Posted by Joseph Russ on 5/5/2002, 16:28:42

give fair use a fair chance

Posted by Arun Takhar on 5/5/2002, 16:33:34

This is what is needed Sony!

Posted by jim buys on 5/5/2002, 17:58:07

i HATE CD's, this would be perfect for me to buy my music cd's for home stereo use and MD's for travel and car. It takes forever to transfer them to MD, i NEED something faster!!!!

Posted by Max Crowley on 5/5/2002, 19:20:26

Sony has stinted the growth of mini discs by holding back technologies like allowing uploading and until recently high speed transfers. Certain features have disapeared too, multiple headphone jacks, backlight, ect. For once stop thinking of yourselves and give the technology back to the people. I know how easy it could be for you to make a OpenMG alternative!

Posted by Rich on 5/5/2002, 19:52:10

Mini disc players/ recorders portable and home units should allow the ability to extract the digital information on to >pc hard drive quickly just the same way a floppy disk, cd or another hard >drive or other media can. Or is there away to do this that is unknown perhaps (maybe via software)??? >Also.. why no mini disc disk drives? Compact, quick, great capacity & simple... >need i say more? Also, a mini disc recorder portable or otherwise should have the ability to retrieve it's >information if mistakingly >erased.. I'm sure there are many people myself included that have for one >reason or another lost music etc without any hope of retrieving it! I can make other suggestions but these are the biggies and the only other thing i can think of that I would like to ad is that when you ad features please don't subtract or take other features away unless you plan to have an entry level priced unit, middle of the road unit and top of the line models in mind! You guys create such wonderful products but I feel you are holding back on all of us who are and have been loyal Sony supporters! I dig the new Sony mini disc model 707 & 909 but am reluctant to upgrade and purchase because of the shortfalls that I mentioned above. Also a back lit lcd would be nice too! I think you ought to continue to be leaders, innovators and ground breakers before someone else takes the floor from you and while you still have so many supporters? Remember that the future is "NOW" and we want quality products of the future!!! Thanks for listening.

Posted by Shane Lord on 5/5/2002, 21:19:06

I am an avid Minidisc user, with two "deck" recorders, one portable recorder and a in-car minidisc player. I have been waiting for some form of computer link such as NetMD for many years, and now it is here I find it hard to understand why it is limited in such a fashion as to not allow uploading of original recorded audio via the USB connection. Please Sony, provide the functionality as recommended in the proposal. Only then will I make the move to the NetMD format. Regards, Shane.

Posted by Peera on 5/5/2002, 22:21:40

I'm a student. I've using MZR-55 for my lecture all the time when I'm in the lecture room and transfer lecture to my PC and distributed to my friends who don't in class by CD-R. it's so take much timeand tried to do that . 4 days ago I think I've found a new way in Sony web site about Net MD , it's a USB, WOW... then I decide to buy it for 10 minutes, yesterday I've it from my brother that he came from Japan, Great Great, it has USB, my eyes was extenddddd......I can't read Japanese Manual ok don't mind, I play it all night and try it the way of software you gave .............finally I felt BAD after I know I can't transfer my class lecture to PC..... Oh it's hurt me so much

Posted by Syb on 5/5/2002, 22:38:02

my boyfriend wants netMD audio upload, i think you should put it on there because it would make him happy and make lots of people happy! and he'd go out and buy like 20 of them!

Posted by Taklas Demetri on 5/5/2002, 22:48:39

i only use MD for original field recordings and sample collection, yet it is crippled, in that there is no way to digitally transfer my files??? why? this makes no sense to have to go through it's D/A to another A/D. Very frustrating, I know many including myself (until recently) who have avoided the MD format because of this. This has limited the acceptence of MD as a legitimate format.

Posted by Dale C. Price, III on 5/5/2002, 22:51:33

I was rather dissapointed when I had taken some CD's to work and put them on my MZ-N1 and when I got home found out I had to re-rip the songs and rebuild the mix I had made.

Posted by brian zimmerman on 5/5/2002, 23:06:46

We're doing it anyway - just through our line-ins - so make it easier!

Posted by Martin Schiff on 5/6/2002, 0:36:50

Many mp3 player/recorders already have the ability to transfer audio to PC's by copying files through USB and Firewire. In order for minidisc to remain competitive it needs this capability.

Posted by Justin Fahndrich on 5/6/2002, 0:48:42

The potential is there. Please set up software to make hard copies of audio Md's.

