Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 My HD3 now has a 192k bitrate option see my post over at the Atrac Forums http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=42&hl= for a couple of pics. No such luck with my Hi-MD though ←This is indeed a surprise. I will try this bit rate with the VAIO Pocket. Thanks Pete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 First impressions of the new atrac3+ at 128kbps: Has less warbling artifacts than lp2, but at the same time sounds somewhat dull, there's propably a strict lowpass filter at about 15 kHz. Could be good enough for portable listening in a noisy environment though. Anybody interested in a listening test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 For those that are interested: I concur with Adrian (atrain) in regards to sound quality. The difference between 256kbps and 320kbps is not significant but noticeable. I tried Nina Simone's I Loves You, Porgy both at 256kbps and 320kbps. (using MDR-SA3000 via desktop audio out) I can immediately discern a fuller sound overall; and there appears to be light boost in the upper midrange and treble. Please note that this listening test is subjective. A frequency analysis would definitely reveal any significant difference - any suggestion as to which software to employ for such a test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 i do have the atrac3+192 option to the vaio pocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 i do have the atrac3+192 option to the vaio pocket←Likewise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpeter Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 A frequency analysis would definitely reveal any significant difference - any suggestion as to which software to employ for such a test?Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit) is often used for such purposes. Its frequency analyser has four "hold" buttons for making comparisons. But there are freeware VST analysers Out There which could be used with a suitable host (VSThost, Synthedit, Kristal, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit) is often used for such purposes. Its frequency analyser has four "hold" buttons for making comparisons. But there are freeware VST analysers Out There which could be used with a suitable host (VSThost, Synthedit, Kristal, etc).←Thanks for the information. I shall take a look at Adobe Audition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadeclaw Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Btw, it is in German as well.Oh, and when importing CDs, LP4@66k & LP2@105k are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Btw, it is in German as well.Oh, and when importing CDs, LP4@66k & LP2@105k are gone.←Indeed, those bit rates are history.By the way, could you provide your download link? Chris will update the download section accordingly with all SonicStage 3.2 regional installer. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Green = original uncompressed fileRed = Atrac3+ at 320kbpsBlue = Atrac3+ at 256 kbpsLinear view:Logarithmic view:No significant difference i'd say. But remember, a frequency response curve never tells the whole truth about sound quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Thanks for confirming our initial listening tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I didn't expect to see anything surprising, but how are the new codecs in terms of overall sound? Is there more maturity to such? I remember Hi-SP had some artifacting and overall poor sound in comparison to the old SP/etc reported in ABX tests by quite a few users; unfortunately that thread was deleted in the loss of topics during Easter earlier in the year..Here's the related thread at Hydrogen Audio: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=26976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxc Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I also had to initialize my HD5 before it would work with the install of 3.2. I wonder if its because my old SS was the US version, and this is the UK version?How do you get it to display US Connect again instead of UK Connect?Also, with my HD5, I get the 192k Atrac3plus option.The removal of LP4 is going to p.ss off the old NetMD users! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 How do you get it to display US Connect again instead of UK Connect?←Use Regedit, then locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Corporation\SonicStage\EMD--> Modfiy Value name: HomeURL accordingly with http://musicstore.connect.com/Let me know if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadeclaw Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Indeed, those bit rates are history.By the way, could you provide your download link? Chris will update the download section accordingly with all SonicStage 3.2 regional installer. Thanks.←I used the same link as posted here in this thread.EDIT:Connect US/Europe and Sony Support still have 3.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Thanks jadeclaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupinIV Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Hi Guys!!!I love it when Sony listens to the market, or at least heads toward good marketing choices!!!Anyway, unless I did miss something in the thread, it looks like there are still restrictions on uploading from MD to PC. Any news about this issue?If you can remove DRM from the CD import, why are the DRM restriction still in place on the Hi-MD?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaml1ne Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 You guys are converting to these oddball bitrates directly from CD? SS refuses to convert a local wav ripped from CD to anything since I upgraded to 3.2. Doesn't sound good since all my CD's are ripped to Monkeys Audio and I import wavs as needed... Anyone have any luck importing a wav file and converting or transferring to MD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaml1ne Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Found the problem, and it's pretty strange. SS 3.2 gives me the copyright error only when I try converting a file from within a remote desktop session. On the local computer it converts fine. Odd. 3.1 converted and transferred files through terminal services/remote desktop just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 You guys are converting to these oddball bitrates directly from CD? SS refuses to convert a local wav ripped from CD to anything since I upgraded to 3.2. Doesn't sound good since all my CD's are ripped to Monkeys Audio and I import wavs as needed... Anyone have any luck importing a wav file and converting or transferring to MD?