| 12/30: |
Planet MiniDisc has a good stock of the brand new Sony MDS-JB940 home MD decks.
|
| • |
Tao Pan finds a German MD user's page describing his efforts to create automatic track marks with Winamp (and a little Visual-C programming) when recording digitally from a computer. (Click on the "MD" link on the left margin.)
|
| • |
Thomas de Bruijn submits instructions, complete with diagrams
and pictures, outlining his method of creating a simple and
inexpensive optical output from a
standard computer CD-ROM drive.
|
| • |
The Mac to MiniDisc Tutorial website managed by Dale Greer gets a facelift, with easier navigation for beginners.
|
| 12/28: |
Another competing portable music player is spotted by Jorge Mata: the Compro PDS-AV portable MP3 player doubles as a portable digital media storage device with the use of a 3.5" drive slot compatible with both regular floppies and 120MB SuperDisks.
|
| • |
Shiv Naimpally finds Best Buy selling a 20-pack of 74min MDs for only $26.20, as well as a 10-pack for $17.20.
|
| 12/26: |
Ed Hor notes that for those of you located in Australia, you can subscribe to Pulse (Sony's half-magazine, half-catalog publication) for free.
|
| • |
Tao Pan discovers a Chinese article on ATRAC that uses several tables
from the MDCP outlining differences between ATRAC versions.
|
| 12/24: |
Paul Mercier finds the Axiontech Aureal Vortex2, a low-priced PC sound card with a digital optical output.
|
| • |
Brian Teh notes an official website where Sharp MD accessories may be ordered, however it is only for Canadian orders.
|
| 12/21: |
Amazon.com sells IBM-PC compatible MiniDiscs! Well, not really. Don't get your hopes up, but that's what the (erroneous) description says for a 20-pack of Memorex MiniDiscs Moshe Braner spotted Amazon selling.
|
| • |
Michael Connor creates a Sharp MD-MT15 TOC cloning page, outlining how to get 78-80 minutes on a 74 minute MD.
|
| • |
You can order any Sony electronics accessories (such as remotes, manuals, etc.) direct from Sony through a page found by Irwin.
|
| • |
After a brief vacation, Blankshop (based in the UK) is back and open for business.
|
| 12/19: |
Bryce Lee finds an etown article on Aiwa's new product line up that
mentions Aiwa's loss of faith in MiniDiscs. Quoting the
article: "Aiwa sees MiniDisc as a sinking ship, and it's bailing on
MD entirely."
|
| • |
An interesting patent description is found by Howard
Chu on delphion.com, apparently outlining an MD-Data drive with a SCSI
interface.
|
| • |
Ecoustics.com has a great MD unit database allowing direct comparisons between different MD units.
|
| • |
An interesting article on Twice.com (spotted by Hardeep) tells how portable MP3 and MD players have outsold CD-R related sales.
|
| • |
Merlin Williams spots a press release on the Canadian Copyright Board's website outlining a new levy being imposed on various recording media, including MiniDisc. Another website further explains the effects of the levy.
|
| 12/17: |
Planet MiniDisc finds a great Sony promotion offering a free MZ-E60 portable MD player for people purchasing an MDX-C800 in-dash car MD recorder.
|
| • |
M. Hoyt spots the USD $49 Chaintech MD Mate sound card which includes an optical input/output module.
|
| • |
Covers4MD.com, an English/French website run by D. A., maintains a growing collection of Microsoft Publisher MD covers for music albums.
|
| • |
MD Tech, a website managed by Glen Wintringham, has a few detailed MD-related essays that cover both microhphone and ATRAC issues.
|
| • |
Shiv Naimpally finds a valuable Amazon.com coupon code that will deduct $50 from an order of $200 in their Electronics department (coupon code: AMZN-ELECTRNC)... you can use this to get a great deal on a portable MD unit; coupon expires Dec 31st.
|
| 12/15: |
optiComp sells several TOSlink-related products, including sound card add-ons and a cable distance enlarger which would let you wire your entire house with optical cabling (what could possibly make a better gift for the holidays?).
|
| • |
Michael finds ITPower.net, an extensive Chinese news page covering the latest in electronics.
|
| • |
Guess what's the number one selling item on etown.com? Why it's the Sharp MD-MS722 of course (spotted by skamd)!
|
| 12/14: |
Mike Harman finds a Radio Shack stereo tie-clip microphone pair (you can plug it directly into your MD unit without the included amplifier).
|
| • |
Minidisco now accepts Paypal payments for orders.
|
| • |
Two more links are discovered by Trevor Bommersbach describing the Sony Memory Stick cell phone/audio player in more detail: A Japanese news page with lots of pictures, and Sony's official page for the phone.
|
| • |
Charles Snider writes an informative review of the $25 AOpen AW744 Pro sound card, which has TOSlink digital output.
|
| 12/11: |
The MiniDisc T-Station has an informative article discussing the battle between MiniDisc, CD, and MP3 audio players.
|
| • |
Planet MiniDisc reports they have a large stock of the brand new Sony MDS-PC3 computer-connectable MD deck available for the holidays.
|
| • |
Have a lot of recording to do in your future? MiniDisco and MiniDisc T Station are running a contest until Dec 15th, giving away 200 MiniDiscs!
|
| 12/9: |
Planet MiniDisc makes it on Time Magazine's Electronics E-Shopping Guide.
|
| • |
A short info page is found on the Sony DHC-NX5MD MD mini system by Richard Humphries (unit has MDLP capability and 4x CD-to-MD recording).
|
| • |
Hardeep Bhogal spots a Japanese Hitachi press release announcing their first MD unit, the AX-F100 MD mini system. (The press release also covers their new portable digital audio player, the HDM-MP1 , which uses Sandisk Multimedia Cards).
|
| • |
Sharp freshens up their USA website, giving lots of information on
their current MD portables (thanks to Warner for noticing
the new look!).
|
| • |
Mike Reilly kindly sends in a Microsoft Word 2000 MD label template.
|
| 12/7: |
Wow! Trevor Bommersbach discovers a Sony page describing a very impressive new cell phone that not only has a Memory Stick slot in itself, but can record and playback music via analog and digital inputs (!).
|
| • |
Roger's Sony_2k3 MiniDisc website has a good collection of pictures for all the latest Sony portable MD units.
|
| • |
RefurbishedStore.com is found by Angelo La Rocco, offering refurbished electronics at low prices. They have a fairly good selection of portable MD units.
|
| 12/5: |
MiniDiscussion creates a new MiniDisc Chat system on their website (click the link found at the top of their navigational bar).
|
| • |
Michael Conner shares his experience of meddling with his Sharp MD-MT15's EEPROM settings to adjust the bass. (Before trying this, be aware of the risks involved!)
|
| • |
If it's four digit price tag still doesn't scare you away, Paul Clayton finds the Sony DCM-M1 MiniDisCam available from Camera Club for a fairly reasonable USD $1099.99.
|
| • |
MD Planet, a Korean MD info page, appears on the MD scene (created by Taehwan Shim).
|
| 12/3: |
Hyperjack is now offering all of Sony's latest MD portables.
|
| • |
Blas Sotelo finds a Sony Hong Kong webpage promoting MDLP.
|
| • |
Crutchfield is spotted selling the new Sony MDS-PC3 computer-connectable MD deck for $399 (deal found by Misfit).
|
| • |
An English Sharp announcement is discovered by Tugrul that outlines the specs on three of Sharp's latest high-end MD mini systems, all with built-in 1-bit amplifiers and MDLP compatibility.
|
| 12/2: |
Discount Discs (UK) is selling MD-labelling kits and software.
|
| • |
MD-21, a French MD website, gets its own top-level domain name.
|
| • |
James starts his MiniDisc page entitled MDWorld, with links and some MD unit info.
|
| • |
Graham Macdougall kindly sends in the Sony MDS-PC3 manual (PDF) and the Sony M-crew software manual (PDF,
used to control other Sony audio components).
|
| • |
Mark Oostdijk finds several Japanese links to some of Kenwood's latest MD car decks.
|
| • |
Michael finds an English page for the Sony MZ-R900 tourist model.
|
| 11/28: |
Kheops MiniDisc is sadly closing shop, and is selling off their remaining stock at very low prices.
|
| • |
N5MD, a MiniDisc-only recording label specializing in experimental electronic music, establishes a slick website for itself.
|
| • |
A Sharp press release is found for the MD-ST77 portable MD player by Michael and T.
|
| • |
Gary White shares his method of using MiniDisc to transcribe songs to sheet music.
|
| • |
Future Shop, the Canadian equivalent to Best Buy in the United States, offers a few MD portables.
|
| • |
A CNET.com article, spotted by Jean Stackpole, discusses MP3s and mentions MiniDisc as a still-viable alternative.
|
| 11/26: |
Marcus Oostdijk spies a slick Japanese page for Kenwood's new super-thin CD/MD boombox, the Rampage G7 (it's speakers unfold from the body!).
|
| • |
MD Portal, a Singapore-based online MD vendor, is selling the Sony MZ-R900 for $299 with a full warranty offer.
|
| 11/22: |
Matthew Fellows shares his tip of using a wireless keyboard with MD decks.
|
| • |
ETronics.com is selling a Sony analog USB PC-to-MD link kit for $30 (spotted by Jason Riley).
|
| • |
Minidisco is running a contest giveaway for a brand new Sony MZ-R900 (ends Dec 15th).
|
| • |
The MiniDisc T-Station adds the Sharp MD-ST77 portable MD player to their website.
|
| 11/19: |
Ian Brown discovers Warehouse123.com selling MD, CD, DVD, and MP3 portable players at exceptionally low prices. Update: Buyer beware! several people question this vendor's authenticity.
|
| • |
Aiwa releases another MD boombox, the CSD-MD77 (Japanese page spotted by Michael).
|
| • |
Arne Striegler finds idealo.com, a German electronics website which has a search for the best MiniDisc prices (only lists German online dealers).
|
| • |
LetsBuyIt.com (UK) offers some MD portable units for low prices through group buying (the process used by Mercata and other bulk-order websites). Thanks to Tim Hodson for finding this site.
|
| 11/18: |
Beyond Hifi almost breaks the $1 per 74min disc price barrier, offering 74min discs for USD $1.03 each. They also claim the lowest price for 80min discs at $1.39 each.
|
| • |
Robin Landy spots Intersaver, a UK supplier of electronics, offering two new MiniDisc mini systems, the Sanyo SYS-X5CM and Sanyo SYS-X5CTM (the latter including a cassette deck).
|
| • |
The Aiwa XR-MD310 MD mini system's press release is spotted by Michael.
|
| • |
T's MiniDisc Comparison Table page spots the Japanese press release for Kenwood's new DMC-M55 portable MD player (T has also added this unit into his site).
|
| 11/15: |
Peter Ravn finds a page outlining the new Aiwa XR-MD520 MD mini system.
|
| • |
Japan Direct offers the new Sharp MD-MT77 portable for USD $399.
|
| • |
For those of you looking for inexpensive portable CD players with digital output capability, check out the Sony CDP-DE561 going for USD $69 at 800.com (available in silver and in blue, deal spotted by Paul Kerl).
|
| • |
Improvius' House of MiniDisc website gets a Buy/Sell MiniDisc board system up and running.
|
| • |
Jesus Perez shares his experiences of recording to MiniDisc digitally with a Sony Playstation 2 (click the "Update" link at the top of the page).
|
| 11/12: |
PriceGrabber.com shows the Sony MZ-R70 ranking 5th in the most popular searches for electronic products (spotted by John Salomone).
|
| 11/9: |
The stylish Sony MZ-E500 portable MD player debuts in a Japanese
press release found by Peter Ravn (MDLP, 75h playback time w/ NiMH +
AAx1, Treble/Bass adjust, 160 seconds (!) shock protection). Peter
also finds a press release for the Sony ZS-M37 CD/MD boombox.
|
| • |
Dominik Zumstein finds another Japanese page by Sharp that has more information and photos of the MD-MT77 portable MD recorder that was recently released.
|
| • |
The December 2000 issue of PC World includes a "Gift Guide" recommending a Sony MZ-R70PC for the upcoming holiday season (article scanned in by Tim Banney).
|
| • |
Planet MiniDisc offers a free PC-to-MD Link kit when you purchase a Sony home MD player.
|
| 11/7: |
Bryan Mo finds the Japanese MD Convenience Station, which has lots of information on new portable MD units.
|
| • |
Music Dish has an article, found by Mike Lambert, that covers some creative uses of the Voquette Netlink.
|
| • |
Sanyo comes out with the PH-MD9, a new MD boombox, outlined in this Japanese press release found by Michael.
|
| 11/6: |
MiniDisc T-Station posts info on the Sony MZ-E700 and Panasonic SJ-MJ88 portable MD players.
|
| • |
CDPlus.com, an online Canadian music dealer, has a large collection of pre-recorded MiniDiscs (found by Mykel).
|
| • |
In the search for 80-minute blank MDs that break the $1.50 price barrier, Mick Burke spots them for $1.39 each at Cassette House (when buying a 5-pack). Deal ends Nov 9th.
|
| • |
Improvius gets his MiniDisc website up and running, which includes an excellent MiniDisc web pricing board.
|
| 11/2: |
Hot Deal! Kenan Atli spots the
Audiophase MDP1 portable MD player for only $49 from BestBuy.com, with free shipping!
