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Sony MiniDisc DV Cam Does Java, Ethernet
Lifewolf writes: "Sony's new DCM-M1 digital video
camcorder stores up to 20 minutes of MPEG2 video, 4,500
still images, or 260 minutes of ATRAC encoded audio onto a
MiniDisc. Even more interesting, the camcorder features a
Java 2.0 GUI and an Ethernet port so you can download your
files from the built-in web server." Now all you need is a hot chick or two, a lot of bandwidth, and a macro virus and you're in business!
First off, I'd like to say that I really like DV.A while ago, about a half-year ago, I bought a JVC DV Camcorder. After everything, expenses totaled to be about $1800. The video quality is unbelieveable, and the pictures.
The one problem, well, not really a problem, just something that I'm disatisfied with is the lack of being able to upgrade features. I mean, all the features it has are integrated very well, it just doesn't have much expandibility, for a world which develops so quickly technologically.
I also have TiVo, which is a very nice device. The part of TiVo that's really appealing is the fact that every time they decide to integrate a new feature, they can do so by updating the software. This is made possible since it's running linux. It is also open-sourced, so hypothetically, you could add you own features to it! This, is the type of expandibility I'm speaking of.
I wonder if cameras will choose to integrate anything like this. I mean, not being able to check for software updates every time they check their schedules, but something parallel to this level of versatility. Having a java webserver is one step in the right direction.
Anybody have any idea what I'm saying?
This may sound a bit wierd but if you could control an optical audio line from a PC and did some research on the compression maybe you could use a portable minidisc recorder to store data? (Just a thought)
The Control-A1 port on Sony consumer digital audio products (as well as their laptops), give computers direct control over Sony MiniDisc systems from Sony-provide software, including the ability to drag and drop audio files to and from MiniDiscs, using the Control-A1 port.
Very common in Japan, but you gotta look underneath the covers to find this feature in Sony products here in the US.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I don't know why MD havn't been pushed as a data storage media. IT is a logical choice. The same technology that MD uses is called Magneto-Optical, and it's used in drives that are called (duh) magneto-optical drives. Fujitsu makes them. The discs are about $5.00 for a 640 Mb disc (in Taiwan).
/home directory at night, and NEVER had a failure.
The technology that MD and MO discs uses requires a laser to heat the material past it's curie point, where a magnetic field can then flip the "polarity" of the material. This is very similar to a CDRW and the "Phrase change" technology. Combined with a good enclosure for the discs, they are virtually indestructable. I use it to back up my
Reading is thru a laser, so no contacts, no wear.
-=- SiKnight
The possibilities, as these utilities improve and drop in price, are magnificent. A kid in school could suddenly have more than just a 'voice' on a website. A protestor could share with the world, first-hand, what is occuring between him and the police (such as during the WTO incident). If you're stopped by an office, you can just flip the switch on this baby and have instant proof if anything unprofessional occurs. You could share your daughter's soccer game with her father who is across the country -- in real time.
But one of the greatest things I can envision about this would be for urgent situations such as natural disasters and military operations. Imagine cheap, unlimited access to what is basically a high-fi webcam to tell your wife goodnight, while you're getting under the covers, instead of from some busy commons or mess-hall that you have to share with a million other people.
Most importantly, imagine Mardi Gras . . . No more waiting for the photos of naked breasts to appear randomly on the internet. Suddenly, they're streaming from Joe Schmoe's MiniDisc recorder right to his website... Like I said, the possibilities are pretty endless.
The problem right now, of course, is that $2500 is a lot to spend. Even $1000 would seem pricey. And the camera itself doesn't look very comfortable. Perhaps if there were a way to easily transition it from a standard handy-cam setup to a more typical flat-standing camera that you could set on a surface somewhere and get in front of (like you would with a little Logitech webcam, strapped to the top of your computer, or elsewhere), it would be easier to handle.
It also says that images, once transferred to your computer, are in 640x480 resolution. That isn't horrible, but it doesn't say whether it can achieve higher resolution than that. In other words, do they mean that if you want to store 4500 images, it has to be done at 640x480? Or is 640x480 literally the highest resolution any single image can reach? For $2500, I'd want a finer quality.
---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
There is no Java 2.0. Sun made this confusing for everyone. There is such a thing as the "Java2 platform".
e x.html
Java2 Standard Edition is (I believe) pretty much just the 1.2 JDK (Java Development Kit) and the core libraries.
Then there's Java2 Enterprise edition, which again contains JDK 1.2, as well as EJB 1.1, JavaMail, Servlets 2.2/JSP 1.1, and more.
Adding to the version fracus is that the "Java2" platform has version numbers. I have absolutely no idea how Sun is going to make a big media hit when they release (in the unforseeable distant future), JDK 2.0.
