mgillespie Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I am wondering is SonicStage is no more for this world.1/ There has not been an update for SonicStage for ages (6 months+)2/ The latest Walkman players, don't use SonicStage to load music, you simply copy the files to the drive.I suspect SonicStage is dead. This is good, as it was horrible (not as horrible as Connect Player mind you).I am annoyed however, as my NWA-3000 is still dependant upon it.I wish Sony would release a firmware that allows me to copy files to my NW-A3000 without SonicStage, and then I will be happy!! I somehow doubt this will happen, but stranger things have happened...The best thing Sony can do right now, is change their existing players (and new players in the pipeline), to simply read the music from the device, using the filesystem, and not use the stupid database system. I'm sure it can't be that hard.As a bonus, I would finally be able to plug my NW-A300 into my PS3, and play the music from it. Why can't I at the moment? As the left arm at Sony does not talk to the right Arm. That sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markey Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 (edited) The last version of Sonic Stage, 4.3, was released with the NW-A8xx series about 3 or 4 months ago. As for it being dead, who knows. Only time will tell. Edited July 28, 2007 by markey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascariss Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 the a800 needs sonicstage, as do the newer NWe1x players, same goes for the s700 series. so it is far from dead, since all the players in most markets need SS, only the new, yet to be on sale B series doesn't need it.a program doesn't need updates if it is working fine and no actual major bugs exist, if bugs are discovered or errors a new version will be released probably. if sony chooses to ditch SS for future players, then SS support will slowly be dropped and by this time next year it might not even be supported anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stuge Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 No ,I don't think Sonic Stage is dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoGeR-atrac Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I do hope they dont do any updates anymore and just let it be. Then, I wouldnt need to do an upgrade and backups etc... as I'm happy with 4.3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stuge Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I do hope they dont do any updates anymore and just let it be. Then, I wouldnt need to do an upgrade and backups etc... as I'm happy with 4.3! I hope they do make updates for SonicStage ,Especially for Vista because SonicStage crashes a lot in vista . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zizone_ Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I think best way for the Sony is to provide a software for Walkman in addition to drag-and-drop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxthrusters Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 My A3000 plays just fine through my PS3. Maybe you haven't enabled ATRAC in PS3 options? It does take a few moments for the PS3 to read the walkman hard drive, try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinji Ikeda Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 This constant speculation about SonicStage demise is just that speculation. Sony would either release an updated version of SonicStage or a different software program. It is understandable for the preference for drag-and-drop. It unlikely this is the new direction of Sony's DAP, but a part of a larger plan.Software like SonicStage work with the DAP, and given additional functionality. Some of these additional functionality can be incorporated into the DAP, but some would be to cumbersome. Companies such as Sony and Apple have it correct to use a software program with their media devices. These programs allow the users to manage there audio files and other media files. Drag-and-drop does sound cool, but is not the future for managing media files. It is actually the past. From what I understand that is how the first DAP/MP3 players worked. Sony by embracing drap-and-drop they have been able to reduce the cost that the y can sell a DAP for. Manufacturers constantly remove functionality and feature from their products to reduce the price that they sell it to the consumer. This is want Sony did with their latest player.It could be correctly argued that some of the features that are present in SonicStage can be found with other software that can be made to work with Sony's DAP. Thus, allow the user to utilize the what they prefer. However, manufactures prefer to design there own software or a custom software for their devices.The best feature of software like SonicStage is the ability to manage a music/audio library. This includes everything from adding cover art, to renaming tracks. The exactly location of music/audio files do not need to be known. Also additional functionality can be added, or removed as the product like changes.I for one prefer to have a program like SonicStage. It is all about experience, and I feel that drag-and-drop removes that. I suspect that SonicStage maybe be replaced by another software (just in name), or have a major upgrade. There are advantages of drag-and-drop, but I feel that it is just too limited. Both SonicStage/iTunes and drag-and-drop are just interfaces to get music on a DAP. Nothing more. Nothing less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascariss Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 what functionality would be lost?the linked song feature on the older a series? sure it eventaully works for some songs, but the gimmick is pointless, I don't need sony telling me what artists are shared or similar.intelligent shuffle. top 100? i never use it, nice to see what i listen to most often but another gimmick. as for renaming songs, I use winamp to do that, and sort my files using windows explorer to specific folders. for playlists I already use winamp, and import them into connect player. And yes you've guessed it, winamp is my primary mp3 player on my pc.I woud rather have the ability to drag and drop mp3 files into the player to listen them then rather loading up a program and importing them. itunes and sonicstage are not just drag and drop, they have the ability for you to drag and drog from the programs library, which is not true drag and drop. in addition, these programs add a nice dash of drm when you are dragging and dropping. I believe creative or sandisk use drag and drop, and functionality is limited in those players, in fact, its wider than the sony ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zizone_ Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 (edited) what functionality would be lost?the linked song feature on the older a series? sure it eventaully works for some songs, but the gimmick is pointless, I don't need sony telling me what artists are shared or similar.intelligent shuffle. top 100? i never use it, nice to see what i listen to most often but another gimmick. as for renaming songs, I use winamp to do that, and sort my files using windows explorer to specific folders. for playlists I already use winamp, and import them into connect player. And yes you've guessed it, winamp is my primary mp3 player on my pc.I woud rather have the ability to drag and drop mp3 files into the player to listen them then rather loading up a program and importing them. itunes and sonicstage are not just drag and drop, they have the ability for you to drag and drog from the programs library, which is not true drag and drop. in addition, these programs add a nice dash of drm when you are dragging and dropping. I believe creative or sandisk use drag and drop, and functionality is limited in those players, in fact, its wider than the sony ones.I agree on points from everyone. So like I said before, providing all the options, whether to use software (something new and good) or simple drag-and-drop, will suffice everyone's need (hopefully). Edited July 29, 2007 by Zizone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinji Ikeda Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 You would rather have drag-and-drop, and I would rather not. I would rather have an application that allows me to manage my music and other files.Both drag-and-drop and application programs are interfaces that allow interaction with DAP. An interface (in the computer sense) is a program that allow the communication between two devices, whether it is between memory and hard drive or something else. One point. Artist link is a feature that is defined by the user and not the manufacture, just like the playlist feature.Sony introduce technology that was suppose to be good for the consumer by making files secure. I do not need someone securing my files, unless I give explicit instructions to do this.It would be up to manufactures to decide who to make the link between how much their applications manage the music library on a computer and how files are transferred to their products. It seems that we will have to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinz421 Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I guess Sonic Stage isn't dead yet. I indeed I emailed Sony France, wondering about some firmware update, including UMS support for audio, this for the NW-AXXXX series. Here is their reply :"Hello,The new Sony BD-1000 walkman can indeed be used without Sonic Stage (here they talk about the UMS support for audio).However we have no plan to use this technology with other Sony walkman series at this time." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zizone_ Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Wasn't there an interview in France last year or early this year regarding a new software? The answer you got shows that there will be some software but doesn't specify it will be the SonicStage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinji Ikeda Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Hello vinz421,It seems to be a standard response. Sony is saying that the NWD-B100 will be the only on available that does not support SonicStage or similar technology. Sony can revamp SonicStage and give it another name. There is a possibility that Sony will have a replacement for SonicStage, and only that. However, the only thing that we can conclude is SonicStage is not dead. I for one have not intention to speculate about SonicStage until there is an official announcement from Sony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender325_ Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 1/ There has not been an update for SonicStage for ages (6 months+)As a bonus, I would finally be able to plug my NW-A300 into my PS3, and play the music from it. Why can't I at the moment? As the left arm at Sony does not talk to the right Arm. That sucks.Well that's true, even the Connect website says "New SonicStage 4.3". About the PS3, like Max said earlier in this thread, enable ATRAC on Settings. My PS3 can play music from my NW-S705F like a charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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