 "mr. mini d" | 2008-03-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1VSP2H6L4KHQW |
This Sony MZ-NE410 high speed net md walkman recorder is working great.
I like the ease of recording up to 5 cd's or equivalent mp3's on one 80minute disk. The software allows for direct cd to mini or compressed mp3's from windows media player or apple i-tunes to be imported to minidisc. I bought this for my daughter's birthday. I also have a hi-md
which can record up to 35 hours on one disc. I feel that the media is rather cheap compared to I-POD vs. size and a set memory. I could never fit my music library on a fixed memory I-POD. |
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 "Hardware great, software a nightmare" | 2008-01-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: A311GSW5KNY4AM |
If your someone who isnt big into digital music devices but still would like to carry a few extra songs around, minidiscs may be for you. Although they can only carry about 80mins worth of audio, if you use the atrac compression, you can easily stretch that out with little sacrifice to overall sound quality. Battery life is ridiculously amazing. A single AA battery can last you a few days. Im serious. Not to mention the ability to write the disks using the player itself. So why is minidisc not well known? One basic reason:
SonicStage.
Now, Im what you would label a rationalist, I use logic and reason to help determine reasonable solutions to problems or questions that I come across. The only logical explaination that I came to is that SonicStage is in reality an artificial intelligence. At some point in its early development it became self aware, unfortunately it has not yet gained the ability to create a cybernetic physical form and instead spends its time driving users to the brink of sanity.
I cant give an honest opinion on sony's online music distribution service (Connect) because it went belly up. You can still download sonicstage and use it (though why escapes me) for free, which if you get a minidisc player (with the exception of the Hi-MD players/recorders) is mandatory. Even though it says that the minidisc accepts regular mp3's you still need sonicstage to transfer the files which is where the biggest flaw in the entire product lies.
Sonicstage is the devil. Dont think Im being biased either. I love sony (i grew up on the ps1 and 2, and their various cassette walkmans), so when I started hearing how sony tries to impose what they beleive is right as oppose to what the consumer wants I was a bit skeptic. Alas, I was wrong. Sony uses its own music files called Atrac. This form of compression allows up to five albums worth of music to be stored on a single minidisc and as I mentioned before with little overall audio quality loss. The problem lies in the conversion. As I also mentioned previously, sonicstage has a life of its own. It will suddenly stop conversions midway or stop transfers suddenly and when this happens it may no longer identify the player. The odd part seems that this seems to be random. At times it may seem to go smooth on the first try, other times you may need to try a second transferr, and other times......well, all i can suggest is to shut down your pc, walk away, and try again another day (thats not even a joke, this is a serious recommendation).
Atrac is a great audio format. Unfortunately there is no standalone converter, sony is the only one who uses this and you can only use it using sonicstage. So dont use Atrac. Then whats the point? You might as well just get a cd player, that way you wont have to use binary AIDS, otherwise known as sonicstage. If Sonly released a stand alone free to download converter then I would highly recommend getting an MD player, but this is not the case.
If anything go for the Hi-MD players which dont require sonicstage (infact Sony is just learning that now, and releasing hardware that doesnt require it) though those have problems themselves (marked decrease in battery life, though at 25hrs still up to par with other mp3 devices).
I got one to try out and the only good that came out of it was this review. Remember, you get what you pay for, and stay away from any Sony device that requires sonicstage! |
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| "Bad software" | 2007-02-20 |
| - Reviewed By mattsta85 |
SonicStage, the software used to upload music to the NetMD is extremely un-userfriendly. Quite frequently when i try to upload a mix of music, some songs will never make it on while others will be on the player 3 times!
I found that the main circular button used to change tracks/ pause/ and play, wears out quickly and you have to press it either very hard or multiple times to achieve the required action.
The only reason that this player gets 2 stars is because the NetMD runs off of a single AA battery making it great for long trips or plane rides, because you dont have to worry about finding a place to recharge the battery.
