Do you envisage using MD forever?

[dural]

Having decided to 'about-turn' on my decision earlier in the year to slowly move away from MiniDisc, I have invested in some more units this year as well as plenty of new blanks. So basically, I'm in it for the long run, and don't really envisage a life without MiniDisc (I'm 37 now).

I also use an AppleTV for music, utitlising an iPod Touch as a remote control, thus not needing the AppleTV plugged into a display, it's just connected to my Hi-Fi. But find this solution slightly boring to use (although many friends think it's a brilliant solution to having a large music collection). To me, the fun and reward of making a decent/themed compilation onto MD just more satisfying. Not to mention the audio quality still being (IMO) the best for a modern format that uses lossy compression.

So, it would be interesting to know how long you guys and girls think you might be utilising MD's. I myself feel I have enough units to last my lifetime, as I treat them well, and very rarely take anything MD related out of the house!

Hit me with it - Will I be the only pensioner using this format, in 30 years time???!

[tharmon]

If there was something better or as versitile, I'd switch. But I don't see it!

[KJ_Palmer]

Yes, I do. I've also got enough players, decks and of course MD compilations to outlast me (hopefully later rather than sooner). I've also 'got into' other formats and players (mp3, wav and flac), but this is really for a 'just in case' scenario and for backups. For everyday use and general recording purposes I can't see anything ousting my MD collection.

[Strungup]

I with the Baroque dude above ,

I have too many discs to give way to another , I do have other formats , but MD just plain feels good.

[Hungerdunger]

When I can get a machine which records nearly eight hours of internet radio at a high bitrate while I'm sleeping and then allows me to edit the the tracks when I play it back; let's me play back at faster-than-real-time (ideal for spoken-word podcasts); and when I can get a compatible deck to use in conjunction with a timer to record radio programmes while I'm out of the house, then I might think about dropping Minidisc.

[netmduser]

i have a mdlp deck with a psych type downloader only minidisc attached to my computer. Since computers today are fast, burning mp3s / cds is very fast, this is how i enjoy md when i play it on my hi fi.

Edited December 5, 2008 by netmduser

[bobzilli]

I go through phases of irritation with Md/HiMd and end up listening to my IPod till the sound drives me nuts and I go back.I date MD but won't marry her at this point

[Strungup]

I go through phases of irritation with Md/HiMd and end up listening to my IPod till the sound drives me nuts and I go back.I date MD but won't marry her at this point

ROTF Sounds like you already are Married !!!!

Edited December 6, 2008 by Guitarfxr

[bobt]

When they pry it from my dead hands, then I will give it up!

Unless I can figure out to take it with me

Bob

[Bwil]

I use MD for everything from portable listening to recording my children's speech. I love the format and hope I am never without. There's nothing else like it.

[bluecrab]

I just hope I have enough MD gear that I can bop til I drop with it. Earlier today, I was listening to an LP2 MD on my main system. The quality was outstanding and it was a lot more convenient that having to fiddle with the two CDs from which I made this MD. (FTR it was Pentangle's "Light Flight: The Anthology"). I think the Type S Atrac really does make a difference. Besides, if I gave up MD, I'd miss all the edifying and illuminating commentary and opinion here! :-)

And oh yeah, I have taken to recording books on CD to MD. I listen to them on my drive home from work. Really makes my commute better. I probably should grab another car MD unit off Ebay, just in case.

Edited December 6, 2008 by bluecrab

[bland10000]

A 'lifer' here.

[tekdroid]

So, it would be interesting to know how long you guys and girls think you might be utilising MD's.

....

Hit me with it - Will I be the only pensioner using this format, in 30 years time???!

One part of me says:

"I'd be very surprised if Hi-MD's features weren't integrated into a brand-new small product soon, offering us far more storage, far more speed, far more silence, native drag-n-drop, broad lossless format support, far more "far out", while keeping all of the things we love about Hi-MD..."

while the other part of me says:

"the portable audio market now pretty much is filled with devices that lack in several key areas where Hi-MD wins; the market is stagnant, chasing after video, storage capacity, embedded batteries and storage ruling the roost, and I doubt the bulk market forces that exist now are even asking for the unique qualities and features of Hi-MD, so these things will never be made, we own some real gems, the market now will just make what we want more of a niche as time goes on, with the higher prices to match"

Assuming the first voice wins, I will drop it and move to that something new assuming all useful Hi-MD features are accounted for and then some. It will only be worth moving to if it's better. Faster. Easier and hopefully cheaper or priced similarly.

Assuming the second voice wins out, I will stick with Hi-MD for the foreseeable. That means the long haul, baby. As long as it keeps providing tangible benefits over the bulk of what's out there, basically.

