dex Otaku Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 The main differences between the regional versions of SS are in where they point the Connect portion to. If you don't use the Connect, store, it's nothing to worry about.I'm in Canada, and since mid-2004 I've used versions from the US, Canada, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. I've never had a single issue related to regionalising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gloomy gus Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) Hi! My question is: can i transfer files from Hi-MD to PC which was originally recorded on pre-NetMD devises via USB? Thanks. Edited February 4, 2006 by gloomy gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightsdir Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 will this support older players like MZ-N505? I tried transfering a file that I recorded via analog and although it said it transferred, I can't find a sign of it anywhere on my pc.Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 gloomy gus and knightsdir:Not to be rude, but you might try reading the entire thread first. You might also try the search engine, looking at the "view new posts" page [link at top of every page], and looking under the relevant subfora for topics relating to what you're askng about.To answer directly, again, for the billionth time [prominent stickied FAQs on the subject notwithstanding] .. NO, you can not upload MD or MDLP recordings.See also this recent thread:http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=14120 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LupinIV Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) 2 words:THANX, SONY!!!! I was this far from trashing 12 years of MD companionship. Now I can happily keep on using Hi-MD Well done, keep up with the good work and give us a 3rd Gen Hi-MD.Cheers Edited February 4, 2006 by LupinIV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berke Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 WOW! This is Surely Great News!!!!I'm back into using MDs after quite a few years, I just bought my MZ100, and now these improvements made it all worthwhile! Absolutely amazing, Sony did what it was supposed to do, and I appreciate every bit of it wholeheartedly. Congratulations, and Thank you Sony.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petecrook Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Amazing! This is what I've been waiting for. Now all I need is support for SP uploading.YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES PLEASE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorola Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) I´ve read all the forum, no one has said nothing about a great new function on SS 3.4. I have lots of imported MP3s with no tag (example: track01.mp3, track02.mp3 etc).With the GET CD INFO function now SS searches on CDDB and it can find the information and change the name of the files. I guess it uses the name of the artist and album to search for the name of the tracks In SS 3.3 only could do this if the files were importes from a CD (and sometimes gave error).You can put on order your entire library easily now. Edited February 4, 2006 by Motorola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rronaldson Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) I've downloaded the 3.4 installer but it can't retrieve the installation files at the moment ...... oops forget it ...... seems to be working OK now. Edited February 4, 2006 by rronaldson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekdroid Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Puts a whole new spin on HiMD. I'd like to see all of the iPod fanatics try to trade songs with one another. Actually they can. And far more quickly and easily with simple third-party tools that require no software to be installed on the computer itself. (software which, of course, is not supplied by Apple but available on the net for free, right now. Legally free..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pichu64 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 sonic stage 3.4 is perfect!!! HIMD is now the best digital music player/recorder!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekdroid Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 sonic stage 3.4 is perfect!!! HIMD is now the best digital music player/recorder!!!Sonistage perfect?! Confucius say: *Seek inspiration from drag-n-drop. *Do not encrypt private recordings.*Find simpler GUI.*allow users to seek harmony without library if they don't need it*do not delete files that exist in 2 places like a rude intruder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocomitch Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Hi -I'm new to this site.I've had a MZ900 for exactly one year now.I use it every single day either in the car, or out and about, or as the main player into my hifi using the line out.SS 3.4 is a big improvement - all these horrible DMR's have gone one and for all ( at least I hope so -havn't tested all the options yet!)Are the 2nd gen minidiscs any improvement over the 1st gens?They don't seem to have a line out on the new models. A minor drawback for me...Does mp3 playback work properly on the new models? