Mini Disk, info Needed

L

LarrySmith17

Member
I'm looking into purchasing a mini disk, because it seems to be the only thing I can afford, I found some cheapies on ebay

Question1-do they have a microphone port?
Question2-How do they connect to computer, firewire? USB?
Question3-Do you have to purchase disks, like you would a tape or something.
Question4- What format will the audio be in?

PLEASE HELP!!
 
mini disc usage is not very common at all for recording sound for picture.

use the search function and choose the advanced search and you can search all of the messages in the audio section for mini disc.

all of your questions are answered if you do that search.

also, there is a great book from jay rose about sound for production that you should get and read.

matthew
 
I agree that minidisk may not be the most common route, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not the best route for you. In the meantime, here are some answers to your questions:

You can get a Sony MZM100 which uses Sony's proprietary (<-what a surprise) Hi-MD format. They have an 1/8" mic input, use USB to transfer files into the computer (works best with Soundforge, but operates in other's as well), and uses 1GB Hi-MD minidisks which sell for about $5-$6/each. I can't recall the file format they use, but I think you can convert it to .wav.

We have some promotions going where you can get a free set of MDR7506 Sony headphones (a broadcast standard) free with the MZM100's we have in stock. There is also a bundle which comes with Soundforge at a discounted package price.

If you are interested, please feel free to call or email. Otherwise, I hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
I would consider Sony's newest MD recorder the MZ-RH1.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16111

http://www.minidisco.com/Portable-Recorders/Portable-Hi-MD-Recorders/Sony-MZ-RH1;jsessionid=ac112b2d1f43c4c543f22c044dd8b213dc28421d5646.e3eTaxePaNqNe34RcheRbxyMah90n6jAmljGr5XDqQLvpAe

I think this is the most robust MD sony has put out that is very affordable. I personally have been using MD for the past 10 years. It is very portable, convenient, compact, and affordable. With the newest incarnation of the MD (HiMD) you have 44.1 recording to wav files, backwards compatible with older MD format, Mac support (finally), USB connection and backlit remote lcd.

Very cool, should be part of your tools. IMO.
 
Other than the new format MiniDisk uses ATAC encoding, sort of like MP3. But you can't really transfer the files so you either go out the analog out or the USB (doesn't work very well on the Mac). There are some downsides to the format but it's pretty decent providing you go in line level and use a good mic and preamp.
 
Noiz2 said:
Other than the new format MiniDisk uses ATAC encoding, sort of like MP3. But you can't really transfer the files so you either go out the analog out or the USB (doesn't work very well on the Mac). There are some downsides to the format but it's pretty decent providing you go in line level and use a good mic and preamp.
Click to expand...

MD technology has improved much over the years. Many people still don't know about it although in Japan it had spread in popularity and is used everyday much like popular mp3 players like the ipod. What you state above seems to be facts that are no longer true. A year ago this would be true but with the MZ Rh1 by sony, now is a better time than any to consider a MD Recorder.

Some excerpts taken from a recent June 2006 review:

- Can (ALSO) use previous generation MD discs (not hi MD) and upload over usb previous generations could not and these recording had to put be played via line out and caputred by an audio interface in real time. I don't have any pre HiMD minidisc units but for those who do this is a nice feature.

- Mac support for atrac recordings. MZ M10 had support for downloading PCM wav recordings but not atrac. Now atrac recordings are compressed on the fly to allow you to fit more data on a disc. According to Doug Kaye, these atrac recording hold up better than mp3s when converted to wav. On the Mac the Hi-MD importer app simply lists all the recordings an allows drap and drop to your Desktop or other folder. Recordings are converted to wav format on the fly and are available for use in any audio app that supporsts wav (just about all of them). This should allow Mac users to download atrac recordings made on an MZ m10 and other previous models.

- Recording - PCM wav mode 90 minutes, Hi-SP (256 kbps atrac) 2 hours 20 minutes, HiLP 10 hours

- Other good features that make minidiscs popular - automatic gain control, ultra-portable, ablility to plug in to a sound board (and power outlet), walk away and get 10 hours of high quality audio (at a conference for example)

Here is a link to that review: http://digiaudio.blogspot.com/2006/06/review-of-sony-mz-rh1.html

Also a link to the podcast of that review: http://ia310106.us.archive.org/1/items/Sony_MZRH1_Review/FDA-18-Sony-MZRH1.mp3

The review of the MZ-RH1 occurs a quarter of the way down the podcast. (Wish the person used chapter markers.)

Also http://minidisc.org/ is the oldest and still a really good web site for minidisc technology.

Hope this helps a little.
 
Not sure what you think is out of date except poss Mac support. It would be great if Sony had Mac support now. Traditionally they have been VERY anti Mac. It still holds, other than HiMD you will be recording in ATAC encoded files that will have to be converted to something else to be of any use in post sound (that is what we are talking about in this forum sound for video). As I stated before I found MD to work well IF it is fed with a good signal. It sounds not so great to awful if you use the built in mic input and a cheap mic. The HiMD disks can record 44.1K WAV files and they should be as good as DAT IF the signal getting recorded is good. The great downfall of most mini recorders of all types is the analog audio in and out circuits. Well recorded MD recordings (old style ATAC) are almost indistinguishable from DAT in many cases. Certain things don't work well with ATAC (though should be fine with WAV recordings) like car horn by's, just freaks out the encoder. Most stuff works fine.

A good site to go to is minidisco.com

And yes in Japan it's big, pretty much the only reason it still exists since it never caught on over here (US), or much in Europe. So to get any selection in the US you have to buy online.

