Where are the non-SDMI MP3 Players? 550
"So far I have narrowed my search to 3 choices. I want it to sound very good and be able to play music encoded at 128kb or higher.
The Rio Volt 250 is a CD based player so the SDMI thing doesn't really apply. The Creative Labs Nomad II" proudly displays this as a feature. The Samsung Yepp doesn't use SDMI, but something called SecuMax as stated in the Nomad II technical specs on Amazon. And this little tid bit on the Samsung Yepp homepage confirms that SecuMax is just like SDMI.
Now I'm not looking to download any illegal music from the Internet. I simply want to listen to my CD collection on the train to work or while working out. And there is freely downloadable music out there. If I were to download a song at work or a friend's house, put it in my MP3 player I then wouldn't be able to transfer it back to my PC at home to add to my collection. Where is 'fair use' when the artist is giving away their music for free? And I don't have the link, but what of the recent surges in so called 'secure' CD's that one can't rip into MP3's? Where is the 'fair use' there? Or are we supposed to purchase multiple copies of the same music in different formats?"
iPod? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Funny)
Now you know.
Re:iPod? (Score:2, Flamebait)
Here's a treat for paranoiacs: the Invisible bit [google.com] on the iPod's music folder probably counts as a protection mechanism under the DMCA.
I love Macs, but Apple's lawyers [google.com] are absolutely rabid. It could happen.
Re:iPod? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Insightful)
P.S. I own an iPod and its worth every penny of its $399 sticker price. It blows my Archos Jukebox 6000 out of the water.
Re:iPod? (Score:4, Informative)
Gay? Like in happy or your alternative lifestyle?
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:iPod? (Score:4, Funny)
You fool! Your comment is a circumvention device! I hope you posted it from an anonymous relay, because the RIAA Thought Police are already mobilized. Your comment is a "digital crowbar", it will be used by millions to deprive starving recording artists of their royalty proceeds! Jack Valenti is currently mobilizing an army [cnn.com], if I were anywhere near the Slashdot server room I'd leave the area immediately. Laser-guided "smart bombs" aren't always perfect for accuracy.
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:OT , command lines (was Re:iPod?) (Score:3, Interesting)
-jon
Re:iPod? (Score:2)
I thought that once a song gets onto the iPod you can't get a copy back off it in digital form.
Re:iPod? (Score:2)
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Funny)
Memory on handhelds (Score:2, Interesting)
archos jukebox (Score:5, Informative)
A hard drive based solution, comes at 6GB-20GB flavors, works under Linux (I'm using it with the usb-storage module), and I got it for around £150 (british pounds).
Great for transfering data as well: Windows finds it as a normal drive, and I can mount it under linux (vfat).
Cheers,
Stefanos
Re:archos jukebox (Score:2, Interesting)
Cheers,
Timo
Re:archos jukebox (Score:3, Informative)
It has a few idiosyncrasies so it's well worth reading the list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/archosjukebox6000 [yahoo.com] (requires registration) to pick up all the necessary hints and tips - the support there is probably better than you will get from Archos themselves.
The JB6K has the advantage that you can copy whatever files you want onto it - if they're MP3 format it will play them, if not it will ignore them so you can use it just as an external portable hard disk. It'll cope with MP3's encoded up to 320kbit/s CBR or VBR. It also has upgradable firmware so theoretically it could be made to support other sound formats although there doesn't seem to be any sign that Archos are moving towards this.
Q.
Seconded and amended - try the jukebox recorder! (Score:5, Informative)
Highlights of this thing?
- Works great on any OS that supports USB storage devices; when attached, mounts like any other USB hard disk. Will store anything you put on there.
- Hackable; will take any 9.5mm 2.5" laptop hard disk. I replaced the stock 6 GB disk with a 20 GB mechanism without any problems.
- Unlike the cheaper models, the Recorder (which goes for around $300-$350 these days) does real-time MP3 recording from analog line-in, digital SPDIF, or an onboard mic!
- Digital in doubles as digital out when not recording.
- The Recorder has a MUCH, MUCH BETTER interface than the cheaper jukeboxes, with an 8-line screen that during playback shows ID3 info (or directory info if file is untagged), elapsed/remaining/total time, left and right VU meters, and labels for the three soft-button function keys.
- Also, the recorder has greatly superior sound compared to the cheaper jukeboxes, with base/treble/loudness/balance adjustments and plenty of volume.
