Explanations

What is “Net MD”?

Net MD is a format of that allows the high- speed transfer of audio data from a computer to a MiniDisc device over a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable using the highly sophisticated OpenMG and MagicGate copyright protection technology.

Since this format entails no change in the MiniDisc recording system, it supports the use of existing MiniDiscs and the playback of transferred (checked-out) audio data on existing MiniDisc devices.*

This format also allows the use of the OpenMG Jukebox software for easy editing or input of characters on your personal computer.

∗Audio data transferred in LP mode must be played on MiniDisc devices that support MDLP mode.

How the MiniDisc got so small

The 2.5-inch MiniDisc, encased in a plastic cartridge that looks like a 3.5-inch diskette (see illustration above), uses a new digital audio compression technology called ATRAC (Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding). To store more sound in less space, ATRAC extracts and encodes only those frequency components actually audible to the human ear.

The meaning of “no sound”

“No sound” describes a recorder condition in which the input level is about 4.8 mV during analog input or less than –89 dB during optical (digital) input (with 0 dB as full bit (the maximum recordable level for a MiniDisc)).

Quick Random Access

Like CDs, MDs offer instantaneous random access to the beginning of any music track. Premastered MDs are recorded with location addresses corresponding to each music selection.

Recordable MDs are manufactured with a “User TOC Area” to contain the order of the music. The TOC (Table of Contents) system is similar to the “directory management system” of floppy disks. In other words, starting and ending addresses for all music tracks recorded on the disc are stored in this area. This lets you randomly access the beginning of any track as soon as you enter the track number (AMS), as well as label the location with a track name as you would a file on a diskette.

A B

A— User TOC Area

Contains the order and start/end points of the music.

B— Music Data

Restrictions on the editing of tracks checked out from your computer

This unit was designed so that editing functions (i.e., erasing tracks, adding track marks, and erasing track marks) do not function for tracks that have been checked out from your computer. This is to prevent the loss of check-in authorization by the checked-out tracks. To edit these tracks, first check them back into the computer, and then edit them on the computer.

67-GB