Nw Hd3 Software

All Downloads Manuals Questions & Answers. Important Information. Support by Sony mobile app. Stay informed about news, software/firmware updates and more! SonicStage CP Security Update Program Release Date:. Personal Audio Driver Release Date:. GYM - Grab Your Music for Sony Network Walkman. First independent software that works with Network Walkmans! Allows browsing, playing back and EXTRACTING mp3s directly from the device. Compatible with NW-HD3, NW-HD5, Vaio Pocket, and many others. The Sony NW-HD3 plays back both ATRAC3plus and MP3 files, has a 30 hour battery life and is available in four colour variations. The Sony NW-HD3 will hit the shelves in the UK in December 2004. The Sony NW-HD3 comes with a range of features designed to deliver quality, choice and convenience for every fan of portable music. Now that the NW-HD3 has been released for the non-Japanese markets (ie, the rest of the world) there shouldn't be any problems with installing a working version of SS for any users. SonicStage's functionality (or lack thereof) is beyond the scope of this review, but I'm sure a quick search of the forum or even Google would yield some.

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Sony today announces the launch of the Sony NW-HD3 (NWHD3), a new addition to its Network WALKMAN range. The Sony NW-HD3 plays back both ATRAC3plus and MP3 files, has a 30 hour battery life and is available in four colour variations. The Sony NW-HD3 will hit the shelves in the UK in December 2004. The Sony NW-HD3 comes with a range of features designed to deliver quality, choice and convenience for every fan of portable music.

The built-in 20 GB hard disc can hold the equivalent of 13,000 tracks or 900 CDs worth of music when using high quality ATRAC3plus audio compression technology. It offers 30 hours of uninterrupted playtime from a single battery charge and withstands almost all kinds of movement to deliver a skip-free performance.

Specially developed G-Sensor technology enables the hard disc to resist impact to protect your valuable music or other data. Its aluminium body makes it light to carry, and the four colour variations of silver, black, pink, and red have been selected to provide a myriad of refreshing options.

Dave Andrews, Product Manager for WALKMAN at Sony said:

'With the NW-HD3, Sony again demonstrates its commitment to combining style with technological excellence to make this new Network Walkman a must-have for the most discerning and fashion-conscious of music lovers. High performance features, ATRAC3plus and MP3 playback, contemporary design and competitive price make the Sony NW-HD3 the ideal digital music player in today's emerging world of PC and online music.'

The Sony NW-HD3 is the latest addition to Sony's Network WALKMAN family. Other models in the range include the recently launched NW-E95 and NW-E99 , which also playback ATRAC3plus and MP3, and the NW-E55 and NW-E75 , which now support both formats, with a free. software download from the Internet ( www.sonydigital-link.com/DNA/NWW/nww.asp ).

All Network WALKMAN, Net MD WALKMAN, Hi-MD WALKMAN, ATRAC CD WALKMAN owners can log onto Sony's digital music site 'CONNECT', which provides over 500,000 downloadable tracks from both major and independent labels. The NW-HD3 is also shipped with the latest version of Sony's SonicStage software (version 2.3), which allows users to manage and transfer ATRAC3plus and MP3 files.

SonicStage Software
SonicStage Software is Sony's music management programme, which allows you to catalogue your music, buy your music directly on the CONNECT service, and transfer files to your Network WALKMAN.

ATRAC3plus
ATRAC3plus is Sony's audio compression technology. You can choose different levels of compression when you record music from CDs onto your PC using SonicStage software. ATRAC3plus has been developed to offer the best sound quality.

G-Sensor
G-Sensor technology monitors and calculates the gravitational velocity of NW-HD3 in its three dimensions (height, width and depth); the sensor device clears the recording head away from the hard disc when the unit receives physical impact during operation. As a result, recorded content is protected by preventing the recording head from potentially scratching the hard disc surface.*1

CONNECT
Sony Europe launched its European online music download service in July, starting in the UK, France and Germany. CONNECT offers more than 500,000 songs including albums and singles from both major and independent record labels. Tracks are available in the ATRAC3 format at prices starting from 79p in the UK. Visit CONNECT to download music at www.connect-europe.com

Key Features of the NW-HD3:

• ATRAC3plus and MP3 playback compatible
• Over 30 hours of playback time*2
• G-Sensor
• 20GB HDD = 13,000 tracks*3(900CDs)
• 4 colour variations (Silver/ Black/ Pink / Red)
• Aluminium body
• Headphones and AC adaptor supplied
• USB cable supplied
• USB adaptor supplied

*1 G-Sensor does not guarantee protection for the player from all types of impact.
*2 In ATRAC3plus 48kbps mode.
*3 Calculated on the basis of 4 minutes per song and using ATRAC3plus 48kbps

