Sansa Fuze Firmware Update version 01.01.22 & 02.01.17

Hi all,

I bought my 8Gb Fuze over Christmas as an emergency measure while my other players were sent in for repairs and I’m really happy with it.  That being said, having drowned in this thread for days now, I have a couple questions (no, one of them *isn’t* when will the firmware be released - I’m quite content to wait on the assumption that it’s being properly tested):

Will the new Fuze firmware FINALLY have gapless playback?  Regardless of what anyone else says, this is a must have, at least for me.  Hopefully it will be implemented in such a way that it supports mp3, flac and ogg although I could get by with the first two only.  Heck, if software devs for Winamp, Foobar, XMPlay and VUPLayer could figure out the way around the format limitations, I see no reason why firmware engineers can’t.

The other thing I’d love to see this player get is folder support.  Yes, I’ve read the nonsense that it’s good enough for Apple users so it should be good enough for Sandisk users.  Rubbish.  If I was an Apple chowderhead, I’d have bought an Apple player - I prefer not to settle for medioctiry. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: ;)  My other two players by Cowon (an X5 and an iAudio 7) both support folders and I find that essential for the way I organize / play music.

However, given the choice, I’d pick gapless over folder support.

Sooo, anyone know the answers?  Inquiring minds want to know…

Message Edited by roj on 04-04-2009 11:19 AM

@roj wrote:

Hi all,

 

I bought my 8Gb Fuze over Christmas as an emergency measure while my other players were sent in for repairs and I’m really happy with it.  That being said, having drowned in this thread for days now, I have a couple questions (no, one of them *isn’t* when will the firmware be released - I’m quite content to wait on the assumption that it’s being properly tested):

 

Will the new Fuze firmware FINALLY have gapless playback?  Regardless of what anyone else says, this is a must have, at least for me.  Hopefully it will be implemented in such a way that it supports mp3, flac and ogg although I oculd get by with the first two only.  Heck, if software devs for Winamp, Foobar, XMPlay and VUPLayer could figure out the way around the format limitations, I see no reason why firmware engineers can’t.

 

The other thing I’d love to see this player get is folder support.  Yes, I’ve read the nonsense that it’s good enough for Apple users so it should be good enough for Sandisk users.  Rubbish.  If I was an Apple chowderhead, I’d have bought an Apple player - I prefer not to settle for medioctiry. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: ;)  My other two players by Cowon (an X5 and an iAudio 7) both support folders and I find that essential for the way I organize / play music.

 

However, given the choice, I’d pick gapless over folder support.

 

Sooo, anyone know the answers?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Message Edited by roj on 04-04-2009 11:14 AM

Message Edited by roj on 04-04-2009 11:14 AM

Gappless is in the works. But not in this firmware. Folder nav is in the works as well, but we havent heard if it is ready to implement. We will just have to see.

@rrebi wrote:
Before we all get lost in the world of literature, where is the firmware update?
Message Edited by RREbi on 04-04-2009 10:31 AM

At the risk of sounding like the proverbial broken record, I am going to copy and paste my response to this question in another thread today. :smiley:

@the_anti_ipod wrote:
So I thought this amazing firmware was supposed to come out back in march.

They never listed a specific date. They said, “The end of Q1, 2009”. If we haven’t seen it yet, that means they’re trying to make it work properly before they release it to the public. So just chill out and relax…the Fuze is working just fine already, any improvements are just gravy!

Just a guess … but I think folder browsing will be in this update. Sansafix’s hinted that the coming update will make us not need/want Rockbox. We know gapless has been ruled out for this update, so I think folder browsing may what he was hinting.

Thanks and that’s great.  Both features are on the way.  I can wait. :)  Ya gotta love a company that listens to its customers.  Does Sansa release quarterly firmware updates (give or take - just a ballpark)?

Message Edited by roj on 04-04-2009 12:09 PM

I would also like to see gapless playback!  At least in Albums and Audio books, as some albums have transitions.  (Newsboys Live: Houston We Are Go) and other LIVE albums.  I would like to see it implemented here (maybe w/ an option to turn it off for people who don’t want it) but not necessarily for shuffle, as it may just sound strange!  I’ve been following this thread for a while!  I can’t wait for the new Firmware!

XC Fan

I guess it’s a sign of the times, I don’t know, but it’s interesting that, these days, there must be no break in sound output…not even for 2 seconds between songs… in order to satisfy people.

@robisan wrote:
Just a guess … but I think folder browsing will be in this update. Sansafix’s hinted that the coming update will make us not need/want Rockbox. We know gapless has been ruled out for this update, so I think folder browsing may what he was hinting.

Im thinking that is an option but possibly more realistic is open format video, or the elimination of the need for SMC at least.

@lewislink wrote:
I guess it’s a sign of the times, I don’t know, but it’s interesting that, these days, there must be no break in sound output…not even for 2 seconds between songs… in order to satisfy people.

Its pretty valuable for things like Audiobooks i guess. But in my case atleast, Its for albums that were meant to be listened to with out breaks, Dark Side of the Moon for instance.

