| 12/31: | Shiro Wilde
points out a photo and Japanese info for the unusual Sony WX-770MDX double DIN CD/MD/FM receiver with
wireless remote. The unit has a motorized front panel that slides down
to reveal separate CD and MD slots. Nick Riley points out
further WX-7700MDX details
as well as an
interactive demonstraion of the unit's fancy illumination controls.
|
| • |
We find the Sony MZ-R909 manual (low contrast, 6.3MB PDF scan)
courtesy AVLand (UK). |
| 12/29: | Nick Riley gives
us his impressions of the Sony MZ-N1 and OpenMG, sadly he
finds them underwhelming.
|
| • |
Mark Bausch spots a ZDNet article reporting that CD prices are headed for $10 each in the battle
against online music piracy.
|
| • |
Blair Aakre reports that contrary to the Xitel web site, the Xitel
MDPort-DG2 does work with the latest version of MacOS X,
10.1.2.
|
| • |
MDPassion.com,
the online MD blank e-tailer, gets their own domain name.
|
| 12/28: | my-minidisc.com
carries the Xitel MDPORT-DG2 for DM190. |
| 12/26: | Andrzej finds the
Sony MZ-N1 NetMD portable recorder in stock at Minidisco.com for US$415.
|
| • |
Tomas reports the
release of Yamdager 0.3 (Yet another MD
manager), an open source Linux titling solution for Sony
portable MD recorders. By way of his page, we note yet another titling
solution: Alun Thomas' MDInterface page. |
| 12/25: | Merry Christmas!
|
| • |
Howard Chu finds Japanese info and photos for the JVC KD-MD1 in dash MDLP receiver. A flash animation shows off the
user-settable, 5-color, ``Avantegarde'' front panel.
|
| • |
The MD FAQ gets a facelift
as well as a full index.
|
| • |
Alex starts the Dead-Center mailing list for amateur and
professional concert ``tapers'' (primarily those in Europe). |
| 12/24: | Al Payne
clarifies and corrects the details of building a
titling adapter for Sony portable MD recorders. |
| 12/20: | Russell McPherson
finds the Sharp MD-MT99 manual (pdf) in English and French on
Sharp Canada's manuals page. |
| 12/19: | Alan Stockdale
finds a good Guide to Minidisc from a producer at KQED-FM.
|
| • |
Mark Bausch discovers a report that Universal will release rip/copy-prohibited CDs in the
US.
|
| • |
IGN reviews the Sony MZ-R909 portable MD recorder.
|
| • |
Minidisc.org was providing sluggish access with its Qwest feed and is now
switched over to Genuity. Let us know if things still seem slow.
|
| 12/17: |
Just when you thought you'd seen every angle of Sony's new MZ-N1 NetMD, MDcorea posts some more pictures, interestingly including some of the extra items packages in the box.
|
| • |
Jani Mantyla-Bla notes Sony are offering a discount on their PCLK-U5 PC link kit for European owners of compatible decks and MD systems purchased between 1 Jul - 31 Dec 2001 - bringing the price to EUR50. Full details on the snappily titled http://www.pclku5.com/ site.
|
| • |
Fabian La Maestra reads a DV.com article advocating MD (to an extent) for off-camera sound recording in a Digital Video shoot.
|
| 12/15: |
We add Reactive Sounds 'Reporter' mic to our accessories listing.
|
| • |
Frederic Filleul spots the new Marantz CM6200 CD/MD deck (Japanese Link).
|
| • |
Anthony Johnson finds an equipment summary on the previously reported Sony Japan NetMD pages.
|
| 12/14: | Japan-Direct
posts their own Sony MZ-N1 closeups. The machine looks tasty alright, but
side-mounted volume buttons? |
| 12/13: |
Ted Major has a new address for his Home-made Binaural Mic Project.
|
| • |
Vasiliev Andrey has a smart-looking Russian MiniDisc Info site.
|
| • |
NetMD News: MDCorea has an interesting collection of photos of Sony's MZ-N1 NetMD taken at the CEATEC show in Japan.
/
And T-Station has a MZ-N1 discussion well under way.
/
AV Land has UK pricing for the MZ-N1 (£260), MZ-N707 (£199) and MZ-N505 (£169).
|
| 12/11: |
Brian Geddes does a search on C-Net Download.com and finds a fair collection of shareware and freeware of interest to MD users.
|
| • |
Ivan Martinez spots the Nakamichi MD-30z secondary head unit (part way down col 1) for use with their car CD units.
|
| 12/10: |
Nathanial Fenton reports Sony's tagline for a recent TV ad for the new line of Vaio desktop PCs includes a phrase along the lines of "Burn your music to almost anything - CD, MD or DVD."
|
| • |
Ray Tan spots yet another new, highly styled, MD unit from JVC, NX-MD1000 (Japanese).
|
| 12/8: |
Paul Perry spots a picture and short reference to Sony's NetMD units in the 10 Dec issue of Fortune Magazine. The text only is available online - halfway down under "Speed Metal".
|
| • |
Minidisco has its own Net MD Info page
|
| • |
Davin Patton directs us to Sharp's Japanese announcement for the IM-MT880 Net MD.
|
| 12/7: |
Sadly, we lose our Australian mirror of this site on Sun 9 Dec. We are grateful to Conrad Sanderson and the Griffith University for providing the Australian mirror to date.
|
| 12/6: |
We are starting to get reports of availability for Sony's $2800 MD-based PC, The Vaio PCV-MXS10.
PlanetMiniDisc has them in stock, and
Robert Trail tried one out in Circuit City, Norwalk CT.
|
| • |
Meanwhile the portable Sony NetMD units are getting more coverage with Jan Ysjout finding the Japanese Sony Style NetMD pages and
we have some photos from Paul Perry taken at Sony's stand at Comdex a fortnight ago, including the MZ-R707 NetMD recorder and two unmarked NetMD prototypes: a full sized deck and a PC.
|
| • |
AV-Land has some more info on Sharp's NetMD portable, the IM-MT880. This is likely to be the MD-MT899 in Europe.
|
| 12/4: |
Here's something to make you think how MD moves on: Alex Abad stumbles upon an old box for a Sony MZ-R30 with a pricetag of $699!
|
| 12/2: |
Ray spots a rather fancy bookshelf unit from JVC, NX-MD1 (Japanese page).
|
| 11/30: |
eCoustics.com's Minidisc Comparison Shopping price comparison page adds user reviews, spec comparison and merchant ratings.
|
| • |
Tomas releases version 0.1 of his open-source freeware MD manager for Sony portables, YAMDAGER (Yet Another MiniDisc manAGER).
|
| • |
Gordon Bishop stumbles upon an audio interview on REELRADIO with Pete Townshend which Townshend produced himself on MD (part 1 from about 1'50" for PT's technical details).
|
| 11/29: |
Kingsley Smith of AV-Land points out the Sharp MD-M888 NetMD will only allow tracks to be exported from the MD to the PC if they originated from the PC in the first place.
|
| 11/28: |
There apear to be a number of new bookshelf and boombox models in the run-up to Christmas. M Clerici spots the Panasonic SC-PM37MD bookshelf unit on T-station. Peter Ravn finds 3 new Aiwa models: XR-FD1, XR-FD3, MR-X3.
|
| 11/27: |
Several readers point out Question of the Day on How Stuff Works is "What is a MiniDisc and how does it differ from a CD?".
|
| 11/26: |
Todays news is brought to you in spite of a barrage of emails caused by W32/Badtrans@MM virus.
