Sansa Clip+ feature request / bug fix list

[dfkt]

• Gapless playback: it's even mentioned in the manual, but the Clip+ doesn't play gapless. I managed to achieve gapless playback with a few FLAC files (not all), but no Vorbis or LAME MP3 files. Make the Clip+ gapless for all formats.
• Volume level/scale: same as the old Clip v1, the volume levels are too loud on the lowest setting (especially the FM radio, which is insanely loud on vol. 1), and the whole volume scale isn't very well weighted.
• Remove the SlotMusic "menu": I paid for the Clip+, and I don't need that obnoxious advertisement in the menu. Get rid of that useless spam when no SlotMusic card is inserted.
• Pan/balance: Many people (including me) don't hear equally loud on both ears. Pan/balance would be highly appreciated - for me it's the 2nd most important (and basic) setting after the volume control.
• Folder advance in folder browsing mode: The Clip+ only plays the chosen folder and doesn't advance to the next. It either loops the current folder or stops after the last track. There should be an option to make it play the next folder.

Feel free to add your suggestions to this list. Of course, it would also be nice to see the requests for the old Clip implemented in the Clip+ as well.

[CrowdAds]

[JK98]

Why don't you post this there?

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/boar...uresuggestions

[boechat]

Scrobblings!

I only need this o Clip+.. If so, i buy one right now

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by JK98

Why don't you post this there?

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/boar...uresuggestions

Because they read our forums.

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by JK98

Why don't you post this there?

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/boar...uresuggestions

Because some people (like me) don't visit the Sansa forums.

Steve

[d_headshot]

These are pretty big ones(in terms of asthetics):


-Playback display would look a lot neater if it was "Song - Album" with a space between the dash and the tags instead of the current "Song-Album".

-Fixing the track tag problem from "xx" to "x/x". When going to the track info menu, I hate seeing my track tags saying something like "18" rather than the proper tag which is supposed to be "1/8".

-Folder browsing and track info menus should be moved up higher on the lists.

-Adding more track info such as Year, Composer, Publisher, etc.

[defaultluser]

Gapless playback

: it's even mentioned in the manual, but the Clip+ doesn't play gapless. I managed to achieve gapless playback with a few FLAC files (not all), but no Vorbis or LAME MP3 files. Make the Clip+ gapless for all formats - Rockbox can do it, and so should the stock firmware.

I think you made a mistake here. I've been using gapless OGG Vorbis files on my Clip+ with zero issues. The gapless playback of Vorbis is perfect.

I'm using CDex 1.70beta2 with the default aoTuV codec. And yes, I've listened to this dozens of times, it absolutely works.

Just a smattering of the albums I've tested with Vorbis gapless:

The Wall
Dark Side
Losing Streak
Time
Eldorado
On The Third Day
The Police: Live!
12 Gardens
Lake Trout Live at 8x10

This list above spans almost every musical genre, and includes studio concept albums and live recordings. I've listened critically for every gap with my Maudio AV40s and also my MS-1 headphones, and I can detect nothing. The playback sounds like the CD in every case.

LAME mp3, on the other hand, is not gapless (but damn well should be). But I say, please get your requests straight, and take Vorbis off the list.

[defaultluser]

Now that I have had my say about gapless, I would like to add two requests to your list:

Universal file visibility for playlists

Can they add a way to make all files on the device visible to a single m3u playlist? The way the files are segregated now, it breaks the m3u playlist system, because you can't make a playlist filled with files from both the external memory and internal memory.

This could be accomplished by mapping the external music to a folder in the internal memory hierarchy, like they already do when you use the player in MTP mode.

e.g.:

\MUSIC\External_Music

Alphabetical scrolling through artists/albums/folders using the R key.

From what I remember (do not have the player on me this instant), the right key does nothing while browsing folders/artists/albums, since you have to select using the center key. An alphabetical scroll, even unidirectional, would save me a lot of time searching my 3500 song library.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by defaultluser

I think you made a mistake here.

I tried aoTuV and Lancer encoded tracks on my Clip+ and they weren't gapless. None of them. They had no gaps between tracks, but they had audible clicks/pops. They were encoded from FLAC and FLAC/CUE sources. They play perfectly gapless on the S9, Rockbox, Winamp, etc.

Since there is such discrepancy between our two gapless experiences, it is safe to say there is something wrong with gapless on the Clip+. Not to mention I only tested Vorbis - but I really use LAME for everything and would prefer this one to be gapless.

[defaultluser]

Originally Posted by dfkt

I tried aoTuV and Lancer encoded tracks on my Clip+ and they weren't gapless. None of them. They had no gaps between tracks, but they had audible clicks/pops. They were encoded from FLAC and FLAC/CUE sources. They play perfectly gapless on the S9, Rockbox, Winamp, etc.

