iyareu

Thanks for that. Can you tell me how to get a txt file of the contents of my VP? Is it possible to get fro your application? Iyare

This software is GREAT. It allows me to see the contents of my VP in alphabetical order order and I can search by Genre or Artist of Track or Album so it is fantastic. 2. Questions : 1. I might sound a bit dull here but when it asks on installation for the mp3 file manager - what does it mean? I have installed the mp3 addition to SS but this does not seem to make a difference. 2: When I try to play a track I get an unhandled exception - are these two things related ? Great work on the app - look forward to hearing your thoughts on the probs. Thanks.

Thank You!! Interesting is the right word. I have been using 64k for a while now. I started out using 48 and but moved to 64 when I couldn't hear the music almost at all for some tracks - both the low and top end lost everything. I have used my VP at conferences and many party type occasions where people there want to dance or just listen to lound music. I also use it in my work which requires that I play music to people and they always comment on the music content (+ve mostly but there are some who are just not feeling the disco and funky house vibe?!?!?) but I never get any comments about the lack of quality in the music. I think for the audiophile with a music system which requires that they hear what more than 90% of the people out there do without - the upper bit rates are really useful - also for recording they are great but for listening on the street where there will be some interference regardless of the headphones you wear - then I think the lower bit rates make sense - also they save you a heck of a lot of space you the machine itself. Don;t get my wrong I am all for better quality - I just think for ME it would be silly to try and get the quality I would expect in a quiet room at about about 1am - on the street in the daytime or on a train and the combination or 64k and high quality, comfortable headphones really works for me. There must be more people out there who use 64K - if so - lets hear you then - don't let it just seem like I'm the only one who lives down there in the lower registers!!

This software is GREAT. It allows me to see the contents of my VP in alphabetical order order and I can search by Genre or Artist of Track or Album so it is fantastic. 2. Questions : 1. I might sound a bit dull here but when it asks on installation for the mp3 file manager - what does it mean? I have installed the mp3 addition to SS but this does not seem to make a difference. 2: When I try to play a track I get an unhandled exception - are these two things related ? Great work on the app - look forward to hearing your thoughts on the probs. Thanks.

Wicked. Excellent piece of software. Still get errors when I try to play the files but to get an orderable list of items on my VP is amazing. Really useful. How can we export a txt file of the contents of the music player? Thanks fo ryour efforts. This software is excellent so far!! Thanks again. Iyare.

I agree with the last email. You can't expect to get earth shattering quality of you have compressed the music to smithereens - BUT mild some compression can be a good thing and the right phones make the world of difference. I use & Atrac3+ 64KBps compression and I use Sennheiser HD-270 Monitor headphones. They are closed and GREAT for listening on the street or train. They cancel out most of the ambient noise but let you hear the truck before it runs you over. Also allows you to be aware when someone calls you because you have dropped something on the road. It shields you however so that people can have conversations right next to you on a busy and very noisy train and you can still listen to the 3rd row violin in your classical music or the subdued high hat in the house track. The base is REAL rather than imagined and you can FEEL it. In short - They put you in the room. You are either in the club/studio or concert hall - Wherever you are. In addition you don't have to have them on the highest volume as you are cancelling out other noises so don't need to have your music shout over everything else to get to your brain. A subtle volume helps you appreciate the mood of the music. Chill out music is really impacting - you can hear all the instruments and the smooth ambiances - the feel of the sound. These headphones are not everyone's favourite and they are not the best that money can buy. They are however the best that £90 can buy if you want closed headphones to use when listening on trains, planes or automobiles(so long as you are not driving) The clincher for these is comfort. Most closed headphones form a vice round our head. Most large headphones generally seem to have been designed to see how much discomfort you can take. The Sennheiser HD-270 Monitor are different. As you wear them they get more and more comfortable. They are so comfortable that I have on more than on occasion of wearing them for more that 3 hours straight FORGOTTEN that they were there. PRIMARILY I can feel is the music - SECONDARILY I can feel the headphones on my head. They are just brilliant. The Amazon reviews are here and make good reading: Amazon.com page for Sennheiser HD270 MONITOR Have a read and see what you think.

True. I've never 'bought' any tracks from connect or itunes myself BUT I have received quite a few vouchers from Sony and downloaded the tracks from connect. Ordinarily I just get mp3's and import them. In fact I am still a CD buyer - I like to know that if my HDD went down I would have an original I could refer back to. (however I very rarely listen to music on CD nowadays - very rarely indeed). The exclusivity thing is mega. I travel on the train between cities a lot and have the VP on the table next to my laptop and people just don't know what to make of it - when they ask and are shown they like it a lot - another reason for my vexation at Sony calling a halt on VP production and not replacing it with something with similar features. !!! It seems I am not the only one with a VP which almost full who is not sure where to go from here. The technology out there is not promising. If only the PSP had a 40GB HDD in it - That would make some sense but it would be a little too big. I just want a walkman that has at least 40 GB can play atrac3+ AND MP3 (And possibly WMA) AND can do video (or pics at least as the VP can - but with some more control on how the pics are browsed and has video out) In addition I would like software that works and integrates seamlessly into my digital life. (A-la WMP-10) (Most -not all- of these things are currently achieved by other manufacturers) Is this so much to ask from the people who invented the walkman (the very concept of personal music play). I don't think so but they obviously do!!

