Zen Vision:M questions before purch

Firstly, thanks in advance for all your time and feedback.
I am in the market for a new MP3 player. I want a hard dri've based one and have been looking at the Creative line. I've owned an iRi'ver iH-40 that I really liked, till it died (pre-color screen model). I've also had a 60GB iPod, but I absolutely hate iTunes and do not like being forced to use a proprietary program to manage my music.
I really like WinAmp and Media Monkey. I want a player that will just plug-n-play with Windows XP and I can use these applications or plain old Windows Explorer to move files. I wouldn't mind if it acted as an additional hard dri've as well, but not a requirement. The device MUST also support M3U playlists.
I've been looking at the Creative line, specifically the new Creative Zen Vision:M. Does the Vison:M support the things I am wanting as listed above?
Should I consider any other model from Creative?
Thanks!

Hey,
Well there is a new firmware called Play For Sure which allows some interaction with Explorer with dragging and dropping, though alot of things need to be implemented like copy and paste, and being able to drag and drop files once copied to the device.
So it isnt as easy or fast as I'd like to copy tracks, though it allows implementation with Windows Media Player for fast copying to the device.
So you can use the drag and drop tool (without having to install creative software) but make sure before dragging files, to have all the ID data of mp3 tracks already set up so it can be just a straight copy.
If you wanted to change data like ID3 tracks once on the player, you'd need to use the Creative Software I'm afraid.
M3U
I'm not too sure on this, but I think Creative uses its own playlist format created within the player or using the software.
DATA:
It can carry data as well, as you can format the dri've to be used for data which will appear as a standard USB disc allowing full Explorer menus to copy data on. This won't be seen on the player itself though, including pictures and photos.
Its a great player though, and once you have the music on the device, its just fantastic to listen to, and a load of features to boot.
I'd go for it if I werre you, as its definitely the best player out there today.Message Edited by flame on 02-0-2006 09:4 PM

Similar Messages

Creative Zen Vision M question!

Creative Zen Vision M question!?Hey guys, I'm not from US but I hope you will understand my english anyway .
So here's my question:
Is there any legal way to get one of "creative zen vison m" players? I prefer new products... 60gb would be awesome..
Since Im fed up with Apple and got already n Touch i simply want a player with a good capacity and just to listen to music... and i pretty much liked the creative zen vision m player... more than any new product from creative... all of em are more like multimedia and not "classy"....
Furthermore I just find the product over google at customers site... if i browse all mp3players from creative I cant find the product i want.... It would be awesome if anyone knows a way to get a new one of these... and it would be kickass if it could get delieverd to EU/Austria
At the end, thx for all the upcoming posts n answers and a picture of the desired product:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://img.tomshardware.com/de/2006/02/06/zen_vision_m_creative_antwort_auf_den_ipod/vision02.jpg"]http://img.tomshardware.com/de/2006/02/06/zen_vision_m_creative_antwort_auf_den_ipod/vision02.jpg[/url]

really? :/ I dont like ebay and would prefer a new product... is there no other solution? Like writing to the customers and make out a good price for em to get a new of zen vision m?
Otherwise, i know it doesnt fit here, but does any knows an "classy" player with about 30-60gig... like ipod classic, just for music n maybe photos... I dont need any multimedia .. got touch already...
If anyone knows a good one which looks nice post here, would be awesome
(I hope asking for other brands is allowed :S, otherwise sorry)

60GB Zen Vision M question

I am a little confused... You have a product that has won SEVERAL awards, an incredibly?popular product for your company, quite possibly the product to SAVE your company in the ipod battle, yet you unveil a newer 60GB version with hardly NO advertising, other than a mention on your site as being now available. No way to buy it from Creative, no mention of accessories... nothing! What gives? Ipod is winning the battle on advertising alone. It is certainly not because they have the superior product! I just bought a new 60GB Zen Vision M and LOVE IT! But I would also love to have a more convienent way to protect it other than the included pouch? This product has been available for a couple of months now but hardly anybody even knows it exists! I would have bought the 30 GB version last week if I didn't do some serious reseach and it amazed me that this has been such a quiiet launch! I hope a case comes out soon and a more aggressi've advertising campaign follows because your products certainly deserve them, they are incredible! This will be my third (I owned a Touch, and a sleek) and hope that my buisness will remain with Creative, but get on the ball people. The holidays are right around the corner! Don't blow it! And roll out a skin or a case to fit this badboy! Peace!

Yes there is a select music menu, but you can'nt rearrange the order of the tracks.
You can create a playlist in the order you want using another method.

