I need help Adding videos and music to my sansa fuze

Ok, I am new to all this and got this for christmas.

I actually need a step by step instruction on how to add videos and music to my player. Like you are talking to a child.( hee hee ) I tried getting videos from itunes and adding it to my player but it tells me that the video is blocked and can only be opened thru itunes.

Can anyone help???

In order to add music to your player, your songs must first be in Mp3 format. You can plug your player directly into your computer, and it should auto detect your player and give you a list of options. Pick the one that says ‘open folder to view files.’ From there you can open the music folder, then copy + paste any song(s) you have on your computer to this folder.

If your computer doesn’t automatically detect the player and give you the list of options, then go to start menu, my computer, and then click on the drive marked ‘sansa Fuze.’  From there you can open the music folder, then copy + paste any song(s) you have on your computer to this folder.

I find these methods to be the easiest. Purchasing songs from Rapshody, or trying to sync with Windows Media Player can result in more headache than you want to deal with. 

When it comes to putting video on your player, most people on this board will first tell you to update your Fuze’s firmware via this link:

http://mp3support.sandisk.com/sansa/Application/SansaUpdaterInstall.exe

After the download finishes, install the software and plug in your fuze. Then it will check for updates and install them onto your player automatically. It should download the Sansa Media Converter software as well. Install that, and you should be good to go. Open the software with your fuze connected, and it will give you options to load video and convert them directly onto the player. If you have any problems with SMC, I would uninstall it, then use this direct link to re download it and re install:

http://mp3support.sandisk.com/sansa/SMC

If you are still having issues, and you want to avoid using SMC altogether, you can use a program called Winavi to convert your files into a format the player recognizes. You can find it here:

After the software is installed, open it, and click on the Avi button. It will prompt you to pick a file to open. Choose which one you want, then click on the tab marked ‘advance.’ uncheck the box marked ‘keep original frame rate’ and set it to 20. Then uncheck the box marked ‘keep original picture size’ and set the width to 224, height to 176. Then click’ok.’ Make sure you change the output directory to a place where you typically save your media files. Once you have set up the software, then click ok. It should take roughtly 5-15 mins to convert a video depending on the size. Once it is finished, plug in your player, then find the Videos folder, and copy + paste your video(s) to it. 

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your player. 

Message Edited by boburanus on 12-29-2008 10:48 AM

Where is a good place to download videos and music from?

A lot of different media software, WMP, Winamp, Itunes, ect, can rip music directly from CDs you already own. Otherwise it is a matter of buying or downloading them from sites you are comfortable with. I won’t condone any illegal activity, but you can do Google searches for music downloads and it will come back with options for both paid and free music downloads. Just make sure you are not being charged hidden costs, and that the music you are getting is in good quality mp3 format. I suggest a bitrate of at least 192 kpbs. 128 kbps works fine, as this is almost CD quality, but sometimes if you have to convert/compress 128 kbps audio it gains a tinny or hallow sound afterward.

As far as video goes, there aren’t nearly as many download services, you will most likely be forced to pay for such a service. I would once again do a Google search. If you own Dvds you want to be able to watch on your player, there are programs out that will rip the video from your Dvds just like an audio CD. Just we wary that sometimes these programs are offered free on the internet but leave a watermark or a trial version message upon the ripped copy, and you will have to look at said watermark/message while you view the video until you choose to pay for the software. 

Trying to find these kinds of programs can be difficult and test your patience. Just keep in mind that there are such programs/services out there that operate on a peer to peer basis with little or no cost to you. Google is your best friend in the matter. 

Thank you, I will try what you said and see what happens. I already downloaded winavi, I hope it works.

Do you recommend any sites to download tv shows, movies or music? when I downloaded them from itunes and tried to convert them it comes up not authorized and can only open through itunes. Am I doing something wrong. Sorry for all the questions, I am not that good with the pc ( or any computer for that matter )

Sorry guys, but IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to use a non-free software to get videos on your player (Sansa Fuze 4GB in my case) just because the original software JUST DOES NOT WORK! I played with SMC for a couple of hours (installed Mediaplayer 11, QT7, suggested codecs packages, DirectX9, etc.) without any success (still got the codec missing error message). I have read that several people in this forum encounter exactly this problem.