And of course, no SDMI anywhere in sight. The iPod looks nicer, and firewire is cool, but with a 20 gig disk in mine, I've got 4x the capacity of an iPod in a package not much bigger, with digital i/o and real-time mp3 recording abilities. Oh yeah, 10-hour battery life, too, using standard replacable NiMH AA cells.
-Isaac
Re:Seconded and amended - try the jukebox recorder (Score:3, Informative)
I have installed 1.21d. SCMS is the bozo-bit-based copy protection scheme used by consumer digital audio recorders (DATs and CD burners, mainly; it's mandated by the Audio Home Recording Act for any digital audio recorder, and this thing qualifies). SCMS has very little practical effect on this device for 2 reasons:
- One, the SCMS system allows one digital copy from an original copyrighted digital source (e.g. a CD), which is all you really need in most cases. It just won't let you record digitally from a digital copy made with an SCMS device (e.g. it would block recording from a CDR copy of an original CD, if the CDR copy was made with a consumer standalone audio CD burner).
- Two, disabling SCMS on the Archos Jukebox Recorder is trivial, and doesn't require messing with hardware or firmware. When recording, set the "Artist Name" string to HFSCMSOFF. That's it. Re-enable with HFSCMSON, or just by resetting the device.
-Isaac
Re:archos jukebox (Score:2)
The machine was good while it lasted with easy use under Linux (2.4.9+ but 2.4.11 for easy use cause they forgot to mention the config before then) and Windows. The only problem was 6Gb just wasn't enough by a long way. I now have the chance to return the unit for a full refund and I think I will to get something bigger.
Great idea, pity it only lasts two months (yep I know I was probably unlucky but so be it)
Re:archos jukebox (Score:2)
It's slightly smaller and weighing less than the Nomad, with the batteries making up for a good deal of the weight.
Batteries are also another important plus about the Jukebox with only the minor annoyance of the stupid lids. But it uses regular NiMH AA batteries so you can buy the comparably cheap batteries yourself instead of buying some expensive battery pack.
The 4 batteries usually last for at least 4 hours, though I found it seems to heavily depend on the battery quality (and on the mA, of course).
The only nitpick I have is that their website is shoddy scripted crap.
Re:archos jukebox (Score:5, Interesting)
I like the CD option personally (Score:5, Insightful)
as for copying "back" to your collection, if its such a big deal to steal the music, borrow the CD and rip it yourself.
Re:I like the CD option personally (Score:2)
Re:I like the CD option personally (Score:3, Interesting)
The CD option is great if you have a burner and just need it for your daily commute. This is not at all an option for highly-active people, however. The solid state ones are smaller, more rugged, and skip-free.
Re:I like the CD option personally (Score:2)
for working out/excessive movement, the memory chip models are definitally the way to go, but from my stand point, I can archive my Music collection, and play the same medium on my home system, my computer system at work and in my car once I purchase that piece of equipment.
do moderators even read the articles? (Score:2)
nuff said...
Offtopic? WTF? (Score:2)
Seriously, are moderators smoking crack nowadays or what? How MORE ON-TOPIC can this post get???
iPod (Score:4, Informative)
Philips eXpanium (Score:2)
10 hours of music in a Discman-like device.
Re:Philips eXpanium (Score:3, Informative)
My biggest gripe is the display sucks. I would like to have a scrolling text message, but instead the display gives you a number for the directory (album) and file (song).
It's a bit bulkier than the nifty little solid state devices, but I have 301 They Might Be Giants songs on the disc in my player right now. The mini players with large memory cost more, while the Expanium sells for for only 90 US dollars.
I picked up a 20 hour rechargable lead battery at Radio Shack (part number 23-505) and replaced the headphones with a Kenwood KPM-510 headset. I usually keep the thing in a bookbag anyway, so the bulk doesn't bother me.
Re:Philips eXpanium (Score:2, Informative)
My only cons is that I have to hide these from the frozen wind when I am biking (here in Switzerland it had some "hickups" around -5 degrees (Celsius))
BTW it can also read standard Audio CDs.
Re:Philips eXpanium (Score:2, Informative)
The expanium is cheaper and it sounds ok. However you cannot skip through the tracks, the headphones are crappy and the LCD is hard to read.
The rio sounds better, can scan tracks, has better headphones and a big lcd. Well worth it IMO.
The original Rio PMP300 ... (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:4, Interesting)
C'mon people, we won't be taken seriously if we can't even learn the jargon.
Re:I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:2)
Wait - I believe almost everyone here will tell you they believe fair use to mean 'If I buy a song/movie, I can make copies of that said media for MY personal use only. This is commonly referred to as 'fair-use' and grew out of the rulingas and laws passwed when VCRs first came onto the scene. Now the jargon may be wrong, though EVERYONE seems to use it when referring to this scneario) SO if the term fair-use isn't the right term IYHO for personal copying for personal use, what is?
