Justin42

First off, abort the SonicStage 3.2 download immediately and go with either 3.4 or 4.0. (some prefer 3.4, some 4.0, but for your needs it's a tossup, the issues with 4.0 seem to be in converting some MP3s for some users) Be sure to back up your library using the SonicStage tools, uninstall 2.1 completely, and then install 3.4/4.0. Copy protection and stability have improved greatly and it will help be sure the transfer goes smoothly. Once it's installed, you should be able to plug in the NH1 and transfer back to the PC (click on the track(s) that make up the recording, and left the arrow pointing towards the PC [left, usually]). You can then convert to WAV within SonicStage (or use the HiMDRender app if you choose) and burn those WAVs to CD. (right click on the file for the options)

I just wanted to second this; taking a 128kbps MP3 to LP2 is definitely going to make a crappy sounding MD. You want to encode as high as possible to minimize the loss of quality. Try it for yourself-- if you can't hear the difference, that's one thing (everyone's hearing is different), but there is definitely a dropoff between MP3->HiSP and MP3->LP2.

AFAIK, the lossless ATRAC format only works losslessly (is that a word?) on the PC. It creates a file that is a wrapper around 2 parts-- the lossless portion and a normal MD-compatible format (which is why you can choose Lossless 256/64/etc). It will only transfer the lossy portion to the MD unit. (assuming that since it's portable you don't need the fidelity?)

I don't think there is any issue when using a rechargable AA battery on the RH10. I have a 910 and have used it (only in limited amounts). To be safe, I'd disconnect the AA battery before charging. The RH10/910 can charge through USB, but I believe it only charges to around 80% and will never fully charge over USB. So you could use a USB charger but don't expect it to work as well as the AC powered one. As long as you're not doing anything incredibly complicated on your PC (like trying to play a game) you should be OK using it while transferring files. If your computer gets busy, though, or freezes for a second, it might cause an issue. To be absolutely totally safe, do not do anything else; but you should experiment. I am sure, as long as your computer is fairly modern, has enough RAM, etc, that you would be ok doing simple web browsing or writing email. I wouldn't be trying to play videos or games or something. I don't think there are really any major differences in the quality of recordings on the HiMD family line. At least, I haven't noticed much between my NH1, RH910, and RH1. (I've never tested but I've never felt like any underperform any others)

Well, an RC *should* be feature complete, but companies have a nasty habit of making last second changes. The most relevant one I can remember is when Microsoft changed the CD-burning interface between (I believe) Windows 2000 RC2 and RC3, causing all of the early "Windows 2000 compatible" CD burning applications to fail spectacularly (blue screens, etc) on RC3 and the retail copies. I think that experience has caused a LOT of companies to really hold back until actual, final, "gold" code is available before claiming compatibility with a newer OS.

Having more than 1 antivirus program installed at one time is a guaranteed way to have problems. Uninstall one of them (preferably both, then re-install the best one). It's quite possible you DO have spyware (anti-virus programs do not always catch spyware), and it sounds like your PC has many other problems. SS needs a pretty solid computer installation, and if you are having any other issues, SS only tends to make things worse.

It's 90 days labour, 1 year parts (although I am thinking my RH1 is only 90/90). Really sucks, as it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence (especially since it's not like Sony's support knows anything about their own units; by the time you discover a flaw and confirm it IS a warranty-related issue and not just a HiMD quirk the warranty is gone) Seems like an >$300 piece of electronics would have at least a 1 year full warranty...

I would think if Windows Update causes the computer to crash, you have more significant issues with the machine than SS. SS is notorious for being VERY picky; I would assume if something crucial was wrong with your computer, that there will be no way to make SS run properly. With that said, be sure you have antivirus and antispyware apps, that they're up to date, and run a full system scan using both. Unfortunately, you may find yourself reformatting and reinstalling to fix this problem...

I seriously doubt anything beyond the highest end sound cards would sound better than a decent minidisc unit. Often times sound cards seriously scrimp on the input ADC (analog-digital converters). The Audigy 2 NX is really marketed as a way to get decent sound FROM a laptop, not TO a laptop. Just because it says "24 bit 96khz" blah blah, that's just marketing speak-- if the converter chip is junk, you'll get a bad sounding 24 bit 96khz recording. I really believe most every minidisc unit I've tried is better than most PC recording setups I've seen in the consumer realm. Obviously, if you are willing to pay $200ish for an Emu 1212 (or latest equivalent) or $400ish for a SB X-Fi Elite Pro, you will do better. But you really need a card that specializes in recording to start rivalling minidisc.

Being as Vista is still a pre-release product, the odds are Sony will not provide any level of support for it until it is officially released. To be safe, I would avoid installing SonicStage until Vista goes final and Sony releases a version specifically listed as Vista-compatible.

Unfortunately, the SP provided by SonicStage isn't true SP-- it's LP2 in an SP wrapper. (yes, it's very dumb) I'm not sure if it's even in a format that an LP2-compatible deck could properly play. I'm not sure if the JB930 plays LP2. The odds are there's no real way to make that work.

I got my NH1 from Best Buy, but as was stated, it wasn't in the store, I had to order it. The trick you can use to get some money off, during Best Buy's 10% off coupons and the like (if you get those in the mail), is to use "customer fulfillment". Go to the audio section with your coupon, tell them you'd like to order an RH1 (or whatever), give them your coupon. They charge you then, and drop-ship to the store from the nearest warehouse. Then you can go pick it up at the store. (you can't have it shipped to your home, unfortunately) But at least you can take advantage of special in-store only sales, financing, etc.

