MD: Rugged portable player needed
Hi, in your experience, what are the most rugged portable players currently available ? I'm asking this on behalf of a friend who wants to use it while practising BMX bike stunts (which is a stupid idea if you ask me, but hey, it's his player...) His last one was an AIWA portable recorder (F-65 I think) which dropped and got its lid dented, recently the drive mechanism died, according to him. So what I'm looking for is a player whose mechanic parts, short of being jumped on, can stand a whole lot of shaking. It would be even better it it isn't on the upper end of the price scale. Please answer, you can help keep a person from buying an MP3 player !! Regards, Alexander Dietrich -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Revolutionary?
J. van de Griek wrote: It doesn't. However, I have noticed that the MiniDisc community tends to value looks more than most other gearhead communities. Or at least is more willing to admit that they do so. 'course we do, MD equipment is sexy ! It's the only reason we shell out these insane amounts of money. :) But seriously, I would rather buy even a Sony R37 than touch any current MP3 player. Alexander -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Revolutionary?
Stainless Steel Rat wrote: Just for the sake of argument, how does the unit's appearance affect its recording and playback quality? Where did I state that the look of a porty affects its recording and playback quality ? Alexander -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Revolutionary?
Dan Frakes wrote: JUST ARRIVED: Say goodbye to the clamshell! Minidisco now has Sony Japan's new MZ-E800 portable player, with a revolutionary pop-in disc loading mechanism. Huzzah! Oh no, I _like_ the clamshell mechanism ! Those Sharp portables look so damn ugly (hey, just my personal opinion). I really hope that this is not going to be the norm for Sony. Just imagine an R90 with a pop-in mechanism, shudder. Alexander -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Two things I've recently discovered (small tips)
J. C. R. Davis wrote: 1. Do not label the MD cases. This really is not that helpful, and trying to keep up with all of your MDs and their respective cases is a lot of trouble. If they are all blank, then it won't matter which case it goes in! As an alternative, buy MDs with the long on-disc labels (e.g. Sonys and some Maxells). I ripped all of my case labels off and it feels GOOD. Absolutely ! I only labeled a few MD cases before I got fed up with mixing up disc and case, so I took them all of. I really felt liberated somehow ! :) The only thing I try to match now are discs and the cases they came in. For some reason, Sony colored blanks look best in their clear semi-transparent case... Alexander -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Why does Sony not have earbuds on US models?
Jeff J. Voeller wrote: with the people, I think Americans prefer headphones to earbuds because earbuds can't be heard by others but headphones can ruin the morning for an entire busload of strangers. Sorry, but that's just not true. I don't know if american headphones are built differently, but riding Hamburg's subway I'm always amazed at how loud people can turn their earbuds and NOT have their eyes come out bleeding. I tried and turned my own volume up until it started to hurt, but when I took my earbuds out I could hear nothing. So what does this tell us ? Buy stock in hearing-aid companies. Alexander -- ( Alexander Dietrich | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Hoontech to MD, no track marks!
Erik Arneson wrote: I'm using XMMS in Linux, and have it set for 2 seconds of silence between songs, which creates track marks just fine when doing analog recording. When watching the input meter on the MD-R37, the input drops off to absolutely nothing for the two seconds between songs. I've tried with Synchro record turned off, and on. No track marks. Anybody know how I can cause them to be created automatically? Usually there is no way get real trackmarks out of a soundcard, but the 2-3 second silence trick works with the digital-out as well. It might be possible that XMMS has a bug in the pause-between-songs feature, try an MP3 with 3 seconds of silence in it. Regards, Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Xitel, Linux, and MiniDisc
Francisco Jose Montilla wrote: It seems that the only one that works is the Turtle Beach... (thanks Andrew Veliath!) please tell me in case you know about any other (by personal replies or alike). The Hoontech Digital-NX (which I own) does digital-out under Linux (and it's cheap). Also, the ALSA project is supporting the Soundblaster Live! now, although I don't know if they've gotten the digital-out to work yet. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Cheap MDs?
