Sony Net MD MZ-NF610 Personal MiniDisc Player
- Backlit Display: No
- Recordable: Recordable
- Built-in Equalizer: No
- Headphones: Yes
- Remote Control: Yes
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Better than MP3 players
Pros
Cheap media, nearly infinite reuse, copies CDs and MP3s, protected discs
Cons
Annoying software, frustrating antennae, no music uploading
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Better than MP3 players (cheaper, better sound) and smaller than CD players. Software takes some getting used to. Can't upload music w/o additional work.
First, I'd like to give a little background about minidiscs for those who haven't seen them.
I've been interested in minidisc players and recorders since I read a preview in Discover magazine back in the late '80s. The first time I actually saw one in use was in the movie "The Last Action Hero"; Arnold Schwarzenegger had one in his car near the beginning. When I saw just how small the discs were and that they have a case around them, I knew that I wanted one. Plus, the discs and players are smaller than CDs (the discs are about 2.5 inches and the players aren't much bigger).
The discs themselves are protected in a hard plastic case, which is great when you have children. The case keeps the discs from getting smudged and scratched like CDs, so you can throw them around and not worry about damaging them. Sony claims they are rewritable up to 1 million times, so they should last longer than you :). Each disc is about $2, but cheaper in bulk. Finding them in town can be difficult, but many sites exist online for supplies.
Finding pre-recorded MDs is nearly impossible, but that's okay since the recordable ones are more versatile. You can record directly from any device, like a CD player, that has an audio out jack. It will accept optical lines as well as analog, via the line in jack (use mini-stereo or mini-optical jacks ).
I lived in Japan for 2 years, and it seemed like everyone over there owned a MD player. It was funny seeing old people riding the train jamming to there walkman. MP3 players are actually difficult to find over there, because MD is cheaper and better quality.
I personnally think MD gives better sound than CD and is way better than MP3. The compression scheme doesn't "decay" the audio like MP3 but filters out unnecessary noise, enhancing the bass and midrange sound (or so say several MD web sites).
About this particular MD recorder, it's one of the few that has a built in radio. The radio has FM, AM, TV, and weather channels. You can't record to MD while using the radio, which stinks, but isn't that bad because it's difficult to maintain a good signal. The antennae is actually the headphone cord, so as you move, the signal can fade in and out. The AM antennae is built into the recorder's case, so the signal strength can vary also. But when the signal is strong, the radio quality is top notch. And having a radio that also gets TV channels is a nice feature; very few radios on the market offer it. I'm sure the weather channels are great too, but I haven't been able to get a signal from any of the channels, so I can't say for certain.
But having a radio wasn't the reason I bought this. It's also not the cheapest on the market, but my wife (who also loves MDs) refused to get a white or black model and the only other models available here was blue. We were going to order online and get an import model straight from Japan, but they started at $250 and went up, not counting shipping. But they have more features and look better, so I guess it's up to you.
The OpenMG software you have to use w/ the recorder stinks. I've heard that RealPlayer can also be used to record, but I already have enough useless software on my system. Several MD forums also talk about alternatives, but I'm too lazy to try and fight it; it works for what I need right now. Hopefully Sony will improve it in a few years.
SonicStage (the supplied recording sw) isn't to bad by itself, but it isn't the friendliest. The book isn't the most helpful either. Trying to figure out how to create playlists took a little bit, but it's the only way you can really use it. It will play MP3s and WAVs (CDs), but to actually record to MD you must import your songs first, which means you have to create a playlist. SonicStage will import your songs w/o converting them to ATRAC3 codec, but it will still convert it when you copy it to your MD. Also, you can't upload songs from your MD player to your computer using this software. If you want to, you have to plug it into the line-in port on your sound card and record it.
When you copy songs from your computer to the MD, SonicStage will "check out" the songs, allowing you only 3 check outs before you have to "check in" a song to transfer it to another MD. This is the DRM technology Sony uses to cut down on bootlegging. However, there are ways around this if you have a line-in jack on you sound card or if you have an audio file convertor.