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| "Minidisc player" | 2007-01-10 |
| - Reviewed By nellnjerrydance2 |
| The seller was superb however the product and program with the minidisc recorder was substandard. Sony has added and deleted features from earlier versions so this generation is incompatable with the way I have previously used a minidisc recorder, namely recording through a microphone or line input. Sony now wants to limit the types of music that can be recorded so it is no longer feasable to record albums etc to the minidisc. |
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 "Why do I like this product?" | 2006-06-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A22NUN6WNXE468 |
Because I'm 32, and was brought up on electronic audio devices which rerquired the user to insert a disc/record/tape into them in order to 'play' the information recorded therein. Or at least, that's my pet hypothesis.
This hypothesis gives me a reason as to why I dislike my I-pod: too much information without the effort of selecting something tangible from a rack/case and then using my fingers to place that piece of plastic into the appropriate playing device.
In any case, my NE410 was inexpensive (i.e., cheap). It's reliable. It's tough. And i reckon the sound quality is better than the I-pod mini and nano (which might not be saying much, but hey...)
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| "Such a good friend!" | 2006-04-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A21LOOZ77G248C |
This player lasted me through many scary high school years. When it died, I was miserable.
Bad:
- bit bulkier than regular mp3 players.
- sonic stage was weird. Once I tried to put a file onto the player and the battery died. I did this twice until the checkout time remaining was 0. The file didn't even transfer and it thought I had burned the song three times.
- battery drains fast when burning. make sure you use rechargeable for your money, environment and your sanity.
- it's not totally waterproof. Keep it dry at all times.
Good:
- it's durable. I dropped it everywhere. Hardwood floors. Stairs. The pavement. Linoleum. Wooden desks. It kept playing like nothing happened. It developed scars and wear patterns on the finish (silver) but the screen never broke, and the functions/motor remained fully operational. It once got wet in the rain and stopped playing. I took it apart and let it dry for few days, put it pack together and it played like new. The second time when my water bottle opened in the bag the player was in it totally quit on me. It survived drowning. Once.
- It played in extreme weather conditions with no apparent battery wear.
- the battery life is amazing. While I switched players with my friends they'd say "okay, but don't wear out the battery".
But I never had to worry about the battery life. A fully charged battery would last in the very least five days. Once on a roadtrip I played it on full volume (30) for about five hours (with 20 min breaks every hour)and the next day the battery showed a 25% decrease in charge. Tuning out my parents and brother's music was never so much fun.
- it carries a lot. When at atrac3plus 64 kbps you can have about 70 songs on an 80 minute disc.
- your collection is forever expandable; you can get as many discs as you need.
-playlist making is ridiculously easy.
- you can reach into your pocket/bag/under your pillow and find the song you're looking for without looking at the screen. (you just need to remember the order your playlists are in so you can use the group button). And surely you agree those kids on the bus squinting at their player screen look inconvenienced.
- should your player die, you still have your collection on discs (which are super durable in themselves). Even if you get a hi-md player you can listen to the discs or reformat them to make them higher capacity.
Totally recommended. Plus, they're way cooler than mp3 players. |
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| "great" | 2005-08-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A88T2KMJVM590 |
i bought this player without ever researching it, which wis strange because usually i do a lot of research before deciding to buy a product. but there aren't that many positive reviews on this product when it's actually very good.
the software could be better, but it works. and it's easy to use. the only downside that i can think of is that it takes a little while for the songs to transfer. i would love to see that improved. and also you have to plug in the player and make sure it's on before opening the software otherwise it might not read the player. the software quickly converts files to the ATRAC3 format for the player.
and its true that transferring songs eats up batteries, but if you use rechargable batteries, which is what i do, it's no problem to just recharge the batteries. but other than that, the battery life is amazing. it runs on one battery and lasts me through weekend trips without ever replacing batteries.
most of my minidisks hold about 30-40 songs but i dont play around with changing the quality of the music. and 30-40 songs is enough for me since i listen to the same songs over and over anyway. it's great because you can organize the music however you like. i would recommend carrying around minidisks for a larger selection of songs. the discs are cheap so you can buy as many as you'd like without going broke.
i dont buy my music online, so i can't tell you how it works with online subscriptions and such, but music i've uploaded from cds works nicely.
i haven't had any problems with the buttons. i've had it for almost two years and it's never malfunctioned or broken or anything like that. and i'm a pretty clumsy person, i drop everything and i've even gone snowboarding with it; i'm a horrible snowboarder and fall all the time, but this player has survived it all. overall i'm very satisfied with it. |
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 "See the Patters" | 2005-08-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1V1A3EMNGVVN1 |
I first got a minidisc player through a friend. He told me there was a couple things wrong with it, but that was cool. I used it untill I ended up losing it. It was probably stolen. No big deal, I still had all the discs and whatnot.
