Hi i have recently bought a Sony MZ R70 off ebay and having never had a minidisc before wasnt really sure what i needed. However now i've recieved it i have realised i do not have an optical output on my cd player so am unable to record onto minidiscs, does anyone know of any other ways i can do this, any help would be greatly appriciated!
Two main options. The expensive one - get a sound card with an optical output. If you have USB2.0 then you could install an external soundcard with a suitable optical output.
The inexpensive option (which is what I do) is to use the line output from the PC. The quality of MD recording is so good that the vast majority of people would be hard pressed in normal circumstances to tell the difference between a MD recording from an optical output and one from analog.
Anyway, the human brain is remarkably adept at filtering out unwanted noise from recordings so as to get through to the underlying music. Which is why people still listen to and enjoy recordings from the pre-tape era.
Trevor
Using analog transfer from the PC to the minidisc recorder may enable the user to circumvent the digital rights restrictions now being imposed by the new "Net" minidisc recorders.
Basically, these digital rights mean that if you want to copy mp3 files quickly (i.e. using an optical cable) to a Net minidisc you're constrained to doing it via the minidisc's proprietary software and you've got to store those mp3s in a particular folder on the PC. Once on the Net minidisc such an mp3 can only be deleted by transferring it back to that folder on the PC using the special software. You're only allowed to do this for any particular mp3 a limited number of times (typically 3); after that, tough! However, there is some indication that the manufacturers are aware of users' views on this, and it is "just" possible that these restrictions may be modified sometime (but don't hold your breath).
I find the only convenient way of transferring my own sound recordings (e.g. sessions, practice, etc) made on a minidisc to a PC is via the headphone output socket. Again, the quality of the recording is generally so good it doesn't matter that I'm transferring via analog rather than digital. The only drawback is that I can only do the transfer in real time, so if I want to transfer 2 hours of session to my PC I'll do it when I'm going to be out or doing something else for 2 hours. The minidisc manfacturers are frightened to death that their world will collapse if they allow users to transfer 60 minutes of recording in 3 or 4 minutes via digital instead of the 60 minutes we're forced into.
Trevor
It has just about everything you could possibly need to know about Minidiscs
i.e. This is short excerpt from Frequently asked questions
Connect a cable from the CD player's headphone or line-out jack to the MD recorder's line-in jack. This cable is called a "1/8th inch to 1/8th inch stereo mini-plug cable" and is available in Radio Shack and other such electronics stores. (A recording between a CD player and an MD recorder can also be achieved with a digital optical cable.)
Note 3.5mm jack is same as 1/8" jack, so you just need cable with 3.5mm male jack each end
Vivanco Sound And Image Audio Jack -- 3.5mm stereo plug 3.5mm stereo plug (1.5m)
On-line price : £8.49
Normal Price: £9.99
On-line Saving: £1.50 (15%)
Article code: 2044845
Manufacturer's reference: SI331101
All prices are inclusive of VAT where applicable.
Connects a MiniDisc/CD/Personal Cassette to a Minidisc/CD/Personal Cassette
All Sound And Image leads have attractive, ergonomic plug design for easy handling and gold plated contacts for optimal signal transfer.
I use this method all the time and it gives very good quality - in my opinion it is as good as optical connection although the purists will probably claim to be able to tell the difference!
"The only drawback is that I can only do the transfer in real time, so if I want to transfer 2 hours of session to my PC I'll do it when I'm going to be out or doing something else for 2 hours."-Trevor
I agree- if there is another way to get from the minidisc to my computer, I would love to hear it. From what I've read, the mini disc was designed for going from the computer to the MD and not the reverse. I use the MD for lessons and practice so I go from the the MD to the computer in (sigh) "reel" time- sorry had to do that
I use the headphone jack from the MD to the input jack on my PC. You have to press record on your software so it is time consuming but it works. I did it with all of my Willie Week recordings and was pleased with the outcome. Then I was able to burn a CD. Good luck
Does anybody know the status of so-called "DAT" recorders. I forget what "DAT" actually means, but my understanding is that such a beast does acutally record in a digitally transferrable format. Perhaps this is what is sound studios use. i donno. Of course, mini-discs are DAT recorders of sorts, but not the kind i'm thinking of. I would really like someday to transcend this digital/analog divide that's been identified here...
I'm a minidisc novice, so I'm not certain about this, but I've been told that you can use the optical line to record a CD from your DVD player. I haven't tried it yet.
Thanks for all the good info. I'm going to study and digest it.
