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View Full Version : Details about Sony's NW-HD5 Digital Music Player


James Fee
04-06-2005, 06:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.1327' target='_blank'>http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.1327</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Well, Sony is in the middle of being hyped alright. Their new NW-HD5 is the subject of everyone's attention all of the sudden. AV Watch Japan (Babel'd) has devoted a whole article to the new network walkman today, including some juicy pictures. A price of 35.000 Yen, or 325 EUD aka 250 Euro, is being mentioned. One can search tracks through Artist/Album/Track/Genre/Playlist fields, there's a new button which takes you to the top menu again, a 6 band equalizer and USB2.0 also come standard. Conversion of Mp3 files isn't necessary (just like with the NW-HD3) but SonicStage still seems mandatory for proper track management."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/nwhd5_ipod.jpg" /> <br /><br />dapreview has some links to the <a href="http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fav%2Fdocs%2F20050406%2Fsony.htm&lp=ja_en">Japanese site</a> that confirmed this. It seems a tad expensive to me at about $325, but "It's a Sony". Sony seems to have almost created a player that could compete against the iPod, but the fact that SonicState is required to manage your library just hurts. :x

Felix Torres
04-07-2005, 04:11 AM
http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,120302,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp

PCWorld has a few more details, like support for WMA and WAV files, and that the 30-40 hour battery is removable.
Depending on the level of WMA support, it may *not* be absolutely tied to the Sony software.
Lots of vendors play up their proprietary software while downplaying WMP compatibility...

Actually looks like a more credible music player than previous Sony offerings...

James Fee
04-07-2005, 05:19 AM
Actually looks like a more credible music player than previous Sony offerings...
I totally agree. It looks impressive and we'll have to wait to see how many limitations there are (if any). I assume support for DRM WMA files is not going to happen, but if it can play WMA without converting them, that would be huge.

Lee Yuan Sheng
04-07-2005, 09:18 AM
Hmm, not as droolworthy as some of their products. The mosaic-like controls don't look very pleasing to me.

Felix Torres
04-07-2005, 01:22 PM
Actually looks like a more credible music player than previous Sony offerings...
I totally agree. It looks impressive and we'll have to wait to see how many limitations there are (if any). I assume support for DRM WMA files is not going to happen, but if it can play WMA without converting them, that would be huge.

Thing is, to only support non-DRM WMA, in the face of the PLAYS-FOR-SURE campaign is old school SONY. This is supposed to be the first product of the more realistic regime. (Riiighhhttt!!!) ;-)
I wouldn't expect it to be Janus compatible but WMA-DRM *should* be within it range. (MS doesn't charge extra for DRM-compatibility...)
We'll just have to wait until it hits NorthAm...

As for the control buttons, well, actually, they *may* be a plus.
If they have good tactile feedback they could be useful for no-look playlist control. (Some of us actually like the four-way mechanical rocker controls... ;-) )

James Fee
04-07-2005, 04:40 PM
I wouldn't expect it to be Janus compatible but WMA-DRM *should* be within it range. (MS doesn't charge extra for DRM-compatibility...)Ah so you are thinking "New Sony", not "Old Sony". :P

Felix Torres
04-07-2005, 06:37 PM
I wouldn't expect it to be Janus compatible but WMA-DRM *should* be within it range. (MS doesn't charge extra for DRM-compatibility...)Ah so you are thinking "New Sony", not "Old Sony". :P

Dunno. Would old Sony have supported WMA at all?
It took them ages to get up to native MP3 to start with, after all.
Then in one fell swoop, MP3 and WMA...
Gotta be new Sony.
Or maybe not-so-old Sony? :wink: