Does anybody know if it is possible to download minidisc recordings to PC hard drive and then store them on CD. As a newcomer to the minidisc I am amazed at the quality of the sound particularly when I compare to my old handheld tape recorder.
Regards all
FIDDLECASE
The short answer is yes!
I have the very-well featured Sharp MD-MT200 with an Aiwa stereo mic on a lead. I use it now all the time to record sessions, workshops, lessons, and practice. The Sharp can put up to 320min of stereo on 1 md, but I usually use the x2 setting which gives 160min stereo for that slightly better quality. After a little bit of experiment I've settled on a useful recording level setting which copes with all the music I record live.
To download onto a pc hard disk you need appropriate audio editing software. For my money Cool Edit 2000 is as good as any and better than most, but there are many others around that will do the job. I connect a line from the headphones socket of the Sharp to the line input socket on the pc's soundcard, adjust the recording levels etc to my liking and then start the Sharp. Note that the transfer to the hard disk is analog and takes place in real time, so a 2 hour session recording will take 2 hours to dump onto the hard disk. As with all md recorders (if it's not "all" someone please let us in on the secret!) you unfortunately can't do a fast digital transfer to the pc - I guess this restriction is for commercial reasons to do with copyright, investment in cd production, etc devised by armies of suits. Nevertheless, the quality of the analog download is pretty good if you use the sound editor's cd quality setting. My Aiwa mic collects frequencies up to 15k which is quite high enough for most applications, although the Sharp itself claims up to 20k, presumably for the benefit of bats and dogs.
When I've got the sound wave dumped onto the hard disk it's easy to edit the WAV sound file (rather like using a text editor) to get rid of unwanted stuff, and to divide the file into smaller files, eg one file per set of tunes. Then I use Nero 5.5 to burn these files onto one or more cds - a very simple and fast operation. Other applications will also do this job, such as RealOne, Microsoft's Windows Media Player version 9, and Musicmatch Jukebox.
If you've got a cd player that will play mp3 then it's a good idea to convert your wav files to mp3 using any of the above applications (although I have a particular liking for Musicmatch). To get the best mp3 quality, equivalent more or less to cd quality, use the 128kbps setting, or higher. You'll still get a wonderful level of compression.
Happy recording!
Trevor
md recorders are fairly complicated pieces of kit. The manual for my Sharp runs to well over 40 pages (and that's just the English!). But as with most of these gadgets that useful 10:90 rule applies - you use only 10% of the facilities 90% of the time. So in practice you need only to figure out how to do basic recording and playback, get used to that, and then take it from there.
Trevor
That's really what's keeping me from buying one of these recorders.... yes, you can copy the music back to the PC using the soundcard, but now you're going from digital to analog and then back to digital. 2 un-necessary conversions, and most PC soundcards have cheapo A/D converters too.
There's no technical reason why you can't just move the data digitally, say over an USB connection, but the companies that manufacture these gadgets are also owners of the recording studios, managers of the big performers, etc. and they're schizophrenic about digital recording. Yes, they want to sell us the gadgets, but no, they don't want us competing with them in creating good quality digital recordings.
Sooner or later somebody will eventually figure out this is BS and will manufacture an MD device that can download recorded music digitally to the computer. Until then, i'll wait.
There's also the option of using an MP3 recorder, those i think allow you to download to the PC.
I like minidisks but I'm happy with my $20 radioshack tape recorder. the sound sucks in comparison but it's all I need (or anyone for that matter) to get the idea of a tune well enough to learn it. Don't get me wrong though, when my $20 tape recorder kicks the bucket I'll get one, but for now it fits the bill just fine. The Lo-fi can be an advantage sometimes, some of those fancy-pants recorders pick up way too much anyway, like nasty gossip or the gassy old man at the bar. (I've heard pretty funny & sad stories about both) 'nuff said
Just take pity on me. I stupidly bought a Sony Minidisc recorder duty free in a hurry and never even bothered to check one very basic feature. I assumed all minidisc recorders would have a Mic input.