Happy New Year to you all, and if I may, just a quick question. I've just bought a Philips HDD100 digital recorder ( similar to the i-pod) that has an analogue recording facility. None of my stereo equipment sources has a line out socket, so can I use the headphone socket, 3.5mm. I've taken on board all of the previous comments re. quality, and don't want concert standard, just somewhere to store all of the cassette recordings that i've made over the years.
Thanks, Andrew.
well, lo and behold, looks like Sony has changed it's tune and is now making a line of MD recorders of uploading digially back to your PC (quated from Sony page): "The new Hi-MD players are packed with extra features that add convenience and utility to the digital music experience. For example, with the new upload function musicians or note-taking students can use the mic-in feature on several of the models to make a self-recording on the device and transfer the content back to the PC. When connected to the PC, Hi-MD recorders act as an external drive enabling users to store and transfer such data files as presentations, digital images and spreadsheets on the discs."
Sounds almost too good to be true. wonder what the catch is. This info was announced on http://minidisc.org/
I haven't researched this new product yet, but going on manufacturers' previous form it wouldn't surprise if there were some restrictions in that:
1) the user may be required to use proprietary software on his PC,
2) specific folders must be used (one or two of the web-camera firms do this),
3) or there may be digital rights restrictions on copying to other machines.
Just my cynical thoughts.
But let's see what comes up - perhaps the manufacturers are indeed starting to listen to the users!
I'm totally illiterate when it comes to all of this. So, here's my problem. I need to transfer minidisc audio to a PC. I don't care if it's digital or not. I eventually want to burn a cd or transfer to my ipod. But I have no idea as to how to go about doing this. I have an old minidisc player. What exactly do I need or need to do? Please help.
Minidisc recording without an optical output
Minidisc recording without an optical output
Hi i have recently bought a Sony MZ R70 off ebay and having never had a minidisc before wasnt really sure what i needed. However now i've recieved it i have realised i do not have an optical output on my cd player so am unable to record onto minidiscs, does anyone know of any other ways i can do this, any help would be greatly appriciated!
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by foxifi
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Two main options. The expensive one - get a sound card with an optical output. If you have USB2.0 then you could install an external soundcard with a suitable optical output.
The inexpensive option (which is what I do) is to use the line output from the PC. The quality of MD recording is so good that the vast majority of people would be hard pressed in normal circumstances to tell the difference between a MD recording from an optical output and one from analog.
Anyway, the human brain is remarkably adept at filtering out unwanted noise from recordings so as to get through to the underlying music. Which is why people still listen to and enjoy recordings from the pre-tape era.
Trevor
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Using analog transfer from the PC to the minidisc recorder may enable the user to circumvent the digital rights restrictions now being imposed by the new "Net" minidisc recorders.
Basically, these digital rights mean that if you want to copy mp3 files quickly (i.e. using an optical cable) to a Net minidisc you're constrained to doing it via the minidisc's proprietary software and you've got to store those mp3s in a particular folder on the PC. Once on the Net minidisc such an mp3 can only be deleted by transferring it back to that folder on the PC using the special software. You're only allowed to do this for any particular mp3 a limited number of times (typically 3); after that, tough! However, there is some indication that the manufacturers are aware of users' views on this, and it is "just" possible that these restrictions may be modified sometime (but don't hold your breath).
I find the only convenient way of transferring my own sound recordings (e.g. sessions, practice, etc) made on a minidisc to a PC is via the headphone output socket. Again, the quality of the recording is generally so good it doesn't matter that I'm transferring via analog rather than digital. The only drawback is that I can only do the transfer in real time, so if I want to transfer 2 hours of session to my PC I'll do it when I'm going to be out or doing something else for 2 hours. The minidisc manfacturers are frightened to death that their world will collapse if they allow users to transfer 60 minutes of recording in 3 or 4 minutes via digital instead of the 60 minutes we're forced into.
Trevor
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by lazyhound
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Try the Web site
http://www.minidisc.org/
It has just about everything you could possibly need to know about Minidiscs
i.e. This is short excerpt from Frequently asked questions
Connect a cable from the CD player's headphone or line-out jack to the MD recorder's line-in jack. This cable is called a "1/8th inch to 1/8th inch stereo mini-plug cable" and is available in Radio Shack and other such electronics stores. (A recording between a CD player and an MD recorder can also be achieved with a digital optical cable.)
