Sony's $3,000 MiniDisc PC from Japan - Vaio PCV-MX2
Ғылым және технология
Exploring a multimedia PC from the year 2000: the Sony Vaio PCV-MX2! And it's a beautiful silver hi-fi beast of a thing. Not only is it a Windows 98 desktop computer, but it's packing a built-in amplifier, CD/DVD player, FM radio, and a MiniDisc drive, all usable via remote control. Fantastic hardware that was only sold in Japan, let's test it out!
● LGR links:
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
● Download an archive of the hard drive contents here:
archive.org/details/sony-vaio...
● All background music licensed from:
www.epidemicsound.com
#LGR #Retro #Computers
Пікірлер: 2 600
Greetings from japan. My friend had this pc, and we were teenager in 2000. We talked about pc games, it's nice memories.
Playing a MIDI file through Winamp in Windows 98 on a minidisc PC is peak 2000.
@droppedpasta
2 жыл бұрын
It really whips the llama’s ass
@amshermansen
2 жыл бұрын
Baaaah Baaaaaaah!
@MaxiMuM1441
2 жыл бұрын
i still use winamp lol
@mackenziebullied4900
2 жыл бұрын
@@MaxiMuM1441 Hell yeah brother and i haven't even opened a bank account yet lmao
@wazaagbreak-head6039
2 жыл бұрын
@@mackenziebullied4900 That is not something to be bragged about.
Age of Empires 2 without music is EXACTLY how I remember playing it back then, I was kinda shocked when I got the HD remaster and it had MUSIC.
@monsG165
2 жыл бұрын
Try the DE edition, it has been revived and there is an ongoing 100k tournament going on now.
@W0lfenstrike
2 жыл бұрын
@@monsG165 That's the one I got 😁
@RyuAzuku
Жыл бұрын
Wait what??? Both the base game an Conquer expansion cds I had growing up had music on them
I know a introducing MSX. so I'm very happy to introduce you to a Japanese PC and see some great comments on it. As a Japanese, I used to use VAIO and iMac side by side. Also, a small size VAIO has existed since the Windows 98 era. Sony knew the demand. I used it for a while. Sony VAIO for me is just a good memory.
@ImperatorGrausam
2 жыл бұрын
He did a video about the MSX, though it's many years old. I love the MSX as well, here where I live (Arabia) it was very popular. Greetings from Dubai.
@namesurname4666
2 жыл бұрын
vaio+imac ?! so you were rich or a computer enthusiast
@glacierlegion9439
2 жыл бұрын
@@namesurname4666 japanese, that’s erich
@bbuggediffy
2 жыл бұрын
Used one Vaio product, a laptop, and it was amazing.
@bobbyjeffsupremelordofcraz3532
2 жыл бұрын
Vaio gang! My first PC was a VAIO. PCV-RS502. Still got it running windows XP like a beaut.
Imagine getting this as a kid in the year 2000. Dialing into the internet, installing Diablo II, and just feeling like an absolute boss....
@svenbenglen7599
2 жыл бұрын
Deus ex on this thing? sounds like a good combination.
@rodrigovaldivia8250
2 жыл бұрын
God, just thought the same, awesome
@revanjagergaming8714
2 жыл бұрын
My 10 year old self would have passed out if my dad brought this thing home. I don't know if I would have survived
@Bristecom
2 жыл бұрын
@@revanjagergaming8714 I had a VAIO in 1998. My dad was usually cheap so it was especially shocking that he got us a VAIO for our first computer! It was an excellent computer and looked so cool. I remember friends at school always thought I was lying when I said I had a Sony VAIO. We got another customized VAIO in 2003 and a VAIO laptop later. It's a shame Sony no longer makes computers (although not all of their designs were great).
@BadHaddy
2 жыл бұрын
Early 2000 would have been the cusp of high speed in my area (Pacific Northwest) and you'd have been a boss with your bad-ass near 1mbit speeds.
VAIO has one the coolest logo. It represents the analog and digital signal.
@NSJonesy94
2 жыл бұрын
I've never noticed that, awesome!
@razerow3391
2 жыл бұрын
In other obvious news: The sky is blue. Water is wet. blah blah blah. And no. The logo is actually shit because it fails what a logo is meant to do. For a start it is to complex. For letters it doesn't work as with words we read the shape so the logo breaks that (road signs aren't all upper case for this reason!) and it doesn't work in nations that don't speak a language formed from Latin. Logic: you mention the fact like it is an easter egg... Erm... The whole point of advertising is that things are explained or explicit. LOL
@flashdancer42
2 жыл бұрын
@@razerow3391 dude what the fuck? It wasn't that serious. And besides, the logo looks nice to me and it is clearly readable. You are those guys who believe the earth is flat, right?
@IsoMacintosh
2 жыл бұрын
@@razerow3391 "For a start it is to complex" Are you one of those ass hats doing over simplified logos like the win 11 four squares? The problem is not on the logo but you not knowing what complex is. "For letters it doesn't work as with words we read the shape so the logo breaks that" It's easy enough to read. "it doesn't work in nations that don't speak a language formed from Latin." So all text based logos are bad? Sure thing buddy.