Posted by Yannick Phaneuf on 5/6/2002, 0:59:58

Does it legal to let suppose on the box that the md can upload and download file but it not the case? It make the third time i have problem with sony thing if they don't do something for this problem i think i have my lesson. I have a band and we want to save our practice on that and what sony done they over protect my own copyright and i have a useless md that cost me 500$ and have to do the analog thing to transfer so i have the same quality than a cassette for 500$. And you know wath my sony saleman does'nt know about that problem and is salemarketing man from sony to. So what the problem they want to kept it secret or wath.

Posted by Klaas-Wim van Diermen on 5/6/2002, 1:26:11

Net MD is a good product, but unfortunately it is not perfect yet. You cannot upload music from the MiniDisc to the PC. So your own live recordings cannot be saved on your PC. I hope Sony will make Net MD even better by adding an "upload music from MiniDisc to PC" feature to the software.

Posted by Nick Gustafsson on 5/6/2002, 1:52:11

Just over a year I finally invested into MD & love it. Am very tempted to upgrade to NetMD, but at this stage it seems you haven't quite got it right. Get the feature set (including the software!) right and you can be sure everyone will want it!

Posted by Brian on 5/6/2002, 1:55:33

I am thinking of purchasing one of the new NetMD units. I've visited the Sony web site and researched and priced around the web. This process lead me to minidisc.org...the same place I researched my MZ-R70 that I purchased about a year ago. I love the portability of the unit, the relatively skip-free play, the wonderful battery life and of course, the durability of the media. My original intent was for burning 'mixed tapes' of my CD collection. I have a cd burner yet don't like the bulkiness of portable cd units...tapes, out of the question, same bulk, poor quality. The recording feature of MD played about a 35% role in deciding to buy. Why? To capture nature sounds while out for a hike. To record conversations with friends, to cut and past audio into some of the slideshows I edit...I'm an artist specializing in digital media. To record some of the shows my girlfriend performs...she's a jazz singer...wonderful I might add, the standards. All of this can still be accomplished with the unit I have. But the quality lacks and the time it takes makes it not worth the trouble. So to upgrade or not to upgrade...the 32x download speed is a big draw for me. The upload issue will probably play another 35% role in my discussion again this go round. Sony has my business that is not in question. But with these issues drawn I will wait for an outcome to this petition before purchasing a unit. The outlined proposal seems logical and well thought out. I hope these issues will be addressed in the near future. Thank you.

Posted by Greg Miller on 5/6/2002, 2:31:31

I would love to use my present MZR37 for more live field recordings, which are ultimately destined for editing and archiving on my PC. The MD format is crippled by the inability to quickly upload the digital ATRAC files from the MD to the PC. Please take the final step in the evolution of the MD format, and allow high speed transfer in BOTH directions!

Posted by Cornet Jean-Yves on 5/6/2002, 2:39:44

To the folks at Sony: I have several uses for Minidisc...probably the most important pertains to my job as an organic chemistry professor. One of the things I've used the internet for, in my first semester organic class, is a repository for the audio from my lectures. I use the MD format to record the lectures, but then to get them into the RealAudio format I am currently required to move the audio, in real time, to my computer prior to compressing it for the 'net. Oh how I have often desired the ability to move the lecture audio to my computer in the same way that I can move other files/images etc. I trust that you folks have the brainpower to work out anti-copying schemes...but to have the ability to move analog audio to computer, file-by-file...would be a tremendous achievement. In addition, you would knock all of the digital voice recorders out of the water. Thanks for your time.

Posted by Dave Hooper on 5/6/2002, 6:00:32

A PC-compatible MD unit was marketed some time ago by Sony. There is still a demand for such a unit - NetMD would be the obvious platform. Disallowing audio upload from MD to PC makes little sense to the consumer given that alternative technologies already allow it (CD-R, portable MP3 players)

Posted by Erwin on 5/6/2002, 6:50:55

This is what i want

Posted by Peter Ravn on 5/6/2002, 7:03:35

I considered NetMD, but when I realized that it did not allow highspeed upload to a PC I did not buy any new MD product. Please allow highspeed audio upload to a PC, Sony! Or you will loose a huge market.

Posted by Alistair Edwards on 5/6/2002, 8:13:57

I recently bought an MZ-N707 for a project I am undertaking. The objective is to create a CD-rom on the subject of Sound. I want this to be a comprehensive publication, investigating and illustrating sounds as we find them in our environment - both natural and artificial. My idea was to record such sounds on the minidisc and then upload them to be incorporated on the CD. Now, of course, I find I cannot do this. This is most frustrating. I am NOT attempting to infringe anyone's copyright; the sounds would be my own recordings. The salesman told me I could do what I wanted. I suppose I could take the recorder back on that basis, but I would prefer not to. I would not want to have to revert to analogue technology to achieve my aims. Alistair Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science University of York UK

Posted by Henri LeComte on 5/6/2002, 8:14:28

Dear Sir/Madam, The (semi-)professional musicians and musiclovers that I know, including myself, are very enthousiastic about the portable Sony Minidisc recorders. Especially their reliability and sound quality favour Sony over other brands. The only drawback is the lack of uploading options. This option would enable live recordings to be used for further composing, editing and placement on web sites. I feel this option will be included in the future, if not by Sony, than by another brand. However, it is clearly in your own interest if you are the first to include this option (if not, check the writings by the economist Schumpeter). With kind regards, Henri LeComte

Posted by Jacques Saint-Pierre on 5/6/2002, 9:55:05

I support this proposition because I feel that with this ability, minidisc becomes even more attractive to users like me and many others.

Posted by Noy Raz on 5/6/2002, 10:17:33

I use the netMD and my sony microphone to collect sounds, but I have to upload it in a quite strange way to my computer. PLEASE ! add the upload feature and make my life easier ! Noy.

Posted by Stephane Rousseau on 5/6/2002, 10:46:17

It's great sound, great design, easy to use, but unfortunately we can't upload MD files on the PC. Well, I'll stay with my CD player until it becomes available...

Posted by Tim Pitman on 5/6/2002, 11:06:17

Adding audio upload capability to Net MD minidisc recorders will fulfill the potential of this format to be a valuable recording medium.

Posted by IVAN M on 5/6/2002, 11:15:02

i hope you could add the upload function.

Posted by Michael Sauer on 5/6/2002, 11:32:49

Dear Sirs, Thank you for taking the time to read this correspondence. As a Live Music Enthusiast, one who records live music at band's concerts where recording is permitted, I have found that you overlooked an important aspect of the NetMD technology. I realize that there are Copyright concerns involved, but we are talking about music that has been compressed and less than what it originaly was. My DAT (Digital Audio Tape) counterparts are one up on me because they can master their recording on their PC without such barriers. If you find a way to allow legitmate users to perform this transfer I think you have solved part of the equation in the complex formula of getting Mini Disc and NetMD into the mainstream. Regards, Michael Sauer

Posted by Charles Schmidt on 5/6/2002, 12:10:37

SONY'S magnificent format Minidisc has transformed my life as a musician and listener to music. How unfortunate that I am unable to upload ATRAC files directly to my computer. I am SONY'S biggest advocate; I implore you to please consider modifying your product. Both SONY and customers will benefit. Thank you!

Posted by W G Jones on 5/6/2002, 12:22:50

Please add uploading features! Don't make the Minidisc obsolete!

Posted by Kevin Murray on 5/6/2002, 12:39:08

With the impending high-end encryption planned for all commercial music CDs, Sony should not have to worry about adding an uploading feature to NetMD. If you poll the primary demographic of MD buyers you will find that pirating music is not the motivation of MD buyers. We are a loyal and almost fanatical customer base who are committed to the MD format. By adding the uploading feature you will keep your customer base happy and in turn you will see that customer base grow exponentially. Thank you

Posted by Louis Rosen on 5/6/2002, 12:46:09

Being able to quickly up load my MD live recordings files rather than having to transfer in real time would be a great time saver for me. Come on Sony. You can do it!

Posted by Michael Drofdarb on 5/6/2002, 13:16:01

since I use mine for recording both live sound and my own original creations.

Posted by Jesse on 5/6/2002, 13:47:45

If this were implemented, the implications would be huge. Professionals like myself would have greatly increased productivity if we were able to upload audio. Please bring this about.

Posted by Tom Conquergood on 5/6/2002, 14:17:53

MiniDisc usage around the globe has only continued to grow since the introduction of the format so many years ago. In America, however, we have seen lack-luster growth due to the commercial image that MD is a fad. To the hordes of Internet users that own MD players/recorders, we know it is not just a fad and has been around for years and years to come. With the advent of NetMD and bringing high speed dubbing to the portables, Sony has a chance to revitalize the American market, and open the door for competition (as we see clearly in the Japanese market). Without Audio upload capabilities though, very quickly the Mp3 players with record capabilities will outpace the MiniDisc, leaving MiniDisc to be successful every where in the world but America. Why should we let America be the only country moving backwards in Audio technology? MiniDisc is a format restricted only by corporations and the government, please let us use the music we own and create in a way that makes sense for us.