|
| • |
The Sound Professionals have an annual sale and a number of new accessories including the SP-SPSM-5 stereo mic and SP-PREAMP-3 Portable stereo preamp.
|
| • |
Fabian La Maestra notes a Boostaroo portable headphone amplifier on sale at ThinkGeek.
|
| 11/24: |
First spotted at the International Funkausstellung show back in August, Rob Hardin notes Japan Direct are now taking order for Sharp's MD-MT899 NetMD offering
|
| • |
Steve Jess finds an opinion piece on Digital Broadcast radio from Radio World. The writer makes a dismissal of MD whilst missing the point of radio entirely!
|
| • |
Bob Berardino finds some more incomplete journalism in a piece on the death of the cassette tape in USA Today.
|
| 11/23: |
Michael Van Kradenburgh spots some English info on Sony's MZ-E707 on Minidisco's site.
|
| • |
T-station and MD Passion have a US$1.59 deal on 74 min TDK MD Jack discs - if you are prepared to buy 100.
|
| 11/21: |
Its a quiet day, but readers may be interested in a thread on audio recording that is developing on leading Macintosh news site, MacInTouch.
|
| • |
Staying on a Mac theme, a reader tells us about Aram's guide to recording audio from a Mac to MD.
|
| 11/19: |
The Register carries a story saying BMG will replace the un-copyable Natalie Imbruglia CD in the UK at least.
|
| • |
Simon Mackay notes that UK retailer Nexxia has a number of interface kits (the units are listed by marque under 'CD Changer Interface Kits') for connecting the Sony MDX-65 MD changer to certain OEM head/dashboard units.
|
| • |
Sticking on an automotive theme, James Koutsis reads in Mercedes Magazine Australia, that the new ultra-luxury Maybach range will feature MD players.
|
| 11/17: |
Mironics updates its Minidisc Suite control and titling software/hardware combo for Sony portables to version 2, with a number of useful new features.
|
| 11/16: |
Sony's offical NetMD Press Release is discovered by Hardeep Bhogal, and includes some links to pictures of the new units.
|
| • |
Alex Anton-Luca alerts us to a portal into various music and audio related articles published by anti-static dust cover makers, Studio Covers.
|
| • |
T-Station has some images of TDKs new MusicJack MiniDiscs along with Aiwas MDLP offerings; the HX300 and HX400.
|
| 11/15: |
ZDNet reports from Comdex, and the arrival of NetMD.
|
| 11/14: |
Reactive Sounds binaural and mono micro electret mics added to the accessory listings.
|
| • |
Ken Tidwell uses his MD to replay dictated emails.
|
| 11/13: |
Tim Banney finds a Head-fi discussion on a new pair of ER6 isolating reference ear-phones from high-end ear product specialists Etymotic Resarch.
|
| • |
Glenn Mitchell is a teacher and has a neat use for his MD. Glenn records instructions for his class when he has to be away, so the supply staff just hit play and supervise!
|
| • |
Minidisco has a number of US$10-20 price cuts on some Sony portables.
|
| 11/12: |
Hmmm... Temporary editor Nick Perry keeps forgetting to run scripts so he has re-categorized recent news under 12 Nov!
|
| • |
Case Logic has a couple of new Neoprene MD/MP3 cases: MPC 3 and the squarer MPC 2. MiniDisc Access has the MPC 2 and MPC 3 in stock.
|
| • |
Prateek Sharma writes an introductory article on NetMD for IGN.
|
| • |
Brian Phillips finds some discussion of 'Corrupt CDs' - which are designed to be digitally copy-protected.
|
| • |
Terry Park spots a Japanese announcement for the Aiwa HX-150 portable deck - complete with a facia that users can customize to match their mood!
|
| • |
Alex Anton-Luca comes across an Audio Site Portal at ExtremeTech. It's not very comprehensive yet, but readers can add to it (hint!).
|
| 11/7: |
Roger Boix tells us about his new Spanish MD site Qué sabes de... Minidisc. It's a work in progress at the moment but looks promising, and already has a smart news section.
|
| • |
Keith Bauer notes that Mada joins the growing ranks of Car manufacturers offering MD options for in-car audio - as seen on the Mazda Protegé 5.
|
| 11/5: |
The MiniDisc T-Board has been upgraded.
|
| 11/3: |
As NetMD players start to appear on retailers' websites, Dor Shahaf notes that the Hong Kong exporter Micmic, is taking pre-orders for Sony's MZ-N1 NetMD unit, at US$389.
|
| 11/2: | Nick Perry takes
the MDCP reins for six weeks.
|
| • |
Randy tells us about Pioneer's Japanese announcement for the X-HD1 "HDD Digital Jukebox" - combining an CD, 6 GB hard disc and a memory stick, and with support for ATRAC - all in a "micro"-sized package!
|
| • |
Gary Bingner spots online retailer PlanetMiniDisc.com has had a facelift and now covers much more than just MD.
|
| • |
David Stansbury of Tritronics finds JVC's UK site has a browseable list of consumer manuals for a wide range of products, including its MD range.
|
| • |
Jason Preuss has a natty use for High Criteria's Total Recorder recording shareware (US$12). Jason records Internet Radio programmes using its unattended timed recordings feature and later transfers them to MD.
|
| 11/1: | We take a look at
recording
Internet Radio stations to Minidisc.
|
| • |
Speaking of Internet Radio, Peter Ravn points out Live365.com with about
30,000 radio stations.
|
| • |
Minidisco is offering an MZ-R909 giveway contest that includes a 10-pack of
discs. Contestants get their email address added to a "specials"
mailing list, but Minidisco promises never to give, share or sell it
to others. Minidisco is also reporting lower
prices on MD portables.
|
| • |
Home Audio Servers heat up: Mark Bausch finds a Reuters article
covering Hewlett Packard's de100c, their $1000 entry into the
home audio server market. For those willing to piggyback on their PC, the $300
Audiotron from Turtle Beach (reviewed on Slashdot) mounts and accesses a PC's
filesystem of MP3 files.
|
| 10/31: | Hardeep Bhogal
spots Sony Japan's (English) tourist products page for the MZ-B100 portable "business" recorder, an MDLP unit
with built-in stereo microphone, mono speaker, and jog dial.
|
| • |
Kevin Bohner finds the Sony MXD-D5C MD/5CD-changer deck at Advantage Superstore for $200.
|
| 10/29: | Ken Tidwell has made a helpful
iPod comparison chart, showing
how the unit stacks up against other hard disk portable players.
|
| • |
AV-Land (UK) has
further Sony MZ-R909 info, including the instruction manual (scanned PDF), and a video
review (24MB DivX). |
| 10/28: | William Sturrock sends
in a photo of the National Post (Canada) front page showing Michael Jordan being interviewed with a
reporter's Sony MD recorder.
|
| • |
MiniDisc
Passion reappears, selling MD blanks with promotional free
shipping on orders over $50 for their first month. |
| 10/27: | The Sound
Professionals announce their True Fidelity in-ear microphones. |
| 10/26: | Bob Bernadino
finds Compaq's PM-1, a $100 mini-CD player (mini-CDs
hold 180MB, cf. MD's 140MB). Wondering what's the difference?
|
| 10/25: | Six readers point out a New York
Times article reporting that the Xitel MD-Port saved MD in North America.
|
| • |
Rob Trail finds a nice MD
player roundup of four recent units at IGN.
