WHY are MP3 players SO popular?  I ask this because I bought one and
I'm a having a heck of a time putting songs on it!!!  Songs that I
PAID for - it keeps saying they are copyright protected.  Even songs I
take from a CD that I BOUGHT, when I try to put on the player, it
still gives me an error messge.  The player only uses Window Media
Player 10 which I have and I've saved my music files to MP3 format,
etc.  I'm soooo frustrated because all I want to do is put my songs on
the player so that I don't have to carry cd's around.  My question is:
 what is the "secret" to putting your music on the player?

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Request for Question Clarification by livioflores-ga on 26 Nov 2005 19:15 PST

Which is the player that are you using?

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Clarification of Question by karib-ga on 26 Nov 2005 19:25 PST

I am using a Samsung Digital Audio Player, model #YH-925GS

Thank you.

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Request for Question Clarification by livioflores-ga on 26 Nov 2005 21:34 PST

Please see this page and tell me if it helps you in some way
(specially the "Software and trickiness" section):
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1780&page=2

At the following page you will find a clue to a trick using a
Samsumg's program, "Music Studio":
"Samsung YH-925GS (20GB) Ratings. MP3 players User Opinions.":
"Although the package is clearly labeled "XP Only", the device worked
just fine on Windows 2000 Pro (SP4). The suggested method of song
transfer is the included Napster software, which worked just fine once
I upgraded to their newest version. Overall, Napster is a bulky music
management solution that is very slow at transferring songs, and
requires that you create a free account with the company and be online
anytime you wish to use it. I quickly uninstalled Napster, and now use
the non-U.S. version of Samsung's "Music Studio" (not included) which
is similar, but more streamlined and works somewhat like Winamp.
Windows Media Player is also suggested for transferring songs..."
http://reviews.cnet.com/Samsung_YH_925GS_20GB/4864-6490_7-31278884.html?ctype=msgid&messageSiteID=7&messageID=1199097&cval=1199097


Here is a short thread about how to use the "Music Studio" program,
you will need the Canadian version of the program. "YH-925 and Samsung
Music Studio":
http://www.samsunghq.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-106.html

Download it from here:
http://tinyurl.com/dokmm

Note: (from the forum's thread) Please note that Music Studio is not
supported by Samsung's U.S. division, and I take no responsibility if
you damage your YH-925 or void your warranty by using this software.


Please let me know if this helps you.

Regards,
livioflores-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by livioflores-ga on 03 Dec 2005 05:17 PST

Was my comment useful to you enough to can be posted in the answer box?

Regards,
livioflores-ga

You're oviously doing something wrong. Just connect your samsung to
your computer via usb and it will show up like as if you just
connected a external hard drive. Then just copy and paste songs, files
or folders onto it.

MP3 players, per se, are not popular.  You should have gotten an iPod.

Unfortunately, you are using the least intuitive software for mp3
playback- windows media player- and a genericly designed mp3 player.

Download iTunes, buy an iPod either a "shuffle" or a "nano" or a "iPod
Video".  These products were designed to work together. The advantage
here is that the hardware (mp3 player) and the software (iTunes) were
conceived, developed and designed to work together seemlessly,
therefore, iTunes will always, instantly find your iPod when it is
connected and transfer music to it. Not to mention iTunes will also
"rip" or "import" your CD's with more options for quality "apple
lossless" than WMP or other media players.

Unlike microsoft media player and generic mp3 players which were not
desinged with each other in mind. These competing mp3 players have
been rushed to market and, as you are finding out, require a great
deal of effort to use. This can be (and in this case is) a
disadvantage to software and hardware that is made by seperate
companies.

For me music portability is unnecessary. I don't own an iPod, but have
found iTunes to be far superior tool for organizing and listening to
my music collection. Download iTunes, allow it to search your computer
for your mp3's that you have already ripped (converted from CD's to
Mp3's) and they will be in your iTunes library when the program first
runs and you won't need to re-import those CD's.

As you used iTunes you will find that there are a lot of reasorces for
iTunes and the iPods because they have, by far, the largest share of
the music play-back / mp3 player markets.

iPod is by far the best way to go both for ease of use and
functionality.  Other products either try to mimic it, or are so
heavily encumbered with digital rights management (DRM) that they are
unusable.  Return that samsung and get an iPod nano, and you'll see
what the big deal is about.

Thank you - your help was very useful.

Despite the comments from the Apple-philes above, it is not the fact
that you're not using iTunes and an iPod which is causing your
problems.  The newest versions of Windows Media Player is probably the
most stringent audio player for ensuring the legality of files it
plays.  I'm not exactly sure what it uses to determine legality, but
if you're using your own CDs, be sure to rip them into WMA format,
which WMP prefers.
Any other advice for mr. Karib?

Gee...nothing like a little DRM to enhance the consumer experience. 
I'll keep my MP3s which play anywhere without the stringent copying
controls, thanks.

The question was why are MP3 players so popular because they couldn't
load songs on theirs.  The fact of the matter is that with a
friendlier player they wouldn't be having this problem.

It has nothing to do with being an applephile, it has to do with one
product being vastly superior to others in ease of use and software
integration.

another little note - When you rip music off of a CD using Windows
Media Player be sure to shut off the "copy protect" option under
Options/Rip Music. This makes things a WHOLE lot simpler in the long
run when dealing with your music.

p.s. ipods may be great if you're one of those people who's VCR has
blinked 12:00 for the last decade... but they're way overpriced and
the other brands really arn't hard to use. compare the 2 gig ipod at
walmart for $197 to the philips(i think) version with 6 gigs for the
SAME price.

Walmart?  Ain't that where the rednecks shop?

I thank everyone who has responded to my question.  The end result is
that I ended up returning the dumb thing last night.  I'm going to
stick with cd's for awhile.