"Personal Java", which I am completely unfamiliar with, also appears to be on v1.2: http://www.javasoft.com/products/personaljava/ind
Oh well, anything is better than calling it "Java 2000"
So I'm a little peeved. It has an ethernet port! I want a FireWire port, dammit!
I mean, I have a perfectly good video device, another Sony product, the TRV103, digital 8 FireWire/iLink capable digital camcorder... but if I want to record audio, the best I can do is keep the lens on and record for about an hour straight. Is there no solution for people looking for a digital audio recorder device? DAT, miniDisc, whatever? I'm not sure where to look, but mostly what I've found are FireWire tape backup devices...
Sigh, this is off topic, of course, but it seems the best place, of any, to find other link minded individuals. Anyone able to help?
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
It would be nice if they offered an inexpensive MD-Data drive for this new 650M format, but somehow it seems unlikely, since they thought that people would pay over $700 for the original MD-Data drive. Sometimes it boggles my mind that a company with such superb engineering talent can have such idiots in marketing. Wait a minute, that sounds just like most companies I've worked for or dealt with; I guess it's not so mind-boggling after all.
I would have though that MD would have been a compelling product to place against the zip-drive.
This question comes up quite often on alt.music.minidisc, and from what I remember, they do exist. I don't recall exactly why they were not good, but a quick search on Deja will answer your question.
Now there are tons of digital products where MD would be perfect, like cameras.. It's about time. When can I get an MP3 that uses MD?
You don't need an MP3 player that uses MD! Portable MD players/recorders have the ability to record from any source, whether an analog headphone jack or an optical TOSLINK. Just get a $2 1/8 to 1/8 miniplug cable from Radioshack and record your MP3s to your MD. It takes a bit longer than just copying the files to a MP3 player, but the sound quality of MD is phenomally better than the portable MP3 players I've heard.
-Antipop
IIRC minidisks have a capacity of about 120Mb, which is about the same as an LS-120 or ZIP disk. I have tried to do a little research, and apparantly SONY did release a MD Data drive, but it used different types of disks and were slow. pity cos i can pick-up an MD for about 1 UKP, much less than an LS-120 disk or ZIP :(
There's a big difference between the ~40 Mbps DV codec and the ~4 Mbps MPEG-2 codec that the MD Discam is using.
AFAIK, only the kernel in the TiVo is Open Source; the rest is proprietary so I doubt you could add any features to it.
The ATRAC video onto a minidisc is cool, but are there drives out for computers? or what can you do with it once you have the data. Do you have to use a Firewire link to a computer?
Minidisc is pretty well established as an audio standard(or rather a medium), and its been used a bit for multitrack recording. At one point Sony promised data Minidiscs that could hold 250mb of stuff... but i havent seen any. Anyone out there seen it?
*Not a Sermon, Just a Thought
*/
If there was some way to delete the recordings after downloading them, you could have an auxilliary storage device nearby and do continuous video (instead of just 20 minutes).
Yeah, they probably implement this with the HTTP DELETE command. sure.
Corollary to Moore's Law: The IQ of new computer owners is declining.
... it's just a tad too pricey to actually justify. Last year about this time, I bought a Kodak DC240. Why? Because I'm a geek. I don't *NEED* one, it's just the coolness factor of being able to instantaneously digitize pictures. Now, trust me, I would absolutely love to have MPEG2 of some of my weekend antics, but at $2500, there's just no way I can justify this. It's new, so I understand the pricetag completely, but it looks like I'll be waiting a year or two.
.. of course, after that year or two passes, they'll have the new 60minute version out and I'll probably end up buying that. Isn't credit grand?
I posted this stuff a few weeks ago when someone asked about digital cameras.
Over at minidisc.org they have some good information about this camera, along with some external reviews. The thing does look very cool. Just hook it up to the net and you can do your webserving right off of it.
I'm in a digital video camera frenzy right now, having scoured the net to find the 'perfect' digital video camcorder. When I first saw the Discam at Circuit City I almost went into cardiac arrest. It was so cool! However, from what I gather, the resolution of the video is lower than most miniDV camcorders, and there's no FireWire port. Sure, it has ethernet and a USB connector (I think), but FireWire is really convinient. I won't buy any digital camcorder without a 1394 link. Also, the new high-density mini-discs are like $15 a pop. It has awesome in-camera editing features, but these are almost useless to me since I'd rather edit on my computer. What I want is a high-density mini disc (MD View) drive for my computer. They can store way more data than Zip disks (640 MB), and are much more convinient to lug around. Also the MD View discs would be great as a PDA storage solution. It could be Sony's MicroDrive. But Sony is trying to get the world to use over-priced Memory Sticks at the moment.
-=*> A S S V I C T I M *=-