Backing up playlists in Zen Vision M?

So I have a Zen Vision M, and have ended up with a wide variety of duplicated tracks on the device. I've decided, at this point, that it would be simpler to delete everything and copy them back over from my computer. However, I am afraid this will mess up my playlists, which I would rather not re-create. So I am wondering, is there some way I can back up my playlists on my computer?
Thanks!
Kaiti

Hello all:
I have an idea for those who are looking to add album art:
I have yet to see if it works with the Vision:M (mine will be here next week), but I used mediamonkey to add album art to my mp3 catalog (,200+ songs). Its easy to do and you can add art to an entire album of songs at one time. It uses Amazon's database for album art. As long as you have things properly tagged its completely automated (It took me ~.5 hours to ad album art to my entire collection). It will also ask you if you want the picture to be embedded in the id3 tag (which as far as I know you do for the Vision:M). Finally, mediamonkey is a great Mp3 management tool. Its free and you can get it at www.mediamonkey.com.
John

Similar Messages

Smart Playlists on Zen Vision:M and Creative Media Organizer Software

I come from the iPod world, where, once a playlist is created in iTunes, the playlist is transferred to the iPod, and is automatically updated each time you sync. That's why it's called "smart" playlist.
I can create a smart playlist using the Creative Media Organizer software. It automatically updates the playlist, based on the rules I defined. However, the playlist created on the Media Organizer does NOT get transferred to the Vision:M player! What's the point in that?
I can, of course, copy the smart playlist to the Vision:M manually... but there are two HUGE problems with that...
) The smart playlist becomes a "static" playlist... it does not get updated when you sync -- the music in the playlist never changes (even though the original smart playlist is updated on each sync),
2) The software recopies the *music* back to the Vision:M each time you create a playlist! This means that it overwrites the music that was there, with the (same) music in the playlist!! This takes FOREVER, if there are a lot of titles in the playlist! This is obviously a brain-dead way of doing things! All the software/Vision:M needs to do, is to copy the actual music files that don't currently exist on the player, and then create a text file that contains the *location* of the music... in other words, an M3U playlist file! One of the (many) issues with doing things the way this software does it, is that each time a track appears in a separate playlist, a duplicate entry for that song appears in the Vision:M's music list! So, if you have 5 playlists, and each one contains "Mozart's 5th", then when you list all the songs on your Vision:M, you'll get 5 copies of "Mozart's 5th" listed! Dumb!
Any way around these problems? Can I have smart playlist that gets transferred to the player so that it contains only the songs I want? Does it *have* to recopy ALL the songs to the player, each time I create a playlist? Does it *have* to add duplicate entries to the list of files on my Vision:M?
Is the software *really* as dumb as I think it is, or am I just being a BDU (Brain Dead User)?

You can only automatically sync playlists using Windows Media Player 0 as far as I know. There's lots of other software out there that can use the Media Transfer Protocol of the Vision:M, but I'm not sure what they can do.
Creative's software is desperately lacking in the playlist sync area, so you're not being a BDU

Backing up playlists in Zen V Plus play

Hi all - please does anyone know how to make a backup of the playlists in a Creative Zen V Plus player? Backing up the music is easy - simply copy to the PC and reload once ready. But the playlists? Drag and drop does not seem to work; the playlists will not save to PC like the songs do.
Any ideas, anyone?

Witchsight wrote:
So there is no option in the Zen itself to simply play them in order then.. Crappy. How does the monkey thing work? And do i have to do that to every cd while its still on the computer?
It's just an .mp3 player- it can't be expected to automatically 'know' the order of every CD ever recorded.
If you don't tag it properly, it will sort them in the default order- by number or alphabetically.
ID3 Tags 'tell' it the correct order. You need to tag your .mp3 files correctly if you want the songs in the right order.

Problems creating playlists for Zen Vision M 3

This is more a problem with Media Explorer than the player itself. When I go to create a new playlist it doesn't list the music subfolders in alphabetical order. Instead, the latest stuff I've added is at the bottom of the list.
Let's say I have a Pink Floyd folder on the player and when I put albums on there I put the year of release first. Let's say I have three folders with these names.
973 - Dark Side of the Moon
979 - The Wall
994 - The Division Bell
However, if I put the Division Bell on first, then Dark Side of the Moon, then the Wall, when I go to make a playlist it will list them in the order that I copied them instead of by the name of the folder.
Is there a way to fix this?

Anyone?

Anyway to convert m3u playlist for zen vision

i wana convert them cause i dont wana go thru 00 items and add everything all over takes forever

Avi is a container format, not a single compression format like mpeg. You will have to determine what compression method is used with the avi files, then find out if such a decompressor/compressor is available for QT for Windows. If you have a sample avi file that works with the Zen application then right-click on the file icon and choose Properties/Details. That should reveal the compression method used. The next step will be to do a search for an avi compressor for QT for Windows. Be aware that not all such compressors are available in a form useable for QT for Windows.
Of couse, it may be simpler to just get in contact with the makers of this Zen application and ask them where to get the compressors needed.

