The Easy Skip group-folder function helps organize songs into albums or groups. Once the music is transferred to the MZ-NE410, you can easily skip from group to group. Besides the bundled SonicStage software and SonicStage simple burner application, the MZ-NE410 includes software for creatively organizing music. MoodLogic software goes beyond typical jukebox applications, letting you compile music by mood or tempo rather than simply by artists and song titles.

MoodLogic corrects file information by identifying and retitling mislabeled tracks during ID3 tag cleaning. It also has a feature called Music Marker, which lets you "tag" music during playback. Once the device is reconnected to a PC, MoodLogic retrieves the marks, connects to the Musiclub Web site, and provides information about the song and artist and links to download new tracks, purchase CDs, or discover similar artists.

Note: The MZ-NE410's recording features and bundled software are not compatible with the MacOS operating system

Here's how you can use the included Sonic Stage Software to manage your music files:

I realized its really not practical to buy that thing or any other flash mp3 player for that matter... if you ever wanted to change songs you'd have to head back to your computer to add or remove songs on to your flash mp3 player. I knew about the Sony MZ-NE410 and it was on sale for 99 dollars. I use to own a MiniDisc player and hi-fidelity is a plus for a minidisc player vs. an mp3 player. Ignore those SNR (Signal2Noise Ratio) numbers on mp3 players nothing compares to a minidisc player.

Last but not least LP4... I was afraid it was going to sound horrible like a 64 kbps mp3 or even worse... LP4 is freaking amazing let me tell you. There is a quality difference but the difference is hardly noticable to the average ear. I can hear flaws but there's no distortion and its very clear. Amazing product! 99 Dollars and CHEAP MEDIA! Each minidisc holds about 320 minutes (LP4 Mode), 160 (Lp2), and 80 min (SP NEAR CD QUALITY). It is about 1 ounce lighter then an iPod and MUCH MORE PRACTICAL. Stop throwing away your money... the iPod's Hard Drive is more likely to fail since there are moving parts in a Hard Drive. I listen to about 5 or more CD's on one minidisc. I am still using the one that came with mine. Its not as thin or as small as those keychain mp3 players but its great for jogging and small enough.

The minidisc player also plays just like Sony's recent mp3 products. It buffers music into its memory while it's playing and stops spinning the minidisc after gaining filling up its buffer space. This increases battery life (about 56 hours with E2 Energizer Batteries) and the actual players life and of course for movement protection (G-Protection). Most mp3 players only play for about 10 hours. Technically an mp3 player is suppose to last longer then something with moving parts but many forget that an mp3 needs to decode the music which is like processor power in your computer and translate it to a sound unit in your player just like sound cards in your computer. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THIS! There's no pretty LCD but you're listening to music not watching equalizer bars go up and down and see the lapse time of the song, screw the LCD.

Pros: cheap, fast, long battery life, easy to use
Cons: no microphone option, buttons feel cheap, max volume may not be loud enough for some individuals

system review

Speed: The mini disc player has easy to use software that worked flawlessly with Windows ME. This mini disc player is only compatable with a computer and transfers at the rate of 32X. It is a NetMD so it is capable of handling many musical formats including MP3, WAV, and WMA.

Use: This player lacks a microphone and can only be used to play and record music. It has G-protection so it will never skip. G-protection is an anti skip device invented by Sony. Instead of saving music onto the devices in system memory the laser inside the player moves while you move, preventing skips from occuring. The player is light and easy to carry around. It fits in a pocket snuggly unless you enjoy wearing tight jeans. According to the box, this mini disc player has a battery life of 54 hour. It runs on one AA battery... not included in the package. The headphones given are good but they don't look cool. I wish Sony would have included a pair of their stylish street headphones. Other than that I have noticed that the control buttons on this player feel cheap. I wish Sony would have made this player with sturdier buttons but you get what you pay for.

mini disc vs mp3: This player is the same price as an mp3 player but it holds more music. One mini disc holds up to five hours of music. Mini discs cost $ whereas memory for mp3 players cost large amounts of money ranging from $ to $. An mp3 player with 128 MB can hold about 2 1/2 hours of music. The advantages of MP3 players is the removeable memory used in mp3 players can be used for other devices such as digital cameras.

Conclusion: This mini disc player is well worth the money I paid for it. Go get one unless you need microphone capabilities. Microphone capabilities can be used to create bootleg music at concerts, and record personal voice memos. If you can forego those options you can save yourself $50.

If you are on the fence about ordering this item, our advice is for you to go for it--you will be very happy with the sound quality (depending on your headphones of course). The headphones that come with it are not the greatest, but we didn't expect them to be; the NetMD easy burn software is indeed amazingly easy to use. We haven't fooled with the other software because we don't seem to need it. Chances are you already have software that will work fine. All we've done so far is copy onto the minidiscs CD's we've made from iTunes etc. and it all works great. Note each minidisc holds a lot more music than a regular CD. The player uses only one plain ol' double AA battery, which will last a long time. None of this ridiculous rechargeable battery-only setup like my poor Rio (snifff) which I suspect was the source of its trouble. That also means you can use the player right out of the package because you don't have to charge it up in advance.

There's only one thing missing, and that's the availability of a case with a belt clip. There isn't one available. But the player is so small you can easily fit it in your shirt pocket or somewhere. I'm knitting a little case with a strap for mine, but I'll be on the lookout for something with a belt clip, because I know I'm going to want to use it when I'm out in the garden this summer...if summer ever comes, that is.

Treat yourself to this player. If you have been through MP3 player heck, you deserve it.

1- MiniDisc media is very afordable, and holds the same amount of information as an 80 minute cd-r due to high compression. Plus, it is rewritable.

2- The software is easy to use and the transfer of data to the player is very quick.

3- This guy plays many formats: wav, mp3, wmv, and Sony's new high compression format, Atrac.

4- Atrac is a new compression algorithm which can allow you to fit over 5 hours of music on a single MiniDisc. Although this is "lossy" compression (same as mp3) it is very hard to notice any difference between CD and the highest compression available with Atrac (LP4 mode, 66kbps). Let me say that again. I can fit six entire albums on a MiniDisc in LP4 mode and the quality is near CD quality...trust me, this is what I was most skeptical about, but Atrac is amazing.

5- OK, here is the interesting one. This player buffers the entire song that you are listening to into its memory. When you select a song, the disc spins for 5-10 seconds. When the entire song is loaded, the disc stops spinning, and since the song is playing from the memory, and not the disc itself, there is no chance of the song skipping. The only time it is even possible for the player to skip is when it is buffering the song, and that does not happen due to Sony's G-shock protection. You would have to be literally beating the crap out of it during the 5 seconds out of the entire song that it is actually reading from the MiniDisc. It doesn't skip.

If you want something really nice that works well and aren't looking to spend too much money, this is the way to go. It doesn't have some of the options that some of the more expensive players do, but for someone who simply wants to fit a lot of music in a small space and retain sound quality, buy this.