NWZ E-345 Pix & Vid Issue

[shutterbug98]

I've had TWO new players in the last three days. They load & play my music files just fine, but it refuses to list or play my properly formatted pix or video files. The only ones that WILL play are the samples that came preloaded on the player. My files load & play JUST FINE on my old Sony Walkman 4GB .mp3/.mp4 player. Sony Tech Support was of NO help...the suggestions they offered to fix the problem, I had already thought of & tried, to no avail. You would think that SOMEONE on the planet would have had this problem with the NWZ E-345 & Sony would have an EXACT solution. Other than the problems I'm having with the pictures/movie files,I REALLY like this player & I WISH I didn't have to return it, but I CAN'T afford to eat $75. Has anyone on here either had or heard of this? What can I do to fix it?

[penguin155]

I also had trouble getting my video files to play on my E345. I had converted them to .wmv with a free video converter program, and transferred them to my player with drag & drop. No matter what size or speed I converted to, they would show up on the computer as being on my player, but not show up on my player after it was disconnected from my computer.

I finally got them to show up by syncing them with Windows Media Player, which I didn't use to transfer any other files, because I hate the folders it puts the songs into. I didn't load the video files into the WMP library, I simply dropped them into the WMP window after I had connected my player to the computer, and hit sync.

As far as what is written in the manual, you can't use as many different file formats on this player as on previous Sony models. It only can play .wmv videos.

I compared the picture quality of my A818 with my E345 while playing the same video, and the E345 picture is nowhere near as good as the A818.

[lestatar]

Folks: Getting videos to work on the Sony E/S series is a bit of a chore. The players require extremely specific format/encoding options. It can be done, but must be done exactly so.

Check out this thread and search for others for help/tips/suggestions:
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...ad.php?t=38907

good luck!
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[shutterbug98]

...I gave up!!! I returned the player (2nd one in a week) to the store, got a refund, & went on Amazon.com & ordered something else. This was REAL disappointing (and FRUSTRATING), because I usually have such good luck with SONY products. Let's hope I have a better experience with THIS one!!

Again, thanks to the group for all your help!!!

[lestatar]

Hey sorry to hear that, good luck with your next one...What did you get anyway?

[shutterbug98]

...Sandisk Sansa Vision 16GB. It is expandable with Micro SD cards.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by shutterbug98

...Sandisk Sansa Vision 16GB. It is expandable with Micro SD cards.

I hope you don't mean a Sansa View.....

[skip252]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I hope you don't mean a Sansa View.....

I think so. Is there another Sansa that is 16GB?

[lestatar]

I think so too...Unless a new species has been discovered! :-)

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by skip252

I think so. Is there another Sansa that is 16GB?

Yeah, you're right....lol. Well, I hope they like it better than all the people in the Sansa forums did.

[skip252]

Originally Posted by penguin155

I finally got them to show up by syncing them with Windows Media Player, which I didn't use to transfer any other files, because I hate the folders it puts the songs into. I didn't load the video files into the WMP library, I simply dropped them into the WMP window after I had connected my player to the computer, and hit sync.

Penguin155 I've verified for myself that your method works on the NWZ S639 but the the file formats WMP 11 will accept from me is extremely limited. Even most .wmv movies I've encoded with other software just fail to sync/convert in WMP 11 with no usable error message.

Then I tried some home movies I put on my Fuze with video4fuze. All of the .avi files I encoded with video4fuze synced over perfectly! Trying it with various formats has given me the same uniform level of success. I know that multiple transcodings deteriorate the final quality but the if I start with a high quality 640x480 file the results so far have been sharp and clear with perfect audio video sync. The .vob files that I've tried were eye popping.

I've confirmed for this video4fuze to WMP 11 combo works on the S639. Can someone with a e345 check to see if it works on that player also? If this works we have a first time poster to thank for an easy drag and drop solution to the e345's notorious pickiness in video file formats.

[lestatar]

Hey, I am willing to give this a shot over the weekend some time... :-)

What exact steps should I follow so I accurately reproduce the test? [But please do not tell me I have to install/upgrade to WMP11 - sorry, but that will be a deal breaker for me...]

:-D

[skip252]

Hey, If wouldn't ask my worst enemy to actually install WMP! But since you've all ready have it available...

Just convert a video with vide4fuze. Anthing will probably work. I've been having fun dropping in .mkv, .mpg, .flv, .avi, .mp4. and about half dozen more various containers and formats. v4f has just grabbed any and all of them and turned them into Fuze compatible .avi's.