|
| • |
Yet again, Michael is the first to spot a brand new unit: The Kenwood
DMC-M7R portable MD recorder, as described in this Japanese Kenwood press release, MDLP capable, active
microphone recording (records only when audio is heard),
JPY¥46,000.
|
| • |
Two new Sony MD mini systems are spotted by Blas Sotelo: the DHC-MD595 and the DHC-VZ50MD.
|
| • |
Simon Gardner kindly scans in the entire Sony MDX-C6500R manual.
|
| • |
A grumbling article found on ZDNet by Rei talks about Sony fumbling the ball with MiniDisc.
|
| • |
Core Sound introduces new low cost binaural
microphone and stealth cardioid microphone sets, aimed primarily
for MiniDisc use.
|
| • |
eCoustics.com offers price comparison and
side-by-side model comparison for MiniDisc units.
|
| 10/30: |
Hot new find! Michael discovers a Japanese Sharp press release for their new portable recording MD
unit, the MD-MT77 (currently smallest in the world, MDLP-capable, USB
connectable, flashy multicolored LED lights built in). T's MD
Comparison page already has this unit added to their site.
|
| • |
MiniDisc World (in Korean) posts some photos of the Panasonic MR200 portable MD recorder.
|
| • |
The T-Station posts information on the Kenwood BR-2001 MD bookshelf system and the IT-2001 MD bookshelf system.
|
| 10/27: |
New MD units found: Michael spies the Sharp MD-F120/150 models on a
Sharp Japanese press release (F150 additionally has cassette and
MDLP capability).
|
| • |
Atomic Sounds (UK) offers a selection of prerecorded
MDs (dealer spotted by Blas Sotelo).
|
| • |
I stand corrected... An even lower price has been spotted for
the JVC XU-301MD CD/MD deck at J&R for USD$199. (Thanks to Mike DeLuca, Gary
Binger, and David West for catching this!)
|
| • |
My-MiniDisc
(Germany) opens its doors, selling a variety of MD gear and digital
accessories.
|
| • |
Total Audio Solutions (UK) has detailed specs on the Sony MDS-E12 Professional
rack-mountable MD deck, including a PDF manual for the unit.
|
| • |
Studio 1 Productions sells the XLR-Pro audio input module, allowing you to connect
XLR microphones to your MiniDisc recorder (spotted by Rod Verette).
|
| 10/25: |
MiniDiscussion has 8 new "Resident Expert" message boards, each specializing
with a specific MD topic (such as MD and PC connections, choosing an MD portable, and MD live recording tips).
|
| • |
Minimaniax (in German) has info on the Sharp MD-MT866.
|
| • |
American Musical Supply has the JVC XU-301BK CD/MD deck in stock for USD$249 (deal spotted by Simon Pontin).
|
| 10/24: |
Paul Collins adds reader feedback comments
to his website covering his archiving of records and tapes to MD.
|
| • |
Disappointed over his experiences with Sony car MD units, Massimo
Basile writes a letter to
Sony.
|
| • |
Japanese pages are found by Blas Sotelo for the Panasonic SJ-MJ33 portable MD player and the JVC/Victor XM-PX50 and XM-PX70 (the X70 being the
world's lightest MD player at 57g, with 100 hours playback time).
|
| • |
Calum Tsang discovers two pieces of MD history in a September 1993
issue of Popular Science: mentionings of a MD unit being installed in Ford Mustangs, and a Sony MZ-1 advertisement. <-- DONE KRB -->
|
| • |
If you want digital output with your Sound Blaster Live! soundcard,
look no further than Danny Haak's informative Digital
Connexxion SBLive! website.
|
| • |
MDWorld (in Korean) posts several photos comparing Aiwa's AM-F80, Sony's
MZ-R900, and Sharp's MD-MT831.
|
| 10/22: |
Based out of Singapore, MD Portal offers deals for MD portables and
accessories for shipment worldwide.
|
| • |
Several new units are found: the JVC
XM-PX50/70 portable MD players (pictures supplied by Dion
Longworth), the Aiwa MR-P1 MD boombox (Japanese press release
spotted by Michael), and the Kenwood MDX-KT302 Hello Kitty MD boombox (Japanese
press release spotted by Michael).
|
| • |
Majiloon discovers Amerinet Electronics, an online MD supplier which
actually still stocks the older, but very popular Sony MZ-R50 for
USD$250 (USA only). Update: Amerinet has said that they no
longer offer the MZ-R50.
|
| • |
Juan Chaparral found MiniDiscs are very useful as scanner-radio recorders
due to them stopping recording when no audio signal is detected.
|
| 10/21: |
Jesus Perez releases RockSteady, a Winamp normalization plug-in useful
for adjusting levels when recording from your computer to MD.
|
| • |
Several Japanese info pages of various TDK MD discs are found by Blas
Sotelo, including 74min discs, MD head
cleaners, and a stylish assortment of 80min discs (1,
2, 3,
4, 5).
|
| • |
A Japanese product info page is spotted by Michael for the new Aiwa CSD-MD15 MD boombox (CD, MD, and cassette, 2x
CD-to-MD recording capable).
|
| • |
Bill Noyce kindly scans in the entire Sony
MZ-E2 manual.
|
| 10/17: |
Kheops MiniDisc offers 80-min MD blanks for $2 per
disc (after using one of these coupons: 1 2 3), USA only.
|
| • |
Some of Sony's latest solid-state audio walkmans are spotted by Peter
Ravn at this Japanese Sony webpage.
|
| • |
Michael finds a Kenwood press release on their latest mini-system, the
Avino SH-7CDR (MDLP capable, CD, CD-RW, and MD
drives).
|
| • |
VideoDirect.com offers a deal to get a free PC to MD Link kit when purchasing an MD
unit.
|
| • |
Mervyn finds an inexpensive way to cleanly get multimedia inputs and
outputs to the front of your computer using a FrontX port.
|
| 10/14: |
Cassettehouse.com takes the lead with the lowest price for 80-min MDs
in the USA, at $2.05 per disc.
|
| • |
An English page is spotted by Blas Sotelo outlining Sony's DHC-NX5MD mini system with 2x CD to MD dubbing.
|
| • |
A user finds a Japanese page for Panasonic's SC-PM30MD CD/MD/cassette mini system.
|
| • |
Keep up with MiniDisc news in Malaysia with MiniDiscNews.com,
found by Soo Kah Kiong.
|
| 10/12: |
Michael points out the new stylish Kenwood DMC-M33 portable MD player on a Japanese
Kenwood press release page (63 hours playback on AAx1 and NiMH, 15.7mm
thick(!), 111g w/ batt).
|
| • |
Zapmedia releases a truly versatile piece of electronics: the ZapStation is a home audio/video unit capable of
playing CDs, DVDs, MP3s and MPEG videos. Thanks to Peter Ravn for
finding this!
|
| • |
Minidisco has the best deal going for 80-min MD blanks at USD$2.09 per disc.
|
| • |
A Japanese Sony page is found by Blas Sotelo for the MDX-G55MK2 in-dash car MD player (MDLP-compatible,
70,000 yen).
|
| • |
Blas also finds a Korean page explaining
what MDLP is.
|
| 10/11: |
John Chiu finds a rock-bottom price of USD$335 for the Sony MZ-R900 at
the David
Console Shop.
|
| • |
Tjie Tsang finds a truly unique MD recorder case that fits his Sharp
MD-MT831 perfectly... a rugged belt-worn case for handcuffs (bought at Central Sports
in Toronto, CA)!
|
| • |
Dion Longworth runs a page dedicated to the latest
JVC electronics, including MD equipment.
|
| • |
Gerrit Dijkstra contributes a "favicon" for
our use, it should appear next to your bookmark for this site if
you're using Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.
|
| • |
Aiwa releases a CD player capable of playing an MP3-filled CD, as
described in this Japanese electronics news page found by Trevor
Bommersbach.
|
| 10/9: |
Ary Marcoschamer spots a hot deal at J&R Music World, where they're
selling the JVC XMP-55 portable MD player for USD$99.
|
| • |
FelsWeb offers the Sony MZ-R900 and Sharp MD-MT66
portable MD recorders for USD$358 and USD$338 respectively.
|
| • |
Arne Striegler spots German MD vendor MiniManiax selling a pack of 80min MDs for 3,12 DM (USD$1.39) per disc
until November 1st.
|
| • |
Pareen Gandecha used his MD unit to record several bands live in
Manchester (UK), you can listen to his results at the Love
Garage website.
|
| • |
Robby describes his use of MiniDiscs to record polar orbiting weather
satellites.
|
| • |
AV-Land (UK), having recently merged with MD-Land, has added new specs
and information for the Sony MDS-PC3 computer-connectable MD deck, Panasonic SJ-MR200 portable MD recorder, and the Sony MDS-LSA1 PC Linkup IISSA MD recorder.
|
| • |
Oleman adds pictures of the red Sony MZ-R900 portable MD recorder to his MD
website, MiniDisc Land.
|
| 10/8: |
MiniDiscussion is looking for people interested in running MiniDisc message boards that deal with a
topic they're experienced in.
|
| • |
Jesus Perez makes a website covering analog MP3 to
MiniDisc transfers.
|
| 10/7: |
Lysine spots a Sony Japanese page on the Vaio PCV-MX3GK computer which has a built-in
MiniDisc audio drive (the computer functions as a regular stereo even
if the OS is not started).
|
| • |
T's MD Comparison Table pages add Sony MZ-E700 photos and specs.
|
| • |
MDnara.com, a Korean MD vendor, posts several detailed shots of the Sony MDS-S50.
|
| • |
Jean-Fran�ois Vincent continues to update his French MD page with
new photos and unit descriptions.
|
| • |
Todd Lynch tells of his trick to record digitally from his
computer to MD without having a digital output-capable sound card.
|
| • |
Planet
MiniDisc now offers several of Sony's newest MD decks and mini
systems, including the MXD-D5C 5-CD, 4x-speed MD recording deck.
|
| 10/3: |
Peter Ravn finds a Swiss German Sony page for all the latest Sony MD units.
|
| • |
Jacob Alifrangis comes across a Japanese Sony page outlining the color
CLIE PDA unit, which assumedly has MP3-playing capabilities via
its Memory Stick slot.
|
| • |
Both Dale Greer and Edward Chadez note MacNN's
follow-up to their original
article, setting the record straight that the Sony MZ-R70DPC is
indeed Mac compatible.
|
| 10/2: |
Steve Jess sends in a scan of a Sony
flyer which has short descriptions for the MDS-E10, MDS-E12, and
MZ-B50.
|
| • |
Beno�t finds a link to Sharp Europe's MD model listing page (scroll down to find the
MiniDisc section).
|
| • |
Blas Sotelo finds Sony Japanese pages for the MDS-DL1 mini deck (English machine translation; i-LINK compatible, 59,000
yen) and the KB-10 titling keyboard (English machine translation; for use with CMT-PX5 / PX5LTD /
PX7 and MDS-JB940 / JB930 / JE640 / JE630 models, 6,000 yen).
|
| • |
RL spots a detailed comparison review between the Sharp MD-MT66
and Sony MZ-R900.
|
| 10/1: |
The Sony MZ-B50 is spotted on a Japanese electronics
page (English translation)
with help from Steve Jess. Two new pro-MD units were also found on
Sony's Japan website: The MDS-E10 and MDS-E12.
|
| • |
Two new manual scans are sent in: the Sony MZ-R900 user manual (PDF,
English portions only) by Marc Wielage, and the Sony MJ-L1 user manual (PDF) by Matt
Cervi.
|
| 9/30: |
Aaron finds a link to Pause Between Songs, a Winamp plug-in that will help
people record their MP3's to MD.
|
| • |
Sony has a new MD mini-system on the market: the DHC-ZX50MD (5 CD, 1 MD, high-speed CD to MD
dubbing). James discovers that Crutchfield is selling the unit for $500 USD.
|
| • |
Alexander Wong spots the Sharp MD-MT866 on a Sharp Korean website. (This unit
is supposedly identical to the Sharp
MD-MT66 with the added capability of titling with Korean
characters.)
|
| • |
Gary Binger notes Iomega's new product that enters the MP3 player
scene: the HitZip player, utilizing PocketZip disks (previously
known as Clik! discs). Having to pay $10 a disc for only 40MB of music
(about 9 songs) sure makes MiniDisc sound like a great
alternative!
|
| 9/27: |
Taufik Saputera finds a deal: Mercata.com is selling Sony MZ-R37SP units for $107.00 USD each (that's the
price for new Mercata users, regular price $127).
|
| • |
Simon Gardner finds that Amazon UK stocks a fairly extensive pre-recorded
MiniDisc selection (search for "minidisc" in the Music category of the
site).
|
| • |
Paul Collins has a webpage describing his efforts to transfer over 8,000 titles of ethnic dance music
from various audio formats to MiniDisc.
|
| • |
The MiniDisc T-Station joins up with Hyper Jack to offer for sale all the MD units listed
on the T-Station website.
|
| • |
Dale Greer sets the record straight by writing to the author of the
recently mentioned MacNN article discussing Sony's "apparent lack of
support" for Macintosh in PC/MD interfacing.
|
| 9/24: |
Peter Ravn finds Feltech, a reasonably priced UK MD dealer.