Zen Vision M Playlist Prob

Hello,
I have searched throughout the forum and think I understand some of the issues but I still have a question. I created a playlist using Zen Explorer and it is now in th Now Playing List. I am having a problem with the Zen remembering where I left off the last time I had it on. I have read that you can pause and turn it off and as long as you turn it back on within a few hours it will still be paused at the same place before I turned it off. However, if it is off for an extended time (overnight) it will unpause and will need to be played from the next song in the list (or something like that).
This isn't a huge deal in itself but I want to be able to shuffle the songs in my playlist (that is originally in order by album) so I don't have to manually change the order of the songs and play it in "normal" mode. After a week of turning the Zen on and off for a few days while playing my songs I have notice repeats. I was under the impression that it would remember what it played and would not repeat unless I tell it to repeat. Does turning the Zen off too long reset the playlist and the shuffle feature so it doesn't remember what played? Does "play once" option fix this but can it still be shuffled? I don't want to play all my albums in the playlist in order (i.e., normal mode) but I also do not want to shuffle randomly without it memorizing what it played the day before.
This is frustrating. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Anybody have an answer to the shuffle issue in playlists?To recap, when a playlist is created, the order is set. The only way to play them in random is to shuffle during playback. However, I would like to "shuffle" or "mix" the order of the songs in the playlist so that I can listen to it normally in order without relying on the shuffle feature. That way the order is always set and it is mixed without me manually mixing it myself which could take hours for a long playlist. Even if I open up MediaSource and have the playlist displayed, there is no feature to mix the songs automatically and randomly. I think there is a market for this type of feature so I would like Creative to incorporate this feature in a future software update to MediaSource or in a firmware update to the Vision M.

Zen Vision M: Unable to charge. Nearly to give product back (forev

Hello,
I purchased a Zen Vision M two weeks ago. When I arri've at home I installed the software successfully and then connected the Zen Vision M to my USB poert on my laptop (Win XP Pro SP2) to charge it; no sign of life. No display activity and NO LED CHARGE ACTIVITY. I letf the ZVM an entire night to see if things changed, but no success. I've tried the following:
- Disable power saving on usb port: no sign of life
- Gave everyone permission on usb port: no sign of life
- Push reset button and the recharge: no sign of life
- Tried on a different PC: no sign of life
So I retuned to the shop and:
- We checked with a differnt cable and with a desktop on the shop: no sign of life.
I asked to change the ZVM with another one. Yesterday, after TWO WEEKS of delay (because the shop had to order since it was the last ZVM they had), I had the new ZVM. Result: NO SIGN OF LIFE once again.
Note that:
- my USB ports (of both laptop) works perfectly with other devices
- my usb ports have power: I have a USB PC Lamp, and a USB Optical Mouse and they works perfectly.
- I let the ZMV connected to the USB port always more than 8 hour. The Laptop power option was set to avoid hybernate or suspend status
- No application was running during charge
I tryed to find a phone tech support, but - despite the statement on the creative site - in italy there is no phone support, just via e-mail.
If the customer support will not able to resolve the problem I'll give my ZVM back (forever) and I will ask my money back.
My percption of the problem is that the ZVM have battery completed depleted and USB is not able to provide enough power to charge. But the fact that not even the LED id flashing let me with no clue.
I kindly ask the community if someone had the same problems, and if there are any suggestion that AT LEAST let my charge led flashing.
Sorry, for the long post, but I'm really upset with the whole situation.
Thank you in advance.
Riccardo

I am new to these forums. So bear with me. I am in the Oz outback.
In a possible answer to your problem IlRiccardo I purchased two Zen Vision M units this past week with the same problem. I returned the first unit and got my money back. I purchased a second unit from a different supplier in a another town. Same problem again The second time I did read the supplied booklets in more detail pouring over every word. I found what the symbols in the top right of the screen was suppose to mean. I did purchase units with the Creative supplied powerpack. I was able power the unit up on the external power pack.
Q. Do you have a symbol that looks like a plug with two prongs on it's
Q2. What is the version number of the installed firmware?
I had that symbol on the top right of the screen. I found through a small Product Information booklet that it was to indicate a fully charged battery and operating on external power. RUBBISH (to the charged battery) as it was a brand new unit. The firmware version installed in both ZENs was .30.xx (cannot remember the last two digits).
I checked the Creative FAQ pages at my daughter's place (in town where I purchased second unit) and found a page listing most of the same symptons as I was experiencing. The download page was talking about a version .50.xx. The link was for a downloadable version of .6.0.
Subsequently I did download the update file and installed it. Low and behold my ZEN Vision M now showed the symbol for a charging battery. The unit did charge up and is working on the battery. Firmware Version .6.0
Check with your supplier/shop where you purchased your ZEN to see if this action will void the warranty? My supplier is suggesting it has!!!!. I hope I don't have to go down the warranty path for any reason.
Hope this helps you and others.
I have post an almost similarly worded reply in another thread about "not charging" SO it is a firmware version issue in my view.