←Yes, direct conversion from CD --> ATRAC3plus (320kbps and 256kbps) via SonicStage 3.2.As for files in its original WAV format, I've been able to convert/transfer it in ATRAC3plus to my HiMD and VAIO Pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Breaking news: the inital topic has been updated with this information:--------Thanks to MDfreak, Administrator of MDcenter.nl for this diamond in the rough:Also, it seems as if Sony has answered our prayers in regards to uploads of Live Recordings! In the past, it was required that you can only upload a self-recorded track (from an analog/optical source) once and then Sonicstage would disallow you to transfer it further. With Sonicstage 3.2, users may enjoy unlimited uploads of tracks with no restrictions whatsoever.p.s. Download Sony's official Sonicstage Installer (requires Internet to install), at Minidisc Community Downloads:http://forums.minidisc.org/downloads/details.php?file=23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 What a clever move, they'll sell more blank discs this way if you can keep your recording -without getting rendered useless- on the disc for backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 This is indeed a significant improvement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streaml1ne Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 This is excellent news!! Lifting the upload limit will definitely help their sales.edit: And I just tested this with an analog line-in recording on my RH10. The track is labeled as having an unlimited transfer count!! Yay Sony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobgoblin Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 SonicStage 3.2 does give you an option to add DRM or not to add DRM when you transfer songs from CDs.←but drm is still a requirement for mp3's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doclloyd Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 (edited) Wow, this 3.2 update is quite large considering it's only a point release. It's nice to see that some of our ranting/venting is actually being heard and taken seriously. I recently emailed them sharing my struggles with moving the SS database, even to a different folder on the same computer. Then to hear they're removing the DRM on imported CD files - hopefully it will fix all the files I currently have on my computer.As far as personal recordings go, I wonder if it will allow me to re-upload recordings from the past.I will also throw my kudos to Sony for what sounds like a great upgrade, especially if it also has speed improvements. No matter how small, improvements are improvements. Edited July 25, 2005 by doclloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doclloyd Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 but drm is still a requirement for mp3's?←In 3.1, DRM is not applied to the files that are stored on your PC. Look in the folder that SonicStage uses. All the files are regular .mp3 files. Likely though that they will have the wrapper put on them when put on portable players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence Kelly Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 A couple of questions. Is the posted link for an English version of Sonic Stage 3.2 or only for the Japanese version?Has anyone checked to see if 3.2 upload files that have been edited on the minidisc and include combined tracks? 3.1 will not.TK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 It's the English release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doclloyd Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I'm assuming this includes the US version of Connect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I'm assuming this includes the US version of Connect?←It does not.For those interested: SonicStage 3.2: ATRAC3plus Frequency Analysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doclloyd Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 It does not.For those interested: SonicStage 3.2: ATRAC3plus Frequency Analysis←OK, I'll wait for the official upgrade from connect.com. I've purchased stuff via Connect, so I need to make sure SS is compatible. Hopefully they release later this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Enjoy, this thread is going to the main page.What's on the plate for Sonicstage 4? Well, Minidisc is about the way you want it, when you want it.*begins cryptic and subtle hints to drive you mad* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 "it reported receive you because your state registered at the MDcenter.nl MailUpdate. --- There was so far one large minus to the uploaden as from Hi-MD: you could his own prerecording but 1x uploaden. Own prerecordings on several PC's uploaden or again uploaden (after for example formatting the PC.) were not possible. This has been remedied as from SonicStage 3.2. with this version is possible you prerecordings unlimited uploaden. Therefore several keren to one PC. or to infinitely many several PC's. at last have you all rights concerning own prerecordings also in own hands. Our recommendation is thus: as soon as possible upgraden to SonicStage 3.2. the only question which remains then: where can I download SonicStage 3.2? Closely, here: SonicStage 3.2 installer read further:"This is a Baelfish translation of an e-mail I just got from a dutch minidisc site. reinforces the unlimited upload feature.Can't wait to get another minidisc so I can start playing again.TTFNBob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpeter Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 What about the restrictions on recordings made via optical input? Any improvement there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDfreak Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 What about the restrictions on recordings made via optical input? Any improvement there?←The mentioned quote of the Dutch MD-site is also mine (so the same source). As for optical recordings: also unlimited uploads, but still no export to wave (as is possible with analog recordings). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indeego Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 and the count for Audio-CDs also remains 0, but that is what HiMD renderer is for seems like the uploaded tracks are now labeled with their real time of recording - I havent been using uploads for some time, can someone confirm this as a "new feature" ? (only for date-stamp walkman, of course) I dont know if it has been mentioned before, but files from your HDD can also be converted to Atrac without DRM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozpeter Posted July 26, 2005 Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 (edited) Ooo, it really works - just uploaded a track, deleted it from the PC, and uploaded it again! I feel kinda emotional - would someone pass a hanky?You still can't write-protect the disc before uploading, however, which remains not ideal... Edited July 26, 2005 by ozpeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxc Posted July 26, 2005 Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 Enjoy, this thread is going to the main page.What's on the plate for Sonicstage 4? Well, Minidisc is about the way you want it, when you want it.*begins cryptic and subtle hints to drive you mad*←Any approximate timeframe as to when it comes out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsoul Posted July 26, 2005 Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 Yes, direct conversion from CD --> ATRAC3plus (320kbps and 256kbps) via SonicStage 3.2.As for files in its original WAV format, I've been able to convert/transfer it in ATRAC3plus to my HiMD and VAIO Pocket.←Unfortunately, when you try to burn an ATRAC CD you can't use the new bitrates. You are forced to use the old bit rates. I thought I had a bunch of new options for my PSYC ZS-SN10 boombox. Kinda confused as to why that couldn't read those new bitrates. It can read a range of mp3 bitrates. Or am I missing something? Still, I like the option to remove DRM and the unlimited uploads makes me feels a WHOLE lot better about Sony today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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