Topic: Mini-Disc with TEETH

[Nick's Picks]

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4270

interesting...
new discs, 1gig
straight PCM...you got it!
talk about stealthy for 16bit , yowza.

that 1gig is sort of scary..but it could be done.

[Cooker]

when you said straight PCM, what did you mean? uncompressed? i got the impression it still uses ATRAC3.

[Nick in Edinboro]

Definately a step in the right direction, have to wait and see when more details are released.  I like the backward compatibility as well.

Hi-MD Walkman recorders incorporate the ATRAC3plus™ codec. The ATRAC3plus format is a high-quality audio compression technology that Sony developed to effectively reduce the size of audio files while preserving more of the sound quality.

Hi-MD discs are expected to cost about $7 each when they become available in April.

[Nick in Edinboro]

I also dunno if it's recording in WAV..  Sounds more like you could download a wav to it via USB but recording still utilizing that ATRAC.. again, more then a press release later down the line will probably explain it all

[Nick's Picks]

Yea... I guess I spoke too soon.
It says you can transfer .wav files to the MD, but I guess it doesn't say you can record straight .wav.

d'oh!
its early..not enough coffee in me.

[Nick in Edinboro]

No worries  I'm chuggin' some java right along with you...!

Since I'm not familiar with MD, is ATRAC3 new for the MD-HD or is that what is presently being used in MD?  I know they're algorithm has gotten significantly better over time, so perhaps if it is yet another revision of ATRAC it too will make better sounding tapes then before regardless if it is compressed or not.

[Nick's Picks]

ATRAC3 is what is used...this is yet a new version.

I still think it sounds good...and for years, I could swear it was as good as DAT..and it is, ... if your stereo sucks...as mind did back then.

Still...all dolby 5.1 is done in ATRAC.  Remember that when you are listening to the closing of Winteland and think its the greatest thing since butter in a tub.
though, that was done under tightly controlled conditions and not some schmuck w/an MD deck recording the master reels.

[George]

Yeah, if they employ a new step up from Type S Atrac (Atrac3=MDLP), this can be killer.  With SP you can get like 7 hrs 55 mins of recording time on one disc...if it employs SP recording.

[Andi]

will the new MD disc be playable/recordable in the older players or would you have upgrade equipment to get the higher capacity

[marc0789]

md = crap, crap, crappity crap.  

[F.O.Bean]

md = crap, crap, crappity crap.  

i like the phlow of that,a crap, crap crappity crap, crap, crap, crappy doo!!!

soundz like rappers delight(in my head)

[thoman8r]

Unless these can indeed record to wav (and I saw no indication in the article that they could), I don't see these as anything great.  At a price point of $200, even the entry level model is only slightly less than a used Sony D8 or a JB3.  And the tapes are more than 2x as much as a DDS 90m.

[dklein]

I think the only thing that's going on is they're gearing up to compete with hard drive based units like the iPod, Archos, Jukeboxes, iRiver etc.

Previously, even if you dropped to quality to the lowest level, a mini disc could only hold a little more than 5 hours of music.  

larger disc capacity + better compression = 45 hours

Sony seems to have to much invested in content to do anything that makes high quality recording and transfer easy at the consumer level.

[RJPass]

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4270

Dude, this sounds kick ass, and i love it, as an MD taper, im buying this fucker.  Lets just hope this is as good or better than the JB3, or even the DAT, and we can finally get some respect as tapers from the DAT heads  =P

[dklein]

Still...all dolby 5.1 is done in ATRAC.  Remember that when you are listening to the closing of Winteland and think its the greatest thing since butter in a tub.

I think you may be confusing AAC with ATRAC.  Both are lossy but AAC was designed to be a successor to mp3 and is widely used for the audio in DVDs.