|
| • |
Ned Luce scans in a Sony MDS-JA333ES flyer (page1, page2).
|
| • |
Art Simon writes a review of the Sharp MD-C2 mini system.
|
| 9/22: |
Aiwa has a press release for their new CSD-MD25 CD/MD/Cassette boombox.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn finds Sony's press release for their new MDS-JA333ES (machine translation) MD deck (MDLP
compatible, computer connectable).
|
| • |
Ken Li and Robert Kunkle find another Sony press release, this one
announcing the MZ-R70DPC which can directly digitally connect to a
PC for audio transfers.
|
| • |
Jeff Kwan discovers a downbeat MacNN
article upset at Sony's apparent lack of interest of Macintosh
support for the MZ-R70DPC (note however that the unit will be
"unofficially supported" through 3rd party drivers).
|
| 9/21: |
A Home Recording Magazine article on MiniDiscs (October 2000
issue) mentions both MiniDisc.org and
MiniDiscussion.com.
|
| 9/20: |
MDnara.com, a Korean MD
vendor, has dozens of detailed shots of the Sony MZ-E900.
|
| • |
Michael finds a Japanese page for Sony's wild-colored, four-speaker ZS-M30 boombox.
|
| • |
Dave Law creates a Microsoft Word MD label
template that fits 18 MD labels on one page (this is especially
useful when printed on a page of full sheet sticker paper).
|
| • |
We conduct an interview
with Martin Stephenson, who released a CD album recorded with a
Sony MZ-R70.
|
| 9/19: |
Japan-Direct
posts detailed shots of both the Sony MZ-R900
and MZ-E900.
|
| • |
Petey has a MiniDisc website that concentrates on pre-recorded
MDs and MD label templates.
|
| • |
Ed finds us asleep at the wheel and turns up a load of new Pioneer car
MD units. MD recording capable: FH-P99MDR, FH-P77MDR (1) (2). Double-DIN players: FH-P55MD, FH-P88MD, MEH-P9900. Single-DIN players: MEH-P9000CD, MEH-P7700.
|
| • |
Steven Tellman at 3D Audio Immersion gives a review of
the Xitel MD-Port DG1 (a USB to digital output device).
|
| 9/18: | Brian Youn writes
a wonderful, exquisitely detailed review of the Sony MZ-R900.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn spots the English page for Aiwa's AM-HX70 MD player.
|
| 9/17: |
Eric Whitney takes the MDCP's
editorial reins for 3 months. As ever, Minidisc related sightings,
reviews, tips and comments sent to [email protected] are welcome!
|
| • |
We start an MD newbie FAQ.
|
| • |
Eric Feinstein finds MD useful for transcribing music.
|
| • |
Sam Brown notes that two MD units can be used as a Poor Man's
Multitrack recorder.
|
| 9/16: |
Laszlo Lieszkovszky describes how he installed an auxiliary input into his car stereo to connect his portable MD unit.
|
| • |
Taeyong Shim creates the MDWorld MiniDisc page (in Korean), which covers a variety of MD topics.
|
| • |
Kelvin writes an in-depth MZ-E60
review.
|
| • |
Trent Nelson has put together some multimedia slideshows which use audio recorded with a Sony MZ-R90.
|
| • |
Craig Simons discovers the LifeView CatchSound, a USB to TOSlink audio adapter.
|
| • |
BuyItOnline/KheopsMiniDisc has 1 2 3 "$10 off a $30 order" coupons.
|
| 9/14: |
Bjoern spots a computer-connectable infrared MD titler (scroll down in page for English description) offered by ue-consult, a German electronics company.
|
| • |
T's tables
has photos from recent MD brochures for the Sony MZ-R900, MZ-E900, and MDS-PC3, and Sharp MD-MT66 units.
|
| • |
Tao Pan finds an EETimes article covering the SoundsGood MP3 module add-on for the Handspring Visor. It is also usable as a standalone portable digital audio player.
|
| 9/11: |
Get em while
they're hot! Zach Zartel finds Mercata.com is offering a 20% discount to new customers, letting you get a Sony MZ-R37 for around $126 plus shipping (deal is
good only for those who register by September 15th). Search for
"minidisc" for all their MD deals.
|
| 9/10: | Thank You
Sony! End-Search can be permanently automated on the
MZ-R900. Japan-Direct posts MZ-R900
closeups and quotes from its user manual as follows: ``How to Set Rec-Posi:
If you wish to avoid overwriting the currrent contents of an MD, do the
following procedure. All new material will then be recorded from the end
of the current contents.
1) While the recorder is stopped, press the jog lever, flip the lever
repeatedly until "Rec-Posi" flashes in the display, and then press the
lever again.
2) Flip the jog lever repeatedly until the "From End" flashes in the
display and then press the lever.''
The Japanese section of the manual notes that these settings are retained
even if the power is cut (oddly, the English section of the manual
incorrectly translates this point). Overwrite recording is done by
first positioning with Play-Pause at the overwrite point.
|
| • |
Pareen Gandecha kindly scans the Denon DMD-1000
user operation manual.
|
| • |
Kheops shows off
the CaseLogic 12 and 24 MD totes, in fall fashion colors. |
| 9/9: | Max Waterman points
out portable MD equipment reviews by model at
Epinions.com. |
| 9/8: | Michael Stouffs
notes a review of the Casio WMP-1V wrist watch MP3
player.
|
| • |
Francisco J. Montilla finds MD blanks made by Intenso GMBH. Spotting them in
Spanish shops, he reports that they feel more rugged, with a better
quality finish, than MPO blanks.
|
| • |
1 2 3 more coupons for blanks at ~$1 each from BuyItOnline/KheopsMinidisc.
|
| 9/7: | Did you know Sony
has their own MiniDisc troubleshooting FAQ? The trouble is, it is
woefully misinformed in places, to wit: When recording to Mini Disc
(MD), the recorder saves all of the audio data to memory. The newly
recorded audio data is not written to the MD until the disc is ejected
or the player is powered off. Will somebody at Sony Technical
please straighten them out?
|
| • |
Scott Adams finds
the Panasonic SJ-MR200 MD recorder available at Minidisco. |
| 9/6: | Jean-Francois Vincent
has made a substantial French Minidisc page.
|
| • |
Audio Heat features an alternate formatting of the
MD FAQ.
|
| 9/5: | Peter Ravn finds
the Sanyo MDC3100F boombox at Brinkmann (Germany) for DM
400 (~US$180). The unit has selectable Eur/US/JP AC power and FM
bands. |
| 9/4: | Alain Brenzikofer
describes a simple circuit for digital format conversion.
|
| • |
Cheng Jin spots
"David Console Shop" (Hong Kong), offering low prices on MD players and recorders.
|
| • |
More coupons for 95 cent blanks (pay for your discs with somone's
venture capital!): Kheops Minidisc notes a dozen
coupons for $10-$15 off orders >$25 (a 10 pack plus 1 bonus disc costs $25.50)
|
| 9/2: | Robert spots Aiwa's
Japanese page and photos for the AM-HX70 (the MD player recently reviewed by
Josh Pelland), it's specs are also now in T's tables. |
| 9/1: | Nicolas
Rose-Hirchenhan kindly scans the entire Sony MDS-JB940 user manual. The SF Edit and
Keyboard Control
sections make interesting reading.
|
| • |
Lai Lai notes Sony's modern MD Walkman page (Linux users' entry
point). The site's animated front page is also worth a visit. |
| 8/31: |
Trevor Bommersbach
finds PC Watch photos and Japanese info for the Sony MDS-PC3 (machine translation). The MDLP capable unit uses the USB
based PCLK-MN10 connection kit for PC to MD digital audio transfer and
control.
|
| • |
The $1 blank: a $15 off coupon for orders of >$25 at BuyitOnline/Kheops Minidisc fetches 15 red + 1 bonus HiSpace blank for $1.03
each (incl. shipping). An older $10 off coupon can still be used, but not in
combination. Only one coupon per order.
|
| 8/30: | Care to try your
hand at graphic designs for blanks? T-station points out TDK Europe's
MD package design
contest, and Beyond HiFi has good photos of TDK's latest Ministry Girotondo and Bow wow designer blanks.
|
| • |
Cassette House pens a beginners guide to MiniDisc that even covers the
multi-track recording gear.
|
| • |
We forget to pay our Domain Name fees (doh!), though we can still be
reached at http://206.34.200.170 until the DNS reinstatement
propagates the web (24-48 hours). |
| 8/29: | Back to the roots:
The 1993 Sony MZ-1 User Manual
arrives.
|
| • |
Dan Bruner creates
a MiniDisc Graphics page of MD graphics and logos
(Caution: slippery legal ice -- you'll notice our "Community" version
of the MD logo has been dropped).
|
| • |
Starmount (UK) offers Samsung, HiSpace and Sony blanks.
|
| 8/28: | Paul Harris finds
a clear shot of Denon's DMD-M10 mini-component deck, intended to couple with their
D-M3 and
D-M5 personal
stereo systems.
|
| • |
Froderick finds MiniDisc handy in the drama theater.
|
| • |
Calum Tsang spots a Busker using Minidisc.
|
| • |
Allon Bar points out Dutch
coverage of recent Sony decks at MiniDiscWorld.nl.
|
| • |
Jeremy recommends using the freeware MPLAY
Multimedia Player for recording MP3 (and most other audio formats)
to MD on a Macintosh. It offers user settable inter-track delay and
cross-fade times.
|
| 8/26: | Colin Walker reviews the
Onkyo FR-435 CD/MD receiver.
|
| • |
Nick Riley and Kevin Turner point out Crutchfield's Sony MDS-JB940 page, which includes a
clear photo of the unit.
|
| • |
Crutchfield is also listing the Sony MDS-JE440, oddly their enlarged MDS-JE440 photo is different than the MDS-JE440 photo from Superfi
(UK)
|
| • |
Ecoustics has sortable price comparison pages for MD decks, Mini-systems, and portables. Merchants can enroll and list equipment
or update prices for free, though a sliding (5%-1.25%) transaction fee is charged per
sale. Further details for buyers are available.
|
| • |
Use this coupon for $10 off a >$25 order at BuyitOnline/Kheops
Minidisc and get 15+1 red HiSpace blanks for $1.34/ea.
(incl. shipping).
|
| • |
Peter Ravn points out photos and Japanese info for Sony's NW-E3 Memory Stick Walkman, the page includes
some good photos of the unit.
|
| • |
Peter also notices that Sony
still produces 60' blanks, and has a page covering Sony's line of MD blanks.
The 650MB ``MD View'' blank for the MD Camcorder
has its own page.
So does Sony's MD-Link cable, used for connecting portable Sony MD
players to MD-Link bookshelf systems to provide MD name copy and track
marking during analog MD->MD copying.
|
| 8/25: | A friend points out
photos and Japanese info for Sharp's portable
MD-MT66 recorder (auto translation) and MD-ST66 player (auto translation). Sadly, MDLP mode support appears
absent on both units.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn finds a What Hi-Fi
article (Navigator
version) and Sony press release on LISSA, Sony's HiFi
system incorporating the MDS-LSA1 MD deck and using i.Link (aka IEEE
1394/Firewire) to provide audio and control interconnection between
components.
|
| • |
Peter also notes Sony's double density CD-ROM/RW announcement.
|
| • |
Timothy Stockman points out coverage of the technical aspects CD-DA ripping as well as general
CD, CD-ROM, MD and DVD info in a Sony DADC
handbook.
|
| • |
Jansen finds the Fujitsu i-series Notebook computer, equipped with
S/PDIF optical output for direct MD transfers.
|
| 8/24: |
Josh Pelland creates a clear review of Aiwa's AM-HX70 MD player. The
unit features a unique "sentence repeat" function that finds and
replays an audio segment bounded by silence, handy for language
learning and memorization tasks.
|
| • |
Chris Carfagno points out the beginning of a Home Recording magazine article on
MiniDisc recording.
|
| • |
Randy Phillips
points out the September Monitoring Times magazine summary
of their article on MiniDisc as tool for shortwave hobbyists.
|
| • |
Dominic points out a cool Boblbee MD case.
|
| 8/22: | DJMixTapes.com offers Techno, House, Trance, and
Drum & Bass Dj mixes for sale on Minidisc. |
| 8/21: | Markus Wahl gives
us a first look at the
MDS-JB940.
|
| • |
Repair Q&A #8 with David
Popovits.
|
| • |
Further questions to David should be taken up on the Repair Q&A Message Board, kindly hosted
by Eric Whitney at MiniDiscussion.
|
| • |
Gregory Chan forwards Sony's free PC-Link offer, available when purchasing
modern Sony MD decks.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn points out photos and Japanese info for Sony's MC-HP1 & MC-PW11 ``Vaio Music Clip'' players (machine translation), the
former is a headphone unit only, the latter is arm-band mounted and
weather and water resistant. Interestingly, the units handle both
ATRAC3 and MP3 coded audio. Battery life AAx1: MC-HP1: ~6hr,
MC-PW11: ~5hr.
|
| • |
Puwa-ris has translated the MDLP FAQ to Japanese.
|
| 8/20: | Gregory Chan finds
the Sony PC Link (aka Xitel MDPort-AN1) available separately from Electronics E-Mall for $38
w/shipping. He reports it works fine on Macs with third party USB
cards after downloading Apple's USB 1.4.6a1 DDK and installing
the included drivers (It works on Macs with OS 9.0.4 and built-in USB
ports fine as is and doesn't need the drivers).