J. Coon wrote: I just got an email from my son in Germany. He says the MD are selling for 8Dm for a 5 pack of Sony MDs. At an exchnge rate of $2.01 US or as he puts it, 2,01 DM / $1 US, that that is about $4 US for 5. hmmm That's extremely low, though. The usual 5 packs I see around here are 15-17 DM with Sony being on the 17 DM end. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: MP3 on cassette
Ralph Smeets wrote: Sony is already planning an MD equivalent! (Ie, a cassete that plays MDs in a normal tape-deck!!) April fools already ? I wish that something like this would be possible, but MDs are too big to fit inside a cassette. (Also there are those two spindles you have to deal with) Alexander Dietrich - stuck with a cassette-adapter -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: DJ minidiscs
horst wrote: making a concious decision if what you have to say is truly going to be of interest to most people on the list is damn fine practice I'm against changing it, this feature makes sense. If you don't check your headers before clicking the Send button, you can't be very conscious of your mail yourself. My MUA even asks me if I want to reply to the list, I'm not sure if Eudora does it. BTW, this is a mailing list, so *off-list replies* should be the exception and require a conscious decision. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: MD Advertising: Sharp
Hello, today I saw an MD ad by Sharp on MTV. I'll type in a description that might not be complete, I only caught it with half an eye: The ad starts with several twentysomethings listening to some music on a bookshelf system (by Sharp, obviously). After a couple of rather uninformative shots of the people "grooving", one guy pops out the minidisc, which looks like a blank (it had no label I think), puts it into his portable and walks out. Cut to: a harbour environment, two guys meet, both with portable MD players. They sit down, open their portables and exchange the discs. One of them points his indiglo Sharp remote into the camera, then they part. Subtitle: "Digital deal with Sharp minidisc" or something like that. Now, this is far less cryptic than Sony's ads, but what exactly WAS the message ? Sharp endorses (probably) illegal trading of music ? And if it was legal, why did they meet on a quay ? Oh well, at least the recording aspect was emphasized more clearly (at least I believe the disc was recorded in the beginning). And none of them carried pigeons on the head ! BTW, is this a new ad ? Regards, Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: portable with direct track selection (was opinion wanted)
David W. Tamkin wrote: The Aiwa AM-F70 comes close: while one track is playing, you can use its Search function to go through the titles and numbers of all tracks with the jog dial, and when you see the one you want displayed, press Enter to skip to that track. That's what the R30's jog wheel can do too. (I assume, I own an R35 and it does this.) You turn the wheel until you see the track name/number you want to hear and then press the wheel to jump to the track. I guess the original poster wants a numerical keypad on his portable, which would be a little costly and of course space consuming. Can you imagine the R90 with a numerical keypad on its back ? It would look like one of those devices you control answering machines with. :) Hey, wait a minute... Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Linux S/PDIF soundcard
Bert Konstantin wrote: There is a rumour that the Hoontech SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX (http://www.hoontech.com/product/soundcard/STdigitalNX.htm) supports it. See also http://www.alsa-project.org/~goemon/ I am not shure if the input modul works. I have read reports, that the output works fine. I hope I get more info in the next days from the german distributor. I have the card and the output works fine, I use it to record MP3s to MD. However, the 4DWave NX doesn't do bidirectional SPDIF, which the original poster wanted. According to Claus from RIDI Multimedia it is possible, but very (read: multiple times the card price) expensive to add a digital-in to the card. What are the alternatives ? Now that Creative has released specs for the Live! series, ALSA support is there I think. But do both the digital ports work ? I don't know what that one comment on games was about, but I can play Quake2/Quake3 just fine on my machine. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Linux S/PDIF soundcard
Bert Konstantin wrote: Ok, compared to the card, 79$ are a lot, but it is cheaper than the Midiman Dio 2448 and I think the DIO 2448 is not supported by Linux. Do you know another card with digital in/out cheaper than the 4DWave NX including the ST DBIII module? You also need the NX DB II at $24 I believe, which raises the price of digital-in to $103. I also don't know if the digital-in would be supported by the ALSA drivers. Did anyone ever try this ? The Hoontech Digital-XG would be nice, but Yamaha still refuses to release the specs, so no ALSA drivers. :( I have read that the Soundblaster cannot copy bit by bit. If you're talking about the fixed samplerate of 48 kHz, that's apparently the case with every AC97 compliant card. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Will MD Survive? / CD copy protection
