cbmuser

I'm sorry that the git server is down at the moment, but I'm still having a bit trouble finding a place for the machine at my new university in Oslo. I will try to talk with the guy in charge today and see if we can work out something. Also, we're in negotiations with Sony now to receive permissions to publish all of our knowledge allowing full and legal support for all NetMD and HiMD Walkman. Adrian

Hi guys, I have created a new unofficial version of QHiMDTransfer for Intel Macs to support fragmented recordings now: http://rapidshare.com/files/413176587/qhimdtransfer_macintel-drm.dmg.html A new version for Windows will follow shortly. I do not have my Mac Mini G4 PPC running at the moment, so I cannot build any PPC version for you, sorry. For Linux, I will also provide packages if requested. Currently I provide official binaries for Linux/Ubuntu only. EDIT: For those who are interested in NetMD downloads: Someone from the German MiniDiscForum.de created a quick how-to on using NetMD Python scripts to download tracks (transfer tracks to the device) on Ubuntu. He made a few modifications to make the download script more usable. He says, he can easily download tracks now. Please see here: http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/Baustelle/NetMD Adrian

Well, I think I said it before. NetMD downloads work already and support SP downloads. However, most of the code is still very experimental and it might melt down your PC. So unless you're familiar with programming you shouldn't use it. Please expect a stable version at the end of the year. Adrian

Hi, just wanted to let you know that as of yesterday, NetMD download capability is officially part of the main code (git repository). However, you will need special instructions and a patch from me to actually use the software with your NetMD. The reason being that in order to use NetMD downloads, the program code needs to know Sony's root key for NetMD encryption which we cannot publish officially until we have to an agreement with Sony. In any case, it is now possible to transfer tracks to NetMD devices on any operating system (ie. MacOS, Windows 7 64, Linux, FreeBSD, ...) without SonicStage. Adrian

Nah, I didn't mean to let it sound like this, we're not begging for money. I'm just explaining you, why it takes so long to release new versions. Many people think that just because some software is "free" it takes no resources to develop it. "Open source" just means that the result (both the source and the binaries which run on the computer) is free to be used, distributed and modified by everyone. "'Free' as in 'free speech', not 'free' as in 'free beer'" . We're actually more happy about people who want to help developing rather than donate. There are some tasks which just need to be "molded into code" and there are many very talented hackers out there who could do that. It's just a matter of finding them . Which I am really glad about and really looking forward for. We're btw still looking for someone who speaks Dutch. Or just some guys wanting to write code, documentation an so on. We have, btw, someone who has started on a documentation. If someone is interested in helping writing documentation here, I could get you guys in contact. Adrian

Well, we have actually completed the most of difficult tasks towards our goal of allowing NetMD downloads (thus transfers from the PC to the device) which is reverse engineering the original code from Sony. However, the first code will be implemented in Python only, an easy script language which allows to quickly draft the code and test the functionality. In order to work with NetMD, Python needs to use an external library called "libusb" which is not yet available (but being tested as beta) in the required version 1.0.0 for Windows. It is available for MacOS and Linux in version 1.0.0. So you will be able to use it on Linux and MacOS in a few weeks right away and, maybe, on Windows (I will have to test it myself first), too. However, this program will be terminal only and a bit difficult to use. Once we have tested the functionality and have created the final code design, it will be ported to C which means a considerably faster code and, since it will be possible to use it with our GUI, an easier to use software. This version will probably not released before the end of this year because our resources are very limited and we lack additional programmers which could help implementing the code according to our documentation. Unfortunately, not many programmers are interested in helping us, so the only way to increase the speed of development would actually be paying some programmers. I tried to apply for this year's "Google Summer of Code" to get the help of paid student programmers but unfortunately our project was not chosen by Google. Thus, if the users want to have the software as soon as possible, they could make a donation so that we can pay someone to help us with the development or pay the existing developers to increase their motivation . We have actually counted over 2000 downloads for the Mac and Windows versions (Linux versions are very difficult to count) but we have received only from a fraction of users even a small donation . Anyway, to cut a long story short. The first code to use NetMD downloads will be available in a few weeks but it will not be very user-friendly. But you will be able to use it with the help of a manual that I will write. The more convenient GUI version won't probably be released before the end of this year. Adrian

