Problems with playback for Rhapsody To Go songs on Zen V P

Question

So I have been trying to work with customer support on this issue, and it has been frustrating. I can fairly reliably cause my Zen V Plus to freeze while playing some songs from Rhapsody to go. I was wondering if anyone else either has had similar problems, or can try to reproduce mine. I have been able to reproduce using 2 different players (exchanged within 30 days of purchase), and from two different computers, so I don't think the song is corrupt. Here is my correspondence with creative, which contains enough detail to reproduce. I re-ordered for easy reading, but the content is the same:
My first email, with the problem:
I use Rhapsody to go, and I had songs stop
playing in the middle of the song. The player stops moving the seconds
count down, but the play indicator is still showing. I have to press the
play/pause button, upon which the player shows the song paused, and then
I have to press play again. This happens on a bunch of different songs,
but seems to happen on roughly the same place on a particular song. I am
running the latest firmware, and I have exchanged the player once
already and have the EXACT same problem, so this is a firmware problem,
not a hardware one. Once it starts happening, it will happen VERY
consistently on a song, I can restart the song, and it will almost
always hang again in the same spot. If I turn off the player and turn it
back on, it will play through. I have a playlist that has "Hey There
Delilah" by Plain White Ts on it, as the first song. This song always
hangs at 2:07 when it hangs. I have gotten it to hang by turning on the
player when the playlist is already loaded, and playing this song, and
restarting the song a couple of times. It seems that the songs will play
through until I start using menus or buttons, or changing the play order
or restarting the songs...then it gets in a state where it freezes on
some songs, like the above mentioned one. Once I restart the player, it
will play through, so long as I don't do too many things. I haven't
figured out the minimum necessary to reproduce every time, but it
freezes fairly often on the above song, and can be reproduced fairly
easily (on two different players). I would consider this a fairly
critical problem, in that it involves randomly having music freeze on
me, and I can't exchange the unit or send it in for repairs, since I
have tried that. Please advise, or let me know if you need more details.
Their first reply:
Dear Richard,
Thank you for writing in to Creative Technical Support Services, we
appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
From the description you had provided, I can see that upon playing song
that came from Rhapsody on the go, it stop in the middle of the song. As
you mentioned, the player stops moving the seconds cound down, but the
play indicator is still showing. Upon pressing the play/pause button of
the player, it pause playing and press play again, it will resume
playing. You added that this issue occured on a bunch of a songs and it
seems to happen roughly on the same place on a particular song. You also
added that you have already updated your player firmware. I can imagine
this is a frustrating experience. I apologize that you are having issue
with this product and it is causing you to not enjoy it as intended.
Initially, you were provided with some basic suggestions on how to
troubleshoot the issue that you have identified. These tips have
resolved majority of the issues with your product. You may find that
some of the information in this message is repetiti've, but it is still
helpful/beneficial in troubleshooting the issue.
To assist you further, here are some suggestions that you can try:
. First, I would suggest you to play the songs you usually got this
issue on your computer and let us see if the issue persists.
2. If the songs plays fine on your PC, you can try formatting your
player through its recovery mode. Please note that running a Format All
on your player will erase all of the content of your device. You may
want to back it up before completing this process if possible. To
assist you formatting your player, please refer to this link:
Formatting ZEN Micro or other Creative MP3 players
http://us.creative.com/support/kb/article.asp l=2&sid=4779
3. After format all options, please try transferring music files again
that you got from Rhapsody on the go.
If the above resolutions did not figure out the issue, it appears that
your player will most likely need to be sent in for repair/replacement.
If you have recently purchased your product you may also try contacting
your reseller to see if you can exchange the product. If you are unable
to exchange your products a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) will
need to be arranged for you to send the product in. You can use this
link in order to arrange a RMA for your Creative Product:
http://us.creative.com/onlinerma
All applicable fees will be assessed at the time that your RMA is
processed in an effort to expedite the repair or replacement of your
product.
Again, I apologize for the complications that you have experienced and
hope that I have given you enough information to resolve your issue.
Please be patient while we are getting the issue resolved. Meanwhile,
keep your Zen safe from bumps, bonks and scratches by getting the Zen V
Series Case. This case is just as tiny and stylish as your player. No
buttons. No stra
ps.
Just a sleek, protecti've design. For more
information on this product, you may want to check out the link below:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp category=23&subcategory=27&product=5445
If you still require assistance, please reply to this email with any
previous correspondence to ensure the quickest and most accurate
service.
My next reply:
Ok, I have tried all of the above, but I can tell you it isn't that I
need to send in the unit. Please remember, I have exchanged this unit
already for another brand new unit and downloaded the songs, and the
same behavior occurred, hanging at the same time even, in spite of the
fact that the song was downloaded from rhapsody from a completely
different computer, onto a different player. I strongly believe this is
a problem with the firmware, and that someone at your company should try
to reproduce the problem. That is why I gave specific instructions on
how the problem is duplicated, so your QA department can try to
reproduce it, and solve this problem in the next firmware update.
Their next reply:
Thank you for taking the time to reply to Creative Customer Support. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
In response to your email, I understand that you are experiencing some problems with your MP3 player freezing when trying to play some music from Rhapsody to Go. I know this can be frustrating and I apologize for any inconvenience and/or frustration this has caused.
Regarding your issue, it sounds like it could possibly be an issue with the music. Sometimes music files can become corrupted and they are transferred to the player it can caused it to not function properly. This can often be the cause of a player freezing while it is playing back.
In order to address this issue, I would recommend trying to transfer only music ripped from audio cd's, or try downloading music from a different source. If the problem continues with music that has been ripped from audio cd's, then that could indicate that the player itself needs to be sent in for an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization). However, if the problem does not continue with the music from audio cd's, then the music from Rhapsody could be corrupted and it may be necessary to try redownloading it from Rhapsody; or from a totally different music provider.
In the case that it looks like the player itself needs to be sent in for an RMA, please follow the link below to get an RMA setup online:
http://us.creative.com/onlineRMA
I hope this helps to address your issue. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and ensuring that this issue is fully resolved. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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If you still require assistance, please reply to this email with any previous correspondence to ensure the quickest and most accurate service.
My next reply:
How would it be that the music is corrupt when the player can play the music properly with no issues repeatedly It is only a problem when I start navigating the menus or moving through the playlist, and then I play these songs. Therefore, the player can properly play the music, until I put the player in an broken state by manipulating the menu choices. Then it freezes on the song. Repeatedly. At the same spot. But after I turn the player off and on again, I can play the song without any issues again. This really seems like an issue with the software. Have you tried making a play list from rhapsody to go with the song I specified, and tried to reproduce the problem If you try, I suspect with a little effort you will be able to reproduce the problem, because I have been able to with multiple zen V plus players, and different copies of the song. I don't know why you haven't contacted the technical or QA staff to try to reproduce this. I really believe it is a problem in your software. I guess I can start posting on the forum, and try to get other users to reproduce, and perhaps that will help convince you it is a real software problem (firmware).
*sigh*
Anyone have any thoughts