|
| • |
IGN also has a good Sony MZ-R700/Apple iPod side-by-side photo in their
iPod article.
|
| • |
Phil Parker is starting a free Recording Tips Newsletter.
|
| 10/24: | Minidisco reports replenished stocks of imported
Sony MZ-R909 and
Sharp MD-MT770 portable MD recorders, in
all their colors. |
| 10/23: | The $100 (almost) recorder returns: Chris Hickman
spots the Sharp MD-MT90 at Overstock.com for $110+$4 (ground) shipping. They report having over 60 units in stock.
|
| • |
All you need then is a Macintosh: Apple announces
the iPod portable audio player, a slim and stylish 5GB,
firewired, MP3 player that doubles as a hard drive. (Courtesy Mark Bausch)
|
| • |
Would that
they had been priced sensibly from the start: David Brown reports
that music retailer HMV (UK) are clearing out all of their
pre-recorded MD's -- prices range from £3 to £10. |
| 10/22: | New portable audio entertainment concept? Mark Bausch finds
CBS Marketwatch speculation on tomorrow's
device announcement from Apple.
|
| • |
Tidwell and Walli
point out a Denver Post article on Dataplay (the 250MB a
side, write-once media that aims to replace CD). The article precipitated a
good deal of MD related verbiage on Slashdot.
The latest ship date for this new, incompatible, copy-restricting
medium is now 1Q02. We remain skeptical, sorry.
|
| 10/21: | Fel
Communications offers a line of battery-less, in-line microphone amplifiers
specifically designed for "plug-in power" equipped portable Minidisc
and DAT recorders. |
| 10/20: | Mutant
Boomboxes Peter Ravn points out photos and Japanese info for
Aiwa's unique MR-X1 MDLP/CD table radio. The stylish
unit sports 2x high speed CD->MD dubbing, group functions,
timer recording, and possibly (judging from previous Aiwas) a
world-band FM section.
|
| • |
Minidisc T-station covers the equally unusual Panasonic RX-MDX55 MDLP/CD/tape boombox (large photo, Japanese page). The unit offers 2x CD->MD dubbing
and a freely adjustable playback angle, but is marred by the lack of
world-band FM tuning and mono-recording mode.
|
| • |
Matthew Petty adds further tips for Minidisc use in drama production.
|
| • |
Rick Kahl suggests using Cooledit for economical cassette tape preservation.
|
| 10/19: | Sony fast
forwards to hard disk video recording: The Crusoe powered GT3/K
camcorder cum Windows 2000 notebook debuting in Japan (but available in English dress from Dynamism) will store
5 to 20 hours of full motion video at up to 640x480 resolution on its
30GB hard drive. |
| 10/18: | Paul Yachnes
rediscovers Tidmarsh's binaural microphone construction
page. |
| 10/16: | Hynek Syrovatka
reports that the EasyTitle2 (a US$50 PS/2 keyboard adapter for all Sony
decks) is back in production (table entry).
|
| • |
Chris Siow finds Sharp HK (English) coverage of their
current MD lineup.
|
| 10/15: | Mark Muscat
describes his wife's use of Minidisc in court reporting work. |
| 10/14: | Prateek Sharma
points out further Sony
MD advertising on MTV's band tour dates page (suggesting, perhaps, the
plural benefits of taking an MD recorder along for the ride?). |
| 10/13: |
Steve Bommarito likes recording automobile races onto Minidisc.
|
| • |
Oliver Farrens finds that his Sony D-EJ721 portable CD player (Malaysian made,
serial#5005077) does not output CD SCMS codes properly [SCMS 10 bit is
cleared], causing SCMS copy prohibited CDs to produce
SCMS-unrestricted MDs when copied.
|
| 10/12: | Please
let it be an I/O device: Davin Patton finds Sony's US model VAIO
with built-in NetMD ``Minidisc drive''.
|
| • |
Minidisc T-Station posts AV-Watch (Japan) coverage of
Audio Expo 2001
(trans) showing the
clearest photo yet of the Sharp NetMD portable. The unit incorporates a Sony supplied NetMD IC.
|
| 10/11: | The human
touch: Edward Lee renders a fluent translation of the Sony MZ-N1 NetMD portable
announcement. |
| 10/10: | Second try for
wireless remotes: Terry Park points out a photo and Japanese info
for the Sony MZ-E606 portable MD player, with a small, pocketable, wireless
remote. Quite a far cry from the wristwatch remote of
the old MZ-E7W.
|
| • |
James Nakashima finds a cute Sony Walkman advert airing on MTV. "Umm, the doctor will
see you now!"
|
| 10/9: | NetMD SpyFlash
NetMD equipment photos
from Japanese trade shows appear.
|
| • |
Peter Nunn reports
that Brian Youn's Sony MZ-R900 SCMS defeat trick works on the MZ-R700 too.
|
| • |
Simon finds AV-Watch (Japan) coverage of Kenwood's MDX-J3 and -J5 MD boomboxes, the latter
capable of playing CD's of MP3 and WMA tracks.
|
| • |
Jason Elvina points out a positive Sony MZ-R900 review at CNET, marred only by
a misstatement that MDLP is achieved through spinning the
disc slower (akin to saying that .zip files work by spinning a hard
drive slower).
|
| 10/7: | Ecoustics has a
fairly complete automated price watch table for MD gear.
|
| • |
The $100 recorder:
PC Mall
and
eCost
have the Sharp MD-MT90 for $100+~$10 shipping.
|
| • |
James Andariese finds
the Sharp MD-MT90 manual (1.2MB pdf) at
Sharp USA's website.
|
| 10/6: | Eric Ivanoff
points out a MacNN forum covering Sony (Xitel) PC-Link connections on a Macintosh.
|
| 10/5: | Wing Li finds
Minidisc Australia selling the Minidisc Control Center for AU$70, Tim Pitman's parallel
port based PC/MD titling solution for Sony portables. Seems a
pity that the small-shop PC titling solutions don't use a
proper Sony remote connector, especially when they're selling for
~US$3/ea. in lots of 50 on eBay.
|
| • |
Reactive Sounds has created a
"pen" microphone
(table entry).
|
| 10/4: | New Portables Week
Terry Park finds Panasonic portable MD press releases: The
SJ-MJ50
(photos: unit,
cradle,
trans) has a slot-in design and speaker equipped charging cradle,
the
SJ-MJ90
(photo,
trans) has a world record breaking battery life (150hr in LP4 w/AA + rechargeable) and a magnesium case.
|
| • |
Geoff Grant points out a bevy of
TOSLink goodies at SFB digital audio distributors,
including 6 and 12-way splitters!
|
| • |
Richard Prinsloo discovers Sharp
MD-MT877 (aka MT77) and
MD-C2 manuals on
Sharp's (UK) support pages.
|
| • |
Mark Bausch scouts New Scientist articles on
copy-prohibited CDs,
including mention of
SCMS protected CDs in Germany.
|
| • |
Ian Langrish spots MD blanks for US$1.20 at
Circuit City (search for 'sti minidisc').
|
| 10/3: | Kingsley Smith points out
a
photo and
Japanese press release
(trans)
for Kenwood's DMC-P33 and 'P55 portable MD players. The DMC-P55's charge stand includes
built-in speakers and a timer function, allowing it to be used as an alarm clock.
Both units have a staggering 85 hour LP4 battery life (120 w/AA, 153 w/both).
|
| • |
Peter Ravn
spies Sony's Japanese page
(trans) for the MZ-E707 portable MD player.
