MiniDisc Manger - ReadMe

April 28 2001
Version 1.01 (010428)
by William Hollingworth
email: will@airmail.net
http://web2.airmail.net/will

Description

MiniDisc Manager allows computer control of Sony MiniDisc recorders that have a compatible slink control port using the Slink-e controller available from Nirvis Systems (see below). This software was written for the MDS-JB920 model, but it should work with other Sony recorders. Some earlier models such as the MDS-JB700 don't support all the functions such as title editing.

 

Basic Software Features 1. Fully automatic downloading of disc and track names from the player 2. Easy editing and uploading of disc and track names to the player 3. Displays current track and disc names with a scrolling display 4. Displays track and total disc lengths 5. Displays recorder modes:     Record input signal type (analog, optical etc.)     Stereo or Mono recording     Play mode (shuffle, program or continue)     Repeat mode 6. Basic player functions:         Play         Record         Stop         Eject         Pause         FF, REW         Next Track, Previous Track 7. Direct track access by double clicking track name 8. Editing functions:         Track Erase         Track Move         Track Split         Track Combine         A-B Erase 9. Copying of disc and track names into the clipboard for printing disc labels etc. 10. Window size can be expanded to view more tracks and long track names 11. T-Rec recording mode 12. Music Scan 13. Automatic recorder display text scrolling

 

How To Use

First, be sure to configure the correct Slink-e port in the preferences dialog. Restart the program if you changed the port number:

Most of the functions are fairly obvious, however a few are worth pointing out:

• To edit the disc name, type in the disc name area (below the player control buttons). If this is grayed out then the disc may be write protected
• To edit a track name, single click, wait, and single click on the track name area that you want to edit.
• To erase, move or combine a track, single click on the track in the track list area. Then click the appropriate editing button below.
• To access (play) a track directly, double click it in the track list.
• Read this for information on how to use the CDJ Playlist Recorder function
• Read this for information on how to use the WinAmp Playlist Recorder function

 

Requirements

1. Sony slink compatible MiniDisc recorder (e.g. MDS-JB920)
2. Nirvis Systems Slink-e controller
3. Slink-e ActiveX server software from Nirvis Systems
4. Slink cable
5. Windows 95/98/NT4/2000
6. MFC4 DLLs (installed with Slink-e software)
7. WinAmp 2.5e or later (optional)

 

Software Installation

1. Extract all the files in the ZIP download into an empty directory.
2. Make a desktop shortcut to mdmanager.exe
3. Optional - Copy the gen_winamp2slink.dll file into your \winamp\plugins directory (i.e. C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins)

 

Known Problems with current version (000210)

1. A-B Erase - no error checking on player mode

 

FAQs

1. Will this work with anything other than a Sony MD Recorder with slink?
NO!

2. Do you have any plans to support other non-Sony MD Recorders or write software for Linux or Mac OS?
NO! I don't have time or resources to do this.

 

Troubleshooting

Problem: Track lengths or track names are not loaded completely

Solution: Select "Reload Info" from the "File" menu. Some other device may have been communicating on the slink-e while the command was being sent.

Problem: Message "No Slink Devices Found"

Solution: Quit MiniDisc Manager and wait for Slink-e server to unload. Start MiniDisc Manager again. Make sure CDJ is set to use the Slink-e server.

 

Future Enhancements

Displaying of disc and track record dates and times

Tool-tip help

 

Updates

I will continue to make improvements and updates to the software. If you would like to be notified when a new version is available, please send me an email message :will@airmail.net.

 

Revision History

V1.01 - 01/04/29

• Fixed: Possible divide by 0 bug in playlist recorders
• Updated: WinAmp Playlist Recorder plugin to work with WinAmp 2.7x

V0.97 - 00/02/10

• New: MD record time remaining indicator (works with all capacities of MD)
• New: Added new WinAmp plugin to allow playlists to be recorded from WinAmp to MD
• Fixed: Bug that caused program to exit if Enter pressed.

V0.96 - 99/12/10

• New: Added CDJ Playlist Recorder feature
• New: Added option to copy track names with track lenghts to clipboard
• Improved: Loading of track information while recording
• Fixed: Bug with copying track names to clipboard

V0.95 - 99/8/06

• New: MD Recorder display scrolling - MD Manager will automatically scroll the display on the MD Recorder periodically (a feature lacking on the actual player). The interval between scrolling can be specified in the Preferences dialog. To turn off this feature, specify an interval of 0 seconds.
• New: Play Mode - Clicking the Play Mode display changes the play mode between "Continue" and "Shuffle". The recorder must be in Stop mode for this to work.
• New: Repeat Mode - Clicking the Repeat Mode display changes the repeat mode between OFF, REPEAT ALL and REPEAT 1.
• New: Music Scan (on the File menu) - Plays the intro for each track.
• New: Record button enabling - Automatically disabled in Play mode. Go to Play-Pause mode to enable.
• New: T-REC button - This activates the recorders 6 second "Time Machine Recording" mode. This button is only enabled when the player is in Record-Pause mode.
• New: Track Combine - Completed
• New: Editing buttons are correctly enabled and disabled according to the player mode.
• New: After recording a track, the track list display is automatically reloaded when recording is completed.
• New: Slink message window can be turned on and off from the Preferences dialog.
• Improved: Loading of track information will now retry if recorder doesn't respond (slink bus is busy).
• Improved: Recorder model name will be displayed correctly if the recorder was turned off when MD Manager loads.
• Fixed: Bug that caused display not to update correctly after entering record mode.

V0.94 - 99/6/13

• New: A-B Erase function - functional but no error checking on player response
• New: Combine function - still no "complete" message sent when OK clicked
• New: Divide Track function
• New: Preferences dialog to set Slink-e slink port
• Fixed: Move function track reordering bug
• Fixed: Bug when reloading track data too quickly

V0.93 - 99/5/08

• Fixed resource leak bug

V0.92 - 99/5/01

• Added remaining track time counter display
• Added "power off" indicator
• Finished display design

V0.91 - 99/4/14

• Fixed a bug that appeared when sizing the dialog on Windows NT
• Fixed a bug that caused the device files not to load on Windows NT

V0.90 - 99/4/10

• First main public release

 

Contact

For bug reports, success stories comments, questions, suggestions, job offers etc.: will@airmail.net

MiniDisc Manager is available at:
http://web2.airmail.net/will

Find out more about the Nirvis Slink-e controller at:
http://www.nirvis.com/

Legal

By using the MiniDisc Manager software, you agree to the following terms:

1. MiniDisc Manager software is available free of charge and must not be resold or included with other software packages without prior authorization from William Hollingworth.

2. This software must not be distributed or copied without prior authorization from William Hollingworth.

3. No warrantees are given or implied. If it works, great! If it doesn't I'll try to help, but I'm not responsible for any damage to your system or MiniDiscs.

4. Copyrights, brand names and trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

5. The MiniDisc Manager software is Copyright (C) 1999-2001 William Hollingworth.