Rick Pali wrote: I think it also results in the CD player putting out a duff SPDIF stream too, preventing them from being copied digitally to MD. If that's true, the CDs will be useless for those of us with outboard DACs. I checked the manufacturer's site and as I'd feared, there was no information of real substance...just market-speak. Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case (again in german): http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/cm-26.01.00-000/ Neither SPDIF outputs nor Audio CD-Copiers like the Philips CDR-765 were affected by the protection. Copies made with the Philips did not contain the protection. So all the people who bought these devices don't look so foolish anymore, eh ? ;) The trick seems to be a fake TOC that gives a runtime of 28 seconds for the CD. PC CD-ROM drives get fooled by this and stop reading. What's interesting is that the article says ALL CD players display a runtime of 28 seconds. So apparently you not only lose the ability to play the CD from your PC, your Hi-Fi CD player looks pretty dumb as well. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Linux S/PDIF soundcard
Bert Konstantin wrote: You also need the NX DB II at $24 I believe, which raises the price of digital-in to $103. I don't think so, have a look at the pictures at http://www.hoontech.com/product/digitalIObrakets/nxdb2e.htm I believe that the NXDB II is a cheaper digital connections for a digital amp or the external A/D-converter. The Hoontech site isn't exactly an example of providing clearly understandable information. I can't find any confirmation that either of the DB III brackets can be connected directly to the Digital-NX. I think you need the NX DB II as an intermediate step ? Anyway, if I need both modules it is still cheaper than the DIO 2448 and I could use the NX for games too, so it seems to me the cheapest possibility for a recording card. Any other suggestions? What exactly IS the DIO 2448 ? And while it might still be cheap, it would probably be easier to just get a Live! (no pun intended, honestly !) where you have to deal with only one bracket. And you have confirmed functionality of both SPDIF directions (according to FAQ). If you're talking about the fixed samplerate of 48 kHz, that's apparently the case with every AC97 compliant card. Yes. The plus of the NX is, that there should exist a solution with Linux. With Win you have the 48kHz problem too. Actually, I was told that the 4DWave NX chip can output in 32 and 44.1 kHz as well, just the drivers are locked at 48 kHz. I wonder if that is true. Now since Trident has stopped any involvement in sound hardware (I think I read this somewhere) you can probably forget about this showing up in Windows anytime soon. But since the Linux drivers are open-source, perhaps it can be implemented ? It probably doesn't matter, I guess it wouldn't improve the quality of MP3 - ATRAC transfers at all. :) Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: The copy protected audio CDs are here (kinda)
Hi, just saw this on the c't news-ticker (it's in german): http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/cm-25.01.00-000/ BMG Entertainment has released two CDs that are protected by "Cactus Data Shield" from http://www.midbartech.com and http://www.sonopress.de. Apparently playing and grabbing those CDs on PCs is not possible. One person even had problems playing them on a two year old CD player ! c't is currently testing if S/P-DIF output on CD players is affected as well. BMG has admitted "certain problems" with the protection and has stopped releasing new CDs with protection for now. Alexander Dietrich - Who the hell are these people, to tell me where to play my CDs ? -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: DMX
Edward Nigma wrote: and new ones. I've got a question for all of you. have any of you tried the Terratec Soundsystm DMX. Is it a good card? If anyone can tell me about their experiences with it, I would greatly appreciate it. Ive seen online reviews and they dont help very much. I need some real world results. I don't own it myself, but the last things I heard about it were not very positive. The early driver releases were said to be quite buggy with strange control panel behaviour regarding digital recording/play- back and the SCMS settings. One or two advertised features weren't implemented. But you should probably check out one of the hardware newsgroups for the current situation. BTW, Hoontech sells a Yamaha soundcard with digital in/out bracket for a low price. Unfortunately no Linux drivers though. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: Escient's attitudes
Eric Woudenberg wrote: I heard (from a CDDB insider) that Sony tried to strike a deal with CDDB but Sony acted too arrogant and it didn't go through. That also shows Escient's arrogance, in that they steal a database that was put together by people all over the world for FREE, and now they try to sell it. I encourage everyone to use FreeDB (http://www.freedb.org/), which offers the same service as CDDB, but done the right way. Regards, Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: need copy of MZR-30 manual and mA rating of sony 6 volt dc adapter
william coleman wrote: Hi Everyone . Does anyone have a copy of the sony mzr-30 manual that can be emailed ? Also Does anyone have the exact 6 volt sony ac/dc adapter output mA rating ? If so please email me . My MZ-R35's power supply is an AC-MZ60A and it says "DC 6V 800mA". The MZ-R30 manual is up on the community pages. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: Buying Sony remotes in Germany
Hi everyone and Happy New Year ! I'm thinking of replacing the boring remote on my MZ-R35 with something spiffier. Should I try to get it from Sony as a spare part or just walk into the next Media Markt and bug them until they order one for me ? Are the prices for these parts as different between shops as they are for whole MD players/recorders ? I'm probably going to get the remote I saw on a friend's E25, which would be a perfect replacement (don't need the track mark button). The new remote of the R90 looks pretty as well, but I'm not sure if the backlight/titling would work (probably not). Does anyone know how much a remote costs and if they come with earbuds ? Thanks, Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Tarnished brandnames (was-Re: MiniDisc Weekly News...)
