Posted by Jim Ventola on 6/8/2002, 19:33:48

I know I can copy my music lessons from the MD using line out--but why not make it easier? Also, I would like to create some lectures for my students (not music, philosophy) on the fly and be able to stream them. The MD is so close to being useful it is very frustrating. I hope you sell a ton of them--then someone will figure out how to serve customers.

Posted by Olivier Moiron on 6/8/2002, 20:13:59

Thanks for your wonderfull product ! But, the ONLY specification I want to use is not possible with the Net MD recorder: To make a CD from microphone recorded tracks with a digital quality instead of analogic signal... For sure, your positive decision would be greatly appreciated in our choir !

Posted by Daniel Robertson on 6/8/2002, 20:50:39

Upload and copyright protection need to be revamped in order to make full use of my minidisc product, there needs to be digital data transfers in both directions. And automatically putting a restricted copyright-original flag onto the recorded data does not aid in the recording/distribution of my band.

Posted by Brandon Thompson on 6/9/2002, 0:26:23

Preventing people from uploading with NetMD is a sign that the American government feels that the American public is not to be trusted, just as when the Framers of the Constitution created the electoral college to elect future presidents. The common man was viewed as being too incompetent to be trusted to choose who should be president. Have we really come this far, only to realize we haven't gone anywhere at all?

Posted by Ken on 6/9/2002, 3:58:47

Read the subject

Posted by Benjamin Smith on 6/9/2002, 5:01:48

I have been curious about MD technology for quite sometime, partly because I want a format that won't skip while jogging/that is more convenient for travel than easily scratched CD's/that does not have the storage limitations of Mp3 players. When I heard about the microphone record option, the tremendous storage capacity of the MD became very appealing for field interviews/notes and for having copies of my lectures for absent students. Unfortunately, after much research on your product, unless there is upload (one HAS to back up their fieldnotes and not all students who need lectures have MiniDisks), I will continue jogging and recording with tapes. Otherwise it is another expensive electronic toy that would take more time than it is worth to switch to a new format. Please make what is by all indications an excellent product fully functional.

Posted by Nodus on 6/9/2002, 5:17:26

Why did Sony do that ? If we buy their products, we should be able to use them by our own.

Posted by Martin Cox on 6/9/2002, 7:43:24

I am the Senior Broadcast Engineer at Radio Humberside, a BBC Local Radio station in the UK. We have used Sony portable MD recorders for news gathering and music recording since 1994. We have a PC based playout and editing system and audio material originated on MD has to be dubbed in real time, often unfortunately as analogue audio. The ability to upload digitally directly from MD to PC would speed up the process and minimise any loss in audio quality. As a broadcaster, the ability to download to MD is of little use but an upload facility would be invaluable. We are starting to look at solid state recorders using memory cards. However these machines are, in my opinion, overpriced and overcomplicated. The one advantage is the ability to upload material to PCs. If the MD format would allow uploading it would be unbeatable for our application.

Posted by david morris on 6/9/2002, 10:53:20

I am in the same situation as many others. I bought your product will full expectations of being able to record a lecture and be able to upload that lecture to my PC but to my surprise, NOPE. I have always been a supporter of Sony but this time I think you guys really dropped the ball. Since the largest majority of copyrighted audio on the market is in CD format (with the exception of some leftover people of the 70's and early 80's still using tape and vinyl), the flooded market of CD rippers are used to extract that data and store them on the PC. Also, with the file sharing resources available like the highly publicized Napster, the intention was still to store the files on the PC. To that end, I cannot realistically image that many if any would actually use the MD recorder to originate copyrighted material. The only exception I can think of is when MD's were first released, there were prerecorded selections available. My local store that sold them stopped quite a while ago so I don't even know if they are sill being produced. So let us recap. The possibility is higher that the data being stored on the MD via NetMD originating from the computer is pirated than the data originating on the MD and being uploaded to the PC. Being a programmer myself, I cannot believe that this simple realization did not come up in any of your war room meetings (that is what I always liked to call them) during the initial design of this software. Or maybe it did and was dismissed. Either way, the decision was very poor and desperate needs to be reanalyzed or you may end up losing my of your supports than you think. This one included. Blowing $225.00 on a non-usable product but a vendor is not how I like spending my money and if you pull a shenanigan like this on one product, who knows what else you will try. In conclusion, please reconsider your position on this matter. Appease your client base because we are the ones that keep you in business.

