Clip Long File Time Display Issues

MP3 players Sansa Clip | Clip+
1

I am writing here to see if anyone has any ideas, and/or to post a bug to make sure it is documented and others are aware of this issue.  I have spoken with Sandisk Tech Support and they claim it is a bug and is being worked on now that I brought this to their attention.  Now here is what I have found…with exhaustive testing of different formats, different bit rates, different sampling rates and even recorded 1 hour and 10 minutes of FM Radio from the built in FM Radio recorder with the same results.

If you have an audio file that you want to play on the Sansa Clip that is over 1 hour in length the hour display will be incorrect, with the exception of Audible audiobooks for some reason these display just fine, probably because they were tested and expected to be long.  I also got the same results with multi-hour audiobooks that were in wma and mp3 formats from Overdrive and Netlibrary.  I have many 5 hour long radio broadcasts that I record and listen too and when I play them on my Clip I get the following results:

@ 30 minutes Clip displays 0:30:00 (as expected)

@1 hour 30 minutes Clip displays 0:30:00 (looks like I am at 30 minutes because the hour did not increment)

@ 2 hour 30 minutes Clip displays 0:30:00 (still not incrementing)

Now I put two 5 hour files together so it was 10+ hours, when I finally got to the 10 hour mark fast forwarding here is what I saw:

@ 9 hours 59 minutes Clip displays 0:59:00

@ 10 hours Clip displays 1:00:00

The conclusion is that the display is truncating a double digit hour 00 to only the first digit of the double digit hour so it displays 0 until you get to the 10 hour point.  I did not test but I would bet a 20 hour file would increment to 2 when you reach the 20 hour point. 

Just as a note, I have tried upgrading firmware, the device is new on the market so there is not updates yet, I hope one comes out soon or I may return it and repurchase after I here of a new firmware release but this may be a deal breaker for me.  Another note, the same files display the time just fine on my BlackBerry Pearl, my iPod and the Zen Stone Plus that I purchased and returned because I like the features and form factor of the Clip better. 

If anyone has any ideas of how to correct this without waiting for a firmware upgrade I am open to ideas.  I have tried almost everything that I (and Sandisk Support) could think of.

Now for the positive part of the post…I do love this player, the form factor is awesome, the simplicity of connecting, loading, menus, etc is great, the sound quality is fantastic, way less static and hissing with the same files as the Zen Stone Plus.  I just hate when the display is not accurate, it frustrates me to no end and will usually be a deal breaker since I am so picky about the UI looking right.  I know I should be so picky but I can’t help it.  Anyhow, if you are using the player for short music files or official Audible audiobooks, this is a highly recommend player for the price, form factor and quality.  The build is a little on the flimsy sice and some of the keys rattle when you are holding it but if you are playing music and have headphones on you can’t even here the rattling of the keys.

SIBION

Message Edited by sibion on 10-23-2007 03:24 PM

2

This bug will be fixed on a future update so good news.  Expect about a month to see it on the Sansa Updater.

3

sansafix,

This is good news, I check regulary for this so hopefully it will come sooner rather than later.  Any other fixes that we can expect to see in the future update?

I am surprised that a “newbie” (forums term not mine) to this forum would have information that seems like it would only be known by the dev team.  Not that I am questioning you, as I am new here and any glimmer of hope that my device will be the perfect running companion in a month or so is good news.  Just nice to see a “newbie” with insider info, on other boards it is usually a mod that has information that seems to be part of future plans and/or upgrades. 

4

Im not a newbie.  It may take a while for the release to make it thru the qualification cycle.  Stay tuned.

5

staying tuned, I look forward to an update as this player is perfect in almost everyway except the one from my experience to date!!!

6

Thought I would provide an update to this.  I got v01.01.13 firmware yesterday which does not fix the issue.  I don’t know what it fixes but the only noticable difference is that when you unplug the device from the computer it says “Disconnecting” and the “Refresh Database” shows progress properly.  These are two things I really don’t need or care about but thought I would mention them.

The most concerning part about my recent calls with Sandisk Technical Support is that one rep speaks with Level 2 support and says they have never heard about this problem.  Another rep that I had to speak with because I asked to talk to Level 2 support directly and was redirected around in a circle and got Level 1 support again was that the Clip has time display limitations of one (1) hour and they are working on a firmware upgrade to fix a number of other bugs as well.

So which is it, have they never heard and are not working on the fix or are they working on the fix to this issue.  I ask for anyone that has the same issue to make a brief note in this thread to see how many users experience this issue.  I know sansafix says they are working on it but cannot make heads or tails of if this is actually going to be fixed or if I should get a different unit.

SIBION

7

Sison,

The fix is in the QA qualification stage.  Please trust me on this.  Thanks for highlighting the problem and rest assured it gets fixed soon.

8

sibion wrote:

Thought I would provide an update to this.  I got v01.01.13 firmware yesterday which does not fix the issue.  I don’t know what it fixes but the only noticable difference is that when you unplug the device from the computer it says “Disconnecting” and the “Refresh Database” shows progress properly.  These are two things I really don’t need or care about but thought I would mention them.