What has changed in the Playlist Creation on the Zen Vision:M compared to the older Ze

Hi, I have a Zen Micro for a year now. It works flowlessly and I have have a lot of good time with it. But yes , there ist now the Zen Vision:M (sadly :-)).
I have read that the way to create a playlist on the vision:M is somewhat different compared to the Zen Micro for example. Can somebody explain what has been changed. In the review was said that it is more advances , but it is not as friendly as it it on the older Zens.
And one more thing: is the radio reception on the vision:m really a lot better than on the Micro? ( is was said in the article I read, just can't figure out where it was...) I really anticipated to be able to listen to radio with the micro, but hier in Hamburg (Germany) I can get a relati'vely clear reception of just TWO senders (from time to time). This is the point where the Micro dissapoints (my opinion ofcourse).
Thank you!Message Edited by plam_mk on 02-04-2006 02:38 PM

Hi Wupperbayer,
Danke f?r die Antwort. Ja , die hat mir geholfen eine bessere Vorstellung von dem Player zu kriegen.
Tja, ich habe echt gehofft , dass man auch die option haben w?rde, Lieder zu einem beliebigen Playlist hinzuf?gen zu k?nnen, und nicht nur zu dem, der gerade abgespielt wird. Der Radioempfang, sagst Du also ist besser. das ist f?r mich eigentlich noch wichtiger, da ich gerne ab und zu Radio h?ren will, was mit dem Micro nicht wirklich gelingt.
Ich m?chte dich noch gerne Fragen, ob du die Videofunktion brauchbar findest, ob Du ggf nach einer Konvertierung deine Filme auf dem Player gut abspielen kannst. Wie ist die Qualit'st der abgespilten Filme? Ja, da ich es noch nicht gesehen habe, kann ich es mir nur sehr schwer vorstellen, einen Film auf dem Player in der S-Bahn zu richtig zu geniesen. Findest Du pers?nlich, dass sich die Anschaffung vom Player gelohnt hat?Der Kostet letzt?ndlich ?ber 300 Euro, und ich bin halt nur ein Student, und an Geld komme ich sehr schwer ran (daf?r bin ich aber ein gro?er Fan von Music, Filme und Fotografie :-( )
Ja , ich bedanke mich bei Dir, wei? nicht ob ich etwa zu viel gafragt habe...
kannst ja uch nicht alles beatnworten, oder gar nicht beantworten. Viele Gr?e
Hi guys, I will translate in a concise manner the obove writing. I aksed whether I can take a movie. convert it propely and play it on the player. And that is not all: I just want to get most of the information from the picture as I do it on he PC, read very good quality. I have also hoped, that the possibility to add a song to every playlist, not just the one that is being played, would become a reality. But one very important thing however, is that the radio reception have been improved.

Where can I download back ZEN Vision:M 60GB firmware v1.10.04_0.0.

Hi all,
I bought my Zen Vision:M 60GB a few days ago and somehow I made
the firmware doesn't work. I tried to find it from Creative Labs official website.
They only provide the one for 30GB.
Does anyone know where I can download the firmware back?
Thanks a lot.
Holly

Cat,
Of course if my Zen Vision M doesn't have any troubles of the firmware, it is good to buy.
But right now, creative labs put this out of the market and not ready the firmware for the customers even the original one... well, I don't mean that other people should not buy it but if they have the same probelm like me. Go to the customer service center is the only way to solve it... I also think it is not becuase how new of Zen Vision M 60GB, upload the original firmware is easy, right? And no one can guarantee that when I would screw up the firmware, right?
Also, the supporting team keeps telling me that the one online is good for 30GB and 60GB... well, I did try it. My Zen Vision M just told me that I need to connect the MP3. I did but the firmware didn't detect it.
I would like to go to the customer service center in Hong Kong. But their office hour is same as me even mine is longer than them... and they don't open it on publish holiday and sunday. Tell me what should I do? Yeah, right, apply a day off and go to the custmer service center and just for that... As you said it is very new MP3 player, I hope they have enough hardware or software to fix my problem.
Holly

