SonicStage

SonicStage is the name for Sony software that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Windows. It was first used in VAIO PCs put on the Japanese market in October 2001, and superseded OpenMG Jukebox.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 is a music file loader and library manager, similar to Windows Media Player and Real Player. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC OMG and OMA recordings on a PC. The Sony Connect part of the program is used to purchase recordings online.

The process for loading tracks onto a device is :

Import the tracks into the SonicStage library.
Convert the file to ATRAC omg format, if necessary.
Transfer the omg/mp3 file to the device.

The design of SonicStage - copyright protection

Since Sony has an interest in protecting the copyright on the music that it sells, the design of SonicStage is closely tied to a requirement that the program guard against copyright infractions. Sony music players have a write-only design. Just like 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. (Audio recordings made on the device can be transferred.)

The copy-restriction features of SonicStage

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

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.
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)
The program does not generally convert OMG/OMA files to MP3 or WAV. A user cannot regard an omg file as a "safe" way to store recordings.
The program only encrypts in omg format, not mp3. The program encrypts any audio files imported into it in omg format, including audio files that are not legally or illegally copied music. This has led to huge losses of intellectual property by many users unaware of this feature.
The program lacks a true import album feature for WAV and MP3 files. The program imports tracks as is. 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.
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.

SonicStage is not known to contain any incursive technology such as First4Internet's XCP technology

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.

3.4 is also the first update to the program to come out after Sony appointed Tim Schaaff, former Apple Computer executive, as senior vice president of software development.

Organizing recordings in a tracks database

Many users like to organize their recordings in an artist/album directory hierarchy. This method of organizing recordings is different from organizing them in a tracks database. It requires time and effort on the user's part to convert recordings from one method of organization to another.

SonicStage cannot import tracks into its tracks database automatically, since a loosely organized directory of tracks lacks the information that SonicStage requires for its more precise tracks database. The extra information has to be entered by the user before or after the tracks are imported.

There are two advantages to having the headers entered in an mp3 track: First, a Sony music player can display the track information on the playback device. Second, mp3 tracks with proper headers can be easily deleted and reimported into the library at any time. mp3 albums need only be kept in the SonicStage library temporarily. (Recordings bought at the Sony music store cannot be so deleted).

The program appears to keep two databases:

A database of tracks. Each track has security restrictions associated with it.
A database of CD albums that it has seen

Version 2

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 you have it set to do so in the Options). WIth V2, you can tell it that you have an album 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

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 looks at the header information in the tracks and classify things according to the album information found in the track header.

2 GB memory sticks are not supported.

Sony have recently added the option to drop DRM on ripped files in Sonicstage V3.3+

Sonicstage 3.4 includes an option to de-DRM your whole library (obviously the larger your library is, the longer this will take) allowing as many copies of files as you like, on as many players as you want, on as many PCs as you want. You can even share non-DRM files with friends or colleagues.

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

This effectively means that OMA / OMG is now as versatile as MP3 (although not as widely used) and offers higher compression, allowing anwhere from 2x to 5x as much music to be transered per GB (4000 tracks MP3 192 kbit/s Stereo = ~20 GB / 4000 tracks OMA 48 kbit/s Stereo = ~4 GB)

mp3 Support

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.

Choice of bitrate

This section is left blank until dispute is resolved in the discussion section

External links

Sony Connect website
Sony
42hours.org - Dedicated to the memory of 42 hours of intellectual property destroyed by Sonicstage
There is a small tool : (MP3 File Manager Version 2.0 for Network Walkman) that gives a very limited alternative.
This post points to another file transfer product from sony that works with NWE00XF series MP3 players