Re:I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:2, Interesting)
Frag the jargon.. they'll take us seriously when we don't buy their SDMI 'enhanced' crap and instead go around/through them.
There is no encryption that cannot be broken
There is no hardware that cannot be hacked
But there is no way to remove or restrain my desire to exercise the rights guaranteed to a U.S. citizen under the U.S. Constitution - and Fair Use does mean the ability for me to make a back-up copy of the material I have lawfully purchased. Too bad for the corps if it is in a format they do not approve of.
Re:I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:3, Informative)
It's fair use to copy an LP to cassette so you can play it in your car.
It's fair use to copy a CD to cassette so you can play it in your car.
It's fair use to convert a CD to mp3 so you can play it in your computer/mp3 player.
The fair use part is that you bought it once. You shouldn't have to buy it for every media type on the planet.
Even under the "license" model. The person has purchased a license to listen to a piece of music. The media in which it is stored is irrelevant. Of course if the RIAA ever switched to a convoluted EULA like MS's...
-Jerry
Re:I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:2)
Why not abandon their language and re-frame the situation in new verbage? Never underestimate the ability of time and money to propagandize ideas. The intellectual property advocates use the language they do for good reason, they define the terms of the debate, they pronounce the foundations of the situation, they organize the logic so the only conclusion can be the one they desire.
It is a very basic debating technique to question the basic assumptions of anothers arguemnt, when you disprove the foundation, something they rely upon, you can more easily disprove (by re-defining) their further conclusions - think house of cards.
Why do you think the government talks in rhetoric and half-truths as they do? Its a trick of language, "learning their jargon" will only give the RIAA/MPAA/Plutocrats a head start in making you "wrong".
Re:I don't think that word means what you think... (Score:2)
If I were to download a song at work or a friend's house, put it in my MP3 player I then wouldn't be able to transfer it back to my PC at home to add to my collection...
Rio 500 (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Rio 500 (Score:3, Informative)
-the off/lock/on switch. When trying to lock the player it's TOO easy to turn it off. And it doesn't remember the place in the song you were - only what song. It's stupid, but i hit this all the time and it's annoying. The switch should be off/on/lock, or put lock on another switch.
-the supplied headphones are sucky. Spend $15 and get another set.
-i get a min of 10hours out of a single AA battery. Kickass.
-i don't think it takes >64MB smartmedia cards (i may be wrong). I always downsample the stuff to the portable at 96Kbs, so that gets me a good 2 hours with minimal glitches.
-it may be just my player, but it's not very shock resistant. i use it at the gym, and if it gets tapped with even more than a slight touch it jumps songs and stops playing (even when locked). Maybe a lose wire somewhere, but it's always done it.
otherwise - highly recommended.
CD based....the way to go.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Archos Jukebox - USB Hard Drive / MP3 Player (Score:2, Informative)
It is a little bulky for carying around, but is great for use in the car and office.
Copying from portable to PC? (Score:2, Insightful)
Am I missing something obvious?
NexII (Score:2, Informative)
When you get to work, offload the CompactFlash card with a PCMCIA adaptor ($12) to your laptop or a USB adaptor ($25) to your desktop.
Oh, I should mention, the NexII sounds good too, but you want to dump the headphones they ship.
Fair use -- my take (Score:3, Troll)
Fair-use is not a doctrine that states the owners must make it *easy* to copy, or even possible.
Now the DMCA makes it a little bit sticky inregards to being able to copy stuff for fair-use, but even pre-DMCA, there was no contract between seller and buyer that the seller would make it easy to copy.
Hard to copy = illegal to copy (Score:2)
The DMCA makes any fair use that isn't "easy" illegal, which makes the whole situation much worse.
It is worse to the point of being intolerable - what good is fair use if it is illegal to make use of it if the copyright owner doesn't want you to - fair use is NOT a check on copyright owner's power if the copyright owner can make it illegal to exercise it - thus the balance between copyright and the First Amendment is GONE and the current law is unconstitutional.
Judge Kaplan disregarded fair use protection clauses and exemptions written directly into the DMCA itself and found against the defendants (they were ordered to pay the court for the "privilege" of being persecuted by the court).
So don't expect the Constitution to save you.
iPod (Score:2, Informative)
If you're considering the Rio Volt, consider this. (Score:2)
Just my 2 cents.
