Davew

My NHF800 (UK/euro model) remote covers the normal UK frequency ranges: FM (87.5mHz - 108mHz) and AM (531kHz - 1602kHz) I assume that US/world models of the 800 do actually cover TV and weather bands?

Yes, the NHF800 has two custom sound settings, each of which is a 6 band EQ. If anyone is interested, the bands are: 100Hz, 250Hz, 630Hz, 1.6kHz, 4kHz, and 10kHz Dave

aye, thats a good point, but what I'm saying is that it didn't even attempt to defrag most of the disk. I assume this is becuase the audio data is not stored as part of the file system, i.e. when you browse the disc using a file explorer, it cannot show the actual audio data becuase they are not 'files' as the operating system understands them? Is this correct?

I did the service mode hack for the R500 a while ago and it added the program playmode to the unit. I notice that on the NHF800, both the unit and remote have the 'PGM' bit on their LCD screens. Would it therfore be hypothetically possible to add that functionality to the 800 (and possibly lower models)?

No. It wont even make a difference to the fragmentation of the disc. I took a reformatted 74min disc that was about 3/4 full of audio that was already in SonicStage and did the (rather reckless maybe, but hey, you only live once!) step of defraging it. Before defrag (like you mentioned) it was 99% fragmented (apart from the free space). When I started the defrag, it went for about a second then said some files cannot be defraged and had made no difference to the data on the disc. Dave

If I have a top pocket then I sometimes put the whole kit in there and clip the remote to the pocket, and somtimes I put the unit in my trouser pocket and clip the remote to a belt loop, especially if I'm at a computer.

To confirm the situation with the NHF800, the manual specifies: 3 mW (European Models) 5 mW (Other Models)

yeah when I tried to play the .oma files in Windows Media my virus scan software kicked in claming buffer overflow so I think that is a no-no for me! The other programs (WMP, Real Alternative etc) use the OpenMG secure module I think and therfore I suspect that you can still only play the .oma files on the computer they originated from.

Hi matt, I have had no problems with my 800 (the only problems I have had are with SonicStage and I have learned to think and plan ahead so that i'm not caught out by its limitations) The sound quality, as far as I am concerened, is fine. However, be warned, the surround sound modes are pretty rubbish so don't expect too much from them. The unit does not have a line out, but you can use the volume setting 27 to get a good substitute, and I have never found it to be a limitation. The radio remote is a nice plus, but does use more power than you might expect. On the subject of battery life, I use a 2300 mAh rechargable AA battery (that can be recharged in the unit, and performs very well) and that is one of the reasons why I didn't go for a MZ-NH900, I wanted to be able to use AA batteries without the extra bulk of a gumstick pack. Be carefull though, for recording (and Hi-MD playback on a normal AA) it can go flat fairly quickly. I think that if you think the features look ideal to you (it was the same position for me, I just didn't need the extra features of the 900) then you should go for it, as long as you are aware of the issues regarding copyright management and the use restirctions put in place by Sony. Hope this helps, Dave

UK, ROI, Channel Isles and Western Europe: www.blankshop.com seem to have 1G discs in stock, they are not the cheapest around at £6.00 and there's postage on top of that, but they are a reliable dealer and I've only had good experience with them (though I havn't ordered any 1G discs yet, so I can't confirm that they actually have any) Might be a good bet if you are wanting to buy several discs, Dave

orb_cz: I seem to remember that later versions of Windows Media Player could be persuaded to play the .omg files that SonicStage 2.0 used. Unfortunately it seems that the .oma files that later versions of SonicStage use cannot be understood by anything except SonicStage. ** Update ** I have upgraded to SonicStage 2.3 and .oma files still cannot be played in Windows Media Player. Also, before I upgraded to 2.3 I tried Real Player and it could not play .oma files, nor could it find and software update to allow it to play them. However, by a happy coincidence, I got sick of Real Player today and replaced it with Real Alternative http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_A...Alternative.htm which manages to play my .oma files! :grin: Although Real Alternative is not a full music management suite like SonicStage or iTunes, it is dead easy and quick to use and plays the .oma files without the huge overhead of SonicStage. So there is hope yet... Dave

ok so what you are saying is that each track in the SS library has its own key. I thought each computer had its own global key that it used to encrypt all the music from it, but of course if you download music it would not be encrypted that way.. hmm now I'm confused!! Oh well I think we have to just assume that Sony (since we all know what they are like) will have not made it easy at all to get round their encryption system because otherwise there is no point in having it in the first place if some guy is then going to write some software that does what you said. unless of course the encryption is completely weak and it is just public perception that it is a super strong unbeatable system... who knows. doubt it tho

To my untrained ear, most of the surrround sound modes on the F800 sound like i'm listening from underwater or its playing in the other half of a semi. I always listen with no surround at all, its worse than bad.

just want to add that I use a 2300 mAh Ni-MH battery in my F800 and the unit seems to charge it well without any problems.

