User’s Guide Zen Portable Media Center 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
1 Introduction Zen Portable Media Center ................................................................................................................... Windows Media Player 10............................................................................................................ Terminology ...................................................................................................................................... System Requirements.........................................................
Using the Protective Carrying Case .................................................................................................... Locking and Unlocking your Player...................................................................................................... Turning the player on or off................................................................................................................... Navigating Menus ...............................................................................
Managing Pictures ...................................................................................................................................... Locating a Picture............................................................................................................................. Viewing a Slide Show ...................................................................................................................... Setting Up a Slide Show....................................................
DRM.......................................................................................................................................... Li-Ion Polymer........................................................................................................................ NTSC........................................................................................................................................ PAL...........................................................................................
Introduction
Introduction Zen Portable Media Center Congratulations on making an excellent decision in purchasing the Zen Portable Media Center! With this device, you can have all of your favorite videos, music, and pictures at your fingertips. Use your computer to create or download digital entertainment programs, including recorded TV shows, videos, home movies, music, and pictures, then store them all on your device.
System Requirements Minimum Recommended ❍ Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC ❍ Intel® Pentium® II 233 MHz or better processor ❍ Intel® Pentium® 4 1.6GHz or better processor ❍ CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive with digital audio extraction support ❍ USB 2.
Accessories The following accessories will be available from www.creative.com: • Li-Ion Polymer battery • FM Wired Remote • IR Remote • Docking Station Customer Support Services and Warranty Information You can find Customer Support Services, Warranty and other information in the Installation CD. Customer Support Services d:\support\\support.pdf Warranty d:\warranty\\\warranty.pdf Please keep your Proof of Purchase for the duration of the warranty period.
About Your Player
About Your Player This section lists and describes your player’s buttons, controls and exterior connectors.
Button / Connector Description Start button ❍ Press to display menu options on the LCD. ❍ Press to switch between the main menu and the currently active screen. Power button ❍ Press and hold briefly to turn your player on and off. ❍ Resets your player when you press it with the end of a thin object 1. Reset button 2. Navigation buttons ❍ Use these to select menu options. 3. Power connector ❍ Connect this to a power outlet using the supplied power adapter. 4.
Top and Bottom Views 1 2 Figure 2-2: Your Zen Portable Media Center Button / Connector Description 1. Battery Compartment ❍ Holds the high capacity battery. 2. Data connector ❍ Connects to the USB travel cable or optional docking station.
Selecting Menu Options In the following sections of this document, we use the term ‘select’ to indicate that you should use the Navigation buttons (Up, Down, Left or Right) to highlight menu options, then press the OK button to select the option. Navigation buttons 1 2 5 3 4 Button Description 1. Up button ❍ Press to go to the menu option or selection above the current selection. ❍ When viewing pictures, press to see the previous picture. 2.
Button 5. Left button Description ❍ Press to go to the menu option or selection to the left of the current selection. ❍ When playing audio, press to see different views of the album, genre, playlist or track. Play Control buttons 2 1 Button 3 Description 1. Previous button ❍ Press and hold to go backwards in an audio track, video or program. ❍ Press to go the previous content item. 2. Play / Pause button ❍ Press to start, pause or resume playback. 3.
Getting Started
Getting Started This chapter assists you in setting up and configuring your player, and also describes some basic operations. Inserting the battery 1 2 3 4 Do not force the battery in if it does not fit. Check the battery orientation before trying again.
Powering your player 1. Open the battery compartment in the direction of the arrows. 2. Move the activation switch in the direction shown in the diagram above. This activates your player for use the first time you start it up. 3. Insert the battery as shown. 4. Close the battery compartment. 1. Connect the power adapter as shown in the diagram. 2. Turn on the power from the power source. Remember to use only the accessories packaged for you.
Charging the battery Fully charge the battery supplied with your player before you use it. For the first time only, charge the battery for sixteen hours. From the second time onwards, the battery should fully charge within six hours. Your fully charged battery should give you up to twenty-two hours* of continuous audio playback, or seven hours** of continuous video playback. Available playtime for audio or video may vary, depending on usage.
Battery charge status Icon Your player displays one of the following icons, depending on the battery’s charged status or the power source (battery or external power). Power State Notes ❍ your player is running from external power only, but may still be charging the battery ❍ the battery charging indicator lights up in amber when the battery is charging, and lights up in green when the battery is fully charged.
