YAMAHA MD4 User Manual

MULTITRACK MD RECORDER

Questions and Answers

Preview version

Table of Contents

MD / Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is MD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Why was MD selected as media? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is the available recording time in 4TR, ST and mono modes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is the difference between MD Data and normal MD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Does the Yamaha MD4 accept a normal MD (Mini Disc)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is compression? What is ATRAC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What does the frame indication mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What does "resolution is 11.6 ms" mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Why is it possible to perform ping-pong recording

while playing back four tracks simultaneously? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Doesn't data slip when overdubbing due to data compression? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

How does the Yamaha MD4 identify and differentiate the MD Data

from the Mini Disc? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Is there any sound degradation after repeated ping-pong recording? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

How long is the life of a disc? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

How long is the pickup laser life? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Does the compression process lower the sound quality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Is there a "No Compression" mode that sacrifices total recording time? . . . . . . . . . . 3

What types of information can be stored in the disc using the MD4? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Does a disc have a front and back side? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What will happen if a 4TR disc created on the MD4 is inserted

into a normal MD ( Mini Disc) player? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Does the unit have any protection against skipping sounds

due to shock or vibration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The unit employs a magneto-optical system. Is it OK to place the unit on a TV? . . . 3

How quickly can the MD4 locate a point? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What is SONG Search? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Is the Repeat operation continued endlessly,

or stopped after a given number of repetitions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Is it necessary to format the Mini Disc? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Why does the Yamaha MD4 have no digital outputs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Is the mixer section digital? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Can you synchronize two or three units? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Does it have a song naming function? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

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Is MMC ( MIDI Machine Command) supported? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

What is Cue List play? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Can you sort songs or divide a song? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Is external synchronization possible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What are the precautions for using the unit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

How to use MTC out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Is there SONG Copy (buck up) function? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Will disc supply continue for years, like cassette tapes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Is the MD4 compatible with other manufacturers' discs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Are there any types of MD data? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Where can we buy discs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Why is an MD Data Disc more expensive than an MD Audio Disc? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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