New Firmware Update for the NW-A1000/1200/3000

[Ishiyoshi]

NW-A1000/1200/3000 Firmware Update 2.01

Finally, the much anticipated firmware update that enables WMA support for the NW-A1000/1200/3000 is available as of December 26, 2005 from Sony. The firmware update is of version 2.01 and amount to approximately 3.2MB.

New feature enabled:

WMA format support.

note: WMA file should have sampling frequency of 44.1 KHz and bit rates:

CBR 32/48/64/80/96/128/160/192/256/320 kbps

VBR 40-75/50-95/85-145/135-215/240-355 kbps

WMA files which are copyright protected cannot be played from the Network Walkman

Affected units:

Network WALKMAN NW-A1000/1200/3000 with firmware version 2.01

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DOWNLOAD LINKS:

NW-A1000

Sony Europe | Sony Japan | Sony Asia-Pacific | Sony Canada

NW-A1200

Sony Japan

NW-A3000

Sony Europe | Sony Japan | Sony Asia-Pacific | Sony Canada

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INSTALLATION PROCEDURE

Please follow the procedure below to check the firmware version installed on your NW-A1000 WALKMAN:

1. Press and hold the BACK button until the HOME menu appears.

2. Press settings , (up) / (down) / (left) / (right) to select (config) and then press (play).

3. Press (up) / (down) to (Unit information) and then press (play).

4. Confirm the firmware version

--> Create the following folder on the C:\ drive of your computer: : FWUP

--> Read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page and click I accept to download the program: NW-A1000_V2_01.exe - 3,224 KB.

--> Follow the instructions and save the program to C:\FWUP

--> Check that the downloaded file is 3,224 KB. If not, delete the file and repeat the download steps.

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UPGRADE PROCEDURE

Once the download is finished, please follow the steps below to upgrade the program.

Before updating the firmware, return all music files and data files of the unit to the computer. After firmware is updated, it may not be possible to use the music files and data files on the unit. Sony is not responsible for music files and data files that cannot be saved on your computer due to the updating.

1. Connect the unit to the PC.

2. Click Start button on the task bar and click Run - The Run dialog box will be open.

3. Browse to C:\FWUP\NW-A1000_V2_01.exe in the Open text box and click OK. The program will be started.

4. Follow the following screenshots:

*If “Charge the device before performing the software update.” is indicated, this means that the battery needs to be recharged. Then, update the firmware again.

5. Accept the License Agreement and click Next

6. Connect the NW-A1000 to your computer and click OK.

7. Close all the programs and click OK.

8. Click OK to start the update process.

9. Safely remove the USB device from the computer and Click OK

10. After a few seconds the firmware will update automatically on the device. Once finished, it will restart. Click OK

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AFTER UPGRADE

Please confirm the version when the upgrade program is installed successfully with the above steps. The upgrade program installation is succeeded when “2.01” is shown on the screen.

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[Razorback]

after i upgraded to 2.01 firmware, the button started not to lıght orange while pressing the artistlink button..

but if i press the artist link for 2 or 3 times.. it lights orange for 1 second.. not 2...

[Machine]

my downloaded file is 3.14mb (3,301,056 . its meant to be 3,224kb....?

i re try to download it but it is the same size. Is it meant to be this size. i thought i better ask beofre installing it.

[Ishiyoshi]

my downloaded file is 3.14mb (3,301,056 . its meant to be 3,224kb....?

i re try to download it but it is the same size. Is it meant to be this size. i thought i better ask beofre installing it.

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It should be 3,224 kb upon download.

[Minger]

..no love for the old players...

VAIO Pocket in general...

[Machine]

It should be 3,224 kb upon download.

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What can i do if all im downloading is 3.14 mb (3,301,056

[Ishiyoshi]

What can i do if all im downloading is 3.14 mb (3,301,056

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Try downloading the file once again. The final file size in your Windows Explorer will read 3,224KB.

