Rating: 
Summary: The player is OK, not the softwares
Review: If you are planning to use this unit with a computer as I did, you will regret. I bought this unit in June 2002. Since then the software give me endless trouble. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with other softwares at all. Actually I have been playing with linux for 8 years.The software is called OpenMG Jukebox. To install it you need to install the whole CD, which takes FOREVER to install it. And don't do anything while it installs, otherwise you have to start over again. After the installation, you will find OpenMG jukebox and Simple Burner. The former is for converting other music format (mp3, wma etc) to SONY's music format (ATRAC3), and the latter is for recording the CD to the MD player using the USB cable. Easy of USE:
To use OpenMG is frustrating, it's too slow to start up and even slower to response to my inputs. Sometimes it can't even start. Then when you want to put your MP3 to the player, it will convert it first, and store the converted file on the harddisk, which occupied a lot of space. And if you want the highest quality (the SP mode, since all my MP3 are highest 320Kbps), it takes forever to transfer it to the unit. (SP mode = 292kbps bitrate, LP2=132kbps) Actually at SP mode, it record at 1x speed, which means the time to record it is the same as to listen it up. I tried to use LP4 mode, but the quality is unbearable. After that, I turn to the Simple Burner, which is said much more robust than the OpenMG Jukebox. I create a virtual audio cd using Nero's imagedrive. And then use that to burn the "audio cd" to the MD player. The problem with that is you can't get highest quality (SP mode), all you can get is only LP2 and LP4. Software Quality:
The OpenMG Jukebox's quality is among the worst application software. It crashed my desktop 2-3 times in 2 months. The USB driver also crashed my machine 2 times. Sometimes I can't even start the Jukebox, then I have to re-install the software and do all the conversion again. SONY seems doesn't care about the software at all, since the updates on its website openmg never get updated, which is always the version 2.2. No Patch, No Updates, Buggy Software. I'm really tired of this. If you plan to use it with a computer, don't expect too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Minidisc, the only way to be
Review: Have owned a Sony MZR900 minidisc player for almost 18 months now. And I just love my player. A minidisc player eats competition like an mp3 player or a discman, etc. for breakfast. Nothing compares to this compact wonder. A few weeks ago, my dogs happen to come by my player and the rest is history. My older player lacked features like USB connection to the computer and high-speed transfer. This is when I came across this new budget model. Though it doesn't ship with a docking cradle and the remote, I vouch value for money when it comes to this product. A must buy for any music buff who is on the move with a lot of music and likes to share the same with his friends (minidisc players are very popular within my friend circle these days).
Rating: 
Summary: great product for a reasonable price
Review: I enjoy it so much, it's easy to use, never skips, great sound.
I recomend it with no doubt.
Rating:
Summary: cool
Review: Just got my MD player today, and I started playing with it by recording Cd's in it. It's small enough, smaller than your hand, and very light. So in those aspect beats the heavy Ipod for sure. The bottons are a little hard to use, but manageable. I installed the softwares, bothe the Cd-burning and the Open MG. People kept saying the Open MG is so bad, i used it, it's not great, but it's not so bad that it crashes my computer or anything. The SImple burner is very easy to use. Didn't have to read any instructions at all to start using it. Transfer rate for 1 album is about 5 min. so very fast just with USB 1.1. The quality burning with LP4 is bearable, I didn't try to burn it with LP2 yet, but I can live with LP4 since it gives u more space on the MD. Overall, it's a cool player. Compare to the same prive range mp3 players that has 128 MB and might be smaller than this one big maybe couple mm or something, it's definitely better. You get more storage in 1 MD than what the 128MB gives u, almost twice the amount. And ofcourse you can buy more MD's for cheap, much cheaper than memory. Buy it if you are deciding between mp3 player, it's much better and practical.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe newer models have better software
Review: so the box says that you can record from a cd player or a home stereo system. i spent 45 minutes with some [person] over in technical assistance trying to figure out how to record from a sony cd player to this sony md and you know what the [man] said, he said that i had to consult the maker of the device i was trying to record from (sony). so i told it was a sony mp3/cd, then the [man] told me i had go to radio shack or something of the sort. the box does says that you can use it for non pc recording straight out of the box. YOU CAN NOT RECORD FROM ANYTHING OTHER PC WITHOUT ADDITIONAL AND OFTEN EXPENSIVE WIREING. OK now for the pros and cons of the product. PROS:
1 - Realtime recording! from the look of it newer models do not offer real time recording, which is a shame, its fun to record tv, video game audio, and pretty much anything with head phone jack. 2- the MiniDisc itself is very strudy and hip looking. 3- There is a remote jack. you can call the evil people at sony and get a remote that meets your needs. 4- (kind of) the simple burner software is ok, you can make mixes of the cds you own faster then real time... but it still takes about 10-20 to download on to a your MD about 60 minutes worth of music. so its not that fast. 5- the quality of real-time recorded music is AMAZING. it sounds just like the original even in LP4 mode. CONS:
1- as i said ealier the costumer serivice is the WORST of any company i know. 2- The OpenMG software is HORRIBLE. it's like the software was built to crash you computer. because that is all it does. 3-Becuase the OpenMG software is SO BAD the only way to get MP3s into the minidisk it to burn the onto CD's and then the CD to Minidisk which meadless to say takes away quality. 4- minidisc can be hard to find and not as affordable as blank cd. 5-No included remote or realtime recording wires (FOR THE RECORD THE JAPANESE VERSION (which is EXACTLY the same product as this expect that the manuals are in japanese), THE JAPANESE VERSION INCLUDES BOTH FOR A LITTLE LESS THE PRICE IN AMERICA THAT DOESNT INCLUDE EITHER. finally, in this case the bad out ways the good NO REMOTE, NO CUSTOMER SERICIVE, NO GOOD SOFTWARE, and an over priced under-featured product. cause this model to get just one star.