Yes you guessed it; mine doesn't. It seems that I can't even buy a decent small preamp that would allow me to connect a mic into the line input (which it does have).
If anyone has any suggestions apart from a large mallet, I would be interested.
Cheers
Donough
Well, you might try the microphone that is made for the Archo (http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/1779). The main problem is, how does it get its power, does it have its own battery, or does it get it from the line in? Maybe if you contact Archo, they might help you figure it out if it works?
minidisk originally was engineered as a data storage device for computers (successor of 3,5" disks) but was overrun by the cd technology....
...the revenge was to cut off the outgoing data interface (from cd to md u can use the optic digital interface) - no, really they wanted to prevent home production of multiple clon mds of once digital recorded cds (ridiculous, because they don
Just a word or two about MD's :
1) Check before you buy that the MD is a RECORDER model (Usually has an R in it's model Number eg Sony MZR-70) and that it has a MIC IN socket NOT just a LINE IN.
Some of the later models are designed for PC/Internet download via a USB connection
2) Be careful about the just press RECORD and it will "remember" where the end is. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS SO!!!
The later versions of eg Sony models DO record from the end of the last track - BUT MANY EARLIER ONES DO NOT!!! you need to press END FIND button BEFORE you press record otherwise it WILL over-write EVERYTHING on the disk - you tend to nly do it once but it's always a precious recording!!!
3) regarding digital transfer from MD to PC :
As far as I am aware there are NO PORTABLE recorders that have a digital OUTPUT - most have digital INPUT via Optical cable.
However on most home hi-fi MD decks they DO have DIGITAL/OPTICAL OUTPUT - and these CAN be used as a Digital Input into a PC.
You will need a suitable soundcard on the PC that has a SPDIF ie an OPTICAL input channel.
Most high-end audio cards like Turtle Beach have them also the more common Creative Soundblaster high end cards have them like the 1024 Live! and the Audigy types.
You can go here (and many other places) for specs : http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CRE-AUD2PY
As it happens I work in IT so I have made up a 30ft optical cable that I run from the Hi-Fi MD in my lounge thru to the PC in another room! there is no loss of quality as it is Digital/Optical and it saves the pain in moving the deck!!! you can get them made-up at any competant PC shop (use a small one as the national chains are useless)
But really as the original sound from the digitally recorded MD is so good actually using the headphone/LINE OUT analogue source into the PC LINE-IN socket will roduce a very good recording. I often just transfer CD's from a portable CD Player onto my MD using analogue 3.5mm headphone OUT to the MD LINE-IN and it gives very good results.
If your MD - PC transfers via analogue sound bad it will be the usually crap quality sound card installed in a standard PC.
Replace it with a Sound Blaster or better (
I've just returned from a day-long dance music workshop run by the Grumbling Old Men band with 5-hours of stereo recording of the proceedings on 2 mds (recorded with the band's permission for my personal use, - always ask first btw!). This wouldn't have been possible on an audio cassette recorder without a lot of tape changing - inevitably at a crucial point of explanation by the tutor - and a much inferior recording quality, whereas the morning session fitted comfortably onto the first md, and the afternoon session onto the second.
The only downside will be the real-time downloading onto my pc's hard disk, but I'll do it when I'm about to go out or be otherwise occupied for 2 or 3 hours. Anyway, downloading using something like CoolEdit uses only about 10% of the cpu's capacity, according to XP's cpu usage monitor, so it's always possible to do other things on the pc at the same time.
Trevor
Recording using a minidisc
Recording using a minidisc
Does anybody know if it is possible to download minidisc recordings to PC hard drive and then store them on CD. As a newcomer to the minidisc I am amazed at the quality of the sound particularly when I compare to my old handheld tape recorder.
Regards all
FIDDLECASE
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by fiddlecase
Re: Recording using a minidisc
The short answer is yes!
