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Introduction Thank you for purchasing Creative's new multi-format digital audio player, ZEN Nano Plus. Your player can store hundreds of songs in its music library, and comes equipped with a USB 2.0 port, so you can transfer music and data quickly and easily. Note Your player plays back MP3 and WMA files, including those protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology.
Minimum System Requirements Note Microsoft® Windows® XP or Windows 2000 Intel® Pentium® II 350 MHz, AMD® K6-2® 450 MHz or better processor (Pentium III 450 MHz or higher recommended for MP3 encoding in Creative MediaSource™) CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive with digital audio extraction support USB 1.1 port (USB 2.
Your Player At A Glance Overview Using the Scroller LCD Guide Page 4
Overview Component Usage 1 Play/Pause button Press and hold to turn the player on and off. Press once to start playing tracks, and press again to pause playback. When your player is locked, press to turn on the LCD backlight. A built-in microphone that lets you make digital voice recordings. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Displays menu options. 4 Volume Decrease button Press to decrease the volume. 5 Volume Increase button Press to increase the volume.
Component 7 Headphone jack 8 Line In jack 9 USB port Usage Connect headphones to this jack. Connect external stereo sources, such as cassette players, CD players and MiniDisc players, to this jack. Connect your computer to this port using the supplied USB cable.
Using the Scroller Most of the player's functions are accessed using the scroller. It is therefore important that you learn how to use the Scroller.
Selecting menu options You can use the scroller to select menu options. In this User's Guide, we use the term "Scroll Select" when we want you to use the Scroller to scroll to a menu option, and then select it by pressing the Scroller. 1. Turn the Scroller to scroll through menu options on your LCD until the option that you want, such as Play Mode , is highlighted. 2. Press the Scroller to select this menu option.
Controlling playback During playback, you can use the Scroller to move between tracks, or to move quickly within a track.
LCD Guide Battery Icons Status Diagrams Play Status Icons Play Mode Icons Information Diagrams Page 10
Battery Icons After inserting the battery, your player displays one of the following icons, depending on the battery's status. This icon Means this Battery is full Battery is 60% full Battery is 30% full Battery is nearly empty. Change the battery at the earliest opportunity Tip Playback time depends on factors like the volume level. For more information, see Usage.
Status Diagrams This diagram Means this Your player is connected to your computer. To use your player, disconnect it from your computer. Files are being transferred to your player.
Play Status Icons This icon Means this Play Pause Stop Record Move forward within a track Move back within a track Next track Previous track Page 13
Play Mode Icons This icon Means this Repeat track Repeat folder Repeat all Shuffle once Shuffle repeat Shuffle folder Track once Repeat selected section of a track Page 14
Information Diagrams If an error occurs, you may see one of the following information diagram, indicating the general nature of the problem.
Getting Started Step 1: Set up computer Step 2: Insert battery Step 3: Transfer music Step 4: Disconnect player Step 5: Play music Page 16
Step 1: Set up computer DO NOT connect your player to your computer before setting up the software. 1. Turn on your computer. 1. If you have Windows XP or Windows 2000, you must log in as an administrator in Windows before you can set up the software. For more information, refer to your operating system's online Help. 2. Insert the Installation and Applications CD into your CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive. Your CD should start automatically. If it does not, follow the steps below: i.
Step 2: Insert battery Use an alkaline battery with your player. When you turn on your player for the first time, the menu will be in English. To change the language 1. Press the Scroller. 1. The main menu appears. 2. Scroll Select the Settings option . . 3. Scroll Select the Language option 4. Scroll Select the language that you want.
Step 3: Transfer music 1. Flip open the rubber cover of your player's USB port. 1. 2. Connect your player to your computer's USB port using the supplied USB cable. 2. Your computer's USB port may be located on the front, back or side panels. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. Start Windows Explorer on your computer. You will notice that your player is recognized as a Removable Disk in Windows Explorer. Transfer audio files (MP3 or WMA files) to your player using a drag-and-drop operation.
Step 4: Disconnect player Before disconnecting your player from your computer, use the Windows Eject or Safely Remove Hardware icon on the Taskbar to safely disconnect your player. If not, your player may not be able to function normally. Follow these steps below to safely disconnect your player.
Step 5: Play music until your player turns on. 1. Press and hold the Play/Pause button 1. The CREATIVE logo appears on the LCD, followed by the ZEN Nano Plus logo. Music stored in your player starts playing automatically. Note that your player comes preloaded with some music to get you started. 2. Press the Volume Increase and Volume Decrease buttons to adjust the volume. until the 3. After you have finished using your player, press and hold the Play/Pause button Power off message disappears.