And for convenient
Macintosh MP3 to MD recording he recommends PlayQT, an AppleScript controller for QuickTime
Player that automatically adds pauses between songs to facilitate
trackmarking.
|
| 8/19: | Leon finds a
Japanese shop with brochure images of Sony's newly announced MD
portables, including the MZ-E700 MDLP player.
|
| • |
Jonathan Irwin
investigates the Sony MD deck Monaural Mode Error.
|
| • |
Repair Q&A #7 with
David Popovits.
|
| • |
Dave Hooper points
out Sharp's pdf MD-MT831 user manual (local copy). |
| 8/18: | MDLand has
e-tailer pages for the MZ-R900 & MZ-E900.
|
| • |
Howard Chui finishes telling why he switched from MD to MP3. |
| 8/17: | First MDLP
portable recorder: Adam Turner spots photos and Japanese info for
the Sony MZ-R900 & MZ-E900 MDLP portables (machine translation),
both with record breaking battery life. The MZ-E900 is also the
thinnest and lightest in the world and can play in LP4 mode for 100
hours (NiMH+AA). Both units offer a unique "disc based settings"
feature that remembers program play, treble & bass, repeat mode,
playback speed (80-110%), and volume settings for up to 20 discs
within the unit. Shock proof memory cap. LP4: 160s, LP2&mono: 80s,
SP: 40s. Unit's END SEARCH functionality yet to be reported.
|
| • |
T's recorder and player tables list the new Sony MDLP portables.
|
| • |
Linus Sweers tests and reviews the Behringer SRC2000, a veritable Digital Audio Swiss
Army Knife.
|
| 8/16: | The FAQ gets an
entry for Scale
Factor Edit, a feature unique to MD that is found on Sony's latest decks.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn finds e-tailer pages for the Sony MDS-JE640 and MDS-JB940 at MDland.co.uk (local, faster copies of their (somewhat fuzzy)
JE640
and
JB940 photos).
|
| • |
E.J. Dyksen spots
an inexpensive, $12 Caselogic Minidisc player pouch.
|
| • |
Dave Hooper briefly explains how to enter service mode
on a Sharp MD-MT831. You'd be wise to have a service manual nearby once you
arrive.
|
| • |
Sadly, EasyTitle 2 (an
adapter for using normal PS/2 keyboards for titling) has gone out of
production. DIY plans for the earlier EasyTitle 1 are still available however. (They
invite manufacturers who may be interested in producing the device to
contact them).
|
| 8/15: | Repair Q&A #6 with David
Popovits.
|
| • |
The machine translation of Sony's
CMT-PX3,5&7 announcement indicates the PX7 can dub 3 CDs to 3 MDs
with a single button push. In playback, the 3 MD changer
can seemlessly deliver 16 hours of LP4 mode stereo audio.
|
| • |
Howard Chui has a nice set of JVC
XM-R70 photos.
|
| • |
Glen Wintringham
spots Sharp MD-MT50 variants in New Zealand: the MD-SR50W (no remote), and the MD-SR70W (slight case variation, w/remote and
headphones, of a sort).
|
| • |
A reader finds good prices on Hi-Space MD blanks at MusicMixers.com. They also
offer sales in bulk (ca. ~USD170/100 pieces, incl. shipping). Email
them for details.
|
| • |
Pascal Charbonneau finds Midiman's DiO 2448 soundcard page, the unit offers full
optical and coax I/O for about US$150. (Yih-Chun Hu finds it for $100 from Zzounds.com.)
|
| • |
Jim Lee points out Tamrac Cases, offering a dizzying variety of
carrying pouches, many quite suited for on the go MD wear.
|
| 8/14: | Mikhail Grigoriev
finds Panasonic's photos and Japanese page for their SJ-MR200 portable recorder. Jong Leong reports that
the "Smart Operation Pad" just provides soft-touch buttonpads for
the usual portable MD button functions.
|
| • |
Repair Q&A #5 with David Popovits.
|
| • |
Xitel reports an operational problem between the MDPort-DG1 and Sharp
portables.
|
| • |
Aaron's MD Specials page points out Amerinet selling the MZ-R50 for $250 new.
|
| 8/13: | MD competition?
Ilwoong Pyo points out the MET
8cm CD/MP3 player, though not tiny (98x93x23mm), nor particuarly
long playing (4 hours battery life) it does offer 3-6 hours of MP3
audio capacity on cheap mini-CD media. (No price or production info
given, unit is not a recorder).
|
| • |
Blast from the past: The Korean MD page adds snapshots with (huge)
closeups of the old (ca. 1995)
Sony MZ-R3 and
Aiwa AM-F3 portable
recorders.
|
| • |
Pining for an MZ-R50? Erwin Lee points out that they're still available new from Vocalinks for US$380 (!). Ebay has several as well, at more reasonable prices.
|
| 8/12: | Feeling
overwhelmed by the 30-60 min. audio capacity of today's solid state
players? Fabian La Maestra points out HitClips MicroMusic, a product for pre-teens that
stores a single minute of audio on a chip. |
| 8/11: | Repair Q&A #4 from David
Popovits, in which he examines what makes the MZ-R50 a gem. |
| 8/10: | Crish Mariathas
forwards a photo from Josh Pelland (who's ordering the unit from Audiodirect) of Aiwa's AM-HX70
player, with 67 hour battery life (NiMH+AAx1(?)).
|
| • |
Core-Sound now offers Jecklin and Schneider foam discs (along with an
interesting technical note covering them) for making more
lifelike stereo recordings by modeling the human
head-transfer-function. Sticker-shock warning: the prices appear to
have foam in them as well.
|
| 8/9: | The Korean MD page
posts a bevy of Panasonic SJ-MR200 snapshots, including a touch-panel closeup shot. Anyone knowing how well
the touch panel really works is invited to report in.
|
| • |
Sony gives a polite and, ultimately hopeful reply to the
End Search petition. Thank you all again for your help!
|
| • |
Stefan Zimmer has MD-Cover software for Deja MD Cover.
|
| • |
Minidisco has a garage sale page.
|
| 8/8: | Glen Wintringham
points out Japanese announcements for Onkyo's MD LP Intec 155 and FR-S77/V77 bookshelf systems. He also finds English PDF
manuals for the Onkyo MD-2321 and MD-185X decks.
|
| • |
In the machine
translation of Sony's MXD-D5C announcement, they note that
CD->MDLP dubbing runs at 2X (vs. 4X for normal CD->MD dubbing)
and that Type-R mode (for ``Recursive''?) is not available in LP mode
or when high-speed dubbing.
|
| • |
Zarlingo, Ho and Davich (sounds like a few lawyers!) point out that
Target (a US, mass market discount retailer) is now carrying MD gear
(Sony MZ-R70PC) and Memorex blanks.
|
| • |
Planet Minidisc notes that they too carry the Xitel MDPort-DG1 USB to TOSlink audio adapter.
|
| • |
F. Reitano finds a further MinidiscNow footnote. If you've lost money with
them, now's the time to make contact about receiving a refund (do "cc"
the FTC).
|
| 8/5: | We have the
beginnings of an MD LP mode FAQ.
|
| • |
Tim Banney notes that Xitel's MDPort-DG1 USB to Digital
converter is available from Minidisco.
|
| • |
More Repair Q&A with
readers from David Popovits.
|
| • |
Brand name CD/MP3: Ramon de la Fuente points out MP3.com's review of
the Philips Expanium portable CD/MP3 player.
|
| • |
Peter Gloviczki points out Statman
Electronics, carrying several pieces of MD equipment.
|
| • |
Per Hoffmann finds
Midiman's CO3 format converter page.
|
| 8/3: | Andrew Stafford
kindly scans in the entire Sony MZ-R70 user manual.
|
| • |
Robert Schwartz finds Sharp's pdf format MD-MT831 user operation
manual (Sharp page).
|
| • |
Jill Carter recommends using MD for preparing cassette
mixes.
|
| • |
Karsten gives a tip for undoing the effects of Sharp's service mode.
|
| • |
Trucki submits a QBasic titling program for Sharp portables.
|
| 8/1: | Mark Bausch spots
the Nomad Jukebox portable player. The $400, 6GB hard
drive based unit handles both MP3 and Windows Media format audio.
|
| • |
Bryan Hansen gives careful plans for a Sharp MD-MS702 external battery
pack.
|
| • |
Mark Bausch points out our oversight: The Aiwa
AM-C80 on Ebyweb is apparently an AA dry-cell powered variant of
the Aiwa AM-F80.
|
| • |
Jeff LaPort has made postscript edge label files for various brand blanks.
|
| • |
Kheops Minidisc offers MD
racks that couple together (1+1=3).
|
| 7/31: | David Popovits tackles
further repair questions from readers. |
| 7/30: | David Popovits
addresses several repair questions from readers.
|
| • |
Attachai Ueranantasun finds dStore Music (Australia) selling pre-recorded MDs. |
| 7/29: | Keith Bauer spots
the Aiwa AM-C80 portable recorder (AM-F80 w/car-use kit)
for $230 (w/shipping) at Ebyweb. |
| 7/28: | Edward Chadez
finds further Blaupunkt ``Dallas'' details: their US page and a user operation manual (pdf).
|
| • |
In-Car
Express (UK) offers in-dash MD
tuners and
changers.
|
| 7/27: | Robert Lindemann
finds Blaupunkt's English Dallas RMD 169 car MD player page, which includes a
brief report from autohifi magazine.
|
| • |
Beyond HiFi is offering TDK blanks for about GBP 1 each.
|
| • |
Carter reports a MinidiscNow footnote. Francesca follows up with the
full FTC press release.
|
| • |
Dan Gross finds Digitmall.com (Hong Kong), selling portable MD gear.
|
| 7/26: | Aaron points out
Intl-Connection.com (Japan HQ, US warehouse), selling MD portables,
accessories and blanks.
|
| • |
Brian Bukantis and Ralph Peteranderl spot reports
of success with the Sony USB connection kit on a Macintosh.
|
| • |
Jansen notes the Pioneer IS21MD bookshelf system is available at
Globe-Mart.com.
|
| • |
The Korean MD page posts a Korean review and good closeup snapshots of
the Sony MZ-R5ST docking recorder (photos directory).
|
| 7/25: | Sharp and Aiwa
units make the Etown Editor's picks for MD gear.
|
| • |
EE Plaza's HiFi section has positive things to say about MD.
|
| 7/24: | If you're
really into Fritos: Tim Silverman points out MZ-R55s on auction at Eploids, a site where you pay
with Frito-Lay proof-of-purchase seals.
|
| • |
Scott C. notes the Sharp MD-C2 3MD/3CD bookshelf system for $190
(w/shipping) at Egghead.com |
| 7/23: | Cheap Blanks: Adam
Prestin notes a sale (until Sat.) on Sony Color 5-packs for
$8 at CompUSA and Zach spots Memorex 5-packs for $8.75 at National
Recording Supply (mention "blues before sunrise" for free
shipping).
|
| • |
Bob Greer finds the Sony MZ-E55 for $119 (+$11 shipping), and other
reasonable MD equipment deals (such as a Sony MZ-R37 ($139) + USB PClink ($19)) at Electronics
EMall.
|
| 7/22: | David Popovits
gives a detailed and interesting repairman's view of portable MD recorder problems.
|
| • |
A New York Times
article discusses MP3
player developments. The latest trend? Coupling moving mass
storage (40MB Clik, 340MB IBM Microdrive, 500MB Dataplay) with them
to overcome mass market appeal limiting flash-memory costs.
|
| • |
Calum Tsang contributes a tidy Sharp MD-MT15 review.
|
| 7/19: | Leon spots
Panasonic's photo and Japanese info for their SJ-MR200 portable recorder, equipped with two line
display and "Smart Operation Pad" (i.e. touchpad) for titling. Unit is
world's smallest and lightest (78.2x71.6x16.8mm, 94g [120g
w/batt]). Battery life (play/rec): NiMH: 15/7h, AAx1: 21/3h, Both:
38/15h.
|
| • |
In the machine translation of Sony's MDLP decks announcement they mention a new USB
based PC-Link kit, wherein control and audio data flows over
the USB cable.
|
| • |
`T' adds further MDLP unit details and an MDLP
product list to his spec tables.
|
| • |
John Smith details the use of Minidisc equipment for ethnographic recording of Scots and Gaelic.
|
| • |
Danny Miller points out the Aiwa CDC-MP3 in-dash CD and CD-R/RW MP3 player.
|
| 7/18: | MD Long-Play
Mode Debut: Sony and JVC post photos and Japanese announcements of
several MD units supporting 160m ("LP2") and 320m ("LP4") stereo
recording modes: JVC's XM-P2000 portable player (NiMH battery life: 10h
[SP], 6.5h [LP2], and 7h [LP4]), RC-MD330 CD/MD/tape/AM/FM boombox, UX-A70 and MX-S55 bookshelf systems, and Sony's
MXD-D5C
5CD/MD 4X dubbing deck,
MDS-JB940, MDS-JE640 and MDS-S50
decks,
CMT-PX5
CD/MD bookshelf system with 4X dubbing, and
MDX-G55MK2
AM/FM/MD in dash player. All units
operate with conventional 292kbps ATRAC as well as ATRAC3 at 146kbps
(LP2) and 73kbps (LP4).
