All JVJ players can play .MP3 and .WMA files, many JVJ players can play Audible files.

Because WMA's can use a lower bit rate than equivalent sounding MP3's they are generally half as large as MP3 files and you can store more music in less space on CDs, hard drives, or JVJ players.

Yes. Because there are many standards for VBR files, it cannot be guaranteed that every encoding software package will properly function with JVJ players. VBR files that do not comply with common standards may lack track time, fast forward, and/ or rewind capabilities.

Can I use my JVJ player to store non-audio files?

Yes. All JVJ device can be music player and removeable harddisk.

How long can my JVJ player play music before I need to recharge or replace its battery?

Battery life is dependent on many factors. The playing time is about 8 hours with li-lon battery and AAA. Especially model JVJ X9 FM 7.1 can play up to 15 hours.

What is Winamp?

Winamp is a mp3 music player for MS Windows. It plays a wide array of file formats and has become the defacto mp3 standard player.

How do I listen to MP3 files?

You just need to download an MP3 player for your local computer. Of course, a working sound card and speakers are also required. (or headphones if not speakers), Install, and Rock & Roll.

1. First you need to create a wave file, either from a CD or other source. If it is a CD, you will need a CD Ripper.

How do I make an MP3 from a CD?

1. You need a CD Ripper. The CD-Ripper or CD-Grabber will take the CD file and convert it into a WAV formated file.

2. Finally, you run a MP3 encoder over the WAV file to convert it into MP3 format.

The critical point in the process is to rip the files from cd digitally and not using analog methods. Rippers are digital. Microphones and LINEIN are analog. Try not to connect the audio out of your cd player into the IN line on your sound card or lots of sound quality is lost in the analog to digital conversion. Some rippers wont support your digital cd to sound card connection, and linein is your only choice.

To check if your CD is capable of digital ripping, try this page for a list of known compatible drives.

How do I make an MP3 from a Album or Cassette?

This is where that LINEIN input plug on your sound card comes into play. Normally, its where a microphone is plugged into your sound card. READ YOUR SOUND CARD MANUAL to see how this is done - you CAN destroy your sound card if you over drive your LINEIN. Never run a SPEAKER OUT into your LINEIN. Normally, you can run your LINEOUT of your cassette player to the LINEIN of your sound card. (this is NOT the headphones out on your cassette player - it is the LINEOUT).

Next, fire up a good recorder program on your platform. Set the source for the recording to AUX or MIC as necessary. Set the Record level and give it a test or two. Large differences in quality and file size can be attained by adjusting the bit rate and freq range. Note: files sizes of the generated wav files can be HUGE (200-300meg is not uncommon - make sure to have plenty of free disk space). From there it is as simple a converting the WAV file to a MP3 with an encoder.

How can I make my own CD's from my Mp3's?

1. First, decompress the .MP3 to .WAV format with a MP3 Decoder program.

2. Write the .WAV file to a CD. You then need a CD-Writer to write the wav file to cd. Some cd-writer software will go straight from mp3 to cd.

MP3 is an acronym for MPEG layer 3 which is a format/algorithm to tightly compress audio files. MP3 files have the .mp3 file extension on them. Up to 12 to 1 compression is attainable and produces high sound quality with very little loss.

The beauty of the MP3 format is that it contains to file header information - it is all contained with in the audio stream. This fact makes it perfect for the internet where audio can be streamed with quality and at relatively low transfer speeds.

The downside to all this, is that it takes a really good decoder (player) program to properly decompress the mp3 stream. This means high CPU usage. Its also the reason older platforms like Win3.1 have very few mp3 players available.

What are MP3 ID tags?

ID taggers are a way to add information to the mp3 without putting it into the actual name of the file. Most newer encoder programs can do this automatically. Try our utilities page for some ID3 taggers.

How do I use the WinAmp MiniBrowser?

At the bottom of the Minibrowser is a toolbar. The two icons on the left are back and forward arrows that work just like a browser. The red button is a stop button. The circle arrow reloads the current page.

The up arrow opens a menu of additional minibrowser options. The `Update Links' menu item updates the links on the minibrowser's start page. The `Open Internet Location' item opens a dialog box where you can type in a URL to open directly.

How do I play .mp3 files with my browser?

You first need to set up your browser (Opera, Netscape, Explorer, etc.) so that it properly accepts .mp3 files.

In Netscape Navigator, this is done under Preferences>Applications.

Explorer *should* be able to use whatever application is registered for that file extension. If you are using WinAmp, go into options and make sure that WinAmp is associated with .mp3.

Opera will ask you what to do with the .mp3 after you click on it. Choose Open with Application and find your mp3 player in the directory listing.

You may also choose to automatically dl .mp3 files straight to disk with the "save to disk" option on all three browsers.

I cannot get my mp3 player to connect with my computer

Depending on the type of player you have or depending on what operating system you are using, you will need to install USB drivers from the installation CD. Please ensure you read the manual thoroughly. For USB drive mp3 players like the Jens MP100 you won't need USB drivers unless you are using Windows 98. To achieve connection first time (in theory anyway) please see the instructions below:

1. Install the supplied File transfer manager software from the supplied CD.
2. Turn on your MP3 player
3. Connect the USB cable to your USB port
4. Connect your switched on MP3 player to the other end of the USB cable
5. This should (once again in theory) start the automatic "hardware installation wizard"
6. Follow the installation wizard to install the USB drivers
7. Once you have completed the install procedure you are ready to install the file transfer software from the CD.
8. Eject the CD from your CD drive and then put it back in your drive to start "autorun"
9. Now install your File transfer software.

OK, if you are using Windows 98 this isn't a big surprise, as Windows 98 sometimes likes to be awkward. To check if the USB drivers installed correctly follow the instructions below:

• Double click "My computer"
• Double click "Control Panel"
• Double click "System"
• Click "Device Manager"
• Scroll down the "Device Manager" window and expand "Universal Serial Bus Controllers"
  

If the driver has been installed properly, then it should appear under "Universal Serial Bus Controllers".

Depending on which program you used to "Rip" (see ourGuide to ripping" your CD collection there will be an option to enable or disable DRM (digital rights management) or PRM (personal rights management). You will need this option disable BEFORE you rip your CD's. If you rip your CD's with this option activated your WMA files will not play. There is no way to disable this option once you have ripped your CD's.

If at all possible please try installing the software on a different computer. Computers are so popular today that most people know somebody with a computer. This will help eliminate your player or computer from the equation.

Manufacturers battery life quotes are based on perfect playing conditions. They are able to achieve 10 hours playback by turning the player on, setting the volume at a mid range, selecting repeat all, pressing play and leaving the player to play with not human interference. As soon as you start pumping up the volume, skipping tracks and turning the player on and off the battery life is reduced.

I have a 128MB player with 30MB of free space but I am unable to download new files, why is this?

This is due to the length  of your file names. For example, if you have a file called "Britney Spears - Hit me baby (one more time) - dance remix.mp3" If you were to change the file name to "Britney Spears - Hit me baby.mp3" Then this releases memory on the player, thus enabling you to download more files.

If the files have been downloaded from the internet (this is illegal and mp3players.co.uk to not recommend you do this) there is a chance they will be corrupt and this is why your player is freezing up to. They may play perfectly well on your computer but not on your player. To confirm if it's the files that are the problem convert one of your CD's (see our ripping guide) to MP3 or WMA and download them onto the player. If they play perfectly well then the problem lies with your downloaded files and not the player.

The majority of faults are software or memory based. If it's a memory problem please format the internal memory using the relevant supplied software. Some players can be cured by updating the firmware that is released by the manufactures. When firmware is released you will be able to download it from our news section. Once you have downloaded the firmware just follow the instructions in the manual to hopefully cure your problems.

I have transferred my files onto the MP3 player and they show up in the transfer manager software but they won't play on my player. Why is this?

You need to make sure you have converted the files into digital format. If you have just transferred the files from a standard audio CD they will not play on your player. Please see our "ripping guide" for information on how convert your music.

My memory upgrade card will not work in my MP3 player?

This is a common problem that stems from using the memory card in a different device such as a Digital Camera. The majority of problems like this are with Smart Media Cards. For some weird reason once a memory card has been used in a different device no amount of formatting will allow the MP3 player to read the card. This is not a problem with your MP3 player. If the memory card is brand new and it still isn't working then the problem could be with the MP3 player or the card. If you have purchased the card from ourselves then the problem becomes ours. However, if the memory card was purchased from a different source then you need to determine which product has the actual fault. This is one reason why we recommend you buy your upgrade cards from our store as you only have one company to blame for the fault and not two.

How come none of the links work when I click on them?

Most public servers disallow direct links to files on thier servers, so to get around that follow the instructions for your browser. Internet Explorer: RIGHT CLICK on the file to download and choose SAVE AS to download the file. Netscape: Hold the SHIFT key then click the file to download If you still find that the file you want cant be downloaded then the file probably was deleted and you can notify us to look for a new link to that file.

I downloaded a file and it wont play on my MP3 player?

Most public servers disallow direct links to files on thier servers, so to get around that follow the instructions for your browser. Internet Explorer: RIGHT CLICK on the file to download and choose SAVE AS to download the file. Netscape: Hold the SHIFT key then click the file to download If you still find that the file you want cant be downloaded then the file probably was deleted and you can notify us to look for a new link to that file.

The MP3 I downloaded is not the same song that was listed?

We do not download files for authenticity and only provide links that we find around the net so we cannot and will not verify that the file link is the same as the description. Notify us so we can take down that link or find one that is the correct song.

My file transfers time out or I cant resume.

Use GetRight to download the files as transfers tend to break or freeze quite frequently. With Getright you can resume your file, so you don't have to start all over again. Also note that some servers like Geocities only allow you to resume one file at a time.