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alrose312 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Has anyone else had a problem with their computer locking up with the new 3.4 upgrade? Ever since I installed it, I'm having trouble downlouding form CONNECT and SonicStage locks up my computer to the point where I have to "Ctrl/Alt/Delete" out of the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ral-Clan Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 (edited) Short answer... Nope.The PC>NetMD link is a one-way street, hardware wise. No software updates can change the NetMD unit's hardware to enable it. Practically speaking, this is true. But I don't think technically speaking it is. After all, when you hook a "regular-MD" NetMD machine to a computer, can't Sonic Stage then retreive track info (name, length, etc.) from the Minidisc's TOC? If so, then this would mean there is at least some form of minimal data line sending information "up" to the computer (therefore a two-way street, with most of the lanes being reserved for PC-to-MD downloading, and a small bicycle trail being left for sending info the other way).I realise this is just a "pipe dream", but at least it leaves the door open a crack that some sort of software hack or even an official upgrade from Sony might one day allow digital uploading from regular NetMDs.And of course, there is always the option suggested by another poster on this board: that one day Sony might allow the uploading of music on "regular" MDs by putting them in a Hi-MD walkman hooked to a computer.The above will probably never come to pass, but it points out there is still some possibility.If they add support for uploading old SP Minidiscs (by inserting them in a Hi-MD player) I'm in. I'd buy a Hi-MD walkman or deck that very week. Until then I'll just wait until my old SP walkman gives up the ghost (it's a great machine - the MZ-R700 and since it cost me a lot when I bought it two years ago I'd like to get my full use out of it - also standard SP mode sounds great).I am very excited about the removal of most of the DRM....I'd hope it's not (as another poster stated) "too little, too late". Edited February 4, 2006 by Ral-Clan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvaniel Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Thanks so much you guys-- I really appreciate you going through the trouble of evaluating each of the Sonic Stages and providing the download info, and of course for running the forum I wanted to die when I installed SS 3.1-- ghad it was awful, but you guys saved me with each of the updates =*-*=THANK-YOU ~-Philip...looks like we have a real program here. 8D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHAPSODY1 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU....to the powers that be for sending me an email last night regarding the new 3.4. As soon as I logged into Sony, I immediately began downloading. Took almost 3 hours for the whole process to take effect, thanks to dinosaur dial up, but it was WORTH IT! This works like a dream!I echo the sentiments that someone posted earlier regarding a use for this with Net MD products. (My little MZ-N707 is feeling neglected Would make my life considerably easier once they adapt it for that series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duley Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 SS 3.3 is the most recent release on the Canadian site. I see the 3.4 release on the US site, but it says in big letters that the download is for US models only, and may not work with models from other countries. Is this really true? Should I wait for 3.4 to be posted on the Canadian site, or should I be OK to download the US version for a MZ-RH10 I bought in Canada? Is there really any difference between the models bought in different countries?Duley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrucellij Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 I just installed Sonic Stage 3.4 . It is a great revision ... Sony really shouldn't really scrap it.Also minidisc Australia has for sale on ebay 1 gig (MD-HI (Blue) $USD 5.49 shipping $3.30 + .30 each additional no limit ) so you can use Sonic stage 3.4 to fill up those new discs . The link is HI-MD Sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 SS 3.3 is the most recent release on the Canadian site. I see the 3.4 release on the US site, but it says in big letters that the download is for US models only, and may not work with models from other countries. Is this really true? Should I wait for 3.4 to be posted on the Canadian site, or should I be OK to download the US version for a MZ-RH10 I bought in Canada? Is there really any difference between the models bought in different countries?DuleyI downloaded and installed the European version (I'm in the states) because it was available before US version was. Seems to work fine. The only problem I could see arising is the Connect Store probably won't work. I never use connect so doesn't affect me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnageddon Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Minidisc has always been the best digital music player, and SS3.4 just cements that. Like others have said, it would have been great if Sony had done this earlier, it will be difficult to pry the iPods from the hands of all those trend followers.But now with the riddance of the draconian DRM problem, I can evangelize anew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesavis Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 I installed 3.4 and tried to use it as I had a previous version. I record LPs to .wav files and divide them into tracks - a folder with the album name and then each track as a file within the folder. Before when I imported a folder or group of folders to transfer to Hi-MD, Sonic Stage would retain the folder (album) names and keep the tracks associated with the albums. Now SS just imports the tracks and gives them a number without any folder association or name. Can I get it to operate the old way?- Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZ-1 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Has anyone noticed a problem with writing multiple various albums to Hi-MD (MZ-RH10) in one pass? Seems to happen with 192K and 256K so far. SS seems to lock up and I have to write the albums individually to Hi-MD.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Has anyone noticed a problem with writing multiple various albums to Hi-MD (MZ-RH10) in one pass? Seems to happen with 192K and 256K so far. SS seems to lock up and I have to write the albums individually to Hi-MD.This has been the case for SS3.3 and it seems Sony haven't fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burns3016 Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 Wow ! This is great news regarding the new version of SonicStage !However ? Me thinks that this might just be a "going-away" present form SONY ? ie. "now that we have SonicStage finally WORKING, and we can leave all our MD customers in peace, perhaps this is a good time to say bye-bye to Hi-MD" ? Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZ-NF610 Owner Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 "Give us a week or so. :ok"I just downloaded & installed SonicStage 3.4 onto my computer which has never before had a program installed on it that was designed to interface with my newly purchased MZ-NF610. After what appeared to be a successful install, the software required rebooting. Then, when opening SS3.4 for the first time, one step the process recommends is to "Import" music files I already have on the hard drive. After about 10 minutes of this process, a box popped up stating "Omgibox.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close." It suggested filing an error report, which I approved, then closed SS3.4. Naturally, any software failure is frustrating. But this error message only reported "Omgibox.exe has encountered a problem," rather than stating something like (hypothetical) "Music file xxxxxxxxx.mpg is improperly encoded and must be removed to complete importation process." At least a message like that would give users a hint as to what they can do to resolve the problem.I believe the general case statement, "has encountered a problem," should be replaced with a specific error report that can assist humans resolve what ever problems may be encountered.Any suggestions as to what I should try next?Thanks for your consideration,John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted February 4, 2006 Report Share Posted February 4, 2006 "Give us a week or so. :ok"Hi John,Try running the program without importing of files. Unfortunatly you may not be ablr=e to reap a lot of the benefits of this program, as you do not have the ability to upload with your model. but enjoy the rest of it.Take care,BobI just downloaded & installed SonicStage 3.4 onto my computer which has never before had a program installed on it that was designed to interface with my newly purchased MZ-NF610. After what appeared to be a successful install, the software required rebooting. Then, when opening SS3.4 for the first time, one step the process recommends is to "Import" music files I already have on the hard drive. After about 10 minutes of this process, a box popped up stating "Omgibox.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close." It suggested filing an error report, which I approved, then closed SS3.4. Naturally, any software failure is frustrating. But this error message only reported "Omgibox.exe has encountered a problem," rather than stating something like (hypothetical) "Music file xxxxxxxxx.mpg is improperly encoded and must be removed to complete importation process." At least a message like that would give users a hint as to what they can do to resolve the problem.I believe the general case statement, "has encountered a problem," should be replaced with a specific error report that can assist humans resolve what ever problems may be encountered.Any suggestions as to what I should try next?Thanks for your consideration,John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muso Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Now that rocks! I'm off to download. So Sony actually do occasionally listen to us! Nice one. Thanks Kurisu for heads up. I wonder how my HD5 will do with this update mind? hmmmCHeersJon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 (edited) I just downloaded & installed SonicStage 3.4 onto my computer which has never before had a program installed on it that was designed to interface with my newly purchased MZ-NF610.I believe the general case statement, "has encountered a problem," should be replaced with a specific error report that can assist humans resolve what ever problems may be encountered.JohnSony's error reports have always been cryptic and unenlightening. Some things never change. I don't think it's a good idea to have SonicStage import every music file on your computer. You'll get a whole lot of extra copies you'll never need, your hard drive will be all cluttered, and SonicStage won't keep the folders intact, trying to group by artist info instead. Other music-library programs--I'm tempted to say every other library program--are better for use in computer playback (Winamp, Real, ITunes, etc.). The only reason we're stuck with SonicStage is specifically to connect and transfer to minidisc. Better to import one album or folder at a time as you need it. You could see if doing that also crashes SonicStage. You may have a low-bitrate (48 kpbs) or variable-bitrate mp3 that SonicStage chokes on. Got CDs? To just pack a bunch of CDs onto a minidisc for portable use, get