-Jason
Re:If you're considering the Rio Volt, consider th (Score:2)
I would highly reccomend this system. Simply burn firmware upgrades to a CD-RW and the player will upgrade as soon as it sees the file on the CD. Pretty slick.
Audio quality is fine, although I dont thave the Volt-90 or whatever the cheapie model is (perhaps it has the problems)
All in all a great system. You can pack quite a bit of music on a 700M CDR. I will listed for hours, sometimes days on end before it loops back to the beginning.
$129 at easybuy (Score:2)
Good price on it here [easybuy2000.com]. Check out their other MP3 players too, some good deals.
Re:If you're considering the Rio Volt, consider th (Score:2)
Rio 500 (Score:2)
As long as you don't need it to work with XP [google.com] (No Flames Please), then go with the Rio500 [ebay.com].
They have Windows support (95-2000) that lets you load and erase music on the unit only, while the Linux drivers and apps [freshmeat.net] let you copy music on and off the device. They come with 64 Megs already, and you can add a Smart Media card [ebay.com] for more.
It's an older MP3 player, sure. Capacity is where you'll take the hit, but if you want to use it as you will, and assuming you're a Linux user, the Rio500 should do fine.
MD players (Score:2, Informative)
As far as I know, there is no security technology on the horizon for MD media. And with the USB-based "MD link" that's now included with most players, it's virtually as easy to record things off of a random friend's computer as it would be with an MP3 player.
The only big drawback is that they record in real time (so, for example, 40 minutes of music would take 40 minutes to record.) And recording from an MD onto your computer is a little bit more of a hassle. But other than that, I'd say they're worth checking out.
Rio Volt (Score:2)
Before you buy a Volt, make sure you listen to one. I bought the cheapie SP90 version for my car. There is an audible chirp/hiss in the audio output. In the car, it's not a major issue, because the hiss is competing with road noise, wind noise and engine noise. But it's definitely not hi-fi enough for headphones or a home system.
According to a review I saw somewhere (I think it was CNet), the Volt 250 has this same problem, so caveat emptor.
Apple iPod (Score:5, Informative)
Also, the iPod supports a variety of encodings. It should support up to 256Kbps (or is it 320Kbps?), variable bit rate, joint stereo or normal stereo, because that's what iTunes supports. The 1000 songs it advertises is for 160Kbps songs.
Use your head..Get a Casio PZ-5000 instead. (Score:2)
Here's a good reccomendation for you:
I love mine..got a Casio PZ-5000 about a month ago. Its an portable Audio CD + MP3 CD player [mp3shopping.com] , complete with digital shock absorbpion, car casette adapter, headphones, DC to AC converter for plugging into your car's lighter, two batteries and a normal wall-outlet AC adapter for $79.00
Cheers,
Re:Use your head..Get a Casio PZ-5000 instead. (Score:2)
Yepp (Score:2)
Considering it comes with 128MB out of the box, it's a good buy. I advise however ditching the headphones and the remote, and plugging a good pair of headphones directly into the unit. I only wish for a better design and a built-in rechargable battery with charging stand.
Re:Yepp (Score:2)
Re:Yepp (Score:2)
Part of the SDMI spec (what we have seen) has been that the devices should be timebomb activated, meaning that the really audacious limitations could just pop up one morning when the RIAA feels you are sufficiently in the trap. It could also make that windows software you are trusting update the player firmware to whatever ridiculous scheme they have invented that day without even warning you.
Trusting that the the company is only playing lip service to the enemy is a gamble, and not one I would recommend people taking.
Nomad Jukebox (Score:2, Interesting)
Fair use is not a right (Score:3, Insightful)
Basically, "fair use" means you won't get in trouble for a little sharing, but it doesn't mean it'll be easy.
Rio (Score:2)
Automotive MP3 Head Units (Score:3, Interesting)
In addition to the subject at hand--are there any recomendations for car-based mp3 head units?
The Empeg was quite nice--but expensive. Aiwa makes a unit [aiwa.com] that plays MP3's from
CD-R's, but I've heard horrors about it. Has anyone had experience with an mp3 head unit that
isn't rumoured to suck?
-Kris
Re:Automotive MP3 Head Units (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Automotive MP3 Head Units (Score:2)
Re:Automotive MP3 Head Units (Score:2)
Aiwa and Kenwood head units (Score:2)
I returned it altogether and replaced it with a Kenwood KDC MP-8017. Same basic specs and price as the Aiwa, with a less cheesy display and the ability to resume in the middle of an mp3. Additionally, although the Aiwa sounded fine to me at the time, the Kenwood definitely has a much more accurate sound.