The stylish unit sports a battery life (rechargeable + AA) of 87hr (SP) and 120hr (LP4), and is due out Oct 10 in Japan.
|
| • |
The Sony
MDS-JE530 service manual appears (4MB pdf).
|
| 10/2: |
Michael Yucha finds a ZDNet article mentioning that Sony's all-in-one, MD
equipped computing/home-entertainment console is due at Circuit City
stores by Oct 11.
|
| • |
Further copy-prohibition concerns: Kingsely Smith points out a
ZDNet UK article indicating that Sony's copy-protected CDs may be in breach of trading
standards.
|
| • |
Minidisco is offering blanks as low as US$1.30 until
Oct. 15. They've also cut prices $5-$15 on all US model Sony portables and again stock the
Sharp MD-MT770 and
Sony MDS-JE470.
|
| • |
N. Tooline uncovers the Microphone Do-It-Yourselfer's page, with good mic battery box plans.
|
| • |
Jim Coon's ``Famous'' T-Mike page
reappears locally.
|
| • |
Edward Chadez suggests there should be less horizontal scrolling in life;
we finally smell the coffee.
|
| 10/1: | Mark Bausch finds informative ZDnet coverage of plans for
copy-prohibited
CDs that carry two copies of the audio: CD-DA and WMA (Windows Media) format. The article contains a link to McFadden's detailed discussion of how CD copy-prohibition works, and how it can be circumvented.
|
| • |
Mark Fullen points out a good price (US$95) for the Pioneer MJHX3000, an add-on MD unit for Pioneer's XHX3000
Musiqube micro systems.
|
| • |
Shawn Lin spots dozens of optical interconnect goodies at PartsExpress.com, including US$14 coax->optical and optical->coax convertors (AC adapter
not included). Search for
"optical" in the keyword box on the left.
|
| 9/30: | AV-Land (UK)
points out a
photo and
Japanese press release for Panasonic's SV-SR100
(English summary),
a portable CD-player capable of also playing AAC, MP3 and WMA audio
from Panasonic's SD ("secure digital") memory cards. The SDMI
complaint device allows recording from CD, microphone and line input sources
to memory in AAC format. No word on whether subsequent USB upload to PC is possible.
|
| 9/28: | Bernhard Mayer has
a home-brew PC titling solution for Sony portables (there's
an English version as well).
|
| • |
Minidisc T-station offers
a write-a-review contest,
for those keen to comment on their equipment.
|
| • |
Mark Bausch points out a legal suit that has been filed because of a Charley
Pride album that is PC copy-prohibited.
|
| 9/27: | Walmart,
OK! By Bruce Yarbor's lights Minidisc has finally made it: Sony
blanks are available in Oklahoma City's Walmart for about $2. (And Walmart sells Sony's MZ-R700 online). |
| 9/26: | Chadez and Bausch note a Reuters article
(carried by
Yahoo and
CNET) reporting that Universal
will introduce PC-ripping prohibited CDs in October. Such CDs are
not expected to interfere with digital, S/PDIF-based CD->MD
copy operations. |
| 9/25: | Robert Trail
points out an IDG article on Sony VAIO machines with NetMD drives (looking like this most likely) being shown at
World PC Expo Tokyo. |
| 9/22: | Duane Freemantle
finds a South China Morning Post (HK) article favoring Minidisc portables over the latest solid-state
players.
|
| • |
Eric Kollig spots Sony's MZ-R500 in
yellow,
black, and
red.
|
| • |
Minidisc T-station is temporarily down due to technical problems.
|
| 9/21: | Sony finally smells the coffee: Jan Yskout
points out Sony's
NW-E7 (64MB) and
NW-E10 (128MB)
(trans)
Network Walkmen
(solid state audio players) with native support for MP3 as well as ATRAC3 audio formats.
Wondering what to do with your older, ATRAC3 only Memory Stick
Walkman? Fabian LaMaestra recommends asking Sony for a firmware upgrade on their customer
feedback page.
|
| • |
Minidisc T-station covers Sony's DMT-PR1 (Japanese), an all-in-one
audio-video-CD-DVD-MD-TV-FM-Windows2000-800MhzCeleron-Flatpanel,
web-surfing, broadband-capable, next-generation home family
entertainment console extravaganza. Only NetMD seems to have been left
out.
|
| • |
Jesus Perez points out NetMD commentary at IGN for Men.
|
| 9/19: | James Koutsis
reports that Sony's MZ-R900 stars in a McDonald's New Tastes
Menu ad on Australian TV, featuring a nice close-up that
occupies most of the screen.
|
| • |
Sunil Panchal notes that Sony MDS-JE440 decks are going for £110
in shops like Richer Sounds and Sony Centre (UK) due to their imminent
replacment by the MDS-JE470 (the latter's Group Function and
PC-Link connectability (via PCLNK-MN10) being the only functional differences
with its predecessor).
|
| • |
Scott Hamilton
finds good prices and stock levels for MD blanks and accessories at First4Media,
located just off Oxford Street in London. They even carry MD-Data
blanks. |
| 9/14: | Minidisc T-Station points out
Sony's NetMD page (Japanese)
with links to their NetMD equipment:
the
MZ-N1 portable recorder
(trans),
LAM-Z1 desktop audio system
(trans),
CMT-C7NT compact component system
(trans),
and
MDS-NT1 PC connectable deck
(trans).
|
| 9/13: | My-Minidisc.de
captures good NetMD
snapshots at IFA, and notes that Sony's download speed to NetMD decks is 32X in
LP4 (16X and 8X in LP2 and SP, resp.). They also report (having tried
it themselves) that Sony's NetMD can be used for audio upload from
MD to PC. |
| 9/12: | Sony NetMD gear announcement (translation of Sony's equipment and NetMD
info). Available in December, the equipment allows high speed
downloading from PC via USB, albeit fettered by SDMI's
check-out/check-in silliness.
|
| • |
AV-Land (UK) posts English info on the NetMD capable Sony
MZ-N1 portable and points out AV-Watch (Japan) coverage of Sony's
NetMD gear (trans) and
VAIO PC
(trans).
|
| 9/11: | A day of
silence for our fallen brothers and sisters ... |
| 9/10: | Sony catches up
with Sharp: Ant Wiles discovers (and Brian Youn reports) that the
MZ-R909's recording level can be
adjusted on-the-fly in manual recording-level mode.
|
| • |
Michael Brooks
points out the Pioneer MEH-P7300R, an MDLP in-dash AM/FM/MD
receiver. |
| 9/9: | Mike Harman takes binaural recording to its logical extreme
with a set of in-ear microphones.
|
| • |
MDMan (Korea) posts a gallery of MZ-E909 photos. The machine's elegant
design and diminuitive size fully realizes the portability of Minidisc.
|
| • |
Japan-Direct's
photos expose the unbearable lightness of being a Sony MZ-E909.
|
| • |
Randy Sprouse finds repacked (not factory refurbed) Sharp MD-MT15s for
US$80 at Fry's Electronics (CA&TX, USA). He advises
pawing through boxes to find one in pristine shape.
|
| 9/8: | Minidisc T-Station
points out Sony's MZ-E909 page (translation).
|
| • |
Mark Queitzsch finds the Pioneer
MEH-P5150 and
MEH-P7150 in-dash AM/FM/MD receivers at Pioneer Australia, neither are apparently MDLP capable.
|
| • |
Matt Sephton spots MD web pages for London's Tottenham Court
Road shops
ASK and
HiFiBitz.