 

The most concerning part about my recent calls with Sandisk Technical Support is that one rep speaks with Level 2 support and says they have never heard about this problem.  Another rep that I had to speak with because I asked to talk to Level 2 support directly and was redirected around in a circle and got Level 1 support again was that the Clip has time display limitations of one (1) hour and they are working on a firmware upgrade to fix a number of other bugs as well.

 

So which is it, have they never heard and are not working on the fix or are they working on the fix to this issue.  I ask for anyone that has the same issue to make a brief note in this thread to see how many users experience this issue.  I know sansafix says they are working on it but cannot make heads or tails of if this is actually going to be fixed or if I should get a different unit.

 

SIBION

sansafix is correct. SanDisk is aware of the issue and is currently qualifying a firmware that will include the fix.

9

Thanks all for responding.  I get nervous when I call on another issue and ask about this issue to see if they have an estimate for a new firmware and they say they speak with Level 2 support and come back and say that Level 2 support was “dumbfounded” about this issue and had never heard of it.  I will hang tight and wait for a firmware upgrade. 

Will someone post here when the firmware update is available and if it is retrievable via Sansa Updater or another method? 

Also, just because I am interested, what is the full lifecycle of a firmware upgrade after it is determined that one will be released and all of the bug fixes/enhancements have been determined.  Is the qualification process the last step before release?  Any idea of the firmware revision number and release date?  Just a curious and anxious consumer. 

I so badly want this to be the perfect small mp3 player.  Everything else about it is perfect (for my use) except this one annoyance so I am anxious for it be fixed.

SIBION

Message Edited by sibion on 10-30-2007 09:14 PM

10

I’m having a problem w/ the same (netlibrary file over 1 hour) but also - how do you get the file to load under Audiobook?  Mine comes up as a song - I bought this JUST to play audio books, so it is VERY frustrating to have to flip through all the menus just to find my book…

11

Currently only Audible files will be considered as audiobooks.  Can you tell me the ID header or Genre information of the book?

Try using the genre option to find the book?

12

I bought this MP3 player to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. So far the ones from NetLibrary won’t play properly. If I loose my place in the track I cannot fast forward to get back to my previous spot, it just goes back to the begining of the track. I know they are working on a fix and I am looking forward to it because otherwise I LOVE this device. If it is not remedied soon I will be returning it which is a huge bummer because I really like it. :cry:

13

I have this problem too, but it is worse than what you stated.  The fast forward does not work past 1 hour and if playing a file longer than one hour, it will not resume after powering off to the correct place if you have listened past the hour mark.  This is really a deal breaker.  I have used the e-box tool and been told that a firmware fix might change, but they could not specifically promise when of if this would be fixed.

14

I also bought the clip exclusively for audiobooks from NetLibrary. So until this problem gets fixed, the clip is useless for me. On the other hand, if the firmware update gets done and takes care of this problem this player will be ideal in terms of what I was looking for.

15

We are developing fixes for both of these problems.  You will be happy when you get the updates.  Stay tuned.

SansaFix

16

both fast forward and resume don’t seem to work on my player past the 25 minute mark, and the hour marker also doesn’t display once a book goes past the hour mark.

I will likely return this to the store where I got it; maybe if reviews are positive after the firmware upgrade comes out, I will try again.  At this point, since I want it for audiobooks only and I already have a player that works fine for audible but not netlibrary or overdrive books, it’s $60.00 I could spend on a player that definately works.

This is very disappointing.  I like everything else about the player =(

/ali

17

Is there a way to split the tracks into multiple tracks so you don’t run into the too-long-file issue? I too am having problems listening to overdrive audio books.

My audio book files from Overdrive are .wma files, and Netlibrary files are .wma files too. (Someone had asked that in an earlier post to this thread) - is there a way to have them show up in audiobooks rather than music?

18

We are aware of problems with Netlibrary and Overdrive.  The best idea will be to wait till a new firmware comes out and fixes the problems.  Splitting the file if its DRM protected, might be a challenge. 

Thanks to everyone on this thread for pointing SanDisk at the problem.  We are also duplicating this issue internally and developing a fix.

Currently only Audible content is considered audiobooks.  We might be able to come up with a way for the OverDrive and Netlibrary stuff to show up there as well.  Let us think about how to do it.  One idea would be to pick up on long file length and WMA 32Kbps bit rate and Protected.  Currently the ID3 tags dont contain the information we need.  perhaps some users can give us suggestions.

Thanks!

SansaFix

19

sansafix wrote:
Currently the ID3 tags dont contain the information we need.  perhaps some users can give us suggestions.

Would it be practical if the genre “Audio Book” showed in the audio section? Artist would = author, and album would = title. Not all audiobooks come from Audible, Netlibrary, or Overdrive, and those might not be WMA 32Kbps bit rate or protected.

Just a thought . . .

Andrew

20

I know in WMP you can change the genre to “audiobook” in the library section, so maybe anything marked as ‘audiobook’ genre could go in the audiobook section.

Personally, I don’t care about this, since books are the only thing I will use this thing for, so I don’t need to separate it from music, and can use WMP playlists to group books.

/ali