The road to obscurity.... the BBC reports on earlier devices

[freddyjollo]

The road to obscurity.... the BBC reports on earlier devices that are now  quaint

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31920948

[PhilippeC]

[freddyjollo]

I dont think record players where mentioned?

[PsychoPimpKiller]

I dont think record players where mentioned?

 

Record players aren't exactly extinct. They are thriving pretty well these days.

[footmobile]

Why can't the same thing happen to Minidisc and Laserdisc? Maybe in 30 years..? Is 3D printing our only hope..?

[nathantw666]

The road to obscurity.... the BBC reports on earlier devices that are now  quaint

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31920948

Thank you for the article. As sad as it sounds I still use a lot of the old technology they mentioned, such as the minidisc, standalone GPS, boom box, e-reader and laserdisc. My feeling is that just because there's something out there that's all in one or "better" doesn't mean that you need to trash the old things that worked the way you like.

[Another MD fanatic]

Depends on your interpretation of "better". A lot of things aren't better, they're just either more convenient, cheaper, more profit for the seller, etc, etc. Or even more important for some people - More Trendy! Something I wasn't even into when I was a teenager.

 

I often have little disputes with my work colleagues, most of which just can't understand why I still use minidisc as my portable music source. I try to tell them it's all about sound quality but they don't get it. I do have an MP3 player but it rarely gets used, the sound is nowhere near as good as MD.

 

Mind you, I can remember my Panasonic portable costing me close to £200, my MP3 player cost me £30. Says it all really.

[footmobile]

Yes sadly the belief that new always equals better is firmly entrenched in the general public's mind.

[slugbahr]

Today's shiny new thing is better than yesterday's thing (which used to be a shiny new thing). Today's one is soooo awesome (but will be totally useless when it becomes yesterday's thing).

Also, yesterday's thing was always a piece of crap, i just never realised it until today's shiny new thing blew it out of the water.

Not applicable to everything, of course. It just really pisses me off when people don't realise the marketing hype of today's product over yesterday's is going to make today's product yesterday's, when tomorrow comes.

I mean that you get told that yesterday's thing is actually rubbish - but that's not what you were saying yesterday.

Gimme a break - if it works as it was intended ...

Rambling rant over

[Another MD fanatic]

Couldn't agree more Slugbahr.

[freddyjollo]

Thank you for the article. As sad as it sounds I still use a lot of the old technology they mentioned, such as the minidisc, standalone GPS, boom box, e-reader and laserdisc. My feeling is that just because there's something out there that's all in one or "better" doesn't mean that you need to trash the old things that worked the way you like.

 

Ah so you have a working laser disc player? now thats interesting.re standalone gps , I still use a Fugitsu Pocket Loox 710 pda for mapping and gps - it uses real Anquet maps similar in quality to OS maps. And unlike "modern" alternatives  - garmins or smartphones has a transreflective screen so in bright sun lght doesnt need a back light!

 

Today's shiny new thing is better than yesterday's thing (which used to be a shiny new thing). Today's one is soooo awesome (but will be totally useless when it becomes yesterday's thing).

Also, yesterday's thing was always a piece of crap, i just never realised it until today's shiny new thing blew it out of the water.

Not applicable to everything, of course. It just really pisses me off when people don't realise the marketing hype of today's product over yesterday's is going to make today's product yesterday's, when tomorrow comes.

I mean that you get told that yesterday's thing is actually rubbish - but that's not what you were saying yesterday.

Gimme a break - if it works as it was intended ...

Rambling rant over

 

The thing I DONT like about modern tech is the in built obsolescence? That is a cliche I know but eg Apple smartphones and ipads ( as well as most other those  with Windows on also ) dont use screws to bolt them together but GLUE. The battery is  calculated to last until its time to get a new one.  For those who want to keep them longer and replace the battery it is a matter of getting a heater and melting the glue - I have seen it done. What a crazy world. Thats why I will NEVER  buy apple or any of these tablets how ever good they are - The same is true of  Kindles I think. My note book is an old HP nc400 dual core that is now 8 years old and still going strong and is still good enough for general use. AND  looks very nice - a cool charcoal black.

[freddyjollo]

oh by the way I have an old US Robotics modem ( the thing that used to chirp at 56k ) combined with a hands free telephone/answer machine that I still use ( the telephone part ). Attached to my computer it can down load the messages for safe storage or use the pc to  dial numbers in its saved list. Very good sounding it is also.

[bluecrab]

Interesting thread. Even if you limit the scope to MD itself, there are some ways that MD is guilty of the same sins. My MDS-JA20ES deck, for example, has a 4-way front-panel rotary switch for selecting input (OPT2/OPT1/COAX/ANALOG) that is very handy.

