Sony .OMA/.OMG File Conversion - Some actual facts

[atreyu]

I just spent over an hour wading through the posts in this thread, and was amazed at the high BS-to-fact ratio.

If you want some real facts about Atrac3/OpenMG (.OMA or .OMG) file conversion, please read this entire post... I'm going to try consolidate the nuggets of truth in the above thread and add a few that were not mentioned there.

1) OpenMG (.OMA & .OMG) files are files in Sony ATRAC3 (or Atrac3plus) format that have been wrapped in DRM. Contrary to several claims in the above thread, they are NOT "disguised" or renamed MP3 files or WMA files. The reason people can play OpenMG files renamed to .mp3 or .wma in Windows Media Player is because that player is designed to be idiot-proof. Example: if you give it a "dot-MP3" file that's not really an mp3 it will give you a warning, but will still try & find the right decoder for the file. If that user has installed Sony's SonicStage software (a.k.a. Connect Store software) then there's an OpenMG decoder on their system... WMP finds that and tries to play the file back with it. I say "tries" because the playback may fail... read on!

2) No matter what you name an OpenMG file, you CANNOT play or convert that file on a computer other than the one it was ripped to or purchased from. The DRM ensures that the file is "authorized" for only the original computer. Don't believe me? Try it. Take one of your OpenMG files (as-is OR renamed to mp3/wma -- doesn't matter) and try to play it back on a different computer. You can try every conversion method mentioned in the above thread, but if you're starting with an unauthorized OpenMG file (one that wasn't created on or purchased with your computer) NOTHING WILL WORK... not even line-out/line-in tricks, since can't even play the track. I know of no crack that gets around this restriction.

3) The easiest way to convert an authorized OpenMG file (to mp3, wave, ogg or flac) is to use MarCNeT's excellent Hi-MD Renderer, available at http://www.marcnetsystem.co.uk/. dBpowerAMP doesn't yet support OpenMG.

Important: install version 0.30 FIRST, then install version 0.31, or you'll get missing DLL errors on non-WAV conversions. Also, you must have SonicStage installed (preferably v3.0, downloaded from here). Again, if your OpenMG file is unauthorized (i.e. if you can't play it with SonicStage) then not even this method will work! This utility is not a "crack" per-se... it uses Sony's own .DLL's to perform the conversion, and those .DLL's do nothing to unauthorized files.

Hi-MD Renderer even has a convenient "batch" function to lets you convert hundreds of files at a time... so you can convert your entire library overnight!

4) Other (more difficult, imho) options mentioned in the previous thread include burning the files to an Audio CD (NOT an "Atrac CD") with SonicStage, then ripping the files back off the CD using dMC Audio CD Input (or grabbing the temporary wave file created before the burn). Masochists might prefer the option of playing the file with SonicStage or WMP, then recording it in realtime using any number of line-out/line-in software or hardware setups (ugh!). If you've "tried everything" and it doesn't work, let me humbly suggest that you're probably trying to convert an unauthorized OpenMG file, which you CANNOT do, afaik.

[Eastern Phoebe]

Hi Atreyu (oh, childhood memories!),

I noticed too that Windows Media Player9 plays my .omg files. Then, I posted a question here : Would dBpoweramp Audio Player play them too ? Do you have an idea if it's possible / easy / too much work / legal problems ?

There is certainly a lot of posts here about .omg / .oma files ! I think that Sony's sluggish software gives us a wonderful chance to discover other products. I really like the programs here (especially with Spoon's goldamp skin).

[atreyu]

As far as I know it shouldn't be too hard... Windows Media Player plays using a DirectShow filter that SonicStage installs. And I just "googled up" a Winamp plug-in that I've confirmed more-or-less works for me:

http://minidisct.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=22928

Apparently this guy hacked the OpenMG DirectShow DLL to make it work with Winamp... since it's a hack it's of unknown legality. It displays various "hacky" behaviors: the song length is wrong until you play it, the visualizations don't work with it, and it seems very sensitive to breakups during system activity (unbuffered?)... sometimes simple mouse drag-and-drop moves will make the audio break up for me.

I'm going to go see if I can play with Spoon's beta DirectShow plugin... maybe I'm wrong, and dbPowerAMP *can* be made to work with OpenMG!

