Sony NW-E507 MP3 player: Atrac3Plus playback compatible with Hi-MD?

[Big Yin]

I started another thread the other day that went off topic quite quickly and was closed by a Mod. Some of you may have seen it. My query was whether it was possible to transfer music stored on Hi-MD in Hi-SP or Hi-LP2 to an MP3 player without the use of a PC. The answer was, as I thought, a definitive NO. The Hi-MD music has to be converted before it can be played on MP3 player, and such conversion can only be done via PC.

However, I did a bit more digging and found the Sony NW-E507 flash-based MP3 player. It supports Atrac3Plus playback, which is, as I understand it, what Hi-Md plays. So, I'm now wondering, given that they both play Atrac3Plus, would it be possible to transfer directly from one to the other using USB and at speeds much faster than real-time?? Please say yes, I would love it if this was possible!

Thanks.

[Richard]

I'm sorry to say it, but the answer is still no. All music to Sony Flash players has to go via Sonic Stage or Connect or in some cases MP3 File Manager. All music to Hi-MD devices has to go via Sonic Stage or Simple Burner. You can't transfer music from one device to another directly as the connection capability doesn't exist.

You could upload Atrac3+ tracks only into Sonic Stage from a Hi-MD then download on to a flash player but that's about it. You still have to go through the computer.

[Big Yin]

Oh well. That's a pity.

One day maybe...hopefully (he said, with naive optimism).

Thanks very much for the response.

[Darkflame]

Nope for two reasons.

1. Sony uses proprierty software to talk to the MD unit.

2. No unit on the market currently converts atrac(plus) to mp3 internally.

You could get by #1 if sony used standard plug and play techniques in which you could get a portable usb host adaptor that would allow you to transfer files to and from two usb devices without the need of a PC. But you still run into problem #2.

Only way to accomplish what you are asking is to do it in real time. Using a Nomad Jukebox 3 for example you could record via line-in on the JB3 while hooked up to the lineout of your MD player. You then could take the audio and have the JB3 convert it into a 44Khz MP3 file at whatever bitrate you specify. This is however in real time though.

If someone or some company saw that there was a huge need for such a device or if they felt it would be a profitable venture such a unit could be fabricated (as with the hand held usb host device) but given that the MD unit already require proprietary software for use. I doubt anyone would want to eliminate the need for it to do one thing when you still need it to do another.

Edited July 13, 2006 by Darkflame