about the update and mp3 playback

[lordviper]

as i said before this product, the ap1, will never play raw mp3's (like the ipod).

it is a major drawback i know, but today i received confirmation that the mp3 capabilaties the update speaks of will mean that drm is added to the tracks as they are transferred over to the ap1l. making them just as encrypted as atrac files.
i beleive sony have covered themselves by the phrasing they use in the update announcement.

therefore, i think i may continue to use atrac files as it offers better compression, but this will all depend on how good ss 2.3 is.
as for the other updates, im not too sure but the gapless playback and faster scrolling are necessary and will bring the unit close to perfection, all that i feel is really needed then will be better support for viewing pictures, rather than having to create loads of USER folders.

but lets see what else the update brings.........:smileywink:

[diverse]

I have found that every copy protected CD that will not copy to ATRAC in Sonic will copy in Itunes, i rip as WAV then convert to ATRAC!

I agree with piracy but i believe it wrong that if i buy a CD legitimatly i cannot play it without farting around using Itunes or even re-mastering (that's what i do!) the disc digitally and re-burn an un-copy protected disc (but Itunes has yet to be beaten by any copy protection) YEAH for apple on that front!

DOH, i meant diss-agree with piracy!

[DrMojo]

the sniper has it right - the vaio pocket sounds wrong, wrong, wrong.

questions have already been raised about this sony recording format and its compatibility with other versions of sonic stage, new vaios etc.

of course, i can see why sony are doing it, but if it could inconvenience the user, then in my opinion it sucks.

as for ppl here talking about outdated formats etc, and the sony format being superior, well, that just sounds a tad anal to me. i have a vaio a117s - its my second vaio, and i love it - but there are ppl here who would buy sony anyway, just because of the brand image. such people must know that they are wilfully blinding themselves to a few realities.

im in the market for a new mp3 player, and was interested in the pocket, but i dont think that i could go through with buying one because of all this sony format crap. guess it must have to be an ipod photo, but that isnt perfect because it wont play back my cybershot videos.

grr!

anyway folks, lets try to keep it real, and keep it objective. all this i love sony stuff, sony are always the best, etc etc, is strictly for the kiddies, in my opinion.

nothing personal.

mojo

[lordviper]

@dr mojo

 the sniper has it right - the vaio pocket sounds wrong, wrong, wrong.

how and on what point?

and the sony format being superior, well, that just sounds a tad anal to me

then you must be hiding up someones anus.
if you beleive mp3 sounds better and has better compression than aac, ogg or atrac then you know nothing about audio formats.
ogg is used as an ac3 substitute for gods sake. aac is pretty much the same as atrac without the drm. and have you seen or heard a compressed atrac plus track?
the point is, no one will want to convert unless they have to, and it appears they wont, but at what cost? as i have repeatedly said, i beleive it will be drm.
if you think im wrong then please state on what grounds, dont just say wrong. as i say all the other sony mp3 devices add drm on the fly so why should the ap1 be different?

[nemo66]

What is "PIRACY" ???
Can you define it properly and correct?
Can someone here in the cyberspace tell what "PIRACY" really means and does?
I think NOT!

I the past piracy was an act of violence (fizic, psyhic and almost followed with injuries at persons , rape and so on)
But in those days when someone copy a song (example: over KaaZaa)...is this PIRACY?
Or do u want to call it "MODERN FORM OF PIRACY"?
Does get someone hurt?
Does anyone of the artists die because of hunger not geting his money for the songs?

Please explain us all what PIRACY is?!?!

PS:
-What Apple and Sony does with ATRAC, AAC, and so on....what is this? PIRACY??? On users? Or how do u cal this?

MATRIX: the movie that explains our "REAL WORD" :smileygrin:

[chris_lewis]

Nemo

Would you go into Comet and take a brand new Vaio off the shelf and walk out the door with it??

No one has been hurt I agree, but it's plain theft.

Music is just the same, just because its availiable there is no reason to expect it for free. If you cant tell the difference in sound quality between formats then fine stick with what you know.

When you have spent lots of money on a decent hi-fi, poor quality codecs sound abismal, I am quite happy to abide by DRM so I can maximise the quality of my digital music.

Have people completely forgotten how music should sound???

C

[nemo66]

-yes....they have forgotten:smileysad:

[DrMojo]

@the viper

i like to listen to music on the move, and i believe that the mp3 format is decent quality, providing of course that you havent downloaded a dodgy rip from a peer to peer service - although im sure that nobody here does that, right, 'cos we all hate piracy and we all love sony, right?

what i want is a decent mp3 player that will give me some quality sound as i move about, but i like to transfer music to and from various sources all the time. i want convenience, and sonys compatibility issues really do take the mickey. from what ive read about magicgate memory sticks, they suck in the same way too.

maybe you also have some technical information about those - if so, then i wouldnt dispute the facts with the likes of you. but for me, convenience is key, and im not prepared to tolerate cheap tricks because of a manufacturers (albeit justified) paranoia about folks ripping them off.

for the moralists out there, i think that stealing is wrong, but i am not a big fan of multinational corporate hegemonies either.

[lordviper]

ok i think this threads drifted away from what i was saying.
i was just pointing out that the ap1 is very likely to still have drm in the update, which for some people is a nuisance. im not talking about piracy or memory sticks or anything else, just drm.

[kee-lo_]

Have people completely forgotten how music should sound???

Yes they have.
Some didn't know in the first place (poor buggers)
Some people are not brought up on amazing hifis like us.

[kamtung]

Mp3 format isn't a very good music format, it's usually encoded at 128kbps. For somewhat decent music you'll need about 192kbps. Till then, using high quality earphones, it still sounds quite dreadful. I owne a Sony Vaio Pocket (40GB) and 2 Creative mp3 players (Zen Touch and Zen Xtra), both music quality are the same - except that Creative mp3 players are drag and drop without conversion. However they try to minimise the illegal distribution of mp3s by forcing people to install drivers on their PC (they use a special Creative format, not FAT32/NTFS).

Every company tries to make their own format to minimise the chances of getting sued, even by their own music company. The Apple iPod does it by hiding all music in a *hidden* folder, and when you transfer music to the iPod, all files are renamed to jibberish. They aren't named or anything, just weird letters and characters. It's the same with what Sony does..

Honestly, I like Sony's products. They aren't the best, but the quality is superb. Their digital audio players can only improve over time, and remember, I bought this mp3 player KNOWING I had to convert my 32GB collection of mp3s to ATRAC. So to me, being able to send mp3s directly to the VP without conversion is a good surprise.

PS: Please don't say mp3 is a decent music quality format unless you're encoding it at 192kbps. Anyone with a common sense will know that! Just because it's widely use doesn't mean it's the best - take Windows or Internet Explorer (I use Mozilla!) for example.