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| General |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Explorer Integration |
True Windows integration makes it easy, fast, and natural to manage your Jukebox using the familiar Explorer folder system. |
Must use the weird four-paned interface. |
| Load Time |
As fast as opening My Computer. |
Takes 5 seconds or more to load. |
| Footprint |
1MB. Fits on a floppy. |
25MB. |
| Update Frequency |
Over the last two years, we have averaged a new release every 14 days with fixes, enhancements, and new features. |
Updated maybe once per year. |
| Access to Support |
E-mail the people who write the software. Notmad OmniTome. |
Creative tech support is in Oklahoma. Engineering and development is in Singapore. They don't let you talk to Singapore. |
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| Track Management |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Fully Customizable Track Display |
Use templates to define exactly how you like track names to be displayed. |
No customization. |
| Batch Tag Editing |
Edit the tags of multiple tracks at once, select only the fields you want to change. Great for fixing up mistakes or typos. |
Nope. |
| Rename Categories |
Right-click on any Artist, Album, or Genre to rename all tracks in that category. For example, update your Puff Daddy tracks to P.Diddy with one click. |
No can do. |
| Delete Categories |
Right-click on any Artist, Album or Genre to delete all tracks in that category at once. No need to hunt through and select from a long track list. |
Happy hunting. |
| Reorganize by Drag and Drop |
Drag and drop files onto any Artist, Album, or Genre to move those tracks to a new category. |
No. |
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| Transfer to Jukebox |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Universal Library Compatibility |
Notmad transfers and syncs with the music on your PC no matter what software you use to manage it. |
Must manage all your music using Creative's software. |
| Transfer Speed |
Our tests show Notmad is 20% faster than MediaSource for transferring music. |
Our tests show MediaSource is 20% slower than Notmad. |
| Subfolder Transfer |
Drag and drop a folder and Notmad transfers all tracks in that folder and in its subfolders. |
Drag a folder into MediaSource and it does...wait for it...nothing. We're not kidding. |
| Playlist Import |
Drop a playlist file into Notmad and Notmad transfers all tracks in that playlist to your Jukebox (smartly skipping files that are already on-board), and recreates the playlist on the device. Supports M3U, PLS, RMP, WPL, B4S, and BPL formats. |
Drop a playlist file into MediaSource and it literally says "Rejected". No joke. |
| Bandwidth Meter |
Transfer dialog displays the transfer rate you're acheiving with your connection. Compare to other users online. |
Nada. |
| Send To |
Integration of your Jukebox into Windows' Send To menu makes it easy to browse around and transfer songs at your leisure. |
Not. |
| Copy and Paste |
If you prefer, you can "Copy" files in My Computer and "Paste" them to your Jukebox. |
Can't. |
| Last Transfer |
Special folder always shows the tracks added during the last transfer. Helpful for making playlists of recent transfers. |
Don't even try to figure out which ones were just added. |
| Transfer Logging |
Notmad keeps detailed logs of transfers so you can keep track of what's happening, and diagnose problems if you have them. |
No. |
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| Transfer to PC |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Drag and Drop |
Drag to any folder on your PC, or the Desktop, to transfer tracks from your Jukebox. |
No drag and drop. |
| Auto Folder Creation |
If you like, Notmad can transfer tracks and put them into an artist/album folder structure on your PC. |
Not a chance. |
| Customizable Filenames |
Use templates to tell Notmad exactly how to construct filenames so that they match the rest of your PC music collection. |
If you don't like Creative's fixed format, tough. Rename them after the transfer. |
| Copy by Category |
Drag and drop any Artist, Album, or Genre folder to the PC to transfer whole categories. |
No can do. |
| Export Playlists |
Drag a playlist to your PC, and Notmad creates a folder, transfers all the tracks, and generates an M3U playlist for you. |
Definitely not. |
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| Advanced Transfer Management |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Tag Preview |
ATM mode allows you to preview, edit, and fix up the tags on your music tracks before you transfer. |
Doesn't have it. |
| Playlist Preview |
Preview the playlists that Notmad plans to auto-create for you. Select the ones you want, skip the ones you don't. |
Doesn't have this either. |
| Auto Tag Filling |
ATM mode includes powerful abilities and options to guess, fill in, and manipulate tag fields. |
No powerful abilities or options. |