My experience is with the last generation before HiMD, ATAC 4.x. So it's pretty close to current and I agree that ATAC sounds better than MP3 at the same bit rate. I use one for certain recording situations and as a backup for my main recorder.

And ATAC was always compressed "on the fly", it's the format that the old MD recorded in. Don't want to seem "negative" but 1/2 your post sounds like you pulled ad copy off of Sony's site.

ian lucero said:
MD technology has improved much over the years. Many people still don't know about it although in Japan it had spread in popularity and is used everyday much like popular mp3 players like the ipod. What you state above seems to be facts that are no longer true. A year ago this would be true but with the MZ Rh1 by sony, now is a better time than any to consider a MD Recorder.

Some excerpts taken from a recent June 2006 review:

- Can (ALSO) use previous generation MD discs (not hi MD) and upload over usb previous generations could not and these recording had to put be played via line out and caputred by an audio interface in real time. I don't have any pre HiMD minidisc units but for those who do this is a nice feature.

- Mac support for atrac recordings. MZ M10 had support for downloading PCM wav recordings but not atrac. Now atrac recordings are compressed on the fly to allow you to fit more data on a disc. According to Doug Kaye, these atrac recording hold up better than mp3s when converted to wav. On the Mac the Hi-MD importer app simply lists all the recordings an allows drap and drop to your Desktop or other folder. Recordings are converted to wav format on the fly and are available for use in any audio app that supporsts wav (just about all of them). This should allow Mac users to download atrac recordings made on an MZ m10 and other previous models.

- Recording - PCM wav mode 90 minutes, Hi-SP (256 kbps atrac) 2 hours 20 minutes, HiLP 10 hours

- Other good features that make minidiscs popular - automatic gain control, ultra-portable, ablility to plug in to a sound board (and power outlet), walk away and get 10 hours of high quality audio (at a conference for example)

Here is a link to that review: http://digiaudio.blogspot.com/2006/06/review-of-sony-mz-rh1.html

Also a link to the podcast of that review: http://ia310106.us.archive.org/1/items/Sony_MZRH1_Review/FDA-18-Sony-MZRH1.mp3

The review of the MZ-RH1 occurs a quarter of the way down the podcast. (Wish the person used chapter markers.)

Also http://minidisc.org/ is the oldest and still a really good web site for minidisc technology.

Hope this helps a little.
Click to expand...
 
QUOTE:
"And ATAC was always compressed "on the fly", it's the format that the old MD recorded in. Don't want to seem "negative" but 1/2 your post sounds like you pulled ad copy off of Sony's site."

What does the fact that I 'sounded' like copy from a magazine have to do with the facts of HiMD? "Don't want to seem negative" ?? Well you did. Hey for the most part I quoted what I read from a review, and from a few post back I stated my own experience by saying I'd been using it for 10 years. I did laugh when I read my own post (before posting), and it does sound like it would be in a press release or even a review of a product, probably becaues I really love MD and still do. I've always been a big fan of ATRAC compression and agree that it sounds better than mp3. Witch is why I push it. What makes me more excited about the newest HiMD recorders is there more than usual support for the MAC. But that never was a big issue for me in the past. I would just hook up the MD deck with optical out to my optical in on my soundcard and start capturing. The new ability to drag and drop (which I'd love to see in action) is a great addition for mac folks. The guy who wanted info about this wanted info so I stated it and pointed them in a direction.

No need for you to make fun of my post.
 
Hey for the kind of pricing I'm seeing on good MD players, you're starting to push into the Marantz 660 or some of the other low end CF recorders. These are much more "standard", and can easily transfer to your NLE. On top of everything, you have a spinning disk in an MD recorder, and in a CF recorder you have no moving parts. Feels safer overall to me.

Phil
 
Didn't mean to "make fun" of your post. Some of the quotes have those little inaccuracies that drive me crazy in ad copy so maybe I over reacted. But you also have to remember that your post started off by saying I was wrong in my statements and then didn't contradict anything I said except that Mac support was lacking. Six months ago or so when I was looking into the HiMD as a replacement for my current MD there was no Mac support, and the transfer app on the PC erased the recordings as it transfered and had a lot of bad press from users.

Anyway other than some squabbling we are saying largely the same thing. MD is a decent format. If you can get a small portable for under $150 or so it's a good little recorder. If you put a MixPre and a decent mic on the front end it's a really good recorder. Better yet if you can get the sounds out with out going through the analog electronics your in really good shape.
IMHO once you start getting much above $150 your getting into the range where the features and quality VS price start favoring flash recorders. For me HiMD was on the wrong side of the tipping point, though if Mac support had worked at the time????
SK

ian lucero said:
QUOTE:
"And ATAC was always compressed "on the fly", it's the format that the old MD recorded in. Don't want to seem "negative" but 1/2 your post sounds like you pulled ad copy off of Sony's site."

What does the fact that I 'sounded' like copy from a magazine have to do with the facts of HiMD? "Don't want to seem negative" ?? Well you did. Hey for the most part I quoted what I read from a review, and from a few post back I stated my own experience by saying I'd been using it for 10 years. I did laugh when I read my own post (before posting), and it does sound like it would be in a press release or even a review of a product, probably becaues I really love MD and still do. I've always been a big fan of ATRAC compression and agree that it sounds better than mp3. Witch is why I push it. What makes me more excited about the newest HiMD recorders is there more than usual support for the MAC. But that never was a big issue for me in the past. I would just hook up the MD deck with optical out to my optical in on my soundcard and start capturing. The new ability to drag and drop (which I'd love to see in action) is a great addition for mac folks. The guy who wanted info about this wanted info so I stated it and pointed them in a direction.

No need for you to make fun of my post.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top