[ueyteuor]

so im interested in a md player, but only if theres a way to record flac files onto the minidisc, and for the minidisc player to actually play it! is this possible?? if so, that would be quite awesome

am i just confused about something.. is a minidisc player not a player that uses minidiscs?? or how does it work

 

[shigzeo]

yes I think you are confused. Older md units played only atrac then in 2000 atrac 3 was introduced that compared with mp3 for size and added playtime to regular 80 minute disks depending on what compression ratio you used: 1/10 or 1/20 or monaural.

Current units come in two flavours: downloaders or downloaders/players. Player only models still exist but they are increasinly hard to find and to justify purchasing as you still need either a home recorder or a downloader.

Newest units play high density atrac but I think not any form of popular lossless like flac. They play lossless in the form of linear PCM which is slightly more akin to source than a cd but same quality. There is no size benefit from it as their is with flac.

Sony software probably will not decode flac so you will have to reencode into another format.
Md is still a wonderful recorder but has unfortunately lost its significance in the Market about three years ago-precisely when I sadly let go of my
last atrac only unit-one year later I let go my last mp3 playing unit

 

[ernieBob]

i would suggest that you pay the FAQ sections a visit on this site:
Minidisc Community Portal

 

[krmathis]

MiniDisc contain a proprietary audio format (atrac). You will have no luck putting FLAC, MP3 or whatever on it...

 

[battleMAUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif MiniDisc contain a proprietary audio format (atrac). You will have no luck putting FLAC, MP3 or whatever on it...

HI-MD supports mp3 =P. also ogg, wma, AAC, atrac3, and of course atrac

 

[Sparky191]

Some of the info above is wrong. The current HiMD support MP3 for example. Theres only player/recorders units now.

Flac is lossless. You can convert it to WAV/PCM and play it on a HiMD. No loss of quality. Theres really only two current HiMD models MZ-RH1 and M200 Hi-MD. HiMD only suppports ATRAC, PCM/WAV and MP3. But you'll need to use SonicStage to get files onto a HiMD. SonicStage doesn't support FLAC. But it does support lossless in two formats WMA lossless and WAV/PCM.

But WAV isn't that useful IMO, too big and no tags. WMA Lossless is useful though. You can also encode on transfer the WMA Lossless to a high bitrate ATRAC which will still sound very good on a HiMD. Decent DAC and AMP onboard etc. (From what I've heard I've never heard one myself) I've an older HiMD. I only use it for recording though.

HiMD are great for recording from an analog or digital source. But thats a different topic.

Lovely looking machines though.
Sony Hi-MD Walkman MZ-RH1 Pictorial - Minidisc Community Forums
RH1 Pictures - Minidisc Community Forums
A Beautiful Revelation -- the Epic MZ-RH1 Arrives - Minidisc Community Forums

 

[krmathis]

Yes, but the OP talk about MiniDisc.
Imo Hi-MD is a different format, since its not 100% compatible (both ways) with MiniDisc. Just like CD vs. DVD.

 

[kpeezy]

CD vs DVD is taking the differences too far IMO. I might be lacking info, but I would compare it to SACD player vs CD player.

 

[Sparky191]

It would make no sense to get a MD player. MD has Max quality of SP 292kbit/s and 300MB capacity. Its obsolete.

HiMD (released 2004) takes 1GB disks, is USB 2.0 and 352 kbit/s or Lossless PCM 1411.2 kbit/s. Vastly better than MD and you can upload and download using USB. You also have better DAC and AMPs onboard.

If someone asks about an iPod do you assume they are talking about the very first 5GB one released in 2004?

 

[kpeezy]

I wouldn't say buying a MD player is meaningless really. In some situations, a MD player is what's needed. For me, I wanted to see if I would like using the format and snagged a decent MD player with AMAZING batter life. Turns out, I love it and I'll be getting a Hi-MD model very soon.

 

[Sparky191]

I think there are better solutions to battery life to going back to MD and needing to carry around a bunch of disks. Unless of course you are going to use all that extra battery life listening to the same disk over and over and over and over. For a week or more.

AA charger for MZ-RH1 & other devices - Minidisc Community Forums

People are giving away old MD units and discs so its easy to get one and try it. No harm in that. I just would advise that a HiMD is much better MD than a old MD unit.

 

[ueyteuor]

hmm now im interested in this HiMD, but what does the Lossless PCM 1411.2 kbit/s mean?? so you can actually play lossless on it?? and i was wondering does it play directly from the disc inside of it??? or do you have to copy/record into the player??

and why would one buy a hi-md instead of an mp3 player?

 

[kpeezy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ueyteuor /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm now im interested in this HiMD, but what does the Lossless PCM 1411.2 kbit/s mean?? so you can actually play lossless on it?? and i was wondering does it play directly from the disc inside of it??? or do you have to copy/record into the player?? and why would one buy a hi-md instead of an mp3 player?

It can play .WAV files yes. It plays from the disc like a cd player and you have to record onto the disc. Hi-MD players can be used for recording and are supposed to sound very good. They also have great SQ. If you don't mind carrying the discs, you'll never run out of storage

 

[ueyteuor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpeezy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It can play .WAV files yes. It plays from the disc like a cd player and you have to record onto the disc. Hi-MD players can be used for recording and are supposed to sound very good. They also have great SQ. If you don't mind carrying the discs, you'll never run out of storage

ok ok, so there is no hdd or something that records built inside of it right?? it just plays the recorded disc directly like a cd player?? if so, this is awesome! i think i might have to find myself one

 

[SoundGoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ueyteuor /img/forum/go_quote.gif ok ok, so there is no hdd or something that records built inside of it right?? it just plays the recorded disc directly like a cd player?? if so, this is awesome! i think i might have to find myself one

Not to butt in but yes, that is correct. MD players/recorders do not store information on anything other than the disc itself. I have an older MD player and love it. My only complaint is the carrying of the different discs, but I guess it helps me to be more decisive about what I want to listen to. Great sound quality and a great way to make quality digital recordings.

Oh, and check for a pm from me about stickers

sorry about the wait