Christopher Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 With the infamous Connect Player dissolved, a union between the functionality of that program and Sonicstage has come to fruitition: Sonicstage CP 4.0. All of the details and download links can be found within..+++SonicStage CP 4.0 has finally arrived! The new SonicStage CP 4.0 includes full support for features exclusive to the WALKMAN A Series. We should have a full offline installer available in a fortnight. Please use this topic to report new enhancements and/or woes related to uploading, downloading and everything inbetween. It is already apparent that there is a substantial increase in the navigational speed, especially in previously laggy areas such as 'My Library'.SonicStage CP 4.0 now supports the following WALKMAN devices: Hi-MD Walkman Net MD Walkman NW-E series NW-A series NW-HD series NW-M S Series ATRAC CD WalkmanNEW FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS: Support for the Walkman A series. Recording and playback support for AAC format – encode and transfer 3GP/MP4/M4A at 80-320kbps (not applicable for Hi-MD). AAC tunes in SonicStage CP can be transferred directly to the NW-A3000/A1200/A1000 without converting them to ATRAC format.Note:a. Firmware version 3.0 is required for this feature. –> click here for more detailsb. Copyright protected AAC files cannot be played back Artist Link function is now available on SonicStage CP 4.0. Full support of Intelligent features exclusive to the Walkman A series. Selectable background image.MODULE VERSIONSonicStage : 4.0.00.05080SonicStage Add-on for Personal Audio Download : 4.0.01.05160OpenMG Secure Module : 4.5.01.04270MagicGate Memory Stick Device : 4.5.01.04270NW-E2, NW-E3, NW-E5 and NW-E8P : 4.5.01.04270OpenMG CD : 4.5.01.04270M.S. PRO : 4.5.01.04270CD Walkman : 4.5.01.04270ATRAC Audio Device with Intelligent function : 4.5.01.04270Hi-MD : 4.5.01.04270Music Clip, NW-S4, NW-E7 and NW-E10 : 4.5.01.04270ATRAC Audio Device : 4.5.01.04270Net MD : 4.5.01.04270EMD Plug-in : 1.2.0.9CD-R 書き込みモジュール(Audio CD/ATRAC CD/MP3 CD) : 4.0.01.05160Px Engine : 2.7.33.500DOWNLOAD LINKS: Sony Japan | Sony Europe | Sony USA | Sony Asia-Pacific | JEB [Overseas] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 i'm all over this, the streaming install is slooow, as is to be expected when sony nerds worldwide are all updating.*asia pacific of course.ooh AAC module Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Look good so far at my end too. Bit of a slow install, but otherwise fine. (Will have to re-edit all the xml files though to get the clear type back...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Nice to see a new version. Doesn't seem to offer anything new for HiMD users though. No European version yet though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Nice to see a new version. Doesn't seem to offer anything new for HiMD users though. No European version yet though?We will try and update the EU link shortly. As for Hi-MD, the last new update was with SonicStage 3.4.02.14020. I don't think there's anything of significant for Hi-MD with SonicStage CP 4.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Worked for me anyway. Bit slow installing. Can someone post a link back to the clear type tweak. I did a search but didn't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Can someone post a link back to the clear type tweak. I did a search but didn't find it. Here you go - http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=14206 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avrin Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Really nothing new for HiMD. Not even 320kbps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Why do you want 320kps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrain Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 seems to load a lot faster for me. a lot. no other benifits i've yet noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roamer Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 (edited) Could you upload a sample with the HiMD write-protected or are we still forced to have it write-enabled ? Edited May 25, 2006 by Roamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDfreak Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Could you upload a sample with the HiMD write-protected or are we still forced to have it write-enabled ?No, uploading still does not work with a write-protected Hi-MD disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avrin Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Why do you want 320kps?Why shouldn't I? Actually I would prefer 128kps ATRAC3plus instead of 132kps ATRAC3. It is perfect for some music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuge Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Really nothing new for HiMD. Not even 320kbps.It cannot happen until Sony upgrade the firmwares of Hi-MD walkman but i think they will never do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielbb90 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 (edited) Could you upload a sample with the HiMD write-protected or are we still forced to have it write-enabled ?Woulden't the disc not work in other SS versions if this happened? or am