He reports success with bargaining for lower prices in-person however.
|
| • |
Tugrul Tanyol notes new MD pages for
David Console
Shop (HK) .
|
| • |
Dominic alerts us to interesting digital optical goodies at Radio Shack:
TOSLink amplifier,
right-angle adapter,
TOSLink to optical mini-plug,
TOSLink to TOSLink joiner
TOSLink splitter,
TOSLink 4-way selector switch, and
analog to TOSLink (and composite to S-Video) adapter (in case you're "Tired of the analog audio or composite video from your old VCR, CD player or other A/V equipment").
|
| • |
Benoit LeBlank explains his MiniDisc Passion and offers Press-IT labels and software from his store on Ebay.
|
| 9/6: | NetMD Spyflash:
Karl Bahr nabs a (fuzzy) Sharp MD-MT899 photo from IFA Berlin. The caption
reads: "Portable MD recorder with USB input, 16X dubbing speed with
LP4 audio, Recharging station." |
| 9/5: | Minidisc on the
rise: A Gannett News article extols the virtues of Minidisc (quoting us in the process).
|
| • |
Rei spots Minidisc's prominence
at Sony Canada.
|
| • |
Barney Kahn finds Sony
MDS-E11 pro decks in use in HDNet's
mobile studios (HDNet is the USA's first all-HDTV network,
broadcasting on DirectTV channel 199).
|
| • |
Mark Fullen points out refurbed Pioneer MDSP7000/Bs (an in-dash MD add-on) for US$150.
|
| • |
Matt Sephton notes good MD prices (modulo shipping fees) at Electric-Warehouse (UK).
|
| 9/3: | AV-Land (UK) adds a
page for the Sharp MD-MT888 (Euro MD-MT770), reportedly due there in
November.
|
| • |
The Sharp MD-MT15
user manual appears (scanned PDF).
|
| 9/2: | The South China
Morning Post (HK) has a nice shot of the Kanji-capable remote on the Sony MZ-E909 portable MD player.
|
| • |
The Minidisc T-Station snoops out the Denon D-A03 bookshelf system with world-band FM section (Japanese), and JVC RC-X5MD boombox (Japanese). Both units are MDLP capable and sport 2X
CD->MD dubbing.
|
| 9/1: | Matt Wall reviews the
Sony MDX-C800REC in dash MD recorder.
|
| 8/31: | AV-Land (UK) posts
photos and information on the Panasonic SJ-MJ10 MD player (original Japanese announcement), an MDLP unit boasting
a record breaking 147 hr battery life (in LP4 w/NiMH+AA).
|
| • |
Minidisc T-Station notes stylish MD players from JVC: the XM-PX601, with a speaker in its charging stand (Japanese), and the XM-PX501 (Japanese).
|
| • |
Minidisco is offering a college Minidisc starter kit: Sharp MD-MT90, Xitel
DG-2, 5 MD blanks, and an Otter box, all for $180.
|
| 8/30: | Brian Youn shines
again, completing a tell-all, 5
page review of the MZ-R909. |
| 8/29: | NetMD Dream
Machine: Karl Bahr reports that Sharp is showing a prototype NetMD
portable recorder at the International Funkausstellung (consumer
electronics show) in Berlin. Dubbed the MD-MT899, the unit is nearly
identical in form to the MD-MT888 (itself apparently the
European edition of the MD-MT770) but has a USB jack on
the body that allows 16X downloading of LP4 tracks. No price,
features, or shipping date has been given. We would be deeply
indebted to any IFA attendees that could send in a few snapshots and
details for this unit!
|
| • |
Robier Pieters has made a
Dutch Minidisc page.
|
| • |
Planet Minidisc offers some special deals on older MD gear.
|
| 8/25: | Peter Van Riel has
started a Yahoo Sony MZ-R900 group. |
| 8/24: | Rob Trail finds
an IGN article panning the Kenwood DPC-MP922 portable MP3/CD player.
|
| • |
The Minidisc T-Station covers fancy new blanks from Axia and Maxell and notes that Hyper Jack (Japan) is giving
away three Axia Dolphins with every Sony MZ-R909 or Sharp
MD-MT770 purchase.
|
| 8/23: | Guy Churchill
points out a splended comparison review of the Xitel MD-Port AN1
and DG2, including a good snapshot of the DG2's guts. |
| 8/22: | Les Turoczi
reviews Core-Sound Microphones in a Stereo Times article. |
| 8/21: | Japan-Direct's closeup photos of the Sharp MD-MT770 recorder shows
off the unit's remarkable thinness.
|
| • |
Minidisc
Australia opens shop, offering discounted MD gear and blanks.
|
| 8/20: | MDMan.net (Korea)
posts clear snapshots of the Sharp MD-ST880 portable player.
|
| • |
George Styles' Rip MDS-PC3 package V0.4 (a freeware alternative to
Sony's ``M-Crew'' MDS-PC3 control software) is available for download.
It now includes FreeDB support (CDDB).
|
| • |
Daniel Robinson updates his MZ-B50 comments with information from a response
by Sony.
|
| • |
When you've got money to burn: Louis Vuitton sells a leather Minidisc player case for $400. That's
more than any current MD player! (Courtesy Minidisc
T-Station).
|
| • |
Dr. Minidisc still has some final closeout items available (portables and blanks).
|
| 8/17: | Philippe Bélanger
adds to the Sony Canada MD-blitz details: apparently it is a treasure hunt of
sorts that's also running in Montreal. |
| 8/16: | MDMan.net (Korea)
makes a lovely gallery of side-by-side MZ-R909 & MD-MT770
snapshots, clearly showing the congruent evolution of the species.
|
| • |
Scott Simpson finds that Sony's Minidisc marketers are really taking it to the street
in Toronto.
|
| • |
Minidisc T-Station posts a favorable review of MD-Suite, Mironics' PC-based titler & recorder for Sony
portables.
|
| 8/15: | Ravn and Lam point
out Sony's Japanese press release for the MZ-E909 portable MD player (translation), featuring ATRAC Type-R, Kanji
character display remote, and 140 hour(!) max. battery life.
|
| • |
Japan-Direct posts several clear photos of the Sony MZ-R909 and stocks the unit
as well. (Note that the END-SEARCH button is still there [on the
left-hand side], though the function can be set to automatic, just as
on last year's models).
|
| 8/14: |
Our advisors say Hyper Jack (via Minidisc T Station) offers a nice deal on the Sony MZ-R909: $357 (w/shipping to
the US) gives you prompt, courteous service, and your choice of color
(payment is w/Paypal).
|
| • |
SoundProfessionals gives a review of the Archos hard disk based portable
MP3 recorder and finds that its sound quality rivals Minidisc equipment.
|
| 8/13: |
MicMic has the Sony MZ-R909 in stock for US$370 w/shipping to Asia. |
| 8/12: |
Eugene Dolan submits a
review of the Sony MDS-JB940 MD deck.
