MP3 player or MiniDisc player?
Nov 5, 2005 at 8:59 AM Post #16 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Caliente!
Has anyone seen Sony’s Hi-MD Photo Pllayer? A Minidisk player with a 1.3MP digital camera built in.

These mini-disk players also come with remotes and other extras. I'll be sticking around this thread becuase i'm interested in getting one for someone else. A Christmas gift.

The only thing I worry about is some saying about the technology being dead. Then again I don't know anything about mini-disk and i'm going to do a bit of research.



Well it is very old technology...

But HI-MD is new... I can't decide... I think I wil get the NetMD one
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 3:05 PM Post #17 of 43
I have a HiMD, and a couple of older MD's. I also have a iPod Shuffle 1GB and a Zen Micro. The Zen I bought new, but everything else I bought very cheaply 2nd hand. Since I got the HiMD I've stopped using the older MD's. Really theres so many advantages to a HiMD theres really no point getting an older unit. Unless you are a collector. (Many people with MD's like them as gadgets and collect them). However you can pick up cheap 1st gen HiMD units, the MH600 (don't get the MH600D) and MH700. Both make great cheap players and recorders if you are on a tight budget. You can fit a lot on 1GB disk. SonicStage 3.2 is ok to use, unlike earlier versions.

I mainly use the HiMD for recording stuff. Its just so much easier to use the Shuffle and the Zen as a player. While you can pick up 2nd hand MD very cheap, old MD do fail, the laser head goes in them, and theres no point in repairing them. Which is why I would suggest buying as new a unit as you can. I do use the HiMD as a player sometimes, but really as a player a MP3 unit is better.

Don't pay too much for them, they are overpriced a lot. However if you shop around you can get a good deal. Usually with extras, like a LCD remote, and few disks thrown in. But also don't buy one just because its cheap. Some people don't like using computers, and MP3s to manage their music. So MD is a good solution for those people.

As a music player I tend to use my iPod Shuffle the most, simply because it sounds great and its so easy to carry around.
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 4:13 PM Post #18 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191
I have a HiMD, and a couple of older MD's. I also have a iPod Shuffle 1GB and a Zen Micro. The Zen I bought new, but everything else I bought very cheaply 2nd hand. Since I got the HiMD I've stopped using the older MD's. Really theres so many advantages to a HiMD theres really no point getting an older unit. Unless you are a collector. (Many people with MD's like them as gadgets and collect them). However you can pick up cheap 1st gen HiMD units, the MH600 (don't get the MH600D) and MH700. Both make great cheap players and recorders if you are on a tight budget. You can fit a lot on 1GB disk. SonicStage 3.2 is ok to use, unlike earlier versions.

I mainly use the HiMD for recording stuff. Its just so much easier to use the Shuffle and the Zen as a player. While you can pick up 2nd hand MD very cheap, old MD do fail, the laser head goes in them, and theres no point in repairing them. Which is why I would suggest buying as new a unit as you can. I do use the HiMD as a player sometimes, but really as a player a MP3 unit is better.

Don't pay too much for them, they are overpriced a lot. However if you shop around you can get a good deal. Usually with extras, like a LCD remote, and few disks thrown in. But also don't buy one just because its cheap. Some people don't like using computers, and MP3s to manage their music. So MD is a good solution for those people.

As a music player I tend to use my iPod Shuffle the most, simply because it sounds great and its so easy to carry around.



Just a correction on the model names - MZ-NH600/NH600D/NH700.

I am a collector and have owned a few units in my time. I still have 6 units now. I love the format but I am a recordist. I am recording a lot of stuff about three times a week. My recently aquired MZ-NHF800 is great. It does have a downfall, battery life. With the intro of Hi-MD battery life dipped way down. It's still decent on some units. The MZ-NH600D (I used to own) gave me 24 hours of use on 1 AA 1600 mAh Ni-MH. My MZ-N510 was awesome and could go for about 40 hours on the same AA battery. I also found the N510 to be very sturdy and was my workhorse unit until I sold it.
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 4:22 PM Post #19 of 43
ive had alot of minidisc players but im done with them because i just got over the fact of wanting to listen to something and only to realize that i dont have it on this disc.

now on the other hand i like having every single song i own with me on my mp3 player wherever i go
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 9:26 PM Post #20 of 43
Heres the link to the one I was thinking of getting on the online auction site, www.trademe.co.nz. It is not brand new, its 2 years old but he says its in great condition and works and he had it for 2 years but didn't use it for around 1 year.