Simple Burner (from Sony or from Downloads here). Pop in the CD, open Simple Burner (which will get track info from CDDB) and transfer it onto the minidisc. SonicStage has to be installed for it to work, but Simple Burner is a lot more reliable, and it won't clutter your hard drive. The first time you use Simple Burner, click CONFIG (on the right) and change the options so it doesn't automatically load at startup or automatically try to transfer every CD you put in the drive. Edited February 5, 2006 by A440 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsherin Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 The deck doesn't use Hi-MD formats, so you won't be able to upload.That's a pity - the ability to upload from a non Hi-MD deck would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcTs Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 (edited) WOW! Been on vacation and what a great thing to come back to! After getting 3 people to convert to minidisc (they all went and bought one after seeing and trying out my rh10) this will will allow me to tell them more great featuures to use.. Thanks $ony!On a a side note, I was afraid that this might be a good-bye gift from sony to the minidisc users, as someone in the opening page noted as well.. yet thinking about it.. the umd discs are in essence minidisc as well correct? albeit 2 gb.. instead of 1gb, but minidisc.. right? I have the psp and the discs are almost the same size.. just different casings. I do not think that this format will be dying anytime soon. Considering they have sold 6.5 million psps, and many more games for them at that. Now if only there was a 2 gb or 4 gb minidisc that our hi-md could play with a firmware update. SIGH......Damn you SONY!.. Taking all my money! Edited February 5, 2006 by AcTs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmania Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I have a chance to buy a MZ-M100 for 340.00, is this worth the money and worth taking chance since SS upgrade? Thanks In Advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raintheory Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I have a chance to buy a MZ-M100 for 340.00, is this worth the money and worth taking chance since SS upgrade? Thanks In Advance!Do you need to upload to a MAC? If not, you can get the MZ-RH10 for a good bit cheaper... The only difference is that the M100 can upload to MAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riotshield Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 i dont know if its mentioned before, i cant read all 11 pages.but heres an analysis of the compression modes of 352/256/192 of ATRAC3+as you can see 256/352 are almost lossless, something we knewbut 192 is still very good but there is a quality compromisealthough better than the equivalent mp3 file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommypeters Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Thanks for that graph, actually it shows more difference between 256 and 352 than I thought (and that meaning less difference between 352 and original than I thought) - 352 seems to be able to replace PCM for those very complicated classical tracks where 256kbps isn't quite enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmania Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Do you need to upload to a MAC? If not, you can get the MZ-RH10 for a good bit cheaper... The only difference is that the M100 can upload to MAC.I actually do and also I'm after the microphone for recording. how much is RH10 anyways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekdroid Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 i dont know if its mentioned before, i cant read all 11 pages.but heres an analysis of the compression modes of 352/256/192 of ATRAC3+Do you have some more details on how you tested this?Equipment used, mp3 encoder type, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riotshield Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Do you have some more details on how you tested this?Equipment used, mp3 encoder type, etc.i did all the conversions in sonicstage.i imported original wav and converted it to 352/256/192 each timeand then imported the .oma file and saved back to .wavi used razorlame 3.97 for mp3 encoding.the graphs were made using adobe audition.ps.can you suggest a good mp3 encoder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plbond Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I'm not new to MD but I am to the forum. All very interesting stuff. However, I'm a Mac User, so I don't suppose I can expect anything comparable to the PC only 'sonic stage' any time soon. Or can I? I've heard the view that if Sony made Hi-MD Mac compatible it would seem like 'giving in' to a competing platform. I can't see this argument myself. Are there any 'technical' as opposed to 'political' 'competition' reasons why Sony can't make the MD mac compatible? Here in the UK, the high street electronics retailers have stopped selling MD player/recorders and blanl discs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jadeclaw Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Well, the reason for not having a Mac-Edition is a technical one.First, Apple marketshare is in the single digit percentage range,second, porting SonicStage onto the Mac-Platform would require a major rewriteof the whole thing, not very economical.The library uses the Microsoft desktop database engine and a host of other MS-Windows only features.And because of that, don't expect a Mac-SonicStage in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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