Thank God your pocket is working again!! I agree as mentioned before about the lack of nspiration in the DAP market - I had a play with the video ipod recently and whilst I loved the features, I am still under whelmed by he package. I'll stick to the pocket for now. What you said about what apple have built is exactly on the money to my mind. And it is this that makes the so challenging to deal with. Sony is in the best position to do it but has to have the will and self awareness - we shall see. U R right - people don't know about alternatives. I use my player for work - I am a trainer ad when I play music from it through speakers - people ask - "So is that an Ipod then?" and I say "No - it is a Sony player". Then they invariably say - "A Sony ipod? Looks nicer than the usual ones doesn't it?" GRRRRRRRRR!! We shall see how Sony respond - I just hope they don;t ditch us and the MD community with the new Connect Player. I just had both iTunes and Sony Connect Store up on my PC to compare layout - O my gosh. When compared Sony have so much work to do. Their site is seriously lack in appeal. Remember iTunes and Sony connect have the same issue - captive audiences. People who buy their kit HAVE to use their shop to buy tunes. The user experience is so different for each. It boggles the mind!!

Very Cool!!

I agree completly about the better technology thing. Every time otehrs have overtaken them Sony have come back with better technology but the problem with that is that people don't buy great technology unless it is made to look incredibly simple and fits into their lives at the time of buying. e.g. Take the original Walkman (tape). It was not revolutionary in technology but what was revolutionary was what was done with the technology to make it simple and it then fit into people's lives by allowing them to listen to music on the go in a really simple way. 'Put the tape in, press play and keep on walkin'. The ipod changed the way people lived because they were already used to the 'walkman thing' - now they could put in their CD collection and with literally the touch of NO buttons (put a CD in and it is ripped automatically and connect the ipod and it is updated immediately) they could have their whole CD collection with them in a SIMPLE to use SMALL gizmo. Add to this that it comes from an Aspirational company known for ease of use and the popularity of ipod over DAP's with better technology is clear. Apple have made iPod simple and make it FIT into people's lives. Take synchronisation for example - All the companies could have implemented this but Apple's implementation is by far the simplest I have seen. If Sony made their 'better technology' simple and placed it in the lives of consumers (this would entail listening to those consumers) they would easily be on to a winner. If Sony don't make things simpler and listen to customers then I can't see them overtaking Apple in this arena - even in the future. Like all things - I could be wrong but I can't currently see the counter argument. And that is from someone who's technology is all sony - TV, DAP, Home Cinema MD etc. Bit of a lengthy one sorry about that.

Nice selection - Where do you get your mixes? Which comps?

1. If She Only Knew (Original Mix)-Kevin Yost 2. Sense Of Danger (Original Presence Mix)-Presence 3. To Be In Love (Original MAW Mix)-Masters At Work 4. Saturday (Mousse T's House Mix)-Cunnie Williams 5. Nights Over Egypt (Masters At Work Main Mix)-Incognito 6. Sangue De Beirona (Francois K Mix)-Cesaria Evora 7. Sing It Back (BMR Clubcut Mix)-Moloko 8. Dancing With You (HOG Club Mix)-Bini & Martini 9. Race Of Survival (Rokstone Diva Club Mix)-Sonz Of Soul 10. Star Chasers (Masters At Work Main Mix Commercial Mix)-4Hero 11. City Sushi Man (New 98 Mix By Ashley Beedle)-Airto 12. The Reason (Original Album Version)-Sylk 130 13. All I Ask (Original Album Version)-Rae & Christian 14. All Night Love (Original Album Version)-Desert Eagle Discs 15. U Make Me So Hot (Original Album Version)-The Sunburst Band 16. Love Music (Original Album Version)-East West Connection 17. Helping Hand (Incisive Remix)-Arthur Miles 18. Funky Sensation (MAW Mix)-Gwen McCrae 19. Respect (One Rascal Mix)-Aretha Franklin 20. Ooh La La (Original Album Version)-The Wiseguys Listening to To Be in Love - MAW This is an old Hed Kandi compilation - I thoroughly reccomend it. In fact the whole Hed Kandi Range is MEGA and you will find lots to fit any mood. The Nu Cool comps cover many genres from soul to house to funk and a sprinkling of Nu-Disco!! Come On!!

