Playlists

[Slydini]

Can the Zen:

• Add the same song on multiple playlists?
• Remove songs from a playlist without deleting them from the player?
• Add more songs to playlists that have already been named and saved?
• Create long playlists? (Samsung T10/P2 maxes out at 200)

Thanks in advance...

[CrowdAds]

[ZenChick]

1. Yes.
2. Yes
3. Yes. Just resave, and confirm that you do want to overwrite the existing playlist.
4. Good question. I have playlists on my ZVM that exceed 500 tracks; I have no reason to believe the Zen would be any different.

[Slydini]

Thanks for the fast reply ZenChick...

It's nice to see you back! You're actually the one who opened my eyes to the advantages of the MTP protocol (I read your posts on the MTP vs UMS:The Great Debate thread). If you get a chance, could you take a look at this thread?

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...ad.php?t=20389

Thanks!

Sly

[guitareth]

I just got my Zen 16GB from Amazon UK and have some questions before I start syncing!

TRANSFERRING PLAYLISTS & ASSOCIATED SONGS:

1. Can I transfer music playlists from my PC?
2. I have playlists saved in wpl format and m3u format. Which formats are compatible with the Zen?
3. If I transfer a playlist, does it automatically transfer all the songs associated with that playlist from my PC to the Zen?
4. Which program do most people prefer/recommend for ease in doing the above? (I also have the free version of MediaMonkey installed)
   
   ALBUM ART:
   I have lots of mp3's on my PC most of which are tagged, but I have not previously saved much album art.
5. Is there an easy method (or online resource) that I can use to easily find the correct album art to associate with all the songs I already have saved on my PC?
6. Is there any way to "bulk" process this task to save time?
7. When I get album art, where should it be stored on my PC to correctly associate it with each album when transferred to my Zen?

That's about it for now

[ZenChick]

1. Yes
2. Neither. It is up to whatever sync-management software you use to import your playlists and create the appropriate records in your Zen. Nearly all media managers understand .m3u. Many support .wpl, but it's best to use WMP.
3. Yes, as long as the sync-management software can find the song. If the song already exists on your player, it will not be recopied.
4. I use and swear by WMP11. It can be a bit clunky, but it works, and it works well. But whichever you choose, take note of two things: 1 - Do not install Creative's software unless you specifically intend to use MediaSource or Media Explorer as your primary sync manager; and 2 - Once you choose a sync manager, stick with it. Using more than one sync manager without completely clearing your player first will result in lots of file duplicates on your player.
5. WMP11 handles album art reasonably well. By what I hear, so does MM.
6. None that I'm aware of.
7. This depends on what you use as your sync manager. However, for ultimate compatibility with everything that understands ID3v2, you should embed the image as part of the ID3 tag.

[guitareth]

Thanks for the suggestions. In the end I sourced missing album art and changed many tags using a trial version of Tag&Rename which I found to be excellent. Then followed ZenChick's advice to sync using WMP. All went really smoothly thanks

[Almoxil]

If you want a great free (not trial) MP3 tagging program, you can check either MP3Tag or MediaTagger.

[xjjjay]

mediamonkey handles all of my tagging. You should really give it a try; i downloaded it for tagging my songs but ended up using it to manage my music library. Mediamonkey also levels your track volumes and other neat things.

[RisingEvil]

Can you and how do you sync with MediaMonkey?

[ZenChick]

I feel I need to point something out real quick: MTP-based players do not handle being managed by more than one sync manager well. Before changing to another sync manager such as Media Monkey, you should completely reformat your player first. Ensure you have copies of all your media somewhere on your PC first.

[Uberadri]

Is it possible to synchronize playlists to the ZEN? Like having them appear in Music -> Playlists on the ZEN? I know you can make playlists with ZEN Media Explorer, but my goal is to sync Auto Playlists from MediaMonkey regulary to the player. If that's not possible can you at least convert/transfer m3u playlists?

[agarig]

I don't use MM but the Zen definitely syncs playlists w/ WMP11. I would bet that w/ MM3 it works fine. Let us know how that works!

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by Uberadri

Is it possible to synchronize playlists to the ZEN? Like having them appear in Music -> Playlists on the ZEN? I know you can make playlists with ZEN Media Explorer, but my goal is to sync Auto Playlists from MediaMonkey regulary to the player. If that's not possible can you at least convert/transfer m3u playlists?

I have transfered the m3u playlists with Creatives syncing software before and currently use WMP11 to do it.

[oskar]

No problem. In MM device sync profile just go to the device config tab and tick the "Copy Playlists" box.

The default location (\playlists\) works fine.

[LordJezo]

Is there a way to make a playlist that has nothing to do with the song that is currently playing?

Say I have a album on but in the background I want to make some sort of dynamic playlist of other songs. Is there a way to do this or is the only option the "Add to Current" which will stick songs at the end of the current album that is playing?

[ZenChick]

Unfortunately, no. Playlists have to be constructed in the Now Playing queue before they can be saved.

[LordJezo]

Is there a way to start one off with a single song or is the only option to put in the whole album at a time and remove tracks later?

[ZenChick]

Okay, I think I understand what you're talking about.

While in Now Playing, press the Options button (whatever the Zen's equivalent to that is), and select "Remove All". This will clear the Now Playing queue.

Next, navigate to the first track you want in your playlist. Instead of selecting it to play, press the Options button and select "Add to selected". Do this for every individual track you want added to the list.

Hope that helps!

[BobbyRS]

Creative's software does this. So does WMP11.

[BobbyRS]

Creative Sync Manager. If you select to do a sync, it is an option you can select or not to have synced. Just make sure your playlists are within the same Audio folder path as your music files are set to sync to.