@TheRoboteer
2 жыл бұрын
@@razerow3391 Yikes
All of those Vaio visuals and sound effects take me back, wow. My dad's radio communications and tower leasing business was THRIVING in the '90s, so even though I wasn't aware of it at the time due to being a kid, my family had money to _burn._ My dad LOVED tech and anything Sony, so in the late '90s everything in our house was Sony including our desktop PC. It wasn't THIS particular model, but it was a big purple Vaio with the same Vaio-unique sounds and wallpapers. I graduated high school in 2003, and the Christmas before I started art school for college (I'm an illustrator now) I got a Sony MiniDisc player that hooked up to the computer for writing and managing music on the discs themselves, and I used the hell out of it in all of my studio classes before replacing it with the last generation of iPod that hit without a color screen. I still have that MiniDisc player up in a closet somewhere with a shit-ton of recorded discs. Watching this channel has opened my eyes to just how much my dad actually spent on the electronics I grew up with. I was so spoiled as a child and didn't even realize it, _wow._ It makes me even more glad that I was a weird kid who treated all of my electronics like they were made of spun glass. 😳
I just love the fact you don't feel the need to have sponsors in your videos. So refreshing not being told to play some crappy PTW mobile game or to buy cheap ear buds. Keep up the great work.
@LGR
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! I’m fortunate enough to be in a place where I don’t need sponsors, and I hope to keep it that way as long as I can :)
@Adam_Lynn
Жыл бұрын
@@LGR Fell down a rabbit hole tonight watching your videos. I've just realised i've watched about 85% of your uploads so I guess it's only fair that I head on over to Patreon to help you keep making the great content. \o/
@sentientarugula2884
6 ай бұрын
I just want to say, all of my friends think I'm really weird for watching videos about obscure media formats or vintage PCs, but as long as you keep making high-quality videos like these, there is no way I can stop watching them!@@LGR
Wow man 12-year-old me would've *LOVED* to have that beast back then.
@LeinaDZiur
2 жыл бұрын
34-year-old me would love to have it today
@Cyba_IT
2 жыл бұрын
@@LeinaDZiur 42-year-old me totally agrees!
@sweetpeachnectar
2 жыл бұрын
me too! even more that i've never had a proper stereo system of my own... but with that price tag my parents never would have been able to afford it.
@Di3mondDud3
2 жыл бұрын
21 year old me wants it today... I rebuilt my families old pc from the year i was born a few back.
@SuperHns
2 жыл бұрын
I was 16 in 1999, but yes, Likewise
Hey LGR I bet you didn’t know this: The V and A in the VAIO logo make up an analog wave while the I and O represent a 1 and a 0 representing digital computer code!
@ryandevan2793
2 жыл бұрын
Clever!
@midimoog
2 жыл бұрын
The concept of the analog wave logo was by art designer Mr. Teiyu Goto. He did the sounds as well. The startup tone of the early VAIO was based on the DTMF tone when you press the V-A-I-O buttons on your telephone.
@BetaMaster2
2 жыл бұрын
pretty sure it stands for "video audio input output (machine)"
@pokeboi5438
2 жыл бұрын
It’s a Transverse wave, it’s an awesome piece of graphic design
@mingkee27
Жыл бұрын
Video Audio I/O (integrated operation)
That editing masterpiece needs to be uploaded to the Blerbs channel so it can be properly appreciated.
Sony has always had such a great sense for design and aesthetic that really speaks to me. From Walkman to CD and DVD players, televisions, computers, game consoles and even smartphones. Timeless, elegant and classy design.
@Tyler-dn8wn
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t think so. They were obsessed with the silver color for years. I mean they did make a good product ones made in Japan not the chinisem
@AaronShenghao
2 жыл бұрын
Heck they are using the same VAIO trademark on their laptops, not sure if they are still making the PC though.
@murkser4149
2 жыл бұрын
@@Tyler-dn8wn Speak for yourself. I love silver colour for consumer electronics. My current smartphone is a Sony Xperia 5 in silver/grey.
@Tyler-dn8wn
2 жыл бұрын
@@murkser4149 it’s just so distracting I spray painted my old trinitron TVs. For me black is the best color for tv bezels
@ClaudioVarone3299
2 жыл бұрын
@@Tyler-dn8wn In early 2000s the Silver Grey was a trend. They weren't obsessed with that.
Previous owner must have been into photography. There were Fujifilm and Canon folders in the applications menu. A man of culture indeed.
A dream PC back in the day!