Using Your Player Turning your player on and off Transferring music and data Playing music Listening to FM radio Playing recorded tracks Recording with the built-in microphone Line-in encoding Locking your player Deleting tracks Formatting your player Page 22
Turning your player on and off until your player turns on. 1. Press and hold the Play/Pause button 1. The CREATIVE logo appears on the LCD, followed by the ZEN Nano Plus logo. Music stored in your player starts playing automatically. until the 2. After you have finished using your player, press and hold the Play/Pause button Power Off message disappears.
Transferring music and data Audio selections have been preloaded to your player to get you started quickly. If you wish to listen to music immediately, see Playing music . If you wish to download music tracks to your player, you can download music from Internet music sites (see Downloading from the Internet), rip them from your audio CDs to create digital files on your computer (see Ripping audio CDs), or encode them directly into your player (see Line-in encoding ).
Playing music 1. 1. 2. 3. Note Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Music option . Scroll to the audio track that you want to play and press the Play/Pause button . You can select different play modes to vary the playback order. For more information, see Play mode.
Overview of the Music screen Description 1 Elapsed time 2 Play status 3 Track title 4 EQ setting 5 Play mode Page 26
Playing MP3 encoded tracks 1. 1. 2. 3. 3. 4. Note Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Skip Folder option . Press the Scroller and Scroll Select the Encoded Tracks option. Note that the Encoded Tracks option is only available if you have encoded tracks. Scroll to an encoded track that you want to play and press the Play/Pause button . The track names of encoded tracks start with "EN". For information about creating MP3 encoded tracks, see Line-in encoding.
Skipping Folders During music playback, you can choose between different folders of music tracks. 1. During music playback, press the Scroller and Scroll Select the Skip Folder option Alternatively, press and hold the Scroller. 2. Scroll to the folder that you want to go to. 3. To resume normal playback, press the Scroller again. Note Your player can only recognize up to three subfolder levels from the root directory. You cannot skip folders when playing back microphone recordings. .
Listening to FM radio Your player's default FM region is International. You can manually scan for FM radio stations one at a time, or automatically scan for all available stations. You can save up to 32 radio presets. FM Radio has two views: Tuning and Preset. To manually scan for FM radio stations, you have to be in the Tuning view. If you have saved radio presets, you can select them by switching to the Preset view. To switch between Tuning and Preset views 1. Press the Scroller. 1. The main menu appears.
Overview of the FM Radio screen Description 1 Preset view 2 FM radio frequency 3 Preset number (only appears in the Preset view) 4 Stereo/Mono indicator 5 Tuning view Page 30
Automatically scanning and saving radio stations 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. Connect headphones to the Headphone jack. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the FM Radio option . A radio frequency appears on the LCD. Press the Scroller and Scroll Select the Autoscan option . The player scans and stores all radio stations that it can receive. At the end of the autoscan, it automatically saves all stations as presets and tunes in to the first preset.
Manually scanning and saving radio stations 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Connect headphones to the Headphone jack. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the FM Radio option . A radio frequency appears on the LCD. If you see a preset station, press the Play/Pause button to switch to the Tuning view. The preset station disappears. To scan for a station, turn the Scroller and hold for one second. The player scans for the next available station.
Selecting a preset station 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the FM Radio option . A radio frequency appears on the LCD. If you do not see a preset station, press the Play/Pause button view. A preset station appears. 4. Turn the Scroller to select the preset station you want.
Deleting a radio preset 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the FM Radio option . A radio frequency appears on the LCD. If you do not see a radio preset, press the Play/Pause button to switch to the Preset view. The radio preset appears. 4. Turn the Scroller to select the preset station you want. . 5. Press the Scroller and Scroll Select the Delete Preset option 5. The selected preset is deleted and your player tunes to the next available preset station.
Playing recorded tracks 1. 1. 2. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Recorded Tracks option . Scroll to a recording that you want to play and press the Play/Pause button .
Overview of the Recorded Tracks screen Description 1 Elapsed time 2 Play status 3 Currently playing track 4 Play mode Page 36
Recording with the built-in microphone 1. 1. 2. 3. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Microphone option . Press the Play/Pause button to start recording, and press it again to stop recording. The first recorded track is named VOC001, the second recorded track is named VOC002, the third recorded track is named VOC003, and so on.
Overview of the Microphone screen Description 1 Elapsed recording time 2 Record status 3 Recording progress bar 4 Remaining recording time Note You cannot pause and continue a voice recording. Recorded tracks are saved in the Recorded Tracks folder in your player's root directory. To view and play back recordings, Scroll Select the Recorded Tracks option . For more information, see Playing recorded tracks.
Line-in encoding You can directly encode or "rip" music to your player, instead of ripping music on your computer first and then transferring it to your player. 1. Connect the Line In jack on your player to the line output of an external stereo source, such as a CD or MiniDisc player, using the supplied Stereo cable. 1. 2. 2. 3. 4. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the MP3 Encoding option . Press the Play/Pause button to start the encoding.
