Sony MZ-RH1 Hi-MD Walkman MiniDisc/MP3 Digital Music Player

I bought this hoping to speed upload of music (and also comedy) that I have on various media (cassette, reel-to-reel, LP) and painstakingly recorded onto standard minidisc using a minidisc deck (JE630).The range of features is very impressive. I particularly liked the ability to choose bit rate for conversion when transferring via sonic stage to Hi-MD. This enabled me to store 42 1/2 hour radio comedy programs (Goon Shows) on a single MD.I had some problems which I reported previously, and which report I now unreservedly withdraw. Something isn't 100% right for me but most probably it's not the MZ-RH1. (No - I wasn't contacted by anyone at Sony, this is merely in the interests of public transparency and honesty).I would caution all users to make sure that they check the sound quality of what is being uploaded and saved.Too bad, I can't give it 5 stars any more, the software wouldn't let me alter that for the review.

As other reviewers have noted, this unit at long last allows for the ability to transfer any minidisc to the computer. I really have to ask, though, why should we be so impressed and amazed by that? That feature should have been available all along.I have used many older MD, Net-MD, and Hi-MD recorders. This unit lacks the great "track wheel" of older models and has only a one-line display, so editing and moving between tracks and into folders is much more difficult than older bigger-display models. It also seem to have no option for an external battery pack.For recording, it works fine, although the T-mark button is poorly made and difficult to depress cleanly.In conclusion, I would recommend the older Hi-MD models, which also allow for transfer of at least Hi-MD recordings to the computer, over this newer model. The only benefit to this model is if you have lots of old minidiscs you need to pull onto the computer.

Still have this after replacing an older Sharp MD unit I had a few years back..I happen to see it here today for 1200!!! I paid around 350 bucks for mine and its working good still..Only thing I didn't like is the battery doesn't stay charged long..After its been in a case for awhile I get it out to do some on the spot recording to discover the battery is dead again..

I bought one of these years ago to use for recording uncompressed digital audio in a small convenient package with virtually unlimited capacity (depending on how many discs were handy). It's also super useful as a computer data storage device. It performs its job admirably, though the controls can be a bit touchy (particularly the jog knob dealie that changes tracks/alters menu items/controls record levels).The battery could be a little better, but it's charged/can be run directly from a generic USB power unit, so it's not too big of a deal.Hi-MD Music Transfer is also compatible with OS X, up to at least 10.4 (finally, MD on Mac!). The bundled SonicStage software for PC is at least 37x better than the version that comes with the Net MD MZ-NE410.Anyway, for the complainers:1. You CANNOT shock the recorder when it's actively writing to the media (when the little red light on the display flashes) or YOU WILL LOSE DATA. Shocks cause the laser to skip, much like an older CD player, except the skip causes irretrievable data loss rather than a simple recoverable audio skip. So do yourself a favor and leave it in a stable position when recording or editing and you shouldn't have any problems.On that note, you should also not briskly move any optical or hard disk-based device while it's in operation or the same sort of problems can occur; susceptibility to shocks is not limited to MD units. Even old portable cassette recorders could ruin recordings if they were moved too quickly (ever wonder why anti-roll mechanisms were invented?)2. Nowhere on anything does it say that this machine will record in MP3. It will play MP3s, but it won't record them. It will record in Linear PCM (CD-quality, uncompressed 16bit @ 44.1KHz) and it can then be downloaded to your computer as a .WAV. It also records in compressed Hi-SP, Hi-LP (which can also be downloaded to your computer), and regular MD format SP, LP2, and LP4 (which cannot be downloaded to your computer).3. HiMD discs are not compatible with regular MD units. This recorder will play and record to regular MDs if you need to use them on older units, but you don't get any of the benefits of HiMD so you're wasting your time and money if that's all you want to do.4. Regular MDs CANNOT be digitally downloaded to your computer. At all. Ever. Digital transfer from a MD was never part of the specification, partially to appease the RIAA nazis in the same vein as SCMS (which is present on the majority of consumer DAT, CD-R, and MD units). That being said, there are open-source projects (most on Linux or Windows XP) that aimed to allow digital downloading of regular MDs to the computer, but none of them really work or they require specific equipment. If you have MDs that you want to put on your computer, you'll have to play them on your MD unit and re-record them from analog on something else that allows digital transfers (such as this recorder, in Linear PCM mode).

I am a violist and I needed the Sony MZ-RH1 Hi-MD Walkman MiniDisc/MP3 Digital Music Player to record myself to make audition CDs for orchestra auditions and festivals. The recording quality is excellent and the MD player is easy to use. Transferring to the computer was very simple. I used the Sony ECMMS907 Digital Recording Microphone and it worked great. For all you orchestra musicians out there looking for a recording device to make your audition tapes, this is it right here. I highly recommend this!!

The interface is difficult to use, the recording quality is actually worse than my 10 year old minidisc, it doesn't record to mp3, so you'll waste a lot of time importing in WAV and converting to MP3. The storage size is great, but navigating the contents is an incredible hassle compared to an ipod.That said, this is still great for line-in recording. So far I've recorded several things with my 50 dollar sony microphone, and they've all had horrible clipping. I might buy a better a microphone, but I'm kinda thinking whats the point. The interface is downright terrible with literally a button on each side of the device.Not recommended.