magmo Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 HiI asked the sony support if the NW-A3000 equalizer is available for mp3 files, and the reply I got was...."The Connect software converts all mp3 files to atrac files, and the players equalizer therefore only support atrac files"Is this really true!!?? In that case this player is not even a mp3 player only a atrac player.Could someone please spread some light here?AlsoHave the new update of the connect software fixed the problems that it had or are there still bugs left? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ascariss Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 Never ask sony anything.all the new players have native mp3 playback and do not conert the mp3 to atrac format.equalizer supports mp3s, atrac and wma, I have tested them all and they all function with the EQ.There are still bugs in CP, but the program works and you can easily transfer files to the player. If not you can use sonicstage 3.3 to transfer the files. Check out these threads for more info on the A3000.http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=412http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=511http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=489http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showforum=7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 magmo Posted December 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 HiThats good to hear, I still haven't decided if I should by the A3000 yet. When it first saw the commercial for it, I wanted one immediately. But after reading all the posts about the crapy software and my contact with the Sony support I'm not that sure anymore.What would your advice be? Do you recommend this player?Best Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Zizone_ Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I don't know if I am really lucky, but... so far Connect Player works fast (5-10sec) to load and never crashed on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Chris J Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 LOL I have a new habit. Everytime I load up CONNECT I time it in my head how long it takes to load. For me it averages between 12-17 seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ascariss Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 recommend this player? Well I would but the problem is that everyone has had a different experience with the software so far. I have been fortunate and everything has worked 90% of the time and transferring files is no problem, which is what I wanted the software to do.The player itself I would recommend, it is a great piece of technology and one the better sony products I have come across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 chriswyatt Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 I had problems importing from Sonicstage, but I've just given up with that and I'm just re-ripping my CDs and I've had no problems as of yet.Still confused about how I'd get my Connect purchased items from Sonicstage to Connect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Zizone_ Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 (edited) ofcourse, I definitely recommend NW-A1000/3000. Edited December 29, 2005 by Zizone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Stuge Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 I would definately recommened this player but Sony support is pathetic from my experiance (except for Connect problem) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 sh33p Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 (edited) anything is better than ipod bruvand it depends what you're looking for. as far as hardcore music players are concerned this is one of the top. if you don't need to play videos or a colour screen go for it Edited December 29, 2005 by sh33p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 magmo Posted December 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 HiThe one I've been looking at is the iAudio x5, it has color display, video playback and some other stuff. But the most important thing for me is the mp3 playback, sound quality and easy navigation. iPod is not an option at all for me.When looking in the manual for the NW-A3000 the navigation seems to be very logical and easy. iAudios navigation doesn't seem that logical and easy that I would like it to be.What do you guys think, will there be any more firmware and software upgrades for this model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ascariss Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 Naviagation is actually a breeze, you don't even need the manual really to figure out the options, shouldn't take a person more than 5 minutes to learn it. It is just like a cell phone.Mp3 playback available and great sound quality and ease of navigation. Well wma support was released, so yes firmware updates are going to be released in the future if need be. as for the software, I would guess that by late january, they will have the software all working fine and stable. Seems logical since if Sony announces the new models at CES 2006 for the US market, and with sales most likely in the spring 2006, a stable and easy to use connect player is a must for the US market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Stuge Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 Not sure about the future fimware upgrades for A3000 but Software upgrades definately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 magmo Posted December 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 So the player hasen't been released in US yet... That I didn't know. Well then there's definitly going to be updates to the connect software. I'm pretty sure that Sony's support otherwize will be kept buzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 psmith Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 Hello, new to these posts, its nice to find out i am not the only person having problems with the connect software, for some reason mine seems to try to access my floppy drives (A & for a couple of minutes before it loads. Anyway, i was wondering if somebody can help me understand the way sonys hardware deals with MP3s, i have a NW-A3000 and i have installed the connect software and added a couple of MP3s to the library, i then connect