[DG55]

Is there any playsforsure support in this update?

[Ascariss]

other than WMA support, no other changes to the units? Seeing as I don't need WMA support, I think I'll skip this one.

[Mike66]

I have had the same download size as "Machine" above & have deleted & re-installed from above thread but still same file size. Is this important or is this a potential problem?

[Kane3162]

ITS THE RIGHT SIZE DONT WORRY.... ROFL the author of this post forgot to mention that his partition allocation table is diffrent from the standard size.... on my regular drive it appears the same as machine but on my storage drive (64K allocation unit size) it appears as 3,224................ROFL ZZOMG ITS THE RIGHT ONE DOWNLOAD IT

rofl mate

Edited December 26, 2005 by Kane3162

[indeego]

Ishiyoshi, what bitrates are supported for WMA CBR ?

[Christopher]

I'm not sure why the article states 192kbps is the max for VBR. From sources that have been extremely accurate in the past, this is what it does support:

CBR 32/48/64/80/96/128/160/192/256/320 kbps

VBR 40-75/50-95/85-145/135-215/240-355 kbps

Unless anyone can disprove this statement, I will edit the inital topic accordingly.

[Ascariss]

Ok, downloaded the update for the A3000, followed the instructions, unplugged the device, then let it update, took roughly 40 seconds if not less. Then the unit restarted, and I checked and it says that the version is 2.01, so that is good news.

As well all my songs are playing.

Interesting, is it me or does the player start up quicker?

[Christopher]

I have heard that the unit may have better preformance with this update. No offical word yet. Any luck with WMA's?

[Ascariss]

Ripping 2 cds now as write this, one in CBR 192, the other in VBR 220-350 or whatever the highest one WMP8 will do. then I will try to import them into CP and transfer them over, hopefully they will not covert to atrac in the process.

[Ascariss]

Well somehow I am not surprised, but everything has gone accordingly to plan. Firmware update to 2.01, then ripped 2 cds, one at 192 CBR WMA as stated above and the other using the highest VBR, 240-355. So far so good.

listening to the 2 albums right now, listening to a song at 343VBR WMA now. So we can safely say, WMA works.

Now if only Sony added Atrac lossless and wma lossless.

[Dinko]

Glad to hear everything works properly.

Now if only Sony added Atrac lossless and wma lossless.

Now, now... we got this far, don't ask for too much. Give them a few weeks of rest before asking for the moon.

[Christopher]

Wow, so I was right. This is good, real good. Anything that's high bitrate and works well is always a step in the right direction. I wonder what the battery life would be like with WMA only.

Does it say WMA when playing such back on the unit itself?

[Guest Stuge]

Now if only Sony added Atrac lossless and wma lossless.

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I think Sony is not going to add support for Atrac Lossles early ..First they will see the reponce of the people after this update.

[Ascariss]

Haahaha Dinko good one. Perhaps also on the fly playlists would be nice as well, but we can all dream....

When I go to track/song information it states that it is a WMA file, with the whatever bitrate with VBR and 192 displayed using CBR.

[Christopher]

Did you try higher than 192kbps CBR WMA?

[Guest Stuge]

IS WMA sounding better than Atrac & Mp3 in A3000/1000/1200

[Ascariss]

No, my WMP can only rip to 192 at CBR, I am too lazy to upgrade to WMP 10. But if VBR works at 352 I am sure CBR will as well.

Not sure on the sound, I still prefer mp3, don't use atrac.

[Beethovenian]

Could you test a gapless album to see how it goes? WMA is gapless on Windows Media Player and nowhere else, but then again, no player other than Sony's is gapless.

[DG55]

Can you sync this player with WMP10 now?

Wheres the playsforsure support!

[Spacecase]

Just tried it and it doesn't play WMA's gapless.

