NetMD Upload Petition to Sony: Collected Entries

Please add this feature--make an already great idea (the MD format!) even better!!!

Mike May

As you know, it is wrong to steal music, copyrighted songs, etc... And, as you have shown with the latest iteration of MiniDisc recorders (NetMD), you are very concerned about fair use, and protecting the rights of the Artist who created the content (music). However, this fails to take into account us, the people who have to record their own music. What about me? What about all the independent artists struggling to make a living, trying to produce a quality CD? MD makes the recording process an easy, high quality, economical solution to the biggest question: We can sing, play, but how do we get our music out there?

With an upload option for content that was recorded by the owner of the MD unit, the artist has lost the last hurdle to getting his content (he owns, produced) into the computer. Not only artists, but students in college (for archiving classes) and teachers who wish to record their classes. I was asked by a professor if she should get something like I had. I told her, "No, get an mp3 based solution, as that will be the easiest for you". I wanted to recommend MD, but there was no way she had the time to fool with recording her talks again, to get them into the computer. There are a myriad of other times it would have been beneficial to use MD, but I was unable due to the real-time recording-to-computer issue that I feel has plagued the MD. Since MD is a digital format, it should be treated as such. NetMD is halfway there...

Thank you for your time,

John Pariseau

And if you could also allow NetMD recording in SP format (using the ATRAC Type-R codec) that would also be great as it would allow users to record even higher-quality recordings at high speed. It would also be relatively easy to add, given that the OpenMG software allows you to record in SP format (even though it's merely a conversion of an ATRAC3-encoded file into SP mode).

Please note that most live source recording using minidisc is NOT related to any form of piracy or so-called 'bootlegging'. Most people using MD to record do not transgress the concerns of any "content provider" in any way, but we're nonetheless penalized by misplaced anxiety.

Furthermore, MiniDisc is an inherently inferior (loss-inherent) piracy tool. There's no evidence that allowing digital transfer of *inherently inferior, ATRAC-compressed sound* would have any negative effect on the revenues of the music industry, as artists releasing their own live material typically use non-compressing hi-resolution equipment. If anything, so called "fan-taping" has been shown to increase the "brand loyalty" to a particular artist, and those same fans reliably purchase the artist's own release of material that's been available on bootleg, no matter how much later the release. Please reference those sudies on the matter that were conducted by the Wall Street Journal and others in the early 1990's.

Audio upload capability is an extremely useful feature desired by anyone using MiniDisc to record live sources of any type. Jam sessions, meetings, newsgathering and other personal recording needs cry out for further handling and editing, meaning transfer with no further loss. In fact, such transfer is a major potential selling point, one that could expand the base of MD users substantially. Consumers typically like having recording capability even if they don't use it, and past experience shows that consumers will find unexpected utility in devices that offer easy functionality. And the market has matured with regard to 'loss-tolerance', meaning that more and more average people understand the content loss they're incurring by converting back and forth between digital and analog signals, so SONY could swing ahead of the market curve here.

In light of all this, I think SONY could enjoy an image makeover. Besides "content", SONY is also a major electronics company with a reputation for quality. Unfortunately, SONY Electronics is also famous for odd limitations and disabilities in it's products, bespeaking a deep distrust of it's own customers. I think SONY does itself a big favour by recognizing how much faster a company's "brand image" can evolve for good or ill now that customers can chat together the world over.

Sony do it right or jepordize the future of MD.

I would really welcome and encourage Sony (and other minidisc manufacturers) to strongly consider adding an uploading functionality to minidisc recorders, such as enhancing the NetMD features. This would make minidiscs a stronger format and would increase its life expectancy.

Thank you for your consideration.
Jim Anderson

Thank you.

~EO

I add my support for this proposal and petition to make NetMD more versatile. Although I understand Sony's concern for protecting its catalog of recordings from potential misuse, to hobble NetMD weakens the uniquely elegant MD against its speedy competitors. Sony has incorporated sufficient protections within the MD format itself to guard against inappropriate copying. NetMD with high-speed upload to computer capability would bring MD to the very forefront of the industry. If Sony wants to see its "Wunder" take off in the North American market, please give this proposal your consideration and approval.

Regards,
Iain Cowper, UK

MD should be pushed to its maximum functionality.
It is by far my favourite format and i want to be able to do as much as possible with it.
And i want it to be as versatile as MP3, so the market will increase.