Re: Re: [Harp-L] minidisc substitute

[Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

fjm <mktspot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Yes, the HD Mini Discs do record uncompressed but they run into the disc 
> limit pretty quickly when they do 

yeah, 90 minutes is not quite long enough to be confident of
reaching a set break.  and that's a hard limit on the device,
where memory cards keep getting bigger and cheaper.  by
the time i wear this out, hard drive recorders will be suitably
cheap that i'll likely replace with that.

> which as you point out at $7 a pop isn't that much of a hindrance.  

the good thing is that if you have a pile of 'em handy you're not
forced to deal with the contents right away to free it up.  the bad news
is that you're not forced to deal with it right away, so you won't.  like
the dozens and dozens of shows i've downloaded to various computers
that i haven't gotten around to listening to yet.

> You're stuck using Sony's software when you transfer to a computer though.

in theory, yes.  and i gather it's not real good, though i've heard it's
getting better.  but it looks like another drive when attached to XP,
and i'm hoping i can mount it as a usb drive on linux, as well.

i just got mine last week, and my mic arrived two days ago.  so
i'm just learning what'll work and what won't.  i recorded last week's
jam using a crappy little mono pc mic, in compressed format, and
it was surprisingly good, at least to my tin ears.  looking forward
to doing it for real using a real(ish) mic.

> So do the HD Minis need mic preamps to sound good?

dunno yet.  it's all quality/money tradeoffs, like you'd expect.
i opted for a reasonably good gooseneck twin cardioid mic
from microphonemadness.  an additional $50 or so for a 
battery module would optimally power the mic for better
sound, and allow it to use the line-in (vs. mic-in) input,
which should also sound better.  i'll probably add that when
i have the money, and the experience to decide if it matters.
i have neither right now.

----
Garry Hodgson, Technical Consultant, AT&T Labs

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