MD machine function explanation

MD machine function explanation

After a period of frugality, some audiophiles with limited funds finally brought home the new century's recording upstart - the MD Walkman. But headaches also arise immediately, how to make the best use of it. Of course, simple playback is easy for novices to operate, but how to use various recording and editing functions may be difficult for many novices. Perhaps readers will ask, isn't there an instruction manual attached to it? Why can't I use it? In fact, MD players are different from our other home appliances that come with Chinese or English instructions. Most of them only have Japanese instructions. For most of us who are not familiar with electronic technology, it is already amazing to be able to understand English electronic terms, not to mention Japanese. Therefore, having instructions is often equivalent to having no instructions, and even more confused by many instructions. In this case, you can only rely on yourself to explore. However, it is not easy to do so. During the use, the display screen of the MD machine will use English abbreviations to indicate the machine's status, operation errors, etc., but these English phrases are technical abbreviations (some of which are specific), which are difficult for novices who are not familiar with MD technology to understand. This also makes many novices confused. In order to allow novices to play MD with ease, especially the recording part, the author uses the SONY MD machine as a prototype, mainly based on the experience and experience gained from playing the SONY MZ R90/R91 (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 for the appearance panel) to summarize for players' reference. I hope that the following will enable beginners to have a deep understanding of the multiple functions of the MD machine. Of course, other MD machines, especially SHARP's new products, may be somewhat different. For example, the biggest difference between SONY and SHARP is that you can edit while listening, such as entering the song name, splitting, and moving while listening, without having to stop all actions before editing like SHARP. But most of them are similar, as the saying goes, you can learn by analogy, and you can still achieve the purpose of playing with the machine through this article.
To record "machine to machine", the first step is to consider the recording cable. However, whether the recording cable is analog or digital depends on the signal source (CD, DVD, etc.) or the output method of the sound source. If the sound source is analog, connect one end of the AV cable to the audio output terminal of the sound source (desktop) or insert it into the LINE OUT hole of DISCMAN, and then put the MD to be recorded into the machine. Note that the anti-misrecording switch on the disc is turned off at that time. You can start recording after everything is ready.
If it is the first time to record, please press "REC" to start recording directly, but if you want to make a high-quality album, it is better to use synchronous recording. The so-called synchronous recording actually starts recording as long as there is a signal, and it also stops recording when the signal stops. In addition to being free to do what you want, it also ensures the accuracy of the recorded content. This function really provides a lot of convenience for users. And the implementation is also very simple, just turn "SYNCHRO REC" to the ON position. If you want to continue recording, please press "END SEARCH" to continue recording. The advantage of using analog recording is that the recording cable is flat and easy to buy, but the recording effect is much worse than digital recording.
If your sound source output is a digital sound source, that is, the sound source has a digital optical output hole with the word "OPTICAL", and you have an optical fiber cable on hand, it will be even better. At this time, you should not use analog recording, but switch to digital recording immediately. If you are preparing to buy an optical fiber cable for recording, then you should pay attention to the following basic knowledge: because the "TOSLINK" optical fiber connectors of digital audio and video equipment on the market are generally divided into two categories - angular connectors and cylindrical connectors. In fact, the product numbers have clear identification, such as SONY's POC-15A is 1.5m long, with angular connectors on both sides; POC-15B is 1.5m long, with cylindrical connectors on both sides; POC-15AB is 1.5m long, with an angular connector on one side and a cylindrical connector on the other side. Angular connectors are used on "DECK" seats (desktop computers) and combination audio systems, while cylindrical ones are used on CD Walkman and MD Walkman. You must choose the optical fiber cable according to the type of machine you want to connect. Don't buy the wrong one. The digital recording method is as simple as the analog recording method. First, use the optical fiber cable to connect the "OPTICAL OUT" of the sound source to the "OPTICAL" of the MD machine (see Figure 3), and then put the MD into the machine body. Just like analog recording, if it is the first time to record, please press REC directly, and if you use synchronous recording, just turn "SYNCHRO REC" to ON. If you want to continue recording, please press "END SEARCH" to start recording, which is very convenient. Because MD discs can record multiple times without damaging the sound quality, the recording time can be changed. Recording high-fidelity stereo music can be recorded for 64 to 80 minutes (the time varies depending on the capacity of the disc, see Figure 4). However, if you record high-fidelity mono voice, it will be twice the original stereo, that is, 128 to 160 minutes. Therefore, recording with an external microphone (see Figure 5) is more suitable for classes, speeches, interviews, etc. that require longer time and high fidelity.