Setting Up Your Player DO NOT connect your player to your computer before installing the software. 1. Insert the Installation CD into your CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive. The disc supports Windows Autoplay mode and starts running automatically. 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the software setup. 3. If prompted, restart your computer. 4. Connect your player to your computer as shown. Figure 3-3: Connecting your Zen Portable Media Center 5.
Connect your player as shown, with the supplied video cable.
Using the Protective Carrying Case Your player comes with a carrying case that you can use to prop up your player for better picture or video viewing. 1. Insert your player into the carrying case as shown. 2. Flip the top of the case back to support your player. Figure 3-5: Using the protective carrying case Locking and Unlocking your Player Lock your player to disable all buttons on the player, when you want to prevent buttons, like PAUSE, from being accidently pressed.
Turning the player on or off Your player must be unlocked before you can use any buttons or controls. To unlock your player, see "Locking and Unlocking your Player" on page 3-7. To turn your player on: Press the POWER button. The main menu appears. To turn your player off: Press the POWER button. The player turns off.
After making some menu selections, you can see a horizontal menu at the top of the screen. Press the Left or Right navigation buttons to move horizontally between views, for example, when viewing pictures, you can sort pictures by name or date. Figure 3-8: Your player’s artists and my pictures views Transferring content You can use Windows Media Player 10 to transfer videos, programs, pictures and audio tracks into your Zen Portable Media Center.
Personalizing Your Player
Personalizing Your Player This chapter assists you in personalizing your player. Personalizing your player Your player offers you many personalization options. You can: • Select equalization presets, see "Effects" on page 4-2. • Adjust display settings, see "Display" on page 4-1. • Enable or disable visual and audio feedback, see "Effects" on page 4-2. • Set the default language, see "International" on page 4-2. • Reset the player’s settings to its original setting, see "Reset" on page 4-2.
4. Effects You can choose to turn effects on or off, to make using the player a little more interesting. 1. Press the Start button. 2. International Reset Select Backlight, Brightness or TV out to change any of these settings. Select settings. 3. In the Settings screen, select Effects. 4. Select Screen Effects or Sounds to turn the effect on or off. You can change the default language and the language variant used on your player’s screens. 1. Press the Start button. 2. Select settings. 3.
Information To ’select’ a menu option, use the navigation buttons (Up, Down, Left or Right) to highlight menu options, then press the OK button to select the option.
Managing Content
Managing Content About Content Types When you transfer a video that has a combined video and audio bitrate greater than 800kbps, Windows Media Player 10 changes the bitrate to less than 800kbps. You can check a video’s bitrate from the Windows Media Player 10’s Library view. Getting Content Zen Portable Media Center plays many different types of content, including video files, audio tracks, recorded TV programs and still pictures.
Transferring content With Windows Media Player 10, you can choose between Automatic and Manual synchronization options. Using Automatic synchronization, Windows Media Player 10 compares both the media libraries in your player and computer and automatically transfers new content from your computer to your player. Using Manual synchronization, you can choose specific content to transfer to and from your computer and player.
3. In the menu that appears, click the Delete from Device option. Your player displays the "updating" screen. Managing Videos To play videos, you must first transfer the videos to your player. The videos are categorized by name and date in your player’s Video Library. Locating a Video The videos in your player are sorted by name and date for quicker searches. Use the play controls to pause or resume playback, or to go forward or backward in the video.
Managing Pictures With Zen Portable Media Center’s high-capacity storage, you can store thousands of photos in your player, and even set up a slide show, so that you can share memories with friends and family. Pictures are categorized by "date" and "name" in Picture Library. Your player only displays pictures that are in the JPEG (JPG) format. Locating a Picture You can sort pictures by date or name for quicker searches. 1. Press the Start button. Viewing a Slide Show Setting Up a Slide Show 2.
2. Use the navigation buttons to highlight Transitions. 3. Press the OK button repeatedly to choose a transition time. It ranges from 5 seconds to 30 seconds. 4. Press the Left button twice to view your slide show with the new settings. To view a slide show while playing audio tracks Managing Audio 1. Play audio tracks as described in "Managing Audio" on page 5-5. 2. Press the Start button. 3. View the slide show.
