Nomad Jukebox 3: 1.40.06 Firmware!

[Rukes]

Now THIS is a nice Christmas present. Looks like this update brings the NJB3 up-to-date with the Zen in terms of menu style.

You can download it here:
http://us.creative.com/support/downl...ame=Windows+XP

Note that it is reccomended that you use USB to update the firmware.

From the readme:

2. FIRMWARE ENHANCEMENTS
---------------------

2.1 Adds support for up to 16,000 songs

2.2 Enables autoscrolling of track titles when the player
is idle

2.3 Adds a Time & Date display

2.4 Allows continuous recording past the 10 hour mark
with Wired Remote if sufficient hard disk space is
available

2.5 Adds the Selected Music option to the main menu

2.6 Displays queued playlists as groups rather than flat
lists in the Selected Music screen

2.7 Adds the Play any track option to the Music Library
menu

2.8 Adds the Reset Settings option to the Settings menu

2.9 Adds a new skin for the Now Playing screen

2.10 Adds a new Profiles feature

2.11 Adds a new continuous recording feature where very
long recording sessions are automatically divided
into separate tracks

2.12 Allows you to display the main menu options as
graphical icons

3. FIXES
-----

3.1 Supports WMA9 VBR songs with bitrates higher than
200kbps

3.2 Resolves the recording break issue so that a
recording session is seamless when divided into
separate tracks using the Fast Forward button

 

[austonia]

YES BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ahhh Creative is awesome. A player almost 2 years old and they are still making improvements! NJB3 rocks!!

edit :
best new feature ... text scrolling! finally! about time!

 

[austonia]

damn, they really made some improvements. highlights :

the new tabbed main menu is much better. it feels like a more polished player now.

AUTOCLEAR option in your profile. This clears out the playlist automatically whenever you play something. This was one of my biggest gripes, having to constantly clear out the playlist when I just wanted to start a new one as i browse through lists. It was a mild pain to do it manually all the time.

The Now Playing screen is much improved. I like the larger time remaining display and better use of screen real estate.

Scolling text for long names that don't fit on the screen when looking through lists. a must-have feature these days. The scrolling takes a second to start and it's a little jerky, but it works. I wish all players had the same scrolling text performance as the e.Digital Odyssey - fast, smooth scrolling as soon as you highlight a long name.

Additional track details. codec type and bitrate are now available.

Note that when I loaded the firmware it said it failed and the player had to be reset and then rebuild its library. Took about 10 minutes for 7k tracks. The problem was that the update utiliity absolutely required the AC power cord to be plugged into the NJB3, but that makes my player unstable. Anyway, it actually did take the new firmware. my player is weird. It gets unstable and quickly locks up with the AC power plugged in. Works fine on the batteries. I just charge it seperately from using it on batteries. I think it got this condition after I upgraded the hard drive, no idea why, used the exact same brand and all.

Big props to Creative for continued support on an older model. Can't wait for the NJB4!

 

[IpaqMan]

I really like the new firmware.

When I upgraded, my player did not automatically reset when it said it would, so I had to push the reset button.

There is a new sleep timer feature which you edit in your profile choice.

Also, it appears that when you start recording with the wired remote (voice and FM radio), the main unit buttons except power and scroll wheel are disabled automatically. There does not seem to be an option to change that.

 

[bangraman]

Cool. I'm off to upgrade.


Edited: In the european website, only the old firmware is available. What happens if I flash with the US Firmware? Does the radio stop working correctly?

 

[AndyD2k]

It's good to see that Creative keeps the original Zen up to date as well. I haven't seen a firmware update since May while all the other players have.

 

[Gergor]

Just realized that I missed a lot of the past upgrade.

I'll upgrade my player tonight. Thanks.

 

[austonia]

just had to make a note that this firmware cleared up a *serious* issue my NJB3 had with the previous firmware. I wasn't sure if it was due to my upgrading the hard drive to 60gb, but it used to lock up when I had the batteries in, AC power, and the player ON. It would only run stable with battery power. So I had to to let the player charge while it was off. Then only play it and load music from battery power. I even bought another AC Power adapter thinking that was the problem, no change.

Anyway, new firmware, no more problem! yaaaa!

The new GUI menu is great. The new autoclear function is great. the new now playing screen is great. The new scrolling text is a much, much needed addition. Loving my ol' NJB3 all over agian.

now if they would only make an NJB4 or Zen Xtra shrunken down to iPod-size...

 

[bangraman]

Thanks to my 60Gb drive being required for PC purposes and my 30Gb drive dying, I've replaced the original 20Gb drive and re-flashed it with the US firmware (last time I checked, the latest features were not available on the international english firmware).


I've got all UK radio stations and I don't seem to have any functional issues as a result of using non-localised firmware.


Such an inconsequential little thing, but since I don't wear a watch I like the clock on the iPod and missed that it only appears in certain modes on the remote with the NJB3. The only demerit seems to be that there's no way to see the screen-saver clock in the dark since anything you press to bring up the backlight clears the clock.


I'm happy the NJB3 is even better. Not quite the iPod for convenience, but this machine is a powerhouse... and will continue to be my mainstay production player.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I'm happy the NJB3 is even better. Not quite the iPod for convenience, but this machine is a powerhouse... and will continue to be my mainstay production player.

agreed. same here.

now if Ican just get Creative to go with my NJB4 design....

 

[msjjr]

Sorry if this has been posted already, but does anyone know if the NJB3 will ever support FLAC?

Thanks.

 

[pompoen]

First of all, I would like to thank everone for being here and making this forum what it is. I'm in the process of buying myself an mp3-player and I would love to hear some advise and first-hand experiences. More detailed questions will follow soon

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia Can't wait for the NJB4!

Sorry for my ignorance, but is there really going to be a NJB4?

The thing is, the NJB3 is really close to the player I want. Which is a great player with a great line out to put on my desk and hook up with my logitech Z-2200 speakers. Its has to be "portable" but not "wearable". And the NJB seems to do all that and has a wireless remote! Besides that it can be found fairly cheap too. I could allmost buy an njb3 AND an iriver iFP-390 for the price of an ihp-120!

But it feels so wrong to buy something thats 2 years old

Thanks a lot,
Jef

 

[bangraman]

It is two years old... and it does look it, but it doesn't work like it.