Steven Brooks wrote: I haven't heard the brand name "Casio" in years. I thought they had gone out of business. My impression was that they had gone the way of the I've known Casio for calculators and watches only, them producing any kind of Hi-Fi equipment is new to me ! Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Best place to buy Sony MZR50 or 55 in Germany?
Angela M. Turner wrote: I'm not sure whether or not the 50 is still available The R50 was getting rare when I was shopping around about 5 months ago (in and around Hamburg), at least that's the impression that I got. It was going for 600 DM at either Karstadt or Media Markt. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT, anyone know how to title tracks on a CDR?
Howard Chu wrote: The calculated checksum/signature is used as an index in the data file that stores the title info. This is the same approach used by www.cddb.com. There's already Linux support for cddb, so duplicating the Windows approach is kind of silly. (And if you haven't checked out www.cddb.com yet, you should. They have track title info for a huge number of CDs, in all BTW: don't use CDDB, use FreeDB (http://www.freedb.org/). The CDDB people (Escient) changed the license on access to the database and now demand insane things from the authors of CD player programs. Since this database was/is put together by people all over the net for free Escient should be sued for behaviour like that, but it would be too difficult I guess. FreeDB keeps its database and server software available under the GPL. So if your CD player is using CDDB, point it to FreeDB instead and if you want to submit a CD send it to FreeDB ! Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: German MD buyer price info
Hi, I was in the Saturn on Moenckebergstrasse in Hamburg today and spotted some pretty good blank deals. (Please tell me if they're always this cheap, it was the first time I was in there.) 15 DM for a 5-pack of colored TDKs (5 differently colored disks in each pack) struck me as pretty good. The colors might not be as pretty as Sony's, but not annoying as the BASF yellow. :) Plus they've got better labels. 17 DM for a 5-pack of colored Sony blanks I think, but I'm not sure. 38 DM for 10 Sony "Premium" blanks (dark-blue translucent top) plus one piece of that silver plastic "Tower System" rack thingy of theirs. I held the Sony R-90 in my hands for the first time today. Damnit, is that thing small ! I also saw a player from Lenco for 222 DM, the cheapest I have seen yet. BTW, what do german MD users buy when it comes to computer-printable labels ? What software do you use ? Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT, anyone know how to title tracks on a CDR?
