this topic seems to have turned into a huge Sony bashing session. As a long standing proud owner of minidisc players I want to clear up some misconceptions from other posters who have probably never tried minidisc and certainly haven't tried Connect:
1. Why the hard time over the fact that Connect is linked exclusively to Sony devices with a proprietary file format? Why does iTunes/ACC/iPod get off the hook here? Same thing, different company. Now finally as a SOny user I have my version of iTunes to seamlessly integrate with my device.
2. Yes Sonicstage has had some growing pains as a software but I would say it's comparable now to most of the competition.
3. You can burn regular Audio CDs from Sonicstage just like with iTunes - many here on the board are saying you can't.
4. Personally I like the fact that my minidisc runs 40 hours on one AA battery (externally and easily replacable anywhere thank you iPod) and that the disc is a removable media should my player bite the dust (it just won't die much as I have dropped it)
5. The new Hi-MD units soon to be released should provide enough storage for most casual users out there. A couple of hundred songs on one disk. how many of us really need 40GB accessible at any one time.
"limited to Windows" - what? Do you think Sony a major PC manufacturer (especially in their home market of Japan) give a hoot about apple computers. 96% market share of all desktops is hardly limited.
Restricted codec? What about iTunes. I can't play Apple ACC files on my Net MD Minidisc (yes I use one), so finally now I can get ATRAC files direct for my device (which I'd argue sound better than MP3 derivatives)
Doesn't have the support of anyone outside Sony? What about the iPod?
has nobody anything positive to say here?
I'm a minidisc owner and use the sonicstage software all the time without issue.
I am aware that this software has a bad reputation but immediately upgraded it to the latest version which for Minidisc is something like 1.5.3 - (available by following the internet link in the application to Sony's support site) - and have run error free ever since.
Most users who report problems have older PCs, apparently the software is a resource hog.
Hang tight though - Sony is about to release a vastly updated Sonicstage 2.0 in readiness for the release of it's iTunes competing download service (www.connect.com) coming in the summer, which early testers have suggested is a much improved interface.
Personally, I'm waiting to see if the new Sony Hi-MD 1 Gig minidiscs (out in April) deliver on their promise. They certainly sound good on paper. 50-60 hrs battery life on one AA battery, removable, replacable magnetic media, compact, stylish. Just hope Sony have found a way to expedite their ATRAC encoding so that the software is as close to drag and drop as possible (current MD users will soon tell you this is not really the case).
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this topic seems to have turned into a huge Sony bashing session. As a long standing proud owner of minidisc players I want to clear up some misconceptions from other posters who have probably never tried minidisc and certainly haven't tried Connect: 1. Why the hard time over the fact that Connect is linked exclusively to Sony devices with a proprietary file format? Why does iTunes/ACC/iPod get off the hook here? Same thing, different company. Now finally as a SOny user I have my version of iTunes to seamlessly integrate with my device. 2. Yes Sonicstage has had some growing pains as a software but I would say it's comparable now to most of the competition. 3. You can burn regular Audio CDs from Sonicstage just like with iTunes - many here on the board are saying you can't. 4. Personally I like the fact that my minidisc runs 40 hours on one AA battery (externally and easily replacable anywhere thank you iPod) and that the disc is a removable media should my player bite the dust (it just won't die much as I have dropped it) 5. The new Hi-MD units soon to be released should provide enough storage for most casual users out there. A couple of hundred songs on one disk. how many of us really need 40GB accessible at any one time.
"limited to Windows" - what? Do you think Sony a major PC manufacturer (especially in their home market of Japan) give a hoot about apple computers. 96% market share of all desktops is hardly limited. Restricted codec? What about iTunes. I can't play Apple ACC files on my Net MD Minidisc (yes I use one), so finally now I can get ATRAC files direct for my device (which I'd argue sound better than MP3 derivatives) Doesn't have the support of anyone outside Sony? What about the iPod? has nobody anything positive to say here?
I'm a minidisc owner and use the sonicstage software all the time without issue. I am aware that this software has a bad reputation but immediately upgraded it to the latest version which for Minidisc is something like 1.5.3 - (available by following the internet link in the application to Sony's support site) - and have run error free ever since. Most users who report problems have older PCs, apparently the software is a resource hog. Hang tight though - Sony is about to release a vastly updated Sonicstage 2.0 in readiness for the release of it's iTunes competing download service (www.connect.com) coming in the summer, which early testers have suggested is a much improved interface.
Personally, I'm waiting to see if the new Sony Hi-MD 1 Gig minidiscs (out in April) deliver on their promise. They certainly sound good on paper. 50-60 hrs battery life on one AA battery, removable, replacable magnetic media, compact, stylish. Just hope Sony have found a way to expedite their ATRAC encoding so that the software is as close to drag and drop as possible (current MD users will soon tell you this is not really the case).