User’s Guide Creative Digital MP3 Player FX120 Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the written permission of Creative Technology Ltd.
Contents
Contents Before You Begin Introduction............................................................................................................................................. vii Minimum System Requirements ....................................................................................................... vii 1 A Tour of Your Player Your Player at a Glance..................................................................................................................... 1-1 Using the Scroller ...
Changing Play Modes.......................................................................................................................... 3-4 Repeating music................................................................................................................ 3-4 Playing a track once......................................................................................................... 3-6 Shuffling music.........................................................................................
Play Mode Icons .................................................................................................................................. B-3 Information Diagrams........................................................................................................................ B-4 C Frequently Asked Questions General .................................................................................................................................................. C-1 Usage .....................
Before You Begin
Before Your Begin Introduction Thank you for purchasing Creative’s new multi-format player, Creative Digital MP3 Player FX120! Your player can store songs in its music library, and comes equipped with a USB 2.0 connector, so you can transfer audio tracks and data quickly and easily. With your player’s built-in FM radio, you can listen to your favorite radio stations.
A Tour of Your Player
A Tour of Your Player Your Player at a Glance Volume Decrease button Volume Increase button Scroller Hold switch Top View LCD screen Play/Pause button Front View A Tour of Your Player 1-1
Headphone jack USB port Strap lug Side Views Battery panel Bottom View A Tour of Your Player 1-2
Button/Switch PLAY/PAUSE HOLD What It Does ❍ ❍ ❍ Turns the player on and off. Starts, pauses or continues playback. Changes Scroller mode in FM Radio mode. ❍ Locks and disables all buttons on your player. ❍ Decreases the volume. ❍ Increases the volume. VOLUME DECREASE VOLUME INCREASE Usage Tips ❍ Press and hold until player turns on or off. ❍ Slide the switch to the right to lock the player. ❍ Press and hold to decrease the volume quickly. ❍ Press and hold to increase the volume quickly.
Using the Scroller Scroll Select To "Scroll Select", use the Scroller to scroll to the option you want, and select the option by pressing the Scroller. The Scroller is one of the most important features of your player. In this document, we will use a new term, “Scroll Select”, to indicate that you should use the Scroller to scroll through options and then select the option by pressing the Scroller.
Getting Started
Getting Started Setting Up Your Player To install the software, Windows XP and Windows 2000 users must log in as the System Administrator or a user with System Administrator privileges. For more information, refer to your operating system’s online Help. Your Creative DMP FX120 includes software so that you can create audio tracks, manage your music library, and use your player in all supported Windows operating systems. Your installation CD also includes the drivers necessary for Windows 98 SE. 1.
Inserting Battery Insert the supplied battery into your player as shown below. a b When opening or closing the battery compartment, handle with care. Figure 2-4: Inserting the supplied battery into your player.
Power Source and Level Indicators After inserting the battery, your player displays one of the following icons, depending on the battery’s status. Icon What the icon means ❍ The amount of playback time available depends on various factors (for example, volume level). For more information, see "Usage" on page C-2.
Transferring Files Audio selections have been preloaded to your player to get you started quickly. If you wish to listen to music immediately, simply press the Play/Pause button . To transfer files WMA files with Digital Rights Management technology cannot be copied to your player using Windows Explorer. You can only do so with applications like Windows Media Player or Creative MediaSource. 1. Connect your player to your computer’s USB port using the supplied USB cable. 2.
Downloading from the Internet To get music files from the Internet, use a search engine to locate sites with music content. You can also try out these sites (web sites listed here are correct at the time of this document’s release): ❍ Soundbuzz.com ❍ http://www.soundbuzz.com It may be illegal to encode music files for trade or sale unless you have the express or explicit permission of the copyright holder(s). ❍ Epitonic.com http://www.epitonic.com ❍ ArtistOne.com http://www.artistone.
Ripping from a CD The first phase in making an MP3 file is extracting audio data from an audio CD. To extract audio data, you will need a CD-ROM drive that can extract digital audio data, and a program known as a ripper. With Creative MediaSource Organizer, you can rip tracks from most audio CDs. This program uses the CD-ROM drive to read the audio tracks from the audio CD and stores it on your hard disk.
