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I am concidering buying a Minidisc player but I need to know some features of them.
Assuming its a recordable minidisc with no extra cables etc
1.Will it record Mp3's from my computer?? Do I need a special cable?
2.Can it record cd's from either my hi-fi or my pc?
3.Can I connect it up to my pc/hi-fi and play the music from the minidisc through the pc/hi-fi speakers?
Any help would be greatly apreciated.
Assuming its a recordable minidisc with no extra cables etc
1.Will it record Mp3's from my computer?? Do I need a special cable?
2.Can it record cd's from either my hi-fi or my pc?
3.Can I connect it up to my pc/hi-fi and play the music from the minidisc through the pc/hi-fi speakers?
Any help would be greatly apreciated.
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Oh my god, thanks for the help everyone. Especially Dr.Duck. And YH.
Guess what. Im not getting one now ! :-D But if I have the cash I know what to look for.
Thanks again.
Guess what. Im not getting one now ! :-D But if I have the cash I know what to look for.
Thanks again.
Slaveunit wrote:
> There are plenty of moving parts! How do you think it reads the disc?
You now what I mean - it doesn't jog.
> There are plenty of moving parts! How do you think it reads the disc?
You now what I mean - it doesn't jog.
To use the optical cable for recording from your PC, you'll need a soundcard with an optical output.
Not many cards have optical outs, so you need to check if yours has or not.
If it hasn't, you can use a standard 3.5mm jack cable to connect from the line out of your PC soundcard (NOT the normal output the speakers go in), to the line in on your MD player.
Not many cards have optical outs, so you need to check if yours has or not.
If it hasn't, you can use a standard 3.5mm jack cable to connect from the line out of your PC soundcard (NOT the normal output the speakers go in), to the line in on your MD player.
There are plenty of moving parts! How do you think it reads the disc?
Minidisc players rock. I've got two, don't ask me why. The quality is superb and there aren't any moving parts. If only they weren't so expensive then more people would have 'em. You can record anyting as long as the cord fits. Also if it wasn't for minidiscs I would never have discovered Honeycrack.
Honeycrack rock!
Honeycrack rock!
If you jack-plug your MD player into the back of your PC for recoeding MP3s, then turn the volume on the PC to about 0.05 out of 10, as the PC amp is far too poweerful.
Saying that, Sony have released a PC minidisc deck which looks quite tasty.
Saying that, Sony have released a PC minidisc deck which looks quite tasty.
GasMask wrote:
1.Will
> it record Mp3's from my computer?? Do I need a special cable?
You can record anything that comes through a headphone socket. Some minidisks also come with special pc-link cables which will go to the pc directly, instead of via the speakers.
Basically though, yes, you can record mp3s.
Most minidisks seem to come with a cable to connect to a hifi with red and white output jacks on the back each the size of a normal headphone socket (3.5mm, i think). Thus for most people, you're likely to need to buy an extra cable to record stuff.
2.Can it
> record cd's from either my hi-fi or my pc?
Yes, see above, any audio output, and somewhere in some tandy or radio shack, there will be the necessary cable to get the sound from the machine to the minidisk!
3.Can I connect it up to my
> pc/hi-fi and play the music from the minidisc through the pc/hi-fi
> speakers?
If the hifi or pc has an audio input socket, and you can get the right cable to connect the audio output of the minidisk player to it, yes, it'll be possible.
Sorry, didn't know how far you'd got with YH, but i hope that's useful.
Also, when chosing a price range, bear in mind that you'll also need to buy minidisks (say, 10 pounds for a pack of 10 to be getting on with), at least one cable to be able to record stuff (i didn't know ANYONE with the kind of hifi i could record from with the lead provided!), and battery power.
Battery power (yes, it gets it's own section!):
Using normal AA batteries all the time will gost BIG in the long run. I really wouldn't recomend it.
The minidisk may or may not come with an ac adaptor. If not, expect to pay 10 - 15 pounds. The company who made it will tell you that you need one made by them (suprised? : ) ), don't know how much truth is in that.
Rechargable battery: The manufacturer will again point you in the direction of their own make, likely to set you back roughly ten pounds.
However, this gives you one battry worth of power before recharging. You will almost certainly recharge it by plugging the minidisk into the mains with the ac adaptor, with the battery inside.
I favoured a different route. The manual tells you (or at least, mine told me) that you can't use Nickel-Cadium
(Ni-Cad/Ni-Cd) rechargable batteries, and this will probably void the warranty.
