CD Recorders

[leggo rocker]

All this makes me think that keeping my mini disc recorder was a good idea, even if they seem obsolete.

Recording mini discs is just like the old days of tapes (except rewinding takes MUCH less time!) You still have to record in real time, as you will with any method of copying vinyl, obviously. But the sound quality is very good (for compressed digital sound it's the closest to vinyl I've heard), the disc are small and re-usable and you can record vinyl onto them without a needing a PC.

You can also mess with them, editing out sections, clipping run ins, naming tracks, etc etc.

Best to use a hi-end hi-fi separate, not a portable - convenient they may be but they are too fiddly! Finding one with a keyboard port is essential for easy control of the editing process! They are very cheap to buy on ebay.

I'm giving serious thought to replacing the faulty CD player in my car (the ONLY place I am still playing CDs) with a mini disc rig so I can play my vinyl in the car (sort of) and then I could sell all my CDs and buy more vinyl!

[bullit]

Just a quick thought: you can download software to split up tracks, i use this for internet radio i hear and recording tp pc. I record as one track then insert markers into it at where tracks start and stop (much simpler then it sounds) and it splits the large file into many smaller tracks.

Version: Your software shouldnt interfere with your files and create new files, sounds like a setting that can be changed, which software do you use?

Normal Data Discs hold music just as well as music discs if your recorder will take them that is; mine does so check if yours can as it can save you money; info on Music discs below:

The Recordable Audio CD is designed to be used in a consumer audio CD recorder, which won't (without modification) accept standard CD-R discs. These consumer audio CD recorders use SCMS (Serial Copy Management System), an early form of digital rights management (DRM), to conform to the AHRA (Audio Home Recording Act). The Recordable Audio CD is typically somewhat more expensive than CD-R due to (a) lower volume and (b) a 3% AHRA royalty used to compensate the music industry for the making of a copy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc

Mini disc players are dirt cheap these days.. if i wasnt using my cdrw recorder id think of getting one; hmn. They never really got going, guess there wasnt a huge market for them

[leggo rocker]

Mini disc players are dirt cheap these days.. if i wasnt using my cdrw recorder id think of getting one; hmn. They never really got going, guess there wasnt a huge market for them

... except in Japan where they were all the rage.

If it hadn't been for 'political' strangulation of the format by, oddly enough, the format's creators Sony, they could have made better ground as all purpose mega floppies. But Sony didn't want the data version to be compatible with the music version so the format was fragmented and failed - even when hi-MD came out with 1gb discs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minidisc

[Version Control]

Cheers Bullit,

I'm at work right now but here are a few answers.

The Sony CD Recorder is definitely limited to blank Audio CDs. It says so in the instructions, and I've tried inserting Data discs but it doesn't recognise them.

My basic software is Musicmatch Jukebox which was installed when I got the PC. A couple of people have offered to rip off a basic copy of Soundforge but both failed. Please note I do NOT support copyright theft! I was just hoping to get a feel for what it could do before investing (hundreds of dollars?) in my own legit copy.

The software isn't really interfering with the files though, it's just recognising them I think. Basically the CD Recorder will record say 75 mins continuously, and every time you tap the REC button during recording, it puts in a track marker - nothing else. But then when I make copies on the PC, it sees the 15 or 20 track markers and treats them as 15-20 files rather than one, each of which becomes a separate mp3. Even though I've switched off the "add 5 secs pause between tracks" option, there's still a slight gap as each track/file/mp3 stops and the next one starts.

By the way, what software adds the track markers afterwards on PC? Is it Audacity or something like that?

Thanks again.

VC

[Dadi Digi]

The Sony CD Recorder is definitely limited to blank Audio CDs. It says so in the instructions, and I've tried inserting Data discs but it doesn't recognise them.

Ditto for the Tascam I have. Wont record on standard data discs.

[leggo rocker]

Glad I chose a Mini~Disc over a CD Recorder. It sounds like the MD is much easier to use, more like old cassette tapes.

[bullit]

How interesting, My Tascam was new when i got it and it writes to data discs.

They're all good formatts i wondered why they never pushed to use mini discs instead of the old floppy drives, but then they even brought out the LS120 which held 120mb on a disk the same as a floppy it never caught on either.

http://www.computerhope.com/help/super.htm

I will have to get back to you on the splitting software i use as im not at home at the moment.

As for direct encoding, hmn. I will have to look into which i prefer as i dont tend to use the pc (instead the tascam)

Hope i can help more, when i get home in a few days i can look into things..

[bullit]

Slow reply but: the program i use to split up mp3s is Absolute Mp3 Splitter & Cool Mp3 Splitter, simple but do the trick, they can also merge mp3s, sounds like a strange thing to want to do but its surprisingly useful.

[Freddy C]

I was surprised that the Tascam requires audio discs. I thought that all the pro-audio CD recorders would work with data discs.

I've a Pioneer PDR-609 CD Recorder which is seven years old. Before I had a PC I used it for recording tracks from CD but now the only thing I use it for is capturing vinyl using re-writable discs. You only need a few discs, really.

When you have the vinyl on the re-writable CD you can copy it to the computer's HDD and just erase the disc, ready for your next vinyl burning session.

The range of domestic CD recorders now available seems almost non-existent, all I see is a twin transport Sony machine at about £200.

Apart from being good at what they do, I think the advantage of a stand alone CD recorder can be that you don't actually need to hook up your computer to your hi-fi. Of course, you may want to.

[leggo rocker]

What file type does your Pioneer write Freddy C? Are the resulting CDs just the same as music CDs and so therefore really easy to import into iTunes etc? Sounds like a really easy way of copying vinyl.