I have the very-well featured Sharp MD-MT200 with an Aiwa stereo mic on a lead. I use it now all the time to record sessions, workshops, lessons, and practice. The Sharp can put up to 320min of stereo on 1 md, but I usually use the x2 setting which gives 160min stereo for that slightly better quality. After a little bit of experiment I've settled on a useful recording level setting which copes with all the music I record live.
To download onto a pc hard disk you need appropriate audio editing software. For my money Cool Edit 2000 is as good as any and better than most, but there are many others around that will do the job. I connect a line from the headphones socket of the Sharp to the line input socket on the pc's soundcard, adjust the recording levels etc to my liking and then start the Sharp. Note that the transfer to the hard disk is analog and takes place in real time, so a 2 hour session recording will take 2 hours to dump onto the hard disk. As with all md recorders (if it's not "all" someone please let us in on the secret!) you unfortunately can't do a fast digital transfer to the pc - I guess this restriction is for commercial reasons to do with copyright, investment in cd production, etc devised by armies of suits. Nevertheless, the quality of the analog download is pretty good if you use the sound editor's cd quality setting. My Aiwa mic collects frequencies up to 15k which is quite high enough for most applications, although the Sharp itself claims up to 20k, presumably for the benefit of bats and dogs.
When I've got the sound wave dumped onto the hard disk it's easy to edit the WAV sound file (rather like using a text editor) to get rid of unwanted stuff, and to divide the file into smaller files, eg one file per set of tunes. Then I use Nero 5.5 to burn these files onto one or more cds - a very simple and fast operation. Other applications will also do this job, such as RealOne, Microsoft's Windows Media Player version 9, and Musicmatch Jukebox.
If you've got a cd player that will play mp3 then it's a good idea to convert your wav files to mp3 using any of the above applications (although I have a particular liking for Musicmatch). To get the best mp3 quality, equivalent more or less to cd quality, use the 128kbps setting, or higher. You'll still get a wonderful level of compression.
Happy recording!
Trevor
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Recording using a minidisc
md recorders are fairly complicated pieces of kit. The manual for my Sharp runs to well over 40 pages (and that's just the English!). But as with most of these gadgets that useful 10:90 rule applies - you use only 10% of the facilities 90% of the time. So in practice you need only to figure out how to do basic recording and playback, get used to that, and then take it from there.
Trevor
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by Trevor Jennings
Downloading
That's really what's keeping me from buying one of these recorders.... yes, you can copy the music back to the PC using the soundcard, but now you're going from digital to analog and then back to digital. 2 un-necessary conversions, and most PC soundcards have cheapo A/D converters too.
There's no technical reason why you can't just move the data digitally, say over an USB connection, but the companies that manufacture these gadgets are also owners of the recording studios, managers of the big performers, etc. and they're schizophrenic about digital recording. Yes, they want to sell us the gadgets, but no, they don't want us competing with them in creating good quality digital recordings.
Sooner or later somebody will eventually figure out this is BS and will manufacture an MD device that can download recorded music digitally to the computer. Until then, i'll wait.
There's also the option of using an MP3 recorder, those i think allow you to download to the PC.
g
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by glauber
Re: Recording using a minidisc
This site may be of interest to some of you here:
http://www.minidisc.org/uploader_table.html
It
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by Zhenya
Re: Recording using a minidisc
I like minidisks but I'm happy with my $20 radioshack tape recorder. the sound sucks in comparison but it's all I need (or anyone for that matter) to get the idea of a tune well enough to learn it. Don't get me wrong though, when my $20 tape recorder kicks the bucket I'll get one, but for now it fits the bill just fine. The Lo-fi can be an advantage sometimes, some of those fancy-pants recorders pick up way too much anyway, like nasty gossip or the gassy old man at the bar. (I've heard pretty funny & sad stories about both) 'nuff said
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by B Rad
Re: Recording using a minidisc
Just take pity on me. I stupidly bought a Sony Minidisc recorder duty free in a hurry and never even bothered to check one very basic feature. I assumed all minidisc recorders would have a Mic input.