Posted by Jeff Dubin on 5/6/2002, 14:34:15

Sony, thank you for your anti-consumer, pro-corporate attitude which groups amateur musicians alongside international bootleggers. Having a household name such as Sony's behind these DRM schemes is going to be a great advantage when explaining to average consumers how the music industry and consumer electronics giants are trying to control their listening habits. By forcing amateur musicians to break the digital chain when transferring their own music from a Minidisc recorder to a PC, you'll be doing more to encourage them to use open standards and support consumer-friendly companies than I ever could alone. Sony's Minidisc could have been easily taken on Iomega's ZIP format to become the removable media of choice in the late 90's. And even now, with memory chips costing 32x or more that of a similar capacity Minidisc, flash memory is the consumer's preferred format to store compressed audio. However, your current form of DRM, where I as a musician cannot be trusted with my own recordings, really takes the cake. So in a year from now, as I'm using my 1GB CF card to record whatever it is I want to and a recording device utilizing an open-standard audio format, I'll try to remember to say thanks to you again when I'm transferring my music to my PC. This solution might be a little pricier, but I suppose it's a small price to have for the freedom to record or listen to whatever I want to. To continue the fight for freedom, I urge Sony to NOT ALLOW UPLOADING. Thank You, Jeff Dubin

Posted by Pablo Tupuola on 5/6/2002, 14:41:55

Dear Sony, I have been a fan of MD since 1994,and I will continue to be a fan.Adding upload capacity to NetMD would keep it from loosing to other formats like MP3 or Dataplay.I am a musician and have increased my music sales by putting my song samples on the internet.Upload through NetMD would make this so much easier.Thanks So Much

Posted by chivot on 5/6/2002, 15:04:42

minidisc is not very adapted for using with a computer. Even with NetMD, due to the slow transfer rate, audio transcoding and all the security rules like "no uploading". This last feature will be very usefull for all professionnal and musicians using the minidisc, and it does not go against music editors companies' interests. Without this very usefull feature, the one used by those who really use their minidisc units, not as a tomporary mp3 gadget, Minidisc wont be competitive for a long time and will die (look at the new promising technologies like DataPlay....)

Posted by Claude Zachary on 5/6/2002, 15:16:50

The MD is a wonderful tool for recording in the field, and really needs uploading capacity to enhanced the editing process. Claude

Posted by Jeremy Davis on 5/6/2002, 15:58:34

And only sony.. we swear.

Posted by David Cano on 5/6/2002, 15:59:16

Copy music to a MiniDisc must to be 1 step

Posted by Antonio Cruz on 5/6/2002, 16:25:02

I do use my portable player all day, but when working I would like to be able to listen to my music with the PC. Also, it would be a big improvement to be able to share our meeting�s audio to the members, whithout major trouble, using NetMD, of course! Thank you. Antonio

Posted by D Wilde on 5/6/2002, 16:26:46

Cant a way of uploading without breaking copyright be provided?

Posted by Sebastiao R. Lima on 5/6/2002, 16:32:49

I am one of the people who always loved the minidisco media. It sure be much better if the NETMD could upload data. Thank you, Sebastiao R. Lima

Posted by Lee Sainsbury on 5/6/2002, 16:35:33

Hi, I have been a fan of the MD format since 1995 - and I have purchased (and sold on!) a number of models. I recently bought a NetMD MZ-N1 but returned it to the supplier when I found that I could not "upload" tracks to my PC. I see this feature as the next great "feature" Sony could introduce. As for the present time....I am the owner of a MZ-R909... Whist on the subject of "features" how about adding the ability to "encode" data? I know the MD format can only store aproxx 150MB worth of data, but it would come in handy for transfering a larger amount of data between home and work! Lee

Posted by Jeff96 on 5/6/2002, 17:04:10

I record every live moment of my band, rehearsal or otherwise, with my Sony Minidisc recorder. I then make this audio available to other members of the band on cd. Using an analog connection is time consuming and of lesser quality. An uploading function would make this process a breeze. Currently I own three Sony Minidisc recorders of varying ages. They were all purchased because of smaller size and functionality upgrades. They all still perform flawlessly, and none of them are NetMD recorders. The only feature that would make me purchase another Sony recorder with NetMD capability, would be this upload function. Please Sony, consider this petition strongly and make it happen. Thanks.

Posted by Yang Li on 5/6/2002, 17:24:26

A major step in MD advancement

Posted by amid choueiri on 5/6/2002, 18:06:37 , in reply to "NetMD Upload"

The major advantage of minidisc was the abilty to record at a better quality than cassets for professional and peronal use. With the advent of computers its only logical that an upload feature to be added inorder to truly take advantage of the minidisc capabilities. Without having the ability to upload through an optical out and the USB, there seems to be no enticing reason for minidiscs to became more popular.