| Tag WriteBack |
Changes made in the tag preview window can be automatically written back to the source MP3 or WMA files on your PC if you like. |
Since you can't make changes, you can't write them back either. |
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| AudioMorph |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Change MP3, WMA Bitrates |
With compatible third party plugins, Notmad can alter the bitrate of MP3 and WMA files on-the-fly with options including a full range of bitrates and CBR or VBR modes. |
Nope. |
| Ogg or FLAC to MP3, WMA, or WAV |
If you have Ogg Vorbis or FLAC files in your PC music collection, AudioMorph can use compatible third party plugins to convert them to MP3, WMA, or WAV so you can enjoy them on your Jukebox. |
MusicMatch has no idea what Ogg Vorbis is. |
| WAV to MP3 or WMA |
AudioMorph can also convert WAV files to MP3 or WMA format on-the-fly to save space. |
Can't. |
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| Synchronization |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Universal Compatibility |
Notmad's SpeedSync allows you select any number of folders on your PC to sync to. It doesn't matter what other software you use to manage your files, Notmad is compatible. |
You can only sync if you use Creative's proprietary library to manage all your music files. |
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| Playlist Management |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Portable Playlist Backups |
Backup the playlists on your Jukebox so if you ever lose them, Notmad can reconstruct and restore them for you. These ultra-compact backup files are also portable, and are a great way to share playlists with friends. |
Accidentally delete or lose your playlists, and you're hosed. |
| Sort/Shuffle/Merge |
Sort your playlists in trackname order, or shuffle for random playback. Even merge two playlists into one. |
Not possible. |
| Category Playlists |
To instantly create a playlist from an Artist, Album, or Genre folder, just right-click. |
No such feature. |
| Playlist Index |
Like an index in the back of a book, it lists all your tracks and shows which playlists they belong to. |
Not available. |
| MorphLists |
This unique feature lets you give Notmad a simple criteria for picking music and then have it generate and regenerate dynamic playlists for you. You can even specify how long you want your MorphLists to be. |
Negative. |
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| Streaming PC Playback |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Universal Support |
Notmad's HyperStream and TrueStream features let you playback your Jukebox tracks on the PC by streaming to any software that supports HTTP streaming, including Winamp, Windows Media Player, RealOne, and many others. |
MediaSource can only playback using its proprietary built-in player. You can't choose your own playback software. Also, in our experience it skips quite a bit during playback. |
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| Active Queue |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Jukebox Playback Control |
If, instead of streaming back to your PC, you want to control playback on the Jukebox itself, use Active Queue. Free up your PC to do other tasks. |
Not supported. |
| Remote Control |
By combining Xtreamer and Active Queue, you can control your Jukebox from other computers on your network. If you have a WiFi or Bluetooth PDA, you can even use that as a true remote control for your Jukebox! |
Definitely not supported. |
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| Xtreamer |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| Web Interface |
Notmad's unique Xtreamer feature gives you web based access to all the contents of your Jukebox. Browse your player using IE, Netscape, or any other browser. |
No way. |
| Remote Access |
By providing access through a web interface, Xtreamer also allows you to access your Jukebox from across a LAN, or even across the Internet! |
No. |
| Stream and Download |
Playback or download your Jukebox tracks over a network connection to any MP3 software that supports HTTP streaming, including Winamp, Windows Media Player, RealOne, and many more. |
Still no. |
| Skins and Gallery |
The Xtreamer interface can be customized using a simple but powerful skinning system. See the OmniTome for a tutorial on how to make your own Xtreamer Skin, or browse the gallery to see the handiwork of your fellow users. |
Totally not. |
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| NotmadSQL |
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Notmad Explorer |
Creative Software |
| NotmadSQL Engine |
Notmad includes a full-fledged SQL database engine that gives you powerful searching capabilities for your Jukebox contents. |
Engine-less. |
| Content Reports |
Use the NotmadSQL engine to generate detailed reports on your Jukebox contents in text, HTML, or XML formats. |
Nope. |
Notmad Explorer vs. Bundled Creative Software