[ThomasElla]

hi, i found this thread through Google, because im trying to convert the God of War soundtrack i just downloaded. the converter program keeps getting an error for me (it says 'Failed to *directly* connect source filter (omg_src) to dest filter (omg transform)'), so i was wondering if someone could help me out. i can send the files in a .zip folder to someone who can convert them for me, then send it back. theyll get a free God of War soundtrack as a reward. email me if youre interested, because i dont want to have downloaded a bunch of crappy, sony-exclusive files... (my email- ThomasElla@gmail.com )

[Spoon]

"I'm going to go see if I can play with Spoon's beta DirectShow plugin... maybe I'm wrong, and dbPowerAMP *can* be made to work with OpenMG!"

What was the status on this? did it work in dbpoweramp?

[rolph]

Atreyu, kudos for your well-thought out reply.

Indeed, Sonic Stage no longer plays the .oma files that I recorded of my own band because I had to reinstall Sonic Stage (on the same computer!)

Is there REALLY NOTHING that can let me access MY OWN RECORDINGS OF MY OWN BAND? There's no way around this protection? Somone should sue Sony! It's like they've stolen my music or permanently locked me out of my own house!!

[ChristinaS]

Atreyu, kudos for your well-thought out reply.

Indeed, Sonic Stage no longer plays the .oma files that I recorded of my own band because I had to reinstall Sonic Stage (on the same computer!)

Is there REALLY NOTHING that can let me access MY OWN RECORDINGS OF MY OWN BAND? There's no way around this protection? Somone should sue Sony! It's like they've stolen my music or permanently locked me out of my own house!!

Can you play them on the portable payer? if so, connect it to the pc's sound card (line-out or headpohone out to line-in or mic) and record from there using dMC Auxiliary Input.

[rolph]

They're no longer on the portable player, just on the PC.
I've assumed that if I can't play them on the PC, I can't put them back on the minidisc, at least not using Sonic stage.

I have other portable players (a Creative Nomad, a flash mp3 player), but again, I'm assuming if I don't have the "rights" in Sonic Stage on the same hard drive that I'm trying to play the oma files on, they won't play.

Am I wrong?

Again, thanks so much for the prompt reply.

[ChristinaS]

They're no longer on the portable player, just on the PC.
I've assumed that if I can't play them on the PC, I can't put them back on the minidisc, at least not using Sonic stage.

I have other portable players (a Creative Nomad, a flash mp3 player), but again, I'm assuming if I don't have the "rights" in Sonic Stage on the same hard drive that I'm trying to play the oma files on, they won't play.

Am I wrong?

Again, thanks so much for the prompt reply.

Oops! Sorry, not that I know.

I don't know if you do a straight copy from HD to the Sony mini-disk. Can it be seen as an external hard drive of sorts when it's plugged into your PC?

Otherwise I'm afraid that unless you manage to restore your licenses, there's nothing more that can be done.

I'm wondering if you could have opted for no copyright protection at the time you recorded or downloaded those recordings. I seem to recall somebody saying that the option is there with this player or with Sonic Stage, but, as often is the case, it's not on by default.

Anyway, too late I guess for that.

You best bet is maybe to pester Sony for a solution, which indeed must be there, but well hidden as tehy'd not want to publicize it. After all, it's possibly just a wrapper placed around the true audio file, rather than a full encryption of every byte in it.

But, on the offchance that it is a disguised wma type, try to rename one of those files to wma and try using the unlocking program given in a zip file http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=6541 lower down in the thread.

[rolph]

Doesn't work.

Sony says nothing they can do, and the tech was nice enough to tell me off the record that there's 3rd party oma conversion programs on the web that aren't hard to find, though legally he couldn't name names. I think he was mistaken that 3rd party programs can do this.

Haven't found anything that works.

Sony is now keeping the artist from his art. Copyright protection backwards. Copyright infliction.

Sony = evil. :teufel8: :vmad:

[ChristinaS]

Doesn't work.

Sony says nothing they can do, and the tech was nice enough to tell me off the record that there's 3rd party oma conversion programs on the web that aren't hard to find, though legally he couldn't name names. I think he was mistaken that 3rd party programs can do this.

Haven't found anything that works.

Sony is now keeping the artist from his art. Copyright protection backwards. Copyright infliction.

Sony = evil. :teufel8: :vmad:

Hmmm.... that tech must have known what he's talking about. If you didn't find it in the very long oma thread here in the forum (I'm not even trying to read through that any more as I cannot ever test any of the stuff, I don't own any such device, never dealt with those fyle types), jump on Google and keep trying the rest of the web.

