[Cipher13]

Ok... I wanna portable minidisc player...
Heres the thing - I don't wanna spend too much money on it...
Now, I want to be able to get music off CD's and put on the MD, via the player... that is a given.
But... a friend has one, and he is able to download mp3's from his computer via line-out or something to it, and it converts them to the proper format.
Can I do this with my G4 or 5500?
Is it possible?
If not, why not? His one didn't come with software or anything to go on the comp to be able to do that...
Are minidiscs re writable? I think so... and they are 74 mins, right?
Can I save data to them?
Also, is it a good idea to get a minidisc player?
I mean, would a CD player be better? I do have a CD-RW...
Are there any MD players that can read mp3's (as in, 650 mins of audio... hehehe)?
Are they going to be phased out anytime soon?
Would an mp3 player be better, given the current offerings?
Now, one thing I like about the MD players over the CD players are they can withstand all sorts of shock - hell, I've played sport with one on, and didn't skip at all (although, it was $700AUS worth...)
But even the cheaper model didn't skip when I shook it around and hit it for several minutes...
The other thing is size and weight - MD's are a great size...
So yeah, what are ppls ideas on all this?
Anyone have a MD player? If so, which one, how much was it, and how good is it?
TIA

Cipher13

[iPaul UK]

Hi Ciph! MiniDiscs are good.. And yes they are re-writable. But no you can't store data on them. Also, most discs are 74 min size, but like blank CD's, you can also get a slightly more expensive 80 min version. But there is a much better alternative to MiniDiscs now... There are portable CD players around that can also read .MP3 files from discs you have made from your computer. So it will play regular CD's and about 10 hours worth of MP3 music from a single CD. A few companies make these now.. Phillips make one called "eXpanium" Should be worth a look.

The problem with what your friend is doing regarding going from MiniDisc to MP3 format.. Is that both formats use heavy data compression techniques. When the MD is played, the data is uncompressed into audible music, and from what I can tell, he is then re-recording (Non-digitally) into MP3's, thus re-compressing/digitising the music again. Which of course has to be uncompressed into audible music yet again in order to be listened to! This DOES have very negative effects on audio quality. This is lagely down to the fact that both formats use very different and lossy type data reduction methods. Compressing and uncompressing music twice using very different methods does it no good what-so-ever!

are their any MD recorders that can record off of a mac? all the ones i saw only work on PC's

[tr]

There was a discussion a couple months ago about getting mp3's to MD via a USB interface. I don't remember when or which forum, you'll have to search the forums. I believe the original topic was about a Sony MD recorder that came with a USB interface which was only for windows. Apparently, some people using 9.04 got it working, even though Sony doesn't support the MD and USB interface for the Mac.

Also, Xitel makes a USB-optical interface specifically for getting mp3's onto MD. http://www.xitel.com

Then again, you could always output the line out from the Mac to the line in on an MD. Works for me

tr

[marusin]

You definitely can record mp3s from your Mac to a MiniDisc recorder... The problem is that you have to setup your playlist, plug your MiniDisc recorder into the Line-Out on your Mac, Hit Record on your MD Recorder and then Play on Your Mp3 Player (on your Mac)...

A 74 minute minidisc is going to take you 74 minutes to record... There's no High-Speed dub or data dump (like copying mp3 files to an mp3 player).. My suggestion is to buy a CD Burner if you don't have one and either burn full length cds (by uncompressing the mp3s into .AIFF files.. This way, they'll play in a discman or any cd player) or buy one of those MP3 Discmans.. I picked up the MPTrip back in May and I have to say that it's $100 worth of junk.. I use it very rarely... Very cheaply made and unreliable in regards to mp3s being played...

At the price that CD-Recorders (and blanks!) are going for these days, I would say that's the way to go.. You probably have a discman already (and if you don't those are ridiculously cheap as well)...

That's my opinion.. I will admit that I've been looking at the Iomega HipZip mp3 player lately.. It uses the 40mb Iomega Click discs and not only is a mp3 player, but acts as a portable drive! When you connect to your Mac, it mounts the HipZip as a drive on your desktop! Cool stuff! (and blanks are only $10 a piece compared to Flash Memory costs)...

Decisions, decisions...

-Mike

[Cipher13]

Yeah, I already have a burner.
Nup, no discman...
I know a discman is a better deal (play CD's straight off without having to record from a CD to a MiniDisc), but I LOVE the size of the MiniDisc players!
They are the perfect size...
Are there any decent mp3 discmen?
All I have heard about them is bad things...

Cipher13

[drewman]

As long as Sony controls the MiniDisc format (i.e. forever), no music MiniDisc will store MP3s in their native format.

When you hook a MiniDisc player up to your computer it converts the MP3s in realtime to audio (analog or digital depending on adapter and recorder) and then sends it to the MiniDisc to be recompressed in MiniDisc's native format.

drewman