I just love all those videos. They take me back to a (seemingly) simpler time. Got my first PC with about 14 years of age. Waited weeks for all the parts to be delivered. Then assembled my glorious 40Mhz 4MB RAM hero. Later upgraded to 8Mb of RAM - what a monster XD. And there were rumours about some guys in school owning a 133MHz giant! This one is about the first I would add to the "new" generation of systems, with WIN98 and all those fancy stuff in it. Still gives me nostalgia vibes. How come I now have a 100times faster system and RAM and 4K 165Hz image ... yet I just can't feel the same moment of awe I had when I first started my fav game X-Wing successfully on that old DOS-Computer after fighting with the 640Kb short memory problem I had with all the games back then. Those were the times.
@Vlad2319
Жыл бұрын
It's sort of interesting to think that most modern phones run essentially what most mid-high outputs that was considered top tier in the 90s Of course people in the 90s would say similar comparing computers of the 60s/70s. Their computers would compile most of what advanced computers of the 20 years prior to the 90s and going back another 20 years from the 60s/70s people would just be sorta shocked in general that electricity can compute calculations that it can. After that it'd probably be seen as witch craft xD Yes I know there was the enigma machine from the world wars, but most people didn't understand or know exactly what that was. If memory serves computers during the 50s were sort of simple filing machines. And there's some credit given to a woman mathematician who said that electricity *could* assist mathematicians with complex computations and gave a good idea of how the machine would operate. All I'm saying since the general concept of a modern computer was developed going through 20 year spurts would give people shocks or pause considering how far the technology advanced and how it's shrunk. The same level of power being driven by a smaller computer. Then the shock of a similar sized machine outputting insane amounts of computer power (at least until our current situation where there's not much more we can go with the same 16/64 bit based chips)
That thing is still relevant in the looks department. Beautiful machines.
@CommodoreFan64
2 жыл бұрын
I agree just add some more modern internals with AMD hardware for better Linux compatibility, and an HD, and DAB FM Radio tuner, plus HD TV Tuner where you can switch to which ones you need depending on where you live, and a widescreen super fast 1440p(a lot of PC's still struggle with 4K gaming, so a high refresh rate 1440p makes more sense to me) LCD to match.
@enterchannelname7568
2 жыл бұрын
Though I like the mx2 better, the PCV-70 shown at 1:04 is crazy considering it was released in 1996. That legit looks like a modern pc!
@AltimaNEO
2 жыл бұрын
It's old enough that it has that retro cool look without looking too dated like the silver bubbly designs of the time.
@WhatsOnMyShelf
2 жыл бұрын
I think you would have to ask many people without a penchant for retro anything to gauge its broad appeal in today's market. They should probably be under 30 as well so they have no reference point.
@MrDuncl
2 жыл бұрын
@@WhatsOnMyShelf The problem is they would think of any Desktop or HiFi as retro. 'What does it do that my phone and a Bluetooth Speaker can't ?" Back to looks I loved my Vaio VPC-CA laptop, until I cpmpletely failed to get Windows 10 to run on it (no working drivers and no support from Sony).
I still use my MD everyday. I have a home stereo with it, walkman and have a head unit in my car. Everyone that gets in my car always gets a kick out of it. Love not worrying about scratching them as I stack them in my car. What an awesome tower you have shown us. Thank you and keep MD alive.
@babagandu
2 жыл бұрын
I use DAT
@CRAPO2011
2 жыл бұрын
Is you car headunit Sony? jdm cars had them oem would be cool to see any md headunit
@Rodrigo-ks6oc
2 жыл бұрын
@@CRAPO2011 Pioneer had a MD headunit..
@CoasterMan13Official
2 жыл бұрын
I have a Dell Optiplex in my shed that I haven't used in about a year.
@murphychurch8251
2 жыл бұрын
Lucky you! Thinking back to my MD walkmen, I could cry that I sold them when they were broken instead of trying to get them fixed. Nobody believes me when I tell them how superior the sound was. Except for one colleague who had a MD unit in his previous car, I know nobody who had a taste of minidisc. Sigh.
Was living in Japan for 1 year in late 2000, and minidisc was such a hit there back then. Cars, and stereos at home got minidisc changers even. Such good times. Also Sony used almost exact same remote on flat TV sets at the time.
@ryzentevfik
Жыл бұрын
Aynen dostum. Güzel yıllardı.. 👊🏻
@SerYil1
Жыл бұрын
@@ryzentevfik kesinlikle 👊
@MarcoAntonio-df7sl
Жыл бұрын
too bad sony itself sucked in audio quality, however that onkyo unit looks very interesting
@natef15
Жыл бұрын
I lived there a few years later and MP3 players were starting to take over but MD players were still very available. I wanted one so bad but didn't get one.
@SerYil1
Жыл бұрын
@@natef15 Yeah I suppose wouldn't make sense buying one after that MD era. I had a Sharp model, used for few years and then,I stopped bothering with 1x optical recording speeds on discs after seeing MP3 format taking over.
28:25 I absolutely love how "What in the world" syncs with the music.
Not gonna lie, the case of that pc looks so sick as hell, its literally perfect for an multimedia PC 🙂
@akcjaxd7863
2 жыл бұрын
Sony had taste when it comes to PC's. Both desktops and laptops.