Overview of the MP3 Encoding screen Description 1 Elapsed encoding time 2 Record status 3 Encoding progress bar 4 Remaining encoding time 5 Sync Track enabled 6 Encoding bitrate Note Enable Sync Track ("SYNC") to encode the songs from your source as separate tracks. For more information, see Synchronizing MP3 encoding. Encoded tracks are saved in the Encoded Tracks folder in your player's root directory. To view and play back encoded tracks, see Playing MP3 encoded tracks.
Adjusting sound quality of MP3 encoding You can adjust the sound quality of encoded tracks by changing the MP3 encoding bitrate. 1. In the MP3 Encoding screen, press the Scroller. and select the bitrate that you want. 2. Scroll Select the Encode Bitrate option 2. Note that higher bitrates offer better sound quality but take up more storage space.
Synchronizing MP3 encoding If you are encoding songs from a CD or MiniDisc, enable Sync Track ("SYNC") so that your player will encode the songs from your source as separate tracks. Your player will automatically stop when the last song is played. Sync Track is enabled by default. 1. In the MP3 Encoding screen, press the Scroller. and turn Sync Track on or off. When Sync Track is 2. Scroll Select the Sync Track option turned on, appears at the top right corner of the MP3 Encoding screen.
Locking your player Locking your player disables all buttons on your player except the Scroller. Lock your player when you want to prevent buttons from being accidently pressed. If you press a button while the player is locked, a popup message prompts you to unlock the player. This window is displayed for five seconds. 1. Press the Scroller. 1. The main menu appears. 2. Scroll Select the Lock option . 2. appears at the top right corner of the LCD. . 3.
Deleting tracks 1. 1. 2. 3. Note During playback, press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Delete option . Scroll Select to permanently delete the currently playing audio track or recording. For more song management tasks, connect your player to your computer and start Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer. Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer is your digital music center for playing, creating, organizing and transferring digital music.
Formatting your player If you need to format your player, backup the files in your player first. When you format your player, all songs and data files will be deleted. All new players are already formatted. 1. Connect your player to your computer's USB port using the supplied USB cable. 1. 2. Start Windows Explorer on your computer. Your player is recognized as a Removable Disk in Windows Explorer. 3.
Setting Preferences Play mode EQ Settings Page 46
Play mode 1. 1. 2. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Play mode option . Scroll Select one of the following options: o A-B appears at the top right o Repeats a selected section of a track. When you select this, corner of the LCD. o Press the Scroller when A is highlighted to mark the start point of the repeat, and press the Scroller again when B is highlighted to mark the end point. o Repeat track appears at the top right corner of the o Repeats the current song.
EQ EQ is a collection of equalizer settings that can enhance the sound of your music. Select preset settings such as Rock or Jazz, or customize your own setting. 1. Press the Scroller. 1. The main menu appears. 2. Scroll Select the EQ option . 3. Scroll Select one of the following options: o Rock appears at the top right corner of the LCD. o When you select this, o Pop appears at the top right corner of the LCD. o When you select this, o Classical appears at the top right corner of the LCD.
Settings 1. 1. 2. 3. Press the Scroller. The main menu appears. Scroll Select the Settings option . Scroll Select one of the following options: o LCD orientation o Flips the display for right-handed or left-handed orientations. The default orientation is for the right-handed. If you are left-handed, you can switch the orientation if you prefer to use the controls of your player with your left hand. o o o o o o o o o o o Contrast Adjusts the contrast of the LCD. Backlight Adjusts backlight duration.
About Music Files You can download music files from Internet music sites, or "rip" music files from audio CDs to your computer. Music files that you transfer to your player must, however, be MP3 or WMA files if you want to play them back. MP3 and WMA files are music files that have lossy compression encoding, which means that some data is lost during compression. However, using standard sampling rates and bitrates will ensure that your MP3 files retain much of their audio quality.
Downloading from the Internet To get digital music files from the Internet, use a search engine to locate sites with digital music content. You can use the supplied software to download audio files from any major Internet music download sites. Follow the instructions on the site to download the music files to your computer. Note 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).
Ripping audio CDs To get music tracks from your CDs to your player, you will need a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that can extract digital audio data, and Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer. Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer will read the audio information on your CD and convert it to WMA files using the bitrate you choose. The standard bitrate of most WMA files is 64 Kbps. Using the standard bitrate will ensure that your WMA files retain much of their audio quality.
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.
Usage Why does my player skip certain tracks? The player will only play valid media formats (MP3 and WMA files). Other types of media formats will be skipped. Why are some files/tracks corrupted when transferred to my player? Transfer may have been interrupted. Before disconnecting your player from your computer, stop your player first.
Updates Where can I get official information on all ZEN products? Visit www.creative.com for updates and downloads relating to all ZEN products, Creative's MP3 players and accessories.
General Specifications Size (WxHxD) 33.5 mm (1.3") x 65.5 mm (2.6") x 13.0 mm (0.5") Weight 22 g (0.8 oz) 34 g (1.
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