Sony Hi-MD Walkman now features the new “Hi-MD PHOTO” format. The top-of-the-range MZ-DH10P Hi-MD Walkman comes with a full 1.5” TFT colour LCD, 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera and a 4 x digital zoom. price and availablity of the MZ-DH10P to be announced.

Sony Europe Press Release

Berlin, 2 March 2005 - Sony continues to reinvent the MiniDisc format with a range of competitively priced new Hi-MD WALKMAN. The new line-up introduces the “Hi-MD PHOTO” format in a model that features digital still camera function in addition to music playback. And all the new models deliver direct MP3 playback in addition to high quality sound ATRAC3plus, and LinearPCM (Pulse Code Modulation). Strikingly re-imagined forms place the new Hi-MD at the leading edge of contemporary design with features such as full colour LCD and large Organic EL (electroluminescence) display.

“Hi-MD is now more versatile than ever,” comments Gregory Kukolj, General Manager for Personal Audio Europe at Sony, “Users can take pictures and enjoy music on the Hi-MD PHOTO compatible WALKMAN. The new developments on a format that’s removable, durable, and enables direct archiving through ‘plug and play’, make it the ideal media for users to build a library of their music, pictures or data on discs with a maximum capacity of 1GB. And its low cost and accessibility makes it easy to share favourite content with friends. As for the choice of true audio CD quality or MP3 – and plenty in-between – nothing else offers that.”

MZ-DH10P: Hi-MD WALKMAN with Digital Still Camera
The Hi-MD WALKMAN MZ-DH10P features the new “Hi-MD PHOTO” format, which transforms MiniDiscs from a media for music only to that which records music and takes pictures. Both a digital music player and a digital still camera, the MZ-DH10P comes with a full 1.5” TFT colour LCD, 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera, 4 x digital zoom, in addition to audio playback in MP3, ATRAC3plus, and LinearPCM. The MZ-DH10P takes pictures on standard MiniDiscs formatted to Hi-MD or Hi-MD discs, which can be viewed and linked to groups of songs or uploaded to PC. Users can view CD cover artwork either by downloading from their archive or by taking their own pictures in Jacket Photo Mode”. It includes other advanced features such as music search via cover artwork, simultaneous music and picture slideshow, and a JPEG viewer for imported and photographed images.

MZ-RH10: Hi-MD WALKMAN with Large Organic EL Display for Easy Music Browsing
The large Organic EL display, new vertical Jog Dial, and shortcut “Search” button on the MZ-RH10 Hi-MD WALKMAN work hand in hand to make searching, locating, and playing music from a collection of hundreds of songs, easier than ever. Hit the Search button or scroll the vertical Jog Dial to see songs listed in the display under tracks, groups, artists, or albums. The new Initial Search feature also enables the user to find music quickly by tracks, groups, artists or albums, which are listed in alphabetical order. This intelligent interface is enhanced by the Organic EL display – in darkness or bright daylight and from any angle, all information is visible in clear, luminescent quality. The MZ-RH10 features a new mirror-finish acrylic façade, is available in three colour variations of black, silver, and blue*, and comes with a newly designed remote control.

MZ-RH910: The Multiple Recording Hi-MD WALKMAN
The MZ-RH910 delivers the same intelligent search, locate and play interface as the MZ-RH10 with a difference in display type; the MZ-RH910 features a 5-line LCD. In addition to song information such as artist or album, both models also show data file information stored on Hi-MD discs. For example, users will be able to view a list of data files indicated by file name and size. Both models feature “multiple recording” via microphone, digital and line-in audio inputs, and USB connection for PC download or upload as well as bus power charging. Available in 4 colour variations of black, silver, blue, and pink*, the MZ-RH910 comes with newly designed remote controls that match the sleek design and colour of the main unit.

MZ-RH710: The Entry Hi-MD WALKMAN
The MZ-RH710 offers the most accessible price point for a Hi-MD Walkman, but delivers all the key advantages of Hi-MD capacity, versatility and durability, including LinearPCM for creating audio CD quality recordings. The model features a 3-line LCD and a neat circular design control interface with rotating Jog Dial that makes operation quick and easy. USB as well as digital and line-level audio inputs allow users to enjoy both music from PC or direct recording from their CD, vinyl, or tape collections, and a 6-Band Equalizer delivers the best sound quality playback. The MZ-RH710 is available in colour variations of black, silver, and blue*.

All the new Hi-MD WALKMAN models include quality headphones and USB cable. The bundled SonicStage Ver 3.0 music management software converts and manages music from CDs, handles MP3 files, imports CD jacket photos taken with Hi-MD Photo compatible WALKMAN and links them to your music files. In addition, SonicStage Ver 3.0 converts and saves analogue recordings from OpenMG to WAV format for editing on PC. SonicStage also provides seamless access to the “Connect” Online Music Store’s catalogue of more than 500,000 tracks and albums.

*Not all colours are available in all countries.