[Levanel]

I like this format.. very geeky and technical at best.

But unless "they" come up with new storage capacities in the terabyte range (think holographic storage) and package them the same way Sony's been doing it with MiniDiscs all this time, I'm not budging.

Heck, I've still got loads of blank MDs to record on.

[alfie]

I have a decade worth of discs collected and recorded on that I don't feel like moving to another format. I play around with other players and file formats but I'll always have minidisc as part of my audio diet.

[A440]

I don't use MD for portable listening--I use an mp3 player (Sansa Fuze, which now also plays FLAC).

I do use it for portable recording, and my RH1 and extra, not-yet-used NH700 will last me for long years to come. But thanks to SonicStage, this will mean maintaining at least one computer with XP or Vista--you don't really think Sony is going to port SonicStage to the next Micro$oft Windows, do you?

And when someone makes the equivalent of Hi-MD with MicroSDHC and no idiotic encryption, I won't be looking back. Sony's hardware engineers did an amazing thing, and Sony's software obstacles killed it.

Features I want:

.wav recording

Small.

Logical control buttons, few menus.

Long battery life and user-replaceable battery.

Manual level controls (along with auto).

Quiet mic input preamp.

On-unit editing (including track marks while recording).

Remote with level control for stealthy recording.

MicroSDHC (now at 16GB and probably doubling soon).

And for the musicians I know, overdubbing capability.

All those features already exist. They're just not in one handy package yet. Hint to manufacturers--lose the built-in stereo mics.

[LonelyMachines]

As a recorder, I've yet to find anything that matches MD. I don't trust anything based on a hard-drive as a field recorder, and none of the flash-drive units have the same features. So, as long as there are blanks, I'll stick with MD in that role.

As a player, I still prefer the output quality of MD to any other compressed format. Part of it is the fact that (with one exception), I have yet to find any DAP that generates an output that is free of static and/or hiss. Most seem to be subtly EQ'ed as well, something I don't like. It seems like the current philosophy is that the quality of the amp doesn't matter as much as the amount of memory or colors displayed on screen. Thanks and all, but MD still has its priorities straight; it's about sound. I've yet to find a DAP that sounds as good as my Sharp units.

My only complaint is SonicStage. I really, really, really wish there was a way to transfer files a) without having to use that program, and without having to boot into Windows. As a result, only about 5% of my record collection is on MD at any given time. As long as I'm listening to that, I prefer MD.

However, if I want to listen to something that isn't on MD, I'll dig up the Rio Karma. Just more convenient.

Of course, that's not a big issue to me, since I've always considered MD as a replacement (and a superior one) to tape. Occasional real-time recording or a semi-weekly foray into SonicStage isn't that big of a deal. In fact, before the first high-capacity DAP's came out, I never realized I was being "inconvenienced" by not having near-instant transfers

So, I'll be sticking with it as long as I have blanks. When those run out, I'll still stick with it, just to spite the young people and their awful 6-Petabyte iPod Quantums.

[Syrius]

I am seriously thinking of building an emergency XP-based computer that I can tuck away safely, along with all my MD-Related gear, and a Post-Apocalypse-ready RH1. Once the media moguls have the population locked into their abusive DRM-schemes and proprietary audio formats that cannot be restored, I'll be more than glad to walk around the street with the "ONLY" portable and reliable digital audio player/recorder that allows unlimited transfers and uploads of digital audio. And then they will all lower their heads in shame and regret, at the sight of my HI-MD Recorder Of Justice.

[Levanel]

May I suggest building A VMware image of WinXP w/SS 4.3 for legacy purposes? Hell, I think you can fit a slipstreamed Windows XP install onto 1 HiMD disk..

[BIGHMW]

I am seriously thinking of building an emergency XP-based computer that I can tuck away safely, along with all my MD-Related gear, and a Post-Apocalypse-ready RH1. Once the media moguls have the population locked into their abusive DRM-schemes and proprietary audio formats that cannot be restored, I'll be more than glad to walk around the street with the "ONLY" portable and reliable digital audio player/recorder that allows unlimited transfers and uploads of digital audio. And then they will all lower their heads in shame and regret, at the sight of my HI-MD Recorder Of Justice.

You betcha, bro! Although I myself listen to my music on my NW-HD5 HDD Walkman (ATRAC/SonicStage support was mandatory for me in my choice of DAP's), I also have an arsenal of MD/Hi-MD Walkmen, several car, home and studio decks, as well as three (count them, kids).... three MZ-RH1's (used one at a time) on hand for the purposes of recording and also for uploading of legacy MD's (in which I have hundreds of in my BIGHMW.com Media Vault, which also includes blank media of almost every type), so I set for life whenever it comes down to it.