NOT so happy CONCLUSION after all -- Installation of my ZEN Vision M (30 G

Sunday 2/3/06
Let's see, I had a problem with losing my AUDIO. Finally, I had to do a full re-install on my S.B. Audigy 2zs. I even moved it to a different PCI connector on the MB. After a full re-installation... sweet sound again.
As to the Zen itself, I keep having problems.... I am trying to update all the applications (C MediaSourde and C Media explorer) and even there I am finding problems.
When I download the upgrade file to my PC ([color="#ff3300">CMS5_PCAPP_LB_5_0_38.exe), and?try opening it, it HANGS... that's it... so I have not been able to upgrade it. And if I don't upgrade it, then I will have the same erratic behavior will all these applications. They work sometimes and sometimes they don't.
If I really force the issue, opent the explorer and the MediaSource, where I have my "library" of songs... and WHEN the ZEN is recognized by everyone (This is ramdon condition, sometimes yes, many times no), I am able to drag and drop some songs from my "library"?to the ZEN.... but I?still don't have a clear path to do this consistently... ?
Tuesday report 2/26/06:?
[color="#ff0000"](I?don't want anybody to get the ideal all is well now... I thought it was... Yesterday, but not today)
Today I?was able to?to Rip a couple of CDs and "transfer" them to the ZEN. Some of the songs?have noises?though... I don't know what causes that. But the applications are still buggy, they don't work consistently all the time. I just "sense" something is not right with my PC.
[color="#ff0000"]No only that... This installation knocked off my Audio!... even though I have a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2zs platinum! (Audio Card)... So I have NO SOUND right now?and therefore I can not use WMP-0 to rip cd's because it tells me I have not audio and I am not in the mood to deal the WMP now. So I had to use the Creative MediaSource 5, to do the ripping and the synchronizing. It did the job ok, except for the noise...
I tried everything to re-install my Audio. Tried the latest dri've...Nothing. Went back to my old one (before this installation) and it DID NOT work either!? Amazing how complicated this has become....
Monday report 2/25/06: I did not do much on the Zen today. But I did notice the WPM 0, still goes crazy (crashed) when trying to find the Zen. The WMP0 crashed today once. Also, there seem to be some conflict among certain programs... It almost seems as if more than one applications is biding for the Zen when they see it. (i.e. if the WMP is open and try opening the Creative Explorer app... it will not open... but only until I close the WMP...then the apps springs up just like that. That's it. - Good night.
I SO, IT seems like I am not out of the woods yet... I wonder if I ever will.
?
Quick Tips (I see people asking the same questions)
If your ZEN seems "dead" then you need to RESET it. How? insert a "clip" (or other sharp tool. Clip works best) in the hole for RESET, located at the bottom of the ZEN (by the "dongle" connector)<?
Connect your ZEN to a "USB-PORT" (not to a "hub")?A USB-PORT is located on your computer (the box). A "Hub" is a little box connected to one USB-PORTS and it "splits" this port into several USB-Connectors... ideally useful for "devices" that do not required lost of information or current (i.e. mouse, drawing table, keyboard, etc). Devices that required a continuous or heavy amounts of information (i.e. External Hard Dri'ves, Camcorders, Webcams sometimes, required an individual USB-PORT)<?Two things here:?- This link is for the original messagehttp://forums.creative.com/creativel...essage.id=7293?[size="+2"][color="#ff0000"]2- Happy Conclusion installing the ZEN Vision M (30 Gig)(I am writing this for several reasons. Mainly, because it was a difficult installation and I wanted to summarize the 200 or 300 steps/actions I did that led me to solve the problem successfully. I always do this when I have a difficult installation and then I save it for the next time I need it (i.e. changing computers). I certainly don?t want to waste all that effort. One thing I learned about ?technology? is hard to learn it but it can be forgotten so easily, if you don?t take notes.)
---------------------------------------
[size="+2"][color="#ff3300">What was causing the problem?
Two things:
First, problems with Windows and the computer itself.
Second, the Creative applications were horrible at first, they would not open right away and when they did? sometimes 5 or 0 seconds later? they would crash just by clicking on something? and so Windows kept giving me those Error boxes and I kept sending them to Microsoft?(I must have sent at least 00 if not more!) I was also having problems with my graphics, every time an application would crash, then all kind of weird graphics would take place when dragging things around. I also had problems at one time with my Anti-virus/fire-wall Icon going dark after several re-boots, so I had to kick it to get it working?. Oh well, I just want you to get a flavor for how bad things were yesterday.
When I first installed the software, nothing worked!... My computer was noticeably SLOWER and SLUGHISH? Actually I was worry about my computer itself because I have never seen it this bad!... I thought a virus the size of an elephant had gotten into the pc somehow, no kidding so I ran the anti-virus, anti-spy, just to make sure. Sometimes if you firewall is down, you can get viruses in an instant!... I hope you people know this by now. And if the firewall fails and viruses get in, is just at moments like these? when you are trying to get things to work and downloading stuff from the Internet and so on.
The computer was just sloooowww? sluggish?.. and crashy (new word?)?.
I must have rebooted my system from 40 to 50 times, and I am not exaggerating. At some point I even had trouble turning off the PC. There were like three time where it would just sit there in ?limbo? (hung/crashed), so I had to actually switch the?PC OFF on the back of the box, the only way to turn it off? And of course, when you do that, you can be sure you will have all kinds of interesting things when you try to boot up again! (like all kinds of funny displays on my screen, or Windows giving me the ?black screen and white text? asking me to choose a way to boot up, like ?boot up normally? or ?boot up using the last configuration that worked,? (I did this like?7 times all together).
[size="+2"][color="#ff3300">So how did?everything go?from ?so bad? to ?so wonderful?? I don?t really know exactly!
But I suspect three things happened:
- Windows sent me a couple of upgrades (I get them automatically)? I have NO IDEA what they were, but whatever they were, helped!
