Downloading SonicStage 2.0 upgrade from Sony site

[biggles]

I have successfully downloaded the installer exe file, but have now tried to run this four times and each time the process has stopped - always at a different point.

As of now it is 'frozen' at 4.79MB out of a total of 17.1MB. I have a broadband connection, so wouldn't expect things to time-out.

Has any one else had this problem? This is starting to turn into an expensive upgrade!!

I guess the other question is 'Is it worth it?'

[colp]

Yes I've had similar "success". I've tried several times now. Had it as high as 10.5MB on one occasion!! :smile:

Col

[Kool K]

I have had sucess but only after 3 or 4 attempts.

I believe the whole executable will be available soon anyway.

[biggles]

I finally got it last night (=early this morning). Every other time I had set it downloading and went off to read other forums etc.

This time I set it running and didn't touch keyboard, mouse or do anything else except watch the progress bar crawl across the screen. I don't think it will ever make it as a spectator sport, but I did get the whole thing installed.

Now the big question - was it worth it! :wacky:

[The_Stamp]

What are the benefits of installing the OFFICAL SS2 instead of using iceedtea's build? i realize the CD writing functionality tha the official one lacks, but is there anything the the official one has that iceedteas' doesn't? thx

(PS: nice, cute message of the all caps, came up when i was on the OFFICIAL word, nice touch, kurisu!! :smile: )

[mAjEsTiC]

iceedtea's version didn't seem to like my VAIO's MS drive and wouldn't let me view the files on it...the official one has fixed that problem (for me neways)...

[doclloyd]

One question that hopefully someone can answer for me regarding upgrading from SS 1.5 to 2.0: How do I update the database? I've read in other posts to uninstall everything from the current SS setup (including all modules, etc.) and install the new 2.0. Does that still apply with the download available via http://www.connect.com/download.html?? I guess I'm just wondering how my current database of music will be affected, if at all.

Also, what is people's experience with SS 2.0 and the current line of NetMD portables? Is it working for you?

If anyone has any advice, i would love to hear it.

Thanks!

[The_Stamp]

doclloyd: theres an option while installing to merge your old database into the new one. just to make sure, yoiu might want to make a backup, using sony's backup tool.

anywho, with this new "onnect" service, how would i go about using that with iceedtea's build of SS2?

EDIT: i just installed the new connect version of SS2 ON TOP of iceedteas' build. it didn't prompt me for the location (except for the database to convert). when i rebooted, it converted the database, and i still have the option to record to cd! hooray! (i never tested it tho)

[doclloyd]

Thanks for the pointers. Since my post, I found a thread on minidisct.com (and here on these forums) about how the new SS 2.0 off of connect.com would upgrade SS 1.5 (well, effectively uninstall it during its install process.) It did exactly as you said and "upgraded" the database to work with the new software. 2.0 seems snappier overall than 1.5 on my box (Athlon 1GHz -- seems old now). I'm browsing the music store now to see if anything looks interesting.

Probably one of the more exciting things about the new software is the lack of restrictions on track downloads. Now I don't need to feel so bad about putting the same track on multiple MD's for compilations. Good times. I'll post more after I use the software .. see if anything seems odd.

[doclloyd]

So far so good with using the software with a NetMD... except that I can't purchase music. Oh well... I've put in an email. We'll see how fast they actually respond. Anyone else try buying anything?

[Ryzir]

I have downloaded the new software and have actually managed to buy and download some songs. The process wasn't smooth and for downloading whole albums I had to go to My Account then clicked the link that says "recently purchased music" (or something similar) then I had to check the songs individually for them to download. Kind of a pain but I'm sure they will fix it.

After downloading the music I was kind of surprised that the music is encoded atrac3@132kbps (lp2). I thought they would have used the new atrac3plus although the old format makes more sense for now since Hi-Md isn't released yet.

It seems (although I haven't tested) that the downloaded files are only restricted for burning Audio and Atrac cd's (5 times for each). It seems that you can transfer these files to MiniDisc as many times as you want (note: I haven't tested this). I'm sure all the other normal SS restrictions apply(uploading to a machine other than the ones you used to downlod the file to minidisc).

On Sony's connect site you can "register" up to three computers per account. So I was able to download the songs I purchased at home on to my work computer. I have no idea how long these files stay active for downloading.

Sorry I don't have any more in-depth information I haven't really had the time to fully test the program and it's capabilities/limitations. I am curious how the backuptool will work with these downloaded files. I'll let you all know as soon as I find out.

Peace

[Leland]

On two of my 3 upgrades, the official SS updater stopped. I just tried again (and again and again in one case) and it picked up where it left off, not losing what was already downloaded.

Here's a question; after using the official upgrade, is there any way to use the iceedtee stuff to enable CD-R creation on non-Sony computers? One of my computers is a Vaio, so I know it works there. How can I enable this on my IBM?