Reliability Of Sonicstage

[Christopher]

I find it really amusing that out of all six PC's I've installed Sonicstage on that I've had absolutely no problems at all. I find it comical that I see these incessant reviews on the internet stating "Sonicstage won't stop crashing" or some other similiar diatribe.

In my line of work [cable ISP tech support] diagnosing more than two thousand computers, I would say that more than 50% had little to no windows updates. I would say 75% had at least one virus detected by Trendmicro's Housecall. More than 85-90% had spyware that was detected by Ad-Aware or Microsoft's Antispyware [beta].

Every single time I reply to a Sonicstage problem topic I think of what I've stated above. I've never had a Sonicstage problem with any of the computers I've installed it on. I think there is an unfair train of thought against Sony's Sonicstage software - whilst it has failed/annoyed most of us in the past, I honestly believe that things have truly changed. Sonicstage 3.x feels mature and I honestly have no qualms with it.

Anyone else having similiar experiences?

[jadeclaw]

I have no problems either, but then I also don't have any unhealthy stuff on my PC.

First rule: Don't use IE

Second Rule: Don't use Outlook / Outlook Express.

Alternatives are here:Mozilla.Org

Third rule: Don't start any mail attachments.

That's how I keep SS running.

[A440]

I have Norton Antivirus and Internet Security and Black Ice Firewall, I scan regularly for viruses with Norton and Trendmicro, and I scan regularly for spyware (alternating between Spybot and Ad-Aware). I don't find any because I don't let any in.

I use Firefox for browsing (and Netscape and Mozilla and Opera before that) and Eudora for e-mail. I don't open the few stray attachments that aren't caught by my company's mail server. I scan every program and .doc that I open, including programs downloaded from minidisc.org.

I have 5 different music players (Winamp, WMP, RealPlayer, Quintessential, Foobar2000) installed along with SonicStage, which I wouldn't exactly call a music player. I have some audio-editing apps, rippers and Nero. They don't seem to bother each other.

For that matter, I have a Sony VAIO computer, which promises Video Audio Integrated Operation.

And yet I had a hellish time installing SonicStage 3.0, with exactly the symptoms described by other posters on this unfortunately very popular forum.

I don't install every update from Windows instantly, and no, I still haven't installed SP2 because I don't want to go around patching other programs for days on end.

But I don't think the standard for a program should be whether it works on a computer maintained by a computer expert with a fast internet connection for Microsoft's endless updates. The standard should be that it works in the real world. To blame it all on viruses or spyware is just a little too complacent.

And while I'm on my soapbox, why are we saddled with SonicStage at all? We have a data drive on one end of a USB, a PC on the other. It's a two-way connection. Why can't I just take the digital files I've recorded and drag-and-drop them wherever I want? Why can't I take my mp3s, put them in a folder and have them appear as a group on my MD, the way SimpleBurner works for CDs? Why should I have to worry that SonicStage is going to crash or randomly destroy unique recordings? Why should I have to authenticate my database with some mysterious computer in Sonyland?

The problem with SonicStage isn't that users aren't computer-savvy enough to use it. The problem is that Sony keeps it as a complicated DRM mishmash instead of a simple PC-to-MD interface.

I feel better already.

[Ishiyoshi]

No significant problems with SonicStage at my end either.

[atrain]

I find it really amusing that out of all six PC's I've installed Sonicstage on that I've had absolutely no problems at all. I find it comical that I see these incessant reviews on the internet stating "Sonicstage won't stop crashing" or some other similiar diatribe.

Anyone else having similiar experiences?

←

i've had three or four problems since SS2 but nothing a little registry & reinstall over the top couldn't fix. since then only problems i've encountered are occasional problems connecting to the planetMG site for updates. even then waiting fifteen minutes & trying again has fixed that.

btw i've alway run my mzn1 through a chainlinked 12 port usb hub. seems like what crashes for most isn't a biggie for me.

O/T i love firefox but i'm less than impressed with a little bug i've been troubled by twice. firefox randomly deletes my bookmarks & cookies, if these things are 9 years old & have travelled from pc to pc to pc to pc like mine then make sure you have a backup.

[senorhondo]

I've only recently got my first HiMD unit, an MZNH900, and I downloaded SS3.1 to run the software side of things, and have only used that version, rather than install the app that came with the MD unit (after reading this forum, and others) and I have had no issues. SS isn't perfect (after all, it was designed by programmers) but it does the job advertised.

I am very aware of the one time only download for my live recordings - DRM is bizarre concept for the owner of the material, but if you know how it works, no problems.

[smkranz]

Running XP with all Windows updates installed, and I am still nervous about updating to SonicStage 3.1 (I am still using SS 2.? whatever # was last before 3.0).