Also, the new MD recorders allow you to record at standard, LP2, and LP4 compression. This means on an 80 minute disc, you can record 80, 160, or 320 minutes. Up to a compression of LP2, the sound quality isn't sacrificed (you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between the MD and CD). LP4 quality is similar to MP3.
Overall, I like this product. The included software can give you headaches (especially when it won't import a song because it's not "registered") but can be cheated slightly by converting songs to WAV format first. MD players are comparable to MP3 players, but the media is much cheaper ($2 for MD vs. $100 for flash memory). And if you lose/break an MD, it's not the end of the world. Plus, MDs are used by professional audio engineers and muscians; many professional decks can be found online if you want. I've read that the pro's like them because all editing can be done directly on the disc, lowering costs and speeding the process up.
Some helpful sites:
www.audiocubes.com
japan-direct.com (import MDs)
www.minidiscaccess.com
www.minidisco.com
www.t-station.net (MD reviews and forums)
chrisxp.no-ip.info/counterNetMD/counter.aspx (allows uploading to computer from MD player w/ song information)
www.planetminidisc.com
UPDATE
Having created many discs now using the SonicStage program, I've encountered several problems beyond those previously stated. At certain times, the program will lock up during music transfer, which also affects the MD recorder itself. When this happens, the MD recorder will spin forever and display "EDIT" on the LCD. The only way I've found to fix this is to pull the USB cord and power cord and basically reboot the recorder. However, this corrupts the music on the disc and the disc is unusable. (I get around this by using my stereo deck to "reformat" the disc). Another big problem when this happens is that any of the songs you were transferring are still listed as "checked out" under SonicStage, meaning you now have one less chance to record those songs to MD and you can never check them back in. (A way to get them back is use the WinNMD program to copy the music back to your computer).
The NetMD Simple Burner program (allows quick burning between CD and MD) has some problems I've found. Twice I've not been able to finish recording multiple CD's to a single MD; the first CD will go fine but the second one will start recording then an error message will pop up stating it couldn't finish.
So, be aware when copying to MD using the Sony software, and be prepared to recopy your songs onto the computer again so you can recreate your playlists.
I've been interested in minidisc players and recorders since I read a preview in Discover magazine back in the late '80s. The first time I actually saw one in use was in the movie "The Last Action Hero"; Arnold Schwarzenegger had one in his car near the beginning. When I saw just how small the discs were and that they have a case around them, I knew that I wanted one. Plus, the discs and players are smaller than CDs (the discs are about 2.5 inches and the players aren't much bigger).
The discs themselves are protected in a hard plastic case, which is great when you have children. The case keeps the discs from getting smudged and scratched like CDs, so you can throw them around and not worry about damaging them. Sony claims they are rewritable up to 1 million times, so they should last longer than you :). Each disc is about $2, but cheaper in bulk. Finding them in town can be difficult, but many sites exist online for supplies.
Finding pre-recorded MDs is nearly impossible, but that's okay since the recordable ones are more versatile. You can record directly from any device, like a CD player, that has an audio out jack. It will accept optical lines as well as analog, via the line in jack (use mini-stereo or mini-optical jacks ).
I lived in Japan for 2 years, and it seemed like everyone over there owned a MD player. It was funny seeing old people riding the train jamming to there walkman. MP3 players are actually difficult to find over there, because MD is cheaper and better quality.
I personnally think MD gives better sound than CD and is way better than MP3. The compression scheme doesn't "decay" the audio like MP3 but filters out unnecessary noise, enhancing the bass and midrange sound (or so say several MD web sites).
