Do you like SonicStage - at all?

[cfairfowl]

I totally agree with Davew on SS, it won’t do the only thing I would like it to do and does everything else I don’t need.

There has got to be a better system soon.

[SlowMo]

yeah, my suggestion would be : SimpleBurner + Filebrowser

[taterwa]

Blecch...SonicStage is a big pile of poop. Maybe I'm a little jaded, but when I bought my first MD unit (an MZ-S1) a couple years ago, any excitement I was feeling was busted to smithereens by Sony's awful, awful software.

I only recently managed to get both SonicStage and SimpleBurner running properly - my previous attempts to run those application on FIVE different machines (all running XP) were unsuccessful. I realise that things have been improved quite a bit, but I wonder how many people had already thrown up their hands in despair and chucked it over a cliff?

If the current version of SonicStage had been the first version, things would probably be a lot different now...

[Poodle]

I'm running Sonicstage 3.2 now, and I quite like it, though maybe it's not quite the bees knees. I use it for both Hi-MD and my NW-HD5, and it works, Ok, maybe a bit slowly as some people have said. But it does the job, and it hasn't crashed on me - yet .

Oh, and I'm also burning MP3, ATRAC and audio CD's (love the normalisation feature there), and it's all fine. Can't see what all the fuss is about, myself, hope it's not famous last words though.

Edited October 6, 2005 by Poodle

[greenmachine]

From what i've heard, the fact that i've started with 3.1 and upgraded to 3.2 soon saved me a lot of headaches. Nevertheless i don't love it.

[robin726]

As a developer I can say it is a hunk of crap. Why it takes more than a blink of an eye to read a playlist file is beyond me. Why it takes so long to do *anything* to the database is incomprehensible. That it doesn't work across platforms is abominable.

That Sony thinks we need anything other than simple file drag'n'drop is blinkered.

And they're paying for it now.

[StevieP1234]

well lets see.....

ive had to re-record my himd disc about three times because sonicstage crashed while transferring

so i got the little cannot record or play error

(havent had to retransfer everything since i upgraded it tho.....)

it also has way to much junk thrown in like the connect music store and the whole music library thing

and im forced to use it

i only use it to transfer music to discs and to listen to music (sometimes) since i dont store all of my music on my comp

:sigh:

i would love to see musicmatch or some other music player have a himd plugin

but sadly......

sony acts like a little kid with a toy that they dont want to share

Edited October 8, 2005 by StevieP123

[Syrius]

SS 3.2 works fine for me and I'm happy with it. Organize, transfer, relabel. It's not like I expect it to make breakfast at the click of a button.

[Shozzer]

I cannot recall any problems with SS - it seems to work fine for me.

[imagine]

I cannot recall any problems with SS - it seems to work fine for me.

Same for me. Other than speed and eye candy (which are pretty important in user friendliness -- especially speed!) the software does its job for my nw-e407.

[AMPlitude]

slow...

besides that, no complaints

[WaywardTraveller]

I haven't had any major problems with SS.

I've recently upgraded from 3.2 to 3.3 - eager to hear the difference between 256k and 352k (and then finding out I can't really hear any difference ), I don't really use it for anything other than quick and dirty music transfers/labelling while on the road.

I AM getting a bit annoyed at SS's insistence on transferring MP3s to my RH10 "as-is," no matter what I try and do to get it to convert to ATRAC on the fly (I have ranted and frothed at the mouth over this elsewhere). Instead, I have to go through the laborious process of converting MP3s, deleting the MP3s from the library and re-importing the .OMA files.

However...in the end it gets the job done for someone who has neither the wherewithal or inclination to realtime-record all his music...BUT - would someone please, PLEASE tell me what the point is in being able to encode an MP3 as 128kbps or 192 or320kbps ATRAC3+ if you can't transfer it to Hi-MD without re-converting it to the old 48-64-105-132-256 options???

peace

WaywardTraveller

[AMPlitude]

SS 3.2 works fine for me and I'm happy with it. Organize, transfer, relabel. It's not like I expect it to make breakfast at the click of a button.

my thoughts exactly

[WaywardTraveller]

would someone please, PLEASE tell me what the point is in being able to encode an MP3 as 128kbps or 192 or320kbps ATRAC3+ if you can't transfer it to Hi-MD without re-converting it to the old 48-64-105-132-256 options???