Posted by Deschamps on 6/9/2002, 11:31:33

I haven't got any netmd, only a md but I want to buy one soon and I just wait for a new version of open MG without any restriction

Posted by Juliana Nicolela on 6/9/2002, 12:48:02

I'm a film student and I use the Sony minidv camera. I bought the MZ-N707 thinking I could record better my actors with Lavoisier microphones (I also bougth a Sony microphone). But I can't upload the sound to computer and edit (I have a Sony Vaio!). I use a whole bunch of SOny products, SO YOU SEE YOU PEOPLE COULD DO SOME MARKETING ABOUT THIS SYSTEM TO ALL FILM STUDENTS AND MINIDV USERS. Until there, I'm getting the NetMD back to the store.

Posted by Erik Ramseth on 6/9/2002, 13:53:15

it would be great so i can easily get samples without having to buy an enormously expensive professional sampler! also then you could record portions or segments of a song and master them later on the PC.... all in better quality because it is not going through the analog wire.

Posted by Mathieu Prentout on 6/9/2002, 15:42:34

Sauvegarde de donn�es, transport... pleins de bonnes raison pour le faire ! Vite !

Posted by Egon Joergensen on 6/9/2002, 16:46:15

I would like to use the MD in the same way I can with a CD-Recorder/Player. The MD is more mobil and more convinient to use in the field.

Posted by Douglas Dobbins on 6/9/2002, 17:20:53

I would love to be able torecord my bands sessions for making demos. I would also love to see support for the Mac platform, as well.

Posted by Felix Griesser, Switzerland on 6/9/2002, 18:52:04

SHARP devices don't have any shrinking methods but same price... I will switch it, if you won't change your policy.. YOU DON'T OWN MY VOICE...

Posted by CthulHu on 6/9/2002, 18:53:29

au prix d'un lecteur, pourrai bien faire ca.....

Posted by cole reed on 6/9/2002, 21:04:11

i was considering buying a new sony netmd model until i found out theres no digtal uploading feature. i will not be buying a new one until this feature is included. i would hope that its exclusion is do to technical contraints at the present time, and not greed. this is a necessary if feature if minidiscs are to continue to be the choice for sound experimentors.

Posted by Steve Rentmeesters on 6/10/2002, 1:56:45

Having a digital upload for recordings I make myself on MD would provide the most economical way to digitally record. There is no reason why consumers should be deprieved of this capability.

Posted by Arthur Richards on 6/10/2002, 2:03:24

as a musician, making recordings of rehearsals and concerts are essential for further development of skills and artistic enrichment. minidisc recorders have proven to be a magnificent medium through which to record, however transfering my live recordings to another medium (i.e. my computer) is incredibly difficult and burdensom. with the advent of NetMD, i was thrilled with the thought that i'd be able to upload my recordings to my computer quickly and seamlessly, but i was crushed to find that NetMD does not currently support uploading from the MDR to the computer. also, as an artist, i've come to rely heavily on macintosh computers as a superior tool to PCs for digital music recording, editing and publishing, and i am incredibly disapointed that NetMD currently has no macintosh support. i am forced to rely on Open/NMD software that isn't as reliable or stable at this point in comparrison to that which is released for PC with NetMD. i hope that in the future these minor inconveniences will be remedied with future models. thanks for pioneering the digital audio frontier!

Posted by Andrew Zinn on 6/10/2002, 2:36:31

Why can't Sony cater even slightly to those who record with minidisks? A method of uploading minidisk audio to PC would make minidisk the format for field recording...

Posted by John Spitz on 6/10/2002, 3:40:03

I think it would be of great a benefit for all users of Minidiscplayers to have the upload facility. I for myself would really appreciate it. John

Posted by Jan Weimar on 6/10/2002, 4:33:48

I strongly support flexibility and ease in using md

Posted by David Brown on 6/10/2002, 5:37:20

I have just been given an MZ-N707 as a gift so I can record my DJ mixes. This is important to help me improve the quality of my work. I was very surprised and disappointed to find out the limitations of the device and the software. Entering the data through the PCs sound card wasn't an option in the first place as the recording is less than perfect, not to mention a hassle. Why is there a limitation of the uploading af data from the MD to PC? If it's a copywrite issue then it's a ludicrous standpoint. This kind of restriction won't stop pirating of songs. Especially since you can dl from somewhere like Napster and then put the information on MD!! What you have done by limiting the types of data that can be transferred is something you've had to plan and organise. It took effort to do so. It is more difficult for you to design software that precludes this type of transfer than it would be to simply allow any data to be uploaded. In this way, you have effectively denied the rights of your customers to enjoy the full benefits of what is otherwise incredible technology. I would go as far as to say MDs are sold under false pretences. What's next? You're going to make it so your cameras won't be able to photograph things like Coke cans and McDonalds signs due to trademark and copywrite issues.