@Svalbaz
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah thats a really sweet case for a Multimedia PC
@TekkenAnimeGamer
2 жыл бұрын
May I ask what your pfp is it has me wondering man of culture.
@SproutyPottedPlant
2 жыл бұрын
It NGLed and it literallied 😩
@MrDuncl
2 жыл бұрын
To me a Multimedia PC sould have a flat slim case designed to fit underneath the TV. Sony actually made a Pentium 4 like that which came with a TV card as standard. The problem with them is that almost everything is non stanard form factors I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo E under my TV which has the advantage that I was able to upgrade the motherboard to a Core I3.
What a beautiful tower- Sony just knows how to design timelessly.
@Giga1023
2 жыл бұрын
For sure, I also love their software design to. It sounds like you're scrolling through a PS1 rpg game menu if that makes sense. So unique
@michealpersicko9531
2 жыл бұрын
well most of the time since apparently they couldn't fit in decent cooling with the PS5's design so i'd keep a small fan around back of it on low to facilitate better cooling.
Wow! That computer looked insane. It looked like the luxurious and futuristic look of this PC.
5:50 - As someone who was in Japan frequently (before the pandemic), it's still not common to find AC outlets with a grounding lug in Japan. Some places have been retrofitted, but pretty much every hotel I was at (including expensive ones) still don't have them regularly.
@xeong5
2 жыл бұрын
Because it's not the standard. Usually they are found in Hospitals or around equipment that deals with water.(kitchens/Aircons and washlets)
Man, Sony knew how to make proper multimedia PCs. My friend owned a Vaio and it came with a built in video capture card and a TV tuner. So many great memories with that thing. I wish today's large OEM's offered multimedia specific PCs.
@Brpwndood
2 жыл бұрын
Totally agree, the killer feature for me would be to access multimedia without needing to boot to Windows.
Sony did come out with some really unusual systems back then - some of their laptops were supremely advanced for the time in terms of features or form factor.
@MrDuncl
2 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure what they were thinking when they did their Core2 Multimedia PC (which might have been the last) shaped like a Hat Box).
@seshpenguin
2 жыл бұрын
Steve Jobs even approached Sony and asked if they wanted to run Mac OS X on their Vaios (which is impressive given Jobs was the one that ended the clones program and wanted total control over every design aspect of the system, so he must've really liked Sony)
@dmhendricks
2 жыл бұрын
I owned a couple of their laptops back when I was satisfied with running Windows. They were very nice.
Flat out amazing. I was a media student in 2001, and I did all my coursework on minidisc and zip drive, 100% this was a wet dream system. And with the period upgrades it looks absolutely brilliant.
Japan has always worked toward conglomerating everything in a system together. Biggest reason being that much of the Japanese people had limited space, still do. So they kept coming up with these all in one electronics to fulfill multiple roles in a household or apartment.
@nerd2544
2 жыл бұрын
@@justinianthegreatandnerd6377 what
@nerd2544
2 жыл бұрын
@@justinianthegreatandnerd6377 very helpful
@thelazyworkersandwich4169
Жыл бұрын
Sony attempted a similar thing with the Playstation 3.
@MrFredstt
Жыл бұрын
That really puts things into perspective for us in the US
@renakunisaki
Жыл бұрын
@@thelazyworkersandwich4169 I think that was more just to use it as a "trojan horse" to get Blu-ray players into homes
Ok, this is one of the coolest machines Ive seen in a long time. Also, anyone else annoyed that the ABC karaoke didn't follow the letters properly?
@LGR
2 жыл бұрын
Japanese ABC song is in Japanese, go figure :P
@Schwarzorn
2 жыл бұрын
Well, considering that LMNOP is in fact more than one letter (it's actually like three or four, I think), it makes sense to break it apart for people learning the alphabet. Especially when they way it's written in Japanese makes most of those letters two syllables each.
@miro4748
2 жыл бұрын
I need one of these so badly. I just finished sourcing parts for my w98 build, inspired by LGR, and now I absolutely need this pc for the case.
@alpha3836
2 жыл бұрын
i gave the 69th like, nice
Until today, I've only ever seen exactly one - and what a delight it is to see one again and in such nice condition.
@robertschnobert9090
2 жыл бұрын
I enjoy this video 🌈
OpenMG Jukebox was an app that let you download and playback copyrighted music content. Unfortunately, drag-and-drop of PC music files to MiniDisc was not enabled until the newer generation VAIO MXS series which had NetMD drives. Back then in year 2000, downloading digital music was a terribly disputed concept. People had started to share and download copyrighted material on the internet. Record labels were trying to prevent that by massive amount of lawsuits and applying pressure on manufacturers of digital audio players so that none of the devices accept PC music files. OpenMG Jukebox app was Sony's attempt to tackle the issue: It created an encryption "Cocoon" inside the PC and let you download and playback copyrighted material as long as the user stays inside the cocoon. It connected to some online music stores of the time, and let you purchase music files. The music files were also encrypted so that they never leave the cocoon. The NetMD format was designed so that MiniDisc can be an effective part of the encryption cocoon. It could playback encrypted content as well as the conventional non encrypted content. The newer VAIO MXS series had an integrated NetMD drive so it allowed its users to copy PC music files to MiniDisc. This inconvenient encryption trend continued until Apple bluntly broke the rules with their iPod and iTunes which let users freely copy PC music files; that became an immediate hit (naturally). Apparently the record labels forgot to pressurize Apple as they were not seen as a manufacturer of digital audio players ;-)
I was way into these types of systems back in the late 90's. I managed to get ahold of a TV tuner card and started recording TV shows and such. It was connected to our TV and sound system. Found a RF controller card for it and could sit back on the couch and watch recorded shows on my computer. The gold ole days.