One more question:

How can a acquire a CD-ROM of SonicStage 4.2 CP, just in case Sony discontinues current upgrades that are now available online (both the MDCF and ATRAC Life host upgrade links online), so that I can continue enjoying the most superior compression format ever made: ATRAC, ATRAC3, and ATRAC3Plus!!!

Edited December 11, 2008 by BIGHMW

[A440]

How can a acquire a CD-ROM of SonicStage 4.2 CP, just in case Sony discontinues current upgrades that are now available online (both the MDCF and ATRAC Life host upgrade links online)

Here's 4.3.

http://sonicstage.connect.com/SS-US.zip

Here's 4.2

http://rapidshare.com/files/40270494/SOASS...204-UN.exe.html

Just tried both links and they still work.

More here:

http://forums.minidisc.org/lofiversion/index.php/t18671.html

Grab them now, you never know....

Edited December 11, 2008 by A440

[BIGHMW]

Thanks dude. I already have it on my PC in .exe form, and I will also be acquiring MD Simple Burner and burn a CD of it this afternoon.

Peace Out,

Ray Jackson

MDCF user ID: BIGHMW

(for access to my BIGHMW Network of websites, see my signature)

[garcou]

I will never stop using himd for hifi audio listenning ( using very good himd Onkyo decks...) and archiving. It has the perfect size for clear labelling and easy stockage. And I like one Album/ one disc. I also like thema compilations/ disc.

Although I hope an himd car unit , I can live with Connect2 adapter + sony CD reciever. The perfect car unit would be a combination of Big hard drive + Himd drive...

For very important work or personnal files, I will continue to stock them on Mds (in fact 2 differents discs for more security), because I know several collegues who lost their whole work or family photos when their hard drive crashed!

I have also some movies on himds : encoding with h264/AAC you can put among 3 hours of very good video on 965MB himd.

Nonetheless, It is possible I will use a diffferent media (solid state) for live recording: no moving parts is more adapted for recording on the move.

In fact, what would make me abandonning Himd, would be some 5GB Superhimd ! It is technically possible , using DVD instead of CD laser lengh wave: ie combination of Himd and MDdata2 (650MB MD-view for special Sony camcorder)

[1kyle]

Having decided to 'about-turn' on my decision earlier in the year to slowly move away from MiniDisc, I have invested in some more units this year as well as plenty of new blanks. So basically, I'm in it for the long run, and don't really envisage a life without MiniDisc (I'm 37 now).

I also use an AppleTV for music, utitlising an iPod Touch as a remote control, thus not needing the AppleTV plugged into a display, it's just connected to my Hi-Fi. But find this solution slightly boring to use (although many friends think it's a brilliant solution to having a large music collection). To me, the fun and reward of making a decent/themed compilation onto MD just more satisfying. Not to mention the audio quality still being (IMO) the best for a modern format that uses lossy compression.

So, it would be interesting to know how long you guys and girls think you might be utilising MD's. I myself feel I have enough units to last my lifetime, as I treat them well, and very rarely take anything MD related out of the house!

Hit me with it - Will I be the only pensioner using this format, in 30 years time???!

I'm over 50 and still using these daily.

However I haven't given up on New Technology -- I often create new compilations etc via SQUEEZEBOX audio streaming -- the squeezebox has an optical audio out for real time otherwise I just create a "Virtual CD" and burn to MD using Simple Burner (on a Windows XP virtual machine as SB doesn't run on VISTA).

I edit with SS -- about the only time I use SS --you don't need to store music in SS anymore even when using MD's.

I upload my recordings as WAV via SS -- convert to FLAC - then delete from SS library. I have nothing permanently stored in SS.

Squeezebox plays FLAC direcctly and if I want to download again to MD then I just create a Virtual CD from the flac files (NERO does this directly in Windows XP) and use SB for the download.

Storing files as FLAC means you have NO COMPRESSION, and your library can be organised however you want.

You aren't limited to a [roprietary database format which can break very easily or can't span multiple volumes.

Got the best of both worlds this way. Can listen on decent gear with Squeezebox if computer is running or on nice MD stand alone deck (MBS JB980) when I can't be bothered with computers etc.

Cheers

-K

[Sinead-Harris]

Hi,

I have used Minidisc for many years as i am a singer.

Minidisc are great,however, i am trying to move away from it now and start using my laptop, the only problem is, i dont know how to transfer the backing music from my Minidisc onto my laptop??? there is no insert for a minidisc on my laptop.

Does anyone know if i have to record from minidisc to CD first then convert them into MP3's??? and how i would do this as i havent got a clue!

I would apreciate any advise as im not technically minded at all.

Cheers

Sinead xx

[bobt]

Hi,

I have used Minidisc for many years as i am a singer.