Then I just followed penguin155's instructions. Connect the player, open WMP and open the sync window. Drag and drop into the Sync List pane and hit sync. If WMP is going to accept the file it'll covert and sync automatically.

What I've found is that files converted to Windows Media Video 9/WMV3 play on the e639. What I'd like to know is will they also play on the e345. I suspect since you've got the MTP Porting Kit WMP will have the appropriate codecs available to convert to that format.

There's probably dozens of other converters that will create files that WMP will accept to sync onto the Sonys. I just like the economy of having a do-it-all app that I can turn to if I want to get videos on my players.

[lestatar]

Alright, just cause you asked so nicely skip252...not to mention I owe you a ton for all the help! :-)

Actually, i will prolly do this test twice on 2 different E345, mine and mom's [if i can get to it] and on 2 different machines [yeah, overkill], XP SP2 and XP Media Center Edition. The MCE one does not have MTP Porting Kit installed but does have a recent WMP11 already on it. Of course, my own SP2 boxes do not have upgraded WMP but all have MTP porting kit.

Confusing, ain't it? lol

I think I am straight on the process tho...Will do it and report back here.

cheers!
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[shutterbug98]

...Sansa View. Why? What is the problem with it? I looked at the customer reviews when I bought the SONY NWZ E-345 Walkman and they were GLOWING!!! And you can see from my previous posts how well THAT turned out. The reviews for the Sansa View were a bit mixed, but I've had other Sandisk .mp3 players in the past & Ive liked them. The thing that I liked MOST about them is that you could REPLACE the battery (a single AAA). I have one in the bag I use for my semi-yearly trips to the hospital (I'd rather not get it stolen, but it was CHEAP,so...)

[skip252]

If you take a look here you'll see a fairly long string of "It's Busted" posts and very few fixes. The list over on the Sansa forums is much longer.

Sansa hasn't issued a firmware update in over 2 years. It's pretty obvious they've abandoned support for the View even though they still sell them new. While I've heard high praise for them if the manufacturer isn't supporting their product it makes me think twice.

The View does have an impressive feature set. That won't do you any good if you can't fix it if one of it's bugs bites you and can't be fixed.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by shutterbug98

...Sansa View. Why? What is the problem with it? I looked at the customer reviews when I bought the SONY NWZ E-345 Walkman and they were GLOWING!!! And you can see from my previous posts how well THAT turned out. The reviews for the Sansa View were a bit mixed, but I've had other Sandisk .mp3 players in the past & Ive liked them. The thing that I liked MOST about them is that you could REPLACE the battery (a single AAA). I have one in the bag I use for my semi-yearly trips to the hospital (I'd rather not get it stolen, but it was CHEAP,so...)

You weren't happy with the E345 because you couldn't get pictures and videos to work with it, as I recall. Well, to be honest, a lot of people wouldn't even bother with those features on a player with a 2" screen. As a music player, the E345 is really nice....I use mine a lot.

You ask, what is the problem with the View....well, it's basically an abandoned, outdated player. SanDisk stopped updating the firmware and such over two years ago, when it had already been on the market for a while, despite and endless chorus of complaints on the SanDisk View forum about buggy firmwares.

Maybe for your needs, wanting to view pictures and videos, it will work well for you...but you should research the different firmware issues out there.http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board?board.id=view
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum...splay.php?f=74

[lestatar]

shutterbug98: Please, no one is attacking you for selecting the View - really hope you don't feel that way. The folks here are trying to educate you a bit based on experience.

I also agree with Martian and skip252 - it sucks that you were unable to use the Sony E in the way you wanted to. But the truth is, the device itself serves its primary function most excellently and is, IMO, among the best players currently out, especially for the price/capacity/sound enhancements/form factor/fit and finish calculus.

The View indeed is an older device with of course older technology. I don't know much about it, but for sure, it is getting up there in age and seems to be not get getting any new updates/support from Sandisk. Also, reports from View owners here on ABi and elsewhere are kind of a mixed bag...

Hopefully you will find the View better for your purposes.

However, if pics/videos are a huge priority for you, you may simply need to purchase a more expensive device [like an Archos, Cowon, ZuneHD or even iPod-type] to fill your needs.

For me [and I think for many others as well] watching videos on screens as small as on the Sony E and other similar devices [where video is really a secondary feature] is a non-starter and is nothing more than an amusing, but useless feature.

In any event, good luck and hope you are satisfied and happy! :-)
-lestatar