@namesurname4666
2 жыл бұрын
was the sound system a bookshelf one like sony/aiwa or a standard one?
@JobeStroud
2 жыл бұрын
@@namesurname4666 It was a Kenwood 5.1 sound system.
@namesurname4666
2 жыл бұрын
@@JobeStroud how could you get a multichannel source in the late 90s?
@PILMAN
2 жыл бұрын
3dfx had a voodoo card that had a tv tuner as well, it was pretty impressive
@JobeStroud
2 жыл бұрын
@@PILMAN I am not denying that. I just didn't have the money to spend on voodoo cards.
I miss all these Sony-style buttons with integrated LED of all shapes so much!
@coolduder1001
2 жыл бұрын
Ya ever see Teacs glowing buttons?
This is rad, I’d love a modern reinterpretation of a system like this.
@jim_bocho
2 жыл бұрын
But why?
@natejennings5884
2 жыл бұрын
When I was in the U.S. army (11B Infantry 2ID Korea) in 2009 one of the guys in my platoon had a Sony Vaio laptop and the aesthetic was sleek. Didn't have a MiniDisc slot though. Outrageously priced at $1,500 for specs common among $500 laptops, but slick lookin'.
@Damien_N
2 жыл бұрын
@@jim_bocho because my computer already is the centre of my hifi setup
@anonymousarmadillo6589
2 жыл бұрын
@@Damien_N What media would you put n it?
@Cyba_IT
2 жыл бұрын
I was thinking exactly the same thing. Of course these days it'd probably just have a Micro SD card reader and amp.
This is such a neat computer. It has so much class and character. The Canyon theme midi is somehow very nostalgic.
I never realized how good and obvious it is to combine stereo system with a PC computer. This should have been the norm in the beginning of 21st century!
As an audio engineer, I am actually seriously surprised by the Tripath amp. A company that unfortunately was to far ahead for its time.
@lemn8
2 жыл бұрын
I was searching for "tripath" in this comments section i was curious if anyone else was recognizing this beautiful piece. I really would like to see a review about hooking up some full range high end speakers and the surprise on his face. I still own the topping tp-21 and tp-60.
@pocketanime
2 жыл бұрын
Sony pushed a lot of modern tech standarts we used and use today. Sadly other corporations did not help at all with the standarization of a lot of them
@simematejure
2 жыл бұрын
@@lemn8 +1, stopped the video early on at very moment i spot "Tripath" on front panel.
@lemn8
2 жыл бұрын
@@babagandu 😱
@babagandu
2 жыл бұрын
@@lemn8 sorry pal forgive me ... I'm using Denon ...
27:50 is like watching a trainer data set being plugged into an AI editor from 20 years ago. Watching "sup" and "farts" just trail schizophrenically across the screen really spoke to me on an emotional level.
@LunarWindows
2 жыл бұрын
Same
@pepe6666
Жыл бұрын
@@LunarWindows sup
@Corpsegrinderr
Жыл бұрын
@@pepe6666 farts
Ahh, I remember one of my teachers having a new vaio laptop every friggin year when I was in school. Always figured it was just some crappy thing, never realised it was actually up market! I wonder what one could do with that case in terms of modern hardware and still keep as much of the minidisk, LCD and multimedia functionality intact...
Recording from pc audio directly to minidisc would've been amazing back in the day. I used minidisc all the time. I would've loved to be able to record my favorite game music in a time before I had internet.
That was a fantastic look at that computer! So cool to see the weird changes to the hardware for the media focus. I bet the MD drive is just connected to a serial or USB port and the output of the sound card with that interface board sending the same kinds of syncro commands you would get on a standalone device that could rip a CD to MD. So it's probably not directly accessible to the computer at all. I had a similar issue with Aureal DOS sound support on my Vaio Slimtop when I was working on that. If yours is similar to mine the drivers it came with suck and if you install another proper 8830 driver it should work. Once I did that I got DOS sound working in the Windows 98 DOX box but I don't think it worked in DOS Mode still.
@johnpetruna8888
2 жыл бұрын
I just love to see some of my favorite vintage tech guys do "crossover episodes" in the comments.
