NetMD N910/710 vs iPod

[benixau]

I need help - can't decide.

I have OSX 10.3
I am an audio engineer
I will use the recording feature

NetMD:
+Stereo Record*
+Record battery life is greater than iPod playback*
+Playback time is almost 24hrs on internal battery*
+Smaller
+Does not skip during tasks that casue the iPod to skip
+Already have five 74min MDs
+"Unlimited" capacity by swaping disks
+Removable NiMH battery
+Comes with AA adapter add-on
+LCD remote (N910 is backlit)
-Realtime song transfer
-NetMD features not easily available
-Not as cool as an iPod

iPod:
+Capacity*
+Integration with Mac*
+AAC compatabilty*
+Faster transfers (firewire vs real-time)*
+No need to title tracks
+Easier to use on the road
+No copy protection on files (can send to the iPod in native format as many times as I want (I can't use the iTMS (re: location)))
-Battery life (and no, I will not purchase a Belkin battery thing so that my iPod can be bulky and still have a shorter life)


The points that have the '*' next to them are important issues to me. I can not honestly decide. The MD solution is cheaper by about AU$100 but the stikler is realtime transfer.

Thanks in advance and could any "iPod cause Apple makes it" people not post. Thanks again.

 

[synthetickittie]

that thing is a dam minidisc player? ok sorry if Im wrong and IF they have improved this but... I had one a few years ago and the only way you can transfer songs from your computer to a minidisc is IN REAL TIME! Do you have any idea how long it would take to put all your songs onto tons of minidics..... I had a sony one a few years ago and then got the ipod that I still have now (about time for a new one too, gotta say they hold up really good because I give my electronic things like cd players and cell phones I BEATING and my ipod has held up for over a year and trust me you can TELL this thing has taken a beating by looking at it but it plays great still). So unless they have some how changed the way you transfer music onto minidiscs then save yourself TIME and get an ipod.

ps... I know you wrote that you know you have to transfer in real time but if your even thinking about it then there is NO WAY you realize how horrible it is to actually do this. Its not like you can even just set it and have it transfer straight for a few days and then come back and its done, you have to keep coming back to switch minidiscs and start the player on your computer back to where you want it to start. And now you cant just wake up and ask yourself where is your ipod and leave, its one of the reasons I LOVE my ipod... with the minidisc or other things I have to first get it and then think ok what do I want to listen to today and then a few hours after leaving the house realize I want to listen to something I left at the house... when I got my minidisc I thought I was gonna LOVE it and ended up actually LOATHING the dam thing, and when I got my ipod I thought I was gonna LOVE it and to this day Im sooo happy I happy I have one(I have one of the old 10gb ones)

 

[kanker]

I know that this isn't very helpful, but I'd get both over time. First of all, minidisc recorders are great for live board recordings, sampling, and even just for capturing live shows just for reference. The iPod is wonderful not only for playing music, but as an external hard drive for moving sessions between computers, especially if you're goiing cross country and don't have a laptop, or want to take it. There are lots of FOH engineers who will record a gig on the road (into ProTools or Logic, etc...), dump the track files into their iPod, and fly back to the studio to work on mixes for a live album, bring the new mixes back to the next gig on the iPod, and play the tracks for the artist to check out. If you could manage at some time to get both, you could then just get a basic minidisc recorder for a little over $100. I guess IMO the question would be which one to get first, YMMV.

 

[candan9019]

Originally posted by synthetickittie
I had one a few years ago and the only way you can transfer songs from your computer to a minidisc is IN REAL TIME!

No NetMDs can transfer from a computer in compressed time but the software only works on Windows. I think a ipod would be better espicially since you can get a mic for it now. And of course if you got the MD you would have to transfer in realtime without a PC.

 

[johnnowak]

If you just want something for playback, get the iPod. If you want something for field recordings, get the iPod and a used Sharp Minidisc player (by far the best interface for recording, and they sound good, check eBay). If you want to do pro recording on the go, get a portable DAT for a soundcard for the powerbook... and the iPod.

 

[joelypolly]

Just to say if you have your MD after a few years the lasers tend to collect a bit of dust and the disks skip a bit more than they should. I have had 3 MDs in the past 5 years and they all kinda have that problem. All top of the line sony players. They are useful because of the longer batt life (68hours with single AA) vs the iPod(8-10 hours). If apple can improve batt life a bit more to around 16-20 hours i would get one ( Hopefully by Jan 2004 hehe).

And NetMD software for windows seriously sucks big time. They get your music (mp3, wav etc) and converts it to sony's own format which takes a bit of time and then transfters to the MD at 32X or 64X real time. But the software takes over a min to convert a 8-9 min song so you will be waiting even if its transfers fast.

Also NetMD only supports english and jap so if your song tags are in chinese then you are out of luck. Even if you songs filename are chinese on the computer the program won't recognize it.

SO get iPod

 

[jalagl]

If you use a Mac, go for the iPod. The integration between the MD and the Mac is basically non-existent. I use my work windows laptop to download music to the MD, since doing the transfer on Virtual PC is very, very slow (specially the encoding part).

Then again, I've had a N610 since they came out, and I'm very happy with it (except for the Mac part). When I bought it I still hadn't switched. I really like its size and the capacity, I bought it mainly to use it while travelling - usually take the unit along with a couple of extra MDs, and that's all I need.

The uploading is still in realtime, and is not digital - you basically have to record the MD's output.

 

[benixau]

Thanks guys. So far I am probably going with one option as suggested above : get both.
Due ot my need for live recordings I am going to go MD then iPod. The iPod will only get better on the + points where as the MD is pretty much as good as it gets (unless they make it good for the mac). And realtime doesn't bother me as I also do DV editing and that is all realtime.

So thanks, anyone reading this, please feel free to add any more comments - the more the merrier.