Using Your Player
Using Your Player Your player can function in Music, Recordings or FM Radio mode. In Music mode, only MP3 or WMA files are played back and in Recordings mode, only FM radio recordings that are recorded by the player, are played back. To switch modes, see "Enabling a Mode" on page 3-2. Your player also has play modes that allow you to change how your audio tracks are played back. For more information, see "Changing Play Modes" on page 3-4.
Enabling a Mode 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-1 appears. 2. Scroll Select the Music icon icon Playing Music Tracks or FM Radio icon , Recordings Figure 3-1 . To play a track 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-2 appears. Figure 3-2 If there are no audio tracks in your player, the "No music" message will appear on the screen. 2. Scroll Select the Music icon (Figure 3-3). 3. Scroll Select a song you want to play. The track is played back automatically.
To go to the previous track Turn the Scroller towards the left and release it. To go to the next track Turn the Scroller towards the right and release it. To stop a track 1. Press the Play/Pause button to pause the track. 2. Turn the Scroller and release it. The Stop icon appears on the screen. Skipping Folders When you have audio files grouped in different folders, and you want to listen to those in a particular folder immediately, use this feature.
Changing Play Modes Your player has play modes that allow you to change how your tracks are played back. You can select the play modes during music or FM radio playback, or when you are in Music or Recordings modes. The following play modes are available: Only one play mode can be enabled at a time. Play modes are available in Music and Recordings mode, and during music or FM radio playback.
Depending on which mode you want, follow the corresponding step: To repeat a portion of a track A portion of a track can only be repeated once; marking a new portion will automatically remove any markers in the track. 1. Scroll Select the A-B icon (Figure 3-9). The icon appears on the screen. 2. Press the Scroller to mark the beginning of Figure 3-9 the portion you wish to repeat. The icon appears on the screen. 3. Press the Scroller again to mark the end of the portion. The icon appears on the screen.
To repeat a folder Repeat Folder mode is only available in Music mode. Playing a track once Scroll Select the Repeat Folder icon (Figure 3-12). The Repeat Folder icon appears on the screen and tracks in the current folder are repeated continuously until you stop them or skip to another folder. Figure 3-12 When the Track Once play mode is enabled, playback stops once the current track ends. 1. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-13 2. Scroll Select the Play Mode icon (Figure 3-13).
Shuffling music You can choose to randomly play tracks. 1. Press the Scroller. 2. Scroll Select the Play Mode icon (Figure 3-16). A list appears (Figure 3-17). Figure 3-16 Depending on the mode you want, follow the corresponding step: To randomly repeat all tracks continuously Figure 3-17 Scroll Select the Shuffle Repeat icon (Figure 3-18). The Shuffle Repeat icon appears on the screen and tracks are selected at random and played back continuously until you stop playback.
To randomly play all tracks in a folder once Scroll Select the Shuffle Folder icon (Figure 3-20). The Shuffle Folder icon appears on the screen and all tracks in the folder are selected at random and played back. Playback stops once all the tracks in the folder are played back once. Playing all tracks Figure 3-20 When the Normal mode is enabled, all tracks are played back once, in the order that they appear in the play list. 1. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-21 2.
Listening to FM Radio With your player, you can listen to your favorite radio station. Your player can automatically scan for stations available in your region, and store the stations as presets for you. In FM Radio mode, your player will display the current radio channel and its preset number. FM radio channel If there are no saved preset channels in your player, the "No preset found" message will appear on the screen.
To perform an autoscan and autosave 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-28 appears. Figure 3-28 2. Scroll Select the FM Radio icon (Figure 3-29). A radio frequency appears on the LCD screen (Figure 3-30). Figure 3-29 3. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-30 4. Scroll Select the Autoscan icon (Figure 3-31). The player will scan and store channels it detects. At the end of the autoscan, it will play the first channel. Figure 3-31 To select a channel 1. Press the Scroller.
3. Turn the Scroller to select the preset channel you want. To manually scan an FM radio channel Figure 3-34 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-35 appears. Figure 3-35 2. Scroll Select the FM Radio icon (Figure 3-36). A radio frequency appears on the LCD screen (Figure 3-37). Figure 3-36 3. If you see a preset channel, press the Play/ Pause button to switch to Manual Scan view. The preset channel disappears. Figure 3-37 4.