Not sure how much i believed them, but with the cost of the machine and the possibility of trashing it beond use, i wasn't about to try anything.
According to the manual, however, there seemed to be no problems in using Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries (Ni-MH). These are a bit more expensive than Ni-Cad, but last longer. For a set of 4 and a charger, it cost me 15 pounds (argos). However, it had the advantages that you had more than one battery available, so when one is flat, you can just switch it over. (Recharging before completely flat will reduce the capacity of a battery, so if you're near the end before you take it anywhere, you'd either need to do that, run the battery out completely just so you could charge it, or have it run out on you when using it.) Also, you can recharge flat batteries while taking the minidisk somewhere else with full batteries.
While rechargable Ni-MH batteries with charger are more expensive than the single manufacturer battery, i think that the cost is definitely justified by their benefits, plus you aren't being fleeced by the manufacturer taking more money off you than the minidisk's price tag. Thus they aren't taking advantage of the hidden extra costs.
Blimey, i didn't expect to be writing all that when i started this. It's taken one and a half albums (how i measure time!) to do it all : )
1.Will
> it record Mp3's from my computer?? Do I need a special cable?
You can record anything that comes through a headphone socket. Some minidisks also come with special pc-link cables which will go to the pc directly, instead of via the speakers.
Basically though, yes, you can record mp3s.
Most minidisks seem to come with a cable to connect to a hifi with red and white output jacks on the back each the size of a normal headphone socket (3.5mm, i think). Thus for most people, you're likely to need to buy an extra cable to record stuff.
2.Can it
> record cd's from either my hi-fi or my pc?
Yes, see above, any audio output, and somewhere in some tandy or radio shack, there will be the necessary cable to get the sound from the machine to the minidisk!
3.Can I connect it up to my
> pc/hi-fi and play the music from the minidisc through the pc/hi-fi
> speakers?
If the hifi or pc has an audio input socket, and you can get the right cable to connect the audio output of the minidisk player to it, yes, it'll be possible.
Sorry, didn't know how far you'd got with YH, but i hope that's useful.
Also, when chosing a price range, bear in mind that you'll also need to buy minidisks (say, 10 pounds for a pack of 10 to be getting on with), at least one cable to be able to record stuff (i didn't know ANYONE with the kind of hifi i could record from with the lead provided!), and battery power.
Battery power (yes, it gets it's own section!):
Using normal AA batteries all the time will gost BIG in the long run. I really wouldn't recomend it.
The minidisk may or may not come with an ac adaptor. If not, expect to pay 10 - 15 pounds. The company who made it will tell you that you need one made by them (suprised? : ) ), don't know how much truth is in that.
Rechargable battery: The manufacturer will again point you in the direction of their own make, likely to set you back roughly ten pounds.
However, this gives you one battry worth of power before recharging. You will almost certainly recharge it by plugging the minidisk into the mains with the ac adaptor, with the battery inside.
I favoured a different route. The manual tells you (or at least, mine told me) that you can't use Nickel-Cadium
(Ni-Cad/Ni-Cd) rechargable batteries, and this will probably void the warranty.
Not sure how much i believed them, but with the cost of the machine and the possibility of trashing it beond use, i wasn't about to try anything.
According to the manual, however, there seemed to be no problems in using Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries (Ni-MH). These are a bit more expensive than Ni-Cad, but last longer. For a set of 4 and a charger, it cost me 15 pounds (argos). However, it had the advantages that you had more than one battery available, so when one is flat, you can just switch it over. (Recharging before completely flat will reduce the capacity of a battery, so if you're near the end before you take it anywhere, you'd either need to do that, run the battery out completely just so you could charge it, or have it run out on you when using it.) Also, you can recharge flat batteries while taking the minidisk somewhere else with full batteries.
While rechargable Ni-MH batteries with charger are more expensive than the single manufacturer battery, i think that the cost is definitely justified by their benefits, plus you aren't being fleeced by the manufacturer taking more money off you than the minidisk's price tag. Thus they aren't taking advantage of the hidden extra costs.
Blimey, i didn't expect to be writing all that when i started this. It's taken one and a half albums (how i measure time!) to do it all : )
Right I know something about it now. Thanks to YH
So if I have an optical cable can I connect it to my pc, then play a MP3 then hit record and it would record it?
So if I have an optical cable can I connect it to my pc, then play a MP3 then hit record and it would record it?
No, but on a more serious note. I actually have no idea. Sorry.
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