Synchro Rec & iTunes

[ggabriele3]

Hey everyone, this is my first post. After ~15 years, I went on eBay and picked up a Sony MZ-R70. Since I had only ever owned the MZ-R50 and R55, this is technically an upgrade for me.

I have been recording via PC (iTunes) Optical Out with SYNCHRO REC turned on, but the R70 is not detecting track changes. My guess is that iTunes plays Gapless, and there's no way to shut that off. 

Two Questions:

- Is there a better way to record to the R70 where SYNCHRO REC will work?

- Can you recommend a Sony MD recorder that will support digital transfer (with track names) from the PC? I got out of the MD game before NetMD came out.

 

[bluecrab]

1. If you mean recognizing track marks, then no. The problem isn't unique to the R70. It's iTunes. If you poke around you can find a silent MP3 file that you can add between tracks. Variable length. I have had intermittent success with it on a Mac. Or, if you are willing to put up with it, you can record 1 track at a time and stop the R70 after each track. I wonder what would happen if you created a separate playlist for each track and then tried recording. Maybe I'll give that a go myself. Some fun, huh?

[ggabriele3]

Okay, thanks. Maybe it's just that Synchro Rec was designed at a time when Sony could make certain assumptions about the way sources would transition from track to track, but 15 years later iTunes Gapless Playback is too seamless. 

[sfbp]

I think the issue may be that SYNCRO REC works on a physical drop of the digital signal, rather than the signal falling below a certain level. OR VICE VERSA, hahah.

This has always been one of those dodgy issues when recording digitally.

If you could get a script that played one ITunes track at a time and then paused for a couple of seconds, during which time the signal dropped completely, I think you should get trackmarks.

[ggabriele3]

for what it's worth, i found the answer.

I went to this site: http://www.xamuel.com/blank-mp3s/

got a 0.5sec 1 second silent mp3, added it inbetween the tracks on my playlist, and now SYNCHRO REC works.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ggabriele3

[bluecrab]

Interesting. I think that's what I have used, and it has sometimes worked and other times did not. I'll try again when I can. If there's an issue recording to my MXD-D40, then I will try with an MZ-R500 portable. I do all non-temporary MD recording @1x anyway. One thing, though...if you are adding a second of silence between tracks, that  may interrupt a "live" recording when it's played back.

[sfbp]

Interesting. I think that's what I have used, and it has sometimes worked and other times did not.

​Exactly. With the same setup (not meaning same as yours, but what I thought was invariant in my case) and minor tweaks to parameters I have had luck (or not) with Synchro REC - and it appears to be random. If you get something that works, stick to it!!!!!!!!!!!

[PhilippeC]

 

I used the plugin Wincue - witch create gaps like your silence MP3 tracks - with Winamp years ago. Took time and Net-MD connection everytime to delete those silence tracks created. Sometime I even needed to divide one track or two. The plugin Post-track-silence with foobar2000 is now my favorite when I record in real time. Never tried to use synchro-rec when using the pc and my deck.

Edited June 26, 2015 by PhilippeC

[bluecrab]

I have tried with silent MP3s of 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 seconds today, resulting in 1 long track. I added the silent MP3 tracks as playlists and then added them to the playlist I'm playing back. Is that what you are doing, ggabriele3?

I also tried just dragging the 1-sec mp3 into the playlist and still get 1 continuous track. Edited June 28, 2015 by bluecrab
Adding new info.

[ggabriele3]

It turned out that not even the 1sec track worked properly. The manual actually says that it waits for a 2 second pause. 

So, I have been adding the 2sec silent tracks inbetween each song on the playlist, and it works.

On the upside, I can be sure that when the playlist finishes recording it will have track marks at each real song. 

Two downsides though: songs that have silence are also picked up, so I end up with a few extra track marks that I have to clear. Also, adding two seconds to each track wastes space, but it's not the end of the world. 

[bluecrab]

The 2Sec tracks work a little better for me, but still wildly inconsistent (abt. 9/20 tracks pick up the marker). IMO Apple/iTunes has no excuse for this. Shame on Apple for releasing software like this.

[PhilippeC]

Reminder :

Winamp + Wincue plugin

foobar2000 + Post-track-silence plugin

associations are working very well