Have just bought the Sony MZ-N920 and have a few Questions

[turnjar]

Hi all,

This is my first post, I am a net MD virgin and I look forward to discovering the wealth of information contained within this site.

I am on holiday/vacation in Tokyo, and I splashed out on the latest Net MD

http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Qnavi/Detail/M.../MZ-N920_S.html

(page in japanese)

My questions are as follow;

1) It states clearly on the box that the player will work in Japan only and only on a Japanese OS. To take the statement in two parts:

The first (I assume) refers to the power supply. Not a problem as I have a Japanese-English power transformer at home.

The second (again I assume) probably refers to the bundled software SonicStage. This HOPEFULLY won't be a problem as I intend to use M3U2SB or Clint Mers SimplerMD. And so finally to the questions;

1) Does anyone foresee any obvious problems that would make it wiser to return it to the shop?

2) Does anyone know of any hardware lockouts that would disable me from using it? I've made some pretty big assumptions that there will be no (or at least not many) problems getting the unit active....... :wacky:

3) Any ideas for a release date for the english language version? I have downloaded the MZ N10 manual, which will have pointers, but obviously want the correct english one. Fortunately my wife can translate the manual for me if necessary.

I'll keep you updated as to how I get on, whether M3U2SB and SimplerMD get on well with the unit and perhaps a general review, although it will be from a newb's perspective.

As I mentioned, I am on vacation, and won't be able to test anything on my machine until March 29th. In the meantime, please help me out and leave your advice and comments! Thanks alot in advance.

Turnjar

[iceeedtea]

Welcome to the MiniDisc Community Forum. :smile: Please post in the correct section in the future. Your post has been moved....

I forsee no problems with the usage of a Japan-domestic unit. I, myself, own a Japan-domestic NetMD unit, and it works fine with both Japanese and English versions of the software.

As you have mentioned, using the correct power adaptor is a must. Regarding software - the N920 is bundled with SonicStage 2.0J. Stick around for a few days, and an "unofficial" version of SonicStage 2.0E should appear around here. However, regarding the instruction manual: I highly doubt that there will be an English version of it to surface, as other Sony divisions [Europe, US, Asia Pacific] have not announced that they will be releasing the N920. The assumption is that they are all waiting for Hi-MD.

Fortunately my wife can translate the manual for me if necessary.

There is not really that much to be translated in the manual, only general operating instructions. The product is simple enough to use, that

The "official" version of SonicStage 2.0E, however, will not surface until the release of the new format, Hi-MD, during the summer of 2004, later this year.

The only problems that I could forsee that you should take into consideration are the problems with the warranty. the release of the new format. If your unit were to break down within the warranty period, you would be unable to send it to Sony Japan to repair [although, you could always attempt to have a regional Sony repair center try to fix it]. In addition, the new format, Hi-MD, can store audio on 1GB media and can double as a mass storage device of data files. That may make you wish or consider to return the N920 to the store :smile:

[turnjar]

Hi Iceeedtea,

Thanks for moving the post, and thanks for the reply.

I did consider the Hi-MD unit, but opted for the N920 for the following reasons:

If I rip a cd to mp3. I could fit on average 9-10 cds worth of music on one minidisc. Is that correct? More than enough for my usage.

Back in 01 or 02 I had a Creative Labs version of the Ipod. Big, clunky, absolutely awful. I am not expecting the same of Sony of course, but am reasoning that the N920 being the last of the line should be a highly refined piece of equipment, whereas the Hi-MD units can only get better from the first.. Unless of course they are upgrading from existing tech which would make sense and is probably the most likely come to think of it. But still, they will be the first of the line....

Do you like SonicStage? I am going to research more, but I heard problems with DRM issues. That's why I am considering the M3SUB route..

Apologies for the slightly incoherent post. In a rush....!!!

[iceeedtea]

If I rip a cd to mp3. I could fit on average 9-10 cds worth of music on one minidisc. Is that correct? More than enough for my usage.

Not exactly. If you want to quickly transfer files using the computer by utilizing NetMD software, your music will be taken from the source [original CDs, MP3s, etc.] and converted into Sony's ATRAC3 format. 9-10 CDs is incorrect; the amount of storage ranges from 120 minutes [in LP2 mode, medium quality] or 320 [LP4 mode, low quality] on an 80 minute disc. Assuming that a CD is 40-60 minutes, you are looking at 2-3 CDs.

Even if you were to 'rip a CD' to MP3 format - SonicStage would still convert it to Sony's ATRAC3 format for transfer to MD. Encoding music in an already-lossy audio format with another lossy audio format results in an even further drop in audio quality. Bad.

Of course, if you wish for quality, you could always connect an optical cable to your N920 and to an optical source [such as a DVD player with optical out] and transfer that way - although, only in real-time, not like the high-speed transfers of NetMD.

The problems with SonicStage 1.5 were that users were limited to 3 "checkouts" - all sorts of restrictions on files, in addition to unstable software that would consistantly fail. Quite inconvinent. With SonicStage 2.0 [which, I am assuming you have, albeit in Japanese], users are allowed unlimited checkouts, but, some restrictions still apply. It is, however, much more stable than the older versions.

I have not tried the "M3USB" program, but I have heard things about it. It is just a more "user-friendly" process for the Nero/SimpleBurner trick. This method only transfers in LP2/LP4, but transfered tracks have no restrictions, unlike the old SonicStage....

So, to answer your question - DRM should not be a big issue if you use SonicStage 2.0. You will just have to "transfer" tracks back into SonicStage to delete them. Unlimited transfering out, but you still need to transfer in.

However, you could always attempt to install MD Simple Burner, which should be included on your N920's CD. Transfer is still restricted to LP2, as it was in Simple Burner 1.0, however. We currently await an English build of the software to surface....

I am not expecting the same of Sony of course, but am reasoning that the N920 being the last of the line should be a highly refined piece of equipment, whereas the Hi-MD units can only get better from the first..

Logic would dictate that, yes; however, the newer Hi-MD units beat out the "older" equipment in every way. With these, you can store more than 4-5 CDs, with decent, listenable quality. It is my personal opinion, however, that they will not be improved as much; look at the time period from when NetMD was introduced, until before the announcement of Hi-MD/SonicStage 2.0. Angry customers, dissatisfied with a product that failed to deliver [bad software, no digital uploading via USB, no data storage, etc.]

Do you like SonicStage?

I rarely use any NetMD-related software on my computer. It only serves for titling tracks recorded optically in real time in SP mode and for assisting troubleshooting of NetMD problems.

As the NetMD moderator of MDCF, and after assisting many users on T-Station [another MiniDisc BBS], I must say that I am quite biased against the software. Think, to levels where "anger management" is required. C'est la vie.

And....for other reasons, as well. :smile:

[turnjar]

Iceeedtea,

You have been a mine of information, thankyou very much for your help.

I am in the fortunate position of being in the process of leaving for a trip around the southern islands of Japan. I return to the UK on Monday 29th March.

Unfortunately, this means that I'll be unable to do much further research until then. But hey, I ain't complaining! :grin:

Thanks again. I doubt that the thread will stay live, but I hope to speak with you more on my return.

Regards