Sony has finally made available a new version of Sonic Stage (2.2) and
has released the Wave Converter program (a standalone utility) to allow
transfer of pcm-encoded files and subsequent conversion to .wav files.

I installed both and tried them out. As was the case with earlier
versions of Sonic Stage, you cannot even attempt a transfer if the disc
is write-protected. I tried it on a long (70 minute) pcm file that I had
previously transferred to an ATRAC file. The transfer took about as long
as I expected. There was vigorous hard disk activity at the end, which I
assume is the ATRAC conversion. Sad to say, after the transfer was all
finished there was NO file on my hard drive. Better yet, the original
file on the minidisc was gone! Nothing in the documentation mentioned
this behavior (of course, who would dare?)...

This was not an insurmountable loss, since I'd already copied the file
and "converted" it via a good-quality soundcard to a .wav file.

Undaunted (well, slightly daunted), I recorded a new pcm file via line-
in on the MD. I repeated the transfer operation and it worked this time.
So did the subsequent Wave Converter operation. But the original MD file
was wiped from the MD again. I tried a few more times and in all cases
the transfer/conversion worked. In all cases, the original file on the
MD was gone afterwards.

I don't know if this is a bug, but if it isn't it should be...

So, thanks, Sony, for coming through with the promised converter
program, but BOO! if erasing the source is SOP.

I've opened a support request to ask about this. No response so far.

Jason

There's a button (Options?) at the lower right of the transfer window
in SonicStage. If you click on it, there's a check box that sets
whether SonicStage deletes a file when it tranfers from your MD.

J Warren wrote:
Sony has finally made available a new version of Sonic Stage (2.2)
and
has released the Wave Converter program (a standalone utility) to
allow
transfer of pcm-encoded files and subsequent conversion to .wav
files.

I installed both and tried them out. As was the case with earlier
versions of Sonic Stage, you cannot even attempt a transfer if the
disc
is write-protected. I tried it on a long (70 minute) pcm file that I
had
previously transferred to an ATRAC file. The transfer took about as
long
as I expected. There was vigorous hard disk activity at the end,
which I
assume is the ATRAC conversion. Sad to say, after the transfer was
all
finished there was NO file on my hard drive. Better yet, the original

file on the minidisc was gone! Nothing in the documentation mentioned

this behavior (of course, who would dare?)...

This was not an insurmountable loss, since I'd already copied the
file
and "converted" it via a good-quality soundcard to a .wav file.

Undaunted (well, slightly daunted), I recorded a new pcm file via
line-
in on the MD. I repeated the transfer operation and it worked this
time.
So did the subsequent Wave Converter operation. But the original MD
file
was wiped from the MD again. I tried a few more times and in all
cases
the transfer/conversion worked. In all cases, the original file on
the
MD was gone afterwards.

I don't know if this is a bug, but if it isn't it should be...

So, thanks, Sony, for coming through with the promised converter
program, but BOO! if erasing the source is SOP.

I've opened a support request to ask about this. No response so far.

Jason

In article .com writes:

There's a button (Options?) at the lower right of the transfer window
in SonicStage. If you click on it, there's a check box that sets
whether SonicStage deletes a file when it tranfers from your MD.

That sounds like something that should be off (doesn't delete the
file) by default and instead, it's on by default. Maybe they got the
idea from Microsoft Outlook, which by default, at least in earlier
versions of Windoze, opens (and runs) a file attached to an e-mail
message.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Mike Rivers wrote:
In article .com writes:


There's a button (Options?) at the lower right of the transfer window
in SonicStage. If you click on it, there's a check box that sets
whether SonicStage deletes a file when it tranfers from your MD.


That sounds like something that should be off (doesn't delete the
file) by default and instead, it's on by default. Maybe they got the
idea from Microsoft Outlook, which by default, at least in earlier
versions of Windoze, opens (and runs) a file attached to an e-mail
message.

Latest input on alt.audio.minidisc is that it doesn't do you
any good. You can leave it there for listening but you can
only digitally upload it once and if there is a failure
during that once it's digital history. Sony really went out
of their way to **** this thing up. Are any of their other
groups so suicidal? I was _that_ close to buying one too.

Anybody thinking about one should wait a year to get all its
bizzare behaviors shaken out and known.


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein