NW-A608 - Use CONNECT Player, SonicStage or Mp3 File Manager?

[skogvoll]

well i just got the nw-a608 player, despite all the warnings about the horrible software..

anyway, is it really that horrible?

what i do know is that with connect you get all the functions the player has, you almost certanly will have problems with transferring and some ripping. and it is slow and converts everything to atrac(not sure on this, can anyone confirm??)

with sonic , transfering and ripping cds is like a walk in the park. it doesnt convert everything thing to atrac(again not sure on the last thing)

the bad thing is that you will lose some of the functions, and lose the ability to upgrade firmware??

file manager is a easy drag and drop program that will make it easy to transfer, though its only drag and drop it will still make youre songs fall under the rigth artist, genre, and album?... havent really heard to much about the file manager so plealse tell me something about it...

that goes for all of the programs, feel free to correct my wrongs and fill in my missing pieces...

thats all i know, however i do not know what is the best option... so what do you think?

[PetriRMD]

yeah, it's pretty horrible.

At least Connect seems to suck really bad. It's a bad example of BloatWare. So far I've found it to be slow, clumsy and well... extremely sluggish. It's like iTunes gone wrong

Haven't tried Sonic yet, but it seems like MP3 File Manager would be exactly what I would want and need. However, it seems like the latest version (2.0) isn't compatible with my A608 :-(

[skogvoll]

well then we are in the same boat... and were not sailing anywhere

im trying out connect rigth now.. seems kinda..alrigt, il guess il meet the problems later

[PetriRMD]

well then we are in the same boat... and were not sailing anywhere

im trying out connect rigth now.. seems kinda..alrigt, il guess il meet the problems later

Connect works, but since I'm used to iTunes, Connect feels pretty slow and cumbersome on comparison.

The player itself is really cool though, and now that I've moved a bunch of songs over I've been really happy with it. I just wish I could use the MP3 File manager to update the songs. I'm curious if anyone else has managed to get that working with the A608?

[grover]

Well, I was searching on google and came across this page:

http://real.lithium.com/real/board/message...message.id=1020

Seems like he got it working somehow.

[PetriRMD]

Well, I was searching on google and came across this page:

http://real.lithium.com/real/board/message...message.id=1020

Seems like he got it working somehow.

Thanks Grover.

I tried uninstalling all of the Sony related software (Connect Player etc.), then formatted the A608 and did a clean install of MP3 File Manager.

It works now!

Skogvoll, I would highly recommend the MP3 file manager over the Connect player. Simple, clean and gets the job done quickly.

[Guest Stuge]

PetriRMD

Are you able to put music through(Mp3 file manager) it .Also Is that music (Mp3 files ) accessable from A608 Because i according to me you can`t run those files from network walkman since they are not accessable from network walkman.

[PetriRMD]

PetriRMD

Are you able to put music through(Mp3 file manager) it .Also Is that music (Mp3 files ) accessable from A608 Because i according to me you can`t run those files from network walkman since they are not accessable from network walkman.

Yeah. After uninstalling all Connect player related stuff and formatting the A608 the Mp3 file manager started working normally. So yes, I can now add music to the device and it plays the tracks just fine.

[skogvoll]

dumb question, i noticed the name is mp3 file mangaer.. you can still transfer wma songs rigth?

[Guest Stuge]

dumb question, i noticed the name is mp3 file mangaer.. you can still transfer wma songs rigth?

I don`t think Mp3 file manager is going to allow you to tranfer Wma files because when I tried to transfer atracfile it gave me an Error.

[asadasad22]

hi! Is that sure, that with this player must use Connect Player or SonicStage to transfer music? Have you tried to simple transfer the music as to a pendrive? Does it works? I read this in the Sony's official site: "MP3 direct playback - YES" What does it means? I so define it, that means this, what U can simply transfer music to the My Computer/MP3 player simply? How does it works? I would like to buy this player, but its important to me! And another: Can this player play MP3 files? The previous NW-E407-507 can't, just Atrac, this can? Please reply me!

