> The USB Audio spec has no provision for transferring auxiliary
> data along with an audio stream. The spec needs to be extended here.
There's no reason that an extended (or even new) spec for an MD recorder with native
USB could not include track marks,
titling, and faster than 1X transfer, as well as the all-important data flow control
mechanism. The current method of transfer
(real-time with absolutely continuous data flow) exploits the real-time weakness of
Windows while not taking advantage of
the inherent high-speed advantage of MD. Data is written to the MD in high-speed (5X)
bursts from a buffer in the MD
deck. Why constrain the process with 1X S/PDIF transfer from the PC? Allow Windows,
via USB, to fill or empty the MD
buffer as it chooses, probably a lot faster than 1X but in a bursty, not continuous,
manner. A couple of other issues that
provide needless complication to the 1X S/PDIF transfer process and almost certainly
unnecessaily alter the audio data
being transfered, namely the Windows media timer and the MD's sample rate converter;
these issues are eliminated by an
MD recorder with native USB. Sony seems to be against allowing MD audio to evolve
into an MD data drive, probably
because as a recording company as well as an equipment manufacturer, they're trying to
play both sides of the fence with
respect to the copyright issues and SCMS. I would be happy if they left the ATRAC
encoding/decoding in the MD recorder,
only allowing unencoded audio to flow over the USB, thereby sidestepping the issue.
Doing this would allow them to add
native USB support without evolving to MD data. Other advantages of native USB are
that it is physically simple and fairly
small, making it ideal for portable recorders. Also, due to the modest power
requirements of portable MD, USB could
supply the power, simplifying connection to a single cable, rather than the 4 (S/PDIF
in, S/PDIF out, deck control/status,
power) now required. I see nothing but advantages in putting a USB connector on an
audio MD recorder. Doing so would
allow MD to achieve almost every advantage portable MP3 players now claim, while
retaining the many advantages that
MD already has.
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