If it were a personal machine, SS would already be on it. Sorry for sounding kinda snarky; I just don't have the time at work to recover from a toasted XP install just in case anything does go wrong. That said, I have had 0 problems with the Macbook Pro while in Windows, it behaves exactly as a Windows machine does in everything I've tried. (USB keys, etc, especially; and it seems to use the standard Intel chipset which is really good news as that's more than likely what Sony tests the most against)

Does it charge like the RH1's "native" charger, giving the countdown timer, or does it charge like it's plugged into a USB port on the computer (and doesn't countdown)? [edited to fix dumb typo; thanks for the response!]

I can't imagine why it wouldn't work with Boot Camp, since all BC does is repartition the drive to allow you to install Windows; when you boot up XP on an Intel Mac, it IS a standard PC laptop with all standard parts (including USB). It would work just like it would on any other PC laptop with Windows. (I'd try it on the MacBook Pro sitting 5 feet to my left right now, with Bootcamp installed, but with my luck SonicStage would toast the Windows install.. And it's a work machine.)

Does B&H really stock a silver RH1? I see the photo is black but the model number implies silver. Everywhere else in the US I've seen has only stocked black. Has anyone ordered from them and gotten a silver RH1?

Do you get the charging indication when the AC adapter is used? Sounds like the battery is in incorrectly...

Didn't 3.4 allow many more uploading scenarios than 3.2? (like, they started removing uploading restrictions in 3.2 and by 3.4 they were mostly gone?)

I hardly think ANY version of SS could be considered "lean" in the slightest! I don't think there's much more to "Connect Player" than the name. It's still referred to as "SonicStage 4.0" on the About menu. I've never really done RAM tests but it always takes too much, and I don't notice 4.0 being any worse.. (~60mb at startup)

I would definitely say to install SS 4.0. It seems a bit more stable to me, with my RH1.. you'd probably be updating to 4.0/4.1/etc eventually anyway, and there's absolutely no DISadvantage to it. (it's not like 4.0 has any major bugs that 3.4 doesn't, that we know of)

May as well get CP 4.0, just because they don't say there are improvements it quite possibly has some behind the scenes tweaks. As much as SonicStage is horrible, it does seem like each version is ever-so-slightly better than the one before it. I personally think CP 4.0 is a bit more stable than SS 3.4, but that's just my experience with pretty limited testing.

You can upload 'legacy' formats (SP, LP2, LP4) to your PC, along with the HiMD formats, with the RH1. LP2 and LP4 can come in natively(and/or be converted to WAV), but SP must be converted to either standard WAV or HiSP format. If you convert any of those into WAV you can do whatever you'd like with the files (burn CDs, make MP3s, etc). You MAY have issues depending on how you uploaded the files, and if you have a PC or a Mac. Right now, Sony's software is very limited on the Mac. For the PC you can upload any of it-- I've heard of issues if you uploaded to a standard minidisc (60/74/80 minute) using a NetMD drive in LP2 or LP4-- those may not upload. But if you recorded via Line/digital in, it should be ok. I should test more, I skipped the whole NetMD generation so my knowledge of that is a little fuzzy. (all my standard MDs are recorded via line or optical in) You can NOT upload SP back onto a disc in true SP format. It must either be coverted to HiSP, LP2/LP4, or the like.

Well, you *ARE* installing Sony DRM software anytime you install SonicStage-- it's called OpenMG. That said, no one here can put your fears to rest, as none of us know for sure. SonicStage does not appear to install any of the DRM stuff, and the DRM that was on the CDs had more to do with installing drivers to protect that CD than prevent anything else from functioning. Granted, it was so poorly coded that it DID affect other software, but what I am saying is the purpose of SonicStage is different than the purpose of the audio CD DRM. That caveat about home built PCs has been there since at least the 1st gen of HiMD discs. Do some searching and you'll see quite some lively debates about it. As best as anyone can figure, Sony is basically saying "If your computer isn't working 100% right, SonicStage may not work." They don't want to be liable for SonicStage malfunctioning because your PC isn't working right and in their heads, a home built machine may have other issues. It is widely known that "upgrade" installs of Windows tend to be much less stable than full initial installs. (I.e., if you upgrade from Windows 98 to Windows XP, you most likely WILL have some weird problems. This isn't just SonicStage, this is a LOT of applications-- I've seen apps try to tell if you've updated and flat out refuse to install). You should always reformat and install an upgraded OS from scratch. A pain? Yes. But it's the only way to guarantee things work as advertised and you don't cause issues due to old crud floating around. That said I don't think anyone's been denied support. And I don't think anyone's reported running any spyware/virus/rootkit scans on a PC with Sonicstage and finding anything that can be attributed to SonicStage. As I said, all of this is moot since none of us work for Sony and can say categorically that There Is No Problem. The best I can offer is that no one has reported any signs of the concerns you bring up.

Can you push SP files down to the RH1? In TRUE SP? I thought all HiMD units still used the "fake" SP mode that transcodes it into the weird double size LP2. (which takes much longer than any other mode) Actually, I don't think you can even have a true SP file on your PC-- since it only imports in PCM or HiSP. So I think the delay you're seeing is in the transcoding, NOT any glitches of the RH1 or its design. (unless I am misunderstanding what you're saying)

Don't you need SS 3.2 for most of the suggestions in that thread? I was just meaning to use the SonicStage Backup Tool (I think it's in the same Start menu group as SonicStage) before going for the upgrade, so if worst came to worst you could reinstall SS 3.1 and restore your library... Theoretically, though, everything should be fine doing the upgrade...