[Guest Stuge]

hi! Is that sure, that with this player must use Connect Player or SonicStage to transfer music? Have you tried to simple transfer the music as to a pendrive? Does it works? I read this in the Sony's official site: "MP3 direct playback - YES" What does it means? I so define it, that means this, what U can simply transfer music to the My Computer/MP3 player simply? How does it works? I would like to buy this player, but its important to me! And another: Can this player play MP3 files? The previous NW-E407-507 can't, just Atrac, this can? Please reply me!

"MP3 direct playback" means that you don`t have to convert your files to Atrac .You can simply transfer Mp3 files through SonicStage ver3.3 or Connect (But you can`t` simply run mp3 files from the player by just dragging & dropping mp3 files through Explorer to Network walkman )

New A608 plays Atrac, Mp3 ,Wma (After firmware upgrade to Ver2).

Also I think there is some confusion E407 & E507 also plays mp3`s.

[asadasad22]

its interesting, in the Sony's site in the NW-E407 & E507's technical specifications there isn't this funktion called "MP3 direct playback", just in the NW-A608's specifications, and however the 407and 507 already play MP3s? than the "MP3 direct playback" means nothing? And another question: the mp3 manager works with this walkman? and if yes, can I with it without to atrac conversion transfer MP3 files to walkman in playable form?

[Guest Stuge]

Yeah. After uninstalling all Connect player related stuff and formatting the A608 the Mp3 file manager started working normally. So yes, I can now add music to the device and it plays the tracks just fine.

But i`m not sure whether mp3 file mangerver2.0 will work or not but PetriRMD is able to use mp3 files manger with his A608.

[PetriRMD]

Yeah, been using the MP3 file manager for a week or so now, and it's working very well with the A-608. Simple, clean and allows a drag & drop style user interface for directly adding MP3 files. Very minimal functionality but it gets the job done quickly and effectively. I like this a lot more than the (bloated and hideous) Connect software.

[asadasad22]

THX, and another question: The MP3 manager converts automatically to atrac the "dragged and dropped" mp3 file's, or keeps the MP3 format, and simply transfers the file to the player without any previous conversion?

[Ishiyoshi]

THX, and another question: The MP3 manager converts automatically to atrac the "dragged and dropped" mp3 file's, or keeps the MP3 format, and simply transfers the file to the player without any previous conversion?

Mp3 File Manager is strictly a Mp3 management utility - transfers your existing Mp3 track as it is. For further details, please read Sony's MP3 File Manager Operation Instructions.

[asadasad22]

ok, thanks, than its sure, what if i'm copying mp3 files with MP3 Manager, there is only a quick copy part, there isn't before a previous conversion part, yes?

[Ishiyoshi]

ok, thanks, than its sure, what if i'm copying mp3 files with MP3 Manager, there is only a quick copy part, there isn't before a previous conversion part, yes?

No further conversion. It's just a utility to facilitate Mp3 transfer to your target device.

[asadasad22]

OK, thx!

[softech]

I belive the MP3 File Manager "convert" or at leat alter the mp3 file slightly. After, some MP3 got tranferred, I tried to browse it through explorer and copy the file back to PC. I couldn't play those songs back. So, it's still not a true direct Mp3 playback, i guess.

[Guest Stuge]

I belive the MP3 File Manager "convert" or at leat alter the mp3 file slightly. After, some MP3 got tranferred, I tried to browse it through explorer and copy the file back to PC. I couldn't play those songs back. So, it's still not a true direct Mp3 playback, i guess.

Softech.

Welcome to AtracLife

Which Device you have ??

Once the mp3 file is transferred to your device USing M3FM or SonicStage it is encrypted So you cannot use them just by copying them from device .To transfer your mp3`s back onto your computer you will need to use GYM1.12(only mp3`s)(See Software section) .

[Wing]

Hi there. I just got a new Sony NW-A608 and I've been reading the forums on how to transfer my songs onto the device without using the Connect software. I've been a Sony portable audio consumer for a while and I know how inefficient the Sony software is. I tried the Mp3 File Manager software from this thread, with a clean install and the got the software started up. When I click/drag an mp3 over, it gets to 10% and then says the transfer was interrupted, some of the files might not have been transfer. I just got the unit, it is fully charged, I haven't formatted yet, I deleted the two songs it comes with using the MP3FM software and I haven't touched the Sony Connect software either.

I am weary of formatting the unit, it has a bunch of files and directories already on the unit. Also, how do I format the device? Do I just do a Right-click on the device in Windows Explorer and choose format? If so, what file system type do I use?

Thanks in advance.

Wing

[Guest Stuge]

I am weary of formatting the unit, it has a bunch of files and directories already on the unit. Also, how do I format the device? Do I just do a Right-click on the device in Windows Explorer and choose format? If so, what file system type do I use?

Welcome to AtracLife!!

First of all never format your Device using Winodws Explorer .Always format your device using Advanced menu..

First press Search/mnu till setting menu appears then ritate the shuttle to select Advanced menu .Enter Advanced menu & Select Format .

*I believe It uses Fat32 file format

*You can also using Sonic Stage ver3.4(but some features like Intelligent shuffle will be disabled

*But i will suggest you to try Connect first .

[Wing]

Thx for the advice Stuge.

Regarding the format option, I pressed down and help the Search/Menu button but I couldn't find the advanced menu. What am I doing wrong?

Used the Connect Player software, and it reminded me of how cumbersome Sony's OpenMG software is. I find it really slow updating the device database, it keeps on doing the update so I'm assuming it updates it for every song I transfer?

[Guest Stuge]

Thx for the advice Stuge.

Regarding the format option, I pressed down and help the Search/Menu button but I couldn't find the advanced menu. What am I doing wrong?

After pressing Search/menu button you will need to rotate Shuttle .

.

But i can tell you that i takes some time after transfering every song b`coz it is still not fast.Not sure why b`coz A600(series ) is USB2

[Wing]

I dunno how, but the advanced menu finally showed up, along with a bunch of other options in the Search/Menu. They definately weren't there before, but I turned off my player and turned it back on a couple times and they finally showed up (now I can format the thing )

Another weird thing that happend is I used Connect player this morning to throw some songs on. I put 3-4 songs on there, taking the total songs to 11. I close Connect player and disconnect the player, turn on the player and see 13 songs on there. For some reason, there are 2 "Unknown" songs in the middle of the list, both are 0 seconds long. I try playing them and the OLED reads File Error and goes back to song #1 (the two unknown tracks are #5 and #6. Connect Player doesn't show these two unknown tracks on the device, it shows a total of 11 songs still.

Anyone else had this problem?

[Guest Stuge]

Sorry, Wing I can`h futher help you with Connect player Issue ..Anyone who has A608 ca help you.

[deviatorz]

Ok, for people who want to know why you can (yes I mean CAN) use Mp3 File Manager on their NWA-608 i'll explain why here. You can use Mp3 File Manager for the NWE series on your NWA-608 series as well. But if you use it then you will get the limited functions error on your player. Why? Because, the NWA series have the new functions the "Intelligent Shuffle", the NWE does not have those. That will include options such as Recent Transfer, Release Year, and Favorite 100 etc. That is what the Mp3 File Manager cannot support and therefore will not work. Why? When you install Connect Player software that came with your NWA608, it will install DAT Files onto your NWA608 (the DAT Files will contain your song list, settings etc. for intelligent shuffle. DAT Files located in OMGAUDIO folder). Connect will be able to 'read' these files it created and the Mp3 File Manager wont. Connect created files only it is able to decrypt and read, while the Mp3 File Manager can't. The DAT Files are and should be located in a folder called "OMGAUDIO". Mp3 File Manager will not be able to upload songs due to the fact it can't read the DAT Files created by Connect Software (Much like a person not knowing another language). So you want Mp3 File Manager to upload? Simple, just go to your flash drive and delete "OMGAUDIO" folder created by Connect (that will contain your songs, I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR YOUR ACTIONS, DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. RISKS ARE THAT YOUR SONGS WILL BE GONE). That's it. You don't have to uninstall Connect Player or Sonic Stage. Now install Mp3 File Manager and open it. Drag and drop anything you want now, HOWEVER, since the NWE doesn't have the "Intelligent Shuffle" features and that Mp3 File Manager is built for NWE, you will not be able to use those functions on your NWA-608. When you installed Mp3 File Manager, it also created DAT Files as well, but not the same as the ones Connect created, and therefore these files won't have the "Intelligent Shuffle" features/settings. Your player will basically act as if it was a NWE series, except for the fact it's 2GB. So if you want to use Mp3 File Manager, then you will have to sacrifice the "Intelligent Shuffle" options. Else use Connect. If you didn't understand how to get your NWA608 to use Mp3 File Manager, then here is a step by step guide:

Warning, below is a simple guide for making Mp3 File Manager to working on your NWA-608. Follow instructions at your own risk. I am not responsible for any of your actions and anything that’s happens with your NWA-608 such as DATA lost and/or corruption. I have tested this and it has worked.