Stainless Steel Rat wrote: Nope. CD-Audio does not include space for titles, just audio data. Well actually there's the CD-Text format which adds song titles, lyrics and even more to audio CDs, but you'd have to own a pretty new CD writer and compatible software to be able to use it. Then you'd have to own a CD-Text compatible CD-ROM drive/CD player to be able to read this information. (The newer Plextor drives are CD-Text capable AFAIK) Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: A little non-scientific ATRAC Sharp vs. Sony test
Jake Hamby wrote: BTW, you can even use LAME as a drop-in replacement for BladeEnc.dll in Windows, so there's absolutely no excuse to use BladeEnc any more! Please spread the word, as I hate to see people using shoddy MP3 encoders simply because they don't know any better.. After reading about how horribly bad bladeenc is even in c't magazine, I decided to encode a couple of wav files with both bladeenc and lame and listened to them one after the other (on headphones) and also switching files during the song. Personally, I can't hear the difference between the two, maybe it's only noticeable when you listen to classical music. c't magazine wrote that bladeenc sounds completely crappy at 64 kbps while lame is fairly good, but who encodes at bitrates that low anyway ? I use lame because it's said to be better, and I was wondering about one thing: is joint stereo degrading or enhancing sound quality ? Again I encoded the wav songs with stereo and jstereo and again I couldn't hear a difference and all the files were exactly the same size. Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Transferring MD to CD
Martin Schiff wrote: I have never experienced a problem with my live recording tracks needing to be a certain length. I create the tracks as separate wav files, and then use Adaptec's Easy CD Creator to burn the CD. I've never had any noise between the tracks. You've been lucky so far then. If audio tracks aren't exactly a multiple of 2352 bytes (588 samples, yes I looked that up ;) long, the CD writer will have to fill the rest up with zeroes, which can (but doesn't have to) result in audible cracking between tracks. It depends on the type and volume of your music and your CD player if you notice this, I guess. The other possibility is that Easy CD Creator moves the track splits automatically to optimize track lengths. That's a thing that I'd definitly wouldn't want to happen. Alexander - CD Wav was the name of that shareware -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Transferring MD to CD
Martin Schiff wrote: areas that will be tracks. Then SF has an export function that will export regions to files automatically. I just did two of them that way a couple of nights ago, and it took less than 1/4 the time it did before, maybe even Sounds interesting. Does Sound Forge also have a function to make the tracks the correct length for gap-less writing to CD ? I assume you know that if a sound file isn't the multiple of a block (a couple of thousand bytes if I remember correctly) long you can get noise between the tracks, which is really bad for live recordings. I did this with a shareware tool so far, the name escapes me right now. The awkward thing is that this tool doesn't work with peak files, so it reads the complete wav file once on start, quite a lot when you have a full CD ! Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Re Memorex Blanks - Quality....NO
Tim Hays wrote: I have gotten 4 BASF discs in on trades, and ALL 3 of them after very little usage the shutters broke or jammed. Did those have plastic shutters ? The ones I bought have metal ones, so they could only possibly jam. Recording wasn't problem for me so far. As I said the labels are complete crap, they have such a weird surface that you can't write on them with pencil or marker. The only way would be to carve into them with something sharp. :) Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Programs for MD and CD-R help
use jetaudio i can rip md songs to wavs. But then when I try to put the .wavs on a cd it says that they are not cd-quality. Well, I can live with a little imperfection, and what i really want these songs on the CD. What program can I use to get these to CD quality? Or can I change some settings in jetaudio to make it "cd-quality?" I'm using either ez-cd creater or nero to burn the cd's. Audio CDs store music in 16 bit, 44.1 kHz stereo samples. Other than that, I wouldn't know what your writing program is complaining about. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Soundblaster Live! 1024 Player anyone ?
IF so a cmopany called opcode (www.opcode.com) produce a device called the DATPort which is a digital input/ouput device. This may be the ideal solution for you - no MIDI, XLR, COAX or anything other than 1 input and 1 output. Looks interesting, but unfortunately has no optical connectors. And at $250 I'd rather buy a new soundcard, since I need a new one anyway. Thanks for the tip though ! Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Soundblaster Live! 1024 Player anyone ?