Although the sound quality of MD is not as good as DAT (digital recorder), it is much better in recording editing function and convenience, because in recording editing, it can display song names and album names, can split, merge, move, delete songs, and can also know the recording time and remaining time, etc., and the maximum number of tracks stored is 255, which is far more than the 99 tracks of CD! What's more amazing is that mono and stereo can exist on the same MD disc at the same time! Let's appreciate its special functions together.
1. Split and merge
If you want to perfectly combine two songs or clips, you can simply use the "merge" function. But for asynchronous recording or external microphone recording (given that some noise or blank recording clips will be recorded at the same time during recording), you have to use the "split first and then merge" function to achieve the purpose of deleting noise. The principle is that you can add a "song header mark" to the part you think you don't need (equivalent to separating the recording of this part as a new song, and this song header mark serves as an identifier). Actually, this part belongs to splitting. The specific operation is as follows: During playback, press "Pause" at the desired part, then press the "T MARK" key. At this time, "MARK ON" will appear on the screen and a song header mark will be added immediately. Then you can edit the song part marked by the song header mark at will. For example, to delete: first, let the machine play the recording part you want to delete, then put the machine in the deletion state, press "MENU/ENTER", select "ERASE" under its menu, the screen will display "ERASE OK?" and "PUSHENTER", just press "MENU/ENTER" to confirm, it will be deleted immediately. The front and back song headers are combined into one song, so that those parts with continuous no sound or unsatisfactory parts can be deleted. This belongs to merging. It sounds magical, but it is not complicated to operate.
After learning the complex operation function of "split and merge", merging two or more songs becomes a simple matter. For example, if you want to merge the first song "HAPPY 2000" with the second song "Eyes Want to Travel", just remove the song number or song head mark of "Eyes Want to Travel". Specific operation: When playing the song "HAPPY 2000", press the "Pause" button to put it into pause mode, then press the "Fast Forward Search" button and stop when you find the song head mark (00:00). At this time, the word "MARK" will be displayed on the screen for a moment, then press the "T MARK" button again. When "MARK OFF" is displayed on the screen, it means that "HAPPY 2000" is now connected to "Eyes Want to Travel".
2. Change the order of the songs or MOVE (move)
In an MD special, if you want to focus on some tracks and want to move their track numbers from the back to the front or back, the function of changing the order of songs or "MOVE" (moving songs) in the MD machine becomes very important. Specific operation: While pressing the "Play" button, press the "MENU/ENTER" button (this button is called MENU/ENTER in MZ-R91) to make it a single song repeat playback state, turn the jog dial to enter the editing state, select "MOVE", and then press "ENTER" to confirm. The display will prompt to move from the current track number to the "N" number (N refers to the number to be moved to, such as: 3, 4, 5...), and then use "Fast Forward/Rewind" or "Jog Dial" to select the song number of the specified moving position (press the "Stop" button when pausing halfway), and then press the "ENTER" button to confirm.
3. Add song titles and CD names.
MD machines can use Japanese (new machines generally have them), Roman letters (uppercase and lowercase A to Z), numbers (0 to 9), symbols (! "＃＊＄％＆()＊＋, —; <=>@－/^": space) and other characters as the names of songs and CDs. A maximum of 200 characters can be used, and up to 1,700 characters can be entered on a CD. This special recording function of MD machines has greater appeal to players who like recording and advocate personalization. Specific operation: When compiling a drive letter, first press the "Stop" key to change it from other states to the stop state, press the "MENU/ENTER" key to enter the "EDIT" text editing state, push the jog dial up and down or press forward fast forward or backward fast forward, the cursor will move left and right, and switch in the order of uppercase Roman letters/lowercase Roman letters/symbols/numbers, etc. After selecting, use the jog dial to select and confirm the text. Pressing the "END SEARCH" key can insert a blank at the input position, add a character size of text, delete the text at the input position, and delete it word by word. To edit the song name, press the "MENU/ENTER" key during the playback of this song to enter the text editing state, then use the jog dial to select the text, and press the confirmation key after confirmation. The selected text will flash, and the cursor will flash at the next text position for you to continue inputting. If you think you have finished inputting, press and hold "MENU/ENTER", and the machine will confirm it after half a second to one second. Note: MD software sold on the market and unrecorded CDs cannot be marked with song names or CD names.