OPT2: connects to the digital optical out of an older Macbook, used for streaming FM Radio and Internet Radio and iTunes. In this case, the JA20ES serves as an excellent outboard DAC.

OPT1: connects to a digital switch that receives digital out from a choice of various CD and MD units. In this case, the JA20ES is either an outboard DAC for one of the CD or MD units or records from them via the digital switch and an SCMS killer.

The COAX and Analog functions are not in use right now. Whatever...the rotary-type switch has mainly been replaced by more "advanced" menuing systems that aren't nearly as convenient.

 

Similarly, my car's head unit (MDX-C7970) has a switch for Bass Level (None, 1, 2, 3) that is notably easier and safer to use while driving than EQ in a menu system.

 

There are probably other MD examples where older functionality could be perceived as better than what replaced it.

[slugbahr]

One of minidiscs worst 'improvements': the loss of a dedicated menu button on portables.

Making it worse, you had to hold it to activate, rather than quick press - because you would never ever want the menu option to be heavily used with a portable editing machine!

Stoopid Sony!!

[kalkie]

My "newest" (hi-)md portables, mz-rh1, mz-rh10 and mz-rh710 are all gone, my mz-rh910 is usable but the buttons doesn't work properly.

My older mz-n700, mz-nh1 and mz-nh600 are okay but my oldest units mz-n1 and mz-n910 are perfect and they look still like new, no plastic bodies.

So in time I think the quality is getting worse.

 

I have (or had) a lot of mp3-players but the most of them are gone because of a died battery or defect hard disc and mostly newer units missed some menu options I liked in older ones. I stil have two sansa fuzes and they are fine and my newest one is a Sony nwz-a15 with 16 GB memory and I have a 64 GB Micro SD card inserted and filled them with about 7.000 files (flac and mp3), it is a very good player with very good SQ but I still use more often my mz-n1 and mz-910. Why am I so old-fashioned? They are sturdy build (all metal), replaceble battery and I like to choose what I want to listen to in my boxes with md's, I don't like to scroll through thousands of files, choosing between md's is more comfortable.

 

But I must say the nwz-a15 makes it more difficult to use my md-units because it is a nice player, but I expect my old md-units will live longer.

[punkrockaddict]

That rotary knob is very nice.The JA333 has it too ;-)

kalkie what do you mean by "are all gone ?"

The RH910/10 often suffer from that problem.I´ve been lucky to get one working again lately.

The buttons are covered by a plastic film on the board which makes it more difficult to clean them.

In case there is dirt/dust the electronical resistance is influenced and changed the buttons don´t work as they are controlled by that resistance.

Do you need any help to get them repaired ?

[kalkie]

@punkrockaddict

What I wanted to say is that newer stuff is not always better or more convenient than older stuff, the sellers try to get you think it will be better to buy new equipment but sometimes you will be disappointed to experience your old one was better.

 

With "are all gone" I mean they didn't work any longer, regarding my mz-rh1 at first the batterylid broke off, the display got unreadable, the jog-button didn't work any longer the whole displaypart was getting loose and at last I could only display music and not record. So I throw my mz-rh1 in a box full of  equipment that was out of order. Regarding my mz-rh10 I was always disappointed with that one because at first I could only read the display in a dark environment and later on the display was unreadable at all and when recording became impossible with that device also the mz-rh10 ended in that box. The mz-rh710 got a number of cracks in the plastic body, the rotary knob did not function and at last also this device could not record anything and ended in the box with defected devices. It looks like I handle my units careless but I don't think so, my oldest (all metal) units have not any sign of use.

 

I didn't try to repair the devices because I had a number of (hi)md devices and I had more than once the idea of stopping with minidiscs and remove sonicstage from my computer and only use my mp3-players, I don't use minidisc for field-recordings or recording concerts, only to listen to music and to download the music to minidisc via sonicstage. But unit now I ended everytime still using my minidiscs as well as my nwz-a15 to listen to music.

 

About a year ago I was spring-cleaning my house and I threw away a lot of things and also the box with defected devices, I regret that now because I could give them away as spareparts but what is done is done.

 

Now my intention is to never buy again a new player and use all my old stuff, minidiscs and mp3-players, untill they are all gone, I am now 67 years old so I think I can use them until the end.

[nathantw666]

Ah so you have a working laser disc player? now thats interesting.re standalone gps , I still use a Fugitsu Pocket Loox 710 pda for mapping and gps - it uses >real Anquet maps similar in quality to OS maps. And unlike "modern" alternatives  - garmins or smartphones has a transreflective screen so in bright sun lght >doesnt need a back light! 