HooRayy!! someone with the same dilemma as me. Sorry to hear about the demise of your Vaio Pocket. Truth be told - that is not even funny!! I have had several bits of Sony kit and have found that the build quality has been fine on all but one piece (MH-G750 Minidisc with radio) and this was a design fault. So I can't say I have experience of questionable build quality really. I had the SonyD-NE115 (RED) which was excellent - dropped it many times and it worked fine again and again!! Then the D-NE 900 which is a thing of beauty and built like a very light BRICK. Also I have the MZ-NH900 which is robust (too much plastic though) but has taken a knock or two and still looks and works fine. (touch wood) I now have the Vaio pocket and in terms of design it is streets ahead of anything I have seen on the market. The problem I have is that Sony don't seem to believe in their own products. re: features we don't need: I can remember when I thought I would never need more than 5 CD's with me on any given day. Then I got a minidisc player and a world of digital recording opened up for me. I had about one CD's worth at a time and didn't complain much. Then MDLP came and I could, have 4 CD's per disc which I thought was ample. Chuck a few discs in the bag and you are away!! Then I got the ATRAC CD player and thought I would never need more that 5 cd's of 22 albums each on any given day. I now have he Vaio pocket with over 10400 tracks on it still have space for 1000 more at least. I am however in a dilemma because I know I will soon need more space. Who is to say that I will not feel that video is something essential in a year's time. When people ask me what they should buy when it comes to technology I always say that they should get the best their money can get right now and they will get to use the features and come to love and rely on them. I cannot imagine not having my whole music collection with me all the time. The other day I was forced to carry just the minidisc player with me with a disc of about 25 albums on it (Hi MD 1GB disc). I was walking round feeling restricted - enjoying the music playing but knowing that there was so much music I simply didn't have access to - I was shocked at myself - (talk about GREEDY and CHOICE OBSESSED!!) So when Sony simply don't innovate and make the most of their technological edge I am amazed and perplexed.

I must admit - Sound quality is important to me too. The only issue I have is that for the most part I will be listening to the player whilst out on the road or in environments that would impede me getting the most out of great sound quality. hence the HD-270 headphones. Closed back and monitor standard so that I get to hear all the music as best I can. I must admit 1am listening is wonderful on the Sony and I am not convinced about the base on the iPod . This would only be a real issue if I listened to it through my stereo a lot which is not the case. I am however thinking of getting some high quality speakers to dedicate to my portable player as it has all my music on it. Currently when I need to I push it through my DAV S-master which is not too bad. CES say the HD5 has the best sound of al the HDD DAPs http://www.cnet.com.au/mp3players/harddisk...40055443,00.htm So reason I would feel bad leaving Sony - the sound quality/price ratio is better than most.

Thanks for the replies so far: Gapless - Sony is the only one to really implement this. I listen to a lot of mix compilations and without it my enjoyment is really impacted. Design and Hardware: Sony have great designers. The Vaio pocket knocks socks of anything out there trying to do a similar thing. (iPod included!!) Have a look at this pic : This I think could have been a mock up - What's wrong with making it REAL. It is of a VIDEO Vaio Pocket. It would have kicked BUTT and I for one would have purchased it!! There is no doubt that technically Sony kick but but in terms of giving people what they WANT they lag behind. What do I want : 1. A product that has some longevity - or even if upgraded has some consistency. i.e. not to have to move because they discontinue my product and don;t provide a replacement!! 2. Accessories so that it can FIT INTO my life - I don;t want to have to fit around it. 3. Use of excellent technology - which in ATRAC3+ I have - it is GREAT compression and great for space saving. Knocks MP3 out of the water. Ditching DRM on it just makes it really portable which is what I want!! 4. hey other thing I want is for SONY to do these things. They have the know-how and I think the savvy to do it. I am just under the impression that they are ready to ditch quite passionate customers and I can't find a business reason for that. Whenever Apple have released a new product it has been to enhance their market share or to replace something they were taking off the market. i.e. - Shuffle came in so they have something in that lower end of the market. Minimum functionality but excellent ease of use. Mini to Nano - they added colour screen to what was a great size already. Remember when they replaced it the Mini was the best selling MP3 player in the WORLD. In the first 15 days they sold 2million Nano's (if Steve Jobs is to be believed and we forget the problem with the screens breaking). Now they release the new iPod - it takes the capacity of entry level iPods UP to 30GB and adds functionality. Sony have released in the last 20 months or so: HiMD - ATRAC3+ only Hi-MD2 - ATRAC3+ + MP3 (plus photos) Stick shaped network walkman (ATRAC3+, MP3 + radio) Round shaped network walkman (ATRAC3+, MP3 + radio) Bean shaped network walkman(ATRAC3+, MP3 + radio) NW-HD1 - ATRAC3+ only 20GB NW-HD3 - ATRAC3+ and MP3 - 20GB NW-HD5 - ATRAC3+ and MP3 AND up to 30gb NWA series walkman 6 and 20GB Plus the Vaio Pocket - 20 and 40GB I don't see the progression. I don;t see the development. I see engineer led releases not market or customer need led releases. Each product is technically WONDERFUL - I love the idea of the bean players - I would love to buy one as a gift for someone (if I didn't have to shackle them to SonicStage). I would just like to feel like continuing to buy Sony is actually better for me not just some misplaced loyalty in a company which doesn't want my custom. I just filled out a survey Sony are doing on SonicStage - at no time did they ask what I thought of the interface - the questions focused on whether i used it more that itunes or an equivalent. I HAVE A SONY DAP - WHY WOULD I BE USING ITUNES. I HAVE NO CHOICE, I HAVE TO USED SONICSTAGE!!!. I just hope that there are some Sony bods reading these threads - maybe they can salvage something - otherwise the DAP using public will simply vote with their feet and wallets. I am still undecided - Is Walkman or iPod in my future???