Just bought the M1--few issues

[C-clamp]

Hi guys, I am in cananda and have had the M1 for a few months now. I think its a great device but i do have a few issues with it. I am running the 1.29 firmware on it. Here are my issues

-Trying to create a playlist on the device: It seems that i cannot create more than 5 playlists from the device itself. This is proving to be quite annoying.

-Transferring music. At first I was using media monkey to transfer songs, but then i realized there were tagging issues, so now i just use windows explorer and move folders. Is there better software out there to use?

-Transferring playlists.........can it be done? I have tried it before and the file copies, however the device doesn't recognize it.

Your input would be greatly appreciated guys

Thanks,

[meetooman]

Welcome to ABI C-clamp.
As many people I would ask you first how did you manage to get a beautiful Samsung player in Canada.

For your questions:

• You got 5 on-the-go playlists you should be happy as some devices do not allow any. Playlists are supposed to be easier to create using your computer.
• You have already used the favorites tools of most users MediaMonkey for the sync people, file manager for the drag'n'drop people. I doubt you will find much better.I like SongBird (heavy, slow but elegant). Winamp is also a good candidate. I also like Sony MediaGo too, but I only have tested it with a Sony mp3 player, I wonder if it became a Phone/PSP only software since...
  I think you should solve your tagging issues first, no transfer procedure will correct them.
• Media Monkey users will tell you how to transfer a PC playlist to a device.
  In MTP mode I doubt that it can be much harder than double-clicking on its name to open a contextual menu with this option.
  In MSC mode search for numerous threads with the keywords playlists, m3u, Cowon S9, Samsung P3, Cowon J3. I'm lost on that matter...

[C-clamp]

thanks for the reply.........i got the player off ebay, cost me about $350 CAN for the 32gb, which is comparable to the 32gb ipod so i thought it was a fair deal.

I'm a new to these forums so pardon me if i'm not familiar with some of the abbreviations, what is MTP mode and MSC?

I will give those other players a try. I did notice that playlist on the m1 have the .fav extension rather than the normal .m3u. I i just rename a playlist i made on my computer and rename it to .m3u, will that make it recognizable on the m1?

[meetooman]

Originally Posted by C-clamp

thanks for the reply.........i got the player off ebay, cost me about $350 CAN for the 32gb, which is comparable to the 32gb ipod so i thought it was a fair deal.

Well done, going to eBay is a too adventurous trip for me...

Originally Posted by C-clamp

I'm a new to these forums so pardon me if i'm not familiar with some of the abbreviations, what is MTP mode and MSC?

MSC is the USB Disk mode (like USB memory keys), MTP is another USB protocol derived from the USB PTP Camera protocol, but taylored for audio/video media transfer.
Using Windows in MSC mode your device will appear like a drive (with a letter like "E :\"). In MTP mode it will be visible like a multimedia device not a drive (and will be easier to unplug). MSC is the favorite mode for people who manage their music as file+directories, where MTP is more friendly for people who use media managers like Windows Media Player (WMP) to transfer music by tag informations (not by browsing files).

Originally Posted by C-clamp

I will give those other players a try. I did notice that playlist on the m1 have the .fav extension rather than the normal .m3u. I i just rename a playlist i made on my computer and rename it to .m3u, will that make it recognizable on the m1?

You certainly can add more MTP or m3u playlists to those 5 first. I believe that these playlists are special internal playlists, made to be filled on the player itself. But if you search the forum you will learn more about players that use "m3u" playlists in MSC mode and MTP "pla" playlists on MTP mode.
MTP playlists are recorded in the player memory, but are not editable-by-hand files, you create and send them to the player using a PC software. You seem to know m3u files that are simple text files.
On the forum you will see novel long threads on how to create m3u playlists for the Cowon J3 for example. Because it's difficult to figure out the file path the player will recognize (for music on the microSD card mostly).
I don't know if you could get the same issues with music on the M1 microSD card.

Most people hate MTP and don't use MTP playlists, so they don't realize how great they are because they use internal files IDs to find music. You don't struggle to point at a mp3 file. In MTP you say play the file whose ID is 45711. But that logic is transparent to the user who just select a song and click add to playlist on his PC.

I own a Samsung P3, it has no m3u playlist, no MTP playlist and also shows 5 default user lists on its menu. Don't be afraid, you can add many more playlists using your computer.

[lestatar]

@C-clamp: I cannot add more to meetooman's excellent rundown for you Except, I think I recall lebellium mentioning for other Samsung DAPs that there is a normal limit of 5 OTG playlists on their players....

Just wanted to say to meetooman that I remain a big fan of MTP playlists for my MTP devices, using Winamp. My playlist creation/management has been flawless for years.
I use MSC/true drag/drop as well, but for my older gear [and my newish Sony E345], MTP is the only way I roll So you ain't alone lol

cheers,
-les

[meetooman]

Lestatar you should you also join the Linux side of the Force, just for the pleasure to test my MTP software!

[lebellium]

Basically what you have to know about the playlists:
1) There are 5 OTG playlists. You can rename them directly on the M1 itself
2) You can add playlists from the PC (as many as you want) using EmoDio or WMP. As the M1 doesn't support m3u playlists, you'll have to convert them into the SPL format if you don't want to use EmoDio or WMP but rather a software like Winamp for instance. That's not so easy.
3) You cannot add songs from the microSD to a playlist.

[meetooman]

Thank you lebellium. I will follow your 3 points:

1. I never remember the OTG acronym for On-The-Go Playlist. For me OTG is always USB-OTG mainly.
2. Do you mean PLS playlists? I like this format, many use XML now, and XML is... uncomfortable.
3. Even in MTP mode? That's a pity.

[lebellium]

2) No, I really mean SPL playlists. There is an online converter here: http://www.magmagateau.com/_TOOLS/pmp/samsung/

3) Yes, whatever the PC connection mode (MSC or MTP) and whatever the kind of playlist (PC or OTG), you can't add songs from the microSD card to a playlist. That's due to the poor microSD integration.

[meetooman]

Never encountered SPL files before. That's something you must discover using Emodio. That's even not in the manual. This online converter is a very cool tool.
And my P3 use the same format too? I will try this, even if I intend to use the player in MTP mode.

I believe Emodio is discontinued. Are we supposed to use Kies the awful application that is also supposed to update Samsung phones now?

[lebellium]

Yes, the P3 use the same format and this online converter is made for the P3
But as all recent Samsung DAPs use the SPL format, the tool also work for all of them (including the M1)

EmoDio support is discontinued but this software will work as long as your P3 is alive so you're not obliged to use Kies. You're only obliged to use Kies with the new models that are not supported by EmoDio (TicToc, YP-RB, Q3, U6 etc)

[meetooman]

Thank you lebellium. I am always curious about media managers. I will give Emodio a try when possible, but I am always in trouble when I need to use a Windows machine...

[C-clamp]

Thanks for all your help guys, I will give that converter tool a try.