Error While Converting To Atrac-argh!

[sdOK`]

Yet another SS problem.

To be honest this is just another problem with this useless piece of crap software. I have had consistent problems with this rubbish. Including TWO re-installs of windows which I want to avoid having to do again.

Working fine a few weeks ago. Now when I try to transfer files to my MZ-NH700 SS gets to a specific percentage depending on the file then freezes with the only option to kill the process in Task Manager.

I have XP sp2 and sonicstage 2.3.

I downloaded the mp3 to atrac tool from sony which also hangs on the same percentages as SS.

I have tried VBR and normal mp3 files with the same results.

I have uninstalled every codec i could find systematically with no difference.

I have searched this great forum to no avail.

I followed the uninstall for SS 2.2 then upgraded to 2.3.

I even tried creating a new user account but encountered the same problem.

I would be gratefull for any suggestions.

RANT-

I am furious with this situation. I was in an airport with money in my pocket waiting for a plane to the US and bought my unit. Thinking it would be better than an iPOD and it would be great for recording gigs/etc as I am a professional musician.

And the unit is great for recording.

But this whole SS situation is a complete joke. I have murders just putting mp3's onto it to listen to and get treated like a pirate with my own music that I own the copyright and publishing to.

I now feel guilty as another professional musician I know bought one because he liked the look of mine and thought it looked really usefull.

Untill sony see fit to make the units useable I will tell everyone I can to avoid them like the plague.

And dont get me started on the lack of HiMd discs.

[ROMBUSTERS]

when the program hangs see if it tells you which mp3 is causing the problem

then try and encode that same mp3 via sonicstage (not the mass converter)

if this doesnt work there is a very simple way to get around it. find a freeware program that converts MP3s to WAV files, convert some (not all unless u have a ginormous HDD) to wav files and then convert them in SS. this should work flawlessly

[sdOK`]

Hmm it does work but it is pretty unnacceptable really.

All mp3's cause a problem. It seems only wavs convert without error.

Thnx though.

[bug80]

Do you by any chance have the "ffdshow" codecs installed on your PC? I had the same problems as you and it turned out that ffdshow was the cause of all trouble.

See this topic.

And this is my solution:

I SOLVED THE PROBLEM!!!

Here's what I did. Because I thought it had something to do with codecs, I removed everything that looked like AVI, XviD, DivX, etc using Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel.

Then I rebooted and started SS and guess what: it worked! It converted my files!

However, I like movies, so I wanted my codecs back. Therefore I installed ffdshow, which has everything in it. However, when I started SS again, it didn't work anymore. So probably ffdshow caused the problem.

After some quick research, it turns out that the MP3 filter of ffdshow interferes with SonicStage. So all you have to do is go to your Start Menu --> Programs --> ffdshow --> Audio filter configuration. There, change "mp3lib" behind MP3 to "disabled".

That's all! After that, SS converted my MP3 files without problems. And I'm still able to watch movies!

I am currently not able to do some more tests, like: Do more movies work and: Can I now record a CD using SS?. The latter isn't much of a problem, we still have SimpleBurner after all!

kappa22, I hope your problem (and solution) is the same as mine! As you see, the solution is simple, but effective.

P.S. Maybe this should be in the FAQ somewhere?

Good luck!

[dex Otaku]

Do you by any chance have the "ffdshow" codecs installed on your PC? I had the same problems as you and it turned out that ffdshow was the cause of all trouble.

See this topic.

And this is my solution:

Good luck!

←

This [the original thread] should definitely be moved into and pinned in the HiMD info forum.

[bug80]

This [the original thread] should definitely be moved into and pinned in the HiMD info forum.

←

Good idea, but please don't forget us old-fashioned NetMD losers!

[dex Otaku]

Good idea, but please don't forget old-fashioned NetMD 

←

Good point.

I think it might even be worth starting a separate forum just for SonicStage issues. There are more than enough posts to warrant it, I'd bet.

[sdOK`]

Yes FFDSHOW was the problem.

From my limited knowledge it seems SS uses the fraunhoffer codec for decoding to convert to atrac as I fiddled with all the codec things for a while and FFDSHOW makes another codec the default or something for decoding.

Now I am even more annoyed as FFDSHOW was the resolution to other vid encoding problems I had. I suppose I can just install it when needed now.

Thanks for the help though.

Its such a downer having such a great piece of hardware hamstrung by poor software.