Posted by Karl Williams on 6/10/2002, 8:12:34

I've recently purchased an expensive Sony MD full-sized deck for recording church sermons using LP4 mode. My intention was to upload these using a NetMD portable to a PC to archive them and make them available on our web-site to our church members and missionaries abroad. I had initially decided to purchase a Philips CDR deck but changed my mind at the last minute when I found out about NetMD. Unfortunately I did not investigate it thoroughly enough and I am extremely disappointed at the lack of upload facility. I now greatly regret adopting the MD format over CDR.

Posted by David Harding on 6/10/2002, 10:42:17

Dave Harding

Posted by F.Gruender on 6/10/2002, 11:47:57

Upload was the first missing function of the N505. I haven't found any hint of this restriction on the package. It's annoying.

Posted by Luis A. Del Moral on 6/10/2002, 12:28:26

The only way Mini Disc will survive as format is to allow two way digital communication. Download and Upload - Mini Disc from/to PC. Please seriously consider option.

Posted by heinz erhard on 6/10/2002, 13:15:42

because i think a lot of people do analog recording - why should they transfer it to PC in such an oldfashioned way? netMD as it is now is useless! and *please* support the macintosh community!

Posted by Celina Guerrero on 6/10/2002, 13:49:33

After purchasing my MZ-N707 I realized that there's no digital output! All my musician friends are just waiting. Please make this possible. Secure your piece of the marketshare!! Not everyone is going to wait around for Sony to make the smart move to upload. Other companies will move first, and we'll all follow.

Posted by Heiko Laug on 6/10/2002, 14:29:55

Hello, i went to my electronicshop to buy me a netMD. Nobody told me before that i can`t upload any songs. In my humble opinion it is a must have. sincerely Heiko Laug

Posted by Michael Konrad on 6/10/2002, 15:21:09

As an artist, I like to record my own original sounds with a microphone to my MDLP unit. Then I transfer these sounds to my PC and edit them. The NetMD restrictions make this impossible and restrict me from uses that aren't even against copyright law! Please get rid of these ridulous restrictions. Until then, you've lost another customer.

Posted by Anand Dholakia on 6/10/2002, 16:02:05

When I used my new NetMD to record on of my own live shows, I was extremely excited about it's ease of use and recording quality. I looked forward to easily transferring the gig to my PC and making a live demo cd, until I tried the software and it didn't work. Searching online I found out this is not a capability. Although I am not aware of the reason behind this, I am a disappointed customer and will be promptly returning my NetMD.

Posted by Atmapoorna Saraswati on 6/10/2002, 19:32:10

Dear Sony We have just purchased a Net MD walkman to record yoga lectures and meditation practices. We are deeply shocked and dissapointed to find that there is no way to transfer the digital recording on to the PC for editing. If Sony continues to restrict this practice then it should make it clear in all literature that it is unsuitable for making good quality recordings. Sony will definately loose out in the long run when the truth becomes wellknown. AP

Posted by Sasha Kipervarg on 6/11/2002, 2:12:22

The only thing that is keep me from buying any of the new model minidiscs is the lack of upload capability. Sony, the window to dominate the market is small! Please make the functionality available before we are forced to switch to MP3

Posted by Bret Durrett on 6/11/2002, 3:04:59

Greetings, I am a member of a small church choir that occasionally performs in Europe. We would like to be able to record our concerts and perhaps pull the best tracks out to put on a CDS. The sales of this would greatly help our choir obtain new music. I recorded our last concert on my MD 505 and was looking forward to being able to put it on my PC to remaster it since a professional recording and mastering is simply beyond our budget. I am EXTREMELY disappointed that I am unable to do this digitally and therefore have to resort to an analog transfer. As you are aware, the quality difference is staggering and for a 20 voice choir that sings classical unaccompanied music, it makes a difference in the usability of the recordings for commercial sale later. I respectfully request that the digital uploading capability be added to the NetMD family as soon as possible so that the users have the ability to do what they need to do with their legally owned/recorded materials. Thank you Bret Durrett\ Member of the choir of the Anglican/Episcopal Church of Christ the King Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Posted by John Michael Tinio on 6/11/2002, 3:46:57

As disk jockey, i need a md player to record my live sessions in order to evaluate my progress and create mix tapes. The lack of Uploading my own mixes limits the purpose and functionality of the new NetMD technology.