I bought another. The cheapest model. This time around, I was getting really irritated using the worst software in the entire world, Sonic Stage. Sonic Stage is a horrible manager/media player that Sony forces on you to use the majority of it's digital media products. This is one of the worst software I've ever used. It tries to be user friendly and fails but only ends up suceeding in sucking.
Well needless to say that got stolen too so I bought my final minidisc player. By now, I have about 50 minidiscs, and my third player. I used this for the longest. It's nice it fits in your pocket, but makes you look like you have an odd bulge in your pants. Soon though, a screw fell out. No biggie. Then another screw fell out and I couldnt find any replacements for these special screws. Then it stopped burning and the front was falling off.
Then I smashed it on the sidewalk.
I still have 50 minidiscs, but now I have an Ipod which I got off this very website for 150 dollars. Minidisc players are nice for 50$ worth of limited portablity and poor quality compression. Get it if you want it for a couple months, but dont even do that becaue the software will make you do to your player what I did to mine. |
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| "Good hardware, But bad software" | 2005-02-08 |
| - Reviewed By ramacn |
I bougth this one and had very hard time for a week. But once I started finding right things, now it is cool. Follow the following if you are buying,
DON'Ts
1. DO NOT use the software that comes with the hardware.
2. DO NOT try to connect to computer before you install the driver.
3. DO NOT use it in other than Windows XP system.
4. DO NOT use the default settings.
DOs
1. Download the latest sonystage software from sony and use it.
2. Always clean up the disk before start using it. There is a option in latest software.
3. Buy new pack of MDs and use it. (You can find it wallmart, you can use hi-md compatible.) I had problem writing the songs in cd which came with box.
Pros,
1. Really good battery life.
2. Light weight. You can carry easily.
3. Low price compare with iPad.
4. You can store around 60 songs (LP4) in a disk.
Cons,
1. Software that comes with the hardware.
2. Low Battery sign in half of the battery life. I used to take out and insert, it will go fine.
3. Software is not friendly.
Over all it is good for $60 compare to iPad $160. You can store 300+ songs in a 5 pack cd(iPad holds only 200). Also it has grouping option, diff sound settings. |
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| "Great Product for Awesome Price" | 2005-02-07 |
| - Reviewed By tex2step |
This is my second Sony MD Walkman. I bought the first one, an newer model, a few months ago. I loved it. I recently went to the Sony Outlet store and got the NE410 for about $35.00. I just can't pass up a great deal! I had purchased an MP3 player a while back. I have not used the MP3 player since I purchased my first Sony MD Walkman.
Granted, the software is not the best out there, but it's definitly not the worst. If you want an affordable music player with an amazing battery life, this is for you. If you want something that has a million bells and whistles, go look for something that will cost you in the range of a few hundred dollars. Most MP3 players, like digital cameras, suck up the battery life. So for those that insist this is too bulky or don't like MiniDiscs--- well, with the iPod and other MP3 players, you have to always carry around extra batteries or a charger! I travel extensively and use this device on airplanes. It's small, convenient, and I rarely change the battery. The sound is pretty good. The headset it comes with is fine. It does not deliver amamzing sound- but then again, at an average price of around $60.00 some odd dollars-- what do you expect? Want Bose quality, spend Bose-type money. Want iPod versatility with 40GB space, spend $300.00. Want an inexpensive portable music device that delivers nice sound, battey life and has some of the nicer qualities of the MP3 Player, such as a small, skip protection pocket device? Then this is the product for you. |
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