Cool MD User

Actually, now that I think about it, the headers of the files I played around with WERE the same exact length. I can't remember whether protected and unprotected OMA files had different-length track headers, but the protected files certainly had more "code" in the header (again, most likely encryption keys, etc.)

Unfortunately, now at my place I no longer have a minidisc player. I was at my family's place for the Christmas holiday and that's when I had time to experiment... I also initially thought that the track headers contained track length info...but I think that may have been debunked after using that 3-second dummy track to revive those other stubborn files (which were ~4-5 min in length; one was 8 min). The dummy tracks of exact length, for some unknown reason, did not work. However, a 2-hr dummy track was used to successfully resurrect one of my locked files, also 2 hours in length. What the file headers DO contain, I've confirmed, are format (ATRAC3/ATRAC3Plus, bitrate) and, for protected OMA files, the keys needed to decrypt the file. I know this because at first, I tried this exact technique, on a different computer, but my "dummy" tracks were actually ATRAC3 132kbps files, and the locked files were ATRAC3Plus 256K. Nothing I did was working even when I followed the outlined steps above to a T. Now, was this also because I was on a different computer? Unfortunately I no longer have the tools to verify. I wish I better understood the ATRAC system (or just computer programming in general- this is not my field, so this is all new territory here) so I could give a better explanation, or perhaps delve deeper into this finding...but I guess the reason I undertook this was to get my songs back...and now that I have, I've accomplished my task and deleted everything I had.

Well...it's unfortunate that this project seems to have stalled, but in the meantime I did some messing around with a hex editor, SonicStage, a minidisc player, and my locked files (ATRAC3Plus, 256K) that I was trying to recover. There were 16 tracks in all. I actually managed to recover them all, for the most part - however, the process was very tedious and I got mixed results throughout the process. Basically, this is what I did: 1) downloaded a HEX editor (xvi32 works well) 2) went to the original computer the files were created on (OS has since been reinstalled, making the files nonplayable by default even on that system) 3) verified that SonicStage would indeed not play the files 4) What I then did was record a dummy track (that is, a track of silence) on my MD recorder that matched the exact format and track length of the song I was trying to recover 5) Imported this track into SS 6) Located the imported .OMA file in the Packages directory. 7) Now, here is where things get interesting. I launched the HEX editor and opened both the imported .OMA file and the original locked .oma file. 8) Once they were both open, I saw a bunch of numbers and letters, basically gibberish. But I was able to locate the track headers - i.e. where the track title, info, format, keys, etc. This is really what took me the most time - figuring out all this stuff. 9) Once I knew where the track headers were located, I went to the locked .oma file, deleted its track header, then REPLACED it with the track header of the file I just imported from the MD. I then saved the resulting file as a new .oma file. 10) I then import this new "hacked" .oma file into SS. If done correctly, SS should still recognize it as a valid .oma file. Now, the funny part: 12 out of the 16 tracks I did this to actually PLAYED at this point!! (Some took several attempts...this was purely a trial & error process and that's why I don't wish to announce it as an "official" solution) 11) For the remaining 4 tracks, SS still did not play them, but (this is key) it saw them as TRANSFERABLE...meaning it can be copied to an MD, unlike the original. My hope here is that I could transfer it over to MD, and if the MD player is equipped with that "universal OMA decoder" mentioned earlier, the files would play on the MD even though SS wouldn't. However, this method only worked on ONE of the files. The other three I could not get either the MD or SS to play, no matter what I did. 12) So, what about the remaining 3 files? None of the above methods worked on them, so I tried recording and importing another track from the MD, this one with a length of only 3 seconds. Performed steps 5-9 again and boom, SS suddenly was capable of playing these files. I still don't really know how I did it, and thus can't really explain it well...but I guess the message is this: all hope is not lost. NOTES: - The recovered files were not perfect. SS had errors converting one of them to WAV format, and it turns out that part of the audio (few seconds) from one track was missing...and another file had random "skips" in it, but otherwise played fine. Definitely better than nothing, though. - the track headers for PROTECTED and UNPROTECTED .OMA files are DIFFERENT. So, overlaying an UNPROTECTED file's track header on a PROTECTED file will not work. (and vice versa) - I should note that I used the ORIGINAL computer the locked files were created on (but a re-install of the OS rendered them unplayable). I DON'T KNOW if this method would work on a different computer.

Hi all, Just checking in briefly. Any updates on the project? A post back in January said the ATRAC3+ decoder was almost finished, and that it would be worked on/finished this summer. Thanks!

This project seems very promising. Thanks to all for your hard work! I myself have some files that I've been locked out of due to DRM in SonicStage (recordings made back in 2007). I've long deleted the original recordings off the disc and the computer that these files were created on crashed a few months after I made them. I backed up the files, but unfortunately not the DRM keys....these files are in ATRAC3+ 256k, so I'm very much anxiously awaiting the ATRAC3+ VLC decoder! I even went so far as to call up Sony and beg them to decrypt these files, but they claimed they didn't offer such service and instead pointed me to 3rd-party file converters (which of course don't work if the files aren't playable in the first place). Meh...it's a bit frustrating that they leave their users in the dark like that and it's left up to the open-source community to find a solution... ETA: I do have one question, regarding this quote: Do the minidisc players also contain this "universal OMA decryptor"? I've always wondered this. If there was a way to get SonicStage or another program to transfer locked ATRAC files to minidisc, perhaps that could be another way of recovering the recordings? I think I may have figured out a way, but I don't have MD equipment with me currently to test it out...

I called them a couple of days ago and they don't expect it in until late June/early July now. Ugh!

Just a heads up. The Sound Professionals are now taking pre-orders for the RH1. They expect it in June and they are selling it for $299 (with a free mic). Site http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/...tem/SONY-MZ-RH1 (Pre-ordered a couple myself )