What is the point of "Groups"?

[MDX-400]

What in the world is the point of Groups on my HD3?

On MD I can completely understand groups but on an HDD DAP like the HD3, it seems very senseless and seems to make things harder for me...

For example if I don't want to use SS to import all my MP3s ('cause I only want to use some of them on the HD3 and I want to keep all the MP3s I've ripped from CDs separate from the ATRAC files I've ripped) things aren't so easy. Because then you can use MP3FM but that doesn't allow you to create group folders it seems. All you can do is transfer files.

Like here's an example... For some CDs I have a few tracks aren't on the CDs (e.g. I've gotten bonus tracks in MP3 format off the internet for some CDs). So I first copy the CD in ATRAC3plus in SS and then transfer to the player. Then I want to put the bonus tracks (which I only have in MP3) over to the player. So I figure okay the files will automatically go into the right album on the HD3 because its the same album name in the file tag.

Then it transfers and I'm like where are the files? Try in MP3FM and can't see where they've gone; try in SS and can't see them either. So try the player and there they are... So I finally figure out that the files did transfer but there are Group folders that go over onto the HD3 which are named according to the original album you transferred but are otherwise not linked to the arrangement of the files on the HD3. So the files I transferred went into a Group with another album name.

What I don't get is why did they bother with groups at all? It just makes more work for you because if you want to transfer MP3s you have to then go back into SS and place the files in the right group (so you know where to find them later as the group folders are named by album); and if you want to transfer other files that you don't have a group folder for you have to go into SS first, make the group and then go back to MP3FM and transfer the files? What kind of foolishness is that? I just don't get it?!?!? At first you think the group folders *are* the album folders but that isn't it at all. The HD3 just gets it's album arrangement info from the file tags and the groups are, well, senseless IMO.

Does anyone actually use groups? I don't get why you'd want to use them... I guess maybe for making a playlist or something?

[Guest Stuge]

M3FM DOES ALLOW TO MAKE GROUPS .Just put the mp3 files in a folder you want then tranfer that folder using M3FM .Also you can left click(hold it ) on a song in MP3FM then drag the song in were you want to transfer .

Does anyone actually use groups?

Yes I use groups

[pata2001]

"Groups" was introduced in MDLP. before ID3-based searching becomes mainstream. With MDLP, user can store many music in 1 MD, but how do you organize them? Classic MD doesn't have any "ID3" info other than the track title. With "Groups," a user can put tracks from different albums into their own albums within the group. That's the idea.

Yeah, now we have ID3-based searching, and group seems redundant because we have album tags. My guess Sony is keeping "groups" in Sonicstage to maintain compatibility with NEtMD/classic MD.

And yes, as an MD user, I DO use group, for HiMD, MD, and my E99, since all of them utilize group for quick album skipping.

[MDX-400]

M3FM DOES ALLOW TO MAKE GROUPS .Just put the mp3 files in a folder you want then tranfer that folder using M3FM .Also you can left click(hold it ) on a song in MP3FM then drag the song in were you want to transfer .

Yeah I figured that out a bit later, but it still isn't practical. For example if you have a lot of MP3s all in one folder like "Music" on your PC (which is what I have) then you have to make a folder on your PC and then put the files you want to transfer in there and then transfer to the HD3. Then you have to re-move the files on your PC and then delete the unnecessary folder. It is actually more of a hassle to do that then make the folders in SS first and then transfer with MP3FM.

But either way it is too round-about. MP3FM is a pretty crappy program, all they had to do is add a right click menu so you could "make new folder here" or whatever and then you could add a new folder and name it in MP3FM. I guess that's too much work for Sony though, LOL.

In fact either SS or MP3FM would be greatly helped by a general Windows Explorer right click context option. As in "Add to Library" for SS and maybe "Transfer to MP3FM" or something like that for MP3FM. Really if they could just make a context option for SS, it would be really easy. Just "Add to Library" the MP3s you want to transfer to your device and then use SS to transfer and delete the entries in SS you just made by adding to library. I don't understand how no one at Sony even thought of this. If anything they make everything harder for you if you want to use ATRAC3plus as the primary format on your device...

"Groups" was introduced in MDLP. before ID3-based searching becomes mainstream. With MDLP, user can store many music in 1 MD, but how do you organize them?

No I completely understand groups for MD devices, but for the HDD based ones it seems fairly redundant. I guess you have a point when you say to retain NetMD compatibility they had to leave it in SS; but really they could have just made it different when you have an HDD device connected, because after all it is already different in terms of what formats you can transfer to each device, right?

[Guest Stuge]

MDX-400,

You can also use Vaio Pocket tranfer (see in the download setion)

[MDX-400]

MDX-400,

You can also use Vaio Pocket tranfer (see in the download setion)

Interesting. I did notice that Vaio Music Move, but the sticky/faq thread about it there says that it can't transfer MP3s that are 320kbps? I saw that and thought that was weird. Most of my MP3s are 320kbps so that's why I avoided dl'ing that...