Since there is such discrepancy between our two gapless experiences, it is safe to say there is something wrong with gapless on the Clip+. Not to mention I only tested Vorbis - but I really use LAME for everything and would prefer this one to be gapless.

Can you try ripping a Vorbis test set direct from the CD? All my tests were ripped direct from the CD using CDex.

It is remotely possible that your path from CD->FLAC->Vorbis introduced some unwanted extra data in your file that caused the Clip+ to choke (yeah, I know, I'm not buying it either, but there could be a bug in your conversion path that only the Clip+ is tripping over). Try and replicate my process exactly and see if that doesn't work.

[dfkt]

The tracks I tried play perfectly gapless on any other player, hardware or software - since they don't work on the Clip+, there's something wrong with the Clip+, not my tracks.

[defaultluser]

Originally Posted by dfkt

The tracks I tried play perfectly gapless on any other player, hardware or software - since they don't work on the Clip+, there's something wrong with the Clip+, not my tracks.

...Or it could be something wrong with your player in particular.

I know a way we can settle this. You can PM me your email address, and I can send you an album subset that I know plays back %100 gapless.

Or, you could send me something you've encoded, and I can see if there's a difference. If you have any of the albums I listed above, that would be perfect, since I can compare them side-by-side with my existing OGG rips. But I suppose anything will work.

I'd be happy to record the playback so you can hear that it is gapless on my player.

[Mikerman]

Originally Posted by defaultluser

Now that I have had my say about gapless, I would like to add two requests to your list:

Alphabetical scrolling through artists/albums/folders using the R key.

From what I remember (do not have the player on me this instant), the right key does nothing while browsing folders/artists/albums, since you have to select using the center key. An alphabetical scroll, even unidirectional, would save me a lot of time searching my 3500 song library.

Very good thought and suggestion!

[defaultluser]

DFKT:

After thorough analysis of my gapless tracks tonight, I have to say that you are right - there is a small noise at the end of SOME of my OGG tracks. The reason I did not hear it before is because it is very quiet, so you'll only catch it in non-pop, studio recordings.


For example, I can't hear it to save my life on any of my live albums. I also can't hear it on any of my pop gapless albums (ELO, Joe Jackson, etc). But after careful scrutiny, I heard it in a couple of places on quieter concept albums like Dark Side, The Wall and The Thomas Tracks, and also the Happyman to 9th At Pine transition on Losing Streak.

It's not bad enough to make me upset, you really can't hear it unless you're listening for it. But I will agree, the slight noise is there, and it is noticable between some tracks.

[ultrauber]

Though I made a separate thread for this, a bug: the bottom few pixels of the yellow titles are a bit scrambled, though the battery indicator is fine.

GAPLESS FOR LAME MP3 - I got really excited about this but I can still hear a tiny break in the cheering on live albums. Unless this is just loading/buffering time...

More choices for what a long select does - now we have "Add to Go List" and "Rate Song." Should be able to choose EQ, Song info, etc.

Pan/balance - I might not use it but tons of people would. Besides, I don't think this is hard to implement.

Better equalizer - the current one sucks. At least use a few lines to mark the +/-dB values. 7-band or even stereo (separate settings for right and left) would be nice.

A filler mSD - ship new players with a plastic microSD in the slot to block dust for those who won't use the slot.

Rockbox would add almost all of this except the 7-band/stereo EQ.

[a_tumiwa]

does the battery depleted itself when you are not used it for 3-5 days??

[Mikerman]

No.

[boechat]

nobody interested in scrobblings? dang!

oh, rockbox, come quick

[Dreamnine]

A minor bug I noticed w/ the battery icon showing it charging when it's full. That's the only one though.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by a_tumiwa

does the battery depleted itself when you are not used it for 3-5 days??

This seems to be a hardware/battery flaw of some old Sansas. I have one that depletes itself within days, and another one that works fine. This is not the standard with Clip v1/v2's... If your Clip+ does that, just RMA it and get a new one.

Originally Posted by boechat

nobody interested in scrobblings? dang!

oh, rockbox, come quick

I'm very interested in scrobbling, and I mentioned that already in the feature request list of the old Clip (linked in the first post of this thread). But it seems that the way Sandisk implemented MTP on this player doesn't store track counts, so it doesn't work with Zenses - and MSC scrobbling would need a text-write mechanism similar to Rockbox anyways.

So yeah, same as you, I can't wait for Rockbox to work on the Clip+. Not just because of scrobbling, but dozens of other features we will never get from Sandisk as well.