Odd Zen vision m question: double track list

i recently got a zen vision m and love it. i've had this odd issue crop up twice now and i'm not sure how to take care of it.
all of the files in my music albums are being listed twice, but there is only one copy of the media on the player. i'm not sure if this is being caused by using the windows media player sync option or what.
any advice?
thanks ahead of time

Even when I go to the album and hit the play button it still doesn't play them in order. The strange thing is in the upper left corner while it plays it has numbers like /2, 2/2, etc. so it knows the order the songs came on the album it just doesn't want to play them that way for some reason. So is there a way to tell it to play them in order by those numbers?
Also, does anyone else find the touch pad maddening to use? I think I just accidentally bought some music I didn't want because I was having trouble controlling the touch pad.

Plugged my Zen Vision W in before installing the software.Now its stuck in docked mo

Okay, I know it was a stupid mistake, but I somehow missed the part in the directions that said NOT to plug in the Zen before installing. I plugged it in during installation, which I've always done with my other creative mp3 players. Big mistake. Now it's stuck in docked mode AND won't turn off. My computer also won't recognize the player. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

whoo
ps.
.. I forgot to put this stuff in: . What you have tried so far to solve the problem.Reinstalling the software and rebooting. If this is related to software or connection issues, state the software you are using, version, and the version of Windows. Windows XP. But I don't know if it's connection or not.

Creative Zen Vision: M question - Deleting fil

I had 923 files on my MP3 player, I wanted to add another 200 files. I had to delete all files in the MP3 player in the settings and information option and transfer 223 files again. I had to format the player in the tools option.
I realise that all the pictures and songs that came with the Zen has been deleted, is there anyway to get it back? and is there any other ways to delete all the files? Not that it matters now.
Thanks

the easiest way to delete all the files on the player is to go into the recovery menu and do "format"
Why did you have to add the 200 songs like that? Why not just copy them over? or sync them over or whatever?Message Edited by zenwerewolf on 07-03-200705:0 PM

Audigy 2 NX question before purchas

I'm looking to buy the Audigy 2 NX for my laptop. But I also plan to use it with my Shuttle XPC. It has a built-in audio card with an optical out port. If I have both the USB2.0 and optical cables connected, which cable will the NX get it's audio signal from if I'm watching a DVD?

Eelw,
The Audigy 2 NX will be able to process the DVD information over the USB cable if you are playing the DVD on your system. The optical connection will be unnecessary.
Jeremy

Creative Zen Vision M 60GB Questions-Future Ow

Hi, Well I used to have a 4th Generation iPod and recently it crapped out on me and now with the new and "improved" iTunes 7 I have decided to never go to Apple again.
Now the only thing on my mind is the ZVM, With its capabilities to play many types of video codecs makes it far more easy for me so I dont have to do a whole lot of conversions compared to if I were to get a iPod 5th generation.
I was thinking that I would get pretty close to filling the 30GB up to the max if I got lazy about trying to keep things in order so I looked at the next best thing, the 60GB. Now for the questions, The only reliable place I have found that sell the 60GB is Newegg.com, but they sell it for 275, barely 25-35 more than some other stores that sell the 30GB(Newegg is selling the 30GB for 249), 30 bucks more for double storage?!? Instincts are telling me that it sounds too good to be true. How much bigger in dimensions is the 60GB compared to the 30GB? On neweggs site the dimensions seem suspicious because not just the width is bigger but all the dimensions are bigger on the 60GB, Is that correct? Can someone tell me the correct dimensions? Now lets say I do get it, can anyone name a really popular/good case for the 60GB and possible where I could buy it's
Thanks in advance.

Well, to answer your question, I just bought the new 60GB Zen Vision M from newegg.com after comparing many sites it is in fact the cheapest. I could hardly believe my eyes too at first, but new that they are a reputible store and decided to go for it. The specifications they have are indeed correct. The new 60GB Zen Vision M is slightly thicker than the 30GB model, but not as drastic as everyone (especially all the ipod fanboys) are claiming! I actually don't mind it at all because it feels sturdy and is still small enough to fit into a shirtpockrt. Unfortunatley though, as of yet, there are no cases available to fit this slightly bigger unit. I hope Creative gets on the ball soon and fixes this by the holidays because I would hate to have my brand new expensi've investment get all dingy looking so soon. Oh well, at least I still have the UGLY pouch it comes with. But this is the coolest machine I have ever had the pleasure of owning so far, I have downloded over 300 cd's from my collection and 5 movies (in several formats) flawlessly and still have almost 38 GB left!!! This machine is worth every penny and at 30$ cheaper than the 30GB price (at the time it was rolled out, and not much more than what it is going for now) it is a no brainer! The people who complain about creative devices being "bricks" are probably the same people who have phones that are the size of sticks of gum! You can keep your inferior Ipods, I will enjoy my better screen, more features, and cheaper price and laugh at the people who get sold on the ipod fad...