(After thinking about this, are these ATRAC modes for devices other than MD/Hi-MD units?)

[The Rule]

I thought it was okay when I used to use it.

But when I bought an iPod and got a taste of iTunes, I sort of never looked back.

[atrain]

i really like 3.3. unlike most people i've never liked & had serious errors with itunes as a transfer ap & i'm from a prejukebox school of computing, so tunes, SS et al are only for transferring not for casual listening.

3.3 seems smooth, easy to use & the new better intergrated cddb javascript picture feature is awesome

[purplemoose]

SonicStage 3.3 is really good compared to the previous versions. I cant see the problem with it, it does the job doesnt it, its not the conversion of the files to ATRAC that takes a long time, its the transfer to the minidisc player, and that is something we will always be stuck with.

However as a minidisc/hi-md is infinitely better than any mp3 player for ease of use, practicality, sound quality then we must use it.

Im listening to my hi-md disc through it now good sound quality, except the md player aint quick enough on the transfer

[brian10161]

SS3.3 works for me. i had a stupid problem with it but then i just reinstalled it and all has been good since. i have never had a major problem with it where i end up loosing stuff. it just works on my computer. its slow and huge, but it does the job. if only MD Simple Burner worked without it, that software seems good.

[Tamaritha]

Dunno, never found any problems with sonicstage 3.3 - it actually does convert and record fairly fast, and so far I've never had any problems with it. I suppose iTunes does make breakfast at the snap of a finger, but it comes with the dreaded hardware of stupidity they call "simple design" - the iPod.

And the thing is, didn't we all get MDs to get something other than what iPods offered?

Disclaimer: My satisfaction with v3.3 is as opposed to when I had Sonicstage 2.5 - it crashed as soon as it opened

[dewdude]

i'll admit this..i picked up a friends ipod once..and i couldn't figure out how to work it...for some reason the huge control pad being one large touchpad that i had to move my finger around to scroll menus..that's just...i don't know. I don't like it. It's not the best mp3 player out there by a long shot..Apple just markets the crap out of it.

I do use SonicStage 3.3 for my PSP...i used OpenMG jukebox for NetMD back in the day and that was a REAL hassle. 3.3 has REALLY improved things..and it's less evil and controlling than it used to be.

I don't know what transfer times are like on Hi-MD..i can only tell you what it does for Magicgate memory stick devices and memory stick pro....the pro's transfer a LOT faster than magicgates (damn near instantly)...but..HiMD is a MO device where as a memory stick is an electrical thing...so..any speed transfer issues between PC and MD is solely on the MD end and the nature of the format that can't be worked around (discussions about how fast the origianal MD eqipment could record audio was debated years ago)

I was looking at HiMD but the more research i do into the lack of bitrates and functions i want...i'm reconsidering.

[RobA]

Very easy to use, doesn't crash, and most importantly, it just works.

[lingenfr]

The only thing SonicStage is good for is titling tracks. I'm serious. Until Sony does away with its draconian DRM, you're better off recording in real time.

Sonicstage works about as well as any jukebox software I have used. Leviathan hits the nail on the head. The DRM mania and other proprietary, heavy-handed BS has encouraged me not to use SS.

[mercury_in_flames]

In case anyone noticedm there is an option to put copy protection on atrac files. I sent an atrac file to a friend to test what would happen and it let him play the track and all, whether or not it let him transfer it I cant remember. Anyone else tested this>?

[ZosoIV]

My experience(s) with SonicStage during my brief ownership of NetMD units and a Sony MP3 player (one of those neat little 1GB "lighters") was not impressive to say the least - I will not be using NetMD or HiMD again with a computer until they release something less slow and aggravating.

Perhaps as a result of SS, I'm back to using my remaining MD recorder like I always used to - in real-time, set at SP, and like a tape deck. LAME-encoded mp3's are much nicer to work with and transfer for portable use, IMO.

[unignal]

I would like a winamp plug-in for transfering songs to my Hi-MD.

And iTunes can't cut it. Does anyone know that if you transfer songs to your iPod, then delete those songs from your harddrive, iTunes will automatically delete those songs from your iPod the next time you plug it in. So i must have a copy of the songs in my iPod on my computer. This is so irritating. I gave my iPod to my girlfriend and ask her to use iPod plug-in for winamp.

For myself, i stay with Hi-MD.

[atrain]

turn the auto update off on the ipod it'll stop doing that.

[unignal]

Ic. Nv noticed that it is possible to do that.

Still hoping for a Hi-MD plug-in for media players like Winamp and WMP

And i really really hope the next version of Sonic Stage allows me to import OGG files.

[Valder]

I use to hate Sonic stage with all it's crashing it did on me, even with 3.2.

THEN I upgraded my PC and all is now happy. Found I had a PC problem. Now I run 3.3

and I love it. It is the only program I use for my audio. I use iTunes for the wife's

Nano, but I really do not like it that much. The podcast thing is cool, but that is about it.

I would rather not use MP3s at all.

I listen with Kenwood DMC-S9Net, EH70, NH900, HD5 and the 1GB Bean. My 8 ye old has the N505 and loves it...he tried the Nano and refused to listen to it anymore as it didn't have enough bass for him.

Valder

Edited January 2, 2006 by Valder

[Silly35]

I would like a winamp plug-in for transfering songs to my Hi-MD.

I'm using a little plugin to play OMA files with WinAmp but it can't transfer the files to MD . It is called "Daijoubu's ATRAC3 DS Plugin". I found it on P2P (there is one file "in_atrac3.dll").

Try it ! It works just fine but seems to bug with some atrac3+ tracks. I don't know why (perhaps it has be made before atrac3+ codecs)

[pauljones52]

I think sonicstage is good as long as you dont trust it to look after all your music files, only rip cds when you want them and transfer, then delete the source files. All my albums are ripped in mp3 and will stay that way until I can play atrac3plus files in winamp etc.

[burns3016]

OK ! We all know Sonicstage has a bundle of problems etc., but what I don't know, is why SONY doesn't seem to know ! I mean, how did they come to the conclusion that the program was acceptable ? Don't they trial programs with "mock" consumers initially to get feedback etc.? Why did they not take a look around & see what other companies were programming ?

Perhaps there is a perfectly good answer to this ?

Then again, perhaps not ?

[bland10000]

I use it to title hi-md discs and for uploading field recordings I've made. I haven't had a problem with it at all for the ten weeks I've been using it. I keep my music library recorded in RealPlayer format as it was an easier program to use when SS1.5 was current and I lived on the same continent as my cd collection. I'm looking forward to changing my library over SS when I'm home next and have some time.

[Rasuogen]

I have been using SS1.5 for the longest time to tranfer music files to my MD, but it would always slow down and has crashed a couple of times.

But I found that you can use Realplayer to move your songs to it with out haveing to deal with this piece of crap sony has given us. The only problem I have with it, is the fact that you have to use it!! "gaa I hate anything Real" no pun intended

My setup is Winamp for audio and VLC/ZoomPlayer for video. It has not let me down and I don't think it ever will.

On a side note: I have constantly been looking for an audio player that can outdue Winamp in different file types it plays to features it has, so far nothing has come up and I still use Winamp.

[dex Otaku]

On a side note: I have constantly been looking for an audio player that can outdue Winamp in different file types it plays to features it has, so far nothing has come up and I still use Winamp.

Foobar2000.

[Rasuogen]

Foobar2000 ahh yes this indeed was a fantastic player to be used by all.

At one point in time I had both of them installed and I just stayed with winamp, but if I did not use it, be sure that Foobar2000 (gaa I can not belive I forgot about you)would be there to welcome me back.

[BeciMester]

No, I do NOT like SonicStage - at all.

When I bought my NH700 I got the 2.0 version with it on the CD. Installed and used without any problem, apart from the strict restrictions on MP3's it could convert (see also: VBR), but I came around it by converting to .wav first.