1. If you have not installed Sonic Stage or Connect before then skip to step 4.

2. Open your flash (NWA-608) drive. Should be F:\.

3. Delete the folder "OMGAUDIO" (everything in that folder)

4. Install the newest version of Mp3 File Manager. (Which is v2.0)

5. Open Mp3 File Manager program in F:\MP3FM (I think that’s the folder name, well w/e new folder it just created, just open that.)

6. Drag and Drop away.

I dunno how, but the advanced menu finally showed up, along with a bunch of other options in the Search/Menu. They definately weren't there before, but I turned off my player and turned it back on a couple times and they finally showed up (now I can format the thing )

Another weird thing that happend is I used Connect player this morning to throw some songs on. I put 3-4 songs on there, taking the total songs to 11. I close Connect player and disconnect the player, turn on the player and see 13 songs on there. For some reason, there are 2 "Unknown" songs in the middle of the list, both are 0 seconds long. I try playing them and the OLED reads File Error and goes back to song #1 (the two unknown tracks are #5 and #6. Connect Player doesn't show these two unknown tracks on the device, it shows a total of 11 songs still.

Anyone else had this problem?

Do worry about it. My guess is that when you install Connect, you unpluged your player to early. What I mean is that connect CD has 2 free songs in it, its called Hyponized and Dance Karate (this may vary) and when you install the Connect Software, it will upload those 2 songs to your device, and somehow it might be that you unplugged it too early or that an error occur resulting that it didn;t installed those songs. Now your left with 2 songs with no DATA in it what so ever. Or it could be something else. Hope this helps.

Edited April 14, 2006 by deviatorz

[zachtan]

Can Mp3 Player work on A1000 also? Thanks

[Guest Stuge]

Can Mp3 Player work on A1000 also? Thanks

Copy the contents of the folder to your network walkman

MP3FM_ver2.zip

[zachtan]

how Stuge??? I try it b4 but can't work well. Could I need to format it first?TQ

[Guest Stuge]

how Stuge??? I try it b4 but can't work well. Could I need to format it first?TQ

I`m not sure whether it will work or not but you can try .First format your player ..then copy the contents of the folder ..then try to import one mp3 via it .

[Private-Cowboy]

Isn't the mp3 manager copied to the device via its own copy routine? When you install the mp3 manager you can find it in your programs/sony dir and there you can find the copytool.exe file, start it and it will copy the manager over to the device if the device can handle it. Get the installer here: http://www.sonydigital-link.com/DNA/downlo...t=NWF&f=MP3FM20

[Guest Stuge]

Isn't the mp3 manager copied to the device via its own copy routine? When you install the mp3 manager you can find it in your programs/sony dir and there you can find the copytool.exe file, start it and it will copy the manager over to the device if the device can handle it. Get the installer here: http://www.sonydigital-link.com/DNA/downlo...t=NWF&f=MP3FM20

Basically that installer doesn`t detect A-series at all .So manual installation is the only way .

[Private-Cowboy]

Oh, it does. Just did that with my NW-A608. Installed that exe and ran the copytool, it notices the players as drive k: (in my case) and installs the manager to both without a problem. It doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe the harddisk based A models are different here, don't know.

[Guest Stuge]

Oh, it does. Just did that with my NW-A608. Installed that exe and ran the copytool, it notices the players as drive k: (in my case) and installs the manager to both without a problem. It doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe the harddisk based A models are different here, don't know.

ok .M3FM exe didn`t detect my friends A3000 ..but still artist link & other feature can`t be used if you use M3FM to tranfer mp3 `s??