I guessing? Edited May 25, 2006 by danielbb90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roamer Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 (edited) No, the disc had to be write-enabled with previous versions, because the number of uploads was limited. But now that the restriction has gone, it doesn't make sense to keep it write-enabled, and it just put the recording at risk. And as far as I known , the Mac utilities allow you to upload with the media write-protected, so it is just a matter of fixing this bug.Regarding 356kpbs, an improvement that should be done with no firmware upgrade, would be to store Atrac 356kpbs in the library, or even better IMO allow this bitrate in SimpleBurner (or whatever replaces it).Maybe next time ... Edited May 25, 2006 by Roamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Why shouldn't I? Actually I would prefer 128kps ATRAC3plus instead of 132kps ATRAC3. It is perfect for some music.I don't see what it gets you. 256kps is very close to 352kps, hard to tell the difference and thats almost 100kps difference. You must have X-Men hearing to notice 4kps difference even with different encoders especially at that low bitrate. Why 320 vs 352? File size difference would be neligible. You won't hear the difference. Unless you've X-men hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doclloyd Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Anyone with the RH1 confirm that this version of SS works with non Hi-MD uploading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I've been putting this through its paces since last night, and writing up a lot of notes on usage, evident bugfixes, &c. Will post once I've finished ul/dl testing.Most obvious deficiency to note so far:The AAC module does not read tags at all. I've tried this with m4a tracks created by both itunes and foobar2000 [FAAC encoder] and the tags are completely ignored. This pretty much makes the AAC support useless, unless you want to spend hours retagging everything with SS [the CDDB lookup thing takes about 10 minutes to look up a single album from here, so I'd call that less than useful if you have hundreds or thousands of AAC tracks to re-tag].I don't see what it gets you. 256kps is very close to 352kps, hard to tell the difference and thats almost 100kps difference. You must have X-Men hearing to notice 4kps difference even with different encoders especially at that low bitrate. The difference here is in the codec; atrac3plus > atrac3, or so goes the assumption. I find the software-encoded LP2 [132kbps] to still be unlistenable for most types of music with my ears [which are by no means X-Men ears]. Given the obvious differences in how encoding is done between the a3 and a3+ codecs, I have no doubt that 128kbps a3+ would sound a great deal better than LP2. Mind you, I still haven't tested that myself, so it's only an educated assumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathantw666 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 (edited) I find the software-encoded LP2 [132kbps] to still be unlistenable for most types of music with my ears [which are by no means X-Men ears]. Given the obvious differences in how Nothing against you, but your statement made me smile because it reminded me of when CD's first came out. People that preferred listening to vinyl would say things like "I can't stand listening to CD's because it sounds like a machine gun going off." They were referring to the pits that carry the music that the laser reads. I wonder what those people listen to now days since almost all music comes on CD? Edited May 25, 2006 by nathantw666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Nothing against you, but your statement made me smile because it reminded me of when CD's first came out. People that preferred listening to vinyl would say things like "I can't stand listening to CD's because it sounds like a machine gun going off." They were referring to the pits that carry the music that the laser reads. I wonder what those people listen to now days since almost all music comes on CD?Heh. Nice analogy. In my case, my dislike of LP2 came about because of listening to lot of tracks encoded in it. Hardware-encoded LP2 is not so bad, but software-encoded [i.e. SS or SB] still sounds far worse than even MP3 to my ears - very harsh, almost gritty or granular sound, almost like sand being blasted into my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 Lots of people still listen to Vinyl, and you can still get it. CD isn't prefect reproduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmill Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Lots of people still listen to Vinyl, and you can still get it. CD isn't prefect reproduction.The only new music I actually purchase is on Vinyl. I then make a back up of it on MD and CD for inclusion into my CD Megachangers.RobertThe only new music I actually purchase is on Vinyl. I then make a back up of it on MD and CD for inclusion into my CD Megachangers.RobertBoy that sounded bad, No I do not pirate music. I actually use Rhapsody Music Service to stream audio when I am at work. Any new music I listen to at home is purchased on Vinyl if available, 2nd choice is then SACD or DVDA, then CD, if nothing else is available.Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Update: European version is now available for download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielbb90 Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do any of these versions not have the connect store?thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishiyoshi Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do any of these versions not have the connect store?thanksSonicStage CP 4.0 without the CONNECT Music Store Module --> Asia-Pacific and JEB version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielbb90 Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 SonicStage CP 4.0 without the CONNECT Music Store Module --> Asia-Pacific and JEB versionThank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do any of these versions not have the connect store?thanksDo the connect store versions cause a problem if you've no net access?Heh. Nice analogy. In my case, my dislike of LP2 came about because of listening to lot of tracks encoded in it. Hardware-encoded LP2 is not so bad, but software-encoded [i.e. SS or SB] still sounds far worse than even MP3 to my ears - very harsh, almost gritty or granular sound, almost like sand being blasted into my ears.'MP3' theres a big difference between a 64kps MP3 and a 192-320kps lame encoded one. I wish people would make that differenciation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 Do the connect store versions cause a problem if you've no net access?'MP3' theres a big difference between a 64kps MP3 and a 192-320kps lame encoded one. I wish people would make that differenciation. I was referring to MP3 of near or the same bitrate [i.e. 128kbps in that example]. ATRAC3's artfifacting has a specific spectral character, as does MP3's artifacting [as done any specific encoding/decoding algorithm], regardless of the encoder used. Encoder efficiency does affect the amount of artifacting present, but the artifacting itself is pretty consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky191 Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 I don't like like LP2 myself (hardware or software) but I thought the popular opinion was that ATRAC was better for low bitrates than same bitrate MP3's. I would also depend on the piece of music you using test. Some artifact worse than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guxt Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 (edited) Vynil people?? Are we discussing about Sonicstage or what??BTW, please don't forget of that beautiful "someone is making french fries sound" that comes with vynil. Edited May 26, 2006 by Guxt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercury_in_flames Posted May 26, 2006 Report Share Posted May 26, 2006 so for owners of the nw-hd5 there really is no point in downloading the new version is there? Can anyone say if the artist link function works any better with CP 4 than it did with the previous CP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuge Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 so for owners of the nw-hd5 there really is no point in downloading the new version is there? By downloading SoncStage CP 4 you might rid of old bug that SonicStage ver3.4 might have . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 Anyone with the RH1 confirm that this version of SS works with non Hi-MD uploading?Confirmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbut Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 Any word on the Mac software? The previews said that the Mac software was supposed to have " increased functionality" ( hopefully drag and drop from computer to minidisc ). Actually, the bare-bones nature of the current software is fine for my uses and the lack of excess baggage is kind of nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oti Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 (edited) We will try and update the EU link shortly. As for Hi-MD, the last new update was with SonicStage 3.4.02.14020. I don't think there's anything of significant for Hi-MD with SonicStage CP 4.0.Well actually the MZ-RH1 comes with version 3.4.03.15140 of Sonic Stage on CD.It's an interesting enhancement to make it possible for the MZ-RH1 to upload the MD Atrac format digitally, which of course is not unimportant. I'd say it's a major breakthrough (from the digital transport mode) to the classic MD (analog out only) format. So the tunnel is established, the hole to the other world finally is found. Edited May 30, 2006 by Oti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turezky Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 I wonder, if there are going to be full versions of this software available for download? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuge Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 I wonder, if there are going to be full versions of this software available for download?Welcome to MiniDisc !wait for sometime ..MFDC full installer will be available soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turezky Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 10x, gonna wait then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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