@Liamtotherescue
2 жыл бұрын
I have zero experience of MD data, but would there be any way of 'hacking' the drive to read/write to MD data? Would have been a novel thing to have on a 'mainstream' home PC, kind of like when built in Zip or SuperDrives were a thing
@SuperSmashDolls
2 жыл бұрын
@@Liamtotherescue I don't know a lot about the technical internals of MiniDisc or MD Data, but my guess would be that everything aside from the drive mechanism wouldn't be able to read or write those discs. So you'd either have to write your own drive firmware or design your own controller board for it.
@kbhasi
2 жыл бұрын
What's a "DOX box"?
@nickwallette6201
2 жыл бұрын
I was wondering how deeply integrated the drives are with the computer. It’s a bit split-brained assuming the CD/DVD drive is accessible to Windows, and as a stand-alone player. I guess it could be using the SPDIF output to connect to the MD recorder, which would prevent having to do a bunch of data bus arbitration. Assuming the MD is only connected via a transport control link (vs having data access from the computer), that’s still really interesting because there’s an opportunity to see what is being transferred to control the drive. That opens up possibilities for hacking MD appliances that use compatible drive mechanisms, writing new control firmware, and so on. Having full data access would be even cooler, but I doubt that’s the case.
28:54 my god this computer came with SAPARi .. wish it was still installed there but ay, at least the shortcuts are still there!
This thing must have been super in 2000! It still has more multimedia options than today's PCs! Today's PCs can do almost nothing without internet and almost always need an amp for speakers and headphones.
I'm studying minidisc for a design project. This video sure got me even more excited about them! Thank you LGR
When you consider all the features the computer has, it takes the place of a lot of other media equipment. Those speakers are sick!
This is the most early 2000 M U L T I M E D I A PC I have ever seen.
As a VAIO owner I just wanna say they're great until they break. I bought one specifically for video capture and editing and when the power supply blew on it, it turned out it used a special proprietary power supply that was smaller than normal, a normal one won't fit in the case. Then I found out the Capture Card is hyper proprietary as it encodes to MPEG-2 inside the device before it even touched the PC. This means it *ONLY* works with the proprietary software so if you lost that, you're SOL. No homebrew solution worked at all because nothing new how to handle a pre-encoded MPEG-2 video stream. So basically, it's a Sony.
@overnightdelivery
Жыл бұрын
That's why I usually avoid Sony anything. Cameras especially. The extra money would be worth it for the style. But Sony's greed always ruins it.
This computer is amazing and would've blown me away had I had a chance to mess around with one back in 2000.
You outdid yourself with this one. I mean, all your content is great, but I don’t think anyone could have covered/showed this thing off better. Bravo Clint!
The cookie monster, "clear their cookies" quip sent me, Clint. I salute you!
@AboveEmAllProduction
2 жыл бұрын
Wasn't That funny..
@robell1981
2 жыл бұрын
@@AboveEmAllProduction We're all allowed to have our own opinions, go troll somewhere else.
Wow this setup is such a vibe. That MD player and the orange lighting is just chef's kiss.
Frankly I was impressed. Considering your playing these games on a twenty one year old system lol. Thank you for the walk through 1999-2001. 👍
This is a perfect LGR video. I mean honestly. Everything in this video is perfect and HOW TO HELL is this PC so incredible clean inside and out?!
@jstan5802
2 жыл бұрын
It's probably a collectible even for the previous owner
@boheyo
2 жыл бұрын
We found the one Japanese person who didn't smoke in the early 2000s
@Dong_Harvey
2 жыл бұрын
That desktop was immaculate
Mutual feelings towards the VAIO line here. My absolute favorite is the PC R VGC-RA820G (catchy name) from 2005, which is a Pentium 4 XP machine that still looks modern and sleek to this day, and has the absolutely wonderfully unique floating top layer, resting on two front and back pillars, and you can stick your hand right through the middle of the case. Absolutely jaw dropping.
@melvinjansen2338
2 жыл бұрын
The pf pic is horrendous
The worst part of these computers was that everything worked exactly on the OS that it came with. If you tried to upgrade the OS, you basically lost all the features. This was due to a combination Microsoft's driver interfaces being OS specific, the manufacturers using undocumented APIs, and manufacturers simply not caring.
@gamingguy9006
Жыл бұрын
All OSes have this
@jackieAZ
9 ай бұрын
It all comes back to that: programmers, document your damn code!!
Cool to see that "JRPG menu sound effects" are actually just "Japanese Computer Menu sound effects".
28:38 that was wonderful, I legitimately loled at the chaos & farts, A+.
@vnaum
2 жыл бұрын
That smooth jazz was a perfect fit for LGR video too!
@RudyMemes
2 жыл бұрын
I would love it if he uploaded that gem to the blerbs channel
@edwardbell8771
2 жыл бұрын
I used mover maker on XP more then I should that was madness 😂😂
You have to send this to Techmoan. This would be perfect for him
@Ford.Prefect
2 жыл бұрын
He'd love it
@robertrossignol4445
2 жыл бұрын
Would could get more Techmoan karaoke footage!
