@skinjob wrote:
@itisonlyi wrote:
I do not have any copy protected material. So I suppose I should select the MSC mode. I am not clear on a couple of points though. Will my ID3 tags still be used? And do I have to Format the Clip?
Yes, tags will still be used (pretty much required). Once disconnected from your computer, there is basically no difference between MSC and MTP modes. All the features of the Clip work the same in either case. The difference is really in the options you have for getting content on the player. Basically MTP supports DRM, uses WMP-style pla playlists and requires tools that specifically support MTP. MSC mode does not support DRM, uses Winamp-style m3u playlists and allows pretty much any tool to be used.
You don’t have to format the player. The only issue is that files you added while in MTP mode will not be visible from your computer when the Clip is in MSC mode (and viceversa). So while you are still in Auto/MTP mode, you’ll want to move/delete all the files on the player. Then switch to MSC and copy everything back.
BTW, I’m with you on your opinion of WMP, it’s pretty heinous. I also prefer to stay as far away from proprietary MS (or Apple for that matter) stuff as possible and use more standard/open technologies. The excellent MSC support is one of the reasons I love the Clip & Fuze. They are among the few where the full features of the player are available in MSC mode. Many other manufactures are MTP only, or if they bother with MSC at all, it’s a crippled subset of the features (for example, many only support playlists in MTP mode). So thank you to Sandisk for that.
Message Edited by Skinjob on 05-28-2008 12:08 PM
Thank you so much for your excellent and complete response.
What a difference! Now my Clip behaves the way I originally expected it to.
A couple of remarks:
This topic (USB mode) is not even mentioned in the PDF user manual.
Now I know why my WInamp Playlists have never worked on the Clip!
And, for anyone about to make this change, a slight caution. My player froze when I first turned it on after copying my files back to it. I freaked out. I could not turn it off, or select any menu items. It finally turned itself off after about half an hour!
But all is well now. Thanks to your good advice.
And it is good to know I am not alone in my aversion to WMP, and Apple, for that matter.
(A little aside: I swore I would NEVER be one of those people with white wires hanging from my ears. And when I opened the box my clip was in i found earbuds with WHITE WIRES!!! GRRRRR.
Fortunately the buds were really inferior, and I already had a couple of buds that are far superior.THe clip is capable of very fine sound production, but with lousy earbuds, one would never know that.)
I do run on and on…:smileyvery-happy:
Thanks once again for your good advice.
Steve