Missing from both is the ability to do random play across a whole disc. They only do random within a directory.
SDMI?! (Score:2)
Seriously, I don't know of any MP3 player that won't play all your ex-Napster or Gnutella/Audiogalaxy/etc. mp3s. My iPod, which I think is fabulous, plays everything I put on it, so long as it's mp3 (sorry no ogg or wma). And I for one am damn sure that I won't run any "up"grade that takes away that ability - and the vendors (except Microsoft) know that too, which is why you don't have anything to worry about.
But back up your tunes to CD-R anyway, in case of system crashes and other stuff - not just SDMI shenanigans.
this is a non-issue, afaik (Score:4, Informative)
The only way player-to-PC-copy would be really useful is if you had a hard-drive player, and I believe some of them (Archos Jukebox?) can do that.
OTOH, if "SDMI Compliant" means something else, then it might be a bigger problem. But if the thing plays standard MP3's, I don't see how there's much to worry about, as there's no way to "trust" an mp3, and thus no way to restrict the player, IF in fact it plays standard files.
Re:this is a non-issue, afaik (Score:2)
So what we have is a company deciding I'm not allowed to do that, because they say I'm not. Now tell me, why would I encourage that company? I put my money where my mouth is, and I will not buy such a product. This is the reason why I will not buy any SDMI-compliant portable player.
Creative Nomand + SmartMedia Card Reader (Score:2, Interesting)
Head to eBay and pick up a.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Additional features are an FM tuner and a voice recorder.
Here's the link [ebay.com].
And of course since they are a couple years old, you can pick them up cheap!
Re:Head to eBay and pick up a.... (Score:5, Funny)
Working out? You realise this is slashdot, right?
I went for a DIVA (Score:2)
The Diva has three main advantages: It's cheap. I got a 128MB version for ~$130. It uses CF memory, which IMHO is about the most standard of the various flash formats. Most importanty, it's a generic USB mass storage device. I just plug it into my laptop and mount
The downsides are that it's rather cheaply made, and the display/controls are a little lacking. But hey, you get what you pay for. The 32MB version can be had for like $70 after rebate. For me, the security of knowing that I would have no driver issues at all outweighed the disadvantages. Oh, it has a voice recording mode too, for what it's worth. I got the MP3128VP, but it looks like they have a new "Music Pen" version coming out. It should work just as well in Linux. The Specs brag about "No drivers with Windows2000/ME" which means it should work fine in any OS with USB mass store drivers.
Iomega HipZip (Score:3, Interesting)
The player itself is of good quality; it sounds great both on headphones and plugged into my car stereo. It includes an equalizer and a backlit display. Unfortunately, the OS itself is a bit spartan; there's no way to save the playlist through a power cycle, and the random play function resets itself on every powerup. I suspect these issues may be resolved with a newer version of Dadio [iobjects.com], and for now I just randomize the playlist before loading it onto the player, as tracks are sorted in load order.
There are several interesting features of this player. The first is that it takes Iomega's 40MB Clik! (now Pocket Zip) disks, which run about $10 each retail. It acts as an ordinary USB mass storage device, which means you can copy any files to/from it without restriction, and also use it to exchange ordinary data files. (Unfortunately, as always with Win98, you can't just plug in the player and copy files; you have to install the drivers first, despite its being a perfectly generic USB disk drive. Completely plug-and-play in Linux, though.)
The 40MB size of the Clik! disks is a little annoying, but the ability to carry 5 or 6 of the disks around in the media wallet without significant expense makes up for that, and I'm able to store much more music (with the hassle of changing disks) than I was with my Rio 500 expanded to 128MB. Additionally (and this is the reason I bought the player), it will support Ogg Vorbis as soon as the format reaches 1.0. (There is a beta firmware that supports it now, but it won't play files encoded with >beta4.) Ogg Vorbis will let me easily degrade bitrates without re-encoding, and at 96kb/s .ogg I will be able to store quite a bit on 1 disk.
One interesting problem: When hooked to the line-in of my car CD player [sounddomain.com], there is an audible hiss if I have it simultaneously plugged into the charger. As soon as I disconnect it from the charger, it disappears. I don't know if I wired the stereo strangely or what, because it's not there with headphones. Weird.
The enemy controls the hardware (Score:5, Interesting)
This is why having hardware specific for each task, which is often discussed as something good, must be something we cannot allow to happen. Instead, we have to continue to ensure the existance of systems like PCs where things are done in software, which WE can control. We even have to look into moving more PC functionality into software, now that we have processors strong enough for it, as I worry that things like graphic accelerators and sound cards will be future platforms for entertainment industry UHT (User Hostile Technology). The more that is done in software, the more freedom is had by all.
