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Sound Card w/optical outputs

W

WooDaddy

Senior member
Here is your challenge whether you choose to accept it:

Find a soundcard with an optical output that can write to a minidisc recorder _AND_ write TOC (Table of Contents) information as well as auto-marking. This means it should be able to play a sound file (mp3) and write the corresponding title.

Go, ye seekers!

I've looked at some CM8378-based boards but I'm not sure the optical output. It truly minidisc compatible... plus the soundcards are able to multi-thread, meaning I can't play a mp3 and a game at the same time.

Well, at least it's like that with my built-in soundcard on my mobo (Iwill KK266).

Thanks!
 
That's a pretty tough challenge. Don't know if there is one out since the MD market ain't that hot in the states.

I'm using the Soundblaster Live! Platinum 5.1, the Live!Drive IR mounted in the front bay has optical in/out.

Another cheaper route you can take is the Hoontech add on card. www.hoontech.com, the card is around $25 shipped from Korea, and is a daughter card for your Live! (value) card.

Then there was also another sound card, which has something similar to the Live!Drive except it isn't mounted in the computer. I was actually thinking about getting that. Came out recently, I'll get back to you if I come across it again.

edit: by the way, none of these will write the TOC (as far as I know). You can use Winamp, and the pause plug in to get the marks (although I've had success doing that in Win98, there is some noise coming in Win2k, that prevents the pause from working... saves as one huge track).
 
Thanks dcdomain,

The only card that I found may actually write the TOC, but it's like 500 friggin dollars. So here's my question, if someone designed a board to write the TOC of a minidisc, would you buy it and how much would you expect to pay?

 
no "sound card" will write the TOC on a minidisc recorder.
the optical output from the soundcard is just audio data. nothing else.

my current setup is an MX300 with a homemade optical dongle. I'm working on a parallel port titling thingymabob that interfaces with the remote control port on my MZ-R91. Once that's done, it'll take care of all my MD recording needs 🙂 and for cheap too

homemade Optical adapter is nothing more than an LED and one IC (hex inverter). total cost: about a dollar

titling thing costs about 3 bucks. Just a bunch of resistors and one IC.

but i digress...

anyway, no regular sound card is gonna be able to write the titles for you. 🙁

-patchy
 
Sony's got a PC-MD unit that interfaces via USB to allow titling on the disk from the computer. The pause should be fine. I have a Sony MZR-900, and the thing will actually mark the pauses I insert via the Creative MD software, and that was using an analog cable. Sharp also has a portable that allows titling via USB, but the software is only available in Japanese, which makes sense since the unit is for the Japanese market, officially anyway.
 
what MD player/recorder do you have that doesn't know when to make auto track marks when there is a gap in the music? I have a mz-r90 and it's not that bright when I record from winamp/digital out...I have a zoltrix pci sound card with optical upgrade (total cost 34 dollars).
 
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