Recordings from optical input & problem on playback

[Tom B]

I have a new Sound Blaser card on my PC, with optical In and Out jacks.

I connected the card's optical output to the optical input of a Sony MD recorder. I also connected stereo headphones to the MD recorder. Audio played on the PC is heard OK on the headphones while it is recorded on the Sony recorder. It sounds OK

Then when I play back the MD recording, it starts to play OK but the sound totally cuts out to nothing. It's intermittant. There are no error messages.

I played the MD disk on another Sony MD player. It played exactly the same way, with the audio cutting in and out. Again there were no error messages.

As best I can tell there is no copy protection involved. There are also no problems when I record live speech with a microphone.

[jim.hoggarth]

You need to isolate the problem first of all. Any of three components could be at fault - the MD recorder, the SoundBlaster, or the optical cable.

Unfortunately you haven't told us the model of your MD recorder, so the advice when can give is limited. If it is a portable unit, I have known the optical detect switch to fail and so it intermittently treats the input as analog. On decks, stress can cause broken joints to appear on the optical detector blocks where they are soldered onto the main board.

However, if you can monitor the optical input at all times on 'phones, and material that you have heard does not record correctly, there is most likely a fault on your MD recorders main board (portable) or BD board (deck), or the laser record power is slow, or the write head is damaged or bent. But as I say, I can only guess without a model number.

Jim

[Tom B]

It's an MZ-N10

You need to isolate the problem first of all. Any of three components could be at fault - the MD recorder, the SoundBlaster, or the optical cable.

Unfortunately you haven't told us the model of your MD recorder, so the advice when can give is limited. If it is a portable unit, I have known the optical detect switch to fail and so it intermittently treats the input as analog. On decks, stress can cause broken joints to appear on the optical detector blocks where they are soldered onto the main board.

However, if you can monitor the optical input at all times on 'phones, and material that you have heard does not record correctly, there is most likely a fault on your MD recorders main board (portable) or BD board (deck), or the laser record power is slow, or the write head is damaged or bent. But as I say, I can only guess without a model number.

Jim

[Tom B]

Even though I hear the audio that is input to the Sony MD recorder with an optical, digital input OK, with my headphones, is there a chance there is a conflict with data the MD digital disk will record?

Are there particular settings that the MD recorder is looking for, that I can change on the output of the Sound Blaster's digital optical signal that it sends?

(The Sony MD recorder is a portable, an MZ-N10. It continues to work OK when there's an analog input.)

Thanks

[jim.hoggarth]

If you are absolutely certain that the analogue input works all the time, every time, that rules out any part of the recording electronics. I would still guess the optical input is faulty, but as said before it could also be the digital cable or the SB output. In any case, I would expect the display on the N10 to show that the digital signal had disappeared, either by switching to analog or by showing a specific error (on this model, I think it would just be "No Signal"). Try wobbling the optical jack input plug as it is recording. And if you pull the plug out, you should see it switch to analog (ie line) input automatically, and back again when pushed back in.

Jim

[Tom B]

If you are absolutely certain that the analogue input works all the time, every time, that rules out any part of the recording electronics. I would still guess the optical input is faulty, but as said before it could also be the digital cable or the SB output. In any case, I would expect the display on the N10 to show that the digital signal had disappeared, either by switching to analog or by showing a specific error (on this model, I think it would just be "No Signal"). Try wobbling the optical jack input plug as it is recording. And if you pull the plug out, you should see it switch to analog (ie line) input automatically, and back again when pushed back in.

Jim

I've used this recorder with a microphone and analogue line in. I've previously used it to record from the optical output of another computer, to the optical input of the recorder. With the optical input it continues to give me uninterrupted audio when observed on headphones while recording. But when I play the MD recording back on this or other MD players, it is intermittent (as described).

[sfbp]

Is the N10 plugged into its mains supply (charger)?

I sent you a PM about a week back, offering to merge your two accounts.

[jim.hoggarth]

I've used this recorder with a microphone and analogue line in. I've previously used it to record from the optical output of another computer, to the optical input of the recorder. With the optical input it continues to give me uninterrupted audio when observed on headphones while recording. But when I play the MD recording back on this or other MD players, it is intermittent (as described).

Definitely a fault on the encoding or recording side of the N10 then. Sorry.

Jim

[Tom B]

It appears I have resolved this. When I was recording on the MD recorder there were other recordings on the disk. I found that starting with a clean, formatted disk I no longer have this problem. What I hear on the headphones is the same as what I hear later on playback. This is one of those issues I have not seen documented before. In fact I am very impressed with the playback quality when played with Sony MDR-V600 headphones.