Good luck.

[Aniketos]

I have a question, i'm trying to use this program, but it keeps telling me that they can't find the type of file, it's an OGM though, am I doing something wrong?

[Dizillusionment]

I have downloaded the OMA to MP3 you mentioned, it works fine and does convert the files to mp3 and they play fine. My problem is because I ripped my CD's to OMA and then later went on the internet to get the track names so all the file names are untitled(1) untitled(2)...ect because sonicstage has just edited the tags and not changed the file name. This OMA to MP3 converter doesn't copy the tags so mp3 tag editors don't work and all the files are named untitled(*) once converted. Is there away to change the filenames using sonic stage or a OMA tag and file editor anywhere just to make my life a little easier.

[ranky]

oma files do not have tags, instead, sonic stage copies them to one of the .dat/.bak files on the device (for the nw-hd* neway), so in answer to you question, i think u'll have to edit the tags manually :(

[missgem]

Hello I think this will help some people having a problem in Sonic Stage converting to wav. I had the same probelm Rolph had it woldnt play a CD that had been made on my computer prior to using the win xp restore disk

I read yesterday 12 pages of threads that was closed down. I Had found OMA files on my computer that is stored in the sonic stage library. Found them in the sonic stage program files. found them in "C:/Documents and settings/All users" You can convert them to WAV in sonic stage and save them on your computer. I Was Trying to figure this out myself and I finally did, lol.

Maybe The reason people keep having this issue with converting OMA files is they dont have the program it was created on?? or maybe they are using a different computer other then the one the Cd was created on? If not then I know Sonic Stage version 2.3 allows you to convert. I know Sonic v. 2.3 saves music from the library as OMA files on the computer. Are the files on music cd's created under the sony label OMA's? I dont know because I dont have any CD's by artists under the Sony Label. Was wondering if these oma's that people are having a problem with are from a Sony artist music cd, a Cd made through sonic stage on a different computer, or oma files in sonic stage program from their computer?

well anyway, Some people had left out details when explaining how to do it on the other posts I had read. Thats what took me a little longer. I could not do this in sonic stage version 3.1 this version creates OMG files and does not give you these options. Anyway this is How I did it:

First you need an audio CD created in sonic stage version 2.3 under
the "create CD" option.Someone had mentioned in other threads to rename them also to add "OMA" to winamp's nullsoft directshow plugin those didnt work for me.I had to do it through Sonic Stage and Im sure to do it correctly and have a usable file to use in other programs or in your car or your stero you would need to use the program the OMA file was created in, for me and for most people I'm sure.

The WMF tracks I used in Sonic stage and converted
to WAV were created in sonic stage under the "create audio CD" under the "tranfer" option on
the main screen. Make sure you dont select "create an
Atrac CD" This will create ATP files on the CD. The WMF
files I had are 44 KB each to convert to WAV. THESE were made from the sonic stage's "library" songs/ CD's that have been loaded into the SONIC Stage program.

Then in sonic stage VERSION 2.3 there is a option right in sonic
stage to convert tracks/albums that have been loaded in
sonic stage to WAV format.
Open sonic stage, go to Tools/options on the menu click
on "location to save recorded files" that is
where it will be saved. Then go to under Tools/Options go
to "CD Recording" it will say recording format on the
screen to the right and has an "select Format" option,
select WAV {pcm} then click ok go back to sonic stage. Go
to "View" on menu click music source from there 2 options
slide out click on the "Record a CD" select the tracks you want to convert in the box check them,

Then You need the insert the audio CD {WMF files} created in sonic, then there will be a {red} recording button you click on it to record them or "start recording" under controls in the menu. It will give you the option create an album or add to an existing album. You will know where it is saved to in your computer as I explained above. Then you can convert the WAV files to Mp3 with a MP3 converter

You can also Play or RIP the WMF files CD you created in sonic stage in Windows Media Player 10 not sure if Windows media player 8 or 9 has the RIP feature. You can also play WMF files in other music players. I played the CD on RealPlayer and a radio/Cd player

The sonic stage program uses compressed files {oma files or ATP using the create Atrac feature} I know because my son made a CD {using the create atrac" option} and has 117 songs on the CD. These ATP files can only be used in the sony walkman.

K hope this works for you like it did for me