Key Change for Sony, allowing support for MP3

MacBytes · Sep 22, 2004, 05:59 PM

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: Key Change for Sony, allowing support for MP3
Posted on MacBytes.com

Approved by Mudbug

MacRumors · Sep 22, 2004, 06:06 PM

C|net reports that Sony has confirmed that it is working to add native MP3 support to its flash memory-based portable music players in an effort to gain competitive ground against rivals such as the iPod. Sony's players currently use a proprietary format called ATRAC which uses a different compression algorithm for maximizing the number of songs that can fit onto the devices. Apparently the changes are coming about due to consumer complaints that audio files from sources other than Sony's download site 'Connect' are unplayable on the company's portable offerings without first re-encoding the music to be read by the device.

Sony has yet to publicly announce whether they will support MP3 file playback on hard drive-based players.

MoparShaha · Sep 22, 2004, 06:10 PM

Better late than never I suppose. Could they finally be learning their lesson?

nacl99 · Sep 22, 2004, 06:13 PM

They are also offering an adaptor that lets you play VHS tapes in your Beta deck.

aftk2 · Sep 22, 2004, 06:13 PM

Apparently the changes are coming about due to consumer complaints that audio files from sources other than Sony's download site 'Connect' are unplayable on the company's portable offerings without first re-encoding the music to be read by the device.

Followed immediately by, "I'm not getting anywhere close to 30 hours battery life."

Arcady · Sep 22, 2004, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nacl99

They are also offering an adaptor that lets you play VHS tapes in your Beta deck.

Funny, but I would love an adapter to let me play Beta tapes in my VHS deck.

Moonlight · Sep 22, 2004, 06:29 PM

Ss'bout time sony !!!!

g4cubed · Sep 22, 2004, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcady

Funny, but I would love an adapter to let me play Beta tapes in my VHS deck.

If you still have beta tapes to play, just go on ebay and look for a beta player. I just don't know why anyone would want to. But to each his own.
Sony has always used their own, it's about time they left their archaic, backwards formats to more mainstream ones.

FuzzyBallz · Sep 22, 2004, 06:34 PM

Damn, it's about time they see the light. Maybe they can take back the portable audio crown now.

2A Batterie · Sep 22, 2004, 06:36 PM

Well, duh... what'd you expect Sony? All this quibbling about whose crap works with whom is really stunting growth in the portable music field. Can't we all just get along? Whoever does this first is going to clean up, but looks like Apple is doing fine.

Abstract · Sep 22, 2004, 06:41 PM

Why did this story get more negative ratings than positive?

swissmann · Sep 22, 2004, 06:44 PM

I didn't think the proprietary format would last long.

tny · Sep 22, 2004, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g4cubed

If you still have beta tapes to play, just go on ebay and look for a beta player. I just don't know why anyone would want to. But to each his own.
Sony has always used their own, it's about time they left their archaic, backwards formats to more mainstream ones.

Better than crawling around in the flooded basement of a museum of 20th century technology.

ZildjianKX · Sep 22, 2004, 07:00 PM

Sweet, I'd actually consider getting a sony player now.

mms · Sep 22, 2004, 07:03 PM

It took them long enough. Now if only they started using something other than ATRAC in their store they might have a miniscule chance.

Porchland · Sep 22, 2004, 07:05 PM

So Sony's going to encourage consumers to rip Columbia Records CDs to native MP3? I just don't see that happening. I see them going with one of the DRM formats.

Mudbug · Sep 22, 2004, 07:21 PM

just to reiterate the obvious - this is only for the flash-based portable players from Sony. It doesn't (yet) include the Network Walkman that just came out with the 20 gigs of storage and (supposed) 30 hours battery life.

javabear90 · Sep 22, 2004, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudbug

just to reiterate the obvious - this is only for the flash-based portable players from Sony. It doesn't (yet) include the Network Walkman that just came out with the 20 gigs of storage and (supposed) 30 hours battery life.