Have you actually measured the time when transferring a track in "non-LP compatible" mode? The "real time" was just a rough estimation while transferring two 50 seconds long tracks. Otherwise 1.6 times realtime plus track titles transferred as well is actually nice to use, I think . I will keep you guys updated once we have the first usable code. Btw: Here is an updated version for MacOS X (PPC): Download (updated: 12.06.2010) Again, the other current versions: Windows: Download (updated 05.06.2010) MacOS X (Intel): Download (updated: 07.06.2010) Have fun, Adrian

Hi everybody, like we predicted some days ago already, we have now successfully transfered a track in ATRAC-SP over NetMD. It worked, however, in a slightly different way from what we expected first. As you may know, SonicStage features an option in the "Advanced transfer settings" to allow transfers in a format "compatible with non-LP devices" (see also: http://forums.sonyinsider.com/index.php?showtopic=24677). Activating this option will actually transfer real SP audio onto the NetMD Walkman. However, there is an essential drawback using this which is the fact that SonicStage converts all NetMD transfers into "LP2" first (unless "LP4" is chosen, of course). Now, when ticking the "non-LP compatibility" mode, the LP2 is decoded into PCM, sent to "AVLib" (the part of SonicStage which interacts with the NetMD and HiMD devices) which itself sends PCM to the Walkman. The actual SP encoding is performed by the MiniDisc hardware. To illustrate this, imagine you try to transfer a PCM track (WAV) to a Walkman, the following will actually happen: 1. SonicStage opens the WAV file and encodes it into LP2 2. SonicStage (or AVLib, not sure) decodes the LP2 into PCM again 3. the PCM audio is sent to AVLib which passes it to the NetMD device 4. the NetMD device takes the PCM and encodes it into ATRAC SP in approximately real time So, the crippled sound quality of SP audio when transferred using SonicStage is not a technical limitation but something imposed by the Sony developers. To our current knowledge, AVLib supports the following transfer modes (left side denotes the input format, right side the output format on the Walkman): 1) PCM stereo -> SP stereo 2) PCM mono -> SP mono 3) LP2 -> LP2 4) LP4 -> LP4 5) ATRAC3 105kbps -> LP2 6) SP stereo -> SP stereo 7) [broken] SP mono -> SP mono To conclude, this means that we can transfer real SP audio over NetMD to the MiniDisc device by sending PCM data directly to it (without the going over the LP2) and the MiniDisc device will happily encode the PCM into ATRAC SP in real-time. In fact, we have successfully transferred a PCM track and have it encoded by the NetMD Walkman just yesterday and can therefore confirm that this actually works. Currently the code which performs the NetMD downloads is written in Python and can be used on MacOS and Linux only (due to the fact that the library libusb-1.0 is not yet available on Windows). Also, the code has rather "works for me" quality and has therefore not yet been published. And like the other Python scripts that we distribute on our wiki site, it is run from the terminal and thus requires some expertise with command line interfaces. But once we have included this code into our official repository (git), I will write an extensive step-by-step manual which will explain the usage so that you guys will be able to transfer SP audio yourself. Anyone scared by the terminal will have to wait a little longer until NetMD functionality has been fully integrated with "QHiMDTransfer". In the end it will be possible to perform ATRAC SP transfers with the click of a button . Adrian

Yes, we are talking about ATRAC SP (292kps) here. If you would like to know more, please join our channel #linux-minidisc on FreeNode for discussion. But please do not discuss that on the mailing list (yet). I'm still negotiating with Sony to get their official permission for the "dirty" code. Yes, we found out that this is possible and we're working on the implementation. Currently, transferring tracks from NetMD back to the computer works with a Python script only, so you need to work in a terminal. But, yes, you can transfer the tracks "as is" in SP without any re-encoding. To playback these tracks you can use the preview release of VLC, 1.1.0, which supports ATRAC SP natively. Actually, the guy who wrote the ATRAC SP decoder for ffmpeg/VLC is a friend of mine . We have some developer in Norway who works on porting the Python script to C/C++ to be able to use it with a comfortable graphical user interface. In any case, NetMD transfers to the computer will work with the MZ-RH1/M200 only (according to our current knowledge). Adrian