Please note the price is in NZD so instead of $40NZ its $27.44USD


Link for the one I am thinking about getting:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/a...sp?id=39776278
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 9:31 PM Post #21 of 43
Looks good.. keep in mind that there's still a week in the auction, though, and that the price usually ramps up in the last six hours of bidding.

This is a regular-MD unit, with 305Mb a disc. It's NetMD, so you can transfer music using SonicStage and you won't have to deal with realtime recording.
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 9:34 PM Post #22 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by carsncars
Looks good.. keep in mind that there's still a week in the auction, though, and that the price usually ramps up in the last six hours of bidding.

This is a regular-MD unit, with 305Mb a disc. It's NetMD, so you can transfer music using SonicStage and you won't have to deal with realtime recording.



Another (more expensive probably) option is this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...n-39325890.htm

Its Hi-MD so thats good, Basicly brand new, all he has done is opened the box and it comes with a carry pouch. The price will probably go way above that coz the reserve isnt met yet

at the moment it is $41USD but I'm sure the reserve is at least $60USD
 
Nov 5, 2005 at 11:06 PM Post #23 of 43
MiniDisc has a multitude of things going for it - durable recordable media, high coolness factor, better SQ than almost any mp3 player ever made, numerous choice of codecs (especially with Hi-MD), l-o-n-g battery life and a underground culture all its own.

The biggest facet of the format is its flexibility in being able to record from almost any source.

Check us out here:
http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 12:33 AM Post #24 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by Superbaldguy
MiniDisc has a multitude of things going for it - durable recordable media, high coolness factor, better SQ than almost any mp3 player ever made, numerous choice of codecs (especially with Hi-MD), l-o-n-g battery life and a underground culture all its own.

The biggest facet of the format is its flexibility in being able to record from almost any source.

Check us out here:
http://www.audiotstation.com/forum/



And the value... ITs way cheaper in the long run than an MP3 player..

Yeah, I'm probly gonna get the Sony MZ-NH600 from here http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/a...890&permanent=

it looks good... as long as the price dusnt go to high
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 12:49 AM Post #25 of 43
If you're using it as your primary player, and are going to be.. 'obtaining' a lot of music from the internet, I would get an MP3 player-- just because it's much easier to transfer music from the computer with an MP3 player. Most of them, at least. Actually, I'd say they're easier to use in general.

Second is the size-- a flash MP3 player can be much smaller than an MD player. Some 20Gb HD players are smaller than the Aiwa MD unit you're looking at.

The MD format is, first of all, and EXCELLENT format if you're going to be doing a lot of recording-- it is excellent quality and can record from almost any source. The second reason to buy MD is the sound quality; Sony's MD players use excellent amps that can only be matched by a few MP3 players.

I'd say go with an MP3 player if you're going to be loading a lot of music from the computer-- the MD format is good if you're not going to be using it frequently with the computer.
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 12:54 AM Post #26 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by carsncars
If you're using it as your primary player, and are going to be.. 'obtaining' a lot of music from the internet, I would get an MP3 player-- just because it's much easier to transfer music from the computer with an MP3 player. Most of them, at least. Actually, I'd say they're easier to use in general.

Second is the size-- a flash MP3 player can be much smaller than an MD player. Some 20Gb HD players are smaller than the Aiwa MD unit you're looking at.

The MD format is, first of all, and EXCELLENT format if you're going to be doing a lot of recording-- it is excellent quality and can record from almost any source. The second reason to buy MD is the sound quality; Sony's MD players use excellent amps that can only be matched by a few MP3 players.