In the short term, it might still be possible to find dedicated MP3 players that are not UHT (such as the burned CD ones), but in the longer term I think handhelds with strong general purpose CPUs running Linux (preferably decoding OGG of course) is the only real choice. In the longest term, there is a real risk (see for example the "SS"SCA), that general purpose programmable hardware will simply not be allowed, and we will have to hope that an illegal underground market for hardware that is not user hostile will appear...
Re:The enemy controls the hardware (Score:3, Interesting)
Back when they proclaimed it illegal to sell police scanners that let you listen to cell-phone frequencies in the 800Mhz range, people came out with a slew of modifications to re-enable the missing frequencies.
When they sold the Playstation so it wouldn't run copies of game CDs, they released hacked chips to solder in the unit and fix the problem.
When Apex was forced to quit selling DVD players with the "loophole menu" in them to disable Macrovision and region codes, hackers created custom firmware to flash into them to restore these capabilities.
As long as individuals remain interested in the inner workings of hardware, control will always be regained from the industry. Keeping control in software just means a larger percentage of the population has the knowledge and ability to make the changes needed.
Sssh.... Secret about Creative Labs SDMI support (Score:3, Informative)
In fact, the latest firmware upgrade now allows you to move any type of file onto the Nomad and back, so you can use it as a portable harddrive!
(Let's keep Creative Labs lack of SDMI enforcement just between us. We wouldn't want certain powerful industry lobby groups *cough-RIAA* to come down on them.)
That's cool but... (Score:2)
Pocket PC's Work Great (Score:3, Interesting)
I get 12 hours of battery life playing MP3's and you can purchace 512 megabyte CF cards for it. Makes an *awesome* player, and can do videos as well as all the PDA stuff.
A bit expensive, but a neat toy.
--
Ian
Consider getting a MiniDisc recorder/player (Score:5, Informative)
The units themselves are tiny (most of them are in the 80x16x75mm range) and weigh almost nothing (the Sharp MD-MT770 weighs 128g). The discs are infinitely re-recordable and cost about $1.50 each.
Depending on the level of compression you record at, shock protection can be up to 160 seconds. Most units have rechargeable batteries and can also use an extra AA for backup yielding incredible battery life -- the MT770 for example can play up to 49 hours on the highest compression level (35 on the regular SP mode).
One of the coolest advantages they have over mp3 players is that you can record concerts at virtually CD quality sound. Plug a microphone into the in-jack and you can bootleg with ease. Most of the latest recorders feature manually adjustable recording levels (while recording!), automatic 3/5/10 minute timestamping, audio syncing and optical line-in (which means you can optically record mp3s from a computer equipped with optical-out). Some of the Sony recorders (MZ-R700DPC for example) ship with external D/A converter that connects the MD's digital input with your computer's USB port, which makes recording all internet audio formats quite easy.
You can shuffle tracks around on a disc on the fly, delete them, insert new ones and of course there are the usual random/repeat play modes.
You can get an entry-level MDLP (2x/4x recording) player/recorder for around $215. Compared to paying $90 for each 256mb flashcard, they are really cost efficient.
I have a Sharp MD-MT77 which I am quite happy with. I make 5 hour playlists in xmms, plug the recorder into my soundcard's line-out and make mix MDs. 5 hours is a lot of space to work with -- and the quality is quite decent. At 2x (160 minutes), recordings sound virtually like CD quality.
Check out minidisc.org [minidisc.org] for more information, or minidisco.com [minidisco.com] for a run-down on most of the available models.
Nomad II? (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Personal Jukebox (Score:2, Informative)
jason
PJB-100 (Personal Jukebox) (Score:2, Informative)
Although the initial advertising claimed otherwise, with the more recent firmwares (2.3.x, the one I have currently is 2.3.2) DO in fact support transferring data from the device back to the hard disk. There is a FAQ [mpython.com] that has links to the various places which have software that can do this -- one of which is a SourceForge Project [sourceforge.net].
The PJB itself [pjbox.com] is a fairly nifty device (though the main website tends to get either broken out outdated from time to time -- and the pictures they have of the products are in some cases DEAD WRONG! The only colors that are really available as shown are the titanium with black buttons and the all black; the blue one is actually kind of an off teal with dark teal buttons) -- storage capacities range from 6GB to 30GB, making the high-end model the largest capacity wearable MP3 player that I know about.
