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Using a Dell DJ MP3 player for field playback of bird songs. Rev A2, November, 2005
© