dex Otaku

The short answer is sort-of. The long answer is that no, you can't drag & drop from the discs. Until Sony releases their wave convertor [sometime this fall is what they say] the procedure I would currently recommend is: * download and buy Total Recorder [$12USD] - install and run it * Using Sonicstage to control the Hi-MD plugged in via USB.. * hit record in total recorder * hit play in sonic stage. You can save tracks from your recordings however you like, whether all as one big track or divided is up to you - it's still done in realtime, though the transfer is all digital * When you're done recording all your tracks with TR, -THEN- copy the tracks into SonicStage Hope that made sense.

Wouldn't it be lovely? But yes, it won't appear. Because implementing it would mean likely having to recall every single Hi-MD out there in order to update their codecs, since Sony aren't bloody likely to let customers patch their own units, if it's even possible.

In the case of the help file I was indeed being blind. It's right there.

Aha! I see 'divide' in the edit menu but only when I have a track selected in the library - not on a disc.

Conclusion thus far: The file itself carries the tag saying 'no copies.' I have manipulated the database at length [even copying the exact format of an OpenMG PCM file ripped from one of my CDs that I -know- can be burnt] and nothing I have done would change the # of burns available. If I knew how to crack encryption I would hack the file itself, but alas, such is not one of my specialties.

good stuff, latexxx.

Repost from T-Board: [sxc's post] Um. Hey. Wow. First.. Here we see the key to some of the tags Here we see another part of the key. Here are entries from tracks I have uploaded from the Hi-MD. Note that "checkout count" [1146] = 2, despite no checkouts ever havng been made. Now a competely different view from another part of the rtackinfo db: Column '102' always has a value of '-1' for uploaded tracks. For mp3's it is usually '0' [though sometimes also -1] and CDs I've ripped with SS2.1 show up here with '3'. I suspect this might be a source id tag. Column '103' has value '18' from CD-ripped material, value '8' for mp3s, and '1' for tracks uploaded from Hi-MD. 104 = bitrate; 105 = filesize; 106 = tagged track #; 107 is always 0 in my db; 108 looks like a software source tag maybe - it's 6 for anything that originated on the Hi-MD or in SS2.1 and '4097' for anything encoded outside of SS [i had one track that read '4098' which was a 24-bit 96kHz file that SS resampled] offscreen .. 109 is -1 for SS tracks, 0 for non; 200 is the genre tag; 201 is the artist tag; there are a few obgious ones here including path to file, but the next interesting one is 205, which appears to be the auth# of the encoder used - meaning that SS encoded tracks show up with one #, whereas tracks I've uploaded all show up with a different # - i.e. the player id... 208 is 1 for cd-ripped tracks, 2 for mp3's, and 3 for uploaded tracks - another source id or maybe this is an assumed generation count with uploaded tracks being set outside the range, sort of like uncopyable SCMS? .. I find it most interesting that this db is completely open [i copied it first to not disturb the original] and unencrypted. And that parts of it include a key file to id what all the tags are. It's like they're begging us to mess with it. I'll be making sure I have all my uploaded tracks backed up and then I'll be digging into this. edit: Please note that when I say 'mp3' here I actually mean 'imported track' as any valid [decodable] file brought into SS appears to fit under this, whether .wav or .mp3 [the only two I've imported so far, since I use nothing else] Ack more edits already: the key actually identifies some of the columns, I hadn't even looked at those two side by side until posting this. d'oh! edit again: I swear, the last time - a much simpler view. And a promising one...

I do that too. :rasp:

You can? How have I missd this? I checked if it could do this. I must be being blind again. And misinforming people! I've already told at least one person they can't do this. Augh. edit: sitting here with SS 2.1 open, nowhere in help are divide or combine mentioned, nowhere are they in any menus, not in context menus for tracks.. um. Where exactly did you find the version of 2.1 that you've got?

I can't answer everything you've asked, but I can pass on some info.. 1. Any new version of atrac encoder [not atrac3+] has always been backwards-compatible as far as decoding is concerned. That means - even with the oldest MD, you will "get" the improvement in the encoding. On the other hand - I can't tell you anything about the difference between R and S encodings, so I can't say whether you'd notice a difference. 2. No. In Hi-MD mode you have atrac3+; if you want compatibility with older players, the unit functions exactly as a netMD. So - no SP. You can, however, still do the realtime transfers in SP mode, not that that helps. 3. There are minor differences between the software codec in SonicStage and the hardware codec in your R70. Consensus thus far seems to be that SonicStage doesn't sound quite as good as the hardware encodes, though most people would not notice the difference. 4. Yes, though I can't attest to how things work in NetMD mode as I never use it. Someone else will have to address this for you. 5. Yes, you can title tracks on both Hi-MD and NetMD -mode discs. You cannot, however, do the more sophisticated editing functions in SonicStage. Move and erase work but there is no divide, etc. [This goes for both Hi-MD and NetMD modes] :whatever: 6. Yes, it's annoying. Personal opinion, there. But - there are bound to be growing pains, as this is a new product [with Hi-MD at least]. I would not recommend using SS for anything but shipping tracks back and forth; My library is in iTunes for [26GB of] mp3s, Winamp for [6-7GB of] FLAC audio, and I use SonicStage -only- for shipping things from my existing library to my NH700. :wacky: 7. That would be nice.. yes.. but I think Sony want to see if their new product is going to flop or fly before they start designing and manufacturing an expanded product line. :wink: Cheers!