There are Linux synchronization tools available, but they were all unfortunately in a more or less half-finished state the last time I checked, so I still rip under Linux and then boot back to Windows to transfer the MP3 files to the PJB. It also has the downside of being USB rather than firewire, so transferring large amounts of data can take a while. Battery life is around 10 hours with the rechargeable LI battery. Recharging can only be done in the main device though -- no external chargers are aviailable. It also makes a loud tone when the battery is getting low, and will make the tone again after a few seconds of playing if you stop and then start the device again, which can be somewhat disconcerting if you weren't expecting it, especially since it triggers when there's still an hour or two of life left in the device. It is documented in the manual, but was easy to overlook or forget.
The navigation buttons are fairly easy to use and simple to understand. I've had one problem with an mp3 that had a click in it that wasn't present when played on the PC, but it was an isolated case, and was one of my oldest rips, so it might be a genuine glitch in the encoding.
Well, this turned into more of a full review than a comment on another device that can do two-way transfers, so I should probably shut up now. I will add a final note that I had problems when trying to reach the company directly or order directly from their website, so I ended up buying from MP3FactoryDirect [mp3factorydirect.com] and quite satisfied with that.
Rio Volt (Score:2)
Two main problems;
1) The thing is a battery hog. I dont know what they claim but you wont get more than a couple hours per pair of AA's.
2) The anti-skip sucks. Really, really sucks. I can make it skip by putting it in my leg pocket (cargo pants) and walking. So dont plan to do any jogging with it or anything.
Other than that, the sound quality is good. The controls are simple but effective. You upgrade the firmware by burning the upgrade software onto a blank CD and then play that CD - so it's pretty easy to upgrade and Linux friendly.
Why not build your own? (Score:3, Interesting)
Links to site on building your own custom built in hardware player. Check out the links to the other sites too.
JazzPiper (Score:2, Informative)
64MB Built-in,
Takes up-to 32MB SmartMedia cards,
Plays MP3/WAV,
No SDMI,
Crappy FM Radio,
Voice Recording,
Useless phone book thingy,
Parallel interface,
Dunno about non-win support,
Looks nicer than most 1st gen players.
I've seen it go under the name of MPIO-SV64. MP3Players.co.uk [mp3players.co.uk] have a nice selection to look at.
-TheCrunch
What About (Score:2)
What's Wrong With Copy Protection (Score:2, Insightful)
I recommend very much the following article from John Gilmore (EFF, inventer of the alt hierarchy): "What's Wrong With Copy Protection".
http://www.toad.com/gnu/whatswrong.html [toad.com]The article is well written and he makes some good and interesting points. Worth a read IMHO.
NEO Jukebox/Archos/iPod... (Score:3, Insightful)
Longer version:
I have used all three, and currently own the NEO Jukebox and an iPod (as primarily a Mac user, obviously, although I use Windows PCs at work, usually). None of them are SDMI-impaired.
Archos:
I bought the Archos (6 gig) originally (this summer), and loved the size and form factor (although it was surprisingly heavy). However, the HD frizzed out several times and finally I had to return it after I got sick of the reformat/reload/repeat cycle. If they've fixed some of those problems it probably would be good (and the recorder seems nice). Support was questionable at best - I eventually got responses, but they couldn't do anything about my messed up drive.
NEO Jukebox:
After that I bought the 20 gig NEO Jukebox, and was generally extremely happy with it. It's a little large (about the size of a portable CD player, although thinner than most), but surprisingly light, and the bells and whistles are nice - it comes with a remote control and a nice interface, and replacing the HD is almost as easy as replacing the batteries on any walkman. I actually use it for work a lot to transfer files via USB, since it mounts very easily as a USB hard drive. It pretty much never skips, and looks cool with a nice blue backlight.
The only problems I had with it have been:
1) Slowwwwww transfer rates via USB (transferring even 5 gigs takes around 4 hours, let alone filling the thing - my ripped CD collection is about 2/3 done and is approaching 15 gigs).
2) Lousy battery life - I usually get 4.5 hours max, which means that if I listen to it on el to my current contract, I run out of power by lunchtime.
3) Pain to transport and recharge. During the summer when I was commuting weekly to Texas for a contract, I had to take the large charger every time, which was annoying. It's heavy and bulky. And on a day-by-day basis, there's just no way.
4) Problems mounting in OS X. This may be better in 10.1.1 - I haven't tried it yet.