|
| • |
Rich Westerman
notes a Stereophile article stating that, aside from computer based
recording, MD is the leading digital recording format in the
US.
|
| • |
Charles Jowett
finds a Sound-on-Sound review of the Marantz PMD650 pro-use portable, a fully featured
machine which they generally like.
|
| • |
Ecoustics links alphabetically sorted reviews from around the web
for MD
portables,
decks, and
mini-systems.
|
| • |
Dan Foley starts
the Canabrism Minidisc Site, with general MD
information, equipment reviews, and links.
|
| • |
Pete De Bonte
posts photo details of the rechargeable battery trick for Sharp portable MD
recorders.
|
| • |
Kheops Minidisc posts closeups of the Hi_Space 10-pack, in all their colors.
|
| 7/16: | We now have a Sherlock plugin which allows
users of MacOS 8.5 and above to search this site (and the MD-L mailing
list) from the MacOS Sherlock search interface. Let us know if you
find these plugins useful.
|
| • |
Minidisc & CD Solutions is holding a contest looking for the strangest mixed
music or sounds you can create with MD.
|
| • |
MD Land posts
information and zoomable photos of the Sony MDS-JB940 and MXD-D5C home MD decks.
|
| 7/13: | Fabian Lamaestra
finds Pacific Coast Distributors selling various Sony MD
service manuals (search for "Sony" and indicate model "md").
|
| • |
Video-Direct continues to be the first to find statistics on the latest Sony MD decks.
|
| 7/11: | Calum Tsang sends
in a well rounded Sony
MZ-E33 review.
|
| • |
Professional solid state MPEG recorder: Developed jointly by Digigram
and Nagra, the RCX220 allows up to 3.25 hours of MP2 stereo
recording on a 192MB (!) flash card, with USB transfers to
PC.
|
| 7/10: | Me-ow! `T'
posts a photo of Sanrio's Hello Kitty MD Player (JVC XM-PX3 clone).
|
| 7/9: | George Michalski
kindly sends in an Aiwa AM-F80 user manual (.pdf) and adds a few favorable
comments about the unit.
|
| • |
August West spots a
Shorten audio
format plugin for Winamp at etree.org. |
| 7/7: | Jeff Kwan,
Robert and others find a CNet article stating CDs, MiniDiscs still reign over MP3s; the article
mentions that MD holds 40 percent of the digital audio recorder
market, ahead of CD recorders with over 30 percent.
|
| • |
Kheops Minidisc begins their 3D
product gallery with zoomable, rotatable images of a Sony blank and
an Alsop MD rack.
|
| 7/5: | Steven Tellman
writes a brief Sony MDS-PC2 review.
|
| • |
Etown lists information and suppliers for popular MD
decks,
portables,
and
bookshelf systems in price-sorted order.
|
| • |
Daryl Marco finds WinCue, a Winamp plugin that automatically adds a
pause between MP3 songs to ease track marking.
|
| 7/3: | Sensory Science has
announced the Rave:MP2300, an MP3 player that uses Iomega Clik discs. The $10 discs store 40MB on 2"
magnetic media (cf. MD's $3, 160MB, 2.5" MO disc). So what's it got
over MD? Well, capability for high speed download over a USB port and
direct computer access to the audio data (until SDMI phase 2
kicks in that is).
|
| • |
MinidiscMall.com
offers MD portables, blanks, and accessories.
|
| • |
Minidisco instates a 30-day unconditional return policy on all items.
|
| • |
Jim Coon points out plans and a kit for Mid-side microphones.
|
| • |
HomeRecording.com has some useful tidbits for the
home recordist.
|
| 7/2: | Nasim finds
a good selection of MD blanks at TapeCity (UK).
|
| • |
Shaka Media (Japan)
offers their own line of MD blanks, and in wholesale quantities.
|
| 6/30: | Ed Porras makes a
handsome review of the Sony
MDX-C8500X in-dash MD player.
|
| • |
The Korean MD page posts photos and a Korean language review of the Sony MDS-S40 (MDS-JE330 in alternate packaging).
|
| • |
Leon notes Japanese pages for the Bose MDS-1 and MDA-8 home MD decks, the former offering Mic level inputs.
|
| 6/29: | Gary Elko spots
photos and Japanese info for the Canopus MD-Port, a USB to mini-optical I/O adapter
(input side includes sampling rate conversion to 44.1khz), MSRP:
JPY16,800.
|
| • |
Björn Wiberg finds Opticompo (in Germany), they offer optical I/O
brackets, sound cards, cables, and components. |
| 6/28: | Leo Davidson sends
in a good scan of the MZ-E90 English instruction sheet.
|
| • |
Simon Mackay
recommends Minidisc for homemade cassette preservation.
|
| 6/27: | The Korean MD page
posts 20 photos of the Sony MZ-E800 (not to be confused
with Hokusai's 36 views of Mt. Fuji). These images
help put the unit's ``Head-Loading Mechanism'' in perspective.
|
| • |
Zach finds Sony MD
Bundle 6 (MDS-JE330 + MZ-E33) at Sears for $200 after Sony's $50
rebate (pages 1 and 2). (Todd Lynch points out Sony Bundle 6 coverage at Crutchfield)
|
| • |
Kheops Minidisc takes a closer look at the Sony 8-pack color collection blanks.
|
| 6/26: | Adam Prestin spots
photos and English info for Aiwa's AM-CL33 player and XR-HG2MD minisystem, the former in teen-fashion colors,
the latter with 2X dubbing and optical I/O.
|
| • |
Dan Frakes points out Ultimate Label Printer Pro, a $25 Mac/PC package for
making media labels (MD, CD, DAT, etc.); includes preformatted layouts
for MD labels.
|
| • |
Improvius finds Bryco molded plastic and soft
portable MD cases at DATRAX.
|
| • |
Improvius also notes that Cassette House has
Hi-Space MD blanks for $1.39 through 6/30.
|
| 6/25: | Gadget quad
reviews the Sharp MD-MT831, with favorable findings. |
| 6/22: | Tony Wang and
others point out photos and Japanese info for Panasonic's SV-SD70 solid-state player. The AAC (not
MP3) based unit is small and light enough (49.8x49.2x15mm, 55g w/batt)
for wrist-wear and uses SDMI compliant 64MB SD flash memory cards. Price:
~US$500. No battery life figures given.
|
| • |
Real
Electronics offers Sony AC adaptors and (non-Sony) MD portables.
|
| • |
Kheops
Minidisc has 80' MPO blanks in bulk for $1.90 each (through
June 25). |
| 6/19: | Etown offers
newbie tips for getting the most from your MD and elementary troubleshooting . Their list of MD equipment includes suppliers and product profiles.
|
| • |
Grant Slevin recommends fastening
MD slip-cases into a "Book-like" storage system.
|
| 6/18: | Portable, recordable CD-R:
Nicolas Stizza finds the Sony MVC-CD1000; world's first digital still
camera recording to 77mm (3") CD-R (156MB cap).
|
| 6/17: | Richard Reid wrote
essay #4 in our essay contest on MD's
survival. |
| 6/16: | The little company
that could, part II: Minidisco announces their own ``Robot 80'' MD blanks.
|
| 6/15: | Ed Porras notes
that the Sharp MD-MS722 is
available from Mercata.com for $140 (assuming 20% discount for new members and free shipping). The
special ends today at 10PM (sorry for the late notice!). 6/16: Offer
appears to extend until 6/18.
|
| • |
Julius Davies
finds 80' MPO blanks for US$1.93 at
Minidisc-Canada.com. |
| 6/14: | Jones and Ravn
point out advance info at Video-Direct for the Sony MXD-D5 (integrated 5-CD changer and MD deck) and MDS-JB940 home deck (the latter mysteriously missing
its rumored long play mode).
|
| • |
Seamus Dunphy finds word of Sony's MZ-R70PC unit, apparently similar to their MZ-R37PC, which included a USB
to analog audio adapter.
|
| 6/13: | Shopaudiovideo.com
reports that the $100 Sharp MD-X5 offer is back, and they have the
last 150 units available in the US. 6/14: Sold out in a
day! |
| 6/12: | John Bunge quotes
from the 6/11/00 NYT Magazine article "All in One: The Watch That Is Your
Lifeline To the World" by Donovan Webster:
``The only gadgets in Akihabara that can compete with the i-phones for pure
visual sex appeal are the squarish Minidisc players. I've seen these
before in the U.S., but I was pretty convinced that they were nonstarters,
already destined for the scrap heap. Perhaps in the U.S. they are, but not
here in Tokyo. A.T.M.-style "Music PODs" are sprouting across the city,
allowing kids to pick out the songs and burn their own Minidiscs, like
mixed tapes. I wonder if the technology flourished in Japan because the
players themselves, available in weird colors and designs, make such
suitable fashion accessories: another layer of conspicuous techno plastic
for kids to wear around.''
|
| • |
Ed Wong has made a
comparison photo gallery of the Sharp MD-MT831 and
Kenwood DMC-L7R (its clone).
|
| • |
Mark Koldys finds the Sony MDS-JE530, an ATRAC Type-R machine, for $220 at www.hifi.com.
|
| • |
ShopAudioVideo.com
explains how it is that the Sharp MD-X5 price went from $100 to
$200 in a flash.
|
| 6/9: | Hazuki Shimono
authors an Etown article covering MiniDisc audio vending machines in Japan.
|
| • |
Leon finds the ``Will-MD'' SJ-MW1/2/3 portables. They're Panasonic
SJ-MJ77 variants with frames on their lids so that stickers and photos
can be inserted (different from the Panasonic, they come w/o a drycell
case).
|
| 6/8: | Simon Gardner sends in
high-res facia shots of the
Pioneer
M5100R,
M7100R,
M9100R,
and Sony
MDX-C6500R,
MDX-C6500RV,
MDX-C800REC,
MDX-C8500R car MD units.
|
| • |
Scott Knight finds the Sharp MD-X5
bookshelf system on sale for $100 through Etown/ShopAudioVideo.com. With its PS/2
keyboard port for character input, this could be considered a
[slightly] extravagant titling solution. 6/9: The curse of popularity:
price is now an unexceptional $200.
|
| 6/7: |
Eric Georgeaux has
created Sharp MD titling freeware that uses Meier's
computer interface to Sharp portables.
|
| • |
Peter Wood adds a
discussion
forum to his Sharp MD-MS7xx page.
|
| • |
Blankshop.com
(UK) open shop, offering good prices on Sony and TDK blanks.
|
| • |
Dan Frakes finds JVC's tidy little FS-MD9000
Minidisc bookshelf system at Buy.com for $250 and a coupon
for another $30 off (with free shipping). 6/8: Rob and Matt
note Buy.com's realtime supply and demand response: price is now
$300.
|
| 6/6: | (Kingsley Smith)
Sony fights back the tide of budget priced discs with their JPY2800
``Flagship'' Dual-layer MD2000 discs (machine translation to
English).
|
| • |
Wolfgang finds what looks like Sony home MD deck release dates on an EPA site: MDS-
(Jun) JE640, JE440, JE340 (MXD-?)D4,
(Jul) JB940,
(Aug) PC3, JA333ES,
(Sep) D5.
6/9: They've magically disappeared from the EPA web page.
|
| • |
David Wright suggests using MiniDisc for telephone recording.
|
| • |
Kelvin Chang finds an ETown article saying a DataPlay equipped Rio MP3 player could be on the
market in a year. (We previously reported the Wired article covering the DataPlay Disc, a tiny
500MB write-once medium designed to hold music, books, games and
photos.)
|
| 6/3: | Philip Davich
recommends Plano's Stowaway organizer box (photo); a rugged, stackable, $5 solution for storing
up to 75 MDs in their jewel cases with little wasted space (available
in the tackle box section of K-mart and other fine retailers). |
| 6/1: | Lawrence Lin (via
Thomas James) spots the Xitel MDPORT-DG1 a USB to TOSLink (i.e. digital optical)
audio adapter for $100. |
| 5/31: | Jon finds a
generally positive Etown review of the Pioneer Elite MJ-17D (though
they are disappointed to find it missing a coaxial digital output,
with its "better reputation for sound quality and reliability").
|
| • |
Seamus Dunphy spots 99p blanks at Richer Sound Ireland.
|
| 5/30: | Andrea Winchester
wrote essay #3 in our contest on the
theme of MD's survival.
|
| • |
Randy Phillips reminds us that Amazon carries Memorex blanks for US$30 per 20
pack. |
| 5/29: | David Robinson
finds Samsung blanks @$8/5 pack at the Guitar Center, Dallas (find a store near you). |
| 5/28: | Richard Barrott
points out VideoWorld in Adelaide, Australia, selling Sony MD
decks, portables, and blanks.
|
| • |
E. Tunkle finds the Sony MDS-JE320+MZ-E33 bundle at Onecall.com for $200 through June 6.
|
| 5/27: | MiniDisc-Canada.com
now carries Pre-recorded Minidiscs. |
| 5/26: | Thank you for your
help on the END SEARCH petition! Over 300 signatures were collected
and have been sent with a cover
letter to Sony.
|
| • |
Michael Kirkman has created a handsome Sony MZ-E44 review page that includes a clear scan
of the user manual.
|
| • |
Michael also finds Sony's top of the line MDS-JA555ES deck for sale at GiantSavings.com.
|
| • |
Alison Clayton
sends information on Ikea's `Moppe' utility drawers, well suited for MD
storage.
|
| • |
Gerrit Dijkstra has handcrafted images of the Sony MD logo in .gif
and .eps formats.
|
| 5/24: | Gabriele Bellini
contributes detailed instructions for building an infrared remote for
Sony portables.
|
| • |
Blank Media in
Sydney, Australia offers MD blanks at competitive prices.
|
| 5/23: | Gary Bingner wrote
essay #2 in our continuing series on MD's
Survival.
|
| • |
Ehren Gresehover points out the Swissonic USB Studio, a USB to Digital Audio I/O
interface that is reported to be PC and Mac compatible. (Price: US$850. -Thanks to Niesen, Domagoj and Taylor.)
|
| • |
Peter Ravn adds MZ-R90/R91
test mode entry procedures to his page.
|
| • |
Peter Wood freshens up his Sharp
MD-MS7xx site.
|
| • |
Wes Tewksbury finds several digital optical format handling widgets:
Audio Authority's optical->coax and coax->optical converters, and the Sound
Professionals uni- and bi-direction coax<->optical converters.
|
| 5/22: | Robert Thompson
scans in an April HiFi Choice
article that carefully compares MP3 vs. ATRAC Type-R.
