Gary Sargent followed up,
S> Ok - I tried this last night. I recorded at +12.5% (digitally)
S> and then played it back at -11.1% (I think?).
S> The sound quality wasn't really that bad at all. Some of the
S> high vocals such as the "S" at the end of words sounded like
S> the singer had a very slight lisp - as it was sustained for
S> a little but longer than normal.
S> Perfectly listenable though.
But to reduce the space by only 1/9, was it worth the effort?
When Gary first suggested that pitch control speed-ups are limited to 12.5%
perhaps because the data ...
SS> ... can not be decompressed quick enough.
I said,
T> Now there you may be onto something; that's certainly a possibility.
Gareth Bell has objected.
B> Err, David-- we both own MZ-R3 portables 3+ years old. Do you
B> really think an ATRAC chip running at 4x the speed of the one in our
B> R3's would be difficult to make. Okay they may now use ATRAC 4.5 or
^^^^^
B> R-Type [OT: great game] or whatever and those algorithms may require
B> more processing power, but to say they couldn't make even a cheap-chip
^^^^^^^^
B> to do it 4x faster than normal is just plain ridiculous. Especially as it's
B> for a home unit so size and heat-dissipation is easily coped with.
You're dealing in conditionals, Gareth, while Gary and I were dealing in in-
dicatives. Whether such a chip is already present in units that are on the
market now, whether such a chip exists now, whether such a chip can be pro-
duced now, and whether such a chip can ever be produced are four distinct
questions. My guesses at answers to them would be "probably not," "no idea,"
"yes," and "yes" respectively. Nobody said it could never be done, only that
currently available units can't do it. You're comparing apples to appleseeds.
I'd also written,
T> The method for entering test mode on the MZ-R55 per the service
T> manual also works on the R3. I just hope my R3 still works.
to which Gareth replied in the same post as his comments above,
B> Assuming you're still speaking to me after my earlier paragraph,
We've never spoken in our lives. I don't even know you well enough to call
you Gaz.
B> ... is the
B> method for entering the test-mode you refer to the 24Kohm resistance
B> applied between two of the earphone control pins (can't remember
B> which two off-hand) or some button combo. I'd be happier with doing
B> the button-combo rather than sticking a resistor into the socket :-)
I've never dared try it with the resistor. The R55 service manual mentions
two ways: a jumper inside (different from the resistor across two pins of the
remote jack as on the R50) or a button sequence. I was speaking of the
button sequence, though I didn't say that. (I wouldn't dare open the unit
to try the jumper method; I'm too timid even to try the resistor, but Gareth
doesn't know me all that well.) The button sequence is this:
1. Hold down PLAY during step 2.
2. Press RIGHT, RIGHT, LEFT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, PAUSE, PAUSE.
Exit test mode by removing all power sources.
B> Don't worry, I wouldn't try such a stupid idea-- I'm not mad.
If you say so. I don't know you all that well.
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