Any good alternatives to OpenMG for Sony NetMD?

[BCYL]

I am thinking about buying a NetMD player, but I have read a lot of horrible things about the OpenMG software that comes with one (with all the check-in check-out songs, etc...)

Is there any good alternative or replacement for OpenMG???

I originally thought of getting a mp3 player... but one with decent storage (> 256MB) is so much more expensive than a NetMD player...

 

[PliotronX]

Yup, check out this page and also the forums. The most popular method seems to be creating an ISO image using Nero, then mounting it with Nero's ImageDrive and finally using Simple Burner to send the image to the MD unit via NetMD.

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: PliotronX
Yup, check out this page and also the forums. The most popular method seems to be creating an ISO image using Nero, then mounting it with Nero's ImageDrive and finally using Simple Burner to send the image to the MD unit via NetMD.

yea, thats what i do. it works pretty well.

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: PliotronX
Yup, check out this page and also the forums. The most popular method seems to be creating an ISO image using Nero, then mounting it with Nero's ImageDrive and finally using Simple Burner to send the image to the MD unit via NetMD.

yeah I have read about that too... and I also have Nero Burning Rom that came with my LiteOn burner...

But for some reason I dont have Nero ImageDrive... Do you have to purchase ImageDrive seperately???

 

[PliotronX]

Nero Help index:

The Nero ImageDrive program is only available in the retail version!

Nero ImageDrive is not automatically installed during installation of Nero. It is
only installed if required, using a separate installer. Please proceed as follows to
install Nero ImageDrive:
1. Please click on: Start > Programs > Ahead Nero > Nero ImageDrive Installer
2. You will now be taken through the installation process. When the installation
has been completed successfully you will be asked to reboot the system.
3. Nero ImageDrive is now installed and ready for use.

If the ImageDrive installer isn't there, I guess Nero is in OEM license mode and unfortunately it looks like you need the retail license to get ImageDrive installer.

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: PliotronX
Nero Help index:

The Nero ImageDrive program is only available in the retail version!

Nero ImageDrive is not automatically installed during installation of Nero. It is
only installed if required, using a separate installer. Please proceed as follows to
install Nero ImageDrive:
1. Please click on: Start > Programs > Ahead Nero > Nero ImageDrive Installer
2. You will now be taken through the installation process. When the installation
has been completed successfully you will be asked to reboot the system.
3. Nero ImageDrive is now installed and ready for use.

If the ImageDrive installer isn't there, I guess Nero is in OEM license mode and unfortunately it looks like you need the retail license to get ImageDrive installer.

Damnit...

Oh well... I am looking at this cheap mp3 player on ebay that takes CF cards... something call Moveman SSP-80...

This would be pretty good for me since my digicam and iPaq both uses CF cards and I have tons of those lying around at home...

 

[Adrian Tung]

If you already own an iPaq, why don't you just get the CF card and use your iPaq to play your music?


atwl

 

[dethman]

i think my friend is using realplayer with NetMD. says it works okay.

 

[pulse8]

I actually use OpenMG and don't really have any problems with it. I've not been able to find another way of doing it and allowing for groups to be made at the same time.

I usually put multiple CDs on my MD, so I like to have them seperated to make it easier to jump from one to another.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Fvck sony and their piece of sh1t machine. Get an iPaq or iPod or something with a HD in it. It's the only way to go.

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: Adrian Tung
If you already own an iPaq, why don't you just get the CF card and use your iPaq to play your music?


atwl

Because:

1) the iPaq with the CF sleeve on is pretty huge...
2) I find continuous play of mp3 files on the iPaq drains the battery pretty quickly... at most I think I can get around 1.5hrs of music out of the iPaq without recharging...

 

[CJZ]

Originally posted by: Hamburgerpimp
Fvck sony and their piece of sh1t machine. Get an iPaq or iPod or something with a HD in it. It's the only way to go.

Ipaq and Ipod is not for everyone. It depends on what your intended uses are. I've owned an Ipaq (and now own a Dell Axim) but I've found the CF memory option to be limiting. I have A LOT of music and didn't like the constant deleting and uploading. It's nice to be able to make a bunch of disks and just grab one in the morning. I thought about going the Ipod route but the cost put me off. Also unlike a lot of people I like the option of realtime digital recording. I stream quite a bit of audio (NPR, BBC programs, and Korean shoutcast stream) and it's nice to just hook up my MD recorder and record stuff to listen to later. And since the NPR and BBC streams are vocal and not music, I can record at LP4 and get about 5 hours on one minidisc.

I'm sure for many (probably most) others a PocketPc doubling as an MP3 player or HDD-based MP3 player will be a better choice.

I don't have any experience with OpenMG. People recommend the Nero/SimpleBurner method. I've personally only used the RealOne player method as mentioned by Dethman. All you have to do is install OpenMG and the NetMD driver, install RealOne player, remove all the crap and options installed by RealOne

, and then install the plugin for RealOne. I haven't had any problems (knock on wood).

 

[Liviathan]

I am looking into this too...problem with HD mp3 player is can't use while running which is the only time i would use it.

 

[Adrian Tung]

To summarize:

Options for NetMD:
1) OpenMG
2) Nero/Simple Burner
3) RealOne
4) the traditional way - realtime recording via analog/optical line-in

Personally, I also own an MZ-N1 and I use methods (4), (2) and (1) in that order, depending on convenience. I always record SP tracks via optical SPDIF, use Simple Burner to transfer MP3s that I have not imported into OMG, and OMG mainly for titling tracks on the MD.

Also, I don't have any problems using OMG. I think the "horrible things" that you have read about are mainly time-consuming/convenience issues - needing to convert tracks into ATRAC format, the checking-in and checking-out, etc. Although I have heard of instability problems of OMG, I have never encountered a single crash myself.


Hope that helps,
atwl