Some questions about creative zen vision m?????????????

hi, i just have a few questions about the creative zen vision m
) what transmitter should i by if i want to listen to my music through the radio?
2)can the creative zen vision m play music videos and home videos?
3)can anyone suggest any completey safe music stores i can use to get my music.(last time i downloded a music place to get my music from called share it almost destoyed my comp.
4) if not would i be able to burn my songs from itunes and use the c.d. to put them on my creative?
thank you so much i'v looked all over the internet and i could't hide any answers.

. There are MANY transmitters out there. I recommend searching back for past threads with recommendations.
2. Yes, if they are in a suitable format.
3. I already gave you a link in a previous question to a thread all about this. Please don't post duplicate questions.
4. With iTunes you either need to burn the tracks to a CDRW, then convert to MP3/WMA, or use a program like JHymn to convert (Google JHymn).

Question for an owner of Zen Vision

I'm considering buying one and I like most of the things I've read. It's now between the iPod Video and Vision M. But I have an iRi'ver and there's a major problem with the random function. It will only play from about 200 songs, all with titles at the beginning of the alphabet, because I have a lot of music. I need a player that will select randomly from ALL of my songs. Can the Vision M do this? I'm pretty sure the iPod can.

everything they said is right, the player is awesome.............
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT
the vision m has been having some serious (and i do mean serious) reliability issues...tons and tons of failing units (known as the black screen of death somewhere around here) problem that neither CL nor the users have been able to solve. One day you are a happy camper with it and the next day BAM! the player is completely dead and the only solution there exists is to change it for a new one (RMA'ing it). To prove it you can just search within this forums or search in google for: zen vision m freezes or zen vision m freees booting and you will find some links directing here with topics of people who have had the same problem as me...a DEAD zen vision m...
hope i didnt spoiled the idea of getting one
greetings

Ok. quick and easy question about my Zen Vision

i'm thinking that my zen can no longer have anything added to it, although there is about 5 gbs worth of space left. it sucks has sucked for a while, but i'm trying to get over it.
my brother noticed that in the bottom of it, the part where it connects so you can make transfers and stuff, is bent. i tried unbending it but that didn't work.
and when i connect it to my comp, it says "overload" and my comp freezes for a bit.
so that's a sign to get another mp3 player right? it's a shame that this happened. he thinks i was too rough with it.
i admit that i have spent some time pushing it in when it wasn't properly fitting. but i didn't "see" it then. now looking back, i kinda laugh.
btw, there are no shops around here to repair the bend to the best of my knowledge..actually, maybe Weiss Hardware...just maybe.

Yes. LOL You word it so much nicer!
lol...
if customer support actually does help, for a nice price, you will be -my new saviour-!
(My music is literally my life.)
OK. I checked there. They have an option of support (while the warranty is still good) and another option (that's non-technical).
I got my first Zen Vision (30 GB) March 2007. Then a replacement (this one) in May 2007. Is it still covered? I have my doubts. :P?

MediaSource Recognition Problem? (Zen Vision:

OK, I had a Zen 20GB for the last year and I loved it to bits. Worked great, but just before Christmas it fell in some water and died . I replaced it with a 60GB Zen Vision:M and didn't mind too much because I had less than GB of space left and would have had to replace it soon anyway.
Now onto my question. With my Zen 20GB when I used Media Source (I think v.3 came with it but I can't remember) it would let me search my Zen and edit tracks in it. The search function was IMO fantastic, especially with a music collection as large as mine. Now when I connect my ZV:M it connects fine. I've transferred plenty of music without bother using Windows Media Player.
However, when I open Media Source (both v.3 and v.5) it doesn't give me any option to explore my Zen like it did when I had my 20GB. I can still explore it using the Zen Explorer, but since this doesn't let you edit the properties for several tracks at a time I find it very frustrating.
Also, if I chose to "Transfer Music", "Transfer Playlist" or "Sync Music" in Media Source I get the message "No Creative mp3 player is detected. Please connect your mp3 player and try again."
Now, I know it's connected since I can explore the contents fine in Zen Explorer and I can transfer to it using WMP. Is there something I haven't installed correctly that is stopping Media Source from recognising my player? It just seems strange since it seems to be the only application not working for it.
Thanks for the help (and sorry if this has been covered else where. I searched but couldn't find anything).

You must also download and install the corresponding MediaSource plugin for your MP3 player in order for MediaSource 5 to detect your MP3 player.

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!

