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ntsc · Apr 2, 2003, 12:41 PM

Before I start I should point out that this is for a friend and that I don't actually have a direct way of testing anything you suggest but i would appreciate any advise you can give

My friend has a sharp minidisc player with an optical out and he wants to know how he can hook it up to his G4. I thought that there were USB to optical leads that you got with most of these payers nowadays. He also wanted to know about softare, do these things work with iTunes ( i assume not) if not iTunes then what should be he use. Will Sharp bundle something with the player?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

philzilla · Apr 2, 2003, 01:07 PM

a. take 1 mini-jack:mini-jack cable
b. plug one end in the headphone socket of the G4
c. plug the other in the optical-in of the MiniDisc Player
d. press Record on the MD
e. hit Play on iTunes

works fine for me, using my iBook's audio out

ntsc · Apr 2, 2003, 01:27 PM

i presume that this doesn't preserve the track information?

I apologise if i'm talking like a moron but i've never had a minidisc which is kinda why i'm asking you guys

Fdanna · Apr 2, 2003, 01:29 PM

Originally posted by ntsc:
i presume that this doesn't preserve the track information?

I apologise if i'm talking like a moron but i've never had a minidisc which is kinda why i'm asking you guys

No matter the method (USB to Optical being the cleanest) no track information will be preserved. Currently there are no iTunes compatible minidisc players either. You also have to be careful to turn off system sounds so that you don't end up recording those too. Mini disc players with Macs are not at all convenient.

cgc · Apr 2, 2003, 01:58 PM

I had a similar question but decided to buy a minidisc player anyways. You need the USB-->Optical converter. I plug my USB-->Optical converter in and OS 10.2.4 recognizes it and adds it to an output device within the Sounds preferences pane. Your friend should check his Sounds prefs to make sure it is selected as an output device, turn off system sounds, and wait.

As far as track names, forget about it. Even if you have a Sony NetMD I don't know of any software that will tranfer the track info to the MD.

ntsc · Apr 2, 2003, 02:15 PM

why are minidisc's on macs in such as sorry state? dammit!

how hard can it be to write the damn software

Thanks anyway

bigsmoke07 · Apr 2, 2003, 02:58 PM

Minidisc players are great devices, recorders. But they will never be as "convenient" as .mp3 players. i.e. no track information, etc.

just connect the audio out and you get to record.

what other functionality are you looking for?

No need to bash mac about this "sorry state" there are other more worthy causes....like the instability of syncing a simple palm pilot!

mbryda · Apr 2, 2003, 08:24 PM

Originally posted by bigsmoke07:

No need to bash mac about this "sorry state" there are other more worthy causes....like the instability of syncing a simple palm pilot!

Works great for a Tungsten T, my old Visor, and my wife's Clie. Palm Desktop 4.0

WJMoore · Apr 2, 2003, 09:01 PM

Originally posted by ntsc:
why are minidisc's on macs in such as sorry state? dammit!

how hard can it be to write the damn software

Thanks anyway

Writing software is easy when you know what you're writing about. All the MD players operate on closed protocols and that makes the task of writing software much harder. If instead there was documentation on how it works (like Sony Ericsson document the Accessories menu in their phones) then I think you would find there would be a lot more software available.

Wesley

mbryda · Apr 3, 2003, 07:40 AM

Seems really shortsighted on the manufacturer's side. Have a couple programmers program it for a week/month and you automatically open up the product to 3+ million more people - especially if it's the only device with Mac support.