hi minidisc once only digital transfer

[Tung Bui]

I want to put a minidisc onto my actors so that I can record them when they cant be boomed. I figure it would give me better audio then a wireless setup( cant afford digital wireless).

What is confusing to me is that with the new hi md you can only digitally output it via usb. Once this copy is on my computer can I convert it to a wav file and copy this wav file as many times as I want, edit it as I want and burn it onto cd without any restrictions? Also some people say the software can mangle the recording when you transfer out via usb if you are unlucky, is this common?

The recording on the minidisc itself cannot be transfered out via usb again but can be via analogue outputs as many times as I want is that correct? HOw much worse is the analougue output compared to digital?is it useable?

I was thinking of getting the marantz 660 but it is abit bulkier than an md player and harder to hide on an actor.

thanks

[Henry Cho]

i don't know about hi minidiscs, but analog transfer shouldn't be a problem provided you have a decent sound card in your computer. some consumer sound cards tend to introduce noise when using their audio ins and outs. if you do a lot of audio work, you should probably get your hands on a nice pro or semi-pro audio card, like m-audio. with a good card, your audio should stay very clean during the AD conversion.

[Marco Leavitt]

I think fears over SonicStage screwing up your original may have been overstated. Check out the forums at www.minidisc.org. This only seems to have happened to a couple of people. There's also a hack that bypasses this danger and allows unlimited digital transfers if you can live with real time. You might want to check into that as well. Have you picked up a mic yet? The Giant Squid mics look great for what you want to do.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...ighlight=squid

I've used a Shure SM11 with a minidisc before, and it sounds really good. They're a pain to hide though, especially since you need and an XLR adapter (with voltage blocker). The Giant Squids seem a lot more convenient, although I doubt they'd have as much dynamic ranch. Since you'll have limited headroom with minidisc anyway, that might not be such a big deal.

[Tung Bui]

Thanks guys.
I'm always keen to try different things but costs add up. I even considered getting one of those dictation recorders that use small tapes and then converting them with a sound card. They are small indeed but I'm not sure how good the sound will be.

It would be a real ass to have to transfer in real time. To be pedantic once I transfer it once via usb to my computer the file I get can be used for whatever purpose I want is that right? no copy protection or other crap is encoded into my recording that will prevent me from using it? Also what programme will I need to convert the atrac to wav file ?

In terms of mics I was thinking of getting a at899 as it has battery power but I'm not sure whether I'm wasting it on minidisc.

[Jack Smith]

Take a look at the iRiver recorders.I and many others have had excellent results.Do a search on this forum and a lot of info is available on them.
Actually they are smaller than the MDs.Also less expensive, no moving parts,16bit 44k 320kbps quality and very easy to transfer to pc

[Jack Zhang]

I edited some of my audio using ATRAC3plus to WAV and back again just fine, but in SonicStage in Rights Info, It did say "Can be transfered to original computer", you should leave it at WAV, but if you want to transfer back through USB, it's fine if you only want one copy on one disc. Of course, you can delete and retransfer if you made changes. (Note: delete the old ATRAC file on your HD then retransfer)

Originally Posted by Tung Bui

once I transfer it once via usb to my computer the file I get can be used for whatever purpose I want is that right? no copy protection or other crap is encoded into my recording that will prevent me from using it? Also what programme will I need to convert the atrac to wav file?

After you convert to WAV you won't have to worry about junk data or as you call it "C**p". And below is the URL for that WAV converter:

ftp://ftp.sony.com/ccpg/portable/WAVCOTSETUP11190.EXE