Oh.. so there is still no "iPod killer" yet

virividox · Sep 22, 2004, 08:11 PM

well sony is learning finally, but lets hope it doesnt hurt the ipod...

jwhitnah · Sep 22, 2004, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyBallz

Damn, it's about time they see the light. Maybe they can take back the portable audio crown now.

I was hoping Sony would stick to ATCRAP and circle the drain after consumers pulled the chain. I still think non-iPod/iTMS companies have a very tough road ahead. They lack a cohrent voice: there are iPods and there are 'other players'. The 'other players' are really competing against each other now, not Apple.

pozytron · Sep 22, 2004, 08:41 PM

Apparently it was completely baffling to Sony that consumers didn't like having to re-encode their entire music library just to get it to work with Sony products.

Good work! Adopt the old standard just as it's becoming obsolete!

I still can't believe they consider 48Kbps ATRAC a "high-quality" music format.

macridah · Sep 22, 2004, 08:49 PM

first the beta, then the mini disc, now the not able to play mp3's. I guess sony never gets it right the first time. They realize their mistake after wasting millions in R&D and Marketing.

g4cubed · Sep 22, 2004, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tny

Better than crawling around in the flooded basement of a museum of 20th century technology.

I'm not quite sure what you meant by this. But if you're saying that their proprietary format is just above crawling around then I agree with you. If not,

explain a little better on what you meant.

FuzzyBallz · Sep 22, 2004, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abstract

Why did this story get more negative ratings than positive?

Isn't it obvious all the iPod users feel threaten by this news.

Imagine a Sony portable player that's smaller than iPod mini, has playback power of 100+ hours, costs the same as an iPod, and supports MP3. It's Lights out.

Macaddicttt · Sep 22, 2004, 09:55 PM

I definitely think this was a good move, at least from Sony's point of view. I mean, come on, a digital music player without mp3 support? What were they thinking? I really don't think it will hurt the sales of the iPod, though. I mean, iPods are famous. Has the average joe heard of this new Walkman? Plus, the iPod is a superior product, hands down. I think it's good to see a little healthy competition, but it won't be too much competition.

Sep 22, 2004, 05:59 PM	#1
MacBytes macrumors bot Join Date: Jul 2003	Key Change for Sony, allowing support for MP3 Category: News and Press Releases Link: Key Change for Sony, allowing support for MP3 Posted on MacBytes.com Approved by Mudbug

Sep 22, 2004, 06:06 PM	#2
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Sony To Support MP3 C\|net reports that Sony has confirmed that it is working to add native MP3 support to its flash memory-based portable music players in an effort to gain competitive ground against rivals such as the iPod. Sony's players currently use a proprietary format called ATRAC which uses a different compression algorithm for maximizing the number of songs that can fit onto the devices. Apparently the changes are coming about due to consumer complaints that audio files from sources other than Sony's download site 'Connect' are unplayable on the company's portable offerings without first re-encoding the music to be read by the device. Sony has yet to publicly announce whether they will support MP3 file playback on hard drive-based players.

Sep 22, 2004, 06:10 PM	#3
MoparShaha macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2003 Location: San Francisco	Better late than never I suppose. Could they finally be learning their lesson? __________________ MacBook Pro C2D 2.16 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB HD 5G iPod 30GB White BenQ 24" LCD

Sep 22, 2004, 06:13 PM	#5
aftk2 macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pacific NW	Apparently the changes are coming about due to consumer complaints that audio files from sources other than Sony's download site 'Connect' are unplayable on the company's portable offerings without first re-encoding the music to be read by the device. Followed immediately by, "I'm not getting anywhere close to 30 hours battery life." __________________ electric state: Mac & Web Bloggery.

Sep 22, 2004, 06:29 PM	#7
Moonlight macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Los Angeles	Ss'bout time sony !!!! __________________ The Torment Of Existence Weighed Against The Horror Of Nonbeing

Sep 22, 2004, 06:13 PM	#4
nacl99 Banned Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: AZ	They are also offering an adaptor that lets you play VHS tapes in your Beta deck.