9. Repeat steps 2 to 6 to store another channel. To delete a channel 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-39 appears. Figure 3-39 2. Scroll Select the FM Radio icon (Figure 3-40). A radio frequency appears on the LCD screen (Figure 3-41). Figure 3-40 If you do not see a preset channel, press the Play/Pause button. 3. Turn the Scroller to select the preset channel you want. 4. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-41 5. Scroll Select the Delete Preset icon (Figure 3-42). Figure 3-42 6.
1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-44 appears. Figure 3-44 2. Scroll Select the FM Radio icon (Figure 3-45). A radio frequency appears on the LCD screen (Figure 3-46). Figure 3-45 3. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-46 4. Scroll Select the Scroller mode icon (Figure 3-47) to switch to the different views. Alternatively, you can press the Play/Pause button to switch to the different views while playing a station.
Recording FM Radio Another great Creative DMP FX120 feature is its ability to record FM radio. Recorded FM radio is encoded directly into IMA ADPCM WAV (at 16 kHz, 4-bit, Stereo) file format. When recording, note that the available recording time is determined by: ❍ ❍ available memory space in your player battery power remaining in your player When recording an FM radio program, you will see the status bar showing you the time available for recording, and another showing you the elapsed recording time.
3. Turn the Scroller to select the preset channel you want. 4. Press the Scroller. Figure 3-51 5. Scroll Select the FM Recording icon (Figure 3-52). A recording bar appears on the LCD screen and recording starts. Figure 3-52 6. Press the Play/Pause button to end the recording. A name is automatically assigned to your FM radio recording and the file is saved in your player. The naming convention typically used is: FM [Current File Number].
To play an FM recording A recorded FM radio file starts with "FM". 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-54 appears. Figure 3-54 2. Scroll Select the Recordings icon (Figure 3-55). 3. Scroll Select a recording you want to listen to. The track is played back automatically. Figure 3-55 To delete a recording, see "Deleting Audio Files" on page 3-18. EQ Settings Enhancing Your Music EQ settings are only available in Music mode.
1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu (Figure 3-56) appears. Figure 3-56 2. Scroll Select the EQ icon (Figure 3-57). Depending on which EQ setting you want, follow the corresponding step: To select Rock, Pop, Classical, Jazz or Normal Figure 3-57 Scroll Select the EQ setting you want. The selected EQ icon appears on the screen. To define your own EQ settings 1. Scroll Select the Custom EQ icon (Figure 3-58). The Custom EQ screen (Figure 3-59) appears. 2.
3. Scroll Select each vertical control level. Use the Scroller to move the control knob up or down to vary the amount of boost or reduction in the selected frequency range. 4. Scroll Select the check mark to exit the Custom EQ screen. Deleting Audio Files This action permanently deletes tracks or recordings from your player. To delete an audio file 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-60 appears. 2. Scroll Select the Music icon or Recordings icon . 3.
User Preferences Your player offers many configuration options. You can ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ specify contrast settings change the LCD screen’s backlight duration select the default language select the FM region specify how long the player remains inactive before it automatically shuts down access the information screen 1. Press the Scroller. The Main Menu similar to Figure 3-63 appears. Figure 3-63 2. Scroll Select the Settings icon (Figure 3-64). A list appears (Figure 3-65).
To adjust the screen backlight duration 1. Scroll Select the Backlight icon (Figure 3-67). 2. Scroll Select to select the backlight duration, or to disable the backlight entirely. A lower number setting conserves battery power for longer playback time. Figure 3-67 To change the default language 1. Scroll Select the Language icon (Figure 3-68). 2. Scroll Select the language that you want. To change the FM region Figure 3-68 1. Scroll Select the FM Region icon (Figure 3-69). A list appears. 2.
To view the player’s firmware version, the total amount of space and the amount of free space in your player for storing music or data, and the number of tracks 1. Scroll Select the Information icon (Figure 3-71). 2. Scroll Select the information you want to see. Locking and Unlocking Your Player Figure 3-71 Locking your player will disable all buttons on the player. This feature is useful when you do not want any buttons (for example, Play/Pause) pressed accidentally.