@retroanimearchives3802
2 жыл бұрын
Ikr, since he is more intrested in these types of things hehe
@r.l.royalljr.3905
2 жыл бұрын
He'll be up all night to get lucky.
@jothain
2 жыл бұрын
Oh this is so good thought. He's probably the person in YT that would appreciate this hardware most.
17:43 音楽だって、バイオにまかせてくれ means "Leave music to the Vaio". No kidding. You wouldn't need a separate hi-fi if you had this (minus cassette). It makes sense that this would do well in Japan but I'm sure that urban apartment-dwelling Americans would have really appreciated something like this
It's so pretty! I love the computer design of these Vaios from back then.
I would love to have a modern PC inside that case, with the LCD and volume knob functioning. Really I just want a case that looks like that, and has functional buttons and knobs on it. And an LCD screen that displays... temps or something I dunno.
@DrakeDaraitis
2 жыл бұрын
Well you can buy external sensor monitors that fit in a CD bay. Obviously your case needs to be able to hold a CD drive. I never realized that cases now a days didn’t have any bays up front until I upgraded a few months ago.
@rebelliousreptile7336
2 жыл бұрын
I completly agree that this pc would be a great contendor for doing a sleeper pc (thats where there is new hardware inside but outside looks the same). If the dac is not on the motherboard and instead on the amplifier, I could see this as one of the better audiophile systems.
Man once you mentioned that Riva TNT 2 the nostalgia hit me hard. That was my first card that i upgraded myself
The Vaio wallpaper with the Windows 98 startup music has a nice aesthetic to it
24:00 I wholeheartedly expected you to sing along; the buildup was so great lol
Ohh my god! This machine just screams the year 2000!
Been lusting after this series for a while, seriously so cool. Sony's design team was on another level during this time.
I recorded dozens of concerts with my minidisc models back in the day. this tech defined a large portion of my teenaged identity. I recorded Hum, Deftones, Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, The Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Mogwai, Sonic Youth, June of 44, Veruca Salt, Don Caballero, Cursive, Dianogah etc concerts. The recordings are sharp and accurate. All of this is prior to smart phones. Yes, I am old. I still use my minidisc players/recorders to this day. They provide better audio quality than the phone in your hand.
What an awesome piece of engineering. Super futuristic for something from 2000....
Seeing winamp pop up gave me WAAAAY to much joy 🤣
@tomyyoung2624
2 жыл бұрын
yes longer exits
@geoffreyreuther5260
2 жыл бұрын
Somewhere, the llamas are nervous.
I would love to see a mchine with these functionalities built into an All in one form factor, by Sony, like the AIO. Imagine an all-in-one computer with built in MD, DVD and floppy drives. '00s vibe at its best
i love your retrospectives Clint. so appealing to listen to in the background while i game
I worked at a Best Buy-style electronics store circa 2005-2009. Sony Vaios were far and away the most stylish PCs/laptops on the average consumer market at the time, probably the only ones that were genuinely aesthetically pleasing.
I love how WINAMP still looks the same as it always has.
@Cypherdude1
2 жыл бұрын
I'm using Winamp 5.623 right now. It has The Matrix skin with Morpheus, Trinity and Neo.
@christiangonzales7429
2 жыл бұрын
The media player time forgot. I wonder what the new, updated Winamp will look like when it is released.
@willjenkins4195
2 жыл бұрын
Winamp 2.3 had a plug in to do different flash patterns with the cap lock nun lock and scroll lock lights on the keyboard, RGB 20 years before RGB was cool 🤣
@metalvideos1961
2 жыл бұрын
i still use winamp. and its still looks the same. best music player ever.
Tell me I'm not the only grown man that went "awww" at the space bar. Also, this is super cool. Makes me wish my amp had some PC capabilities built in.
What an incredible find. Thanks for sharing!
Vaio we’re always super cool to me as a kid. Like Clint said, the designs really stood out and they seemed super high-end and fancy. Which they were. The price tags also added to the ultra unattainable mystique. Sony knows what they’re doing and they are always way ahead of the curve, especially back in the day.
@GTAfan421
Жыл бұрын
I’d argue a lot moreso back in the day. Now they’re a little more reserved as far as pushing premium systems, presumably because they’re in a bit of a worse financial spot.
@mCreecher91
Жыл бұрын
@@GTAfan421 I would agree with that. I think there was also more room to innovate. They had a good sense of what people would be interested in as far as products and also design. Plus they were known for top quality. Now a days, Sony kind of blends in to the rest of the tech landscape in my opinion and when they do something innovative like the design of the PS5, it’s polarizing (like seemingly everything these days. I don’t love the design but it’s fine).
I need this in my life
@Termiic
2 жыл бұрын
Don't we all?
@miskonsem
2 жыл бұрын
I have this, but not complete set.
@JesseJamesHeadrick
2 жыл бұрын
@@miskonsem I'd pay good money for it.