Support was middling - no response ever when I emailed them, some moderate responsiveness when I phoned.
iPod:
When I first saw the price tag on the iPod, I thought they were n-v-t-s nuts. Then I actually went in and actually looked at one, and I realized I had to have one, and that I can't believe that it is so damn cheap. Salient points:
1) Firewire. This thing loads fully in about 5 minutes. I just say what I want each morning, take a shower, grab it and go after it syncs up.
2) Size. It is *tiny*. Literally the size of a deck of cards. And light. I throw it in my coat pocket on my way to work and forget it's there.
3) Design. The interface is fantastic - even better than the quite good NEO interface. It looks and feels incredible. I don't know anyone (even Mac haters) who hasn't immediately asked "where can I get one?" about three seconds after holding it in their hands.
4) Portability. If you travel at all, this thing blows away every other MP3 player. It's not even close. You need exactly one small cable to recharge and sync, and the iPod itself is so small that it basically is a non-issue.
5) Battery life. This is a big one - I have used the iPod all day for most of the last couple of weeks, and have never even gotten as low as a half charge. It says 10 hours, but I would guess it's more like 15 at normal use.
I have basically nothing negative to say about the iPod.
Basically my plan is to use an FM transmitter to use the NEO in my car, which should be perfect. I'll load it with my whole CD collection overnight about once a month, and otherwise just leave it there.
So there it is. Hope that's of use to someone.
Two Words: Rio Volt (Score:3, Interesting)
Item [Price]
Latest RioVolt [$180]
Nomad Jukebox(20GB) [$350]
1 CD-R (700MB) [$0.40]
1 CD-RW (650MB) [$0.80]
So, it costs you $350 for 20GB of music-memory from Nomad. Lets see how much you'd have to spend for 20GB if you used RioVolt:
Assuming 20GB of CD-RW's:
$180 + (20GB*1024MB/GB / 650MB) * $0.80 = $205.21.
Assumng 20GB of CD-R's:
$180 + (20GB*1024MB/GB / 700MB) * $0.40 = $191.70
Thus, you save from $145 to $158 dollars by choosing RioVolt over Nomad. Its a no-brainer, regarding which product you should buy. Yes, Nomad allows you to alter the contents of your collection...so does RioVolt, if you use CD-RW's: and you'll still save 145 bucks.
Put another way, if you wanted to spend $350 dollars for an MP3-playing device and the memory/CD's to store MP3's on, you get:
(a) 20GB of storage space from Nomad
(b) 134GB to 290GB of storage space using RioVolt and 213CD-RW's or 425CD-R's, respectively.
This is not a practical comparison -- as few people want to carry around 425CD-R's, though some of the larger CD-booklets would let you do such. This is simply cost-analysis.
Lets go back to the analysis of how much you save by using RioVolt and an according # of CD-RW's to get to 20GB. If you use RioVolt and 32CD-RW's to get 20GB of memory, you save 145 dollars. But lets be a bit more accurate -- you can't carry around 32CD-RW's in your pocket: you need a CD-folder. A Steel CD case capable of holding 60CD's, costs 20 dollars. So you actually only save 125 dollars by choosing RioVolt and buying CD-RW's to get to 20GB. Now, would you rather walk around with one Nomad Jukebox, or with one RioVolt, one steel 60CD case, and 125 extra dollars in your pocket? Your choice.
P.S.: 125 dollars is enough to buy you one GeForce2 MX for your laptop.
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Open Source Player (Score:3, Informative)
There actually is an open-source MP3 player [pjrc.com]. It's not a shiny polished product like a Rio, but I can say with 100% confidence that is has absolutely no SDMI features, since I designed it!
Ok, mod me down for shameless self promotion now.
Re:Ipod! (Score:2)
Re:Ipod! (Score:2)
It's firewire and uses a 5GB hard disk. Write a Linux driver for it.
Rather than complain "you have to buy a Mac" WRITE DRIVERS! This is the advantage of having an open source operating system to hack, folks.
Re:Ipod! - not so fast there (Score:4, Insightful)
If Linux supported HFS+, it should be possible for it to talk to an iPod. AFAIK, Linux only supports the older HFS. (I'm no expert on Macs, having only a Quadra 610, but I'm guessing that the difference between HFS+ and HFS is a bit more than the difference between FAT16 and FAT32.)
Here's a more general FireWire storage question. I remember reading something about the intelligent nature of FireWire devices; for instance, you're supposed to be able to hook a DV camcorder directly into a hard drive and dump video from tape to disk. What filesystem would be put on the drive to enable it to work in this manner...or is this a capability that isn't implemented in actual devices?