- Skip-Free G-Protection technology for uninterrupted playback
- Five-line LCD screen for data display
- Huge song and data storage capacity with one GB Hi-MD disc
- Excellent recording and digitizing capabilities with mic input and line-in jack
- USB connectivity for 100x, high-speed file copying
This device can be used to:
Listen to music i.e. instead of an ipod.
Record audio (with a microphone, not included)
Function as external disk, when connnected via USB to a PC.
It uses 1GB removable disks which sell for about $7 each (plus shipping). As a audio recording device, it is unique for its capabilities in this price range, and essentially substitutes for a DAT (digital audio tape). The device has a line-in and microphone analog inputs. You can record in one of the three formats: high compression (Hi-LP), low compression (Hi-SP), and uncompressed (Linear PCM). The recording times per disk are 34 hours (Hi-LP), 7 hrs 55 min (Hi-SP) and 1 hr 34 min (Linear PCM). The compressed formats are stored in a proprietary Atrac format developed by Sony, which are basically are only of use on this device. Thus most crucial and invaluable feature, however, is that for audio recordings made from an analog microphone, you can convert the recording to the open .wav format when you upload the recording to your computer. The upload requires the SonicStage software which comes bundled with the device. There is pointless restriction that you can only upload the audio file once to your PC, but then you can convert it to the open wav format (the uncompressed CD quality Windows format), and then you are home free--you can do whatever you want with the audio file i.e. make an unrestricted number of copies, copies of the copies, edit the file using sound software, burn CDs, whatever. The sound is exceptionally clear; I use the ECM-719 Sony microphone (this is great mic, the cable is almost 6 feet long however which is a little too long for my preference). I generally record at the Hi-SP level, and it sounds great. For no loss of fidelity due to compression, you can record uncompressed and still get 1.5 hours on a disc. The manual warns that the device should be plugged in when recording, due to high battery consumption while recording, but I have used it off the battery for short periods with no problem.
This device does incorporate SCMS (serial copy management system), which puts all kinds of restrictions on copying digital files. As mentioned previously, you can only upload your analog-source recordings once to a PC, which is not really a problem as long as nothing goes wrong during the upload, and there is no particular reason why it should. As far as MP3s or other digital music, you can load them onto the device, but you can't copy them again after that i.e. back to the computer. The MP3s are not converted to another format, this device can read them directly so there is no loss of quality. You can also copy uncompressed audio to this device, or you can compress it into the ATRAC format to save space. The highest quality compressed format is ATRAC3Plus, which reduces files size to about 20% of uncompressed, and sounds very, very good. It is supposedly better than the highest quality MP3. ATRAC3Plus is the format used by the Hi-SP recording mode also.
This device also has an extra battery holder which holds on AA battery an can power the unit in the event your rechargable battery fails. This is an exceptional feature; it means that as long as you bring some AA batteries with you, you will be able to power the unit.
The reliablity of the interchangable Hi-MD disks appears to be exceptionally good. They are basically infinitely re-recordable; Sony claims you can re-record 1 million times. They are encased in a well made enclosure, well protected unlike CD-RWs or DVD+RWs. I would guess they are much, much more reliable than CD-RWs and DVD+RWs. They are also quite compact, and make a good replacement for thumb drives, or can be used to back up files. For example, you can use it to back up the wav files from your recordings. Howevery audio files, copied directly to the Hi-MD disks cannot be listened to on the device, you have to download them using the SonicStage software. The songs you download are then placed into the some special files on the disks which contain the song catalog, and all the music--i.e. you cannot manage the songs/audio on the Hi-MD through the Windows file system. This was probably done because of the SCMS restrictions, to prevent from copying audio at will. This is an annoying restriction which means that if you want back ups of your audio on the Hi-MD disks, you must do extra work and consume extra disk space--i.e. backup your MP3 or wav files to the Hi-MD disks as Windows files (which cannot be listened to directly).