Hi, just some short news. It looks like that we are going to support NetMD downloads (transfering tracks from the computer to NetMD) soon. What's so special about it is that it seems sure that we are going to be able to download tracks to NetMD in SP quality, something that SonicStage can't. We would be the only software to provide that and we are free. I will let you guys know once I know more . Adrian

Hi, Digital SP upload (transfer from MD to PC over USB), according to our current hardware knowledge, is only possible with the MZ-RH1/MZ-M200. These models provide the hardware to dump the SP audio over USB to the PC. The MD->PC transfer is initiated with a special NetMD command which all other NetMD devices we know of ignore. To use digital upload with our software, you will need to use the Python scripts [1]. Analog upload is still possible, however. You connect any MD devive over analog cable additional to the USB connection. Then you can also use the scripts in [1]. The scripts do not work on Windows at the moment. Future versions of QHiMDTransfer will include both of the aforementioned functionalities. Adrian [1] https://wiki.physik.fu-berlin.de/linux-minidisc/doku.php?id=netmdpython

Sounds great. You can also help by writing documentation or translating the user interface. We still need a Spanish translation, for example. The problem with the fragmented tracks has been understood, btw. When you join or split a track on the Walkman prior to uploading, you cannot upload it. This will be fixed in the next release, however. Adrian

If you like the software, please contribute. Adrian

Of course the ligtab problem only. The problem with the fragment keys requires more reverse engineering efforts and is not achieved within a few hours. We need to find out how fragment keys are calculated first. Adrian

Hi, here is a fixed version for Windows, including an installer: http://rapidshare.com/files/395559997/qhimdtransfer-win-drm.exe.html Adrian

Yes, there is a small bug in the Windows version that arose since the last version was created in a hurry. Our official maintainer for the Windows version has a broken internet connection at the moment so he couldn't fix the problem on time. He will be back online soon and then you will get a bug-free version which installs and runs just fine without having to rename any DLLs. Sorry for that. And, yes, you did absolutely the right thing in renaming the libtag-1.dll to libtag.dll. Please report back any other problems you may have. You can try to playback the .oma files with VLC (http://www.videolan.org) but it will probably not work unless the tracks are recorded in ATRAC3 format and not ATRAC3+. As I said before, support for ATRAC3+ in ffmpeg and VLC will probably come late summer. I will keep you guys tuned. PS: If you enjoy the software, please consider contributing by helping to translate or donating some bucks. Please see the linux-minidisc wiki for more. And if you like to stay tuned, please join our mailing list here: https://lists.fu-berlin.de/listinfo/linux-minidisc. Thanks, Adrian

Yes, thats possible with the recent, currently unofficial version. Unofficial because we have not merged this code into our official repository as we do not know the legal situation with Sony now. But I'm in contact with Sony to discuss this issue. You do not have to have SonicStage installed on your PC . Just download the unofficial version from the Rapidshare links I posted. If the recording is ATRAC3, it's possible to decode it into WAV with ffmpeg or playback the files with VLC. ATRAC3+ (the default for most newer HiMD Walkman) is unfortunately not yet supported by ffmpeg/VLC but we expect a release that supports ATRAC3+ in late summer. ATRAC3+ for ffmpeg/VLC is currently being developed by two guys at ffmpeg that I know personally. Downloading any tracks to the MiniDisc is not yet supported but we are working on it and expect a release during this fall. Writing tracks to the HiMD is a bit more difficult than reading them thats why it takes more time to implement. However, your MZ-NH1 does not support MP3 decoding at all, thus it wouldn't make any sense to transfer MP3 files for your MZ-NH1. You will be able to transfer the MP3s to your MZ-NH1 but it will only prompt with "Cannot play.". You will be able to playback those MP3s transfered with 2nd or 3rd generation HiMD devices (MZ-RH10 or MZ-RH1 for example). Yes, this has always possible since the first release . Adrian

Updated Rapidshare download links: Windows executable (requires official version to be installed prior use): http://rapidshare.com/files/394592240/QHiMDTransfer.exe.html Source code: http://rapidshare.com/files/394592908/qhmd.7z.html MacOS X 10.6.x (Intel): http://rapidshare.com/files/394593683/qhimdtransfer_macintel-drm.dmg.html MacOS X 10.5.x (PPC): http://rapidshare.com/files/394594307/qhimdtransfer-macppc-drm.dmg.html Adrian

