Managing Files on TC1401 MP3 Player

RCA TC1401 MP3 Player

Installing Windows Media Player:

It is recommended that you install Windows Media Player to enjoy all the features of your player. To download the appropriate version from Microsoft's website:

1. Go to www.microsoft.com.
2. In "Select Download", choose Windows Media Player.
3. In "Select Version", select the appropriate version (Player 10 or 11 for Windows XP or Player 9 for Windows 2000).
4. Follow the instructions to finish the download.
5. Once the download is completed, double-click on the "exe" file to start the installation.

Windows Media Player 10 Overview:

1. Now Playing - Watch/Listen to currently playing media.
2. Library - Create playlists and manage your media files.
3. Rip - Copy CD Audio tracks to WMA format.
4. Burn - Copy MP3/WMA tracks to a recordable CD.
5. Sync - Copy MP3/WMA tracks to your player.
6. Guide - Search for media (music, movies, etc.) online.

Transferring Music:

Note: The information below applies to Windows Media Player 10. If you are using another version, please refer to the Help section on your program.

Adding Audio Files to your Media Library:

Windows Media Player will automatically gather all mp3 and/or wma files on your computer into a media library, where they can be played, edited, burned to CD, or copied to your digital audio player.

1. On your computer, open Windows Media Player 10 and click on the small triangle in the upper right corner. Select Tools and then click on Search for Media Files. Alternatively, press the F3 key on your keyboard.
2. In the "Lock in:" dialog box, browse to the drive and folder where your music files are stored.
3. Click on Search.
4. Windows Media Player will automatically add all files in the selected folder(s) to your library.
5. When searching is complete, click on Close.

Converting CD tracks to MP3:

Converting CD tracks to mp3 is often called "ripping a CD". Use Windows Media Player to build your music library by encoding your audio CDs to music files.

1. On your computer, open Windows Media Player 10 and click on the small triangle in the upper right corner. From this menu, select Tools and then Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click on the Rip Music tab.
3. Under Rip settings, set the Format to mp3.
4. Under Audio quality, you can set the recording quality by dragging the slider. By default, it is set to smallest size. This quality will be sufficient for your mp3 player. You can set the quality to a higher setting, but then you can store fewer songs on your player.
5. Click on OK to confirm.
   Note: WMP10 is now properly set up to convert audio tracks from CD to mp3 files. WMP10 can also retrieve the album, title, artist name and track names from the Internet. This kind of information, also called ID3 tag, will automatically be added if you have an active Internet connection, or you can add it manually. This information, which will be embedded in the mp3 or wma files, will be used to store the files in their own folders with clear names.
6. To start ripping your CD to mp3 audio files, insert an Audio CD into the CD or DVD drive on your computer. A window should appear, allowing you to choose among several options.
7. Select Rip Music from CD Using Windows Media Player. WMP will automatically start ripping all audio tracks from the CD to your My Music folder. Inside this folder, it will automatically create a sub-folder for the artist name and a second folder with the album title.

In case you do not get this screen, perform the following steps to start the process:

1. Start Windows Media Player 10 and click on the Rip tab in the top button bar. The contents of the CD will be displayed. By default, all tracks are checked. Uncheck any track you do not want to encode into a music file.
2. Click on the Rip Music button to begin encoding the selected tracks.
3. Once all the tracks are "Ripped to Library", the CD can safely be taken out from your drive. When finished, Windows Media Player will automatically add the new tracks to your library.
   Note: You can change your track encoding options be selecting Tools > Options > Rip Music.

Converting CD tracks to WMA:

By default, Windows Media Player 10 will convert your audio tracks to WMA file format (Windows Media Audio).

The process to convert an audio CD to WMA tracks is almost identical to Windows Media Player 10, except for the names used. The option "Rip Music" is called "Copy from CD". The option to start ripping directly after inserting a CD is not available on Windows 2000.

If you encounter problem to playback WMA files on the player, try the following setting and then transfer the WMA files to the player again.

1. Connect the player to your computer.
2. In the Windows Media Player, select Tools and then Options.
3. Select the Device tab.
4. Highlight this player "CA_MPCF2488_US" in the device list and then click Properties.
5. Select the Quality tab.
6. Uncheck the option "Convert music, pictures, videos and TV shows as required by this device (recommended)".
7. Click Apply.

Transfer Audio Files to your Player:

1. Make sure that your player is off, unlocked and the earphones are disconnected.
2. Make sure the player is not locked.
3. Connect the player to one of your computer's USB ports. The screen displays "USB Connected", indicating that the player is in USB mode.
4. On your computer, open Windows Media Player 10 and click on the Sync tab in the top button bar.
5. Click on the Edit Playlist to add the tracks to be transferred to your player.
6. Click on OK once all the desired tracks have been added.
7. You should now see the tracks you wish to transfer to your player listed and checked on the left side of the Windows Media Player screen under "Sync List". If you wish not to transfer any of the listed tracks, uncheck them.
8. Click on Start Sync. The selected track(s) are copied to the player.

Lyrics Edit:

The player supports lyric files in LRC format.

1. Prepare the mp3 or wma music file you want to edit, for example "happymusic.mp3".
2. Download the corresponding lyric file from the Internet. The file must be in the LRC format, example "happymusic-2004.lrc".
3. Rename the lyric file in its original mp3 name ("happymusic.lrc") and copy both files and lyrics to the player.
4. When lyrics are available for music files, the lyrics display synchronously on the screen while music is playing.

Caution: Make sure the music and lyric files are saved in the same directory and under the same file name. If not, the player will not recognize the lyric file and only the ID3 tag information such as Artist, Album or Track name will be displayed.

Note: Your player only supports .lrc files. If the lyrics do not synchronize with the music, please download another music file from the Internet and try again.

Using Windows Explorer to Manage Files:

Adding Files to Your Player:

Instead of using Windows Media Player, you can simply drag and drop files to the player, which appears as a removable hard drive on your computer. Using this method, any type of file (homework, presentations, pictures, etc.) can be placed on the player as if it were a portable drive. However, only mp3 and wma files will play back while stored on the player.

1. Connect the player to your computer.
2. Double-click on the My Computer icon on your Windows desktop. Windows XP users may need to click on the Start button and select My Computer from the menu.
3. Your player has been recognized as a Mass Storage Device and automatically displays as a new device letter in the My Computer window.
4. You can now drag and drop your files from your computer to the player. You can also copy and paste files to the player using any standard Windows method.
5. After the files have been copied, unplug the player from your computer.

Creating Playlist Folders:

Before transferring your music files to your player you can organize them into folders and create your own playlists.

1. In My computer, click on File. Point to New and click on Folder.
2. You can also create a new folder by clicking a blank area in the window, pointing to New and then clicking Folder.
3. Type a folder name and press Enter.
4. Copy your music files to the folder. Repeat these steps to create folders and sub-folders.
5. After the files have been copied, unplug the player.
6. You can now use the Navigation folder to browse your music on your player.

Note: You can create up to 5 directories organized in up to 19 sub-folders, and store up to 300 music files on your player. If you create or store more files and folders, the extra items will be ignored. If you store more then 254 files in one directory, you will only be able to view the first 254 in navigation mode. However, you will still be able to play the extra files in Music mode.

Deleting Files from the Player:

For any files you have transferred to the player, you may delete them while you have connected the player with your computer.

1. Highlight the unwanted file in the player's file directory on your computer.
2. Press the delete key on your computer to delete the file.