When the device is connected to your PC it gets power from the USB cable, and actually appears to even recharge the battery while connected. The LCD screen is adequate but has no backlight, Sony makes a lit version for the next model up from this one, for another $100. You need to basically angle the player reflect off the main light source to see the screen. This is not really a problem for me, but the lighted display is probably more convenient. The fit and finish, as with all Sony devices, is excellent. The battery life when used as a player is quite long, they claim up to 34 hours; reports on the internet report that 20+ hours is common.
In summary, the only downside to this device is the SCMS restrictions, but generally you can still do everything you want to do. In particular, you can record audio from a mic (or from any analog input using the line-in; i.e. old cassettes) and make unrestricted digital wav files out of them.
Buy Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player Now
I recently decided to abandon the use of my beloved Sony Pro-Walkman Cassette Recorder in favor of the Minidisc (MD) format. As a musician, the lure of being able to capture practice sessions, rehearsals, and gigs in a digital format was too great to resist, particularly with the price of first-class MD recorders dropping in recent years.
After a fair amount of research I purchased Sony's new MZ-RH910. What a delight! This unit (along with its higher priced big brother, the MZ-RH10) continues the evolution of Sony's Hi-MD format, introduced in 2004. (For a great intro to Hi-MD go to minidisc.org's site and look for the Hi-MD faq).
For me the biggest selling points of the MZ-RH910 were:
a) the ability to record in Linear PCM Mode...16 bits/44.1 kHz (i.e., uncompressed audio, CD quality). This is a biggie if you demand the absolute best recording fidelity,
b) the capability to perform high speed bi-directional audio transfers between the computer and the MZ-RH910,
c) the ability to save your uploaded recordings in WAV format (via the supplied software), at which point you can do pretty much anything you want with the file,
d) great battery life...30 hrs of playback in Hi-SP mode when the supplied rechargeable battery is used with a standard AA alkaline battery,
e) to these ears, recording in Hi-SP Mode is virtually indistinguishable from uncompressed mode (Linear PCM) in most cases,
f) very generous recording times...on a 1 GB Hi-MD disc you can get almost 8 hrs of recording time in Hi-SP Mode...[34 hrs (!) in Hi-LP mode],
g) for you MP3 addicts out there, the MZ-RH910 supports MP3, although you must use the supplied software for the transfer, i.e., no drag-and-drop.
Ok, that's all good, but what about the cons? Many reviewers complain about the lack of a backlit display. Yes, that woulda been nice but if you really need backlighting buy the MZ-RH10, which is essentially the same unit for about 100 bucks more.
My biggest complaint about the MZ-RH910 is that if you set your recording levels manually, as I almost always do in my work, the unit will revert back to "automatic recording level mode" every time you stop recording. That's a bit of a hassle...Sony should have allowed a feature whereby you could choose whether you want your default recording level adjustment mode to be "manual level setting" or "AGC" (automatic gain control).
And speaking of AGC, it works great in most instances where there are no sudden volume swings from loud to soft, or vice-versa. If you're doing basic voice recording or, say, recording a string quartet, choir, piano, etc., you'll be fine. But my experience shows that if you have sudden volume spikes (up or down) you'll get weird "pumping" and "clipping" effects. I'm a drummer and I got unacceptable results when recording in AGC mode when my playing had wide dynamic swings. This behavior is not unique to the MZ-RH910 it's a limitation of most AGC systems. Just be aware that if your intent is to use the MZ-RH910 for live music performance with widely varying dynamics, you'll need to manually set your recording levels.
One other drawback I found on this unit is that the headphone output volume is not as loud as I'm used to. The volume output of my old Sony Pro-Walkman Cassette Recorder is substantially hotter than the MZ-RH910. Don't get me wrong the MZ-RH910 gets loud enough for standard headphone use (protect your ears, please!!), but as a musician I often need to plug the MZ-RH910 into external sources via its headphone out jack (no dedicated line-out on this unit). A bit more output volume headroom on this unit would have been welcome, but I've been able to compensate by adjusting the volume on whatever I'm plugging it into (mixer, stereo system, etc.).
