[Pepzhez]

I've read no official word about platform support, but if NetMD is any indication, it seems to me that all of the upload features of Hi-MD will be100% useless unless you are on the latest Windows OS release. The two platforms I am on - Mac OS X and Linux - will be incompatible, undoubtedly.

I must say, after reading about all of the dodgy "copy protection" restrictions built into Hi-MD, the fact that Sony chose (slow) USB over firewire, and the almost certain likelihood of Windows-only compatibility, I'm sad to say that my MD-using days are about to come to an end. A shame, as I've always liked the format, but there's no way I'll buy into this.

I used to resist the very notion of HD players, but now the ipod is starting to look more and more atractive to me. Unfortunately, the ipod cannot do field recordings (something important to me).

So, are there any decent portable HD recorders available yet? I can't and won't lug a laptop around for this purpose. (Of course I plan to continue using my old MD recorders for this purpose, but they're not going to last forever, I know.)

 

[lindrone]

There is a voice recorder for the iPod now.. it's a separate adaptor... However, I'm not sure about the quality. What do you need to do field recording for?

 

[minya]

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone What do you need to do field recording for?

Music, I'm guessing.

- Chris

 

[Pepzhez]

I use MD for a variety of field recordings, mostly for environmental sounds for use in video/audio installations for a gallery setting. I record a little bit of live music, but it's not my main priority.

A simple voice recording device won't suit my purposes at all. I figure that I could live with a two-tiered, mutually exclusive setup: ipod for listening to portable music (especially since I've started to rip to AAC and make playlists in Itunes), some high fidelity device for field recording - and for that I would prefer uncompressed PCM which I can easily move in and out of a (multi-platform) computer HD with no copy protection or SCMS issues getting in the way. I was hoping that Hi-MD would be the ticket, but, just as I expected, Sony has crippled the damn thing before it's even out of the gate. (sigh)

(And, no, I won't even consider ever going back to DAT!)

Again, this is not an overwhelming priority at the moment. My MD recorders and deck work just fine and I'll continue to use them until they no longer function. I hope that by that time, there will be small and affordable HD or flash recorders available. Does anyone know if anyone is currently working on making something like that? I don't want to mess with jerry-rigged PDA's (now or in the future) - about which I've heard very mixed results.

I guess this is the solution we need: Roland, Akai or Tascam (or someone like that) needs to come out with a handheld portable recorder - HD or flash, whatever. I'm kind of surprised they haven't done so yet.

The technology is there and it's a relatively simple matter of building the right package. It's a bit ridiculous, actually, that something like this isn't already readily available. This is the year 2004! I don't think we should have to be using fragile DAT tapes or even MDs (even 1 GB ones). Give us a decent small HD or solid state recorder already!

Thanks everyone for your help and thoughts. Keep them coming!

 

[davei]

I think Nagra makes a small, portable, field recorder... however it's probably insanely expensive. Marantz and hhb make larger ones which are also $$. Have you seen the Core Sound PDA based system (www.core-sound.com). Looks interesting - up to 24/192 recording with a CF card interface. Still relatively pricey, but it eliminates the need for a laptop.