3.5mm miniplug - same as on a portable MD unit. Oh great, I'd have to buy another cable then, but at least it's not coaxial. Output is 48kHz only, as with all Creative digital-output sound cards. Your MD has a sample rate converter though so don't worry. Yeah, but that still means another loss in quality. It's probably not much, but if you take it to the extreme, Analog - Wav - MP3 - Upsampling - Atrac is a lot of conversion. 3. Is there a possibility to add a digital input to the card ? No. I think that's why they call it the "1024 Player". Hmm, I thought that was because it's targeted at gamers, I assume you own this card and know for sure ? Having the option of digital input for later is critical for me, though. Right now it seems like getting a standard Live! Value plus a digital I/O board would be the better choice ? Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: md-l-digest V2 #383
No, I really need a license for my pet fish, Eric. I've got a dog license for my dog Eric, and one for my cat Eric and I've got a license fr my pet bee Eric too Erica the half-bee. he had an accident Cyril Conolly ? Alexander :) -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: SB LIVE
Hey just a quick question ... what is the best way to record mp3's to MD if i have a SB live with optical hookup. I need something that handles track marking etc etc. Unfortunately, no consumer audio card seems to be able to do that (track marking). Does anyone know if there is _any_ kind of PC equipment that is able to send more than mere audio streams ? For now, you can insert 3 second silence MP3s into your playlist, or use the Winamp pause plug-in that is available here: http://website.lineone.net/~hedstrong1/gen_paus.zip Don't know if that one works well though. Alexander - Would it be so hard to create track marks ? I don't think so. -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT: Linux
http://www.listbot.com http://www.deja.com Start your own mailing list for the Unix stuff if you like. but please lets try and keep this at least partially related to MD. There are many newsgroups and mailing lists already associated with Linux who will be able to answer any queries you have far better than any of us probably could. Sorry to interupt, but I wasn't the one who was asking for help, I was merely trying to help. Did you get as pissed when the gun debate/public transportation threads raged for over a week ? I guess not, and this thread has been going for just a day or so. Calm down, Alexander - Deja News sucks now more than ever -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT: Linux
Hey, I'm just watching "The Net" and there's a box of Data MDs next to her phone. Does that upgrade the thread to half OT ? I guess not... Did you see the brand of data-md drive she was using? I want one :)) Someone on here mentioed a new pc-md thing from sony, anyone got any more info, details, url etc??? I can't recall seeing any use of MDs in the movie. All the top-secret information that the movie was about was carried on floppy disks ! (The horror...) I can't even remember what brand the data MDs were. It was just a short shot when she was using the phone, there was a cardboard box with "Data MD" printed on it. I guess the producers thought "Data MD" sounded like kEwl hax0r gear. ;) Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT: Linux
The most critical thing is I must be able to boot into Win98 intact, and also exit to DOS mode intact. Linux must'nt touch my files in base 640K memory (currently just 19K, despite having DOS EMS enabled, wow) If you have another emtpy harddisk or enough unpartitioned space for Linux there shouldn't be a problem. But if you have one disk that is completely covered by Windows, you must be very careful ! First thing I would do is making a backup of all your own data, text documents, spreadsheets, p0rn, whatever... :) Then you can try to decrease the size of Windows's partition. There's a free tool called FIPS that supposedly does this which comes with some Linux distributions. Or you get Partition Magic, which is included in Caldera Linux in some form I think. A cleaner way would be to erase the disk completely and do a proper partitioning, but a lot more work of course. If you use the standard LILO boot manager booting Win98 is no problem, I do it all the time. You can even set LILO up to boot Windows by default and Linux only if you intervene or the other way round. (Which is, of course, way better :) I don't know what you mean about EMS memory, but there is no such nonsense in Linux. Good luck, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: OT: Linux
until Linus Torvalds releases an MD of kickin' vibes, or a Linux version which fits onto an MD, can we drop this thread ? Hey, there are Linux versions which fit onto a single floppy, so can we continue now ? Oh no wait, lets rather pull each others hair out over End Search. Hey, I'm just watching "The Net" and there's a box of Data MDs next to her phone. Does that upgrade the thread to half OT ? I guess not... Alexander - Penguins love MD -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: digital recording techniques
