Buy Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music PlayerSony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD Walkman Digital Music Player Product Description:
- 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
Product Description
1GB/675 Song Capacity with 1 Hi-MD MiniDisc Self Recording Upload Feature Records from Multiple Sources (USB, LINE IN, Mic in) Large 5 Line LCD Plays back MP3/ATRAC3 Audio Files Ability to Record from Multiple Sources (Line/Mic In) Self Recording Upload Function 5-Line LCD Digital Amplifier New Sleek Design Up to 34.5 Hours1 Battery Life with Rechargeable Battery and 1 "AA" Battery 1GB2 of Music Storage with One Hi-MD MiniDisc Store 675 songs3 on One Hi-MD MiniDisc Compatible with Both Hi-MD(TM) and Standard MiniDisc Media Store 45 Hours4 with supplied Hi-MD MiniDisc Media Store 13 Hours4 on a standard MiniDisc Media Data File Storage Expanded 5 Way Control Jog Dial(R) Navigation Music and Data Transfer Powered by USB Playback Uncompressed Linear PCM Audio Plays Back MP3/ATRAC3(R)/ATRAC3plus(TM) Audio Formats Up to 100x Transfer Speed5 Supports WMA and WAV Audio Formats6 with Conversion to ATRAC3(R) Format Unlimited Storage Capacity, Re-recordable Archive Data with Low Cost, Hi-MD Media Easily Transfer and Store Valuable Data Skip-Free G-Protection(TM)7 Technology Compatible with the Connect(TM) Music Store Music Management Software Supplied w.Earbuds Supplied Ability to Record From Multiple Sources (Mic/Line-in) : Use line-in jack on the Hi-MD player to transfer and archive legacy formats such as tapes to low cost 1GB Hi-MD MiniDisc Media. The mic input is a perfect solution for self recordings, school concerts or meetings. Choose a maximum recording time of up to 45 hours, or uncompressed/lossless quality depending on specific needs. Self Recording Upload Feature : Upon transferring a Hi-MD recording to SonicStage
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
106 of 108 people found the following review helpful.
Unique device
By Eo
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.
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful.A great tool for musicians...
By Kevin J
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!!
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful.MInidisc Reinvented
By Neaklaus
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 andplay back in MP3 as well as ATRAC3PLUS. The thing I find interesting about both of these new HI-MD machines is that exceptfor 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 puteither 45 hours of music or 1GB of computer data on the disc is also a welcome feature. I still wonder if SONY willmake 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 willhave 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 theSoftware, and the machine itself works quite well. The only problem I have encountered is trying to decide what music piecesto 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.
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