About a half year ago I bought the NW-E107 for the girlfriend, of course the SS V2.0 didn't recognize it, so I went ahead and updated with the V2.3 that came on the E107 CD. Now, that one handled the new unit well, but completely forgot about the old one. I could still access it as a removable drive thru Windows Explorer, but not SS. Reinstall, of course, didn't help a thing. Fortunately I had most of my music on the HiMD already, so I survived somehow. (I think here I should mention the most interesting bug I've ever seen in SS: I ripped a CD to MP3, 14 tracks, same encoder, 128 Kbps stereo, no VBR, so everything's pretty much standard - and the goddamn thing wouldn't convert the 1st, 2nd and 14th tracks to Atrac, but all the others were fine... )

The next encounter with SS came when I got a working internet connection 2 months ago, and I updated SS to V3.3 thru the online updater. It was working like a charm: handled both our units and did all I wanted it to do. I should have held on to it, but unfortunately...

...I "upgraded" to V3.4 a few days ago. Now it looks like I'll have to reinstall XP, 'coz the motherbanging thing screwed up everything! None of my players are recognized, and, apart from my USB mouse, NOTHING plugged into ANY of my laptop's four USB ports is recognized by the PC (pendrive, digital camera etc). Now I know I should have adhered to the rule of thumb: "If it ain't broken don't fix it".

I don't really know anything about the library, as I was scared away from it in the first few minutes; I don't record with the NH700 so I never encountered the "upload-once" thing; I want to stress that I LOVE my HiMD to pieces; but the problem described above and the thought I can put music on my player only through this heap of crap is enough to make me consider getting another player.

***EDIT: My bad, actually the SS version that came with the E107 is 3.0, not 2.3, but all the other things are correct.

Edited March 4, 2006 by BeciMester

[bobt]

No, I do NOT like SonicStage - at all.

When I bought my NH700 I got the 2.0 version with it on the CD. Installed and used without any problem, apart from the strict restrictions on MP3's it could convert (see also: VBR), but I came around it by converting to .wav first.

About a half year ago I bought the NW-E107 for the girlfriend, of course the SS V2.0 didn't recognize it, so I went ahead and updated with the V2.3 that came on the E107 CD. Now, that one handled the new unit well, but completely forgot about the old one. I could still access it as a removable drive thru Windows Explorer, but not SS. Reinstall, of course, didn't help a thing. Fortunately I had most of my music on the HiMD already, so I survived somehow. (I think here I should mention the most interesting bug I've ever seen in SS: I ripped a CD to MP3, 14 tracks, same encoder, 128 Kbps stereo, no VBR, so everything's pretty much standard - and the goddamn thing wouldn't convert the 1st, 2nd and 14th tracks to Atrac, but all the others were fine... )

The next encounter with SS came when I got a working internet connection 2 months ago, and I updated SS to V3.3 thru the online updater. It was working like a charm: handled both our units and did all I wanted it to do. I should have held on to it, but unfortunately...

...I "upgraded" to V3.4 a few days ago. Now it looks like I'll have to reinstall XP, 'coz the motherbanging thing screwed up everything! None of my players are recognized, and, apart from my USB mouse, NOTHING plugged into ANY of my laptop's four USB ports is recognized by the PC (pendrive, digital camera etc). Now I know I should have adhered to the rule of thumb: "If it ain't broken don't fix it".

I don't really know anything about the library, as I was scared away from it in the first few minutes; I don't record with the NH700 so I never encountered the "upload-once" thing; I want to stress that I LOVE my HiMD to pieces; but the problem described above and the thought I can put music on my player only through this heap of crap is enough to make me consider getting another player.

Are you completely sure it's all SS's fault, and not a conflict with something else? What are you running? There have been system incompatabilities, and you can find them in the forum.

Good luck with your issues, but I don't think it is all SS.

Bob

[BeciMester]

Are you completely sure it's all SS's fault, and not a conflict with something else? What are you running? There have been system incompatabilities, and you can find them in the forum.

Good luck with your issues, but I don't think it is all SS.

I'm not sure, but I experienced it only after the upgrade. I'll keep searching, I really don't want to reformat.