@jeffreyfalcon243
2 жыл бұрын
@@miskonsem Same, I’m only missing the monitor. It’s crazy that it has the first Nvidia gpu in it.
@JesseJamesHeadrick
2 жыл бұрын
@@miskonsem What do you mean?
You would of been the coolest kid of the street when you got this!
@iamatlantis1
2 жыл бұрын
Could have napster'ed that 30 gb hd full of pirated music in no time! (with a high speed internet connection of course, 56k would have taken dedication and some time to fill that thing up)
@Agri458
2 жыл бұрын
@@iamatlantis1 definitely!
@Agri458
2 жыл бұрын
@yefdafad are you ok
@jbfarley
2 жыл бұрын
@@Agri458 God, that went right over your head, dude. "Must of" is not a thing
@Agri458
2 жыл бұрын
@@jbfarley oh god sorry lol
Love that intro animation!! Looks amazing Clint!
This looks like a great living room / entertainment PC. The included minidisc makes sense as CDs were VERY expensive I Japan. Albums were commonly rented and copied to MD at home.
You have to copy the Audio Files from Age of Empires II to the Game Folder sometimes
Yeay, another LGR hardware video thing! I love to see these old PCs!
Man i got recommended one of your videos from 2013. youve come so far!
13:48 I love that sound.
man those VAIO desktops looks amazing.
Sony Vaios are the most unique PCs! I just showcased my vaio all-in-one, the PCV-W20. Love the Vaios and their quirkiness! Awesome seeing that Vaio came with a decent video card, not the case with mine.
This is fascinating. I have a Sony MDS-PC3 standalone MD player I bought new 20 years ago. It has software that does a lot of this. I used to plug it into my PC, drag and drop MP3’s into the software, and the. Burn them to minidisc. I still have a few blank discs as well as the discs I still have music on. I really loved it for taking into the car as I also had a Kenwood KMD-X92 Minidisc head unit. Thank you for sharing this!
Its interesting to see a Tripath / Class T amplifier actually advertised on an product. Those were quite forgotten and later "rediscovered" in the Lepai TA2020 t-amp hype for their great sond at ultra low power use.
When you hover over an icon at 23:01, it reminds me of the sound made when you confirm a setting or menu item from the first Budokai.
That combined modem/PCMIA card would not have gone over well back in my childhood. Thunderstorms and old phone lines meant that we got a fried modem every other year.
@theannoyedmrfloyd3998
2 жыл бұрын
If you unplugged the phone line from the computer from the wall when it wasn't in use like every other normal user did, you wouldn't have fried modem cards.
@TalonLardner
2 жыл бұрын
@@theannoyedmrfloyd3998 Good advice 25 years late, my friend! I was just a kid at the time so it didn't come to mind, and my folks weren't the most tech savvy.
I like the "digital dream" written in the VAIO wallpaper. I hope they made that wallpaper appropriate on later OSes, Windows ME and Windows Vista, by changing it to "digital nightmare".
wow. i just got a strong flash back to when i was 8 and got a old pc from my aunt and i was playing frogger pretty much all the time on it and it was way retro like this... keep digging up old memories clint. Love you
Once again I am thanking you for including subtitles for us hard of hearing folks
My friend had one of these when I was a kid, I was amazed. So much nostalgia in this episode, from the windows boot music to the games.
@1kash7
2 жыл бұрын
Stop lying. There were 3 tiers, an open price, barely any copies were made, let alone sold, it was only in Japan, and importing stuff like this just didn’t happen as often as now, and it was fucking 3-4 thousand dollars, let alone your friend being able to somehow pay in yen. You are such a dumb liar
One of my favorite episodes of LGR! Dang I wish I have that monitor of yours Clint! :)
dude. this is an amazing nostalgic video. its got me looking for a vaio...
I would love to have one of those with a Ryzen or i5 in it for a media PC! Beautiful case design and fantastic hardware.
@ColpoRosso
2 жыл бұрын
Agree
@razerow3391
2 жыл бұрын
Why would it need a ryzen or i5? I mean... Why? LOL. People are so weird... That like the PC version of Jeremy Clarkson wanting to put a V8 with everything even when it makes zero sense...
@DavisMakesGames
2 жыл бұрын
@@razerow3391 Well the idea is it would be the Sony media features and the cool case but with more modern hardware...
@tomyyoung2624
2 жыл бұрын
Yes only is it a Windows 98 desktop computer,
@Ass_Burgers_Syndrome
2 жыл бұрын
@@tomyyoung2624 But you're totally missing the point lol.
_it was a bad day, until LGR uploaded a 40 minutes long video_ hehehe thanks a lot !
Ive always wanted one of those vaio umpcs with the slide up screens… they looked so cool!
WINAMP! It really whips the llama's ass!! 🦙👋
@Demonslayer20111
2 жыл бұрын
Id almost forgotten about that.
@camotech1314
Ай бұрын
@@Demonslayer20111 you can never forget about that 😅
I did a Bing search on the model number and the number 1 listing was of THIS video! Congrats on that, Clint.