?2 - As I read and read, things began to come back to my brain. Especially a post reply that gave me the hint (Reformatting the dri've in the Zen) would finally let me ?transfer? my stuff to the Zen
?3 - An lastly, after I have ?cleaned, reformatted the dri've, got rid off the ?firmware? (not a good thing to do), Then I could not make Windows see the ZEN no matter what I did!? I did what worked before (connecting and disconnecting the USB cable from the white adapter (dungle?) connected to the ZEN). Usually when you do this, Windows being a ?plug and play? OS, it usually ?sees? when a new ?device? is plugged in one of the USB ports, or disconnected from a port, as well. In other words it ?recognizes? the device (connectivity) and if the software and driver are already install, the device should come ali've and work! That is the reason you always install the software and drivers first, and usually re-boot the system once, so that when you connect the ?device? (ZEN), it should work!
[size="+2"][color="#ff3300">Let me recap I what happened:
?- I installed the s/w and as I already said, it was horrible.
?2- The Windows updates, somehow were helping a little bit.
?3- I also downloaded the latest updates from Creative.com (downloads/upgrades). I downloaded the ?firmware? (the ?upgrade,? which is the OS=Operating System for the ZEN. Just like ?Windows? is to the PC) and other ?patches? for?the ?creative media source 5? and ?Zencast organizer? (3 updates). I am sure this upgrades helped some, as well.
?4- After trying so many times, I was finally able to open the ?Zen Media Explorer? (Icon looks like a picture of the Zen). When this opens, it shows you everything inside the Zen just like in the ?explorer? (nice). That meant I had connectivity! (good).
?5- Since I had ?connectivity? (access) to the ZEN, My next attempt was to ?transfer? some files down to the ZEN? but this proved impossible!... Somehow, at some?point, by accident (I?did not even notice it)? I was able to transfer ONE song to the ZEN, which gave me hope. After all, if you can do it once, you should be able to do it again. BUT, I couldn?t
?6- Then a nice lady?who responded to my first post, told me she had basically the same problems and the solution was to ?Clean and re-format? the ?Disk dri've?in the ZEN. She said that once she?did that, everything would sort of fall into place? and she was right!
?7- I unplugged the ZEN from the PC and read somewhere how ?to clean, reformat, upgrade or replace the ?firmware,? Not sure still, but it'ss something like ?resetting (with a clip) the Zen and holding the ?power? slide in the ON position? something like that, and that brings a special screen with 4 choices:
Clean<
Reformat dri've (erases everything!), <
Replace firmware (careful here!), <
Reboot. <
Then it'ss pretty easy?to do a lot of ?damage? in a few seconds!... ([color="#ff3300">careful here if you are not used to the sensitivity of the "touch-pad")In my case I did not care since I had not put anything there yet. I erased EVERYTHING!... (not a good thing). I should have been more careful and simply use option 2 (reformat the dri've). Chances are this would have been enough to transfer songs to the ZEN. But since I get crazy when doing stuff like this, I went ahead a cleaned everything.
?8- Then I realized I had erased the ?firmware. As you already know this is the ?heart? of the Zen. (like Windows to the PC). Finally I went to Creative.com/downloads and downloaded it (the full version). But if you remember in #3, I had also downloaded the ?firmware? upgrade as well. The reason this is significant, is, that when I finally recovered ?connectivity? to the ZEN, I? tried both files, but the one that ZEN accepted was the upgrade! (I found this interesting? since I would have thought the full version would have been the correct choice? see?... little things you learn.
?9- As I already gave you a hint in #8, once I had the ?firmware? ready to install, the system kept telling me it could NOT see the ZEN. I connected and disconnected the USB cable several times? rebooted the pc? this helps sometimes, but nothing!... FINALLY, I read somewhere, I should go to the ?device manager? and check what was going on.. ? EUREKA ? indeed I found the ZEN with a ?Yellow mark? on the side, which always means trouble. Basically, I used the ?uninstall? option (based of the principle that simply ?un-installing and installing back something? sometimes this works. In other words, the ZEN was ?stucked. So when I ?removed? It from the ?Device Manager? list (I don?t recall if I rebooted here? but it never hurts!), then all of the sudden? a little icon in Windows (on the small tray=bottom right corner (with the clock and Date),? acknowledged?a new deviced had been connected to Windows. (connectivity back again! Yeahhh).
?0- Now that had ?connectivity? (Big step), I could try installing the ?firmware. And as I already explained, the ?upgrade? was the one that ZEN took. As soon as you clicked on the file, a box opened and asked if you wanted to install the ?firmware. I said yes and voila!... The Zen started accepting it's and when it ended, just like a PC, the ZEN rebooted itself and I was able to see the familiar interface (the same folders as before) but not contents at all? empty!
?- At this?point?I opened the ?Creative Media Source organizer,? went to my ?playlist? and from there, just click and drag some songs and dropped them on top of the Zen Icon (just like dropping files in a folder). And yes, the files were finally ?transferred? to the ZEN. Unplugged the USB cable from the Zen (or the Zen does not play anything). The songs were there and I was FINALLY able to listen to them from the ZEN!... Wonderful. Oh yes, using the same technique (drag and drop), I put a wmv video and was able to watch it as well... Now I know why people rave about the little screen... nice!
?2- In the mean time, without noticing? Just like the nice lady?from the post said, everything seemed to have fallen into place!
?In Summary: The applications ( the creative programs=icons)?were opening normally and quickly now, and many of the errors I got before when clicking on certain things, disappeared. I am sure I will still find some problems here and there, but basically the thing works now the way it is supposed to.
?Just a matter of clicking, dragging and dropping items?into the Zen?.yes, that simple!
?Good luck!
[url="http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=7293">[/url]
Message Edited by em2253 on 2-26-2006:39 AM
Message Edited by em2253 on 2-3-20060:32 AM
Message Edited by em2253 on 2-3-200602:26 PM
Message Edited by em2253 on 0-02-200702:3 AM