I have never had SS 2.x crash, torpedo my files, etc. Sure, it could be faster...could be more intuitive...could be a better overall music library manager. But it does what I need it to do, i.e. x-fers my recordings from my NH900 to my 'puter, and x-fers tunes from my music library to the MD. Because of that, because running the separate Sony .wav converter is really pretty simple, because I haven't seen or read about any killer functionality improvements in SS 3.x, and because I hate spending hours undoing a botched "upgrade", I haven't done it.

Maybe I should...I have my library backed up...(but the water still feels kinda chilly...)

BTW, I also have basically abandoned IE for Firefox...but can't seem to shake the MS Outlook habit. Any experiences with Mozilla's Thunderbird email?

[Christopher]

smkranz, we must meet before I move from Maryland in July - your rhetoric cracks me up. Yes, you should be fine with SS 3.x; I would recommend backing up the database just to be safe, but the installer for Sonicstage 3.x automatically detects a prior installation and then installs over it whilst keeping the database in tune.

Re: Thunderbird; been using it for many moons and have no thoughts of switching back to OE. It's light, does everything I need it to do and has alot of functionality. Plus it's not Microsoft! You can't go wrong.

[smkranz]

smkranz, we must meet before I move from Maryland in July - your rhetoric cracks me up. Yes, you should be fine with SS 3.x; I would recommend backing up the database just to be safe, but the installer for Sonicstage 3.x automatically detects a prior installation and then installs over it whilst keeping the database in tune.

Re: Thunderbird; been using it for many moons and have no thoughts of switching back to OE. It's light, does everything I need it to do and has alot of functionality. Plus it's not Microsoft! You can't go wrong.

←

Sure thing, kurisu...hope you're going where the winters are a bit warmer than Md.

I know I will eventually upgrade my SS installation, but I get paranoid when reading so many other woes here, and when what I have seems to do the trick for me.

Just downloaded & installed Mozilla T-bird for a test run...pretty nice-looking so far, imported my Outlook info cleanly... seems *mostly* as full-featured and versatile as MS Outlook. Finally figgered out how to add a sig. to emails (small victories like that almost make the past 2 hours seem worthwhile ).

[ozpeter]

In terms of stability, it's fine here. Shame about the DRM of course, and the inaccurate handling of the beginning and end of tracks....

[Syrius]

So far I have had ZERO, yup, ZERO problems with SonicStage 3.0. It has only coughed twice with some music when uploading, but this is due to dirty or scratched discs, and it doesn't trash the other tracks when it encounters a faulty one, nor marks them uploaded. It seems to me that Sony finally got it right.

No problems due to DRM here. *winks*

[Ascariss]

Only have one problem., and that is after I reinstalled my pc with no SP2 or updates, after I added all the updates it has worked fine. No problems or crashes. It actually works rather smoothly and fast, loads fast too and I have no complaints.

btw I am using SS 2.3.

[OCedHrt]

Never had any major problem. Had a slight problem with 3.0 and 3.1 (couldn't preview clips from connect store, probably my fault). Finally completely removed OpenMG and reinstalled and it worked. But then I don't really use it much since my MD only displays NO DISC!

[Russell Letson]

My beef with SS is that installs crap out with no indication of what the underlying problem might be, and the tech support is automated cluelessness. I've had to troubleshoot OS and install issues going back to CP/M, and I appreciate support that can point to trouble spots and potential conflicts, name the files that need to be present (or absent, or updated), and generally understand the whole process. On one troublesome 98SE system, I found out (on my own) that the glitch was a read-only log file (left in that condition by a backup process). So SS 3.0 is operational. Now the SS 3.1 install is claiming that downloaded files are corrupt and that I should try again. Five times. Arrgh.

[jadeclaw]

Maybe I should...I have my library backed up...

You should backup your library regularly.

Remember, Harddisks do fail. Very seldom, but it happens. Just remember the IBM Deathstar-(DeskStar)debacle.

And if a virus does come through and flattens your Win-installation, you are grounded without a current backup.

BTW, I also have basically abandoned IE for Firefox...but can't seem to shake the MS Outlook habit.  Any experiences with Mozilla's Thunderbird email?

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Do get rid of OE. And you will love Thunderbird's junk filter. It really catches them all. From bodypart lenghthening over stiffening to pirated software.

And it handles multiple accounts as well.

[MAVickers]

I find it really amusing that out of all six PC's I've installed Sonicstage on that I've had absolutely no problems at all. I find it comical that I see these incessant reviews on the internet stating "Sonicstage won't stop crashing" or some other similiar diatribe.

←

I've been having pretty good luck with SS 3.0 not crashing. I get the occasional hiccup where I finish transferring songs to the unit and then SS goes and does some thinking and doesn't come back.

There are also annoyances every once awhile, such as not handling uploads properly although I have to say it's doing a lot better job than 2.x did.

Overall, I've put enough faith in it that I'm importing my CD collection into the computer with it. I have about 400 albums so far and I'm in the middle of letter E. I'll probably try upgrading to 3.1 fairly soon.