INTERACT FORUM

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Zen Vision M and syncing  (Read 1880 times)

oliverward

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Zen Vision M and syncing
« on: March 09, 2006, 02:42:17 am »

i am new to MC and was wondering if it's possible when syncing to manually to select the destination folder (visionm/music/..) on my Vision M (similarly with playlists) . i tried last night, admittedly it was an older build of MC11, and it didn't seem to have this option and the music ended up just sitting in an unamed folder on the player. also is it possible to sync a playlist and have it show up with out any issues (ie: no duplicated tracks in player library, and playlist listed under "playlists") ?
... i might like to point out also that when i did the sync, my player's library and MC's were identical bar one album, however it decided to randomly choose 85 other tracks to transfer over.
i will try again later when at home with the latest build, but in the meantime was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this for me.
Logged

Matt

  • Administrator
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 42027
  • Shoes gone again!
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2006, 10:16:16 am »

MC 11.1 gives full control over that paths used.

Upgrade.

Then check Options > Handheld > Files & Paths
Logged
Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

oliverward

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2006, 05:43:04 pm »

i've given it a try with 11.1 and no dice. The vision m doesn't appear as anything in the My Computer drop down. i tried using the paths anyway, and when MC sends over music it doesn't drop it in the music folder but in the Media folder where all the other folders (playlist, video, etc.) are found, and in doing so creates a separate Artist/Album folder heirachy for EVERY SONG. So a 12 song album will result in 12 folders, all with the same name sitting in the media directory. The tracks show up ok when using the vision m's menus, but having them sit like that within the drives folders would  be a complete nightmare for file managing. Also 11.1 only has the syncing options of "all library and playlists" or "all playlists". What's with software developer's obsessions with playlists? There needs to be an auto sync option for "all music library - no playlists" separate from the other options, as playlist transferral rarely works without issues on software that wasn't designed for a particular player in mind, and speaking for myself i'd rather have the cross-communication between player and software that auto syncing brings. Manual transfer is great for small capacity players, but for the larger ones manual transfer isn't an attractive option - i want the library's (playlists i can handle manually) to be identical and for that to be automatic.
Logged

brainsoup

  • Regular Member
  • World Citizen
  • ***
  • Posts: 151
  • Sexy! No No No...
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2006, 01:05:17 am »

If this is how MC has sent it across then this is probably how it needs to be. Don't worry though... to manage the files on you Zen you don't need to go to the My Computer dropdown! Go to Drives and Devices and then select your Zen. You should be able to see your tracks and filter them by artist/album...

I agree with the idea of Auto Syncing without playlists or just a few playlists... how about creating a Smartlist in media center that holds all the audio files and then selecting the option to sync just that smartlist. Granted it will appear on your player but it's just one!! My past experience of using MC for playlists has been very good... no problems with the lists at all - give it a whirl and you should be happy, most are.

Am thinking of buying a vision M myself... they are tumbling in price at the minute which is making them ever more tempting... whats your opinion? Any good? Is there a dynamic playlist option like that on the ipod? And is there a 'guess the tune' game like our apple friend? I really like these features!
Logged

oliverward

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2006, 01:41:46 am »

i'm extremely happy with the Vision M. having owned previously an ipod and then one of those disastrous Sony 6gb efforts, i can safely say the Vision M wins hands down without any doubt in my mind. it's a smooth classy device that s**ts on it's apple counterpart.
it's only failing is the packaged software. the creative software appears to be ok at first but quickly shows it's shortcomings, and i had nothing but trouble with WMP10. what works perfectly for me is Musicmatch for all my music library (it's the only one that changes the players library to match the softwares) syncing. if i make a playlist i export it to creative's software and then transfer. video is a drag and drop affair.
as far as MC is concerned, the Vision M doesn;t actually show up properly in the tree view. it's there but as a solid unit only, you can't browse within it. and i feel after sending close to 30gb worth of music down, it will slow the player's software/firmware down if it has to look somewhere else for the music. i havn't played too much with the playlist options (there are a few available on the player itself), but any decent media center software will have those options for you anyway.
but as i said, once you've found the software solution that works best for you, the Vision M could be the best mp3 player you've ever had. - and for the record anybody who complains about the controls is a dullard -  :D
Logged

goatherder

  • Galactic Citizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 261
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2006, 04:57:44 pm »

The ZVM is an MTP device so it won't appear in My Computer.

This is what it should look like.


Personally I feel that my iPod is still superior as a music player in both hardware (better screen, smaller, much better controls), software and the combination of the two and it's what I use with my CD rips, but I wanted Napster To Go. I'm also not sure the ZVM is superior to the Sony NW-A3000 / 1000 (which I have for dumping HiMD recordings onto)  although once again, these trail the iPod in usability... but not the ZVM I think.
Logged

oliverward

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2006, 10:26:33 pm »

what is it with you ipod users? i don't remember asking your opinion on how awesome you think your ipod is and personally i really don't care. somebody asked me what i thought of my own player, and i gave my opinion and based that opinion compared to other players that i have owned and used.  as far as saying the sony is superior to the VM? have you even used a VM? it doesn't sound like you have otherwise you would know how ridiculous a statement that is. i had one of those sony's, i took it back after 2 months and the guy at the sony shop didn't even question why - he just knew.

i personally would never trust the opinion of somebody who chose to have Scissors Sisters and Sevendust on their player.
Logged

goatherder

  • Galactic Citizen
  • ****
  • Posts: 261
Re: Zen Vision M and syncing
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2006, 05:51:05 am »

I was just commenting on the "it's a smooth classy device that s**ts on it's apple counterpart." bit. I have both, I use both and I think the iPod is definitely ahead when it comes to everyday usability. And the "guys at the sony shop" presuming you're in the UK wouldn't have just taken it back after two months, no matter what you've read.

The advantage of Napster To Go is that you can stick all sorts of crap on your player, check it out and throw it away when you're tired of it. It's my fourth(?) week of using the service and I love it. I'd never got around to hearing the Scissor Sisters despite the hype and decided to check them out finally now that I have NTG. Oh, and I like Sevendust. Especially Animosity.

As for me not having the ZVM, I've posted a picture with Zen Vision:M in great big letters and told you why it's not showing up under My Computer. It's not a UMS device, but MTP. In Media Center, it appears under Drives and Devices. The standard display is as you see, and playlists appear under the device itself in the tree view. To sync all files, you just go to the sync options and select All with no playlists ticked to just sync the files. I think it's safe to assume that I have one :D
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up