MiniDisc War of Attrition: ATRAC Attack

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My cunting bastard MiniDisc keeps inserting the odd second or so of silence into songs. It doesn't start a new track or anything, it just goes silent and then the music comes back on. Is it fucked? It is very annoying because I keep thinking someone's going to annouce something, like on trains or in airports. Anyway, if anyone has any insight on this howlingly difficult technical matter, I shall be thankful to the point of micturation. Clues: this has only started happening since I started doing digital recordings instead of trusty old analogue bubblebath ones. I have had a go with one of those cleaning discs, which I suspect may have had a negative effect. My mother-in-law says hello, by the way.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 08:09 (twenty-three years ago)

new BACK TO MONO answers, por favor.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 08:10 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't help you, but almost ever since I've had my minidisc player (itself a replacement for a fucked one) it's taken to stopping and whirring about every so often, even when left perfectly still. However, it never did this frequently enough to feel like I could bring it about on demand to show the man in the shop, so I never got it repaired. Despite all this, I continue to recommend the fomat to other people.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 08:16 (twenty-three years ago)

What make & model is your CBMD, Peter? I am not aware of this happening on mine.

My new hifi puts a great burst of noise on the beginning of tapes recorded from CD's, though.

Hola to your mother-in-law, btw.

― David Moore (Mooro), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 08:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Its probably something to do with the digital recording . Maybe its the source you are using. Isn't it possible that it also maybe bno tinserting noise, the disc is just skipping?

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 11:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Drop-outs from digital recordings? Doesn't happen at all with analogue ones? How are you doing yr digital dubs - some kind of external cables or is it all done inside the stereo?

I'd suspect the integrity of the optical link/transmitter if the former; I suppose you wouldn't get an automatically incremented track number from these drop-outs unless the loss of signal was 2 seconds or more.

Avoid disc-based cleaners - they're all a con. Scrubbing the heads of a cassette deck or reel-to-reel with a cotton bud and some alcohol is one thing, but using a brush (which is what these things have embedded in them, right?) on a little plastic lens doesn't sound right to me. If it isn't dropping out on analogue recordings then it's not the laser anyway.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 11:28 (twenty-three years ago)

drop outs can be cause it hasn't "caught up" with data reading and the buffer empties. rather than stop and try again, it just moves on until it picks up the thread of the stream again (this would also explain N.'s whirring and searching sounds). dirt on the disk/heads can cause this problem.

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 11:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Optical cables are v.v. delicate - Have a look at the end plug and see if the light coming through is as bright as it used to be.

(And DO NOT buy one of the JVC cables they stock in Dixons - If you want to get one cheap they have them in video game shops as PS2 accessories)

― Graham (graham), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 12:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Thank you all very much. CBMD is Sony MZ-R500, which is what Sony calls 'entry level'. Recording is done via an optical cable connected to a Discman, which I bought specially for this very purpose. I think it's probably something to do with buffering or whatever, but it *feels* like there's some slippage involved. Like Nick says, there's no way it would perform on demand if I took it to be looked at. I *knew* the cleaning disc was rubbish, but I couldn't resist it. Apparently it removes magnetic deposits from something or other. I haven't done any analogue recordings since I went digital, so that might be a red herring.

Basically, I just wanted a bit of a group hug as much as anything.

Dave, I will pass on your best wishes. It's her birthday tomorrow.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 16:17 (twenty-three years ago)

One thought - is there some sort of anti-shock 30-second buffer on the Discman which can be switched off? Cos it *should* be off when copying digitally from the unit.

Easy test for whether it's drop-outs inherent in the recording or playback problems: do the drop-outs keep occurring in the same place in the track?

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 16:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and magnetic deposits? So it claims to clean the magnetic contact head too? Do you have to put the unit into record to get it to work (this would engage the record head and bring it close to the disc surface)? All very dubious.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 16:58 (twenty-three years ago)

does your mother in law like my farts?

― Queen G (Queeng), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 18:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Can you hear the dropout on the headphones while you're recording, or while it's in Rec-Pause mode?

― Graham (graham), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 23:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Michael, Graham,

I think there is an anti-shock thing, but I'll have to rummage through the instructions to make sure. Drop-outs are deffo a recording problem. They haven't reached epidemic proportions yet, but you know how it is when your toys don't work properly. I'm sure the cleaning disc is a con, I was sure it was a con when I bought it, but I am a total sucker when it comes to these things. Drop-outs have ocurred when I haven't been listening to what I'm recording - this was one of the perceived advantages of going digital and using the sync-record feature - I could make up fantastic compilations and get on with some 'work' at the same time. I must admit I haven't been taking special care of the optical cable, that might have something to do with it. I've never looked at the light coming out of the end because I assumed I would get blinded like you do from welding and/or become a mutant. Now I'm back on 'home turf' I'll look into it more closely. Thanks again for help.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Monday, 16 September 2002 05:56 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

More minidisc fun:

Today I noticed a number of tiny insects crawling about on the screen of my portable minidisc thing. Under the protective scrfeen, on top of the one where numbers and stuff appear. Not very well explained. I presume they are dust mites or something. They are kind of white/translucent. HOW DO I GET RID OF THE LITTLE BUGGERS? I don't suppose it matters much really.

I noticed this when I was getting ready to tape Radio 4's ONE NIGHT ONLY: THE WHO LIVE AT LEEDS, which was good.

ALSO:

Has anyone tried these Hi-MD recorders/players? They are on special 'can't compete with iPod' offer at Argos.

― Peter Stringbender (PJ Miller), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:55 (twenty years ago)

http://cinema.gothic.ru/moviestills/pi2.jpg

― LSD ARISTOCAT (ex machina), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 16:21 (twenty years ago)

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html

― (Jon L), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

> HOW DO I GET RID OF THE LITTLE BUGGERS?

don't they suggest allegy sufferers put pillows in the freezer to kill mites? don't know whether i'd fancy putting my md in the freezer though. maybe if you made sure it was tightly waterproof.

as for the hi-md things, i was also pleasantly surprised at how little they cost. can't justify replacing the one i currently have though, old as it may be.

― koogs (koogs), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 08:37 (twenty years ago)

Has anyone tried these Hi-MD recorders/players? They are on special 'can't compete with iPod' offer at Argos.

i have one, and love it - more capacity (1 gig disk!) and better suond quality, and the ability to upload tracks direct to PC (though only in sony's shitty ATRAC system)

― stevie (stevie), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 10:05 (twenty years ago)

u this exact thing happened to me loads but it was the disc that was the problem, not the player. dies this happen across the board wityh all yr discs?

my md last for years before it finallyu dies, i must have dropped it on concrete about 1000 times

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

HAHAHAHHA omg i didnt look at the date on the original question

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 13:03 (twenty years ago)

That's OK. It's not across the board, but it's quite widespread. having said that, it hasn't happened for a while.

Hmmm, freezer.

Thank you all.

― Peter Stringbender (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

get one iPod?

― MY FAVOURITE LIGHTER IS CHEESEBURGER (trigonalmayhem), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Don't want one iPod, can't afford one not neither.

― Peter Stringbender (PJ Miller), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 17:59 (twenty years ago)

My cunting bastard MiniDisc keeps inserting the odd second or so of silence into songs. It doesn't start a new track or anything, it just goes silent and then the music comes back on.

Mine does exactly the same thing during playback, not recording. Pisses me off no end.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 21:54 (twenty years ago)

My old one (sharp) did this. Ny new one (sony) does not.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 20 January 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

seventeen years pass...

"My cunting bastard MiniDisc" lol

― | (Latham Green), Friday, 23 September 2022 16:27 (three years ago)

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