Hi, we have created an inofficial version of QHiMDTransfer for Windows. A Mac version will follow shortly. You may download the Windows version here: http://rapidshare.com/files/394356752/QHiMDTransfer.exe.html Please download install the official version first, then overwrite QHiMDTransfer.exe with the version supplied above. Official version: http://users.physik.fu-berlin.de/~glaubitz/linux-minidisc/qhimdtransfer-win.exe Unofficial version for MacOS X (Intel), with support for all HiMD: http://rapidshare.com/files/394413590/qhimdtransfer_macintel-drm.dmg.html Please keep your donations and contributions going . Adrian

True, but thats not the point. It's nevertheless their intellectual property and in the US, where you can even have patents on software and can sue people to hell for violating these, I'd especially be careful. OpenMG is also used for Sony's UMD which is used in the PSP. Anyway. We're building a Windows version today which we will share over Rapidshare. Adrian

To cite professer Farnsworth from Futurama: "Good news everyone!" It is now possible with QHiMDTransfer to transfer ANY track on a HiMD Walkman to the computer. ALL HiMD devices are supported now. I just successfully transfered a fully encrypted track (ATRAC3) with QHiMDTransfer running on Fedora Linux. The attached screenshot shows the transfer process. The full upload functionality is supported on ALL operating systems (Windows/MacOS/Linux) and does NOT require SonicStage to be installed at all. We have, however, one problem. The new version of QHiMDTransfer contains some confidential stuff from Sony of which the distribution may be illegal in certain countries. Therefore, the new functionality has not yet been published until we know a safe and legal way to do that. Adrian

This looks very good actually. And this as well. No trouble up to here. Ok, now it's getting interesting ... Still ok. libhimd and himddump were properly built. Ok, that's nasty. He is actually complaining that the compiler was called with the wrong CPU type. Can you send me the Makefile located in the subdirectory "qhimdtransfer"? It seems that qmake created an invalid Makefile. For whatever reason I don't know. Maybe there is some specialty with PCLinuxOS. I just tried building everything on Fedora and had no problems at all. Definitely not. It's a rather weird problem. Please join our mailing list and lets continue to discuss there. There is one guy among our developers who is a real expert regarding these problems. Just send your Makefile together with your error output to the mailing list mail address. Adrian

Hi, looks like you're having problems with the linker. Can you try the following: cd linux-minidisc make clean qmake -r make That should build everything properly. Please note that you have to use qmake for Qt4. You can check if thats the case with: qmake --version or qmake-qt4 --version (If it's called qmake-qt4 or just qmake depends on your system). On my Fedora system, this gives me: glaubitz@oslo:~> qmake-qt4 --version QMake version 2.01a Using Qt version 4.6.2 in /usr/lib glaubitz@oslo:~> If you're still having problems compiling the code, please don't hesitate to join the mailing list or our IRC channel. The mailing list can be found here: https://lists.fu-berlin.de/listinfo/linux-minidisc And the IRC channel is #linux-minidisc on FreeNode. It's highly recommended to join the mailing list if you want to keep updated. Furthermore, when you post your questions on the mailing list, there won't be only my two eyes taking a look at the problem but there are several experts to help you. All your questions can and will be answered there. PS: Creating .rpm packages is on my TODO list. I haven't had yet the time to build some though. I have been using Debian/Ubuntu for a long time and have switched to Fedora only recently, so I need some time to learn the new environment until I can build packages. Adrian

Yes, that clearly indicates that you are missing the development packages "sox" and "taglib" on PCLinuxOS. I have never used PCLinuxOS before so I cannot tell you how to install these. I don't have time right now since I'm about to leave for a party but I will check either once I return or tomorrow. I will reply in full detail with all necessary instructions. You may try to Google for: "PCLinuxOS packages sox" and "PCLinuxOS packages taglib" or something like that. But I will try to check back as soon as possible. Thanks for your interest! Greeting from Oslo, Norway. Adrian

Yes, that is because we are still working on that. We're only a bunch of people and it's rather difficult to implement. See: https://wiki.physik.fu-berlin.de/linux-minidisc/doku.php#status and: https://wiki.physik.fu-berlin.de/linux-minidisc/doku.php?id=tasks We hope to get support through this years' GSoC. Adrian