Yes I do have a working laserdisc player. I hadn't used it in a LONG while and when I did the gears must have gotten gummed up because the laser would hardly play and when it did and actually made it to the end of the disc it wouldn't flip to the other side. The picture was terrible and since it was a combo player (dvd and laserdisc) it kept defaulting to DVD. HOWEVER, after using it consistently it's much better than before and plays laserdiscs whenever I put it in and flips to the other side without a problem. The picture wasn't all that great since I was using a S-Video port on a new television. However, I found that if I used composite instead of S-video the picture suddenly cleaned up an got better. Kind of an opposite result than what was expected. It has something to do with the A/D or D/A conversion. I had the same "ah-ha" moment when finding that out and when I found out I could use the Line-In instead of Mic when recording live events with the minidisc (you can find my ah-ha post in the "Recording" section). 

 

My Garmin 60CSx is pretty good in daylight. Since it's at home on the trail of course it would get used. However, I recently took it on a driving trip and I had forgotten how much better it was for information than my built-in car GPS. I have the screen set up (yes, customizable) so I could have the destination distance and time, upcoming turn distance and time, altitude, time, dates, longitude and latitude coordinates, and compass heading all on one page. On my car GPS it's either, or, or none at all. Best of all I can get all that with a map without a cellular phone signal. 

[punkrockaddict]

Damn you threw away that box :-O What a pity i could have used that many parts from these

Did you keep the battery from the RH1 ? Iam always in the need of these

;-)

[kalkie]

I have three of them, but I use them with the MZ-NH1 and MZ-DH10P.

[PhilippeC]

I have a dream, a MZ-RH1 with an  external AA (or better AAA) battery case so I can use it forever.

[philippeb]

I have a dream, a MZ-RH1 with an external AA (or better AAA) battery case so I can use it forever.

The Energizer "Energi To Go USB Instant Cell Phone Charger", that holds two AA batteries, does the job. The RH1 operates perfectly, without internal battery, when connected to the external charger.

[PhilippeC]

Except that you need a LIP-4WM inside which hold the charge. I have an external USB charger too.

[sfbp]

Punkt kontra Punkt: Philippe vs Philippe, how amusing!!!!!!!!!!

Except that you need a LIP-4WM inside which hold the charge. I have an external USB charger too.

I agree with b, C. The RH1 does work without a battery. I've tried it, you can upload stuff running purely on the USB.

 

Not too long to fulfil that dream

[philippeb]

Punkt kontra Punkt: Philippe vs Philippe, how amusing!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with b, C. The RH1 does work without a battery. I've tried it, you can upload stuff running purely on the USB.

Not too long to fulfil that dream

Thank you Stephen I just double checked again, and I swear that my RH1 works without a battery, when connected to this specific external charger, loaded with two AA batteries.

[slugbahr]

Must. Get. This!!!

How many hours of use do the batteries last for?

[philippeb]

Must. Get. This!!!

How many hours of use do the batteries last for?

Sorry, I have no idea. Once thing I know, is that LIP-4WM batteries are pricey, and age too fast, when AA batteries are cheap and reliable.

[slugbahr]

I probably didn't word it very well, sorry

Do you use rechargeable AA batteries (what power rating), or normal?

How long before needing to recharge or replace (if normal)?

[freddyjollo]

yes the rh1 works without a battery , I have never used my battery as I only use the device connected to my pc. will the battery still be ok after all these years?

[punkrockaddict]

Depends on how old it is and how it was stored.

All my LIP4 are in the freezer compartment.

[footmobile]

Isn't that a myth that freezing batteries actually extends their usable lives?

[bluecrab]

Yes, it is a myth, if credible sources on the subject are to be believed. On a mundane level, you could ask why, if cold is supposedly so helpful for batteries, then wouldn't that be a benefit to car batteries in the winter?

[freddyjollo]

Yes, it is a myth, if credible sources on the subject are to be believed. On a mundane level, you could ask why, if cold is supposedly so helpful for batteries, then wouldn't that be a benefit to car batteries in the winter?

​keeping LITHIUM  batteries cool is a good idea ( not freezing them ) as they are degrading slowly even when not used. Lower temperatures slows this down. Car batteries are not lithium but are acid- lead with liquid in - not a good idea to free them as they then wont work!

[bluecrab]

Although I don't use the Li batteries, it's an interesting subject, so I poked around just a bit. It seems that there could be "depends on manufacturer" element.

I saw that here: http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm

I can tell you this much: Here in the Boston, MA area, "room temp" in the summer can easily exceed what is meant by that standard and similarly, can drop below it in the colder weather.  I wonder if non-Li batteries also degrade? If so, haven't noticed that.