Customer Reviews

Creative Zen MX 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(55)

 

 

After hanging on to a Zen Micro for a few years (due to a stingy character), I picked up this "update" and have been so pleased. It has easy to operate button/rocker switches rather than the erratic touch controls of its ancestor. Transferring my old library and playlists was a snap. Having the chance to store a few photos also ups the pleasure of the device.

Although others may wish for a combo camera-phone-music-whatever piece of hardware, if you're interested in any easy to handle mp3 player at a reasonable price, this is definitely something you should seriously consider.

I have both the older 8gb Zen (2007) and a new 16gb Zen MX. They are basically the same except that the MX has integrated access to the removable SD card directly from the Creative Centrale software that comes with the it. With the old Zen you had to go into a removable card menu on the Zen and then access the card via the computer operating system to add or delete files. Zen MX also does not have the code for some video formats and the software has to convert them before transfer to the Zen MX; on the old Zen you could just transfer the video files directly to the Zen. Finally, the Creative Centrale software that comes with the new Zen MX does not seem as intuitive and user friendly as the older software that came with the Zen. If I had to do it again I would have bought the older Zen rather than the new Zen MX, but the older ones are becoming hard to find and are a lot more expensive. Strangely enough the 16gb version of the old Zen is more expensive than the 32gb version!

To answer those who said the Zen MX will not play DRM protected files. Not true. It will play DRM9 protected files, but they have to be put on the Zen via the transfer function in the software, not through drag & drop, because the former also carries over the license info and the latter technique does not. Creative notes this on their web site.

I bought the Creative Zen MX 16gb player from Costco for $[...]. It works great for the price. I use it primarily for songs but am using it for audiobooks too. I did not own the original Zen so the software and the features are all new to me.

With regards to the 2 previous reviews about it not playing media that was purchased, this player does not play DRM-protected WMAs. I downloaded DRM-protected files from my local library and it does not work...just silence so it has nothing to do with the player itself or its software.

The 16gb is plenty of space and I like the fact that this player is compatible with SDHC or SD cards so that you can expand the memory further. Also, the player is about the size of a credit card and is not bulky at all. You can put it in your breast or poants pocket with no unsightly budges. Since I've been using it for audiobooks, one of the features I like is that you can store up to 10 bookmarks (it's easy to set and retrieve a bookmark).

If you have a Blackberry, the USB cable and power adapter are 100% compatible with the player so you can either use the USB cable the player comes with or use your Blackberry's USB cable or power adapter. It's quick to charge (~3 hours to fully charge).

As you will see from reading some of these reviews, Creative forgot to address some of the glaring defects in the older Zen line with this update (such as battery life and audible support) and actually made it compatible with less music (no DRM9, no Napster compatibility, etc). The one thing they did right is integrate the SD card into the menus for the on board memory and add the ability to manage files on the SD card (copy, move, delete). The screen (unscratched) is bright and detailed, with good clarity for both photos and videos. This is a beautiful piece of equipment with many features, which makes it that much more upsetting that it is designed to be disposable, with a limited life.

Through my own purchase and experience I have learned that Creative products (including this one) have very short battery lives. I only used my Zen for about 30-40 hours over the course of a year when the battery would no longer accept a charge and the device would not turn on. The Zen MX uses the same battery. I took excellent care of it so it looks new, but after much contact with Creative's tech support I have learned that:
1. After their warranty period they are unable/unwilling to help a customer out, and do not even offer repair as an option at any price.
2. They used to offer an extended warranty but they will no longer offer it on any Creative MP3 player (new or otherwise)
3. They do not sell or offer replacement batteries. Note that their website has a link on each player about battery recycling that cautions you against attempting to replace a battery in any Creative product with an 'embedded battery' and suggests that you send the product in for recycling instead. (NO Repair/Replacement)!
4. Their products are built with 'Planned Obsolescence' in mind. After about a year or so of use they expect you to throw it away and purchase the newest version from them for more money!
Check the reviews for yourself. Player's crashing and never charging or turning back on are a problem across their product line. Screens are too easy to scratch, audible bookmarks aren't implemented properly, and media on the SD card isn't well integrated. Then save yourself some money in the long run and buy an iPod or Sansa. At least they have a longer battery life and are serviceable if you send them in!

Misleadingly advertised by Creative Labs as "an upgrade to the ZEN", "with the signature of its predecessor", "improved..." this product is nothing but a downgrade, actually an aberration.

Creative tried (and missed) to pull out the trick of the SD card integration (absent in the old ZEN) like the Cowon D2 from JetAudio, or the Sansa Fuze did successfully, but all they accomplished is the most annoying constant rebuilding of the library in the card. Furthermore, after rebuilding, the "now playing" feature is only a joke, it doesn't exist. Therefore, no bookmarks whatsoever.

The software (Creative Centrale) is the worst from Creative, it's simply awful.

The ability of loading different, compressed video files is gone with the wind, you can only load the huge, humongous, monstrous, (Got the message?) uncompressed proprietary creative video files, and only by converting it via Centrale. (Good luck waiting). The compression performance of the format is terrible, about 10MB per minute at 320x240 at 25fps!!! an avi file can take hours to convert, and you'll be amazed by the size of the resulting file.

According to Creative you can rip DVDs to play in your ZEN MX. (you guessed it, via Centrale) Try it if you enjoy suffering.

