For those that care about this sort of stuff…
I’ve been trying to find out if it is possible to get digital output from a mini-disc recorder. Up to this point, it appeared that the only way to get stuff off the minidisc was to record out the headphone jack into a pc sound card. Analog + real time, yuk!
I’ve found two decks at http://www.minidisco.com that have digital output.
One is a large portable, for reporters and the like. About 1500 USD. The other is a 1U rackmount for 500 USD. they both have optical out, so you would still have to go real time into a CD-R deck with optical inputs. The $1500 also has USB output, but the specs still have that ugly word “real time” attached.
These decks look expensive and complicated so I don’t think I’ll be plunking my money down anytime soon.
So the search for the holy grail goes on. Small, digital, 32x upload, cheap…
If anyone has anymore insight into this subject, i’d love hear it.
Thanks,
jb
edited for typos.
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[ This Message was edited by: brownja on 2002-08-27 11:39 ]
I don’t know of any portables with optical out. Least expensive I’ve seen is a home deck at minidisco, for $360 but out of stock. Might get it after I graduate, though.
Personally, I prefer realtime transfer - I like to monitor the output/input/whatever. I periodically monitor while recording sessions, too. Really weird to be whistling along (with headphones in) and sound like you’re across the room…
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-08-27 11:51 ]
I picked up a portable DVD player from Target made by Koss. This unit is about the size of a big portable CD player from the 80’s. It plays anything and has a digital out. The cool thing was it was on sale for $89.00 USD. The not so cool thing is that it has problems with DVDs that are scratched, it simply hangs for a second or two then skips ahead a second or two. Not a big deal if you take care of your stuff but rented DVDs can be frustrating. Doesn’t skip on CDs or mp3 cds or VCDs or CDRWs though, only DVDs. I havn’t been able to find much online about them except for a couple of reviews on Amazon. It also has a Svideo out, RCA videoaudio jacks and component outs. Does the whole zoom slow reverseforward, fast RF frame by frame jazz too. All the features of a 200$ deck but I can easily use it on any TV in the house without having to rewire the nest of cables that is the typical entertainment center.