Okay, so no PC bay drive gizmo. What would you recomend for digital recordings ? 1. PC sound card with digital o/p 2. integrated CD/MD hifi separate (seems funny using those two words in the same phrase, but you know what I mean). 3. CD player with digital o/p. 4. any others CD player with digital outputs gets my vote because its what I use, but there is a lot of discussion at present about using soundcards with digital outputs. I'd like to get a digital in/out soundcard, but there are some issues that keep me from buying one: 1. No track marks 2. No Linux drivers 3. Effectively no SCMS control (but I don't really care) Until these are remedied, I'm happy with my CD player's digital out. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: There are holes in my minidiscs ( dear Liza, dear Liza :-)
On Mon, Sep 20, 1999 at 07:56:41 +, PrinceGaz wrote: One possibility is the nanites present in all MD equipment which keep it functional are attacking the disc. Or something like that. LOL ! He probably tried to hack it into service mode and hit a security node. Remember, you need at least hack skill level 6 to modify MD equipment. ;) Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Hoax: 9999999 (was: Y2K compliance Hoax)
Hi, When you read a record with FORTRAN, the read statement tells what the numbers mean by the position of the numbers. I doubt that any of that As I said, a date like "" wouldn't make any sense then, unless you live in a world with only single digit months/days ! Of course this error could still happen, but there would have to be an incredibly stupid programmer to use a simple number as an EOF marker and the code would have a glaring bug to store a date in this buggy format. Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Hoax: 9999999 (was: Y2K compliance Hoax)
Hi, The problem is/was that 9/9/99 was used as an exit code (esp for really old text based data entry) eg: Enter new date (enter 9/9/99 to exit program) : Ah, now that's a plausible scenario. However, if I had been the one who had contracted this programmer, I'd have him executed on the spot. ;) Why not just take "0" as exit code ? Much easier. Did they really think the 90's would never come ? Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Hoax: 9999999 (was: Y2K compliance Hoax)
Hi, EOF marker card was filled with 80 nines, since it was an 80 column card. The code was being written when the date 9/9/99 was so far off that everyone thought the program would be replaced by a more modern technology before it bacame a problem. Using a 9's card to signify EOF was standard procedure for the industry. I learned it from my classes at IBM. So I guess according to your perfect 20-20 hindsite, Big Blue should be forced into bankrupcy for teaching such a poor technique. Because of that, and the fact that they can deduce the date "9/9/99" from a row of 80 nines. No wait, don't use that algorithm in your code kids, you're probably violating an IBM patent on date compression that is unheard of until now !!! Just because IBM teaches something doesn't make it good. Did you ever hear of Microsoft, pray ? (Oops, I might have stepped into sth. here...) Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Hoax: 9999999 (was: Y2K compliance Hoax)
Hi, Well, tomorrow is also a big day. They day of the nines card. I remember using them to signify EOF or End Of File. So if your computer programs stop tomorrow you will know why. Ye gods, here comes another one... This thing is just as fake as the Windows 2-digit one, although not as many people are probably going to fall for it. Regards, Alexander Dietrich -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: R90 and end search
Hi, But after I got some decks and got used to having the record function seek open space unless told not to, that's when I started to forget to press the END SEARCH button on the R3. I forgot only twice, but that's twice too many, Can we just stop this thread and have it outlawed for the future, please ? I enjoy reading md-l for good information and interesting discussions about MD equipment and anything else that doesn't blow Nick's fuse (;-)) but this thing here leads nowhere. There's always going to be the Sharp people who bitch about the number of discs they lost to ES and the Sony people who bitch about the lack of long term memory in people, but there's never going to be anything constructive coming out of it. This thread actually manages to annoy me more than the one about gun control, so please drop it. Thank you, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: OT: Re: Y2K compliance
Hi,
I recieved this message from a friend. It is a simple precaution that
can be taken. I don't know if it will help anything, but it can't hurt
anything either.
Oh yes it can. It's a so called "thought virus" that eats up your
and other people's time and computer resources(= money) just like
those fake e-mail virus warnings you get all the time. People
just read this crap, panic, and proceed to follow the orders
given by the e-mail without really thinking about the contents.
Where it says, "Short Date Sample", look and see if it shows a
"two digit" year format ("YY"). Unless you've previously changed it
(and you probably haven't) -- it will be set incorrectly with just the
two Y's..it needs to be four!
Well this setting defines how a short date is DISPLAYED, right
beneath this box is a setting for displaying a long date, so what ?
Operating Systems don't even pass date information to applications
in human readable form so this setting shouldn't affect anything.
Sorry for posting OT,
Alexander Dietrich
--
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RE: MD: Airborne MiniDisc's? Did we ever put together a list?