<-- add to EBE -->
|
| • |
Marc Lee finds Japanese info for several MD decks we haven't yet covered:
Kenwood's
DMF-7020 and
DMF-3020, and
Onkyo's L-style MDLP decks. The DMF-3020 is also
covered (and with a better photo) on
Kenwood Deutschland's MD deck page.
|
| • |
Marco Rossen points out William Hollingworth's S-Link
Commands for controlling Sony MD Decks.
|
| 8/11: |
N. Tang kindly
scans the Sony
MZ-G750 user manual (4.2MB PDF).
|
| • |
Peter Ravn finds a
slew of Minidisc gear at Techtronics (UK), including the MDS-JE770 for £200 w/shipping. |
| 8/10: | Matt Wall points
out MicMic's clear photo and English info for the Sharp
MD-MT770 portable MD recorder (the blue and pink models are visible at
the bottom of the page).
|
| • |
Minidisco now stocks the US$1450 HHB Reporter's Kit featuring an HHB MDP-500
recorder, Sennheiser microphone, and Pelican case.
|
| • |
AV-Land (UK) has opened shop again, offering Sony's
MDS-JE470
MDS-JE770 and associated
PCLK-MN10 PC Link Kit. They
also have a photo and brief info on Denon's handsome
D-A03 CD/MD bookshelf system.
|
| • |
Michael Hoffman is keeping track of mini-CD/MP3 players and DataPlay untis.
|
| 8/9: | So that's how
they'll do it: Chuck Falzone finds a ZDNet article discussing
the Recording Industry's hope to phase out CD and
replace it with DataPlay (a medium with greater copy restrictions,
lower [target] audio quality, and smaller capacity than CD). Say, was
that pre-recorded MD's original mission after all?
|
| • |
Jesús Pérez finds a CNet comparison of the Sharp MD-MT877 and the Sony
MZ-R700.
|
| 8/8: | Seamus Dunphy finds
a BBC News article mentioning that pre-recorded Minidisc sales have fallen off (and
what do you suppose the read-only Memory Stick market looks
like?). |
| 8/7: | John's Minidiscinfo.com
allows you to build your own Minidisc page on his site. Choose the
``SiteBuilder'' link in the upper navigation bar.
|
| • |
Fredrik Moden spots a snazzy Japanese page for Sony's CMT-C5 Q-Bric MD/CD bookshelf system.
|
| • |
Gonzalo Duque has a page devoted to the USAF Thunderbirds theme music that is played during
airshows; in it he details the Minidisc equipment they use.
|
| 8/6: | More 8cm CD/MP3 players:
The Philips 8cm eXpanium,
Freecom Beatman (103x95x29mm, 170g, ~6-7hr playback w/AAx2),
and
Samsung Mini-CD Yepp (113x100x29mm, 165g, article in German,
with photo). (Courtesy Hoffman & Ketsugi) |
| 8/5: | Tony Kwong gives a
brief but useful review of the Griffin iMic, a USB audio input
device for Macs. |
| 8/4: | The MPzip is the
first mini-CD MP3 player, Joe Hui gives it a thorough review. Its near-CD player bulk and poor
battery life (~1-2 hr) hardly make it an MD slayer, however the allure of
easy, unimpeded computer access to its media gives an MD fan
pause. (Courtesy Michael Hoffman)
|
| • |
www.doctorminidisc.com is
closing its doors soon and has some closing offers on stock.
|
| 8/3: | There's been much
talk of cracks for Macrovision's Safe Audio CD anti-piracy technology
of late. Ken Tidwell notes a
CD-Freaks
article and a
Roxio
technical note on the 'Burst Mode Copy' method. Marc Herbert spots
criticism
of a rival Cactus system.
|
| • |
Ken Tidwell also expands his MiniDisc & iTunes page with
details of Home Theater & wireless AV.
|
| • |
Conor Lalor adds a German version of his MD Labels site, in addition to
the French and English versions previously announced.
|
| 8/1: | Franck Durtschi
spots a new European midi system MD deck MD-SS41
from French vendor, Hifissimo.
|
| • |
www.discountdiscs.co.uk
are offering the Xitel DG2 PC->MD interface to customers in the UK and
rest of Europe for GBP 59.50 and GBP 65 respectively. The interface is
also available from QED-uk.com
at GBP 50.92.
|
| 7/29: | Martin Roberts
finds a plethora of MD portables and home units at QED (UK), including the Sharp MD-MT99 for £151 w/shipping. He also finds
the Sharp MD-MT877 for £180 (plus shipping) from
Empire Direct (UK). |
| 7/27: | Kingsley Smith
points out a photo and Japanese announcement for the Sharp MD-MT770 portable MD recorder (machine translation); AV-Land posts an English summary. The unit sports a 2 line LCD
remote, record breaking thinness (15.7mm), several unique group
mode functions, and can be connected to a PC via USB for titling
and audio download with Sharp's AD-PCR3 kit (available end of
September).
|
| • |
Mironics posts a
press release detailing their consumer-grade PC
titling solution for Sony portables.
|
| • |
Nedi discovers further refinements to the MZ-R900 SCMS workaround.
|
| • |
Martin Roberts finds brief, consumer level reviews at HiFi Choice for several portable MD recorders: the
Sharp MD-MT877,
Sony MZ-G750, and
JVC XM-R700SL.
|
| • |
Copy prohibition comes to Compact Disc: Jorge Puga spots a Stereophile
article detailing Macrovision's method of making CD's un-rippable.
|
| 7/26: |
Kevin Cramb notes that the Optical Storage Technology Association has
approved the MultiAudio Standard, an updated CD-TOC format that
allows faster access to compressed audio files on CD (complete spec).
|
| • |
Planet Minidisc offers the Sony
MZ-R700 sans DPC for $200, w/shipping. They also offer the
MZ-R500 neat as well as an updated feature comparison chart for portables.
|
| • |
The Melting-Pot
(Japan) is exporting top Japanese in-dash MD receivers that have been
adapted to US and European FM bands.
|
| 7/25: |
Trevor Bommersbach points out photos and Japanese info at AV-Watch for
Sony's MZ-R909 portable MD recorder (close-up).
Sony's Japanese announcement (machine translation) details its improved battery life and
indicates the unit has a 3 line, 9 character LCD, ATRAC Type R,
group function, and a revamped, speed-sensitive, fully
turning jog-dial interface.
|
| • |
AV-Land (UK) gives
initial coverage of Sony's MZ-R909 portable recorder. An updated
MZ-R900, the unit sports a larger main-body LCD, charging stand, ATRAC
Type R, and improved battery life (84hr playback in LP4 w/NiMH+AA
vs. MZ-R900's 66hr).
|
| • |
Robin Marsolier finds a photo and Japanese info for the Teac MD-H100LP, a compact form-factor home MDLP
deck.
|
| • |
Frank Dunn finds a Kenwood DMF-5020 review at HiFi Choice (UK).
|
| 7/24: | Tony Maric points
out a USA
Today article pitching the MD format against solid state devices.
|
| • |
Conor Lalor launches a version of his MD Labels site en
français
|
| 7/21: | Steven Goetz
relaunches his Minidisc 200 Fan Page and includes a comprehensive
list of pre-recorded MD titles. |
| 7/20: | Ed Chadez notes a
user group review of the
pro MD recorder, HHB MDP-500, with the focus on its use in Digital
Video production. |
| 7/18: | Matthew Woolf
points out Goodman's GMD16RB Minidisc player, available from
Argos (UK). The unit appears to be an Audiophase/
Casio XG-3 clone. |
| 7/17: | Ian Johnston
reviews the Alpine MDM-7741 in-dash AM/FM/MD receiver.
|
| • |
Lionel Pawlowski has a DIY PC titling solution for Sony MD portables.
|
| 7/16: | John Lui's positive Sony MZ-R700PC review for ZDNet Asia
indicates that Sony is shipping the unit with an analog PC link there.
|
| • |
Tony Lai finds
Sharp UK's pages for their MT-88 and MT-99 portable MDLP recorders. (Apparently the same
basic unit aside from front panel button shape differences, the MT-88 comes
without a remote control or rechargeable battery).
|
| 7/14: | NetMD: Rob
S. points out a Japanese announcement by JustSystem (translation, and brief English
blurb) saying that they will develop and release software in
compliance with Sony's NetMD standard. |
| 7/13: | The Minidisc Patents section reopens.
|
| • |
Yuri Bernikov finds Nakamichi's MD-5 deck (about halfway down the page).
|
| 7/12: | Robert Trail
points out a favorable IGN review of Sony's
MDS-JE440 home deck.
|
| • |
Johan Fryxell has
started a Swedish Minidisc
Page. |
| 7/11: | Ian Johnston
points out Alpine's page for their MDM-7741 1DIN in-dash MD receiver. We found the user manual for it
recently as well. |
| 7/10: | YF finds a
photo and Japanese press release (machine
translation, pp.
