Sony Connect (SonicStage) 3.3

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• 12 out of 13 people found this review helpful

  1 stars

  Version: Sony Connect (SonicStage) 3.3

  "worst software i have ever used in my life.. really disapointed"

  by eric2mrng on January 28, 2006

  Pros: 1)Almost all the sony mp3 hardware this software comes with are great lookin, affordable with great specs such as battery life etc..

  2)software is a nice colour (blue).

  3)decent sound quality after compression into atrac format. small sized files etc

  Cons: 1) Unstable, this software randomly crashes for no apparent reason.

  2) Very picky about what songs it can transfer..

  3) It hates the older versions of the software.. no compatibility at all.. e.g if you had version 3.2 (like i did) and upgraded to this 3.3 version, it wont let you transfer anymore songs onto your mp3 until you initialize (delete/format) your mp3 and start over. (which is a pain if you have a big collection)

  4) very slow importing songs (im using p4 3.2 processor with 2gb ram and its still slow)

  5) when converting to atrac format it wraps copyright protection all over it so it'll be difficult if you use multiple computers or share music when your at friends house.

  6) your stuck with it, there is no alternative software if your using a sony mp3 player (that isnt flash)

  7) installation is from server. difficult if you upgraded from 3.2 to 3.3 and looking to downgrade back to 3.2

  8) even though you can turn off this option SS automatically saves a version of your converted atrac onto your drive taking up lots of room. usually found in (c:/documents setting/all users/sonicstage/packages/importedfiles)

  9) if you decide to delete the "backup" (i mentioned at point 8) to save disk space (like i did) you'll lose the ability to transfer your atrac songs on your sony mp3 BACK onto your pc which is ridiculous.

  10)theres more issues like grouping issues etc that other reviewers have mentioned so read up.. so i wont bore you with anymore..

  so yeah, sony mp3's are great pieces of hardware.. but the software.. destroys the whole point of havin an mp3 (which is to jus njoy good music) and replaces it with stress stress and an empty wallet.

  Thank you for submitting your feedback!

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• 3 replies to this review

• reply by: mikealex7184 on September 12, 2008

  couldnt agree more pal. love the player. hate the software.
  
  on your 'cons' number 3 u said u have to delete ur entire playlist if u upgrade ur version of sonicstage. i found this too but do u no where u can go to install the last one? i got over 4000 songs i cant be arsed to reload!! i tried installing this version above (3.3) but somehow it installed 4.3 instead!!?? any suggestions would be great.. cheers.

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• reply by: slippery_fish on August 13, 2006

  I have a sony mp3 player but I lost the software it came with so now i cant put songs on it. Please give me any info. can i download it? Can I buy the program some where?

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• reply by: rmnel on February 6, 2006

  Hi eric2mrng,

  Just to comment on your pro: yes, I agree, the battery life's amazing. I use the NW-E505S Network Walkman, and I can use it for 4+ days running, and the battery indicator doesn't budge one inch.

  To comment on con #5: I have exactly the same problem. Did you ever figure a way around it? I created ATRACs on my desktop PC, and want to play and transfer them on my laptop PC, but it asks me to download the license from the Internet. HA!! The CD wasn't bought in a shop! I use SonicStage 3.0, and I believe people are already giving version 3.3 a rotten reputation....I couldn't agree more with them....

  Best regards,

  Roy Nel.

  Let me know what you think.

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