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Topic: New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format (Read 15255 times) previous topic - next topic
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New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #25 –
My Sony MD player has a 5mw max output. It absolutely can not drive a decent pair of headphones without help. I think it's an MZ-500, but I'm not sure.

I would consider buying this if they give it more output power than the one I currently have.
flac > schiit modi > schiit magni > hd650

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #26 –
Same here: Sharp MD190. Great rig for recording, but whoefully underpowered output amp.

g
Glauber Ribeiro
Yoyodine Propulsion Systems - The future starts tomorrow!

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #27 –
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So would this be better than, say, the existing mini-DVD's?

From a purely price based standpoint, $7 per gig is pretty good I would say.  Additionally, MiniDiscs are notoriously durable (several tests have been done with dropping from 3rd story windows, running over with cars, etc and they still play) and can be re-recorded on over 1 million times (reportedly).

For $200 I think I will get one when/if they are available.  I need a new portable anyways... my old Sharp non-NetMD just doesn't really cut it anymore.  Plus with backward compatibility, I can put good use to my 15 or so MiniDiscs.

A 40 GB iPod costs $499.

The cheapest Hi-MD will cost $200 + $280 for 40 1GB minidiscs = $480

Then factor in using SonicStage, transcoding 40GB to Atrac, DRM, lack of support for mp3, etc, etc.

Perhaps it's not such a good deal after all.

CR

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #28 –
While comparing MD and HD-based players, please keep in mind the following two factors.

(i) Battery. In HD-based players, the battery lasts 12 to 16 hours (at most), normally less. The cost of replacement is high. In MD-based players, a single set of batteries lasts 40 to 50 hours, and the cost of replacement is trivial -- when you need to replace it, and the number of recharge cycles in MD-based players is much higher as well.

(ii) Durability. The hard drive sooner or later crashes and good luck with recovering your data. MD is much more durable. There is NO head crash. Also having 20 or 40GB hard drive is like putting all your eggs in one basket. Having removable 1GB media means if something does go wrong -- well, just throw it away, it's $7.00 loss, and only 1GB of data are lost.

Personally, I believe if only Sony can open MD media to other encoding formats, and first of all MP3 and MP4/AAC, you have a winner. But in any case, the first important step is made. MD is no longer proprietory format tied up with ATRAC. New 1GB MD is FAT-based format, suitable for storing some arbitrary data. This is Sony recorder/player which limits the user to ATRAC, but not the MD media.

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #29 –
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While comparing MD and HD-based players, please keep in mind the following two factors.

(i) Battery. In HD-based players, the battery lasts 12 to 16 hours (at most), normally less. The cost of replacement is high. In MD-based players, a single set of batteries lasts 40 to 50 hours, and the cost of replacement is trivial -- when you need to replace it, and the number of recharge cycles in MD-based players is much higher as well.

(ii) Durability. The hard drive sooner or later crashes and good luck with recovering your data. MD is much more durable. There is NO head crash. Also having 20 or 40GB hard drive is like putting all your eggs in one basket. Having removable 1GB media means if something does go wrong -- well, just throw it away, it's $7.00 loss, and only 1GB of data are lost.

I agree, if I need long battery life or a player that might get dropped I still use one of my minidisc players. If I need high quality sound (mp3's that haven't been transcoded) or the convenience of managing large amounts of music files with user friendly software I use my iPod

Would I buy another minidisc player? No... Minidiscs are yesterdays technology, they were great last year, but time and technology has moved on. Minidiscs are a mature technolgy that has reached the end of the technology cycle.

Mp3 players are at the begining of the technology lifecycle. This year we have 40GB hard drives and eight hour battery life, but next year we will have more storage, longer battery life and lower costs, and the year after that we will get the same incremental improvements again.

When I drop my iPod and have to buy a new one I'm almost certain I will replace it with another mp3 player, but I just won't replace my minidisc players when they expire.

Oh; and release 10 of RealPlayer is a BIG improvement over the old version if you use RealPlayer rather than SonicStage to transfer files to your NetMD - worth the download.

CR

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #32 –
As an iPod owner (MD as well), there are a few things that I've found really annoying about it. One is the battery life, but the other is the lack of gapless playback.

When I got my iPod, I thought my MD would be consigned to gym use only. However as my MD supports gapless playback, so I also use it to listen to a live set or some electronica/trance in which the tracks don't have a break in between them. With my iPod I get a really annoying pop in between tracks. I know it's only for a second, but it's so annoying and I do have a good alternative.

I'm actually using my iPod as a home jukebox due to the pathetic battery life. The MD is my "road warrior" and when HI-MD arrives, I'll be able to carry substantially more music with me.
 

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #33 –
Does anyone have a feeling for whether you will be able to take a line-in ATRAC SP recording from an old MD recorder, upload it to a computer at high speed on a Hi-MD recorder, and record it from the computer hard drive to an audio CD?

New Hi-MD Audio Minidisc Format

Reply #34 –
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In addition, Hi-MD media can store PC files, including Microsoft® Word® documents, PowerPoint® presentations and JPEG images.


Does that mean you won't be allowed to store over stuff like .zip files etc.?  No doubt that uploads of stored music on comps than the "source" of the encoded music will be made impossible. Maybe by renaiming your files to *.doc or *.jpg?  But Sony is more intelligent than that i guess.

Anyway, this new format is good news for me.