Another super irritating problem I have had that I havent looked into properly yet is at a gig in NYC I recorded the gig onto my only Hi-MD disc, and when the wav conversion software came out I tried to bounce it into my pc it started complaining about rights and wouldnt transfer it. Tracks originated from another computer. This is not true the tracks were recorded from the mixing desk on the line-in and I have never uploaded them to any pc.

I find that insulting as it is my music and the primary reason I bought the unit. And I could get money from a record company for the recording for release so I want the highest quality possible. I suppose I can look at realtime recording software for my pc but again it is a waste of time and money to make up for the shortcomings of SONY.

And why does it take going to this (great) forum to find decent support? Surely a company of SONY's standing could offer a decent support route?? Or pay the people who run this forum for their great support.

[bug80]

Yes FFDSHOW was the problem.

From my limited knowledge it seems SS uses the fraunhoffer codec for decoding to convert to atrac as I fiddled with all the codec things for a while and FFDSHOW makes another codec the default or something for decoding.

Now I am even more annoyed as FFDSHOW was the resolution to other vid encoding problems I had. I suppose I can just install it when needed now.

For me, it was sufficient to just disable the MP3 filter in ffdshow as I explained above. I'm still able to run ffdshow without that option (which, in my opinion, is useless anyway).

Its such a downer having such a great piece of hardware hamstrung by poor software.

I agree with you that SonicStage doesn't deserve an award for good programming, but in this case it isn't really Sony's fault. The programmers of SonicStage choose to use the Fraunhofer algorithm, which is a good thing. In this case it's really ffdshow's fault. I really don't understand why all the audio is intercepted by ffdshow and run through their own filters. I don't get why users get a benefit from that, it only slows things down.

Another super irritating problem I have had that I havent looked into properly yet is at a gig in NYC I recorded the gig onto my only Hi-MD disc, and when the wav conversion software came out I tried to bounce it into my pc it started complaining about rights and wouldnt transfer it. Tracks originated from another computer. This is not true the tracks were recorded from the mixing desk on the line-in and I have never uploaded them to any pc.

I find that insulting as it is my music and the primary reason I bought the unit. And I could get money from a record company for the recording for release so I want the highest quality possible. I suppose I can look at realtime recording software for my pc but again it is a waste of time and money to make up for the shortcomings of SONY.

And why does it take going to this (great) forum to find decent support? Surely a company of SONY's standing could offer a decent support route?? Or pay the people who run this forum for their great support.

←

Yes, that sucks big time. The reason I bought my unit was, that from that point I was able to transfer demo recordings from my band to my PC, do some processing, and burn them to CD for my band collegues. At least that's what I thought. It turns out I have to do everything via the line out, which is very time consuming (and the result is kind of the same, isn't it SONY guys?).

I really don't get this choice of Sony to do things this way. MD has a very strong fanbase, mainly consisting of musicians and journalists. And guess what they want: transfer their own audio between their MD unit and their PC!

If Sony wants to continue selling MD stuff while the iPod is gaining succes at a high rate, they really should change this!

Another thing I don't understand is, that on the one hand Sony tries to sell MD units, and on the other hand their record company sell CD's with a copy protection. I now have a lot of Sony CD's that I can't transfer to MD for use on the road. Kind of strange!!

Luckely, the most recent Sony CD's have a copy protection that is overruled by SimpleBurner

[dex Otaku]

One thing I find -really- interesting:

The Fraunhofer "free" codec distributed with many other programs and games will decode anything I throw at it.

The Fraunhofer pro codec also does this.

But.. SS, supposedly using the Fraunhofer codec, chokes on mp3s from certain encoders, and [though I've never had a problem with this myself] for many people also chokes on most VBR files.

So. Hmm. Does this make any sense?

[bug80]

One thing I find -really- interesting:

The Fraunhofer "free" codec distributed with many other programs and games will decode anything I throw at it.

The Fraunhofer pro codec also does this.

But..  SS, supposedly using the Fraunhofer codec, chokes on mp3s from certain encoders, and [though I've never had a problem with this myself] for many people also chokes on most VBR files.

So.  Hmm.  Does this make any sense?

←

I've been fairly deep into audio programming lately, but I quite frankly don't know a thing about codecs. The only thing I know is, that programming audio in Windows can be a very frustrating job.

Maybe SS adresses the codecs in a wrong way. Another option is, that SS doesn't use an external codec, but just the algorithm of Fraunhofer (and that they haven't done that correctly). If I remember it correctly, that is the way Fraunhofer works. Programmers buy a license to implement the algorithm into their software.

Anyway, it's a fact that SS is less reliable and user-friendly than other, similar software like iTunes.

[sdOK`]

I am probably wrong about the codec so dont take it too seriously.