1
2) of Sharp's MD-ST880 portable player. The MDLP
unit features 130hr battery life (NiMH+AA),
back-lit remote w/2 line display,
dolby headphones and support for group
function. (Babelfish
JPN->ENG HTML translator).
|
| • |
Jim Schaekel points
out a happy Sony MZ-R900 review on TechTV (though their battery
life figures and mono mode quality report is incorrect).
|
| • |
Home Music Servers: Peter Ravn notes that even Compaq will soon offer a system.
|
| 7/9: | Mike Pusfarm kindly
scans the Sony
MDX-CA680X in-dash MD player manual (PDF). |
| 7/6: | Like a love
letter? Can Berk Güder talks about a Romantic use of
Minidisc. |
| 7/5: | Jerry Ee finds the
Aureal Vortex2 Super Quad PCI sound card w/TOSLink digital output for
$25
(w/shipping) from West-Tech.com and reports that the card works
well for him, recording MP3s to Minidisc under Win98 and WinME. |
| 7/4: | Happy
Independence Day! (Okay - we are still dependent upon Britain
for pop music worth listening to! :-).
|
| • |
Doug Adams updates his Macintosh SoundJam Insert Blanks
AppleScript for even easier insertion of inter-track pauses.
|
| • |
Planet Minidisc offers a convenient feature comparison chart for current US model Sony and
Sharp portables.
|
| • |
The Minidisc T-station points out photos and Japanese info for Kenwood's MDX-G2 boombox (T-station coverage); the MDLP capable unit is
identical in spec to Kenwood's MDX-G1 unit, only the facia has changed.
|
| 7/3: | Tim Pitman has
created MiniDisc Control Center, a freeware (but closed
source) titling program for Sony MD portables. The interface plans are
based on the Mironics hobbyist version, itself a derivative of
Thomas Meier's schematic for TitleAid (a DIY PC titling setup for Sharp
portables). |
| 7/2: | Minidisco's latest
contest offers a Sharp MD-MT877 as first prize.
|
| • |
Richard Mallett spots several sound card reviews at PCPro (UK).
|
| 7/1: | Sunny Lam reports
low Canadian MD portable prices at
Futureshop.ca. Update 7/4: they have since jacked their prices up to
MSRP. |
| 7/1: | Sunny Lam reports
low Canadian MD portable prices at
Futureshop.ca. Update 7/4: they have since jacked their prices up to
MSRP. |
| 6/30: | Does that mean we're
geeks? Ken Tidwell finds an IDG article stating that 9% of geeks own Minidisc
players.
|
| • |
Planet Minidisc now stocks the US
model MZ-G750DPC, Sony's portable MD recorder incorporating an
AM/FM tuner (tuner is for playback only).
|
| • |
Noud de Beijer points out Dixons Netherlands, an MD-etailer, and finds that Sharp's MD-MT80 is their overall 3rd top-seller
(after Age of Empires but before Logitech's cordless optical mouse).
|
| • |
In a category of its own: Rei notes that Sony Style Canada has
placed a Minidisc link prominently in their navigation banner.
|
| 6/27: | Finally!
Sony extends the MD format to allow high speed ATRAC
downloading to Minidisc (Japanese). Entitled Net MD, the
extension allows secure ATRAC and ATRAC3 files to be purchased or
encoded on PC and downloaded to MD via USB. The USB
interface also enables PC based editing, titling, and control
functions. (Specific Net MD products have yet to be announced)
|
| • |
Arto Kuusiaho points out in-dash MD gear from Blaupunkt: the revamped Dallas and the New Orleans.
|
| 6/26: | Geoff Grant points
out Onkyo's SE-U55 USB Digital Audio Processor and finds
it available from J&R for $200. The PC/Mac compatible unit sports
line and optical I/O as well as microphone and headphone jacks.
|
| • |
Paul Perry notes some good deals on used Minidisc equipment at Half.com.
|
| 6/25: | Peter Ravn scouts
the handsome Aiwa CSD-NS5MD CD/MD bookshelf system; an MDLP unit
equipped with 2X CD->MD dubbing, track group function, 2X
high speed playback, and world-band FM tuner. (A footnote on the page
hints at one incompatability of the group function: An MD
recorded with the MD group function may not play back if the tracks
have been edited with audio equipment not compatible with the MD group
function.) If you must have it: Planet Minidisc
and Melting Pot
are both reputable and offer custom purchase and shipment of anything
available in Japan.
|
| 6/24: | Guy Lambert points
us toward a slew of
official Sony user manuals, including those for the MZ-R900
and DCM-M1 (Minidisc camcorder). Did you know the DCM-M1
will record 4h20m of ATRAC stereo audio to an MD-Data2 MD? See section
entitled Recording audio including photo.
|
| • |
Jason Ward is an Air
Force crewman who loves Minidisc.
|
| • |
Gary Bingner finds the Sony MXD-D5C for $350 at Crutchfield (IGN's review).
|
| 6/23: | Prateek Sharma
finds Sony's US model MDS-JE470 MD deck (the first home recorder with
Group function) available at Planet Minidisc and Minidisco (details); Minidisco also offers Sony's PCLK-MN10A PC connection kit for use with the
MDS-JE470, MXD-D40 and MDS-PC3 (with which the kit comes bundled).
|
| • |
Robert Trail points out an enthusiastic IGN review of Sony's MXD-D5C, a home
MDLP deck incorporating 5CD changer and high speed dubbing
functions.
|
| • |
Derek Lane spots a better deal: Sony MDS-JE330 MD deck & MZ-E62 player for
£125 at Unbeatable (UK). (The MZ-E62 is the European
version of the MZ-E60, only its color [silver with blue accents]
differs. -Brett Kaplan)
|
| 6/22: | AV Land (UK)
offers further details on the Panasonic SJ-MR220 portable
MDLP recorder. |
| 6/21: | Ben Hamilton
spots the Sony MZ-E62 MD player(?) at RicherSounds (UK).
|
| • |
Mike T. points out Doug Adams' free Insert
Blanks AppleScript for SoundJam that can insert a blank MP3
between each track in a playlist.
|
| • |
Les McDade finds TOSLink<->Coax converters at Blackbox.com.
|
| 6/20: |
The Minidisc T-Station compiles Panasonic SJ-MR220 info and points out its Japanese press release and photo. The MDLP unit sports 100hr
playback and 55hr recording times (AA + NiMH rechargeable) as well as
being the first portable recorder with Track
Group function.
|
| • |
Jeff Chou finds
the Sharp MD-MT15 recorder for $100 at CityGadgets.com (after $20 rebate). |
| 6/17: | TraderTrax now
carries fashionable, color coordinated(!) optical cables, as well as a
US$22 (w/shipping) 100VAC step down transformer (useful for running
Japanese gear in the US).
