a question on mini disc models

what is the difference in the following models

SONY MZ-R70PC MD Walkman® PC Compatible Bundle
Records from the Internet to MiniDisc with supplied PC Link kit / Snazzy metallic blue finish / USB plug-and-play interface

SONY MZ-R70DPC MD Walkman® Player/Recorder
Handy pocket MiniDisc Walkman® records from stereo or directly from Internet / Includes PC Link for Windows 98 or later

they both have a Digital PC Link Converter kit
i cant find any differences between them. can someone advise please.
thanks.

[Ryan]

really isnt any...if i were you i'd nix the r-70 go for either the new mzr500 or 700 that just came out with LP recording

radarcity.com claims to have the MZR500 for $129(!!) and the MZR700 for $219... sounds too cheap to be true, but it's probably legit.
my question is this though. the 500 doesn't have a mic jack (but the 700 does)... but it does have a line-in jack. do you loose recording quality if you put a mic in the line-in jack? does it matter?

[RazeOner]

[/B][/QUOTE]I'm tryin' to sell my 8 track... comes with all the wires still connected.

[joetron2030]

Originally posted by bakhoong
do you loose recording quality if you put a mic in the line-in jack? does it matter?


My guess is if it has a line-in jack, it's a stereo one. So, you'd need a stereo mic or some way to turn a mono signal into L & R signals to mimic stereo.

Also, since it is line-in, you may need an outboard pre-amp of some sort between the mic and the MD.

I could be wrong. Anyone else know?

[wutangy]

haven't really done any research yet cause i wanted to see if i could get some advice...

so, i really have no knowledge about minidisc or mp3 players but wanted to know which one is better. can you only record cds to minidisc or can you record mp3s too?

also, what're some good models or is the mzr 700 the way to go? or is there something that combines the two?

[Tetsuo Shima]

Wutangy, MD recorders can record anything. Use the digital input on the recorder to record CDs and have the tracks split digitally by itself. Use the analog input to record anything else including CD, tape, vinyl, voice, etc. Plus, MDs have superior qualities to MP3 and some even say it sounds better than CD!

I say go with MD 'cuz right now, getting an extra flash card of 32 or 64 MB to record at least 128 kbps bitrate mp3s is not cost-efficient. On the other hand, MD is not really widely supported here in the U.S. so who knows when blank MDs will just disappear from stores altogether. Fortunately, there's a lot of import and overseas stores that do carry the newest and coolest MD shit.

Bottom line: 1 80-minute MD ($2-4) vs. 30 or 60-minutes MP3 (at 128 kbps)($30-?).

[Sleepy Introvert Ninja]

MD all the way!

[ocd]

Woooooooooooo!!!
*cabbage patches*

[ocd]

http://minidisco.com

[stryfe]

does anyone have a hi-md recorder/player? i'm trying to find out if it really takes an hour to fill a hi-md disc (1gb). thanks.

[slackerbot]

are you referring to filling up the MD with music or data?

if it does take that long, i'm assuming that it's for music and it includes the time to convert MP3 to ATRAC.

[stryfe]

data or music

if the files are already in atrac format, how long would it take to transfer 1gb of music? safe to assume it'd be the same amount of time as 1gb of data?

what's the conversion rate like for different systems? i'm currently running around ~3ghz, what would it take to transfer a raw wave track to a hi-sp atrac file?

[slackerbot]

if the audio files are already in ATRAC format, then it shouldn't take an hour to fill the entire Hi-MD disc.

my current system..

P3/733 512 MB RAM, 7200 RPM hard drive

it takes less than 5 minutes to rip a CD directly to MD (LP2 mode). it's been a while since i've done any ATRAC transfers, but i don't think it takes that long.

[slackerbot]

too little too late?

next generation of MD units will have native MP3 playback. two units will hit the stores in April/May.

Sony MZ-RH10
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-RH10.html

Sony MZ-RH910
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-RH910.html

essentially the same models, but one has a cool EL display. the other has a standard LCD display. price for the EL model should be around $349, and LCD should be around $300.

given the current choices of portable music players and Sony's lack of interest in pushing the MD format here in states, i have a feeling this will not sell very well. retailers will probably be reluctant to even order any.

on the positive side, i think these new players will be great for musicians and DJ's. and bootleggers. no hard details yet, but apparently you can record in ATRAC or MP3. and you will be allowed to digitally upload your recordings to your pc. battery life looks good as usual.

hmm.. i don't know. the new units look so pretty. and the idea of removable media is cool. but for around the same price i could get a 20GB HD player. plus, carrying 20 Hi-MD discs doesn't sound too appealing to me. :p

[slackerbot]

oh yeah, forgot about another new model.

Sony MZ-DH10
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-DH10.html

has a built-in 1.3 MP camera. insane! you can view images on the screen.

[joetron2030]

I'd love one of the new MD players. I can't think of any single instance where I've needed 20GB of music. I'm not a big fan of shuffling around on what I have so MDs are perfect for me.

