Are the way podcasts organized still based on the ALBUM id3 tag? I always use a custom ALBUM tag to separate the podcasts, then under each ‘album’ there will be several episodes. On the Clip+, right after selecting podcasts, you see all of the ‘albums’, then select one to see the episodes. Does it still work the same way on the Clip Zip?
The Clip+ had a bug regarding using the bookmarked positions in a podcast. Say you have two episodes in a certain podcast. You play the second one half way through then stop. The bookmark is recorded behind the scenes. Then you play the first one all the way through. At the end it jumps to the second episode, at your previous spot. However, the time starts counting from 00:00 instead of the bookmark position. If you just keep listening all the way to the end, it’s not a problem. The problem only occurs if you interrupt playback and a new bookmark is created. The playback starts from the bookmark, but the timer does not. When you next stop the playback, it will record the TIMER’s position, effectively losing your real playback position. Can someone with a Zip try this out and see if it’s still happening?
I can only speak to #1 as I dont bookmark podcasts. It is based on Tags so your method should work fine. The way you have outlined is exactly how it works.
I can update you on #2. The graphic interface has undergone a facelift with the new Clip Zip. You select Books > Podcasts > then you will see your podcasts listed like “albums”, nicely separated. An individual bookmark is stored for each podcast episode, so you can click forward / back between episodes, and it will automatically resume within each podcsat at the last played point.
If you pull up the episode list, it’s a little different; you will, upon opening the episode, get the handy option to start from the beginning, or resume playback right where you were last time.
This option is nice of you’d like to start the episode from scratch.
Another change is that the time elapsed / time remaining displays when in audiobooks or podcasts, making it easier to locate the desired spot.
No, unfortunately. With podcasts , a brief press of the back or forward button will bring you to the next or previous podcast episode. Holding the “rewind” button stops at the beginning of the currently loaded file.
I like having the device run back from the end of the previous file. The e200 firmware does this with podcasts, I like it best that way.
Oh well Hopefully these things will be addressed later. Hopeffully there will be a number of firmware updates. The Clip+ had so few updates compared to the original Clip.
Oh well Hopefully these things will be addressed later. Hopeffully there will be a number of firmware updates. The Clip+ had so few updates compared to the original Clip.
It really didn’t need as many, I don’t think… perhaps because the developers had learned a lot during the life cycle of the original Clip.
Does Clip Zip still scans for files after usb unplugging? Eg i copy 5000 tracks, should I wait 15 mins like it’s predecesors?
Clip Zip now loaded with MP3’s, 6.96GB on the internal, 14.8GB on a class 2 16GB card. Still flies through menus, and the refresh time just now was 2:53.6…two minutes, fifty-three point six seconds. Of course, YMMV with regards to the refresh time, depending on your tagging practices. That is 2,685 songs, average bitrate of the lot is 233kbps.
The same tracks on the Clip+ results in a refresh time of 3:20.8…three minutes, twenty point eight seconds.
What does the screen look like when playing podcasts?
Now that the Clip Zip allows customizing the menu, the next step is to allow customization of what the screen displays and how large each item is displayed.
It was decided that the time displays were important for podasts, and I have to agree with that. As for music, with the current display, there is a progress bar, but no time display.
With Rhapsody enabled on the device, song ratings will display below the progress bar.
Personally, I think it’s time to make use of the center-button display function as with the previous Clips, allowing a rotation between track time / ratings / the progress bar, et cetera. The best of all worlds, actually.
I would like to have a choice between displaying album art or displaying time elapsed, track number, number songs in the album, and time remaing when playing music. Having it as a center button function wouldn’t satisfy me. i hope in future players use an even lower powered screen, so battery life could be 24+ hours(and for a larger player 50+ hours) with the display on all the time the player is on.
But JK98, how about if all that info. (track and timing info.) is included on the current screen as the default, and then a press of the select button leads to an album-art-only screen (that would remain, until the select button might be pressed again to go to a different screen)?
And I agree with neutron_bob, that the select button and alternate screens (e.g. a full what’s playing now info. screen with album art => an album art alone screen => a detailed current track/next track info. screen => a clock screen with user-selectable clock faces (yep, I keep on advocating for it!)) is a _ great _ opportunity.
Yeah, whut Miikerman said!! That’s the only thing I’d change in the software. That and having the ability to diddle with the EQ in the “music” mode like in my old Clip. Overall it’s a nifty gadget.
I can update you on #2. The graphic interface has undergone a facelift with the new Clip Zip. You select Books > Podcasts > then you will see your podcasts listed like “albums”, nicely separated. An individual bookmark is stored for each podcast episode, so you can click forward / back between episodes, and it will automatically resume within each podcsat at the last played point.
If you pull up the episode list, it’s a little different; you will, upon opening the episode, get the handy option to start from the beginning, or resume playback right where you were last time.
This option is nice of you’d like to start the episode from scratch.
Another change is that the time elapsed / time remaining displays when in audiobooks or podcasts, making it easier to locate the desired spot.
Bob :smileyvery-happy:
I was just in a chat with tech help and they told me no sansa product has bookmarking!!!
it supports the same type of bookmarking the Fuze, Clip, and Clip+ do. and yes you can use the card. Keep in mind however if these are DRM protected books you will have to sync them to the card while in the Clip Zip. if they were synced while the card was in a different player they may not work on the clip zip. if not you would need to resync them to the card while it is in the CZ.
How fast is the card reader in the Clip Zip? Anyone here try writing to a class 10 card in it? How fast is it? With a class 10 card, i could only write to the card in a Clip+ at up to around 4.4M/s.