Minidisc Tricks and Tips:
|
| • |
Scott Hoffman is a Marine with a Minidisc.
|
| • |
Andre, a sailor, talks about getting songs at sea.
|
| • |
Bob Locher uses Minidisc in his Cessna for in-flight entertainment
on long cross-country flights.
|
| 6/16: | George Styles
releases RIP MDS-PC3 (v0.2b), a free alternative to Sony's
M-Crew software that offers improved MP3 file handling. (The web server is in
George's living room, it is not always turned on.)
|
| • |
James Brooks
points out Kenwood USA's KMD-D400 in-dash 3MD changer; it can be coupled with
any Kenwood head unit that has changer control. |
| 6/15: | Panasonic
Party T-Station finds a small photo and brief info on Panasonic's SJ-MR220 MDLP recorder. Panasonic's Japanese MD page sports photos and info for their
non-MDLP MDX50 and MDX70 boomboxes (both Japanese FM band only), the
latter (an AM/FM/CD/MD/Cassette unit), running on AC as well as
D-cells (battery life: 4hr (MD playback), 3.5hr (CD->MD recording),
5.5hr (Radio->MD recording)(?))
|
| 6/14: | Stand Back!
Mike Paulus finds Archos' updated Jukebox HD-MP3 Recorder & Player with S/PDIF and
line in, real-time 160kbps MP3 encoding, USB I/O for drag and drop
track handling, and 6GB capacity (there's a 20 gig version in the works). The 350gram, US$350
unit will play 10 hours on a full charge and is slated for June 21 shipment.
|
| • |
Gustavo Gallina
points us toward the Alpine MDM-7741 in-dash MD receiver. |
| 6/13: |
Superfi (UK) hosts a ton of high-res MD gear photos:
Denon
DMD-M1000
DMD-6.5
DMD-F100
DMD-M30,
Sony
MDS-JA333ES
MDS-JA555ES
MDS-JB940QS
MDS-JE330
MZ-E300
MZ-E500
MZ-E900
MZ-G750
MZ-R500
MZ-R700
MZ-R900,
and Yamaha
MDX596
|
| 6/12: |
Michael Lane spots an interesting USA Today article on Minidisc's
comeback.
|
| • |
Robert Mindenhall sends in an MD footnote: The Toronto Star
mentions Minidisc in its annual Achievement Awards ``Best audio
recording technology: MiniDisc, due to its editing capabilities and
portability.'' (See the entire
article [2MB PDF]).
|
| • |
John Rolt finds the handsomely styled Sanyo
MDC 3300 boombox, available from Dixon's (UK) for £180. The
unit has a builtin microphone and appears to be the same as the Sanyo PH-MD9 sold
in Japan.
|
| • |
Luis Dodero notes several Minidisc product reviews at Ciao.com
|
| • |
The MD Portal (Singapore) gets a new domain name and server: MDPortal.net.
|
| 6/11: |
Xitel provides info on their MD-Port
DG2 and Mike Paulus finds Macintosh user reports of experiences with the device under MacOS X.
|
| • |
Tim Yocum completes a review of the Aiwa AM-HX55 MD portable MD player.
|
| 6/9: | Florence Jennings
points out the Mironics Minidisc Suite (née Minidisc Titler) from Bruce Miranda, a $70
(w/shipping) hardware/software solution for PC based control and
titling on a Sony portable MD recorder (via parallel port).
|
| • |
Michael Moore notes
an article on the use of Minidisc and Core Sound microphones in Stereo
Times.
|
| 6/8: | Boost your
TOSLink down the block! J Tasker points out the TOSAMP
(standard and pro versions), capable of driving an optical signal
1 kilometer.
|
| • |
Nassib Khayat
finds the Sony MZ-E300 MD player for $90 new, from
Etronics.com. (Are there cheaper solid state players?)
|
| 6/7: | So does this
mean Radio Shack carries Minidisc? Michael Conner reports that
though the Blockbuster Video/Radio Shack tie-up is old news, a
Blockbuster Video store in Austin is displaying a Sony MZ-R700DPC and
Xitel DG-2 smack in the middle of their Radio Shack kiosk. |
| 6/5: | Wither SDMI?
Fabian LaMaestra notes coverage of a general exodus from the SDMI forum (27 companies
departed in all) at TheRegister.co.uk.
|
| • |
MD21 (the French MD site) gets a fresh new look.
|
| • |
Mike Paulus points out tips for using Minidisc with
iTunes (Macintosh music management app).
|
| • |
David Abraham finds Optical<->Coax converters at Jaycar (Aus);
search for Jaycar Cat. # AA1720 or AA1722. Price: AUS$40 each.
|
| 6/4: | A closer look at
FM Band Expanders: Howard Chu points out several FM Band Expanders that allow Japanese car radios to
receive FM broadcasts when operated abroad (a top priority in the NZ
and Australian used car market). The reason there are so many to chose from
is explained by the manufacturer's helpful FM Band Expander Selection Guide. |
| 6/3: | Use Japanese car
MD units in Australia! Kohn points out the C. A. Tronics Car
Radio Frequency Converter that shifts the Australian FM band
(94-108MHz) into the Japanese FM band (76-90MHz).
|
| • |
Bert finds HeadCase Electronics (UK), a site describing in
elaborate detail how to create a CD player with optical output from a
CD-ROM drive.
|
| • |
Nick brings the searchable MD mailing list archives back online.
|
| 6/2: | Garth points out a
good page describing digital audio for the layman. Particulary nice is
their Java based Fourier transform demonstration.
|
| 6/1: |
Gabriele Bellini
updates his spectacular Sony MD portable IR remote plans to support
multiple, off-the-shelf, IR remote control units.
|
| • |
The MD T-Station points out a photo and Japanese info for the Sharp MD-F220 CD/MDLP boombox (see also, and T-station entry), equipped with world band FM tuner
and the previously reported Group function.
|
| • |
Mattwiks spots Kenwood's Japanese page showing 5(!) 2DIN CD/MDLP in-dash units, all
resolutely Japanese FM band only, though the DPX-9021MPi and -7021MPi will
play MP3 CDs as well.
|
| • |
Mattwiks also finds Japanese coverage of Pioneer's
FH-P999MDR
and
FH-P777MDR
2DIN CD/MDLP in-dash recorders, as well as the 2DIN CD/MDLP
FH-P888MD,
FH-P666MD and
FH-P555MD units, the
last of which is rather comely. Pioneer also offers the 1DIN MEH-P999 in-dash MD receiver.
|
| • |
Howard Chu finds further information on the JVC
1DIN KD-MX2900R CD/MD in-dash combo (and in Singapore), the credit-card remote is optional now, and sadly the unit is not MDLP capable. He also finds JVC PDF manuals for the
KD-MX3000,
KD-MX2900 and
KD-MX2800 units,
the last of which appears to be a refreshed KD-MX3000, similar in
function to the KD-MX2900 but lacking its digital radio receiver.
|
| • |
Japan appears to be having a Minidisc automobile-sound festival!
(though your country's mileage may vary)
|
| 5/31: | The Korean MD page
posts several clear |