The biggest reason I might want to upgrade to a new one is the ability to upload stuff to the PC. having an MD player that supports direct downloads from a PC would be nice, too.

Mine is one generation older than the ones that had that feature added.

mine too.

but it has a port for a microphone, which is cool.

i can hear birds fart.

[joetron2030]

Heh. so does mine.

I haven't used it to record from a mic'd source though.

[ocd]

I still use mine to record radio every once in a while, since there are a few shows that I can't be near the radio for the whole thing.

I've got a netMD one, but since I have a mac, I never use that feature. Still recording with my cd player and optical output.

[joetron2030]

Most of the recording I do onto MD is via CD and optical as well.

The bookshelf system I currently have is one my brother left when he moved to Korea. It's got an optical output on it. But, only a 3 disc changer instead of 5. Still gets the job done.

[ocd]

I have a 1 disc changer! Altschule.

[jsoy]

after so much arguing w. my friends..i've finally given up...the minidisc is dead....

[slackerbot]

yeah, i'm still undecided if i want to get this or not. 1GB of music on Hi-MD is sufficient for me. i have a 512MB flash MP3 player and it's plenty music for me in most situations. i just need something for my commutes, which is why i was considering a HD MP3 player. plenty of music to choose from. and no distractions from swapping discs while driving.

on the other hand. it's kinda nice making huge mixes and swapping them out whenever i feel like it. plus, the music upload and data storage feature is neat. and i just recently found out that Sony has a media card reader that allows you to dump your digicam images to Hi-MD. no pc required!

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=NL_hw8dgJ-nh4YVf8fHryIhvURj7A3qdKOA=?CategoryName=acc_MemoryStickMedia_MemoryStickMediaAdaptors&ProductSKU=MCMDR1&Dept=audio&INT=sstyle-audio-deptfeature-MCMDR1
http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/imagesProducts/650x650/MCMDR1.jpg

anyways, i'm planning on selling all my current MD units regardless. then i'll use the money to either buy one of these new Hi-MD units or a HD MP3 player. i think i'll wait and see what the street price will be when these things are released.

[slackerbot]

Originally posted by slackerbot
too little too late?

next generation of MD units will have native MP3 playback. two units will hit the stores in April/May.

Sony MZ-RH10
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-RH10.html

Sony MZ-RH910
http://www.minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-RH910.html

essentially the same models, but one has a cool EL display. the other has a standard LCD display. price for the EL model should be around $349, and LCD should be around $300.

given the current choices of portable music players and Sony's lack of interest in pushing the MD format here in states, i have a feeling this will not sell very well. retailers will probably be reluctant to even order any.

on the positive side, i think these new players will be great for musicians and DJ's. and bootleggers. no hard details yet, but apparently you can record in ATRAC or MP3. and you will be allowed to digitally upload your recordings to your pc. battery life looks good as usual.

hmm.. i don't know. the new units look so pretty. and the idea of removable media is cool. but for around the same price i could get a 20GB HD player. plus, carrying 20 Hi-MD discs doesn't sound too appealing to me. :p
wow. prices are already out.

Sony MZ-RH10 - $280
Sony MZ-RH910 - $250
Sony MZ-DH10 - $450

http://minidisco.com/portables.html

looks like Amazon will be carrying the MZ-RH10 also.

[slackerbot]

ohh.. new MD model. i'm sure most people don't care. but this new one is HAWT! nice tech specs too. linear PCM! Mac uploads!

Sony MZ-RH1

http://www.sony-europe.com/PageView.do?section=en_EU_Press&pressrelease=1142610580314&site=odw_en_EU&page=PressReleaseDetail

http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/audio/walkman/products/index.cfm?PD=23935&KM=MZ-RH1

http://www.sony-europe.com/res/images/image/93/1142610580293.jpg

[tangent23]

i still really want a MD, that one is pretty nice..

the only thing i don't like is that they still don't have good mac support.. [ie sonicstage has been updated and is a lot more user friendly for PC owners, but no mac version]..

for portable recording, though, it can't be beat

*drool*

[joetron2030]

Yeah, Sony says Mac OS X support is coming later this summer, I think.

[tangent23]

really? cool!

[joetron2030]

Mac OS X compatibility mentioned at the end of http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/03/23/sony_unveils_mac-friendly_md_walkman/

[slackerbot]

wow. that's amazing. but it might be too little, too late. i'm sure most mac users have ipods for music players.

[joetron2030]

Oh, I think in the US it's definitely way too late for MDs as DAPs. It's got its niche users and fans and that's the best it will do here.

Me, I still rock my MZ-R900 on a regular basis. I even have a dozen unopened MDs that I should go ahead and record onto.

Don't have a flash or HDD based DAP and have other things I would spend my money on for the time being.

i use my minidisc and my ipod for totally different purposes.

MZ-RH1 looks sharp!

i'd like to mention that i've had my minidisk for almost seven years.

you can't say that about an ipod.

they barely last seven months.

[joetron2030]

I still pine for a HiMD player. It would be nice to put more stuff on a single MD. I use the LP4 mode to its fullest! :)