Minidisc Player with optical conection

[Mac-Chatter]

When you copy MD=>MD or CD=>MD via optical connection the tracks will automatically separated as on the source disc as well as song titles are copied too. Any way to do it similar with MD=>Audacity(Mac) connection?

Thanks for any help, Mac-Chatter

[kozikowski]

<<<as well as song titles are copied too.>>>

Not from the CD. RedBook Music CDs don't carry any MetaData like song titles. The designers were perfectly delighted to smash the music on there in a simplified WAV format, never mind song titles.

<<via optical connection>>>

I wondered about that. The Line-In connector on a Mac is analog volts and optical. Nobody knows that. World's best keept secret. I think the output works like that, too.

I know nothing more about it than that. I have no idea how to go shopping for an optical cable or what they look like--other than the obvious, they have to fit in the socket. More importantly, I don't know how to select the optical service in the Mac preferences.

Then, there's the matter of making the Audacity project settings match the data stream.

So let us know how it comes out. Since you already have the optical cables, you should be able to open up the OS-X preferences and get the simple sound meter to flash when you send optical encoded light. If you can get it that far, let us know and where you got the optical cables and part numbers.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

My minidisc can be connected via an optical "cable" (@Koz: on end looks liks a 3.5mm jack and goes into one of the jack sockets on my external Edirol soundcard - before it's plugged in you can see the re light at the tip).

@mac-Chatter: when I record this way (on a windows XP Pc) all that is transferred is the audio stream, no metadata is sent over.

WC

[Mac-Chatter]

@Koz: that's what I am doing - I use the optical Toslink (S/PDIF) connector of my iMac. It's as you said a 3,5mm jack and plugs into the sole line-in port

@wax: On Mac (as on PC) I get a single continuous audio stream with all separated tracks lost and no title information (I suspect that's the metadata).

I was totally negatively surprised, because I expected that optical connections automatically would generate an exact 1:1 copy from an MD with separated tracks and title information. In addition I am surprised that versiontracker und macupdate give only a hand full results on "minidisc" etc.

[steve]

I expected that optical connections automatically would generate an exact 1:1 copy from an MD

Fortunately it doesn't. Minidisks use a selection of compressed audio formats (several variations on ATRAC3) which are not supported by Audacity, and not supported by many other programs either. In fact, the only program that I know of that supports the format is Sony's own media player "SonicStage" which I believe has now been discontinued.

[kozikowski]

<<<no metadata is sent over.>>>

I still think that in a lot of these cases, there is no metadata to send. If you have a machine or service that can't connect to the internet to figure out the song names and artists, or, you haven't connected before with that particular album, you lose on sports call.

If you have a stand-alone computer with no network connection at all and you put a "fresh" commercial CD in it, the song titles will be Track 01, Track 02, Track 03, etc. It will not say "Elton John at the Palladium, Too Hot To Handle Now, 3:42."

It will say that the instant you connect your internet and the machine has a second to look it all up.

Koz

[waxcylinder]

<<<no metadata is sent over.>>>

I still think that in a lot of these cases, there is no metadata to send. If you have a machine or service that can't connect to the internet to figure out the song names and artists, or, you haven't connected before with that particular album, you lose on sports call.

Koz,
the metadata is the metadata that one has previously entered manually onto the minidisc after the recording has been made and split into tracks. For many minidisc decks (mine included) it was a painful process involving entering the track name data via the little buttons on the remote control unit. There were some minidisc decks manufactured that enabled you to create the data in a table on a PC/MAC and then upload to the recorded MD.

WC