Note - you can also buy a cable online from
https://www.withandwithoutwires.com/default.aspx
Note 3.5mm jack is same as 1/8" jack, so you just need cable with 3.5mm male jack each end
Vivanco Sound And Image Audio Jack -- 3.5mm stereo plug 3.5mm stereo plug (1.5m)
On-line price : £8.49
Normal Price: £9.99
On-line Saving: £1.50 (15%)
Article code: 2044845
Manufacturer's reference: SI331101
All prices are inclusive of VAT where applicable.
Connects a MiniDisc/CD/Personal Cassette to a Minidisc/CD/Personal Cassette
All Sound And Image leads have attractive, ergonomic plug design for easy handling and gold plated contacts for optimal signal transfer.
I use this method all the time and it gives very good quality - in my opinion it is as good as optical connection although the purists will probably claim to be able to tell the difference!
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by Enob
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
"The only drawback is that I can only do the transfer in real time, so if I want to transfer 2 hours of session to my PC I'll do it when I'm going to be out or doing something else for 2 hours."-Trevor
I agree- if there is another way to get from the minidisc to my computer, I would love to hear it. From what I've read, the mini disc was designed for going from the computer to the MD and not the reverse. I use the MD for lessons and practice so I go from the the MD to the computer in (sigh) "reel" time- sorry had to do that
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by I_Fel
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
I use the headphone jack from the MD to the input jack on my PC. You have to press record on your software so it is time consuming but it works. I did it with all of my Willie Week recordings and was pleased with the outcome. Then I was able to burn a CD. Good luck
# Posted on December 27th 2003 by deblittle
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Thank you all its been a great help!
# Posted on December 28th 2003 by foxifi
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Does anybody know the status of so-called "DAT" recorders. I forget what "DAT" actually means, but my understanding is that such a beast does acutally record in a digitally transferrable format. Perhaps this is what is sound studios use. i donno. Of course, mini-discs are DAT recorders of sorts, but not the kind i'm thinking of. I would really like someday to transcend this digital/analog divide that's been identified here...
# Posted on December 29th 2003 by Brendan
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
I'm a minidisc novice, so I'm not certain about this, but I've been told that you can use the optical line to record a CD from your DVD player. I haven't tried it yet.
Thanks for all the good info. I'm going to study and digest it.
Carol
# Posted on December 29th 2003 by carolsviolin
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
I meant to say, record a minidisc from a CD played on your DVD player.
# Posted on December 29th 2003 by carolsviolin
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
Happy New Year to you all, and if I may, just a quick question. I've just bought a Philips HDD100 digital recorder ( similar to the i-pod) that has an analogue recording facility. None of my stereo equipment sources has a line out socket, so can I use the headphone socket, 3.5mm. I've taken on board all of the previous comments re. quality, and don't want concert standard, just somewhere to store all of the cassette recordings that i've made over the years.
Thanks, Andrew.
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by riverrunner
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
well, lo and behold, looks like Sony has changed it's tune and is now making a line of MD recorders of uploading digially back to your PC (quated from Sony page): "The new Hi-MD players are packed with extra features that add convenience and utility to the digital music experience. For example, with the new upload function musicians or note-taking students can use the mic-in feature on several of the models to make a self-recording on the device and transfer the content back to the PC. When connected to the PC, Hi-MD recorders act as an external drive enabling users to store and transfer such data files as presentations, digital images and spreadsheets on the discs."
Sounds almost too good to be true. wonder what the catch is. This info was announced on http://minidisc.org/
# Posted on January 13th 2004 by Brendan
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
check out this thread for more discussion on these Hi-MD things from folks tapped into the MD world:
http://forums.minidisc.org/viewtopic.php?t=3537
# Posted on January 13th 2004 by Brendan
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
I haven't researched this new product yet, but going on manufacturers' previous form it wouldn't surprise if there were some restrictions in that:
1) the user may be required to use proprietary software on his PC,
2) specific folders must be used (one or two of the web-camera firms do this),
3) or there may be digital rights restrictions on copying to other machines.
Just my cynical thoughts.
But let's see what comes up - perhaps the manufacturers are indeed starting to listen to the users!
Trevor
# Posted on January 13th 2004 by lazyhound
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
my feelings as well, trevor...but we'll see...
# Posted on January 14th 2004 by Brendan
Re: Minidisc recording without an optical output
I'm totally illiterate when it comes to all of this. So, here's my problem. I need to transfer minidisc audio to a PC. I don't care if it's digital or not. I eventually want to burn a cd or transfer to my ipod. But I have no idea as to how to go about doing this. I have an old minidisc player. What exactly do I need or need to do? Please help.
# Posted on January 20th 2004 by jklivin