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Topic: copy MiniDisc to HDD (Read 4399 times) previous topic - next topic
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copy MiniDisc to HDD

Hi folks. I'd like to digitally copy my MiniDiscs to my harddisk. MiniDisc is an optical medium, so it should be possible somehow, right ? Given MiniDiscs are ATRAC encoded, I expect/hope to end up with .aa3 or .oma or .at3 files ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Tran...Acoustic_Coding ).

What can I do?
Many thanks.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #1 –
I think theres a lot of different minidisc and atrac flavors.  It probably matters which one you have.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #3 –
Getting a direct digital copy off a MiniDisc is difficult, if not impossible. Although most machines had digital ins, very few (at least portables) had digital outs. Also, I think the few full size decks that did have digital outs, usually optical Toslink S/PDIF, were not capable of sending the raw file but rather a transcoded version of the ATRAC music, having converted it to standard 44.1/16bit first.

I think the Sony MDSJB920 had S/PDIF digital outs, if that helps any.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #4 –
The very first Sony portable one had both digital ins/outs. My cousin had it, and I had other newer models, but I think it was the most awesome MD player/rec ever sold.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #5 –
I have strictly no knowledge on this, but I see the following in Wikipedia s.v. MiniDisc

"By 2007, because of the waning popularity of the format and the increasing popularity of solid-state MP3 players, Sony was producing only one model, the Hi-MD MZ-RH1 (also available as      the MZ-M200 in North America packaged with a Sony microphone and limited Macintosh software support).[3][4][5]

"The introduction of the MZ-RH1 allowed users to freely move uncompressed digital recordings back and forth from the MiniDisc to a computer without the copyright protection limitations previously imposed upon the NetMD series."

The "uncompressed" in the second sentence may mark a difficulty. Still, just in case it helps.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #6 –
That's not the type of MD the OP has though. It's the original, "74 minute" one without USB connection. I don't think that player in "MD" mode (not "Hi MD") can transfer data.

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #7 –
Quote from: MichaelW on
"The introduction of the MZ-RH1 allowed users to freely move uncompressed digital recordings back and forth from the MiniDisc to a computer without the copyright protection limitations previously imposed upon the NetMD series."

The "uncompressed" in the second sentence may mark a difficulty. Still, just in case it helps.

I do own a MZ-RH1. I can reassure you that you can upload any recordings (analog, digital, scms *) from any type of MD (74min, Hi-MD) back to your computer in .oma or .wav format (your choice) via USB connection (a few minutes per disc). You need the SonicStage software for this, but it's a rather painless process considering Sony being involved.

*I haven't tried uploading Net-MD, LP2, LP4 and digital Hi-MD recordings, but afaik they should work exactly the same way.
 

copy MiniDisc to HDD

Reply #8 –
Quote from: chrizoo on
MiniDisc: I have standard 74 minute rewritable 2.5 inch MiniDiscs I recorded back in the late 90ies.

If your recordings were from mic in or analog in, then I suspect any MiniDisc machine with USB (not found on all units), and the right software, will allow you to get the recordings onto your HDD in at least some digital shape or form, such as transcoded to .WAV from the original ATRAC form that is on the MiniDisc itself.

If however the recordings were made digitally from a SCMS supporting device, such as virtually all standard CD player's digital output, then you seem to be limited to only one model, the MZRH1, with its unusual status of having an "unrestricted" USB out.

Notice in this listing of over a dozen machines, only the MZRH1 is described as "Uploading is in no way restricted (unlimited uploads of mic, line and digital recordings are permitted)" [emphasis mine]

Most MD decks with USB connections wont work, except for mic in and analog recordings, perhaps. That's my read of this document's listing:
MiniDisc.org

and MichaelW's quote of wikipedia:
Quote
"The introduction of the MZ-RH1 allowed users to freely move uncompressed digital recordings back and forth from the MiniDisc to a computer without the copyright protection limitations previously imposed upon the NetMD series."


The MZ-RH1 's "introduction" was at the very end of MiniDisc's 1992 to 2006 production run. [and some were still produced even until last year.]