I'd say go with an MP3 player if you're going to be loading a lot of music from the computer-- the MD format is good if you're not going to be using it frequently with the computer.




Thats where money comes in...
$170 for a 1gb MP3 player
OR
$100 for a 1gb Hi-MD player


Is it possible to transfer your MP3 files to ATRAC3 and put tem on the Hi-MD player at the same time?
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 1:37 AM Post #27 of 43
I'm a big fan of MDs, but Atrac is not the equivalent of .WAV or uncompressed. Atrac PCM is loseless and would be the equal.


If you're looking for truly exceptional SQ, get a Hi-MD with line-out and encode all your tracks @ PCM. This, coupled with a decent amp, should sound much better than the iPod without line-out regardless of the file format, be it loseless, WAV, etc.
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 1:39 AM Post #28 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by applebook
I'm a big fan of MDs, but Atrac is not the equivalent of .WAV or uncompressed. Atrac PCM is loseless and would be the equal.


If you're looking for truly exceptional SQ, get a Hi-MD with line-out and encode all your tracks @ PCM. This, coupled with a decent amp, should sound much better than the iPod without line-out regardless of the file format, be it loseless, WAV, etc.



But you wouldn't be able to fit many on the disc...

I just found out that the Hi-MD one is $180!

So i think il get the netMD for only $40


Can you transfer from PC to NetMD without having to do realtime? Like what happens with Hi-MD?
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 4:53 AM Post #29 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy
But you wouldn't be able to fit many on the disc...

I just found out that the Hi-MD one is $180!

So i think il get the netMD for only $40


Can you transfer from PC to NetMD without having to do realtime? Like what happens with Hi-MD?



Yes, you can transfer from PC to netMD without having to do realtime. Only SP requires real time transfer.

Like i mentioned b4, the transfer speed isn't too bad, nothing to shout about, but its not that bad. I think more time is lost/spent on reencoding mp3 into ATRAC, someone can correct me on this one if im wrong. It generally takes me about 10-15 minutes to do a LP2 transfer on a 74 minute disc.

Mind you, LP2 on a 80 minute MD gives you 80*2 = 160 minutes, 148 minutes if you're using 74 minute discs. LP4 would give you 320 minutes, but it sounds pretty crappy... i'd stick with LP2.

I have no experience with Hi-MD, but if you're considering getting a Hi-MD unit, i'd stick with the recent models that support native MP3 playback. The first 2 generations (i believe) does not support mp3. But then again, older netMD units are dirt cheap.. so thats somehting to consider.

People need to understand that the MD is not the same thing as a HD-based player. get past that and you'll realize MD's are hella cool... i lkke to think of it as a super dooper cassette (remember those??) slash CD player. Editable, erasable, rerecordable a zillion times, its durable, relatively cheap, uber cool and best of all its gapless.

Oh yeah, older netMD units r dirt cheap. They're a great value, just don't expect it to perform like a HDD player.

FYI, here's a brief summary of sony jargons, its confusing

netMD = transfers music via usb 1.1. no native mp3 playback, sonicstage handles MP3->atrac conversion. Uses 74 min or 80 min minidiscs.


Hi-MD = Uses 1 GB minidiscs, also backwards compatible with 74/80 min discs. I think it mounts as a mass storage device also. 1st 2 generations did not support mp3 transfer. The latest batch of MD players supports native mp3 playback.
 
Nov 6, 2005 at 10:21 AM Post #30 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy
Another (more expensive probably) option is this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...n-39325890.htm

Its Hi-MD so thats good, Basicly brand new, all he has done is opened the box and it comes with a carry pouch. The price will probably go way above that coz the reserve isnt met yet

at the moment it is $41USD but I'm sure the reserve is at least $60USD



www.minidisc.com.au is having a Hi-MD clearance sale now

A brand new Sony MZ-NH600 Hi-MD for only AUD$125 and get a free Hi-MD Bundle Pack

http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_i...roducts_id=461
 

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