About this particular MD recorder, it's one of the few that has a built in radio. The radio has FM, AM, TV, and weather channels. You can't record to MD while using the radio, which stinks, but isn't that bad because it's difficult to maintain a good signal. The antennae is actually the headphone cord, so as you move, the signal can fade in and out. The AM antennae is built into the recorder's case, so the signal strength can vary also. But when the signal is strong, the radio quality is top notch. And having a radio that also gets TV channels is a nice feature; very few radios on the market offer it. I'm sure the weather channels are great too, but I haven't been able to get a signal from any of the channels, so I can't say for certain.
But having a radio wasn't the reason I bought this. It's also not the cheapest on the market, but my wife (who also loves MDs) refused to get a white or black model and the only other models available here was blue. We were going to order online and get an import model straight from Japan, but they started at $250 and went up, not counting shipping. But they have more features and look better, so I guess it's up to you.
The OpenMG software you have to use w/ the recorder stinks. I've heard that RealPlayer can also be used to record, but I already have enough useless software on my system. Several MD forums also talk about alternatives, but I'm too lazy to try and fight it; it works for what I need right now. Hopefully Sony will improve it in a few years.
SonicStage (the supplied recording sw) isn't to bad by itself, but it isn't the friendliest. The book isn't the most helpful either. Trying to figure out how to create playlists took a little bit, but it's the only way you can really use it. It will play MP3s and WAVs (CDs), but to actually record to MD you must import your songs first, which means you have to create a playlist. SonicStage will import your songs w/o converting them to ATRAC3 codec, but it will still convert it when you copy it to your MD. Also, you can't upload songs from your MD player to your computer using this software. If you want to, you have to plug it into the line-in port on your sound card and record it.
When you copy songs from your computer to the MD, SonicStage will "check out" the songs, allowing you only 3 check outs before you have to "check in" a song to transfer it to another MD. This is the DRM technology Sony uses to cut down on bootlegging. However, there are ways around this if you have a line-in jack on you sound card or if you have an audio file convertor.
Also, the new MD recorders allow you to record at standard, LP2, and LP4 compression. This means on an 80 minute disc, you can record 80, 160, or 320 minutes. Up to a compression of LP2, the sound quality isn't sacrificed (you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between the MD and CD). LP4 quality is similar to MP3.
Overall, I like this product. The included software can give you headaches (especially when it won't import a song because it's not "registered") but can be cheated slightly by converting songs to WAV format first. MD players are comparable to MP3 players, but the media is much cheaper ($2 for MD vs. $100 for flash memory). And if you lose/break an MD, it's not the end of the world. Plus, MDs are used by professional audio engineers and muscians; many professional decks can be found online if you want. I've read that the pro's like them because all editing can be done directly on the disc, lowering costs and speeding the process up.
Some helpful sites:
www.audiocubes.com
japan-direct.com (import MDs)
www.minidiscaccess.com
www.minidisco.com
www.t-station.net (MD reviews and forums)
chrisxp.no-ip.info/counterNetMD/counter.aspx (allows uploading to computer from MD player w/ song information)
www.planetminidisc.com
UPDATE
Having created many discs now using the SonicStage program, I've encountered several problems beyond those previously stated. At certain times, the program will lock up during music transfer, which also affects the MD recorder itself. When this happens, the MD recorder will spin forever and display "EDIT" on the LCD. The only way I've found to fix this is to pull the USB cord and power cord and basically reboot the recorder. However, this corrupts the music on the disc and the disc is unusable. (I get around this by using my stereo deck to "reformat" the disc). Another big problem when this happens is that any of the songs you were transferring are still listed as "checked out" under SonicStage, meaning you now have one less chance to record those songs to MD and you can never check them back in. (A way to get them back is use the WinNMD program to copy the music back to your computer).
The NetMD Simple Burner program (allows quick burning between CD and MD) has some problems I've found. Twice I've not been able to finish recording multiple CD's to a single MD; the first CD will go fine but the second one will start recording then an error message will pop up stating it couldn't finish.
So, be aware when copying to MD using the Sony software, and be prepared to recopy your songs onto the computer again so you can recreate your playlists.