Yes you guessed it; mine doesn't. It seems that I can't even buy a decent small preamp that would allow me to connect a mic into the line input (which it does have).
If anyone has any suggestions apart from a large mallet, I would be interested.
Cheers
Donough
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by Donough
Re: Recording using a minidisc
Well, you might try the microphone that is made for the Archo (http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display.php/1779). The main problem is, how does it get its power, does it have its own battery, or does it get it from the line in? Maybe if you contact Archo, they might help you figure it out if it works?
g
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by glauber
Re: Recording using a minidisc
minidisk originally was engineered as a data storage device for computers (successor of 3,5" disks) but was overrun by the cd technology....
...the revenge was to cut off the outgoing data interface (from cd to md u can use the optic digital interface) - no, really they wanted to prevent home production of multiple clon mds of once digital recorded cds (ridiculous, because they don
# Posted on June 13th 2003 by crannog
Re: Recording using a minidisc
For session recording, the MD wins, hands down, with this one feature:
Whatever disc you throw in, when you press "RECORD", it knows where the end of any previous recording is, and starts recording at that point.
bob
# Posted on June 15th 2003 by Laughtonb
Re: Recording using a minidisc
Just a word or two about MD's :
1) Check before you buy that the MD is a RECORDER model (Usually has an R in it's model Number eg Sony MZR-70) and that it has a MIC IN socket NOT just a LINE IN.
Some of the later models are designed for PC/Internet download via a USB connection
2) Be careful about the just press RECORD and it will "remember" where the end is. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS SO!!!
The later versions of eg Sony models DO record from the end of the last track - BUT MANY EARLIER ONES DO NOT!!! you need to press END FIND button BEFORE you press record otherwise it WILL over-write EVERYTHING on the disk - you tend to nly do it once but it's always a precious recording!!!
3) regarding digital transfer from MD to PC :
As far as I am aware there are NO PORTABLE recorders that have a digital OUTPUT - most have digital INPUT via Optical cable.
However on most home hi-fi MD decks they DO have DIGITAL/OPTICAL OUTPUT - and these CAN be used as a Digital Input into a PC.
You will need a suitable soundcard on the PC that has a SPDIF ie an OPTICAL input channel.
Most high-end audio cards like Turtle Beach have them also the more common Creative Soundblaster high end cards have them like the 1024 Live! and the Audigy types.
You can go here (and many other places) for specs :
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CRE-AUD2PY
As it happens I work in IT so I have made up a 30ft optical cable that I run from the Hi-Fi MD in my lounge thru to the PC in another room! there is no loss of quality as it is Digital/Optical and it saves the pain in moving the deck!!! you can get them made-up at any competant PC shop (use a small one as the national chains are useless)
But really as the original sound from the digitally recorded MD is so good actually using the headphone/LINE OUT analogue source into the PC LINE-IN socket will roduce a very good recording. I often just transfer CD's from a portable CD Player onto my MD using analogue 3.5mm headphone OUT to the MD LINE-IN and it gives very good results.
If your MD - PC transfers via analogue sound bad it will be the usually crap quality sound card installed in a standard PC.
Replace it with a Sound Blaster or better (
# Posted on June 21st 2003 by UKCITTERN
Re: Recording using a minidisc
I've just returned from a day-long dance music workshop run by the Grumbling Old Men band with 5-hours of stereo recording of the proceedings on 2 mds (recorded with the band's permission for my personal use, - always ask first btw!). This wouldn't have been possible on an audio cassette recorder without a lot of tape changing - inevitably at a crucial point of explanation by the tutor - and a much inferior recording quality, whereas the morning session fitted comfortably onto the first md, and the afternoon session onto the second.
The only downside will be the real-time downloading onto my pc's hard disk, but I'll do it when I'm about to go out or be otherwise occupied for 2 or 3 hours. Anyway, downloading using something like CoolEdit uses only about 10% of the cpu's capacity, according to XP's cpu usage monitor, so it's always possible to do other things on the pc at the same time.
Trevor
# Posted on June 21st 2003 by Trevor Jennings