Minidisc are great,however, i am trying to move away from it now and start using my laptop, the only problem is, i dont know how to transfer the backing music from my Minidisc onto my laptop??? there is no insert for a minidisc on my laptop.

Does anyone know if i have to record from minidisc to CD first then convert them into MP3's??? and how i would do this as i havent got a clue!

I would apreciate any advise as im not technically minded at all.

Cheers

Sinead xx

Hi Sinead,

Easiest way is the RH1, will digitally upload to your computer, alternate method is an adapter cable from your md output to your comput4 lin in, usually a 1/8 to 1/8" cable will work.

Good luck

Bob

[Sinead-Harris]

thank you Bob Ur a star, Merry Xmas

[BIGHMW]

...and just in case you can't get an RH1, you can always get its identical twin unit, the MZ-M200, which is available at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend as part of the pro series.

[Sinead-Harris]

I dont think it will be worth me buying one because i would only use it the once.

I just want to transfer the backing music i have on MD to MP3 on my laptop, the songs are realy important and i cant get hold of them again due to key changes ect.

I think my best bet would be a lead but im not sure which one i am to get, like i said im not technical at all lol

Do you think i might be able to pick a lead up from somewhere like Maplin?

Thaanks

[KJ_Palmer]

I dont think it will be worth me buying one because i would only use it the once.

I just want to transfer the backing music i have on MD to MP3 on my laptop, the songs are realy important and i cant get hold of them again due to key changes ect.

I think my best bet would be a lead but im not sure which one i am to get, like i said im not technical at all lol

Do you think i might be able to pick a lead up from somewhere like Maplin?

Thaanks

Yes indeed they would, just like this one here. As mentioned you can use it to connect your headphone out to your PC's line in. You can record the sound from your MD with free software like Audacity. Turn any sound EQ settings off, and turn the sound up near to max on your MD, and start recording...

[kino170878]

As a professional musician I think you would want the best result on transfer. If not the MZ-RH1 then try to find a second hand deck from ebay with digital optical out and then transfer the recording to a PC or CD recorder. You could still go the analogue route but you would have to play around with the settings to get the best signal.

Edit - please don't record them again to MP3, it will sound like shit lol. Transfer to WAV which is uncompressed.

Edited December 16, 2008 by kino170878

[Sinead-Harris]

thanks i will do, i will have to show all the comments to my Dad lol he will know as i dont have a clue lol...very much appreciated ppl x

[Guest Gray Rider]

I envisage using Hi-md until there's a dap with 100G + capacity with a HD digital amp and continuous shuffle function that continues after you recharge the battery.

[Pug]

My new years resolution was to stock up on MD units to be set for life.

Bought these two already:

(my other resolution was to give up beer - but that I have failed already).

Cheers

Pug

[theblueraja]

I HOPE to be a 'lifer', but you never know... but I'm pretty well stocked, and still very much in love with MD.

[stshores24]

Every time I think about selling my DH-10P, I just can't. It's a thing of beauty.

Every time I look at new digital music players, I think about my beloved DH-10P and smile. Nah, I can't do it. Minidisc, despite its quirks, is just too awesome.

I just need to buy more HiMD discs. I have three so far; I picked another one up (ONE!) of the shelf of a Fry's the other day with a gift card.

[brian10161]

I just got an RH1, and on top of my NH600, and my 3 NetMD units now, I'm pretty well stocked. I do plan to keep using the format as long as I possibly can. I love the sound quality out of the RH1, so I don't plan on going back to an iPod or anything else anytime soon. I used an iPod at school, but that was before I had a job and could afford to buy the discs online. Around town, the best you can do is get a 5 pack of the color collection Sony's. And those are pretty expensive considering what you get.

A 30 pack of Maxell 74s for $50 (shipping included I think), or a 5 pack of 80 minute Sony's for 25? Doesn't make sense to me.

But overall I'm pretty well stocked, I'm over 100 discs, so I should be alright for a while. Plus I order a few here and there, so I'll probably be close to double that by next year (If discs are still produced new).

[GQ Smooth]

As long as the Internet, and Tottenham Court Road stock supplies, I'll be in it to win it!!

[theblueraja]

As long as the Internet, and Tottenham Court Road stock supplies, I'll be in it to win it!!

... WHAT?

[KJ_Palmer]

Tottenham Court Road is hi-fi heaven in London, and still (apparently) amply stocked with MD supplies. Otherwise known to locals as TCR, TBR...

As to MD, I've just realised I can't ever do without mine, especially the MZ-B10 for me. Nothing else in the MP3, Wav etc recorder world comes close in handiness, features, quality size, battery life, value for money than this magic little box. In fact I've just ordered another MZ-B10 on Amazon...