Sep 22, 2004, 06:34 PM	#9
FuzzyBallz macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2003 Location: Home of Al-Qaida	Damn, it's about time they see the light. Maybe they can take back the portable audio crown now. __________________ -165... ah crap, I lost count. Mac: G5 Dual 2.0G / 1.5GB / GF FX5200 / 20" Cinema Display PC: AMD Barton 2.2G / 1GB / GF Ti4200 / Dual 18" Sony LCD

Sep 22, 2004, 06:36 PM	#10
2A Batterie macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Out of a Suitcase, USA	Well, duh... what'd you expect Sony? All this quibbling about whose crap works with whom is really stunting growth in the portable music field. Can't we all just get along? Whoever does this first is going to clean up, but looks like Apple is doing fine. __________________ My First Webpage using iWeb! MacBook 2.4 Core 2 Duo/DIGI002R

Sep 22, 2004, 06:41 PM	#11
Abstract macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: It's classified.	Why did this story get more negative ratings than positive? __________________ "Oh, I've always wanted to touch Stanley," signs teacher Fran Zakoor, embracing the kids… ESPN Article, 04/09/2008

Sep 22, 2004, 06:44 PM	#12
swissmann macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Utah Alps	I didn't think the proprietary format would last long. __________________ Always looking for a faster Mac.

Sep 22, 2004, 07:00 PM	#14
ZildjianKX Guest Join Date: May 2003	Sweet, I'd actually consider getting a sony player now.

Sep 22, 2004, 07:03 PM	#15
mms macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: CA	It took them long enough. Now if only they started using something other than ATRAC in their store they might have a miniscule chance.

Sep 22, 2004, 07:05 PM	#16
Porchland macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Georgia	So Sony's going to encourage consumers to rip Columbia Records CDs to native MP3? I just don't see that happening. I see them going with one of the DRM formats. __________________ * 17-inch PowerBook, 1.5 GHz G4, OS X 10.5.4 * 2 GB iPod nano silver with Nike+ (his) * 1 GB iPod shuffle pink (hers) Yes we can!

Sep 22, 2004, 07:21 PM	#17
Mudbug macrumors god Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Northwest Louisiana	just to reiterate the obvious - this is only for the flash-based portable players from Sony. It doesn't (yet) include the Network Walkman that just came out with the 20 gigs of storage and (supposed) 30 hours battery life. __________________ happy thankschrismahanakwaanzicasmasgiving.

Sep 22, 2004, 08:11 PM	#19
virividox macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Manila - Nottingham - Philadelphia - Santa Barbara - Boston (ugh hate not knowing where to call home)	well sony is learning finally, but lets hope it doesnt hurt the ipod... __________________ 17" MBP , 2 gig ram, 200 gig fw800 + 120 gig fw400 + 250 gig usb2 ext, 5g 80gig Ipod, Tiger d200 & d70

Sep 22, 2004, 08:41 PM	#21
pozytron macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2003	Apparently it was completely baffling to Sony that consumers didn't like having to re-encode their entire music library just to get it to work with Sony products. Good work! Adopt the old standard just as it's becoming obsolete! I still can't believe they consider 48Kbps ATRAC a "high-quality" music format. __________________ Inject Some Acid into Safari with AcidSearch

Sep 22, 2004, 08:49 PM	#22
macridah macrumors 6502a Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: city, CA	first the beta, then the mini disc, now the not able to play mp3's. I guess sony never gets it right the first time. They realize their mistake after wasting millions in R&D and Marketing.

Sep 22, 2004, 09:55 PM	#25
Macaddicttt macrumors 6502a Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: San Diego, CA	I definitely think this was a good move, at least from Sony's point of view. I mean, come on, a digital music player without mp3 support? What were they thinking? I really don't think it will hurt the sales of the iPod, though. I mean, iPods are famous. Has the average joe heard of this new Walkman? Plus, the iPod is a superior product, hands down. I think it's good to see a little healthy competition, but it won't be too much competition. __________________ "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost." Check out my band: The Band Geek Mafia

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