In the end ATRAC does well, even against 256kbps MP3.
|
| • |
Robert also finds an EQ article in which Craig Anderton suggests a few
interesting ways for musicians to make good use of normal (2-channel)
Minidisc.
|
| • |
Nikhil Choudhary
creates a gorgeous Digital Coax-to-Optical converter page, with
detailed photos, schematics and instructions for building a complete
device.
|
| • |
Dale Greer notices that the Yamaha RP-U100 USB/TOSLink/AM/FM peripheral is now
compatible with MacOS 9.0.2.
|
| 5/21: | Jason Fritcher
points out Pioneer's description of their ``Advanced Parameter Processing'' in ATRAC,
indicating that they've done some of their own development of the
codec.
|
| • |
Matthew Wall notes
that Planet Minidisc offers the Sony RM-X69RF. It allows wireless remote control of
Sony Unilink MD/CD changers and includes an FM modulator; perfect for
connecting e.g. the Sony MDX-65 6
MD changer to an existing non-Sony car stereo.
|
| • |
Humor: MP3 piracy
claims another vicitm.
|
| 5/20: | Have you hit that
dang END SEARCH button a few times too many (or too few  )? Sign our petition asking Sony to Drop End Search!.
|
| • |
Thomas James contributes a tidy review of the Xitel MDPort
AN1, a USB to line-level analog audio adapter for recording PC
music to MD.
|
| • | Tips and Uses: Simon Mackay recommends Minidisc for music education classes and
bus and boat tours.
Mike Harman makes cheap mics
with Radio Shack capsules Bert Bouwmeester likes to stretch MD
capacity with mono mode.
|
| • |
PASS sells conversion kits to add professional balanced audio
I/Os and remote fader start to your MD deck.
|
| • |
Kheops
MiniDisc now carries MD portables, accessories and various
brand MD blanks.
|
| • |
With US Minidisc prices at or near Japanese retail levels and citing a
``continued slump in export sales'', Sawada Denki will end its international
mail order service on May 31st.
|
| 5/19: | Leon, Ilwoong and
friends point out photos and Japanese information for Panasonic's tiny
SJ-MJ77 portable MD player (machine translation), setting new world
size (71.3cc) and weight (60g) records (T's spec tables give further details and a clearer
photo).
|
| • |
Marco Rossen passes along a closeup of Sony's new Walkman logo, found on the
MZ-E800. According to Sony it emphasizes the new Sony
network era.
|
| • |
David Law notes that eDigital's Internet Music Player handles ATRAC3 coding as well
as MP3, EPAC, Liquid Audio and others.
|
| • |
Beyond HiFi points out a set of 3 designer MD blanks being marketed by TDK Europe
and currently offers the Happy Cyclop (1st of the series).
|
| 5/18: | A friend points
out photos and Japanese announcement for the Sony MZ-E800 MD player (machine translation). Equipped with a
charging stand, the unit features bass and treble controls, a new head
loading mechansim, and battery life of 24h (NiMH), 37h (AAx1) or 64h
(both) (Dim: 79.5x76.7x17mm, 110g [135g/w batt]).
|
| • |
Marco Rossen
points out MiniDiscWorld, a Dutch online MD retailer. |
| 5/16: | We have a winner!
Mike Worrell writes the winning essay.
|
| • |
Blas finds Sony's
Club Memory Stick page. |
| 5/15: | A friend points
out photos and Japanese information for the JVC XM-PX55 and XM-PX33 players. The spec tables show the XM-PX55 has record breaking
battery life (NiMH: 27h, AAx1: 43h, Both: 75h) and record sharing
weight (61g bare, 81g w/batt). |
| 5/13: | Chris Browne types
in the entire Yamaha MDX-793
manual, and makes a snapshot of its PC board to boot. |
| 5/11: |
Simon Gardner
graciously adds 17(!) in-dash units to
the equipment tables.
|
| • |
Matt Black kindly contributes a Minidisc Database
program in Visual Basic (i.e. under Windows), for cataloging Vinyl onto
MD.
|
| • |
Simon also finds user instruction manuals for the Kenwood
1050MD,
1090MD,
KMD-C80,
KMD-70R,
KMD-71,
KMDX-91,
XD981MD,
MD203, and
MD2070 units on
Kenwood's Manuals FTP site.
|
| 5/10: | A friend points
out pictures and Japanese info for Panasonic's SV-SD70 solid state player. Due out in
July for JPY49,800, the AAC (not MP3) based unit uses SD flash memory
cards and plays 4 hours on a single AAA cell. Unequipped with an audio
data input jack, its SD cards are docked to the PC with a USB or
PCMCIA adapter for downloading. Its SDMI compliant software converts
CD and MP3 (but not .WAV) tracks to AAC. Larger capacity cards are due
in 2001 (256MB) and 2003 (1GB).
|
| • |
Minidisco offers
the Sharp MD-R3 3CD/MD deck for $160 + ~$20-$30 shipping. |
| 5/9: | The Gadget Squad
wonders Where have all the Audiophiles gone?
|
| • |
Ryan Shoemaker points out Zdnet's peek at the MPTrip portable MP3-CD player (available for ~$110 at
easybuy), it's even got a [very low quality] audio
recording mode. |
| 5/8: | Adam Zenkner also spots
Minidisc equipment at Abargain.co.uk. |
| 5/6: | Adam Zenkner finds
good prices for Minidisc decks, portables, in-dash receivers and blanks at Unbeatable.co.uk.
|
| 5/5: | Glen Wintringham
kindly translates the Sharp MD-MT50
announcement into English.
|
| • |
Roy Martin has a
mailing list devoted to trading live music on MiniDisc.
|
| • |
The Active Buyer's
Guide has a system for helping you decide on a Minidisc unit. |
| 5/4: | Simon Gardner finds
us asleep at the Sony car MD gear switch:
Crutchfield's car MD page*
features the
MDX-C6500X
and
MDX-C8500X ES
MD receivers;
Edworthy's (UK) car MD page
has the European versions, including the MDX-C8790R.
The North American market MDX-C6500 styling is really
in-your-faceplate
compared to the more muted
European edition.
(*Crutchfield's page incorrectly refers to the MDX-C8000REC,
it's actually a MDX-C800REC, as previously reported)
|
| • |
Simon also finds the latest
Sony brochures
(with a Minidisc section) at the AV-Store (UK).
Included in the Super Audio CD brochure
is a really clear explanation of the
Delta-Sigma 1-Bit analog to digital conversion
process, it's worth reading.
|
| • |
Thomas James forwards MiniDisc-Canada's car
MD page.
|
| • |
Beyond HiFi
opens shop, selling MD accessories and blanks.
|
| 5/2: | Art Chimes considers
the use of Minidisc in Radio Journalism. |
| 5/1: | German online MD
shop MiniManiax has conducted several MD torture tests (in German, with photos), including
10 minutes each in a 50°C oven and boiling water, and being run
over by a car. In all cases the audio on the disc survived.
|
| • |
Thomas James
forwards Dorothy Parker's mention of the Zitel MD-Port
AN1, a USB to MD (analog) adapter for the Windows platform, due
out May 4.
Alexandru Anton-Luca points out several goodies:
|
| • |
The Egosys
U24, a full duplex USB to TOSlink/coax/line adapter, with Windows
and Mac drivers (not yet available?).
|
| • |
The VXpocket, a high quality analog/digital I/O PCMCIA
card for PC or Mac laptops. Though US$730 list, BSWUSA offers it for ~US$600.
|
| • |
Another Sound Blaster bracket: Opticompo's POCAB couples with the Soundblaster Live
to provide SPDIF coax and optical I/O for about $60. (Balint previously
outlined a DIY solution for this.)
|
| • |
Pro audio recording at Radio College: They have an array of technical topics<--added to press/tech journals: professional--> for the aspiring radio journalist,
one of which is a careful Sharp MD-MS722 review from a pro-use
standpoint (included at its end are Q&As with readers, in which the author says ``MD leaves cassette technology in the dust''). In
addition, the site has a bulletin board-like technical exchange on MD vs. DAT
in pro-use recording.
|
| • |
The essay contest is closed and
judging of the 41(!) entries is underway. All contestants should have
received an acknowledgement. If you have not, please let us know.
|
| 4/29: | Blas Gonzalez
finds a few MD HiFi via IEEE 1394 (firewire) tidbits: Sony will
introduce a iLink (firewire) equipped CD/MD system in the UK for
GBP 1000 in August (see "Wire Cutter" article) and Kenwood demonstrated an MD/CD/DVD firewire system at
the 1998 Fall Comdex. The basic idea is for firewire to be used as a
single bus running between all HiFi components that carries control
and data signals. |
| 4/28: | GadgetSquad keeps
at it, writing a detailed and informative article on MiniDisc
vs. MP3.
|
| • |
A reader finds Sharp's MD-R3, a 3CD/MD deck, for $200 (free
shipping) at Buy.com
|
| 4/27: | John McLachlan
points out a DigitalMASS article covering Fraunhofer's MP3 licensing and the rise of Ogg
Vorbis, a free software alternative. |
| 4/26: | GadgetSquad's
Gautam Vasudevan gives a sober, detailed report on Sony's
NW-MS7 Memory Stick Walkman. Though well made, he finds it
hindered by a high price, short battery life, and restrictive digital
rights management policies.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn notes a preliminary Casio English page for their WMP-1V MP3 wristwatch.
|
| 4/25: | Pro-use dream
portable: James Lee points out the HHB Portadisc MDP 500 (pdf brochure). This ATRAC 4.5 machine, due out in
September for US$1545 (projected), is the first portable to feature a
USB port for digital I/O transfers with a PC (currently allows real-time
PCM data transfers only).
|
| • |
Karl Kjendal notes the Nakamichi MD-45z car MD receiver, equipped with a 24
bit DAC.
|
| • |
Dale Greer adds further Macintosh digital recording alternatives
wherein he mentions that Thunderwire promises a
complete iMac-to-MD digital solution by "Spring
2000", a Windows version is to follow.
|
| • |
Dale's posting finds we have been remiss in mentioning the MSRP
$500 Yamaha
RP-U100 (product
catalog, comments from Stereo
Review and ZDnet),
essentially a USB port equipped HiFi receiver with TOSlink in and out.
|
| • |
Matthew Wall and Peter Ravn spot good prices on the Denon DMD-1000 deck ($265) and Sony MZ-E25 player ($101) at Overstock.com.
|
| 4/24: | Jansen finds
brief coverage of the Pioneer IS mini-system in T3 magazine.
|
| • |
T-station reports on the Kenwood SH-3MD mini-system (Japanese press release), an upgrade of their SG-3MD mini-system
that includes 2X CD->MD dubbing (single track dubbing is
still 1X however, and HCMS [high-speed copy management system]
prevents a second high speed copy of the same CD within a 74 minute
period).
|
| 4/23: | David Janson notes
that Music Press On Demand, an MD vending machine, will
begin service in Japan this week. (Don't miss the MPOD FAQ,
available on their top
page) |
| 4/22: | Dale Greer
describes digital transfers from Mac to MD and back. |
| 4/21: | Too hot for Sony:
Dave Matthews finds a PG-13
rated MD ``Dream'' advert (2.7MB .avi) produced for Sony UK that
they declined to air. Critics: Heady! Hilarious! (2.3MB
compressed - bottom left frame) |
| 4/20: | Leon points out a
Japanese anti-MD site (brief English section, machine translation into English). ``It is
blasphemy ... to throw out cassette tape as garbage!'' |
| 4/19: | Mark Kouts notes
the Zits MiniDisc
Cartoon in today's SF Examiner. |
| 4/16: | Ryan Graft has
made a page devoted to live MD recording.
|
| • |
Lou Moore
encourages MD Trading in his recent newsletter.
|
| • |
Russel Philip spies an MZ-R55 in a videotaped police interview covering the Washington
DC protests (in the third video, entitled "Police and Protesters Clash...").
|
| 4/14: | MP3/CD-R handling
in brand name products: Nicolas Stizza finds Japanese and (brief) English information for Kenwood's 919 series car
audio components. The Z919 (CD receiver) and D919 (CD deck) play MP3
CD-R/RW discs as well as normal CDs. Also included are three new MD
receivers, the MJ919 (3+1MD changer), MZ919 (CD/MD) and M919 (single
MD). All units are single DIN and Japanese FM band only. Nicolas also finds
the Goodman
GDMP330 Portable MP3/CD Player, available in Europe in July for 150
Euros.
|
| • |
Wolfgang Reichling points out the Open S-link
Project dedicated to making ``computer s-link controlled
automation a wide and openly available option for everybody''.
|
| 4/13: | PASS gives brief
coverage of the Denon DN-F20R, a Flash Memory based portable
recorder. Intended for professional use, it includes an uncompressed
recording mode. |
| 4/12: | Axel Stenberg
finds photos, Japanese page, and press release for the Sharp MD-ST50 player:
JPY26,000, 75.3x16.3x80.4mm, 111g (w/batt), playing time of 21h (NiMH), 31h
(AA), 56h (both), w/charging stand and in plenty of colors.
|
| • |
Alvin reports that
the $120 Sharp MD-MT15 recorder is still available at MobShop using promo code "SIXPROMO" at checkout to
take $50 off the $170 price. The MD-MT15 is normally drycell powered but can be tricked into working with rechargeables.
|
| 4/11: | Adam Frydland
sells a �20 kit allowing use of a CD-ROM drive for digital recording to MD. Shawn Lin
outlined a few issues to bear in mind with this approach in 1998.
|
| • |
Mike Chan spots
good prices for Sony MD gear at Electronics eMall.
|
| 4/10: | Ted Rees finds an
IDG story on Sony's online music retailing venture. Sony will be
offering audio in both ATRAC3 and Windows Media format.
|
| • |
Nick Hogan spots
Supreme Video, selling Sony and Sharp MD gear at
competitive prices. |
| 4/9: | Microformat Wars
part III: Aivar Grislis finds a Wired article covering the DataPlay Disc, a tiny
500MB write-once medium designed to hold music, books, games and
photos.
|
| • |
Kheops
MiniDisc in Florida offers Hi-Space blanks with a credit card
payment option.
|
| • |
Ed Wong notes BSW, a
radio station supply house selling pro MD equipment (Denon, Sony,
Tascam, Yamaha).
|
| 4/7: | Gregory Chan has
created an MP3 to Minidisc on Macintosh tutorial. |
| 4/6: | Howard Gluckman
finds the Kenwood KMD-X92, their latest in-dash MD receiver.
|
| • |
Shawn Lin's April Fools MZ-R110/120PDA
has been commented upon far and wide and reported by Nanhuatech (Chinese) and PC Watch (Japanese). Gosh, do you think a
company making one of these would find them popular?
|
| • |
T-Station reports on three boomboxes:
the Sony ZS-M75 (Japanese press release) with 2X CD/Tape->MD
dubbing and world-band FM section [this machine incorporates HCMS {high
speed copy management system}, preventing the same material from being
high speed dubbed more than once within a 1X period],
the Aiwa CSD-MD22 (English and Japanese press releases) with world-band FM,
and the Kenwood MDX-F1 (Japanese page).
|
| • |
David Pio finds a page describing how to inexpensively modify a Diamond MX300 sound card for
TOSLink output.
|
| • |
Eric Feinstein recommends adding
non-skid feet to your portable.
|
| 4/5: | John and Mike Sims
announce ZephIR, a $75 hardware and software package for IR
universal remote control from a Macintosh (includes ADB port IR
interface).
|
| • |
Mostafa Abdel-Hady
and Ed Wong find a second MobShop buy-cycle for the $110 Sharp MD-MT15S, promotion code ''TOPICATIP''
still works (see 4/4 news). |
| 4/4: | Ed Porras finds the
$100 (almost) MD Recorder:
"Group buying site MobShop
offers the Sharp MD-MT15S Portable MiniDisc
Player / Recorder for $159.95 with free shipping. Promotion code
''TOPICATIP'' takes $50 off for a net price of $109.95, a reader
found. (Enter it at checkout.) The price may fall to $139.95
before discount, or $89.95 after, before the buying cycle closes on
Thursday, April 6 at 12:45 pm ET." |
| 4/3: | James Torsen finds
a ZDNet article concluding that MD is superior to the Memory Stick Walkman.
|
| • |
Doug Rice shows how he made a Remote Control Timer for an Aiwa AM-F5.
|
| • |
Angus Bell spots a Wired article in which Terence Chea grudgingly
accepts that MiniDisc is the best recording format in today's
consumer digital audio marketplace.
|
| • |
James Tolley notes a Fast Company blurbette stating MD is good.
|
| • |
Oscar Setiawan points out Creative's Live Drive II optical I/O bracket.
|
| 4/1: |
|
| • | -->
Sony will apparently adopt an S-Core
transformer in upcoming MD equipment.
|
| • |
Several folks get the skinny on some interesting equipment: the Sony
MZ-R100, MZ-R110/120PDA
and MXD-PCD3. |
| 3/29: | Christian Almind
takes a closer look at the Sony MZ-R70.
|
| • |
Tim finds the Sony MZ-E44 and MZ-E55 for $100 and $150 respectively at
J&R (search for
mze44 or mze55).
|
| • |
John Crawford likes the versatility of an MD portable.
|
| 3/28: | Leon posts his
25 button cellphone-like MD portable fantasy.
|
| • |
Stephen Roux notes that the '00 Cadillac Seville has a MiniDisc option for $300. Oddly, they drop the CD
player to make room for it.
|
| • |
Ethics questions aside, Shade finds a way to bring home the
latest music.
|
| • |
T-station spots a Japanese page for Sharp's headphone-shaped ATRAC3 player. Incorporating an
SDMI compliant 64MB Sony Memory Stick, two hour playing times (at
66kbps) are possible. Battery life: 4 hours, MSRP: JPY48,000.
|
| 3/25: | Superfi UK posts
brief info about Sony's MDS-JE440 and MDS-JE640 decks, both with ATRAC Ver 1.0 Type R.
|
| • |
Daniel Kouvo kindly offers several cool MD uses and tips.
|
| • |
Johan Kurka scans a German ad for the Orion MDC-201 (337KB), appearing very similar to the
Goodmans 901CMD.
|
| • |
Mark J. Linkhorst opens MDlink, offering SCMS-free duplication services to
professionals as well as MD equipment and blanks.
|
| 3/24: | Dr. Tuna describes how Minidisc was used to create
a gallery of heart sounds that includes the sounds of
mechanical heart valves.
|
| • |
Ed Cole reports his success using Minidisc at a radio station.
|
| • |
Microformat Wars: Al Jones, Brian Wiklem and several others point out Sony
(English,
Japanese) and Sharp's
(English,
Japanese) announcement
of a 50mm 1GB MO disc (with 2GB and 4GB versions possible) that looks surprisingly similar to the
Sanyo/Olympus/Hitachi 730MB, 50mm mini-MO. Both are slated for use in digital cameras.
|
| • |
Blas finds a handy Sony glossary of HiFi terms.
|
| 3/23: | Peter Ravn posts
the magic
key combinations to get many Sony bookshelf systems into test
mode. But fiddling around without a service manual at hand may be hazardous.
|
| • |
Superfi UK puts together zoomable surface scans of the Sharp MD-SR50 and MD-SR60 portable AA cell recorders.
|
| 3/22: | Ferdinan Wirawan
reviews the Sony MZ-R90 and wonders if the MZ-R50 isn't a
better unit.
|
| • |
Alex Clark finds a blurbette from ZDnet saying the Panasonic SJ-MJ75
compares favorably with an MP3 player.
|
| • |
Sebastien Bogaert has made an MD
page en Français.
|
| • |
Linus Sweers updates his TOSLink Tx/Rx parts page and adds a credit card
payment option. |
| 3/21: | Long strange trip
dept: Majiloon has branched out from balloon performance art to the
manufacture of a tidy wireless remote for Sony and Aiwa portables. |
| 3/19: | Phil Gartman finds
a Sony DCM-M1 Discam blurb on CNet. They like the
editing features, but not the image quality. |
| 3/18: | Andre Cardoso
spots photos and Japanese info for a slew of Sony car audio gear: the
WX-C77 (JPY116000, 3MD+CD, double DIN),
WX-C66 (JPY84000, MD+CD, double DIN),
MDX-G55 (JPY68000, 45Wx4) [previous 3 come with wired &
wireless remotes],
MDX-65 (JPY58000, 6 MD changer, seemless disc
change, optical out),
MDX-65RF (JPY67800, standalone MDX-65 with wireless remote,
small remote display and FM coupling to existing car stereo through
JASO (standard?) antenna jack [coupling frequency unstated]),
MDX-C5400X (JPY41000, 50Wx4) and
MDX-C7400X (JPY53000, 50Wx4, wireless remote). All FM sections
sadly Japanese band only.
|
| • |
Grover Cleveland
points out the Delta DIO 24/96, a digital I/O (coax/optical) PCI sound
card that is PC and Macintosh compatible.
|
| 3/17: | Simon Wilson has
made a handsome comparison report of the Aiwa AM-F70 and Sony MZ-R90.
|
| • |
MD archeology: we
find Sony's 1991 Mini Disc
announcement.
|
| • |
Blas abets again with an AudioFile article giving a bit of MiniDisc perspective from Malaysia.
|
| • |
Pass (UK) has original batteries and remotes for several Sony and Sharp
portables.
|
| • |
Digital-e (UK) supplies competitively priced blanks.
|
| 3/16: | Blas is back,
noting a Sony/IBM deal to master and distribute secure
ATRAC3. The press release also mentions a wireless trial in Japan
that will enable customers to receive and play music content over NTT
DoCoMo's PHS 64K bps data communications network, using Sony's Memory
Stick as a recording media for portable devices. |
| 3/15: | Blas spots further
ATRAC3 details.
|
| • |
James Brodsky finds MiniDisc being used in field PA systems.
|
| 3/14: | Blas Gonzalez
finds a Sony press release stating plans to license the ATRAC3 LSI.
|
| • |
Brandon Seong-Shin Hong's detailed economics
class paper on MiniDisc discusses the marketing of the format and its
future prospects.
|
| • |
We spot further PC to MD connection tips at ZDTV.
|
| 3/13: | Tony Cerami points out
Crutchfield's page and photo for the Sony MDX-C800REC, a single DIN
recording car MD unit. |
| 3/12: | Superfi posts
rotatable photos of the Sony MZ-E60 (a camelback) and MZ-E75 units.
|
| • |
Barney Kahn points out a ZDTV note covering PC to MD connections that broaches the idea of
high-speed downloading. |
| 3/10: | Dr. Rasche notes
an article stating that Sonic Solutions will integrate ATRAC3 into their workstations for
preparing Internet audio.
|
| • |
Ted Reinke finds a lackluster Sony MXD-D3 review on etown. Though they
like the unit, they apparently feel that 10 years of increasing market
penetration by the format presents a bleak outlook for the future.
|
| • |
Mike Wrob points out a Bass Pro tackle box (item 'D') for $6 that he uses
for storing 75 MDs.
|
| • |
We've freshened up a bit (thanks to design help from Jim Tolley and
Paul Budnitz at Minidisco). The old format
top page will remain available for the fogeys amongst us.
|
| 3/9: | John Asnin finds an
Emedia article that considers MiniDisc afresh.
|
| • |
Guy Churchill notes a Headwize page discussing the psychological content of a Sony MiniDisc
advertisement.
|
| • |
We have a new look, beta II (subpages will look like
this). As always, your comments are particularly helpful. |
| 3/7: | The Cue-master remote control system offers
professional, RF based remote operation of PS/2 jack equipped Sony decks. |
| 3/5: | Hardeep Bhogal and
others report that MinidiscNow is gone. A rather sad story, MDN was
among the earliest and most active of the MD e-tailers, but their
reportedly poor customer service apparently caught up with
them. |
| 3/3: | Angel Dejesus
points out Sony's second USB to Minidisc announcement (the first was back in September). Congratulations Sony
on getting the MP3/Minidisc story right!
|
| • |
Superfi (UK) posts pictures of Sharp's MD-SR50 and MD-SR60 (the former sans remote). They seem
identical to the MD-MT50 that Sharp just announced in Japan.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn points out Earjam.com, a Voquette like device that helps you
locate and play a variety of web audio content.
|
| • |
Thank you all for your comments on our new layout! I'll post notice
when Beta 2 is ready.
|
| 3/2: | Please give us your comments
on the MDCP's new look (beta). |
| 3/1: | Superfi posts zoomable, rotatable scans of Sony's MZ-R70 "camel
back" MD recorder, as well as ones for the MZ-R91 and MZ-E90 units.
|
| • |
Frederick Henderson points out Onyx
MiniDisc housings for journalists and other professional
users.
|
| 2/29: | A Korean friend
spots Aiwa's Japanese page for their XR-MD510 bookshelf system. The T-station gives
English coverage of that unit as well as Aiwa's LCX-MD210 bookshelf system (for which Aiwa now
has an English page). Aiwa also now gives English coverage of their MM-FX500 pocket MP3 recorder.
