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dealing with MP3s in Hi-MD

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WaywardTraveller

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I don't know about others here, but I find SS particularly annoying in that if you want to convert MP3 to ATRAC (which I usually do, since I find ATRAC generally sounds way better than MP3) you have to Import the MP3s, convert them, Delete the Playlist entry (WITHOUT deleting the files from your computer), re-import the "Optimized Files" .OMAs, and then transfer the files to MD. wacko.gif

I found out this process through some particularly agonizing trial-and-error (which involved me accidentally deleting 2GB of Frank Zappa, Rush and Tool - thank god for backups!!!!). If my posting this process step-by-step would help anyone I'd be happy to do so. Or if anyone else knows a better way to do it, please share for the rest of us!

peace

WaywardTraveller

Edited by WaywardTraveller
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I think you're making this far to complicated.

Use SonicStage's transfer settings to specify the Atrac bitrate you would like to use all the time and then whenever you go to transfer the MP3 it will be converted into Atrac first and then transfered. SonicStage can even save this converted file so you don't need to convert it more than once

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Yep and yep....tried both of these strategies, and no matter what the MP3s are simply transferred across as MP3. I've tried using the Settings button to select a "specified bit rate transfer mode," and no matter what kbps I select MP3s are always transferred as-is. The only time I seem to be able to get an on-the-fly conversion to ATRAC is when I rip directly from CD sad.gif. Am I missing something? I find the SS interface quite distracting, counterintuitive and occasionally frustrating..

Edit: I just tried to convert an MP3 to an ATRAC format with less kbps than the original and it seemed to work...but for the past 10 albums I've tried the same thing and it insisted on keeping the MP3 format unsure.gif .......

peace

WaywardTraveller

Edited by WaywardTraveller
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I'm puzzled why you think a transcoded ATRAC file can sound better then a the MP3 its been created from. Certainly tha vast majoirty of them should be worse quality and should sound noticeably worse.

For me Atrac3 132 sounds like MP3 160 or 192 kbs and takes a lot of fewer space than a MP3 in that rates or higer.

That´s a reason for do this.

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I'm puzzled why you think a transcoded ATRAC file can sound better then a the MP3 its been created from. Certainly tha vast majoirty of them should be worse quality and should sound noticeably worse.

I've tried a couple of experiments uploading the song as MP3 and then converting it to 132kbps ATRAC and uploading it alongside the original MP3. For me, in every case the ATRAC version wins out; the MP3 usually sounds horrible in the treble spectrum (which seems to be an issue with Sony Hi-MD units supporting native MP3 playback) and the recording volume is substantially lower. I've done this using both <132 and >132kbps MP3s converted to ATRAC 132kbps.

The ATRAC version always sounds more robust and both bass and treble seem fine (hmm...could this be Sony's way of pushing ATRAC? lol)

But don't take my word for it...if you haven't already, try it and judge for yourself biggrin.gif

peace

WaywardTraveller

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An update vis-a-vis my MP3 dilemma with SonicStage:

Just now I tried transferring another MP3 album to HI-MD. I Imported the MP3s to the SS Library, and configured Settings to transfer as 132kbps ATRAC. I transfer the first track and, lo and behold! It says "Converting..." and it's transferred as ATRAC!

BUT...when I try it with the next track - in fact, every other track I tried - it's somehow reverted back to throwing MP3s across without conversion, even if I try different bitrates, i.e. 256,64,48. Maybe it's a bug in SonicStage?

peace

WaywardTraveller

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I'm not disputing that ATRAC sounds better than MP3, thats very subjective. I might even agree with it myself. But that a ATRAC from a MP3 sounds better than the original MP3. A MP3 ripped from a CD should sound better, than a ATRAC ripped from that MP3. Since you've compressed the original recording twice.

However its generally agreed that on the 2nd gen units Mp3 sound has been tweaked (for no good reason, other than Sony marketing) to sound worse than ATRAC files. So that would explain what you are hearing. But its pretty poor if the MP3 playback is so degraded that a ATRAC file encoded from a MP3 sounds better than the original MP3.

Again its all subjective, and if you can't hear it then forget about it. But you should really do your ears a favour and rip directly to ATRAC from the original CD. It sounds a lot, lot better.

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...BUT...when I try it with the next track - in fact, every other track I tried - it's somehow reverted back to throwing MP3s across without conversion, even if I try different bitrates, i.e. 256,64,48.  Maybe it's a bug in SonicStage?..

Sound like a bug alright. Personally I don't convert my files when transferring them, I try to avoid trancoding as much as possible. If I have a MP3 copy of an album thay I want on my MD, I rerip it from the CD to ATRAC for the HiMD.

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I don't know about others here, but I find SS particularly annoying in that if you want to convert MP3 to ATRAC (which I usually do, since I find ATRAC generally sounds way better than MP3) you have to Import the MP3s, convert them, Delete the Playlist entry (WITHOUT deleting the files from your computer), re-import the "Optimized Files" .OMAs, and then transfer the files to MD.  wacko.gif

I found out this process through some particularly agonizing trial-and-error (which involved me accidentally deleting 2GB of Frank Zappa, Rush and Tool - thank god for backups!!!!).  If my posting this process step-by-step would help anyone I'd be happy to do so.  Or if anyone else knows a better way to do it, please share for the rest of us!

peace

WaywardTraveller

As far as I can remember, mp3s must have atleast something like 320 before SS is able to convert them to ATRAC...........

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In my experience, SS can convert any MP3 of any bitrate, either fixed or variable bit-rate; my only problem has been the ease of the process mad.gif

Sparky: I totally agree with you re: CDs sounding better ripped to ATRAC...and as far as the MP3-ATRAC issue goes, it has been elsewhere mentioned that maybe the inferior quality of native MP3s is a marketing strategy by Sony...wouldn't surprise me at all rolleyes.gif

On the off-chance anyone else is having my problem (i.e. SS is getting stubborn), here's how I get around it (it's actually really easy):

1. Open SS

2. Go to Tools/Options and set the "Location to save imported files" to whatever you want

3. import your MP3s/album into My Library

4. go into the album folder, select all tracks (ctrl-A), right-click, select "Convert Format" and select the bitrate you want. Go get a coffee. SS will create ATRAC files (.OMA) in the imported files folder you chose in #2.

5. when conversion is finished, close the results window. Delete the folder from My Library BUT make sure the "delete this music file from the computer" checkbox is UNCHECKED! This will delete the album from the Library but preserve the files.

6. go to Import Files and re-import your album/MP3s by browsing to your "Location to save imported files" folder. IN that folder is another folder called "Optimized Files." In that folder are all the ATRAC files you just created.

7. select all of them and click "Import." they will all RE-APPEAR in exactly the same positions in "My Library" that the MP3s were in.

8. just select and transfer!

All you're really doing is manually converting and then transferring. Doesn't take much longer at all, all things considered....read a book, meditate, cut your fingernails, whatever. tongue.gif

If someone can post a better way to get around this bug, then ignore all this!

peace

WaywardTraveller

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