Suggestion: unplug your Hi-MD from the USB cable / take it out of the dock before turning the computer on or off, or resetting/rebooting it. In fact.. unhook it except for when you actually need to read or write to/from discs. I have seen some oddities so far, such as if I reboot with the unit plugged in to the computer, the computer can't finish its POST until it's unplugged.

Hi-Sp vs. SP: so far I'd say is directly comparable if not slightly better. Yes, it's a marginally lower bitrate, but atrac3+ also uses higher-resolution domain transforms, so even in theory alone it should be capable of doing better at a lower bitrate.

This is assuming that Sony would liscense the protocol info to them at a reasonable cost. With Hi-MD there is the additional issue of patent liscensing over their encryption methods, DRM, etc. - all of which would probably cost a crapload to get access to and would likely involve signing non-disclosure agreements and such. I'm wishing I knew where to find a group of hackers who would tackle the problem for us.

I don't really understand the issues everyone has with Hi-MD's build quality. My NH700 is all-plastic and I'm far more concerned with the possibility of my wearing out my earphone and microphone cables than I am with breaking the unit itself. True - most of the older MDs I've used were all metal or half-aluminum like the NH900, but every MD I've seen die did so for one of two reasons: 1) having drink spilled on them or 2) general use breaking the earphone or mic jack Neither of which relates to having a plastic case. No- I don't think the 700 would withstand a 2 metre drop. Neither would any of the other models I've used, with the possible exception of the R50 [more than one of which I've seen live through severe accidents and mishandling].

Hi Ben. Hi-MDs do have adjustable record levels while recording. Yes, you have to put the unit into manual mode, but once that's done the jog shuttle acts as the record levels continuously during record. There is no longer any requirement of pausing the unit to change levels.

[insert applause here] I've been using open source software since the mid-to-late 1980s. Or custom-programmed software. Or software, back when I still used to do it, that was made by me. In the past several years I have consistently used software that was still considered 'beta' by OSS programmers, but was rock-solid next to a lot of commercial packages. Sony have a lot of learning by example to do.

That's not to mention edison cylindres, too, of course. :laugh:

Thanks to our previous discussion on this I've already been doing just that, actually.

This sounds exactly like what happened with that one track of mine, jadeclaw. This does not bode well.

You're quite welcome. Something I worry that I'm just blathering.

I would suggest asking Sony to do it for you then, since they sure as hell aren't going to let anyone else do it for them. edit: Aside from the above, this is how -all- music to be played on Hi-MD works. Everything gets transcoded into atrac3 or atrac3+. The only other format that can be used [in a limited sense] is OpenMG PCM, with which you can copy a CD uncompressed to a Hi-MD. Otherwise everything gets converted to Sony's format. Hi-MD does not natively play AAC, M4A, WMA, MP3, MP2, AAC, DTS, 8-track tapes or microcassettes.

The reason you have to leaves discs write-enabled all the time is because the computer updates the DRM info on the discs when you ship tracks back and forth. That way the DRM record exists both on your puter and on the disc itself. It also means then when you finish uploading a track, the disc itself now says 'no more uploads'. Of course.. we don't know yet whether it says "no uploads at all" or "no uploads by computer with ID xxxx." I suspect it's actually "no uploads at all," in which case no, reformatting your computer won't help you with reuploading a file. Someone needs to test this - but it's not going to be me. I can't afford the downtime. Anyone going to be reformatting soon that wants to test this out?

SonicStage has no aac codec. You would need to convert the music to wave files and then import those into SonicStage. Alternatively, if you have burning rights for all the aac files, you could burn them to normal audio CDs and then just rip/import the CDs with SonicStage.

The EMR around your earbuds would probably be less than a millionth if not a billionth the strength of field coming from an average cellular phone, if that gives any indication.

It's called DRM, and what you're asking about is exactly the point of it: to prevent you from copying things from your collection to someone else's.