Plays For Sure, Unless It Doesn't

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2006/2/13/83852/2037' target='_blank'>http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2006/2/13/83852/2037</a><br /><br /></div><i>""My IRiver T30 MP3 player has Microsoft's 'PlaysForSure' logo," the reader wrote. "Unfortunately, this logo appears to be nothing more than idle boasting. I downloaded an audio recording of Moby Dick from Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium. I am able to listen to the files I downloaded on my PC by playing them on Windows Media Player. As per instructions, I used Windows Media Player's Sync feature to transfer the files to my T30 player. However, when I attempt to play the files, it starts to read each section but then blanks out. Bits of sound blast out, but that's it.""</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/pfs.jpg" /> <br /><br />It seems that iRiver's T10 and T30 can't play protected WMA files despite the fact that they boast the 'PlaysForSure' logo. Microsoft came up with the logo to make it easier for customers to be sure the player they were buying will work with the content they are interested in. I'm wondering if Microsoft will make iRiver pull the logo if they cant fix the problem soon. Anyone have one of these model players and have experienced the same problem?

[Vincent Ferrari]

Hey Chris,

You could've called this article, "Why Windows Media Can't Get a Real Foothold in the Market."

The idea that something could end up with the logo and not be 100% compatible is really scary. MS did great with handhelds after getting their arses handed to them by Palm because they realized where they needed to go.

Windows Media needs some focus, and MS may need to take the lead and start producing their own devices.

[Jake Ludington]

The problem isn't as simple as assuming the device can't support protected content, which is where the confusion comes in. iRiver is actually among the better device manufacturers in terms of working with Microsoft to insure compatibility. Additional problems arise because the content provider doesn't set the correct flags when they protect the content with DRM. The provider you site is using OverDrive as its DRM solution, which isn't listed as a PlaysForSure service provider, so Microsoft hasn't certified anything about whether the OverDrive content will play on certified PlaysForSure devices.

The big failing here is that consumers are required to check labels too closely to figure out what works. We went from a world where every CD played in every CD player to a complete crapshoot about which digital files play in which digital players.

[JohnCody]

By him saying "Bits of sound blast out" and "It starts to read...then blanks out" I get the impression that DRM is not the issue....maybe the bitrate of the audio recording is too high for the CPU in the T30 - that would cause these symptoms.