[url="http://web6.streamhoster.com/em2253/ZEN/ZenDeviceManager.wmv]See Movie[/url]?Hi, take a look at the movie... hopefully I answer to your question is there. [b]Let me know if you can NOT see it... [/b]and I will send you a picture. [color="#ff0000"]and if you can see the movie, give me feedback on it. Did it look ok in your computer? (it changes with all computers depending on your setting and player!). [color="#ff0000"]Was the sound ok?I almost wish I had not titled this post as "Happy Conclusion." It was happy but only a day or two... then I started having other problems... unbelievable. So, If I gave the wrong impression, sorry!

MAJOR Zen Vision: M 30GB PROBLE

First, when trying to recover my computer after some problems, the software no longer worked with my ZEN. I didn't want to install another Service Pack and potentially lose everything else I had, so I just started using Windows Media Player to add music. No problem. Here's where the fun began.
The other night, while playing music, my player froze while shuffling to another song. I mean, it froze in the middle of shifting from one song to another. I had never seen that before. I was concerned when I saw it, but I figured I would just restart and everything would come back up. After it "rebuilt" the library, I was surprised (to say the least) to see that my player had reverted back to the original factory settings. Playlists, videos, pictures and music were all gone according to the player. Yet, when I went to MUSIC LIBRARY, all the albums were there but the artwork was gone. When you would play a song, the screen just read "Select Music to PLAY from the Music Library" as if no music was on the player. Very odd, but it can't get any worse than that, right? Read on.
After a couple of days of this, I finally decided to see what I could do to fix it. I connected the Zen to my computer, only to not have it recognized at all, and, freeze after 2 minutes each & everytime after I reboot/restore. I've found the XNJB program for my iMac instead of changing the whole system around on my PC, and it looks like this would work beautifully with the ZEN. Therefore, what I'm looking for is a way to completely reformat the Zen without the aid of a computer. I would use the new Rescue tool, but since my PC doesn't recognize it, that doesn't help me.
I fought it for so long, but Steve Jobs & Apple have finally won me over. I installed music on a friend's 80GB iPod and pretty much fell in love. I will miss the FM radio and voice recorder on the ZEN, but its a small price to pay for FREE SUPPORT (are you listening, Creative?) and tons of official & aftermarket accessories. Once all of my options are gone, and I have no choice but to turn to Creative for help, pay for their "support", send back my Zen, etc., I will purchase an 80GB iPod for what I paid for a 30GB ZEN Vision: M. Creative, I gave you a try, and I always support the underdog, but Apple's on top for a reason.
I've already paid for Creative's help which was anything but helpful, so I'm leaving it up to everyone out there. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do to try and recover this $300 paperweight on my desk, please let me know at: [email protected]
Thanks!
- garrett
[email protected]
PS - Should I get the 80GB iPod Classic or the iPod Touch? I know there's 0X the storage space on the classic, but the iPod touch has Wi-Fi web browsing. Let me know!
[email protected] Edited by gdizzle on 0-0-20080:9 AM

Warranty? You can sell it to someone too. Ebay might work!
I would get the 80GB classic. The touch doesn't have as much storage and I think the price is just ridiculous.
Good luck with your search!!
(did you contact costumer support to see if they could fix your Zen?)

I use Zen Vision M for gigg

Hi,
I do solo gigs, I play guitar and sing. I play along to backing tracks as mp3s and plug the ZVM through the PA system. The sound quality is great and it's so handy and portable. I just need to make sure it's fully charged before a gig. I create playlists for the backing tracks I'm going to use, and use the 'Track Once' facility so it doesn't play the next track until I'm ready. I'm just worried that one day it will freeze when I'm doing a gig.

