tera_logik said:
Hi,
I'm from Portugal, and i am looking for a nice mp3 player...
The NW-HD5 caught my eye, but i've been googling for the past hour or so and found that it has some issues...
I still like it very much and believe it to be a good choice over the ipod, but i have some questions that would really help me decide if i had the answers to them...
I'm worried about the copyright and DRM issues, and i'm still confused about it... Does it apply to mp3? Will i have any kind of problem if i download mp3 files from p2p programs? I have a whole bunch of old dvd's full of mp3's, what exactly does sonicstage do to the files? I know WMA must be converted to atrac, but are mp3's too? doesn't it support it natively? Does the mp3 file manager (supposed alternative to sonicstage, refered in another thread) work well with hd5?
About the authorize function that i've read about, what is it for? It means i can only transfer music from the pc's i choose? And i need to have an internet connection for that?? what if i don't? sony can't assume that... Could someone explain this mess to me?
Thank you very much...
Greetings 2 all!
hi,
Its issues arn't really a big problem but some are very annoying. Luckily none of them are what you've asked about.
Basically, dont worry about DRM. Download SonicStage 3.2 from Sony UK website and it allows you to not apply a copy protection coating to ripped songs. SS is short for SonicStage btw.
You can put mp3's from anywhere and transfer them to the HD5 (natively), that includes downloaded (pay or not), coppied from somewhere else, and ripping from CDs (whether your own or someone elses), it does not restrict where you get the mp3 from. Wma must be converted (in SS)
So with your DVD's of Mp3s, just copy them to your computer (i suggest you do but you dont have to, you might need to edit ID3 name tags), then import them into sonicstage (I suggest doing them in parts, not all at once because it might crash).
SonicStage doesn't affect any Mp3s that are imported into it, unless you delete it from SS then it asks you whether you want to delete it from the computer too, also you can select that any Name tag edits you make in sonicstage will actually change the original mp3's tags (which is usually good).
Now thanks to SS3.2 you can rip Atrac files (better than mp3) and choose not to apply copy protection, that way you can back up those atrac files to any computer (like your dvd's) and it will accept it (just like an mp3).
Sonicstage 3.2 will be your best choice software wise to transfer tracks to the HD5, most of the complaining about SS is not experienced by everyone, its just a little slow navigating but that could be due to the computers. Transfers are fast as usual and ripping is pretty good too (comparable to iTunes). You probably should make sure you have no other programs open and arn't doing anything on the computer while its transferring or ripping as it might cause glitches in the music (from my experience anyway).
The mp3 fm is not that great imo, its way too simple, just a list of songs of whats on the device and you just drag things to it, I dont like it, however you can actually choose to put it on the HD5 itself so if you are ever on a computer that doesnt have SS and you want the music to play on the HD5 now then you can open mp3FM on the HD5 and use it. I would still use SS3.2 at home.
And apparently sony claim that the new connect player software for the A3000 is not compatible with the HD5. No tests have been done yet.
Only Problem with DRM is that if you do transfer tracks to the HD5 using the software (ss or mp3FM) you can't transfer them back to the computer (so dont delete the original).
Im not to sure about the authorising stuff since some players seem to need it and some dont. Mine doesnt need it, i just plug it in and transfer away, ive transferred things from both my computers and it works fine, no formatting or authorising needed (unlike ipod and other players). Only downside to not authorising the computer is that you can't transfer songs back to the original computer. WHich isnt a big problem if you kept the original music files. Annoying thing is that if you want to transfer or backup your music using the HDD on the HD5 you must use explorer to transfer the tracks onto the removable storage part of the HD5, thus you will have two coppies of the tracks as they cant be played unless transferred using SS.
SO it looks like you will like the HD5. THe main problems are fuctionality related like the software on board (gui). The cracking buttons, scratchy screen, and poor build quality such as the top plastic thing not sitting properly and allowing dust under the screen, mine also cracked and is falling off lol. Take note not all hd5s are as bad as mine, its a game of luck.
