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How can I use a Creative Zen Vision on a Mac?

Like you, I am highly impressed with the Creative Labs Zen Vision:W [see my review] but it's darn frustrating that Creative only makes its software available for Windows computers, not Mac. I know about the XNJB application that lets me add photos and audio, but it won't let me work with movies. So is there some sort of solution?

Dave's Answer:

Since Creative appears to be afraid of going head-to-head with Apple and its blockbuster iPod on the Macintosh, generally we Mac users are stuck. But on the other hand... there's always Parallels Desktop, which lets you run Windows XP on your Intel-based Mac quite speedily, and since the Creative Labs software is designed for Windows and since Parallels lets you access any USB device, well...

The first step was to install a fully functional version of Windows XP within the Parallels world (as documented here: Install Windows XP in Parallels on a Mac), then you'll want to pop over to the Creative Download Center and specify that you're looking for software for a Portable Media Player.

You'll end up here:

Creative Labs Zen Vision:W Portable Media Player: Download Software

Now there's a ton of different software you can download, but the key elements are the PlaysForSure Firmware, and the Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer. If you're running Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11), then you should also grab the Creative Media Explorer Update for Creative Zen Vision W to ensure it all works well.

Download them and hopefully you'll end up with the two (or three) install applications on the desktop. You need to start with the Creative MediaSource Player/Organizer, which immediately unpacks its data files when you start it up:

Creative Labs Zen Vision:W Portable Media Player: Extracting Application Files

Now you should plug in your Zen Vision:W or Vision:M into the USB port of your Mac and, after a few seconds, check the Devices menu in Parallels. If you have it automatically connect USB devices, it'll look like this:

Creative Labs Zen Vision:W Portable Media Player: Plugged into to Mac OS X and Connected to Parallels

If not, select the Creative Zen Vision to ensure it's connected.

And here's where I get to a wall I can't jump over. Regardless of what I try, I can't get the Creative software to see the Zen Vision:

Creative Labs Zen Vision:W Portable Media Player: Device Not Detected

So that's where things stand at this juncture. You can use XNJB to access much of the functionality of the Zen Vision but there's no way that I can see to use your Mac to get this working properly. You might be able to get it working with Boot Camp, but after various problems I have had with Boot Camp, I junked it in favor of Parallels 3.0, which now runs both Vista and Windows XP.

If you have a solution, or, for that matter, if anyone from Creative Labs can explain a smart workaround for us, it'd be great to know!

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Categorized: Mac OS X Help (Article 7431)
Tagged: creative labs, parallels, personal media player, zen vision
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Comments

Hi! I try to install in parallels/xp pro sp2 on my macBook the Creative ZENcast Organizer 2.00.07 Suite and I've update windows media player 11 on virtual pc and so when I connect creative zen to usb windows see the device as hard disk and in media player I can add music. However I prefer use the latest version of XNJB for mac os x

Posted by: Albimac at September 4, 2007 1:55 AM

Hi Dave!

I just got a Creative Zen Vision:M 30GB. I have a new MacBook Intel with Mac OS 10.4. I am running Windows XP SP2 under Parallels.

Using Windows, I followed your procedure above and received the results you detailed. However, then I downloaded the latest firmware update and the Zen woke up. It took the latest update without trouble.

The Creative software would not find my Zen. It kept saying "You do not have the correct version" or some such thing. However, then I tried Windows Media Player 10, and lo & behold, it worked!

However, I am a Mac user now, and all my tunes are over in iTunes.

So, here's my solution: I'm using the latest XNJB in Mac OS for the music uploads, and then for the odd video, I use Windows Media Player in Parallels.

It's messy, but it's getting the job done. Hurray!

Posted by: Jennifer at September 10, 2007 2:11 PM

I have tried all the above except Boot camp & updating the firmware oni the creative Zen Vison M I wil try again. XNJB doesn't allow you to listen to you music inorder to create playlists. Also when uploading themusic, you only get generic trakcs, it's not neatly catagorized like itunes does when importing music (EX: folder of album or artist in itunes, XNJB...file only :(

Posted by: Shirley Wilkes at November 23, 2007 10:21 AM

OMG!!! got the answer for creative Zen to work on intel macs without XNJB!!! oh snap!! I did just what 'Dave" did, then ran into the same problem......none of the softwardes recognized the Zen player. It didn't appear as an external device (on the desktop or in the hardware) either. So, I went into the control panel (viewed in classic mode) under system, then hardware. I clicked on the player listed under unknown devices. 1st of all it may not show up right away, so unplug the player, plug it into a different usb port. Then within the paralells menu go to devices, then usb, then select your creative player. You should move quic,, because it may drop in a few minutes. Then the device showed up in unknown devices within the control panels' system, hardware menu. There is something within the menu that allows you to search for drivers for the unkown device. I let it search, it found the creative software I installed, then voille!! it works! wow! please pass this along. happy to contribute. please refer to a visual detailed 'what to do' on this link
http://193.95.171.83/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=932,E=0000000000289913724,K=7298,Sxi=16,Answer26738=obj(26738):obj(26732)

Posted by: Shirley at November 23, 2007 9:03 PM

Actually, XNJB does work with video, it just doesn't explain it very well (or, OK, at all).
I had to discover this by accident.

To move video between your Mac and Vision M, just use the file transfer tab and make sure you send stuff to your Vision's "Video" directory.

Simple as that.

Posted by: Tom at December 8, 2007 9:21 AM

Oh, and on the subject of categorised and properly labelled tracks, just make sure you've got all your info updated in iTunes (or equivalent) first and then synchronise from there.

Posted by: Tom at December 8, 2007 9:25 AM

Sort of, Tom. I have figured out that I can copy the AVI files onto the unit with XNJB, but the problem is that the PC software from Creative does some sort of encoding / translation of the movie files (and sometimes converts them to WMV, from what I have seen), something that XNJB doesn't do.

The result is that the movies don't have a duration on the Vision W, you can't fast forward or otherwise move around, and sometimes they just don't play, as I had happen with a movie last night, a movie in AVI format just like the many that have copied properly.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at December 8, 2007 9:24 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!