--- In { brad brace } <>
wrote:
>
>
> From what I remember reading somewhere... when digitally
> copying (playing) a MD to another MD recorder, there is a
> loss of information. Or is my memory flawed as well? /:b
>
You are right in the special case of copying via the SPDIF digital
output of a home deck into another MD. The signal had to be
decompressed to the SPDIF out and recompressed onto record. MD and
HiMD also seem to have a permanently in circuit sample rate converter
on the digital input so the copy may not be the same as the output
even for a 44.1kHz PCM recording. Though I'd like to test that to
make sure - this type of faulty design is present on many consumer
devices with digital inputs and sound cards alike. The paranois might
suspect it is a fiendish plot to deliberately introduce generation
loss into digital recording :)
Now that Sony has finally seen fit to allow us to win the compressed
or uncompressed file from the MD, if you had a working HiMD unit and
a working copy of XP and working copy of Sonicstage in 30 years time
you should be able to create a bit-accurate copy of an audio file on
a MD then.
I would say the biggest archival concern for MD is the closed
proprietary nature of the format and the single supplier. It doesn't
help if the media last forever but the replay machines and software
are no longer a working system when you need them. I use HiMDs like
others use CF cards, just as a record and transfer medium. The way
Sony carry on I don't trust them with strategic issues like that. I
expect to junk my MD media if I break both of my HiMD recorders, but
I have found them reasonably durable even to drop-testing...
|