Answer 1

And it continues.
Here was there reply:
Thank you for reaching us at Creative Email Technical Support. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you. I am sorry for the trouble you
having.
I understand that you are having trouble with the Zen V Plus player freezing up when you start navigating through the menus or moving through a playlist. I see that in the previous email you were given some suggestion and it was mentioned that it could be something in the music on the player. Yes
it could be an issue with the firmware as well and by reloading the firmware and try music that is from CDs and not Rhapsody to see if this hel
ps.
I see you would like us to contact the technical support on this matter, we are the technical support I do emails as well as phone support and we have spoke with our advanced support group and what we have found is the biggest cause to the issue you are having is corrupt file it is not the only cause but the biggest. If after ripping music from a CD and trying the newest firmware and you are still having the same issue then we can issue an RMA so the player can be sent in and tested and replaced if needed.
I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
If you still require assistance, please reply to this email with any previous correspondence to ensure the quickest and most accurate service.
And my response:
Ok, so let us assume for a minute that it is, in fact, the music. There is nothing wrong with the player physically, I know this because I have the same behavior in another player (remember, I was within 30 days when we started this conversation, so I swapped at the store I bought). So if we assume that it isn't the player, and in fact, the music is somehow corrupt; isn't it still a software (firmware) problem, in that if a music file is slightly corrupt, sometimes it can play it correct, and sometimes it causes the player to freeze? Remember, I can play the song fine, over and over again. But if I exhibit certain behavior with the player (moving around in the play list, or repeating the song again by pressing rewind), it starts to freeze, and will repeatedly freeze. If the music is corrupt as you say, shouldn't the player's firmware handle that more gracefully, but skipping over that bit of song, instead of just freezing? I have had a number of other players, and I have never had this problem with the music before. They all seem to be able to handle any corruption that your player seems to freeze on. (I am not convinced the music is corrupt still, but am assuming it for this argument). Can you please advise whichever team is responsible for the firmware releases that I have a problem that is repeatable, and even if the music is corrupt, do you really want to be the only player on the market that actually freezes when trying to play it, instead of playing through like all your competitors (who will soon be getting my business if this defect isn't at least acknowledged, good grief!).