On another note, make sure you understand how Sony's aggressive copyright protection scheme works and what limitations it may present for you (other reviewers on this site have explained this quite well). I called Sony to make sure I grasped the whole scenario, with the result being that there's nothing I can't work around if necessary. (Unless your intent is to make pirated digital copies and distribute them will-nilly, you'll be fine.)
All in all I'm thrilled with the MZ-RH910! The bottom line is sound quality and useability -this unit sounds fabulous and is easy to use. Sony's been making great stuff forever and this unit is no exception to that legacy. It was quite a thrill to capture my group's musical performance in uncompressed digital audio, upload it to my PC via the USB connection, convert it into a WAV file, and burn it to a CD. Now THAT'S something to get excited about!!
Read Best Reviews of Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player Here
The Sony MZ-RH 910 is the second generation of the HI-MD player-
recorders on the market from Sony. It and the MZ-RH 10 do something no minidisc recorder has done before you can record and
play back in MP3 as well as ATRAC3PLUS. The thing I find interesting about both of these new HI-MD machines is that except
for the displays and the model numbers they appear to be pretty much the same machine in many respects. Granted the MZ-RH 10 has the new Organic EL LCD display which is really good looking and very cool too, but I see one possible fault with it. The display looks like it might be easily scratched up. As for the 910 model it is a big improvement over the previous minidisc recorder models that have come before. Plus being able to put almost Eight Hours of music on a HI-MD minidisc in Standard Play makes the new HI-MD discs quite attactive to, and the abiltiy to put
either 45 hours of music or 1GB of computer data on the disc is also a welcome feature. I still wonder if SONY will
make an effort to "push" this format or are they just going to
"throw it in the deep end and see if it swims". I hope Sony will
have more faith in it than they seem to have. One possible drawback is that this model does not include a remote control. It also does not have a charging stand you just recharge the "gumstick" battery in the player by plugging in the A.C. adaptor. I can say after a weeks use that the 910 is a great machine, and works well I have had little or no trouble with the
Software, and the machine itself works quite well. The only problem I have encountered is trying to decide what music pieces
to put on the 1GB Minidisc. I ended up putting all Nine Beethoven Symphonies on the disc, and still had room left over, and that was in the HI-SP setting. This little player recorder promises to be a lot of fun.
Want Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player Discount?
This is my second MD player. My first one was a first generation model from Sony. I was happy enough with that one, but the SonicStage v 2.X software could be a nightmare.
I'll start with the software.
If you have experience with previous MD units, particularly with the SonicStage 2.x software and are hoping they have improved the software, they have. SonicStage 3.0 is a HUGE improvement over 2.x.
-While not a drag and drop interface, the code monkeys did a good job with making this software intuitive. The relatively short learning curve more than makes up for the minimal documentation. Any reasonably computer-literate person should be able to figure out how to do what they want in a short time.
-I'm not sure if this is a software, firmware or hardware quirk, but I've noticed that if I have a disc in my MD player and hook up the USB cable before I boot, SonicStage will insist that the disk was formatted by a source other than SonicStage. I'll add that this doesn't happen every time. This isn't a huge problem. Boot up, start SonicStage, THEN hook up the player and put a disc in.
Sony thankfully did away with limiting the number of transfers you can do in all cases. In previous versions, every track you converted to ATRAC3 had a limit of three transfers. I know there are cases where the number of transfers is limited, but I can't figure out when this applies. I have music I've downloaded from the web, stuff I've ripped from CDs and things I don't remember where I got. The number of remaining transfers in all cases is unlimited.
-SonicStage is a little picky about DRM. I had tracks I'd previously ripped from CDs that had DRM on them. The software wouldn't deal with them. I re-ripped the tracks using SonicStage. They play and transfer just fine with no limit on uploads.
There will be times when the software has appeared to freeze when you are ripping or transferring tracks, particularly if the job is big. However, after the transferring is done, SonicStage updates the disc status, which can take a little time. A little patience saves a lot of frustration.