I can see the advantage of flash memory. So far the Zen Vision M hasn't let me down but I guess there's always a first time. I have got a Zen Nano Plus 52Mb aswell, but it doesn't put out enough power. As it is I have to have the ZVM turned up to the max. I have tried the a/v output, but the trouble is you lose the screen then so it's not much good. The backing tracks are great, I've found quite a lot of free ones plus there are some good sites where you can buy them. I used to play in a duo, but the other guy was always messing it up. The ZVM is much more reliable and I don't have to split the gig money either!:smileyvery-happy:

Creative zen vision M:3 WISH

HI ALL,??I purchased a creative zen vision m a few days ago and i have played around with it to my heart's content.i just needed to air a few points i've discovered so far.VIDEO PLAYBACK:I tried transferring a variety of video formats to the player.some formats will transfer without the need to convert,some require conversion and some the creative software woudn't even convert even with directshown filters installed in the pc.listed below are the varoius formats i tried and the results?avii tried varoius avi formats but only divx and xvid encoded files played successfully which i didn't mind since most downloaded internet video is in these formats anyway.divx/xvid with .avi file extension at various resolutions -plays perfectly but to play full screen nati'vely its better the video was encoded at 320x240 or 640x480.anything else will have varying sizes of black bars on the screen but video with 624x352 widescreen?can be set to fill the screen with no noticable change in quality.i've also encoded at bitrates up to 900kb/s and they played fine.640x480 encoded video looks more crisp on the screen than 320x240 video though.some files with gmc played as well.The only problem is the audio has to be in mp3 format i.e xvid/divx with mp3 audio.Since the player doesn't support ac3 audio any video with ac3. or ogg/ogm in it's container woudn't be transferred and it would ask to convert it before transferring. What i don't like about the?transcoding is the only optuion is wmv9 at 320x240 resolution which from my experience?doesn't give you the best visual ?quality playback?.why should i have to convert a 720x480?or 704x576 video to 320x240 when 480x360 or 640x480 will look far much better on the player. MPEG:I TRIED VARIOUS MPEG FILES AND HERE IS WHAT I DISCOVERED:?MPEG:This player loves mpeg files.mpeg encoded at vcd resolution i.e 320x240 ntsc or 352x288 pal with .5mb/s play perfectly.a lot of music videos downloaded through blogs or p2p or through servers like rapidshare in thjat format play well in full screen.but i think 320x240 is better for the player than 352x288.even a non-standard mpeg file with bitrates up to 2mb/s also play well on the player.they are usally a bit better in quality than the standard ones.files found on a video cd with .dat extension i.e AVSEQ.DAT play perfectly.just copy the file from the vcd straight to the player and thats it.MPEG2:Even though creative states that this format is supported,it didnt transfer the mpeg 2 video files i tried to. The only mpeg 2 file that i was able to transfer to it was encoded with mp3 audio.Now i downloaded this file which was a music video off the net and i've not come across a software that encodes mpeg2 with mp3 yet.Most short video clips in mpeg 2 are in svcd format with mp2 audio and video with .m2v extension which is quite common as well.these woudn't ghet transferred to the player insisting on converting.converting a mpeg2 file at 480x576 or 480x480 resolution to 320x240 resolution just isn't really cool when the player can handle those resolutions in other formats.too much quality gets lost in the process and you only get an half decent wmv9 video with a low resolution.Sadly the player will only play wmv9 encoded at 320x240 resolution so it's not anoption for me.i much rathetr use third party software video encoder like the tmpgenc xpress or mpeg4 directmaker with the latter being good for converting dvd video files to avi with the subtitles embedded in the video.
The video playback quality is good and is better than the ipod playback quality.i will say only h264 encoded video on the ipod at high quality and high resolution is comparable.the inability to create video playlists and not being able to playback videos in sequence is one let down of the vision m.i have as much as 20 encoded music videos in the player and it would have been nice to just have the videos playback in any sequence you want them instead of going back to the the selection screen after each one. I rest my case here for now.creative please look into these issues and you will be doing much more justice to this brilliant product. ??

