What's the word on the new Sony Hi-MD (minidisc)? at DVinfo.net

Ronald Lee · August 26th, 2004, 07:30 PM

Hi there, the Sony High Capacity Mini Disc is out now, I'm wondering if anyone has used it.

For us music lovers, does it give nice audio sounds, along the same lines of the previous generation of MD's Atrac3, or is the sound worse?

For us filmmakers, does it record clean audio which can be electronically imported into the computer?

Is it a useful tool, worth it enough to trade in my current MD player for?

Any insights anyone?

Bryan Beasleigh · August 26th, 2004, 08:19 PM

B&H sell a model with line input that retails for $220. Marty, the buyer, tells me that it will work well, paired with a mixer/mic pre that has line out. The unit has a 1 gig capacity per HD disk and supports drag and drop file transfer. 16 bit uncomptessed digital audio is supported.

Beach Tek is planning to release t a 2 channel mixer with line level outputs. The pricing will be similar to the DXA-8. This will be a very flexible and multi purpose marriage IMHO

Matt Stahley · August 26th, 2004, 08:54 PM

Hey Bryan do you know if that Beach will be abale to attach to a cam and what line out will be terminated to like 1/8 mini or rca's etc?Thanks

matt

Bryan Beasleigh · August 26th, 2004, 09:34 PM

I don't have much info except that it won't have the standard beach camera mount but it will be the same size. It won't have the 1/8' stereo out and should have a balanced output.

I'd love to get my hands on one.

Marco Leavitt · August 28th, 2004, 04:33 PM

I haven't gotten my hands on one of these yet either, but I've been following the developments at www.minidisc.org. You should really check out that site if you're interested in minidisc. While you can drag and drop, you can't export your recordings out of SonicStage yet, meaning you can't use them for anything. Sony has promised to introduce software to make this possible before the year is out, but it is unclear if this will apply to recordings made with the optical input. However, there are people who have been able to get around the limitations using a third party program and doing a real-time capture -- only for PCs though. No Mac support, and none planned. We use regular minidisc with our Mac and a desktop unit with optical outputs. We like it quite a bit. There are no HiMDs with optical outputs that I'm aware of.

Bryan Beasleigh · August 28th, 2004, 08:06 PM

So when all is said, the good ole Marantz PMD 670 is still a good deal. Full mic pre capabilities and a flah recorder to boot. I've been using mine for a year now with the same 1 gig card. I just plug it in to my PC's USB and drag and drop.

Marty Wein · August 31st, 2004, 06:04 PM

I uploaded a file that was recorded uncompressed (PCM) with the MZ-NHF800 in Hi-MD mode.

While transfering it is being saved as an .OMG file. I renamed it to .WAV and was able to play it with Windows Media Player, however I was unable to import the file into Sound Forge (either in OMG or WAV).

I will try to burn an Audio CD and then rip it back into the computer using Sound Forge as well as Cubase SX and we will see what happens. If Sound Forg/Cubase will still not be able to read it then the upload feature is pretty much worthless.

I will keap you posted.

Marty Wein · September 1st, 2004, 08:00 AM

I tried using it with, Cakewalk Pyro, Sonar 3, Steinberg Cubase SX, Windows Media Player and Roxio Easy CD Creator.

Windows Media Player was the only program that was able to open the file however it was UNABLE TO BURN IT TO CD.

After unsuccessfully trying various programs to either import the file or transfer it back to an audio CD I finally gave up!

Marco Leavitt · September 1st, 2004, 09:01 PM

Marty,
Have you seen this thread?

http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5629

August 26th, 2004, 07:30 PM	#1
Ronald Lee Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 435	What's the word on the new Sony Hi-MD (minidisc)? Hi there, the Sony High Capacity Mini Disc is out now, I'm wondering if anyone has used it. For us music lovers, does it give nice audio sounds, along the same lines of the previous generation of MD's Atrac3, or is the sound worse? For us filmmakers, does it record clean audio which can be electronically imported into the computer? Is it a useful tool, worth it enough to trade in my current MD player for? Any insights anyone?

August 26th, 2004, 08:19 PM	#2
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	B&H sell a model with line input that retails for $220. Marty, the buyer, tells me that it will work well, paired with a mixer/mic pre that has line out. The unit has a 1 gig capacity per HD disk and supports drag and drop file transfer. 16 bit uncomptessed digital audio is supported. Beach Tek is planning to release t a 2 channel mixer with line level outputs. The pricing will be similar to the DXA-8. This will be a very flexible and multi purpose marriage IMHO __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ".......holy smokin rubber lips...what a ride!"

August 26th, 2004, 09:34 PM	#4
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	I don't have much info except that it won't have the standard beach camera mount but it will be the same size. It won't have the 1/8' stereo out and should have a balanced output. I'd love to get my hands on one. __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ".......holy smokin rubber lips...what a ride!"

August 28th, 2004, 08:06 PM	#6
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	So when all is said, the good ole Marantz PMD 670 is still a good deal. Full mic pre capabilities and a flah recorder to boot. I've been using mine for a year now with the same 1 gig card. I just plug it in to my PC's USB and drag and drop. __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ".......holy smokin rubber lips...what a ride!"

August 26th, 2004, 08:54 PM	#3
Matt Stahley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Waynesboro, PA Posts: 648	Hey Bryan do you know if that Beach will be abale to attach to a cam and what line out will be terminated to like 1/8 mini or rca's etc?Thanks matt

August 28th, 2004, 04:33 PM	#5
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I haven't gotten my hands on one of these yet either, but I've been following the developments at www.minidisc.org. You should really check out that site if you're interested in minidisc. While you can drag and drop, you can't export your recordings out of SonicStage yet, meaning you can't use them for anything. Sony has promised to introduce software to make this possible before the year is out, but it is unclear if this will apply to recordings made with the optical input. However, there are people who have been able to get around the limitations using a third party program and doing a real-time capture -- only for PCs though. No Mac support, and none planned. We use regular minidisc with our Mac and a desktop unit with optical outputs. We like it quite a bit. There are no HiMDs with optical outputs that I'm aware of.

August 31st, 2004, 06:04 PM	#7
Marty Wein Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 229	I uploaded a file that was recorded uncompressed (PCM) with the MZ-NHF800 in Hi-MD mode. While transfering it is being saved as an .OMG file. I renamed it to .WAV and was able to play it with Windows Media Player, however I was unable to import the file into Sound Forge (either in OMG or WAV). I will try to burn an Audio CD and then rip it back into the computer using Sound Forge as well as Cubase SX and we will see what happens. If Sound Forg/Cubase will still not be able to read it then the upload feature is pretty much worthless. I will keap you posted.

September 1st, 2004, 08:00 AM	#8
Marty Wein Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 229	I tried using it with, Cakewalk Pyro, Sonar 3, Steinberg Cubase SX, Windows Media Player and Roxio Easy CD Creator. Windows Media Player was the only program that was able to open the file however it was UNABLE TO BURN IT TO CD. After unsuccessfully trying various programs to either import the file or transfer it back to an audio CD I finally gave up!

September 1st, 2004, 09:01 PM	#9
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Marty, Have you seen this thread? http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=5629