Hi, is, they're being cautious. There could be every reason in the world that would explain why MD's wouldn't affect aeronautical electronic systems, but there's always that slim possibility, and that's a significant point. It's Do you know what it is that makes "laser devices" supposedly dangerous ? I believe some airlines forbid the use of laptops with CD-ROMs on board. Do they emit a lot of electric noise or something ? I know I'd rather not listen to MDs for a couple of hours than putting everybody's live at risk (and mine). Alexander - Maybe it would matter if he was strangled with his own headphone cord once they find out what he's been doing... -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
MD: Sony MD2 Camcorder
Hi, I don't know if this has been posted before (didn't get any posts for a couple of days), but this article on the c't newsticker talks about a new camcorder from Sony recording on Minidisc 2 media. These are supposed to be the same size as current MD, but have a capacity of 650 MB due to a different laser: http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/cp-29.08.99-001/ (Beware: the article is in german) Alexander - Hey Nick, what's up with my subscription ? -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: AVLS (was: equipment advice, regarding the future)
Does anyone ever actually use AVLS? I've not ever seen the need or the point of having a system that limits the volume - I can just about manage that myself with the volume control, thankyaverymuch :) Yeah, what I would like to see is an option to reduce hissing. On a portable that's a very annoying thing at high volumes, IMHO Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Opinion -- Favorite discs
I cannot say much for TDK. I have had consistent low quality problems with their media in the past, so I tend to avoid their media now. Did you have problems with recording or mechanical problems (shutter, flimsy case or sth.) ? I'm using both the colored blanks and the normal XG ones, and didn't have any problems so far. If there's anything I should know, please tell me. I think the colored ones have very nice colors. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: MD: Rio's predatory pricing
Hi, The one Minidisc ad I did like was the one in New York on a massive billboard with Max Weinberg holding an MD in one hand and his drumkit in the other. Can't remember the slogan exactly, but I think it went along the lines of "If only drums were this easy to carry around" or something. But then again, I guess I like it because I'm a drummer 3#-) Adios, LarZ Hmm, I saw that ad because they've shown it on Conan O'Brien. My memory is very hazy but I think the ad said "Max on the make" or so, whatever that means. Or am I hallucinating ? Max rulez. Alexander - "Tonight Jay has Arnold Schwarzenegger, andthenconan!" ;) -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Terratec DMX Price
Hello, I talked with the swedish distibutor of Terratec soundcards. He wanted 1900SEK for it. The currency converter at www.forex.se says that 1900SEK is ~140GBP, ~420DEM, ~217USD. It seems expencive doesn't it? Yes, very. It's going for 279 DEM in Germany (at Media Markt), But I haven't bought it yet and never might, if all those driver troubles aren't sorted out. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: SB Live Value OEM may not be the same as SB Live Value.
Hi, with the digital I/O daughter boards. There is a bank of pins on the right hand side of the board labelled AUD_EXT (usually 12 pins on the value cards, but mine has 40 like the non-value edition SB Live). Hoontech ships a combo-adaptor with the I/O III that connects There is now a new version of the Live! called "1024 Player", which has a 40 pin connector like the full version and no digital CD connector. It also has a digital output on the back of the card, maybe that's how you can identify it. Alexander - Creative will GPL their drivers, way to go ! -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Re Memorex Blanks - Quality....NO
Hi, Tim wrote: I seriously believe that in some cases price equals quality. In this case from my past history with Memorex on Tapes and MD's, I'll have to pass on them. They just are not good quality. I rank them right on up there with BASF. Could you give a little more detail on your problems with BASF blanks ? Was it a mechanical problem or the medium itself ? I just bought a five pack of BASFs and didn't have any problems yet, apart from the crappy labels. If there is anything wrong with BASF blanks, I'd stop buying them in the future. Regards, Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: MD: Sony Announces Disc-Based Digital Camcorder
Because the MD Discam camcorder is an expansion of MiniDisc audio technology, pre-recorded MD audio discs can also be played back in the unit for convenience. Play lists of the artist's name and track Why only pre-recorded discs ? According to the latest "poll" on md-l, this feature will hardly ever be used then... With an optional Ethernet card, MD Discam connects to a PC so users can save JPEG still images to their system's hard drive. This seems like another useless limitation. If I have digital storage and a PC interface, I want to copy the whole movie to my PC and not just still images. Sounds pretty fascinating otherwise. Alexander -- | Alexander Dietrich | Norderstedt, Germany | | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | - To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
