Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Radio Department

MZ-M100 Recorder

Sony MZ-M100 Hi-MD Recorder Guide

Contents of MZ-M100 Kit

Sony MZ-M100 Recorder
AC Adapter
Battery Adapter
1 rechargeable AA battery
XLR to Mini cable
Sony MDR-7506 headset
RE50 microphone
USB Cable
Lowepro carrying case

Introduction

The Sony MZ-M100 is a Hi-MD Sony Mini Disc recorder. The unit records in PCM (uncompressed), Hi-SP and Hi-LP settings. Once transferred to the Macs in the Radio lab, the files can be imported into Pro Tools.

Power

The MZ-M100 runs on two battery sources: the Sony Nickel-Metal Hydride battery and an Alkaline AA battery through the external battery adapter.

Sony Battery

The AC adapter charges the internal Sony battery. To charge the internal battery attach it to the AC adapter and hold down the “CANCEL/CHG” button until the unit displays “Charging.” The screen will go dark when the battery is fully charged. A fully charged internal battery provides 5.5 hours of recording.

NOTE: Please do not remove the internal NH-14WM battery. Students are responsible for returning the Sony internal NH-14WM fully charged.

AA Alkaline

The battery adapter attaches to the side of the unit. Use only Alkaline dry batteries (standard Duracell or Energizer) to power the unit. One battery provides 2 hours of record time in PCM record mode.

Together and fully charged the two batteries provide 8 hours of recording.

Media

The MZ-M100 records to both Sony Hi-MD 1GB discs and standard Mini Discs. The 1GB discs allow 1 hour and 34 minutes of PCM recording. A standard 80-minute Mini Disc provides only 28 minutes of PCM recording.

To format a standard Mini Disc for Hi-MD recording, press and hold “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU.” Select the “Edit” menu and scroll down and select “Format.”

Recording Audio

Use the XLR to MINI cable to connect the RE50 mic to the MZ-M100. Make sure to plug it into the red port labeled “MIC.” Press the “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU” or “ENT” button to wake the recorder. The display turns off when the recorder is idle for 15 seconds.

Press the red “REC” and “Pause” buttons at the same time to enter record/pause mode.

Press “Pause” again to begin recording.

While recording:

Pressing the “REC” button creates a new track.

Pressing the “Pause” button pauses the recording. When it is pressed again, the recording begins on a new track.

When finished recording press the “CANCEL/CHG” button. The files will take a few moments to write to the disc. (Do not interrupt this process. Data could be lost.)

Record Levels

By the default the recorder is set to Automatic Gain Control (AGC). To manually adjust levels, in record/pause mode, hold down the “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU” button. Navigate to “REC Settings” and select it with the “ENT” button. Navigate to “REC Mode” and select “Manual.”

After stopping a recording, the recorder defaults back to AGC. The Manual record setting must be set for each new recording

Naming Tracks and Groups

New recorded tracks are grouped together. To name tracks and groups hold the “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU” button. Navigate to the “Edit” menu. In the edit menu tracks and groups can be named, moved and erased.

Playback

Press the “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU” button. Select the “Group” or “Track” to search by. Select the track and press “ENT.”

Deleting Tracks

Hold down the “SEARCH/LIGHT/MENU” button to enter the menu. Select the "Edit' submenu. In the "Erase" menu, tracks and/or groups can be deleted.

More Information

For more information on using the recorder including the manual, click here to visit Sony’s MZ-M100 support website.

	Importing files into Pro Tools via USB Slide the USB compartment open on the side of the MZ-M100. Plug the USB cable into the unit and then into a free USB port on either the side of the Dell monitor or the front of the Mac Pro in the radio lab. Wait a few moments, and the Mini Disc will mount on the desktop.
	Create a new Pro Tools session in your class folder on the StudentWork drive and use the Finder to navigate to its location. Open the “Audio Files” folder in the project folder. Then open the Hi-MD Wave Importer application in the Dock.

Drag and drop the audio tracks from Wave Importer application into the “Audio Files” folder.

Go to the Pro Tools session and go to the File menu and select Import “Audio.”

In the following menu, select the project's "Audio Files" folder and click the “Convert” button.

Then select “Done" and import as Regions.

Make sure to rename your audio files once they have been imported into Pro Tools!

Eject

WARNING: Failure to properly unmount the Mini Disc could cause the data to be corrupted and irretrievable.

To unmount the Mini Disc you have two options.

Close the Pro Tools program and simply drag the Mini Disc icon to the trash, just like you would with a CD. This will eject the disc. If Pro Tools is still open, then you must follow the procedure below

To unmount a drive while Pro Tools is open, go to “Windows” and select “Show Workspace.” Highlight the drive to be unmounted and select the toolbox above the list of drives. Select “Unmount.”

When the drive disappears from the list it is now safe to unplug the MZ-M100 from the computer.

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