the device and go in to the preferences and select file format and this is where it all goes wrong... Seeing as the device is marketed and sold as a MP3 player i assumed that it would give me the option to change the "preferred file format on device" to MP3, but it won't, i can only select ATRAC3 or ATRAC3plus. I have told it not to convert the files if they are compatable but when it transfers the files to the device it gives them a .OMG extension, i assume it is not converting the files from MP3 but it is renaming them for the benifit of the devices software. What i want is for the device to leave the file extension alone. I don't want to get into the advantages/disadvantages of file formats, i want to transfer my music to the device as MP3s. Is this possible? Am i doing something wrong? I have downloaded the latest version of the software, but to no avail. If anyone can advise me i would be grateful - thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ascariss Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 The files are still mp3 files on the units, you can check that via the file information in the options when the song is playing.the omg is a layer of copyright protection wrapped around the mp3 file so you can't transfer it so someone's pc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 sh33p Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 the omg is a layer of copyright protection wrapped around the mp3 file so you can't transfer it so someone's pc.do most, or all mp3 players do this? or do some work on a drag and drop basis like an external storage device? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ascariss Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 Not sure if apple does it or cowan, but sony is a copyright freak and love to add copyright protection to most music players they have, MD included.But there are some players out there that just work by drag and drog using windows explorer.Since the chips in the new units has the ability to support DRM WMA files, it's now when will sony release support for WMA DRM and a store perhaps with DRM WMA files or the ability for play-for-sure files to work on the new units.Sadly I've never been a huge fan of wma files, so it doesn't matter to me if play for sure is supported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Dinko Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 do most, or all mp3 players do this? or do some work on a drag and drop basis like an external storage device?No. Sony devices wrap the files in OMG protection. Toshiba devices add a similar *.SAT extension.The iPod hides the files from Windows Explorer, but if you ask Explorer to show hidden files and folders, you'll see the actual AAC files and they are playable as if they had just been dragged and dropped, although I haven't tried playing them on other computers, they appear to be regular AAC files, no extra extensions or DRM. Haven't tried mp3s on the iPod.Other than that, I know from experience that (at least some if not all) Samsung & RCA player leave the files as they are. You can drag and drop files on them. Some RCA players require you to run "Device Profiler" which organizes all the ID3 tags, you can do it through the computer, or on the device itself. Samsung just accepts drag and drop, no profiling required.I can't speak first hand about other brands, but Cowon & others reportedly accept simple drag and drop, or at the very least don't add stupid DRM like Sony & Toshiba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Stuge Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 The iPod hides the files from Windows Explorer, but if you ask Explorer to show hidden files and folders, you'll see the actual AAC files and they are playable as if they had just been dragged and dropped, although I haven't tried playing them on other computers, they appear to be regular AAC files, no extra extensions or DRM. Haven't tried mp3s on the iPod.Yes ,AAC or Mp4 files can be played on any computer using I-tunes .I got around 300 AAC files from my friends I-POD which were produced on his PC in England but those AAC files worked on my PC without any trouble .Also we can convert them into MP3 format using I-tunes without any problems . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 hawkspy Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Never ask sony anything.all the new players have native mp3 playback and do not conert the mp3 to atrac format.equalizer supports mp3s, atrac and wma, I have tested them all and they all function with the EQ.There are still bugs in CP, but the program works and you can easily transfer files to the player. If not you can use sonicstage 3.3 to transfer the files. Check out these threads for more info on the A3000.http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=412http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=511http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showtopic=489http://www.atraclife.com/index.php?showforum=7I found this thread which would seem to suggest that the unit does infact convert music to ATRAC on the fly during playback...are you sure it plays back MP3s natively?http://www.lordpercy.com/sony_nwa3000_review.htmThanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Stuge Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 I found this thread which would seem to suggest that the unit does infact convert music to ATRAC on the fly during playback...are you sure it plays back MP3s natively?http://www.lordpercy.com/sony_nwa3000_review.htmThankshawkspy,Why are you confusing yourself further .All Sony old & new series(except few old models )) i.e A-series models plays Mp3s without any conversion & nOw new models can play Wma after Firmware upgrade .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Question
magmo
Hi
I asked the sony support if the NW-A3000 equalizer is available for mp3 files, and the reply I got was....
"The Connect software converts all mp3 files to atrac files, and the players equalizer therefore only support atrac files"
Is this really true!!?? In that case this player is not even a mp3 player only a atrac player.
Could someone please spread some light here?
Also
Have the new update of the connect software fixed the problems that it had or are there still bugs left?
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