Posted by Michael Yourshaw on 6/11/2002, 3:54:42

I purchased a MZ-N707 on the salesperson's claim that I could use it to record live amateur folk music performances, upload them to a PC, and make audio CDs. Apparently this harmless activity is blocked by the copy protection scheme. I'm returning the unit for a refund.

Posted by MICAUX D on 6/11/2002, 5:31:44

MD--> PC �a me semblait �tre une �vidence!...

Posted by phil chaundy on 6/11/2002, 6:26:26

It is very dissappointing that the net md players can not upload to PC. This would be a hugely beneficial feature to a musician like myself that finds mini disc an ideal live recording tool for ideas, rehearsals etc to share with other musicans. When will this be available? Surely the present NEt md players are capable, but the software is not enabled. If Sony doesnt do it, someone else will.

Posted by greg macchi on 6/11/2002, 10:54:27

There are no laws being broken by recording something one owns onto md then wanting to transfer it onto a pc so it can be burned onto a cd.

Posted by Chris E on 6/11/2002, 11:49:15

i bought the new netMD player solely for recording my grade 10 piano because it is digital and would have a better sound for me to upload it through USB rather than sound port and record a CD off of it. yesterday i discovered that you can't even upload your own recording to the computer using OpenMG 2.2

Posted by S A Fahmy on 6/11/2002, 12:01:05

I use MiniDiscs to record events, talks and lectures, and this is precisely the problem I've been trying to solve. We need this functionality. I know more MiniDisc recorders would be sold if it happened.

Posted by Miscopain Adrien on 6/11/2002, 12:18:42

Je soutient tout mes coll�gues. Je serai heureux que vous puissiez faire quelquechose en notre faveur. Merci

Posted by Jo�l Meurisse on 6/11/2002, 12:49:04

I'll just have to transfer to my pc the old way... sampling. As a musician, it's very usefull to make recordings of my own performances and rehearsals. And most of the time, the recordings are to be processed on pc.

Posted by Joseph on 6/11/2002, 13:10:44

Sony, you have the technology and after reviewing the legal issues you can only come to one conclusion. Transferring live recordings from MD to PC is much less a hot issue than transferring internet music to MD. Furthermore, augmenting your software enhances the benefits of Minidisc players versus MP3 players allowing the ability to record and transfer live audio to a PC which would prove very useful for many people. The MP3 player market will soon recognize this and it would behoove Sony to get the jump on all of that and compete as an equally viable platform. Minidiscs are instant archives versus the hassle of storing music/audio recordings from computers to disks or CDs. PLease consider this relatively basic request and ultimately practical solution. Thank You

Posted by EOD on 6/11/2002, 15:46:30

I have been debating picking up either an archos or creative MP3 player to play all my stuff while mobile. I thought the NetMD was perfect when I say it as an alternative - long playback - decent capacity - and real light - perfect........but I want to be able to record brainstorming sessions and distribute the content across the company. When the product pages said you could do voice recording i was sold on the product. Now that I realize I cant upload the recordings however I just cant buy it. discs are designed for mobility - not as an archive storage system for digital media. Back to the archos for now......If we get upload on MD I'll change to MD

Posted by David du Plessis on 6/11/2002, 17:45:59

I don't own a minidisc player, but had been seriously considering buying one until I discovered the unnecessary limitations imposed by this new NetMD technology - if a person owns the music why shouldn't they have the right to make as many copies as they want? How am I supposed to make compilation MDs with one of these things (or at least, any more than three times with each track)?? What happens if you lose an MD or it gets damaged? Doesn't this mean you would no longer be able to make three copies, but only two; and what happens when these get damaged/lost? I'm personally not so bothered about upload facilities, but I can see everyone's point; and if someone is determined enough to pirate music they will find another way to record digitally (like through a laptop). Most importantly, I think, there is no point to building copy protection into the NetMD program, as cracks will become available for it and everyone will use them to get the program they should have been given in the first place. All of this is academic as far as I'm concerned, as Sony haven't made a version of the program available for Macs, and until they do there's less than no point in my getting one of these things; but if they did make one available, unless it had no copy protection whatsoever I wouldn't buy any Sony MD player knowing what I should be able to do with one. I'll stick to burning compilation CDs... and since people can do this and download music with impunity what is the bloody point of copyprotecting MDs except to make them less popular?

Posted by Jeremy Gilchrist on 6/11/2002, 21:41:35

I am a muscian and purchased the mini disc as a way to record cheaply my live performances for quick demo purposes. I was disappointed when the software didn't allow this because of copy protection. It is MY music !

Posted by Sebastian on 6/12/2002, 3:04:01

je veux le md net upload !