Topic: Hi-MD vs used D8

[zowie]

I think want to pick one or the other of these up as an extra rig, to be used only on rare occassions for super low profile with mics running straight into the deck.  They cost about the same.  I know the pros and cons of each.  Just asking for opinions about which way y'all would go.

[dunebug81]

I GB HIMD discs are still at the $7 price point and are goddamn near impossible to find locally...I have to trek all the way across Atlanta to get them.  Altho I dont know of a local place to get blank DATs other then the same place I get my HIMDs.

[zowie]

I just ordered a Hi-MD.  No great financial investment, and they trounce a used stock D7 or D8 in every area (battery life, size, reliability, file uploading, convenience), except PCM record time and arguably sound quality.  Okay, those are both pretty damn important, but I've got those covered with my NJB and laptop rigs (at a tradeoff in size), so I think the MD will be just what I need.  Well, for a while. 

Dunebug, it'd be nice to see a price drop, but you gotta admit $7 per gig for removable media is a pretty fair value compared to compact flash.

[dunebug81]

Ya, its way cheaper then CF but Im used to pay $1 a disc for the 280MB discs at Circuit City.  I wouldnt care much about cost but I use a new disc forevery show so that $7 adds up pretty quick.  I did get a quote from Minidisco.com on 1GB discs and they can do them for ~$5.50 per disc if I order more then 40.

[larrysellers]

Ya, its way cheaper then CF but Im used to pay $1 a disc for the 280MB discs at Circuit City.  I wouldnt care much about cost but I use a new disc forevery show so that $7 adds up pretty quick.  I did get a quote from Minidisco.com on 1GB discs and they can do them for ~$5.50 per disc if I order more then 40.

I always thought that was the big advantage of memory based recorder...the ability to upload, archive and format the disc for re-use (ie. no 1-use media). I know some others like to have the media in hand for archive, but I think this option is valid as long as you trust your optical backup. 

[e1ghtyf1ve]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording, direct mic-in.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

[nickgregory]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

I am curious, what your comparison was based on?  As the MD is a lossy format, I have a hard time seeing how it can be compared to DAT since DAT is lossless

[zowie]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

I am curious, what your comparison was based on?  As the MD is a lossy format, I have a hard time seeing how it can be compared to DAT since DAT is lossless

Get with the times Nick!

http://www.minidisc.org/hi-md_faq.html

[larrysellers]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

I am curious, what your comparison was based on?  As the MD is a lossy format, I have a hard time seeing how it can be compared to DAT since DAT is lossless

for Hi-MD, 16-bit PCM is lossless... or are we refering 1 of the various lossy recording options?

[nickgregory]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

I am curious, what your comparison was based on?  As the MD is a lossy format, I have a hard time seeing how it can be compared to DAT since DAT is lossless

for Hi-MD, 16-bit PCM is lossless... or are we refering 1 of the various lossy recording options?

good to know...though from what I read in teh faq, still time limited....based on max MD size

[zowie]

Over the past couple of months, I have compared the audio quality of my M1 with that of my MZ-RH10 for live recording, direct mic-in.  In my opinion, Hi-MD is a great replacement for DAT.

That's good to hear.  I didn't really think it would compare with the M1, but thought it'd be not much worse than a D8, comparing box to box with no front end.  I once heard a recording done on a friend's HHB portadisc -- compressed SP -- that definitely sounded as good as a stock Sony portable. The HHB's superior preamp and decent converters contributed more than the (then) inferior format took away.

[dunebug81]

Ive got MDs that are 5+ years old and still play just fine.  I dont know what the shelf life is for a MD but so far so good.

The 1GB discs have a bit of a time limit but they can hold up to 2GB which would yeild a 3h10m PCM recording.   I dont know when the 2GB discs will be out...hopefully soon.

[dunebug81]

Ive got MDs that are 5+ years old and still play just fine.  I dont know what the shelf life is for a MD but so far so good.

The 1GB discs have a bit of a time limit but they can hold up to 2GB which would yeild a 3h10m PCM recording.   I dont know when the 2GB discs will be out...hopefully soon.

So what are the drawbacks of a hi-md, when the 2 gb cards come out, they seem to be on par with a dat.

What is the preferred hi-md model?

I think the only draw back to the MZRH-10 (my preferred model) is the disc swap just takes too long.  Longer then the last MD (Sharp MT90) I had.

[melontracks]

You should be very happy with your HiMD recorder.  I use a MZ-NH900 to tape shows and it has worked flawlessly.  I use the PCM setting with a HiMD 1 gig disk when I know that the show is going to last less than an hour and a half, and the HiSP setting when at a show that I know is going to go over that without a break (like a Ween show).  On that setting, you can record over 7 hours. That gets you into the whole lossy recording (atrac) debate, but I won't go there.  My ears cannot tell the difference. I use PCM mostly because I don't want to hear people whine about the lossy recording.  Of course, then they start in on the sample rates etc. 

The only downside to MD in my opinion:

1. Takes a long time to swap discs (over a minute sometimes!), as someone else mentioned.

2. I have heard reports that it is very important to keep the deck still when you stop recording, as the player is writing data and creating the table of contents.  If you have a TOC error on a minidisc, you're toast.  Whatever was on that disc is gone.

3. The uploading is fast (even though sonicstage is a p.o.s.!) BUT be careful!  If you interrupt the upload of a show you taped by disconnecting the USB cable or (as happened to me) by doing something to lock up your computer, the track you are uploading will probably be inacessible after you restart, and the file on your computer might be corrupted (read: that track is gone).

Even so, I think the thing is awesome.  To hear some of the stuff I've taped with my MD, search for "melon" on bt.etree.org or thetapersden.com, where I have posted torrents of shows I've taped.

Mel.

[redbook]

How is the ADC in those Hi-Md?
Are those corrupted tracks very frequent?