After copying MD to MD, it is very troublesome to re-enter the song name for each song. At this time, it is more convenient to use the "Name Bank" function. Its principle is to record the song name that has been entered first, and when other songs with the same name have not been entered, just paste it again to save the trouble of re-entering. In this regard, the "Name Stamp" function in the SHARP machine has a similar effect. The "Name Stamp" function can copy the song names of two identical MDs to each other, which is quite convenient. In this way, you only need to enter it once, and other identical MDs can be copied, so it is also quite convenient. In general, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
4. Delete a single song or all tracks.
Delete a single song: Select the track to be deleted and put it into the playback state, then press "MENU/ENTER" to select "EDIT" in the menu, and then select "ERASE" in the menu. At this time, the screen will display the prompt "ERASE OK?", and then press ENTER to confirm.
Delete all tracks: First press the "Stop" key to change it from other states to the stop state, press the "MENU/ENTER" key to enter "EDIT", and then select "ERASE" in the menu. At this time, the screen will display the words "ALL ERASE?" and "PUSHENTER". At this time, just press "ENTER" to delete all tracks immediately.
5. Recording with an external microphone.
Operation: Connect the dedicated microphone to the MIC hole, then put the MD disc to be recorded into the body, push the REC recording button to enter the recording state, then press the "MENU/ENTER" button to select "REC MODE" in the menu to enter the recording mode. At this time, there are "MONO REC" (mono recording) and "STEREO REC" (stereo recording) for you to choose in the menu. If you choose one of them, you can start recording.
During the recording process, you can set the recording level by yourself. Just push the "REC" button and press the "MENU/ENTER" button in the recording state. At this time, you will find that there is an additional "REC VOLUME" (recording level control) under its menu. Press ENTER to confirm and enter another menu. In this menu, there are "AUTO REC" (automatic setting of recording level) and "MANUAL REC" (manual setting of recording level). If the manual recording level is selected, the screen will display the recording level. At this time, you can increase or decrease the recording input level by dialing up and down the jog dial or the fast forward and fast rewind buttons on the panel. Of course, the above recording level setting method is also suitable for "machine-to-machine" recording.
6. English prompts on the display screen
MD is a high-performance machine, so its current status or errors will be prompted in English on the display screen. Therefore, by interpreting these "prompts", we can better understand MD machines and use them better.
The main English prompts are:
BLANK DISC A disc without recording is inserted. Replace it with another disc when playing or editing.
DISC ERR An abnormal disc is inserted. In most cases, the disc scratches the recording and editing content, especially the TOC directory area. You can put it in again. If the display still appears, try another disc.
DATA SAVE Record the recorded sound from the memory to the disc. Please wait for a moment. Be careful not to hit it or unplug its power plug at this time.
TOC EDIT Record the start and end positions of the recorded tracks, that is, the TOC (directory area), from the memory on the disc. Please wait for a moment. Do not hit it or unplug its power plug at this time.
BUSY The system is busy. Please wait for a moment. It usually takes about 1 minute.
NAME FULL The text input limit for the song name and CD name is 200 characters. The text input limit for an album is about 1700 characters. Please enter within the limit, otherwise this prompt will appear.
HI DC IN The power supply voltage is high. This usually occurs when the specified AC power adapter or battery is not used. Please use the specified AC power adapter or battery.
HOLD The hold function of the host is working. At this time, no key will respond. Push the HOLD switch in the opposite direction of the arrow to release it. The same applies to the wired controller.
LOW BATT The battery is exhausted and needs to be replaced with a new battery or recharged.
MEM OVER When there is no display on the display window, start recording in a place with vibration. Please record again in a place without vibration.
NO COPY The copy management system of the series (copying is prohibited according to SCMS). Please use the analog signal input (LINE IN) jack for recording.
NO DISC There is no disc in the host. Just put a disc in.
NO SIGNAL The digital input signal is cut off. Please check the connection of the digital input (this can be ignored when analog signals are input).
P/B ONLY When recording or editing, a playback disc is mistakenly inserted. Replace it with a recording disc.
PROTECTED The disc is in the state of preventing accidental erasure. Turn back the switch to prevent accidental erasure.
SORRY You are trying to erase the header mark of the first song on the disc or you are trying to erase the header marks of different types of songs. For example, you are trying to erase the header mark N/A of a song recorded in stereo and a song recorded in monaural.
TEMP OVER The host temperature is too high. Please put the unit in a cool place for a while before using it again.
TR FULL The track number has exceeded 254. To delete the track number, just make it within 254.
TRPROTECT This prompt will appear when you try to record or edit a song that has been track-protected (to prevent accidental erasure). Please record or edit other songs.