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Detailed Creative NOMAD Jukebox 3 20GB MP3 Player Description & Review
The Jukebox 3 has been superceded by players such as the Creative Zen Micro Photo 8gb and the Creative Zen Vision M and is no longer available. The Creative Jukebox 3 allows mobile users to store and enjoy up to 8,000 tracks of audio or 20GB of data. Tracks can be transferred from a PC in seconds via the lightning-fast SB1394 interface (IEEE1394 compatible). Users can also record direct to the unit in WAV or via real-time MP3 encoding. Wide connectivity, including USB, digital optical/line-in and dual line-out, together with high quality output, make this light, compact system the perfect partner for personal and home audio enjoyment. The powerful battery gives up to 11 hours use and a new user interface ensures simple, total control. This system is the ultimate choice for top quality, go-anywhere, digital audio.Features:
Playback and RecordingLine-Outs / Headphone OutTwo sets of stereo line out for normal stereo or 4 channel listening. One standard 1/8 stereo headphone out. Line-In Supports both analogue and optical connections. Line-In recording (WAV and MP3 format) Record directly in both MP3 and WAV format. When the WAV format is used, quality can surpass that of a MiniDisc (MD) and as good as DAT. MP3 direct encoding User selectable encoding rates of 64*/96/128/160/192/256/320kbps. To do so, simply connect an external source (CD, MD, DAT, Phono, etc) to the Line-In connector on the Creative Jukebox 3. WAV recording User selectable sampling frequencies of 11.025/22.05/44.1/48kHz. Optical Line-In Connecting a digital audio source (such as Minidisc or DAT players) to this connector on the Creative Jukebox 3 allows you to make digital recordings, eliminating unwanted noise associated with analog recordings. However, this Line in also accepts an analog line in (1/8 inch minijack) for non-digital recording.
Simple User Interface and NavigationScrollerThe Scroller lets you scroll up and down a list of items and click to select the item. It is used to browse/select items, and also lets you perform text input when naming tracks or using the search feature. Find Function Activated by the right-most button with a magnifying glass logo under the player LCD, this function lets you find the track that you desire quickly. Playlist A playlist allows you to compile your favourite songs from various albums, artist and genre into a customized collection e.g. "My Favourite Pop Songs". Lightening Fast Transfer SpeedsSB1394 TM 10x Faster than USBSB1394TM is Creatives IEEE-1394 implementation for high speed digital data transfer. Like other 1394 connectivity, SB1394 is ideal for transferring massive MP3 collections, digital video, and other data files. Package Includes:
Our Opinion
Although it has the same (huge 20GB!) capacity as its predecessor, the latest Jukebox from Creative offers some real improvements over earlier models. The ability to create MP3 files on-the-fly means you don't even need a computer: record directly from just about any standardised device (like a Digital Audio Tape, Mini-disc, etc.) that has an audio output - directly to MP3 on this Jukebox if you like. The addition of an IEEE1394 (sometimes called 'Firewire') cable means you can transfer whole audio collections at huge speed. The significantly increased battery life is the longest battery life claimed for any JukeBox at 11 hours. That's more than double what is available on some 20GB Jukeboxes - Long road trips and boring bus journeys needn't start to drag after a couple of hours as the batteries inevitably start to fade - 11 Hours! That's longer than most people work in a day. Mind you, that's only for playback. An important piece of information that is missing from most documentation is that if you're constantly recording using the JB3 you'll be lucky to get 3 hours out of the battery. Although this sleek new design is smaller and lighter than earlier versions it is still just about too big to fit comfortably into a normal trouser pocket. It does, however, come with a smart leather pouch that has a belt clip. The previous version of the 20GB JukeBox has good features. The problems started for the 20GB DAP, however, when you wanted to make recordings away from your computer. Being able to record directly to MP3 away from your computer is a feature that is probably more suited to people who have a professional interest in digital recording or the serious music hobbyist who wants that raw live sound. Digitally, of course. There is quite a lot of space on this page devoted to the FireWire capability of (if you don't know what it is, go to our FAQ and type 'firewire' in the Webopedia search box). Needless to say that you actually need to have some kind of firewire connection on your computer, such as a sound card with a firewire port, in order to use it. You can buy a FireWire style expansion card for your computer here. Creative claim the NOMAD JukeBox3 is capable of storing 8000 tracks digitally squashed at 80kbps using WMA. The more generally accepted rate for WMA encoding without any loss of sound quality (to the average human ear, at least) is about 96kbps, but even so - 8000 tracks is impressive. It would, of course, depend heavily on how long those particular tracks are..... Anyway, the NOMAD JukeBox 3: take it just about anywhere. Record from just about anything. Joy to use. Especially with remote control. Find out more about the Creative NOMAD Jukebox 3 20GB player and the Creative range in general (including review and system requirements): click here. These notes cover the DAP range that preceded the NOMAD JukeBox 3, but you may find some useful background and comparison information here.
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Special software available for this player: | ||
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| Red Chair Software:Notmad Explorer |  | |
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Most people who use Creative's PlayCenter will have come across its limitations. It's not a terrible piece of software, but then again it is ... We heartily recommend that anyone with a Creative Jukebox buys themselves this piece of software to use instead. Notmad from Red Chair Software has just about every feature you can think of to give you full control over your Jukebox and its contents. Manage all your music on your PC and on your Jukebox with this one all-embracing program. Navigate through your Jukebox using the 'Notmad Explorer'. It has the look and feel of Windows Explorer, so it's instantly recognisable. It has very similar features too: Drag-and-drop or copy/ paste Playlists, files or folders. Where did you put that song? Is it on your Jukebox at all? Is it on your Jukebox 4 times under different Playlists? Find out quickly with a search that uses a built-in, powerful SQL engine. Synchronise the contents of your PC and your Jukebox with one click. Notmad will automatically build any necessary new Playlists and directories when you transfer the MP3s (or WMAs) from your PC. This software has advanced features as well. You can set your Jukebox up so that you can control it over a Network, for example, meaning you could access your Jukebox from the other side of the world! Boasted features include:
Unlike some software manufacturers (e.g. Realnetworks) Red Chair have not taken the "Cash Cow" attitude that customers should buy their goods and then buy an update every six months for life, because with one purchase you can get lifetime updates, if you so choose. All-in-all a great piece of software that does exactly what software should do: make your life easier. | ||
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Next Generation Portable Music
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Red Chair Software: Notmad
Explorer