable units will work.

Thanks, but what I also wanted to know was:

Will I ever have to worry about the original MD being wiped out (erased) if I transfer the MD to SonicStage when I get the RH1, right? It just merely makes a duplicate of all the contents on the MD onto SS 4.2 CP, even if I have the recording tab slid into the non-recording position, right?

Also, more importantly, as some of my digital optical-recorded MDs were originally recorded on non-pro units, does the RH1 ignore SCMS???

Edited June 23, 2007 by BIGHMW

[Justin42]

Barring some catastrophic failure, you will not lose recordings made in any way when transferring using the RH1. In fact the RH1 can transfer prerecorded minidiscs even, it really does seem to pretty much ignore any copy protection.

I do believe you will need to have the disc as writable, I don't think Sony's changed that although I don't remember now. But I've never lost a recording on disc when transferring using the RH1. (including stuff recorded optically direct from my CD player using my original Sharp MD unit)

The WAV Conversion Tool isn't really needed (except possibly in unusual cases) anymore, as you can convert directly to WAV through SonicStage. (which I recommend you do, the one BIG "gotcha" is everything you transfer off the RH1 WILL be copy protected as an OMA file-- it will allow you to convert it to any format, but if your computer ever blows up or your SonicStage database is messed up beyond use, you may not be able to recover the file [of course you could re-transfer off the MD]. Once you convert to WAV you can archive as you please) Some people have noticed if you transfer from SP on your (standard) MD to HiSP mode in SonicStage, the track marks are off a bit, so I always just go to WAV. Odds are, anything I am transferring I am intending to burn to CD and not back to HiMD.

SonicStage 4.2 really is pretty good. (don't use 4.3 unless you're on Vista)

Simple Burner will stay on your system as long as you don't mess with it. It's not included in SonicStage anymore but it still works fine.

I would recommend backing everything up before upgrading. I think I started with SS2.0 and just upgraded everything over itself with no problems, although I wonder about a 3.1 to 4.2 jump in a single upgrade. You may want to upgrade to 3.4 (comes with the RH1), test it out a bit, and then go to 4.2 after a day or so. I don't know if 4.2's upgrading has been well tested over an older version...

Edited June 23, 2007 by Justin42

[BIGHMW]

Thanks, dude. That makes my decision easier, I'll get the RH1 from MiniDisco as soon as I get my next paycheck, as they seem to have the lowest price out there. I know now and can rest assured that my all of legacy MDs will still remain fully usable with all music on them intact on my non-Hi-MD car. pro and home decks.

Indeed this is great, finally, a fool-proof way to load up my legacy MDs without them losing their contents or having to burn a CD on my HHB CDR-850 just to load up in SonicStage (like I am currently doing right now).

Thanks,

Ray Jackson

[tekdroid]

Thanks, dude. That makes my decision easier, I'll get the RH1 from MiniDisco as soon as I get my next paycheck, as they seem to have the lowest price out there.

saw them here too, while browsing for an unrelated purchase:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4415...3_Minidisc.html

Same price.

[Justin42]

B&H is pretty good, I had some issues with a purchase last year and it was painless to return...

I like Minidisco since they support this site... (it's funny, for me in CA, Minidisco charges tax but no shipping, B&H charges shipping and no tax.. there's just no way to get a RH1 for under 299 )

[kaiwai]

I'm sure Sony would love a world in which ATRAC ruled and everyone used their proprietary formats. Unfortunately, ATRAC and their portable audio products have become the laughingstock and whipping boy of the electronic industry (Edsel, anybody?) and widely rejected by consumers.

I know this has been beaten to death and is probably off-topic, but I was looking on eBay the other day for some used MD stuff and realized that what really killed the format in the US, at least IMHO, was NetMD. They essentially lied about that format's ability to play MP3 natively (which is why most eBay options inevitably describe NetMD units as "MP3 players) - and the whole "check-out/check-in" thing. Many of the "normal" people that did buy the format felt duped and spread the word. The other issue - even to this day - is that many people think that the only way to get music on an MD is to record real-time.

Too bad.

Well, the interesting thing is this; chatting to a mate who works for Sony Style; he regularly has quite a few people inquirer about mini-disc players; sure, they don't fly off the shelf like the disposable flash based ones, but as he said, those who do purchase them tend to know what they want and willing to pay a little more for quality.

At the end of the day, I think, Sony is best to throw in the towel in regards to the mini-Disc at the US market; US consumers seem to be rather paranoid about adopting 'dem foreign technologies' - where as I tend to see a good number of people around New Zealand (and Asia) using mini-disc players.

What I would like to see, however, is Sony to make ATRAC open and free for others to use, and better still, document fully the protocol for writing/accessing mini-discs so that third party vendors for other operating systems (such as linux/*BSD/Solaris) can access/write etc. to it. Maybe with a bit of competition, SonicStage would improve too.

Edited July 2, 2007 by kaiwai

[e1ghtyf1ve]

Well, the interesting thing is this; chatting to a mate who works for Sony Style; he regularly has quite a few people inquirer about mini-disc players; sure, they don't fly off the shelf like the disposable flash based ones, but as he said, those who do purchase them tend to know what they want and willing to pay a little more for quality.

At the end of the day, I think, Sony is best to throw in the towel in regards to the mini-Disc at the US market; US consumers seem to be rather paranoid about adopting 'dem foreign technologies' - where as I tend to see a good number of people around New Zealand (and Asia) using mini-disc players.

What I would like to see, however, is Sony to make ATRAC open and free for others to use, and better still, document fully the protocol for writing/accessing mini-discs so that third party vendors for other operating systems (such as linux/*BSD/Solaris) can access/write etc. to it. Maybe with a bit of competition, SonicStage would improve too.

While I'd just love to see ATRAC opened up, I'm not holding my breath. Sony is simply too hamstrung by the ruling media cartel, something that Roland/Zoom etc. don't have to worry about that much. Still, the world would be a sad place without their quality portable music machines, and other amazing gadgets that so many other manufacturers, from Apple to Roland and beyond, tried to emulate with varying success. Where would we be without them? Why, with only whithering, dying Hydrogen Audio-like forums to laugh at.

Cheers

PS Just picked up a NIB Sharp 702mk MD recorder (yeah, the 24-bit old-skool one) on eBay for a song. I'm really excited about giving it a listen when it arrives. Long live ignorance!!!

[kaiwai]

While I'd just love to see ATRAC opened up, I'm not holding my breath. Sony is simply too hamstrung by the ruling media cartel, something that Roland/Zoom etc. don't have to worry about that much. Still, the world would be a sad place without their quality portable music machines, and other amazing gadgets that so many other manufacturers, from Apple to Roland and beyond, tried to emulate with varying success. Where would we be without them? Why, with only whithering, dying Hydrogen Audio-like forums to laugh at.

Cheers

PS Just picked up a NIB Sharp 702mk MD recorder (yeah, the 24-bit old-skool one) on eBay for a song. I'm really excited about giving it a listen when it arrives. Long live ignorance!!!

Meh, had a look at connect; given that ATRAC lives on in their flash players, I'd say its in for the long haul. It would be interesting to know whether Sony is willing to licence it or whether WMA has simply taken off because of marketing (rather than cost) given that both as as proprietary as each other.