Ah! Now you're *really* stuck. Because of all the installing and uninstalling of sonic stage your computer's OMG module has been given an new identity, so none of your encrypted music will not play on your computer at all becuase it came from a "different" identity. did you take a backup of your library...? i'm really sorry, Dave

hi you could play the files in wmp (I do that also). you say you have the latest version, I assume you mean WMP 10? I have just installed version 10 yesterday and it plays my OMG files fine, they also played well on version 9 too. It seems suspicious that your music suddenly stops playing in WMP and SS at exactly the same time. It could be the files, or your encryption code has changed for some reason, or the OpenMG secure module is busted. Some questions to clarify: 1) WMP is crashing out when you try to play your music, do you have any errors displayed? Is it only crashing when you try to play OMG files? 2) What is SS doing, is it crashing out? what messages does it tell you about the file when you try to play it? Also, can you play MP3s or WAVs in SS without it crashing? 3) Has *anything* changed on your system just before WMP started crashing? I mean anything at all? thanks, that will help to know exactly which element is causing the problem. Dave

just wanted to say to emptyzero that i find the 5 way control quite fiddly also it makes me change track when I just wanted to adjust the volume so I use the remote as much as possible (NHF800). Though when I do use the wheel I tend not to rotate my thumb in a big circle cos it really starts to ache my thumb, so I just move it up or down on the right side of the stick. Do you see what I mean?

Ok here is my self inflicted punishment :laugh: 249 US dollars (ipod mini amazon US) is 312 Canadian dollars and is 200 euros. 175 UK Pounds (ipod mini amazon UK) is 315 US dollars, 396 Canadian dollars and 253 euros. very useless information indeed! Dave

dex and helix: I'm so sorry, I know how much canadians dislike being seen as american. I will look up the prices again in canadian dollars, and euros to make up :smile: once again, Im extremely sorry! Dave

ehmm. I would just like to point out Amazon to you NRen: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...ronics&n=516878 which has ipod minis for $249, which if my maths is correct, is a whole $51 less than the ammount Helix is looking to spend. Looks a good deal Helix, If I wanted to get one from Amazon UK I would be looking at £175, which is about $315! what better deals the US gets... Hope this is helpful for your decision helix Dave

Sorry, but I really can't stand SonicStage. It's slow, it's bloated, it thinks it knows better what to do with my music than I do, it loses and deletes things, it doesn't listen to me when I shout at it... I could go on for ever but i'll spare you all :laugh: oh yes, another thing, you can't control it using the meida keyboard buttons (like you can with media player and real) So what I tend to do is use Media Player to play my OMGs on my PC, I try to use SS as little as possible, only for transferring files. I also don't like using SS as my music library, it is very limited and I really don't like how it is layed out and how you have to manage it! It Sucks. Lets have something else, *anything* else, Sony or somebody, anybody? Please? Dave

I decided to test the SS backup tool to find out what it actually does to your music and library. For the test I used two Computers that I will call PC-A and PC-B. I loaded a small library of OMGs onto each computer by converting to OMGs from MP3. Also, on each computer I had an OMG file that was independant of the SS library, but would only play on that computer. Here is what I did: 1) I backed up the SS library from PC-A into a directory on PC-A 2) I copied the backup from PC-A to PC-B over my network 3) I used the backup tool on PC-B to restore the backup onto PC-B 4) My SS library on PC-B was overwritten by the data from PC-A Remember my independant OMG on PC-A that would only play on PC-A? I hadn't backed that up, so SS on PC-B didn't know about it. Well, after restoring the backup from PC-A onto PC-B, that file would now play on BOTH computers. But when I created a new OMG on PC-B, it would not play on PC-A. So how come one file can play on both computers, and another can only play one one computer? please could someone enlighten me as to how this all works?? Also, what is the Backup tool doing connecting to the internet? How is it attempting to authenicate my backup? thanks for any insight into this! Dave

I've had this happen to me many a time before, it is just one more entry on the extensive list of problems, glitches, bugs, design oversights, and general inadequateness that we have grown to expect of our beloved SonicStage.

yes, sony has that ineffable knack of still being able to make you exclaim in wonder, awe and disbelief at the decisions over it's software, hardware, mangement and your rights that it takes!

I cannot match the length of your post! "war on terror" this always annoys me. It is not good enough for our governments to go into afghanistan and iraq in the name of fighting terror whilst claiming the moral highground. we are no better than them, they kill, we kill back, they kill more, we kill back more. when are we going to wake up and ask ourselves the question: *why* do these "terrorists" feel the need to attack our countries and kill our citizens in the first place. Prevention is the best cure, we need to clean up our act and stop abusing and leeching off the rest of the world. our governments and societys in the "west" need to be much less selfish, and stop being hypocrites, stop ruining the planet, and stop taking advantage of so many people around the globe. So, when I hear the monkey in the house that is white stating that "see, these guys [terrorists] they hate freedom" I always want to punch that smirking face from here to god knows where. Sorry guys, I just feel strongly about this! Dave