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Features
Windows Media Player 10
Software/System Requirements
Specifications
Features
Product Overview: The Creative Zen
Portable Media Center allows you to digitally store all of your favorite videos,
music and photos in one convenient place. It plays
video, audio, and still pictures from its built-in 20GB hard drive, and features
a 3.8" LCD screen.
The player supports MP3 and WMA audio, Windows Media Video, and JPEG still
pictures. It has a line output to connect to a TV using the supplied cable, an 1/8" (3.5mm)
stereo mini-jack on the side of the player for use with stereo headphones and a
speaker on the front. The
player comes with a semi-hard protective travel case and a Lithium-ion
polymer rechargeable battery.
Storage Capacity: The 20GB hard
drive will hold up to 9,000 songs (average 4 minutes per song at 64 kbps WMA), up to 85 hours of video (average
2 hours per movie encoded at 500
kbps), or tens of thousands of photos (500 KB per photo).
USB 2.0 Compatible: This unit
proprietary data port is compatible with USB 2.0 for fast data transfers to and
from your computer via the supplied USB cable (standard USB A plug at the
computer end). The player is also backward compatible with USB 1.1.
LCD Screen: The Zen Portable
Media Center features a 3.8", 320 x 240 pixel backlit LCD screen.
Preset Buttons: There are four
preset buttons across the top of the player, they are used to bookmark specific
files for quick direct access.
Power Requirements: The
Portable Media Center is powered by the supplied rechargeable Lithium-ion
polymer battery
or can operate on household current using the supplied AC adapter.
The battery provides approximately 22 hours of continuous music playback time or
7 hours continuous video playback. Initially the battery should be charged for
16 hours, thereafter charging will take about 6 hours. An LED on the player
lights amber when the battery is charging and green when charging is complete.
There is also a three segment battery icon on the display that temporarily show
current battery state. One segment showing indicates up to 30% charge, two
segments showing indicates up to 60% charge, all three segments showing
indicates full (or nearly full) charge.
Lock: The player has a lock
switch that disables all buttons on the player,
to prevent accidental activation.
Windows Media Player 10
Transfer Modes: Like most file
management software, Windows Media Player 10 has manual synchronization to
transfer specific files (audio, video, and still photo). Windows Media Player 10 also has an
Automatic synchronization mode which compares the library on your PC with the
files already on your Portable Media Center and automatically loads any new
files in your PC library into the player.
Video Files: Video files on
your PC hard drive recorded using Microsoft Windows XP Media Center are easily
loaded onto the Zen Portable Media Center using the included Windows Media
Player 10. The files may include TV shows, home video, and movies purchased and
downloaded from the internet. The video files are categorized by name and date
on the player and can be sorted either way or by new additions.
Music Files: The
same Windows software also loads music tracks from
your PC. The music files cam be downloaded from internet music sites or "ripped" from audio CDs. Music files
are
encoded in MP3 or WMA. The music files are categorized by album, artist,
playlist, song, or genre and can be sorted using any of these.
Digital Photos: Tens
of thousands of still pictures can be loaded from your PC to the Media Center.
Pictures are sorted by name, date, or a list of new additions. A slide show can
be displayed with interval options of 5, 7, 10, 15, and 30 seconds. Music from
the My Music section can be played along with the slideshow.
Controls: The start button
prompts the main menu. Four cursor buttons are used to highlight menu items and
an OK button enters your selection. A back button jumps back one screen. There
are also power, volume +/- buttons, preset, and standard transport buttons
(play/pause/forward/reverse).
Menu: The main menu toggles
between the My TV, My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, and My Settings options.
Each of the content screens will sort by different criteria. TV, pictures, and
video sort by name and date. Music sorts by album, artist, playlist, song, or
genre.
Play Modes: Play modes vary by
medium
- My TV option lists all programs
loaded and give the choice of resuming where playback left off or from the
beginning.
- My Music lists the folders loaded
and gives the choice of play all, play all of file (album), play track (within
album), add to playlist (one file at a time), repeat, shuffle, shuffle repeat.
- My Pictures will show folders of
pictures, individual pictures, or a slide show with interval options of 5, 7,
10, 15, and 30 seconds. Music from the my music section can be played along
with the slideshow.
- My Videos sorts the loaded video
clips and also has a Portable Media Center tutorial loaded.
Settings: The settings menu allows
adjustment of several player parameters
-
Equalizer: Preset EQ
settings enhance audio for a particular genre, including Acoustic,
Classical, Electronic, Hip Hop, Jazz, Pop, and Rock
- Display: The brightness and
backlight timeout setting (always on if watching video) are adjustable and the
TV system output is NTSC or PAL
- Effects: Screen and sound
effects turned on or off
- International: Language is
selectable
- Restore original settings:
Resets player to factory settings
- Information: Provides
information about the player, including the firmware version, total amount of
used and free space in the
player,
the total number of TV programs, songs, albums, pictures, and videos stored in
the player
Software/System
Requirements
Included Software: The supplied
Installation CD contains the following applications:
- Windows Media Player 10: Allows
you to organize and transfer audio and video to and from the player, rip audio CDs, transfer tracks by manual selection or
with AutoSync, as well as create and edit playlists
- User Guide: Instruction
manual
Minimum System Requirements:
- OS: Microsoft Windows XP
- CPU: Intel Pentium II 233
MHz or AMD K6-2 266 MHz (Pentium 4 1.6 GHz or higher
recommended)
- Drive: CD-ROM drive with
digital audio extraction support
- RAM: 64 MB (256 MB or more recommended)
- Free Hard Disk Space: 100 MB
(300 MB or more recommended for audio and video content storage)
- Interface: USB 1.1 (2.0
recommended for faster transfer)
Firmware Upgrades: Occasionally,
firmware upgrades for the Zen Portable Media Center are available from the Creative Labs
website.
Specifications
Frequency Response: 20 Hz-20kHz
Data Interface: USB 2.0 (backward compatible with USB 1.1)
Display: 3.8", 64k color, 320 x 240 pixel resolution
Video Format: Windows Media Video 7,8, and 9
Audio Format: WMA and MP3
Picture Format: JPEG
Video Output: NTSC and PAL (switchable)
Weight: 12 ounces