Deleting, modifying or renaming albums, artists or genres, including renaming of audio tracks, must be done in Windows Media Player 10. Playing a Track Press the Left or Right navigation buttons to see different views of the currently playing album, genre, playlist or track. Viewing Track Information Playing Tracks from an Album, Artist or Genre 1. Press the Start button. 2. Select my music. 3. Use the Left or Right buttons to navigate to a category (album, artist, playlist, song or genre). 4.
5. Changing Play Modes Select the play all option. When playing audio tracks, you can choose to change the play mode, enable an equalizer preset, or purchase the track. 1. When playing audio tracks, press the Right button until you see four options for shuffle play, repeat play, equalizer and purchase. 2. Use the Up or Down buttons to navigate to one of the options. 3. Select shuffle play to play the tracks in a random order. 4. Select repeat play to repeat playback of all the tracks. 5.
Viewing the Contents of the Portable Playlist Deleting All Tracks from the Portable Playlist 3. Use the Left or Right buttons to list tracks by album, artist, genre or song. 4. Select a album, artist, genre or song. 5. Select the add all to portable playlist option. The tracks are added to the portable playlist, and start playing. 1. Press the Start button. 2. Select my music. 3. Use the Left or Right buttons to see the portable playlist. 4. Select portable playlist, then press the OK button.
Appendixes
General Specifications
General Specifications General Specifications for your player Size (W x H x D) ❑ 144 mm x 80.7 mm x 27 mm or 5.67" x 3.18" x 1.06" Weight ❑ 340 gms or 12 oz with a battery Capacity ❑ 20 GB hard drive Display ❑ Large 96.5 mm or 3.
❑ Picture format — JPEG ❑ Windows Media Player 10 supported formats — ASF, DVR-MS, AVI, MPEG1, MPEG2*, MPE, M1V, MPG, MP2, WAV, AU, SND Frequency Response ❑ 20 Hz~20000 Hz Headphone Out ❑ 1/8" stereo minijack AV Out ❑ PAL or NTSC Operating Environment ❑ Temperature: 5 to 40 ° Celsius ❑ Humidity: 10% to 80% Storage Environment ❑ Temperature: -20 to 60 ° Celsius ❑ Humidity: 5% to 85% * To play this format, you must install an MPEG2 decoder on your computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions This section covers common questions you might have while using your player. If you have an issue with this product, you may wish to consult our self-help tool “Knowledge Base” for online troubleshooting and solutions. Go to www.creative.com and select your region. Usage Why does the player skip certain tracks? The player will only play valid media formats. Other types of media formats are skipped. Generally, your player plays MP3, WMV and WMA files.
Files that exceed the following specifications may require more time to change or transcode: This should be less than or equal to Bitrate 800 kbps Video or image resolution 320 x 240 Frames Per Second (FPS) 30 WMA Profile Simple (SP) I have to charge the battery quite often. Is there anything I can do to make it last longer? ❑ Set a shorter backlight setting. ❑ Set a lower brightness setting. ❑ Avoid skipping ahead and back within tracks unnecessarily.
Updates Where can I get information and updates for Zen Portable Media Center? Visit www.creative.com for updates and downloads relating to Zen Portable Media Center and its accessories. You can also visit www.microsoft.com for updates and downloads relating to Windows Media Player 10.
About Recovery Screens If an error occurs, you may see any one of the following diagrams, indicating the general nature of the problem. Recovery Screen Likely Causes ❍ Your player’s firmware may be corrupted. Suggested Action ❍ Connect your device to your computer with the USB travel cable. Screen 2 (below) appears. ❍ Visit www.creative.com for firmware updates. ❍ Contact Creative Customer Support Services for assistance.
Recovery Screen Likely Causes ❍ Content in your player has been corrupted by resetting the player during a synchronization session. ❍ Your device has encountered a problem that cannot be automatically fixed. Suggested Action ❍ Reset your player, then connect your player to your computer and resynchronize the content. ❍ Contact Creative Customer Support Services for assistance.
Terms and Technology Explained
Terms and Technology Explained Glossary This section provides you with a brief explanation of terms, technology and abbreviations used or referred to in this User’s Guide. DRM Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technology which enables the copyright owner of intellectual property, like a digital audio track, to control how you, the listener, can use the file.
Transcoding Transcoding is the process of converting a media file from one format to another. Windows Media Player 10 transcodes digital audio files, videos, pictures and other media types transferred from your computer to your player. Windows Media Player 10 converts videos and audio tracks to WMV and WMA formats respectively.