Formatting Your Player You may at times need to clear your player's memory during normal use. Use Windows Explorer to easily clear your player's memory for the efficient transfer, storage and playback of music files. To clear your player’s memory For Windows XP and Windows 2000, under the File Allocation Table (FAT) system option, you must select FAT, instead of FAT32, before formatting the player. 1. Connect your player to your computer. 2.
Software Applications
Software Applications About Creative MediaSource Creative MediaSource is included on your installation CD (see "Setting Up Your Player" on page 2-1). Basic instructions on how to use Creative MediaSource are provided in the Creative MediaSource Help. To listen to transferred audio tracks, your player must be in Music mode. For more information, refer to "Playing Music Tracks" on page 3-2.
Technical Specifications
Technical Specifications Player Size (W x L x D) ❑ 28.7 mm (1.1") x 71.3 mm (2.8") x 16.5 mm (0.6") Weight ❑ 26.5 g (without battery) or 39 g (with AAA-sized battery) Capacity ❑ 128/256/512 MB built-in flash memory (depending on model) Battery Type ❑ AAA-sized battery (alkaline recommended) Battery Life ❑ MP3 (128 kbps), up to 17 hours of continuous playback. ❑ WMA (64 kbps), up to 15 hours of continuous playback.
FM Receiver ❑ Stereo and mono ❑ 32 preset stations ❑ Region selectable FM Recording Formats ❑ IMA ADPCM (at 16 kHz, 4-bit, Stereo) Signal to Noise Ratio ❑ >90 dB (Headphones) Channel Separation ❑ >60 dB (Headphones) Frequency Response ❑ 24 Hz~20000 Hz Harmonic Distortion ❑ <0.05% Operating Temperature ❑ 0 to 45°C Storage Temperature ❑ -20 to 60°C Firmware* ❑ Upgradeable via Internet * Firmware upgrades are available from www.creative.
Headphone Out ❑ 3.
On Screen Diagram and Icon Guide
On Screen Diagram and Icon Guide Information Diagrams Diagram Action/Meaning ❍ your player is connected to your computer. To use your player, disconnect it from your computer (see "Usage" on page C-2). ❍ files are being transferred to your player.
Should you see any of the following diagrams, take the appropriate recommended step below.
Diagram Likely Causes Suggested Action ❍ player’s memory is full ❍ battery is low ❍ battery is too depleted, player cannot start up ❍ delete some files ❍ you may need to change the battery ❍ change the battery On Screen Diagram and Icon Guide B-3
Playback Icons Icon The following icons appear on the screen when the associated playback action is used.
Play Mode Icons Icon Action/Meaning ❍ A-B (Segment repeat) ❍ Repeat Track ❍ Repeat All ❍ Repeat Folder ❍ Play Track Once ❍ Shuffle Repeat ❍ Shuffle Once ❍ Shuffle Folder On Screen Diagram and Icon Guide B-5
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions This section covers questions you might have while using your player. It has been divided into a few categories for your easy reference. For further assistance, you may wish to consult our self-help tool “Knowledge Base”. Go to www.creative.com and select your region. General Where can I get official information on MP3 player products? Visit Creative’s web site at www.creative.com for updates and downloads relating to all Creative’s MP3 players and accessories.
Windows XP tells me that the software for the player is not certified. What do I do? At the time of this product's release, Microsoft strongly encouraged companies to submit their hardware solutions for certification. If a hardware device driver is not submitted, or does not qualify, for Microsoft certification, a warning message similar to the one below appears. You may see this message when installing this driver or update. If you do, you may choose to click the Continue Anyway button.
Files or tracks are corrupted when transferred to the player. Transfer may have been interrupted. Before disconnecting your player from your computer, stop your player first. To stop your player in Windows XP, Windows Me or Windows 2000 Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon on the Taskbar, click Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device, and disconnect your player when you are prompted to do so.
Can I use the player for portable data storage? Yes, you can. I have to change the battery quite often. Is there anything I can do to make it last longer? Some operations consume more battery power: ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ ❍ A long backlight timeout setting. A shorter timeout conserves battery power. A high contrast setting. Position the player so that you can read the display without using a high contrast setting. Too much use of the Scroller to move within a track or to select tracks during playback.