SonicStage is a discontinued software from Sony that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC OMG/OMA and MP3 recordings on a PC. It was first used in VAIO PCs put on the Japanese market in October 2001, and superseded OpenMG Jukebox. Version 2 was found on 2004 model products, and Version 3 on 2005 model products (Sony introduced native MP3 support on its music players in 2005). SonicStage was required to transfer and manage music on all network-enabled Walkman digital audio players and MiniDisc players, before the software was dropped in 2007.^[1][2]

The Sony Connect service was formerly used to purchase recordings online, and could be accessed from within the SonicStage program. However, Sony announced that on the 31 March 2008, its CONNECT download site would be going offline, therefore affecting SonicStage users. However, in late 2008, Sony launched a new online music store called 'bandit.fm' on a trial basis for a small number of markets. It was expected that Sony would launch bandit.fm globally, however Sony never did this and closed the store in 2016.^[3] Japan exclusively uses the mora service.

Features[edit]

Copying and usage restriction[edit]

SonicStage is closely tied to a requirement that the program guard against copyright infractions. Sony music players have a write-only design. Somewhat similar to an Apple iPod, it is not generally possible to move tracks from the music player to the PC hard drive, and thereby from one music player to another. Some earlier models (such as some of the Net-MD line) could not even transfer voice recordings made by the user (with the player's microphone input) to their PC.

Copy restriction is provided not by any one feature, but by a group of design features and software limitations. The main features being:

1. The software strictly enforces digital rights management through its use of OpenMG. SonicStage ties the DRM license of each track to the hardware of the computer from which it has been transferred. SonicStage will not allow transfer of tracks from the player to another computer. It is possible, however, to backup 'My Library' and import it into another installation of SonicStage on a different computer.
2. Music files have to be 'wrapped' by Sony software in order to be played on a Sony music player. Sony has not introduced drag and drop support for music files. Although it is possible to load files directly onto a Sony player without using SonicStage, it is not possible to play music files loaded this way. Neither is it possible in most cases to transfer music files back to a PC. (all versions prior to 3.4)
3. The program does not generally convert OMG/OMA files to MP3 or WAV.
4. The program only supports OMG format, not MP3. The program converts any audio files imported into it into OMG format, including audio files that are not legally downloaded, or illegally copied music.
5. The program lacks a true import album feature for WAV and MP3 files. The program imports tracks as is. MP3 and WAV files can not generally be used. Imported files cannot be grouped into an album with artist, title and tracknumber fields assigned at the time of import. This has to be done before or after import.
6. When WAV tracks are imported, they remain linked to their WAV source file and the track can only be edited for as long as the WAV source file remains on the computer. This makes it difficult to use SonicStage to edit CDs that have been ripped with another program.

As of version 3.4, an intermediate update mostly for Hi-MD users, some of the above restrictions have been relaxed. SonicStage 3.4 allows tracks recorded via digital/analogue inputs on Hi-MD devices to be transferred back in WAV format. Also, files in Sony's proprietary ATRAC format can now be converted to WAV.

MP3 support[edit]

Support for MP3 files in both SonicStage and 2005 model devices is problematic. A 2005 model device may not be able to play some tracks. For example, it may not be able to play low bit rate MP3 tracks, (the ones that may be produced by an Internet radio station, or in a podcast).

SonicStage will play ATRAC3 files directly from a digital music device when the latter is connected to the computer and detected by the software. SonicStage 3 does not play DRM-wrapped MP3 files directly from the device.Many bugs, however, are corrected and addressed.

History[edit]

Version 1[edit]

Version 1.5 adds the native support for ATRAC3plus^[4] and Windows Media Audio (WMA). And addition, MP3 encoding plug-in was sold on Sony's on-line stores (SonyStyle Japan: ¥1,590^[5]), for their Palm device: CLIÉ. But those encoding function for WMA/MP3 was removed in SonicStage Version 2.0 (SS2.0 supports only the decoding function).

Version 2[edit]

This is the last version of SonicStage before native MP3 devices were introduced by Sony.MP3 is supported by converting the mp3 file to ATRAC format and downloading that file to the device.

The v2 library manager is 'benign' in that it sits on top of what is already on the hard drive, and doesn't change what is already there (It will change a file name if the user has configured it as such.) Users can tell it an album exists in a directory, and import that group of files as an album without having the program change the header information in the tracks.

Version 3[edit]

Version 3 uses the header information in the tracks to get album, artist and track name information.The tracks are placed in the database according to what is in the tracks. When the header fields in a track are blank, the program imports the track into the unnamed album (No name, no artist, no album). As a consequence, when importing tracks, many albums are placed into the album called 'Unnamed'.