Ripped the disc at 192 CBR and it plays ok, wouldn't like to comment on the sound quality tho'

BTW, WMP10 max CBR rip rate is 192

At least i know my upgrade worked ! and it does seem to start up a little quicker.

[Ascariss]

Can you sync this player with WMP10 now?

Wheres the playsforsure support!

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You can't sync with WMP10, so there really is no point in me getting it. You can only use the Connect Player to sync with the device. As far as i know there never was supposed to be any syncing with WMP10, only Connect player.

WMP10 would only be good for ripping your cds into wma format nothing more.

[Spacecase]

WMP10 would only be good for ripping your cds into wma format nothing more.

It will also rip to MP3 format as well.

The depressing thing is that WMP 10 will rip a CD at 192 WMA in less than a quarter of the time it takes Connect to rip it to ATRAC.

[DG55]

Yes, but then again there was never supposed to be WMA support. I just thought that perhaps with the addition of WMA support, they would have let it sync with WMP10 now too. As soon as it syncs with WMP10, im sold. It'd be perfect.

[mgillespie]

Stupid question, how does Connect Player know that the unit can now do WMA support? It used to have to transcode WMA, now it only has to transfer it. Does Connect negioate the devices capabilities on connection? If so Connect must have already been WMA aware.

[Christopher]

It was always known that the NW-A units would have the ability to play back WMA files, but only after a firmware upgrade. It's like the PSP, it comes out of the box at 233mhz, but is really capable of 333mhz -- or comes enabled as 802.11b, but can actually do 11b+g -- both of which will be unlocked eventually after a firmware upgrade.

[mercury_in_flames]

Well somehow I am not surprised, but everything has gone accordingly to plan. Firmware update to 2.01, then ripped 2 cds, one at 192 CBR WMA as stated above and the other using the highest VBR, 240-355. So far so good.

listening to the 2 albums right now, listening to a song at 343VBR WMA now. So we can safely say, WMA works.

Now if only Sony added Atrac lossless and wma lossless.

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So i guess they have forgotten about WMA for the HD5?

[Guest Stuge]

So i guess they have forgotten about WMA for the HD5?

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It`s not part of their plan (I think so) but i would be very nice if they can enable WMA support for older models as well .

[sh33p]

i doubt it; no love for older models..

[Ascariss]

It will also rip to MP3 format as well.

The depressing thing is that WMP 10 will rip a CD at 192 WMA in less than a quarter of the time it takes Connect to rip it to ATRAC.

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haha, I don't WMP, I prefer winamp for some reason, much faster on my PC.

I rarely rip my cds using wmp, but I might use it if it can do mp3 format. Would have to compare it to other methods I use for ripping and how fast each is.

DG55 there was supposed to be WMA support, but only after the firmware update actually. There is a member working on a plugin for winamp for the a3000, not sure on his progress, but I am sure he would also make one for WMP.

[DG55]

Thanks. So, no suprise WMP10 compatability? Has anyone with one of these players tried it?

[Dinko]

Here's another pointless question:

After the firmware upgrades, does the A1000/A3000 still stop playback after playing an album or playlist?

[Ascariss]

Dinko did it always stop playback after an album finished?

I checked it out, playmode normal, not repeat and I was just listening to an album, 14 songs, oddly enough the wma albums I moved over. And after song 14 finished, song 1 began playing. So perhaps the problem is fixed? I've yet to test playlists lol.

[Dinko]

Sadly, yes. Every time I played an album, it played all the songs within the album, then stopped, and went back to the menu. If no action was taken, the player powered off. I tried different modes, but nothing changed. It kept stopping at the end of each album. Same thing if I chose to play by Playlist or Artist.

[Ascariss]

So I guess then the problem is solved. Let me check this via my A1000 since that doesnt have the updated firmware.

Edit, just checked hte A1000, firmware 1.00, and played an album on normal playback and 7 songs, and after song 7 finished, it went back and played song #1. So Dinko, I am not sure why your player did that.