Rating:
Summary: strongly recommended
Review: I was skeptical about the MDR/P for MP3 player even before I read many discouraging comments on slow conversion (music file to ATRAC)/transfer and a faulty program of NetMD units including this one. However I wanted to give it a try and bought it. I was amazed. It is much better than I thought. Anyhow, in this encouraging review, I like to describe Pros and Cons which may be very similar to other people's reviews. Pros:
1) Looks good, small and light compared to CD/MP3 player.
2) No skip even with hard shaking
3) Long, long, and long battery life
4) Fast and simple to transfer (if you have nero writer and image driver also with simple burner. e.g. making image file for 15 songs took me less than 3 min., transfer 15 songs using simple burner in LP2 mode took ~8 min, which is the same to burn a music CD with my x24 CDR). I think the speed would be very comparable with MEMORY MP3 players.
5) Long hours of music with LP4 (sound quality of LP4 mode is not that bad at all) 6) Louder sound than I expected (I read some complains about not enough output).
7) again, SMALL and LIGHT as well as NOT EXPENSIVE..
8) CHEAP MEDIA compared to MEMORY cards
9) straightforward operation (virtually no unnescessary operating options.. but I don't know whether this is PRO or CON for many people) CONS
1) relatively low quality headphone.
2) No mic input and you cannot upload any file to PC (but I don't think this would bother many music listeners) In summary I definitely give 5 stars for this and strongly recommend if you are planning to buy any portable MP3/MUSIC player soon. Just for your info.: Standard mode 80 min (but you have to record in real time), LP2 mode 160 min and LP4 mode 320 min for a disc. but LP4 recording is the fastest.
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD PLAYER-ODD SOFTWARE
Review: the minidisc player does have excellent quality...even though you have to wade through the software in order to convert your files to their proprietary format. one gripe i have (and i haven't seen it mentioned in other reviews...maybe it's just me?) is that cds ripped using winamp, musicmatch, etc. instead of openmg do not display their id3 tags after being transferred to the player. yes, i made sure they have the tags...yes, it's only with redbook audio turned mp3 by software other than openmg...it's too bad it only supports antiquated usb 1.1, but if you can tolerate waiting for the jukebox to convert your files, it will have already taught you enough patience to put up with a crawling transfer rate. the software is pretty processor intensive- for some reason, it finds it necessary to refresh your playlist and the contents of every song on the player already at the start of, during, and at the end of the transfer process. here's my advice- make your playlist, connect the player, drag all the songs over at once, minimize the software, count backwards from ten, and order a pizza. it may be done by the time your doorbell rings.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product. Useful and easy to use.
Review: Sony minidisc is a great product. I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes. I'm not sure what the problems are about that I've read some other people having with the OpenMG Jukebox software that is used to organize your playlists and write to the minidisc. I had no problem using the OpenMG software. My system had no problem connecting thru the USB port. Some people have written that you might as well just buy a cd-writer and rip .wav files to it or .mp3 files if your portable cd player can read .mp3 files. There are 2 big advantages that the minidisc player has over this method. First, the minidisc is much smaller than a normal cd player. It can fit easily in your pocket. It's smaller than a wallet. Second, the minidisc can hold a lot more music than a regular cd-r. I copied 2 cds (21 songs) to my first minidisc and have not even filled up half of the minidisc. I highly recommend this product. Each minidisc is only about ($). I got 5 for free with a coupon when I bought the minidisc player so I may never have to buy any more minidiscs. One of my friends has a minidisc player and he recommended it to me. I'm very glad that I took his advice.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Affordable Product, Good Software
Review: The reveiws written by computer inepts that are critical of the software (OpenMG Jukebox) are simply wrong. I read the documentation and installed and used my new N505 without a single hitch. It proves once again that stupid people really have no idea that they, themselves, are the source of their own problems.
Rating:
Summary: This thing ROCKS!
Review: I had been researching MP3 players for about a year now and finally decided to go with this. This is absolutely the most versitile MP3 player there is! Forget about adding memory to those other guys, just buy a 5 pack of MD's and you are on your way to hours of enjoyment! I have listened to a lot of the memory stick style players and the quality of this one is much better. Plus it has automatic bass boost and with the right kind of headphones (the ones included are decent) you can't go wrong!
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