clean patched connect player impressions wanted

[magmo]

Hi

Anyone tryed a new installation of the connect player software, updated it with the latest patches? Is the software stable and works ok or is there still problems?

[Obli]

I have a fast, well maintained PC and I've never had it crash.

It takes about 10-20 seconds to 'settle' when booted up (I mean, to become responsive and finish doing what it's got to do), probably double that if my NW-A1000 is plugged in. The program closes almost instantly for me but then I 'only' have about 325 songs in my library so far.

The songs transfer from the library (once imported, takes milliseconds to import a track) to the player via USB very quickly (IMO) - about 1 second a song @ 192kbps.

The Connect download store seems quite sluggish. For example, just scrolling the window can cause the display to freeze for a second or two (and this machine runs Quake 4 on high settings at 60FPS?! Heh). Also, there appears to be problems for me when I try to register for the Connect store.

There are a few niggles. If you want to edit song details, for example change the album name on 12 tracks, you have to do each one individually! You can't select all relevant tracks and edit their properties (silly, hopefully to be addressed). I've also has Connect interfere and change the track details / names etc. without asking me although I suspect it's just a case of disabling one of the many options in preferences.

Summary: Seems fast to transfer from PC to the player, bareable wait after launching Connect, ripping CDs was approx as fast as Windows Media Player (yes, I know - eurgh!) but that will depend on your CPU. Some usability aspects need changing which I'm sure will be dealt with.

My experience with Connect wasn't quite as bad as all the backlash across the internet suggests, but the software does need improving (could be quicker, need to edit multiple tracks and clearer explanation as what all the options in preferences do because not all are self explanatory).

I'm prepared to bare with the software atm as the player itself is fantastic - hooked it up to about £1000 of British hi-fi kit and it sounded brilliant.

[magmo]

Hi Obli

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Maybee you also know the answer of my post here...

http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...topic=756&st=10

I do hope Sony will make some major updates to the Connect software soon, beacuse of the poor software I still haven't bought one yet. I want one, but not with a software like that.

Edited January 2, 2006 by kurisu

[Oscar]

i have version 1170 and it works flawlessly, 750+ songs

[Obli]

magmo, your link isn't working right for me =)

[Christopher]

Should work now.

[maxthrusters]

I recently got an A608, and have tried my best to enjoy it with the Connect Player.

Too bad it doesn't work well even with a clean fresh install and fully patched for my needs.

Since I am used to SonicStage, and version 3.3 of that program has finally worked out the most annoying problems from the days of "check-in, check-out" madness I think I will be using that instead of Connect.

Here's a list of things I do not like about the Connect Player, in no real order of importance:

Too slow to start up.

Too many processes are run by it when NOT in use, never mind the additional ones that start when we actually use the program.

Very slow to import music. The program will use up all system memory, then stop and hang if you import a large directory or let it scan drives (I have over 10,000 songs). When this happens exiting program seems to corrupt database. "tinyhttp.exe" is the process that will eat all memory (and yes I am patched to 1170 or whatever). Importing one sub directory at a time is really boring...and once I did that up to about 2500 songs the player would hang anyway.

Album art is sometimes ignored and therefore not displayed.

Album and or song details are sometimes changed, both in Connect and my player itself (abbreviated or renamed artist names, for example).

ArtistLink doesn't appear to actually DO anything for me, other than make the software take a lot longer to import or export. Songs it matches on player don't seem related to me. Maybe this is because it needs access to the Connect Store to get data? There is no Connect Store access from Canada! "Additional information" fields on song properties are all blank.

It seems that the software is designed for users to put ALL their music on the players. Either the user picks what songs get transferred, or "sync all". No dynamic playlists? I actually picked the A608 to have something small to listen to random songs from my collection.

The good news is that SonicStage 3.3 works great with my player. The only new feature that doesn't seem to work is Intelligent Shuffle. A work-around is to install Connect Player, and not import anything. Transfer your songs with SonicStage, then close that and start Connect. Hook up player and let Connect load the player's contents. Once it is done you can disconnect player and all of Intelligent Shuffle features seem to work EXCEPT Time Machine Shuffle.

Anyway I wont be using Connect till I hear of some major improvements

Edited January 4, 2006 by maxthrusters

[granbajo]

I am using Connect Player with 3100+ songs, and although it is a bit slugish when I connect my AW3000, once it settles down it works OK. File transfer is fast as well.

The two main hic-ups I have are that Artist link doesn't seem to work for all tracks (maybe I haven't got all the correct settings!)

A couple of times the player has crashed when inserted a second CD to rip... the annoying bit here is that it requires a reboot (even after deleting al the Connect Player active tasks and TinyHTTP).

I started using SS, but IMHO the benefits you get with CP are worth the hassle...

I was glad to hear that Sony hasn't launched the new players in the US (according to today's front page news!) because the SW isn't ready (call me an optimist), but hopefully this is a sign of better things to come!

[sh33p]

Use WMP to rip... It's faster and easier to edit tags if the files are mp3.