Tracks under digital rights management cannot be changed, and neither can tracks with a missing source link.

As noted above, Version 3 lacks an 'Import Album' feature. SonicStage v3 classifies tracks according to the album-related information present in their headers.

2 GB memory sticks are not supported.

Sony have added the option to drop DRM on ripped files in SonicStage v3.3.

SonicStage 3.4 includes an option to de-DRM an entire library (the larger it is, the longer it takes) allowing unlimited transfer and playback on PCs. Users can share non-DRM files with other people.

The option to de-DRM files does not work on unplayable OMA files.

SonicStage 3.4 does operate on Windows Vista after some manual driver installations.

Version 4 (SonicStage CP)[edit]

Adds the ability to import AACLC, as well as HE-AAC.

The main downside is that a number of features, such as the ability to recover from corrupt track lists, are still missing. Restrictions on what non administrator users could do were due to restrictions imposed by Windows XP and earlier. These restrictions are not present with Windows Vista and later.

Version 4.3 (SonicStage CP) adds Windows Vista compatibility (Vista 64-bit and Windows 7 64-bit are not officially supported but Sonicstage will run, though there are no drivers for the hardware). As of October 2008, this is the latest version of the English (and other non-Japanese language) SonicStage. From March 29, 2013 onwards this version is no longer available for download from Sony website.^[6]

Version 4.4, released on January 10, 2008^[7] (only in Japan), added HE-AAC transfer function for new walkmans.

Version 5 (SonicStage V)[edit]

SonicStage V is the latest version of the Japanese SonicStage, and features a new user interface like SonicStage for LISMO. Version 5.0 released on October 9, 2008 in Japan.^[8][9] On 9 Feb 2009, version 5.1 was released.

SonicStage V does not work with the Hi-MD/Net MD Walkmans, MP3-CD/ATRAC-CD players (such as CD Walkmans) and other old devices.^[10]

SonicStage for LISMO[edit]

SonicStage for LISMO is a stripped-down version of Japanese SonicStage CP, and is a part of the 'LISMO Port' suite. Version 1.0 was released on February 1, 2008. SonicStage for LISMO developed for a new ATRAC service (LISMOオーディオ機器連携) of LISMO, the online music store provided by a Japanese mobile phone operator KDDI (au). There are some useful functions to using LISMO, but little value for non-LISMO users. The playable codecs are same as SonicStage Version 4.x, but encoding functions are only available for the ATRAC codecs.

As of October 2008, 16 au phones (manufactured by Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, Kyocera, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba) support LISMO's ATRAC service.^[11]

Criticism[edit]

SonicStage was often criticized for being un-user friendly and having numerous technical problems.^{[12][13][14][15]} It is only possible to move tracks from the music player to the PC's hard drive, and thereby from one music player to another, if each device/computer is 'authorized' to the user's account with the Connect Store for their country. Users from countries that do not have the Connect Store service are currently limited to one device/computer.

In late 2005 Sony released the Connect Player software for use with their Walkman NW-A series released at the time. That too proved to be problematic to users, forcing Sony to apologize in January 2006 and temporary pulling the software.^[16]

At IFA 2007, Sony finally announced that SonicStage software will be dropped for all future Walkman. Music management is instead done using drag and drop, the Media Manager of PlayStation Portable, or Windows Media Player 11.^[17]

Alternatives[edit]

MP3 File Manager[edit]

Nw Hd3 Software Free

Sony offers the MP3 File Manager for Network Walkmans as a very limited alternative to SonicStage. It only provides a simple drag-and-drop interface and is lacking many of the newer, more advanced features of SonicStage (such as the ability to transfer files back to the computer).

The application is intended to be installed on the Network Walkman itself.Although it can be run directly on the device, it is not truly a portable application because it requires that the driver^[18] be installed on the computer.

The most recent version (2.0) can be downloaded from here^[19] or here.^[20] There is also an older version (1.2) for older Network Walkmans available here.^[21]

VAIO Music Transfer[edit]

As mentioned in this forum,^[22] the VAIO Music Transfer software allows files to be dragged and dropped onto the player. It may still require SonicStage to be installed. It works with the NW-A700-series, NW-E00XF-series players as well as the NW-HD1 and NW-HD3.