|
| • |
A friend points out the announcement of Liquid Audio's CD Kiosk, they're
debuting the system at the National Association of Record
Merchandisers show. |
| 2/27: | Tim Yocum has made
a handsome review of the MXD-D3, Sony's 4X CD->MD dubbing
deck.
|
| • |
TechToys4U (Salt Lake City, Utah) offers MiniDisc portables and decks. |
| 2/26: | MiniDisc Access
(California) sells MD accessories, blanks and (some)
equipment.
|
| • |
Ismaan Ameer finds Pre-recorded Minidiscs in Australia at Sanity.com
(unfortunately you cannot search exclusively for MD titles).
|
| 2/25: | Peter Ravn spots
Sony Austria's Aroma-round CD packaging, can MiniDisc au Marmalade
be far behind?
|
| • |
Hoshing Kwong describes a circuit board
fix for the Sony MZ-R55 self recording-start problem.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn has made a page for the Philips SBC RU880 remote.
|
| • |
Asian Imports (Toronto, Canada) sells MD imports.
|
| 2/24: | Axel Stenberg and
friends find Sharp's Japanese page and press release for their MD-MT50 "single AA" portable
recorder. Battery life, alkaline: rec: 3h, play: 7h, NiMH: rec: 4.5h,
play: 6.5h. Dim: 99.9 x 22.9 x 77.9mm, 191g w/batt, MSRP:
JPY35,000.
|
| • |
A friend spots Aiwa's photo and Japanese announcement of their MM-FX500, the world's first portable MP3
encoder/player. With 32MB of memory, it records music (analog input)
at 128kbps/44.1khz or voice memo (builtin mono mic input) at 8kbps/16khz. Battery life on AA x
1, rec: 5h, play: 10h. Dim: 65 x 90 x 18.5mm, 80g. MSRP: JPY 39,800
|
| • |
Martin Clinton notes an interesting ZDNet article on Lithium Ion Polymer Batteries, the
``builtin'' rechargeable cell used in the Sony MZ-E95 player.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn finds the Philips SBC RU880 IR remote with builtin timer
functions.
|
| 2/22: | Peter Ravn notes a
way even stalwart cassette users can enjoy MP3(!)
|
| • |
Rikard Ternerup and Superfi kindly supply further details for the
Sony
MZ-R70 and
MZ-E60 portables.
|
| • |
DiscountDiscs
(UK) sells HiSpace and TDK blanks. |
| 2/21: | Will Smith finds
the Sony MZ-R70 and MZ-E60 units for sale at QED (UK). (Dimensions and battery life info for these units would be much
appreciated) |
| 2/18: | Jean Stackpole
spots further Voquette Netlink coverage at the San Fransisco
Examiner and Chronicle.
|
| • |
Danilo finds a page describing MD deck IR remote control with a Psion palmtop
computer.
|
| 2/17: | James Jarvie
notes a brief editorial and favorable review of the Voquette Netlink/MD recorder
bundle on ZDNet.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn adds
brief instructions for entering service mode on Sony bookshelf systems.
|
| • |
A reader points out Aiwa's Japanese announcement of their LCX-MD210 CD/MD/cassette bookshelf system with
worldband FM tuner and 3 settable colors of LCD illumination.
|
| 2/16: | Ecoustics has a
good MiniDisc section with links to many equipment
reviews. |
| 2/15: | Robert points out
Aiwa Deutschland's pages for the AM-F80 and AM-F75 portables, the latter apparently a cost
reduced version that drops the backlight and the remote's LCD.
|
| • |
Tony Wang sends in a substantial Panasonic
SJ-MJ75 vs. JVC XM-PX5 comparison gallery.
|
| 2/14: | William
Hollingworth has updated his free MiniDisc Manager software to include a WinAmp Playlist Recorder function that fully
automates the titling and recording of MP3s and CDs onto Sony MD
decks.
|
| • |
Jens Lungstad
points out a Sony MZ-R55 review for newbies at Sharky
Extreme. |
| 2/9: | Superfi posts
photos of the Sony MZ-R70 recorder and MZ-E60
player, both due in March (no further details yet). They also
offer nice zoomable surface scans of the Sony MZ-R90, Aiwa
AM-F80 & AM-HX50, and Panasonic SJ-MR100 & SJ-MJ70 units.
|
| • |
MiniDiscussion adds
a new Frequently Asked Questions section to their site.
|
| • |
MiniDisc-Canada offers the hard-to-find Sharp external drycell case for the MD-MS70x and
MD-S301 portables.
|
| 2/8: | Glen Wintringham
describes his fondness for the Sony MZ-R91.
|
| • |
Dave Derby tries out the Voquette
Netlink, but finds it disappointing.
|
| • |
The T-station covers Sharp's MD-F100 boombox and MD-X10 mini-compo system, both featuring 2X CD->MD
dubbing and world-band FM tuners.
|
| • |
Howard Jow
revisits NiMH battery life after a
year of use.
|
| • |
MiniManiax in
Germany opens shop, offering poplular MD portables.
|
| • |
MiniDisc-UK.co.uk appears,
specializing in Minidisc accessories (primarily Sony and Aiwa microphones).
|
| 2/4: | Chuck Monfradi
points out Ubid.com, a site auctioning company merchandise.
They offer MD portables and decks and
currently have a Sharp MD-MS722 for $125 after $50 rebate. |
| 2/3: | Timothy Stockman
reviews the Sony MDS-PC2 deck.
|
| • |
Francisco Jose Montilla points out an Slink to PC interface you can build or buy. He also
finds Sony
S-Link Resource center.
|
| 2/2: | Peter Ravn notes SRTL (UK)
carries TDK blanks. |
| 2/1: | Kobayashi Yu finds
photos and Japanese info for Sharp's MD-ST55, world's smallest and thinnest player
(71x12.8x78mm). Features charging stand, charging LED (flashes while
charging, extinguishes when done) and battery life of 21h (NIMH), 31h
(AA), or 56h (both).
|
| • |
Chris Dom spots
Erikson's combined MP3 player and cell phone, no wireless
downloading however.
|
| • |
Timothy Stockman points out a page for hacking Sony's Slink CAV-1 interface, felt to be similar to the
MDS-PC2's CAV-50C.
|
| • |
Sony UK dealer Total Audio's MDS-E11 page has free RS-232 control software for
the MDS-E11 and MDS-E52 pro decks that allows track titling,
playlists, remote control, etc. The RS-232 protocol for the decks is
also available there.
|
| • |
Mark van Rossum has written free software for titling and controlling MD
decks via an IR
interface you can build.
|
| 1/31: | Timothy Stockman
kindly sends in the (pdf) manual for Sony's MD Editor 2 software, the
program that comes with their PC connectable MDS-PC2 deck.
|
| • |
Robert Jung clarifies Sony Music
Clip's MP3 capabilities.
|
| • |
Bas Oort offers some tidbits about the Sharp MD-MT15 service mode.
|
| • |
Tim Corcoran submits a review of Sony's
SRS-T1 active speakers, he considers them a vital part of his MD
travel kit.
|
| 1/30: | Tim Russell takes
a close look at Sony's solid state Music Clip player and its SDMI constraints. His
recommendation: stick with MiniDisc.
|
| • |
Jimmy Bogard points out the $35 Korean SoundTrack Digital NX sound card with Coax and TOSlink output.
|
| • |
Luis finds one we missed: a Gadget Guru commentary on the Sharp/Voquette Internet bundle.
|
| • |
The T-station and MiniDisc HK are offering a weekly contest to win MD blanks.
|
| 1/29: | Gary Duke has a demo recording on
MP3.com that he made with Core-Sound battery box binaural mikes.
|
| • |
Kenny Wong spots a CES announcement for the Alpine
MDM-7741, a ``high performance'' car audio MD head unit.
|
| • |
Roger Yao points
out the Aureal Superquad, a $50 sound card with optical output (search
on "aureal optical" at Pricewatch.com). He notes that only the OEM version
has optical output, their retail version does not.
|
| • |
Peter Ravn notes that J. Ackerman has Philips brand(!)
MiniDisc blanks for sale.
|
| • |
Dave Hawthorn finds TOSlink and miniplug optical cables in the UK at
Tempo (search on "optical") and DigitalChoice
(accessories->audio lead->2nd page).
|
| 1/28: | A reader kindly
points out a brief Japanese news announcement and photo of Sony's unusual looking MZ-E77. |
| 1/27: | Ilwoong Pyo spots
Sony's Japanese announcement (no photo) of their MZ-E77 player: pop colors, one touch eject, bass and
treble controls with 2 presets, NiMH: 21h, AA: 31h, both: 56h, Dim:
78.3 x 13.9 x 71.4mm, pocket weight: 128g.
|
| • |
M.H.M.Evers has a Dutch MD Page.
|
| 1/26: | Ilwoong Pyo points
out photos and Japanese info on Seiko's MD
labels and printing software (closeup) for their Smart Label Printer 220. Seiko
notes the convenience of using their software together with a PC connectable Sony MD unit (e.g. MDS-PC2) and
offers their printer software for download. |
| 1/25: | Tony Wang
contributes an informative JVC XM-P5
MD player review as well as pointing out MiniDiscWeb.com,
an MD web retailer selling popular portables and accessories.
|
| • |
Maximilian Huetter finds a German language comparison test of MP3 and MD, at the
Warentest institute.
|
| • |
Jonathan Thompson spots a Japanese page for the Eclipse E5309 car MD player, a double-DIN
unit with 4MD+1CD capacity (3 MDs in the changer and one
"guest MD"). Japanese FM band only.
|
| 1/22: | Gary Bingner talks about the
favorite blanks in his collection.
|
| • |
Justin Woo has started his own MD equipment price watch. |
| 1/21: | Superfi (UK) now offers
the Aiwa AM-F80 and Sony
MZ-R90 portables with a local price matching guarantee. |
| 1/20: | Howard Lefkowitz
spots Sony's Tourist Model information page, providing detailed
information for taking Sony equipment abroad, including service
locations world wide.
|
| • |
Ian McFarlane
posts a Sony MZ-E80 review. |
| 1/17: | MiniDiscHolders.com opens shop, offering a selection
MD racks and packs. |
| 1/16: | Ilwoong Pyo points
out Casio's photos and Japanese announcement of their MP3 player wristwatch. Due out in April, the unit
holds 32MB of audio and can be loaded via USB port (each 4 minute track
taking 70 seconds). |
| 1/14: | MP3.com begins a
beta Music Provider Service. They have 45,000 CDs
available for streaming after you show you own the CD.
You do this by 1) placing the CD in your CD-ROM drive and using
their "Beam-it" software, or 2) purchasing the CD through one of their
associated e-tailers. |
| 1/13: | Mikhail Grigoriev
points out Panasonic's unusual looking SC-PM50MD mini-compo system, and T-station gives it
English coverage. He also finds Panasonic's Japanese
announcement of their RX-MDX5 boombox.
|
| • |
Hans Henrik Bune spots a German testing institute's summary results
for 9 modern MD recorders.
|
| • |
Zach Zaletel finds the Sharp MD-MS722 for $150 (after rebate and gift
certificate [exp. 1/28]) at Shopping.com.
|
| 1/12: | A friend sends in
photos of the Sony
MZ-E7W wristwatch remote.
|
| • |
Moore finds
ZDNet's mention of the Sony MZ-R90's February arrival in the US (near the
middle of the page). |
| 1/11: | Laurence Lee spots
Sony's photo and Japanese announcement of their MZ-E7W wireless remote MD walkman, allowing
wristwatch based control and display operations. (See English machine translation).
|
| • |
Last year, ASC and
the London College of Printing made a joint venture to equip
student journalists with MZ-R37 recorders.
|
| • |
Another good
price: Milton Meinhardt finds the Aiwa CSD-MD50 boombox for $200 at J&R.
|
| • |
MiniDiscussion.com, our official discussion board, gets a complete facelift.
|
| 1/9: | Benny Chan finds the
Aiwa AM-F70 for $200 at Tweeter (search for "amf70"). |
| 1/8: | PASS (UK) manufactures
several MD accessories: the MD-Report and MD-Report Junior housings as well as an oversize
Sony wired-remote button box. |
| 1/6: | Hardeep Bhogal
spots two Sony CES press releases. One covers the US intro of 6 portables: the MZ-R90 (in blue), MZ-R37SP
($200), ZS-M35 (2X dubbing boombox), MZ-R70 (dual headphone jacks(?)),
MZ-E60 ($150), MZ-E75 ($250). The other announces the MDX-C800REC AM/FM/MD car stereo head unit with
recording capability.
|
| • |
Jonathan Angel finds word of a Sony tie-up with RealNetworks, providing ATRAC3
audio delivery over the Net.
|
| • |
Paul Robertson has started a UK MD page with a focus on blanks, trading and accessories.
|
| 1/5: | Moshe Braner kindly
submits a Sharp
MD-MT15 review.
|
| • |
Ian McFarlane posts
a review of the Sharp MD-M3, a CD/MD bookshelf system with 2X dubbing
capability. |
| 1/4: | Rodrigo Drupi
Mansilla starts a Spanish MiniDisc page. |
| 1/3: | We're collecting a few MiniDisc
tricks and tips. |
| 1/1: | Happy New Year!
|
| • |
We take a closer look at the MiniDisc's User
Table of Contents. |