HI ALL,??I purchased a creative zen vision m a few days ago and i have played around with it to my heart's content.i just needed to air a few points i've discovered so far.VIDEO PLAYBACK:I tried transferring a variety of video formats to the player.some formats will transfer without the need to convert,some require conversion and some the creative software woudn't even convert even with directshown filters installed in the pc.listed below are the varoius formats i tried and the results?avii tried varoius avi formats but only divx and xvid encoded files played successfully which i didn't mind since most downloaded internet video is in these formats anyway.divx/xvid with .avi file extension at various resolutions -plays perfectly but to play full screen nati'vely its better the video was encoded at 320x240 or 640x480.anything else will have varying sizes of black bars on the screen but video with 624x352 widescreen?can be set to fill the screen with no noticable change in quality.i've also encoded at bitrates up to 900kb/s and they played fine.640x480 encoded video looks more crisp on the screen than 320x240 video though.some files with gmc played as well.The only problem is the audio has to be in mp3 format i.e xvid/divx with mp3 audio.Since the player doesn't support ac3 audio any video with ac3. or ogg/ogm in it's container woudn't be transferred and it would ask to convert it before transferring. What i don't like about the?transcoding is the only optuion is wmv9 at 320x240 resolution which from my experience?doesn't give you the best visual ?quality playback?.why should i have to convert a 720x480?or 704x576 video to 320x240 when 480x360 or 640x480 will look far much better on the player. MPEG:I TRIED VARIOUS MPEG FILES AND HERE IS WHAT I DISCOVERED:?MPEG:This player loves mpeg files.mpeg encoded at vcd resolution i.e 320x240 ntsc or 352x288 pal with .5mb/s play perfectly.a lot of music videos downloaded through blogs or p2p or through servers like rapidshare in thjat format play well in full screen.but i think 320x240 is better for the player than 352x288.even a non-standard mpeg file with bitrates up to 2mb/s also play well on the player.they are usally a bit better in quality than the standard ones.files found on a video cd with .dat extension i.e AVSEQ.DAT play perfectly.just copy the file from the vcd straight to the player and thats it.MPEG2:Even though creative states that this format is supported,it didnt transfer the mpeg 2 video files i tried to. The only mpeg 2 file that i was able to transfer to it was encoded with mp3 audio.Now i downloaded this file which was a music video off the net and i've not come across a software that encodes mpeg2 with mp3 yet.Most short video clips in mpeg 2 are in svcd format with mp2 audio and video with .m2v extension which is quite common as well.these woudn't ghet transferred to the player insisting on converting.converting a mpeg2 file at 480x576 or 480x480 resolution to 320x240 resolution just isn't really cool when the player can handle those resolutions in other formats.too much quality gets lost in the process and you only get an half decent wmv9 video with a low resolution.Sadly the player will only play wmv9 encoded at 320x240 resolution so it's not anoption for me.i much rathetr use third party software video encoder like the tmpgenc xpress or mpeg4 directmaker with the latter being good for converting dvd video files to avi with the subtitles embedded in the video.
The video playback quality is good and is better than the ipod playback quality.i will say only h264 encoded video on the ipod at high quality and high resolution is comparable.the inability to create video playlists and not being able to playback videos in sequence is one let down of the vision m.i have as much as 20 encoded music videos in the player and it would have been nice to just have the videos playback in any sequence you want them instead of going back to the the selection screen after each one. I rest my case here for now.creative please look into these issues and you will be doing much more justice to this brilliant product. ??

Zen VIsion M 3

Hi, I recently bought a Zen Vision M 30 gig MP3 player. I came home read the manual unpacked it and pluged it into my computer to charge. After charging for over 8 hours and the battery icon in the corner never went off without the flash icon through the battery, and it never came up in charge. I switched computers and tried it with my wifes computer, letting it charge for over 2 hours and the same thing was happening. it would not take a charge. I returned it to Best Buy and they exchanged it, and while there I bought a wall charger. Now this is strange because it was a griffin bower block and the help at best buy told me it would charge the new unit. after going home and plugging it into the wall the battery after 24 hours never showed charged. I tried the computer hook up and this time it after many many hours the battery was showing a charge. the next day it showed it was charged. I called Best Buy and a staff member from the geek squad told me that the griffin charger would not charge the Zen. I asked them why they sold it to me then. I am planning on returning it and finding somewhere to buy the right wall charger. I called the creative lab help line and someone who worked there helped me emmencly. You see the player was not working correctly and He walked me through changing the driver for the player. I am getting now used to the player. But the new box where it is taped at both ends one end was cut and I did not get the 2ND. CD in the box I did get the ZEN Vision M Installation CD, but in the ST box I got 2 CD's And I am still having trouble working with the player. Such as : . When I have the music library highlighted the screen shows an arrow ] on the righ side of the screen, how do i activate the arrow in the book it shows to get to the playlists 2. the same thing happens when i scoll down to pictures it gives me the ] but what magical button activates this button I am not a complete novice to computers but that said I am no Bill Gates either. I hope I have explained my problems so you might be able to write back and walk me throught these problems. When I called the help line the man told me that all the software is on your web site, but I would like the second CD to keep as a reference and plus it may have some programs that could walk me through my problems. Thanks,Doug Goddard9935 Raisin Street Maybee Mi. [email protected]

Yes, in the center of the player is a vertical scroll pad. tap it twice to select a file (music,video,pic etc...)next to the vertical pad is a < and a > which you can click to move to the bookmark when it is easier to find artists by LETTER which you can scroll down from a to z. You are probably having troubles with the touchpad bc you new w/ the player...youll get the hang of it soon!

Zen Vision M 30GB - How to edit more than one tag at once

Hello,
I?m looking for a comfortable way to edit the tags on my player. I?ve installed ZEN Vision M Series Media Explorer, but I can only add one file at once. I?ve tried a normal tageditor, but I can't see the player in the device list.
Does anyone know a tool for editing more than one file at once ?
Thanks
Michel

I do it in winamp, and then i copy songs back to player .)

Backing up playlists in Zen Vision M?

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