Questions regarding uploading with SonicStage

[Petter156]

Here´s a snip from the HiMD uploading guide by Kurisu, Dex and A440:

If you are using SS 3.0 for the first time, go to Options/Transfer. Under Set Transfer Mode, click Hi-MD and make sure Standard Transfer Mode is checked. Click Advanced. Under Import Settings check both: Leave the Tracks in the disc and and Save in WAV format when importing. You will need 10 MB of disc space per minute for .wav files, so make sure there is space on your hard drive.

Here it sounds like SonicStage in itself can upload tracks directly into the WAVE format. I was under the impression that you needed to use WAV converter for this? Or is WAV converter like a plug-in for SS?

Also, HiMD renderer seems like a more versatile app than Sony´s own WAV converter. What benefits does HiMD renderer have over WAV converter and can I use it to completely replace WAV converter?

Thanks.

[raintheory]

Well, to answer your first question.. The separate WAV converter program was for older versions (2.x I believe). SonicStage 3.x has the converter built in.

Secondly, HiMDRenderer is a fantastic peice of software that allows you to rip your .oma files to FLAC, MP3, OGG, and of course WAV. Another advantage is being able to use HiMDRenderer to rip tracks that were recorded via optical-in, as the built in WAV converter for SonicStage only allows saving analogue-recorded tracks as WAV.

I will say that Marc was here for us with HiMDRenderer when SONY was not, so any donations he receives are well worth it.

[ROMBUSTERS]

very rearly does the newest version of SonicStage trash uploads so it's a pretty sound peice of software for this use now (disregarding specific user cases where there may be more than the software at fault).

However using a combo of HiMDRender and SonicStage (not that the second is needed at that point) ALWAYS works and allows you to do exactly what you want without fear of something going wrong

[Petter156]

How does SonicStage really work when handling music on my PC?

Currently I have all my music in one folder on one of my HDD´s and this is fine for me (as opposed to using MusicMatch as an overall library, something I stopped doing a few years ago).

Does SonicStage act as a 'front-end' for the music stored on the computer or do you need to submit to SS´s will? That is; does SS require a specific and forced folder for storing music, does it convert music on your hard-drive to it´s own format in order to be able to play muisc through the app?

What about when transfering music as ATRAC to your HiMD-player, using an MP3 as source material. Does SonicStage temporarily convert the track into ATRAC and then delets the temp.-file automatically, leaving you with only the original MP3, or does it get rid of the original file? Are the converted ATRAC files left on your PC along with the original file (in this case the MP3)?

Thanks. I would really like to know more about how SonicStage treats users before relying on the software.

Edited July 28, 2005 by Petter156

[Petter156]

BUMP

[A440]

That is; does SS require a specific and forced folder for storing music, does it convert music on your hard-drive to it´s own format in order to be able to play muisc through the app?

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SonicStage "imports" files from CD, mp3s, etc. by converting them to .oma (ATRAC) and puts them in a folder to play back. You can leave the default folder, which for me is D:\SonicStage\Packages\, or change it.

What about when transfering music as ATRAC to your HiMD-player, using an MP3 as source material. Does SonicStage temporarily convert the track into ATRAC and then delets the temp.-file automatically, leaving you with only the original MP3, or does it get rid of the original file? Are the converted ATRAC files left on your PC along with the original file (in this case the MP3)?

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I don't know about mp3 handling with the second generation Hi-MDs (so-called native mp3 playback that reportedly sounds awful), since I have a first-gen. With my Hi-MD, Sonic Stage makes an .oma file that it puts in Packages and lists in what's called My Library. It doesn't get rid of the original file. (During deletions, you can check an option that also deletes the original file when you delete the .oma file.) It keeps the .oma file until you delete it, so yes, you have two copies of the file on your computer.

To rip CD to MD, you can use SimpleBurner, which just transcodes from your CD drive (or Nero image drive, if you want to put your mp3s on that) to the MD in the unit, without adding a file to My Library or opening SonicStage at all. SimpleBurner uses CDDB for titling if it can find the album.

[Petter156]

SonicStage "imports" files from CD, mp3s, etc. by converting them to .oma (ATRAC) and puts them in a folder to play back.

So the .oma-files are full-sized copies of the original audio-files, as opposed to being "shortcuts" to the actual MP3´s?

That means that I will have to use double the space of my current music-collection when using SonicStage, right? That is if I need to keep the original audio files (which I have to in this case, my brother has a Zen Micro HDD player).

Edited August 2, 2005 by Petter156

[A440]

Yes, that's the situation with 1st-generation Hi-MD. You could delete the .oma copies and have it re-convert your mp3s next time you wanted to transfer them--just make sure you've unchecked the option that deletes the source file too. You'd want to keep the original files anyway: the .oma file is a compressed version of an already compressed file, so you're losing quality.

But it may be different with 2d-generation Hi-MD because that includes native mp3 playback, so presumably it wouldn't need the .oma copies.

Can someone with a 2d-gen Hi-MD and a lot of mp3s take a look in Packages and see what's there?

[tommypeters]

You would want to anyway, without a brother, since you would be very vulnerable otherwise since the backup routine is clumsy on restoration on another machine usually doesn't work.

[Syrius]

Actually, SS converts files to OMA only when it comes to transferring them to a device. You can import a WMA and it will still remain a WMA until you transfer it, in which case it will generate an OMA version of it and store it, or generate it and delete after file transfer, depending on your settings.

[A440]

Syrius is right as usual.

I guess I never imported anything into SonicStage that I wasn't going to transfer, or hadn't previously uploaded.

But now that I've tried it, yes, "importing" a file into SonicStage just makes a bookmark to the original .mp3 file, until you want to get it onto the MD. Not that any sane person would want to make SS their primary music player.

[tommypeters]

In "the old days" I think SonicStage had a deal with the HD manufacturers. I was pleasantly surprised, for once, when I after an upgrade of SonicStage saw that it had just made a pointer to the original file.

[Petter156]

Actually, SS converts files to OMA only when it comes to transferring them to a device. You can import a WMA and it will still remain a WMA until you transfer it, in which case it will generate an OMA version of it and store it, or generate it and delete after file transfer, depending on your settings.

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Syrious that is excelent news, that was just the way I was thinking the app should work. I probably won´t use SonicStage as my primary music player (Winamp still works best for me) and having to manage two music collections on the same PC (orginal files and the ATRAC ones) just seems like a terrible hassle.