I bought the Sansa Fuze 2gb model and a 4gb flash card to go with it about a month ago. I have updated the firmware via the updater and I drag + drop music to the player all day long without any problems. I have Windows XP sp2 and have zero problems with any other software/hardware I have used on my computer thus far. I have a Dual core 2.2ghz with 2 gigs of ram. My machine works great for everything I use it for. When I plug in my Fuze, it automatically detects my player and my SD card and shows everything on them in the correct fashion. I love this player and almost everything about it, with one exception: the way that video formatting was chosen. At some point in the Fuze development, a unnanimous decision was made to allow any mp3 from any source play on this player, regardless of the way it was uploaded. Whether you use Rapshody, WMP sync, or just drag and drop.
When it came to video, someone who hates the world was allowed to decide how it would function regarding the player. I have downloaded/installed/uninstalled the SMC software COUNTLESS times. Every time it hangs on the loading screen of the program and then gives me a windows error message, asking me if I want to send an error report to microsoft. I have tried to run the program with the player connected, without the player connected, and have gone to my wits end trying to figure out what the problem could be. I have a program that can convert any format into any other format, yet none of the 50 or so formats will work on the player. Only Avi formats show up and they give me the ‘unsupported file type’ error message.
From what I have discovered, the SMC software converts all video into a type that will work with the player, but this doesn’t work if the program can’t get past the loading screen. A solution to the problem would be a firmware update that supports the same codecs that mobile phones, ipods, PSPs, and other tiny video players support.
My suggestion? 3gP under a QVGA header. Otherwise come out with a stable SMC that will work for everyone, not just random users. I would be surprised to see people who actually use rapshody or WMP to get their music onto their player, leading me to believe there are a lot more drag + drop type people out there. Why can’t you release a firmware that accomodates this in videos? Use a generic format that most converters will convert to, and leave it at that. You are not making any money on SMC, it is freeware, so why require it for people to get videos on their players. Makes no sense to have proprietary technology when you aren’t profiting from it.
Please do something to fix this asap, I have read far more threads about peoples bad experiences with the SMC than I have read good. And I would hate to go buy an ipod at this point.