Play lists have to be created via (again) Centrale, otherwise forget it. Sorry, no importing of play lists.

The player would quit playing at any time, it simply turns off, then pushing the reset button will be necessary in order to turn it on again.

But the ultimate pain will come from customer service, as far as this product is concerned, Creative is deaf. (and also blind) Visit their support forums for the MX and enjoy the ride. Welcome to madness!

Creative refuses to offer solutions to the many problems (because there are more) with this product.

God, how I miss my old ZEN!

If you are thinking of buying this "budget" player, please do extensive research before you buy.

You've been warned.

But after a year of owning it, I have to say it was not worth it. The device has broken down completely for weeks at a time for no apparent reason, the first time only a month after having purchased it. For the past three months the software has not been recognizing my player at all! Which means I have not been able to upload any new music into it. Upon searching online, I found that this is apparently a common problem that many people have had. This is my second Creative mp3 player, and I had similar problems with the first device. I thought it was just my player but apparently all of their products have quality problems.
As much as I love it's competitive prices, I feel it might be time to get over Creative and try something else. What a disappointment.

I bought this mp3 player because I've had my Creative Zen V for 2 years and was really excited to stick with the same brand. Well like others, the first time I plugged it in, it said there was an error in even recognizing it in my computer "hardware" error but then the second time it worked. I downloaded the program, left it plugged in for 3 hours, then started putting music on it but it froze my computer twice. After a couple days, I noticed that the program Creative Centrale was kind of finicky. Somedays, it wouldn't open and I had to restart my whole computer just to open it. Then it wouldn't transfer playlists at all. I thought it might be the mp3 so I went onto the creative website and downloaded the mp3 player recovery tool and the updates in the program. I wiped all my music off the mp3 and after hour of trying to get it all working, finally had everything updated. I transferred all of my music again and then tried some playlists and this time, it worked just fine! Apparently, you have to make the playlist in the program and then transfer it and the program wasn't accurately transferring it to the mp3.

Needless to say, I really love the mp3 player as it has great sound, it's flashy, it's very basic but has a LOT of storage, and still works with my wall adapter for my other Zen. But the program, Creative Centrale, is total CRAP. Hard to use, annoying, and just a general pain in the ass. If it came with a different program (one say an organizer like the Creative Zen V came with) then it would be a much better product as a whole. For now, you have to use that stupid Centrale program!! All I can say is that if you buy the mp3, good luck with the program!

Creative software has always been a hit or miss proposition and this one is definitely in the latter category. I own the Zen V plus and that is my favorite player but it only holds 4GB. I bought the MX as an upgrade. Big disappointment.

The suite of software has been replaced by a single program called "Centrale" which lacks most of the functionality of the old unintegrated suite. In particular there is no RSS/Podcast functionality which is important to me. The old Zencast program doesn't recognize the MX so you basically are stuck with manually loading podcast files.

On the player side the SD card is completely separate from the rest of the system so the player actually shows up as 2 disks. There is a separate catalog for each "disk" and you have to switch to one or the other to play media. I ended up having to segment my music by type to know what was where. Of course playlists that play from the two memory areas are out of the question.

I really am not a big Apple fan but the MX makes me worry about the future of alternatives--the MX is a step in the wrong direction!

Update: this thing died after about a year. It really is a waste of your money!

My first MP3 video player was a Creative Zen. Creative Zen 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
It was everything I wanted in an MP3 player and more. The conversion software had a couple of quirks, but by allowing the flexibility to select for optimum file size, I could easily fit a full season of an hour-long tv series, several movies and plenty of music on the internal memory. With the SD expansion slot, I was never at a loss for entertainment.

I borked it, dropped in a baby pool this summer. I mourned and I planned for replacement.
When I came across the MX, it seemed like the best deal ever. 8GB, cheaper, and still the same basic player.

I was wrong. The firmware has issues, requiring additional downloads, and the Creative Centrale software is absolutely maddening. The software is not user-friendly in the slightest, the help files are not helpful, and not only does conversion take forever, the player MUST BE CONNECTED TO COMPUTER thru the ENTIRE process.
What's even worse, there are no tools to select for optimum file size and even after attempting to convert thru old software, THEN convert thru Centrale, it re-expands the files. Which means that 8GB soon feels like 4GB.

While I would continue to recommend the original ZEN, and would even say that if someone planned to use the MX casually, (at the gym, waiting at Doctor's office, or for kids to get done w soccer practice,) it's not completely useless there. For someone who would use it frequently and enjoys variety in content on player, the MX is pointless.
I am returning this item, because it does not in any way meet my needs. I will be leaving feedback on the Creative site as well. Sadly, it seems their history of designing great hardware and mucking it up with bad software has not ended. If you're thinking of purchasing this, think hard about how you'll use it. The time-suck of conversion and limited space may drive you crazy if you have to do it several times a week.

This is a nice product, but it is NOT simply an updated version of the Zen MP3 player. I use Napster To Go as my mp3 service, and bought this unit assuming that it would be compatible with that service (as is every other Creative Labs mp3 player, including the Zen). After trying to download my music I found out that the MX is not compatible! I am sure that Creative and Napster will fix this at some point, but for the time being if you use Napster To Go, either buy the older Zen player or splurge for the Zen X-Fi unit which IS compatible.