-I was happy to see that Sony decided to start supporting MP3 and WMA. You don't need to convert all your music to ATRAC3 anymore. I don't know how it deals with the MP3 or WMA format and frankly, I don't care. I do know it transfers and plays both types just fine. That is what I care about.
Tranfers are neither particularly slow nor particularly fast. I'm not a real fanatic about transfer speeds, so this wasn't a huge issue.
You can make playlists and songs are played in the order you want. This is a small point, but sometimes I want songs to play in a specific order.
Now, the hardware.
The player came with some bud-style headphones. Normally, I toss OEM headphones because they are garbage. The ones that shipped with the unit were pretty good. After I tweaked the equalizer a bit to suit my tastes, I was impressed.
YOU CAN REPLACE THE BATTERIES. Sony ships the unit with a replaceable battery. Thank you. My last MP3 player (a Rio Nitrus) was retired because the battery was dying. The addition of the external battery case makes it nicer. I frequently find myself away from AC power for days at a time. Having AA's as an option (but not my only option) is nice.
For some reason, I like the thought of having my songs on removable discs. I can honestly say I've never been in a position where tossing a couple of mini-discs into my bag or in a pocket has been a burden.
The unit is a little larger than previous generation MD players. This isn't a defect or a quirk, it's just something that is. I had two cases that had seen service with my previous MD and MP3 players. The 910 was a little too big to fit into either.
The USB cable is pretty generic. I have two or three of the same type so loss shouldn't be a problem. Sony ships the unit with two extra EMC shields.
The sound. Obviously, you don't expect Surround Sound with something like this, but it's still pretty good. I've hooked it into my home stereo, cranked the volume and it still sounded good.
Disc availability. The unit ships with a 1GB disk. I bought three more from a vendor here on Amazon, but I haven't tried to find any locally yet. I do know the smaller ones are available at the store down the street.
Conclusion:
I don't understand why the MD format never quite took off, or why Sony isn't really marketing these things. I suspect they are the personal audio version of the Brooks leather bicycle saddle. Those who like them, really like them, but they do lack some measure of the techno-sexiness of more agressively marketed units.
I chose this unit because I'd liked my previous MD player (software and firmware issues notwithstanding). This model had specific features I wanted (removable batteries, flexibility in how songs are arranged, mechanical durability) for a reasonable cost.
I would recommend buying one of these, particularly for people who have used MD players in the past. I would also recommend it for people who can't quite find what they want with hard drive or flash-based MP3 players.
I would not recommend them in the following instances:
1) If having a single, self-contained unit is a high priority (it isn't for me, but it takes all kinds).
2) If you use any OS other than windows 2000 or higher. It's kind of a shame that they don't have SonicStage for Mac or Linux.
3) If a high-degree of techno-sexy is important.
Ok, all of my friends have IPODs or some other type of either hard drive based or memory chip technology based devices. And YES, they do cost about the same or less than this device. So why did I spend my hard earned money on an aging technology like the Mini-Disc?
Well, is it really aging? Of course it is, and getting better every minute! Sure, you can record millions of times on any minidisc with no noticeable degradation of signal quality. But I like the long term facts that I'll still have my MDs long after all of those other devices are already dead and gone and buried in some landfill somewear. Now don't get my wrong, my device will be buried right along side theirs. But I'll still have my music collection and most likely a newer device to play them in. And with Sony kicking the tires on this technology and coming up with such things as ATRAC 3 and ATRAC 3-plus, I'm sure that ATRAC 11 is right around the corner! Hell, I've already got 13 CDs on my Hi-MD 1 GB mini-disc and I'm not even halfway to it's storage limit! Sheesh! It's small, it's compact and the MDs just don't break. Sure, it's an aging technology... but something do get better with age, don't they?!
This unit has very good features for the price. Large disc storage, records in D1 and CIF, and has a decent user interface to a directly connected monitor. What was not evident from their ads, nor from any specs that could be found on-line or acquired from the importer, was that this device requires a PC running Internet Explorer and ActiveX. This is the only full function, network accessible, computer interface that is provided.