Zen Vision M 30GB & Playdock Z

After my IRIVER 6GB H0 died during a firmware upgrade I decided to look to the market for its replacement. I wanted more memory & to buy from a company that (in my view) put effort & resourses into after sales as well as new sales. Didn't fancy IPOD - due to (what I consider to be) restricti've practices. So after a bit of research creative seemed a natural contender - in fact the only one that seemed to offer IPOD-like-specificaction for the price. I've had the Zen Vision M for about a month - all I have to say is that it is brilliant:
Reliable<
Fantastic sound - for a condensed music format<
I prefer the chunky case - makes it more durable & harder to loose<
Works brilliantly in the car stereos - thanks to the much higher output volume than the IRIVER<
Mine is black. I've had no trouble with scratching - although i did buy the Creative leather case on the day I got the player & I never leave it 'naked' in my pocket<
I've so far put about 00 albums, 500 photos & 50 videos (from my digital camera) on it & am only scratching the surface of the memory capacity<
I find the?controls much better than the IPOD wheel (one of my kids has got a Nano - which is very good also)<
The menu is completely intuiti've. I quite like picking a single artist or gendre that I might have several albums from, pressing play & letting play for a few hours!<
Dead easy to upgrade the (brilliant) software & firmware?- & I'm no techy. <
I thought that was as good as it was going to get. I was wrong. I managed to track down the Playdock Z500. This was a bit of a challenge - as they seemed to sold out everywhere on the internet (in the UK) & no shops seemed to have them. Near to London's Oxford Street is Tottenham Court Road, this seems to?be countries best place for electonic gizmos. There are about 30+ shops in a short stretch of road. Having been in and out of?about 0 of these, I struck?Lucky. After a quick 'barter' to agree the price?- as is the practice in the road, I left the shop a proud owner of the play dock.
What first struck me was the weight. This is not?a flimsy peice of kit. When I got it home & put it all together the results were fantastic. A few key points:
The speakers have a built in subwoofer round the back & a base knob that you can adjust. At a deafening full volume, apart from potentially upsetting the neighbours, the house was filled with sound there was no distortion. For a small system this certainly?'punches well above its weight'.<
The Z500 has a video out, so I can see the pictures, videos & even the menu?from the Vision M on the television when the supplied cable is used. Picture quality much?better than I expected & very satisfactory.<
The remote control that comes with?the speaker is just excellent. Funily enough it is exactly the same moulding as the one used on my?fathers Bose system - & that cost ?900 ($500+?). Not only do you get on/off & volume - but enough buttons to navigate the whole Vison M menu - on your TV if the AV lead is plugged in!<
The?Playdock has a volume knob on the top - plus a 'wide sound' button, which really transforms the sound.<
The speakers on my PC are not vey good - so guess what? That's right, they ended up in the bin & the Playdoc doubles up for this as well!<
Not to mention, this is a very attracti've piece of 'furniture' too! It was on this basis that my wife forgave me buying both items without consultation!<
I've never written a 'review' about anything before. But I was so impressed that I felt I wanted to (I would have been just as quick to complain if I was unhappy).
I hope that someone else finds this posting helpful & find the devices as good as I have.
Pete /02/2007

I own the Zen Vision M 60gb & have just bought the Playdock Z500 which I agree sounds amazing .My question is regarding the remote control . I've managed to do most things on it but I was wondering if you knew how to jump to the A - Z listing down the right side of the screen in artist & track search menus ?On the player you normally would press the edge of the touchpad but on the remote I cant find a way of using the A - Z shortcuts & have to scroll down for what seems like ages!Hope somebody can offer some help?Thanks,?John?

Creative Zen Vision M (30gb) - Is it the end?

Hi all,
I've read a lot of posts and think the only way to find a possible solution to my problem is to just post it....
I've had my Creative Zen Vision M (30gb) for about?2.5 years, apart from crashing a few times, I've always loved it and would never go near Ipod!
Lately however it's done something, that it has done before which is to suddenly 'remove' about 2000 tracks, it would go funny, crash and reset a few times, recharge with the plug and it was fine again, the tracks 'reappeared'.
Now it seems when it happened this recent time, 3000 tracks went and I was left with about 000. So i tried formatting everything cause it just wouldn't rectify itself, then I chose to reload the firmware but everytime I tried to connect it to my laptop it would say my player wasn't connected.
I have recently baught a new laptop with Windows 7 and even without the software it detects it fine and I think I could just drag music over to it now. BUT - It only has 50mb of memory! Plsu MP3 Recovery Tool and online detection firmware thingy justy doesn't think my player is connected or says cannot update firmware on windows 7?
So my questions?are - how do i fix it's Is my memory fried, would it be worth getting out the old laptop? Where do i go if i want to repair it's Even if it detects it in XP, the software doesn't detect the player.
Can anyone shine any light here? Am I forced to buy another Creative product or do I jump ship?

If the XP computer has WMP installed it may not detect the player (the firmware file) It works best on XP /SP2 WMP0 installed. The issue with WMP is a sticky in the MP3 players forum.

Zen Vision:M questions before purch

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