Which MD instead of mz-nf810?

[Areq]

I have Sony mz-nf810. It is almost what I wanted - MD player with radio.

There are 2 things about this unit I don't like:

- the remote doesn't have a back light,

- support for mp3 files is only through conversion to atrac

Is there any MD player/recorder with:

- radio,

- hardware mp3 support

- remote with a backlight?

If there is please write about it.(producer, product number, is it OK in every day usage)

[aeriyn]

MiniDisc is a proprietary format without a standard file system. It cannot play anything other than ATRAC or ATRAC3 without major changes to the unit design, which I might add, Sony seems very unwilling to do.

For a unit with a backlit remote... Sony MZ-N10, Sharp IM-DR580, Sony MZ-N1... (to name a few)

Or you can purchase a backlit remote by itself from Sony's part replacement center (RM-MC33EL), or from Minidisco. (Minidisco carries the RM-MC11EL, which does not have the group skip buttons and the LCD is upside down). Either way is expensive.

Also, using one of those backlit remotes will remove your radio functionality, since only that remote (RM-MC34LT) has the radio button and I believe that square dongle on the remote cord has something to do with the radio, also.

If you want to have a digital music player without having to transcode your music (MP3 -> ATRAC3) then you need to get a hard drive player, a flash memory player or a CD/MP3 player and one not made by Sony. Currently, all MD devices will not offer hardware MP3 support (and neither will other Sony digital music devices).

iRiver has a nice hard drive player with a pass-through backlit remote (as well as a backlit display on the main unit) which I have my eye on. You might want to check those out.