MP3 Conversion Tool[edit]

Sony released an MP3 Conversion Tool in 2007. The MP3 Conversion Tool can be used to convert non-DRM protected ATRAC® format audio files stored in your computer to MP3 format audio files. To run the MP3 Conversion Tool, the OpenMG Secure Module is required (included with SonicStage). The tool can be downloaded from Sony's eSupport page, here.^[23]

Third-party alternatives[edit]

• voidMP3FM file manager is free, and supports some features that the official MP3FM does not (e.g. ability to transfer files back to the computer). voidMP3FM currently works with NW-E002, NW-E003, NW-E005, NW-A608, and (unofficially) NW-E015F, allows transfer of tracks back to HD, and the compatibility is improved in each version (last release was 6 October 2006). It also works under WINE in Linux.^[24]
• JSymphonic is a piece of open-sourceJava software that works on Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X and can transfer MP3s to and from the Sony NW-E00x series and HDD NW-A series players. It is also a continuation of the NW-E00x Mp3 File Manager project.
• Grab Your Music (GYM) software allows to transfer (upload) audio files back to the computer from the Walkman.
• ML Sony is a plugin for the popular multimedia player Winamp. It integrates with Winamp's Library and allows the user to transfer MP3s between the PC and the Sony Walkman. It does not require SonicStage to be installed. The official discussion thread about it seems to be offline.^[25]

MiniDisc[edit]

For MiniDisc Walkman, the linux-minidisc project is working continuously to develop a free transfer software for all HiMD- and NetMD-Walkman. The software features a library libhimd for accessing HiMD-devices and a Qt-based GUI (QHiMDTransfer) which both can be ported to many platforms, current versions are available for Linux, Windows and Macintosh computers. Currently, upload (i.e. transfer from the Walkman to the PC) of MP3s and PCM/ATRAC3/ATRAC3+-recordings (all HiMD Walkman) is possible, more functionality (downloads to the device, deleting, renaming tracks etc.) is being worked on. NetMD is supported as well (through a collection of Python scripts) in the form of downloads (all NetMD) and uploads (MZ-RH1 only). Especially the sophisticated debugging and reverse-engineering protection of OpenMG/AVLib made development tedious but linux-minidisc is the only software to provide this functionality to date. The project homepage can be found here.^[26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^https://www.cnet.com/news/sony-good-riddance-sonicstage/
2. ^https://opinion.latimes.com/bitplayer/2007/08/sony-connects-w.html
3. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20161220022819/http://www.bandit.fm/. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2019-03-24.Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. ^Ken Fujimoto (2002-12-16). 'Digital Audio Laboratory' (in Japanese). Impress AV Watch. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
5. ^'ソニースタイル、SonicStage用のMP3プラグインを販売開始' (in Japanese). Impress AV Watch. 2002-12-05. Archived from the original on 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
6. ^http://www.sony-asia.com/support/announcement/524893
7. ^'「SonicStage CP (SonicStage Ver.4.4) ダウンロードサービス」のご案内' (in Japanese). Sony Marketing (Japan). 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
8. ^'ソニー、ウォークマン用転送ソフト「SonicStage V」' (in Japanese). Impress AV Watch. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
9. ^Christopher MacManus (2008-10-10). 'Sony Japan Releases SonicStage V (aka SonicStage 5)'. Sony Insider. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
10. ^'SonicStage V 対応機器情報' (in Japanese). Sony Marketing (Japan). 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
11. ^'「LISMO「オーディオ機器連携」」対応機種' (in Japanese). KDDI. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
12. ^https://www.theregister.com/2006/05/10/sony_plans_sonicstage_update/
13. ^https://www.techradar.com/nz/news/portable-devices/mp3-players/audio/portable-audio/sony-sets-walkman-free-at-last-158767
14. ^https://www.theatreofnoise.com/2005/10/review-of-sony-mz-rh10-md-recorder.html
15. ^https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sony-nw-s200-review/
16. ^https://www.theregister.com/2006/01/30/sony_connect_player_problems/
17. ^https://www.techradar.com/nz/news/portable-devices/mp3-players/audio/portable-audio/sony-sets-walkman-free-at-last-158767
18. ^Sony Electronics, Inc. 'Sony eSupport - NW-E405 - Drivers & Software'. Esupport.sony.com. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
19. ^'Welcome : Support for Sony'. Sonydigital-link.com. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
20. ^Sony Electronics, Inc. 'Sony eSupport - NW-E405 - Drivers & Software'. Esupport.sony.com. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
21. ^'Welcome : Support for Sony'. Sonydigital-link.com. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
22. ^'post'. Ipastudio.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
23. ^'Sony eSupport - Electronics - Drivers & Software'. esupport.sony.com. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
24. ^http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showforum=25
25. ^http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1528
26. ^'start [linux-minidisc]'. Wiki.physik.fu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2012-09-01.

External links[edit]

Nw Hd3 Software Download