Does anyone have further knowledge about how to teach SMC about the location of the codecs needed to convert video files?

 Best regards,

Worstje

Message Edited by Worstje on 12-30-2008 04:03 PM

Message Edited by Worstje on 12-30-2008 04:06 PM

Hi

I am having the exact same problems and are trying to get it figured out. If you get any answers please let me know.

Thanks

@worstje wrote:

Sorry guys, but IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to use a non-free software to get videos on your player (Sansa Fuze 4GB in my case) just because the original software JUST DOES NOT WORK! I played with SMC for a couple of hours (installed Mediaplayer 11, QT7, suggested codecs packages, DirectX9, etc.) without any success (still got the codec missing error message). I have read that several people in this forum encounter exactly this problem.

 

Does anyone have further knowledge about how to teach SMC about the location of the codecs needed to convert video files?

 

 

 Best regards,

 

Worstje

 

Message Edited by Worstje on 12-30-2008 04:03 PM

Message Edited by Worstje on 12-30-2008 04:06 PM

Of course it isn’t acceptable. But you can sit around and get angry about not being able to watch videos on your player, or you can take steps to empower yourself without waiting for SMC to magically work. 

As for a good place to download videos, if you already own a dvd or cd, and you want to skip trying to get software that can convert them for you, you can try using Bittorrent sites to get copies of your media. Beware though, even though it is technically legal to download copies of works you already own, there have still been some issues with Torrents in general. I fully support Torrent file sharing, as it gives us a way to bypass programs like Kazaa and Limewire that are full of viruses and broken software, in exchange for clean media shared by peers. The issues I am talking about are due to copyrighted materials people are uploading/downloading illegally. 

@If you do choose to go this route, you can find the bittorrent software @ http://www.bittorrent.com 

It is a very small download and quick install. The way it works is you find torrent content online through 3rd party sites likes www.isohunt.com or www.mininova.org and then you simply find the media you want with a high number of seeds and you click on the download link. Your computer will then ask you what you want to do with the file, and select ‘open with bit torrent,’ and the software does the rest. You can go into the options of the torrent software and change where it saves files as well as setting upload/download limits on anything you might be downloading. A quick FYI tho, torrents work based on peer to peer file sharing, as you are downloading a file, it is simultaneously being uploaded to other people, which incfluences download speed in the first place. A file with a high number of leachers and a low number of seeders, is going to take a long time to download. On the other hand, a file with a large amount of seeders, and a small amount of leachers, will download very quickly in comparison.

Just beware that most internet providers don’t allocate badwidth for file uploads, and if you let files upload after you have downloaded them with Bittorrent, you could create a lot of lag for other programs and games you might be using at the same time. It is best to download a couple things at a time, then let them continue to upload for a while after they have completed, and then cut them off. This is actually more of a curtesy thing, as you are only able to download files via bittorrent as long as other people are uploading them. Lastly, if you are downloading videos and music, make sure the videos are in Xvid format and the music is mp3 format, to give you the least problems when you go to put them on your player. 

This method is only suggested by me for media you already own. Torrents themselves are legal to download for ‘backup purposes only.’ If you are just trying to get free stuff, plz stay away from torrent sites as you are the primary cause of lawsuits against such services. 

If you are trying to find a way to buy media online for your player, unfortunately Rapshody or Itunes are your best bet. 

boburanus-

Thanks for this! I’ve been trying for several days to get this to work.

Are there any video converters that work and don’t leave a watermark? If you know of any, that would be great to know.

sameyeam-

Winamp is a great program for playing and organizing your music, it’s really easy to sync your music library.

Message Edited by RelyksW on 12-31-2008 03:46 PM

What are you using that is leaving a watermark? If you purchase the full version of Winavi it shouldn’t be leaving anything.

Message Edited by boburanus on 12-31-2008 08:28 PM

Message Edited by boburanus on 12-31-2008 08:28 PM