@conversionbox wrote:


@lewislink wrote:
I guess it’s a sign of the times, I don’t know, but it’s interesting that, these days, there must be no break in sound output…not even for 2 seconds between songs… in order to satisfy people.


Its pretty valuable for things like Audiobooks i guess. But in my case atleast, Its for albums that were meant to be listened to with out breaks, Dark Side of the Moon for instance.

I’m really dating myself here, but in those instances where there is a seamless flow of music from one track to another, I rip the CD into 2 parts …so in essence you have 2 album “sides” like in the glory days of vinyl.  Each side is seamless- no breaks.  So I can decide if I want to listen to side A or side B without having the breaks in playback.

I’m not a singles person so it doesn’t affect my playback experience by not being able to exactly pinpoint a particular cut in this instance.

So, gapless for me would be nice, but not all that essential.

You’re not dating yourself but I’m about to. :slight_smile: I’m the guy who bought twin turntables and a mixer in the late 70s to achieve gapless play on tapes and have had that as my standard modus operandi ever since, never mind live albums and works of symphonic rock.

So, to reply to the other item in the thread, the requirement to have gapless to please people is NOT new, certainly not in my case.

Message Edited by roj on 04-04-2009 02:09 PM

@reviewboy wrote:


@conversionbox wrote:

Guys I read about 300 e-mails a day… so for your conversation about books that are hard reads, I have a solution… Audiobooks! Its so much easier!


Absolutely.  (I’m an audible subscriber since 1999, and audiobook lover since - no joke - the days of vinyl.)

 

Thanks for the advice, but it’s much more difficult to listen to a foreign language than to read it!!

@marvin_martian wrote:


They never listed a specific date.

 

They most certainly did.

“Yes its in the next release, end of the month.”

Message Edited by Fifer on 04-04-2009 10:13 PM

In R&D circles, there is a concept known as “virtual Friday.”

Simply put, if the milestone date is end of day Friday, then you’re not late as long as it is done before the doors open Monday morning.  In extreme cases, it’s still friday if you’re dressed in Friday’s clothes and haven’t slept since Thursday night.

Yes, they’re past their announced, expected ship date, and they can’t claim to have made their 1Q target, even a “Virtual Friday” 1Q. But it’s a human process, and it’s MUCH less of a hassle to make people wait than to ship something that (say) bricks every other device it’s installed on.  Just ask Sony.

I’ll take a delay over a paperweight anyday.

Message Edited by Reviewboy on 04-04-2009 02:18 PM

Message Edited by Reviewboy on 04-04-2009 02:19 PM

I’ve got a better one that’s far more general purpose:

“No plan survives contact with the enemy”

 -  Eisenhower

@fifer wrote:


@marvin_martian wrote:


They never listed a specific date.

 


They most certainly did.

 

“Yes its in the next release, end of the month.”

Message Edited by Fifer on 04-04-2009 10:13 PM

I’ll be sure to ask them, next time, to send you the firmware the the exact day you expect, even if it’s not quite ready. Sound good? Seriously, why do you have to be so negative, so often?

@reviewboy wrote:

In R&D circles, there is a concept known as “virtual Friday.”

 

Simply put, if the milestone date is end of day Friday, then you’re not late as long as it is done before the doors open Monday morning.  In extreme cases, it’s still friday if you’re dressed in Friday’s clothes and haven’t slept since Thursday night.

 

Yes, they’re past their announced, expected ship date, and they can’t claim to have made their 1Q target, even a “Virtual Friday” 1Q. But it’s a human process, and it’s MUCH less of a hassle to make people wait than to ship something that (say) bricks every other device it’s installed on.  Just ask Sony.

 

I’ll take a delay over a paperweight anyday.


@reviewboy wrote:

In R&D circles, there is a concept known as “virtual Friday.”

 

Simply put, if the milestone date is end of day Friday, then you’re not late as long as it is done before the doors open Monday morning.  In extreme cases, it’s still friday if you’re dressed in Friday’s clothes and haven’t slept since Thursday night.

 

Yes, they’re past their announced, expected ship date, and they can’t claim to have made their 1Q target, even a “Virtual Friday” 1Q. But it’s a human process, and it’s MUCH less of a hassle to make people wait than to ship something that (say) bricks every other device it’s installed on.  Just ask Sony.

 

I’ll take a delay over a paperweight anyday.

 

 

Message Edited by Reviewboy on 04-04-2009 02:18 PM

Message Edited by Reviewboy on 04-04-2009 02:19 PM


I couldn’t agree more!

Sansafix is listening to his Fuze, checking out the latest.  He’s smiling, so that must be a good sign.  We have to give him some time to see if he’s found muttering, and plugging it back in.

Good things come to those who wait.  My Fuze is busy making music currently.

Bob   :smileyvery-happy:

Anyone know more about the firmware? i want to know if I have to install SMC on my new computer. I have an addiction to music videos (and youtube)…

I wouldn’t assume that the Sansa Media Converter will suddenly be a thing of the past.  The container requirements for the transferred video will no doubt remain, though they could be simplified.  The Fuze has a different way of handling video, in comparison against the Sansa View, which has more in the video department.

Video is difficult, since there are so many different codecs and parameters for each source video.  Loading YouTube clips is a breeze.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy: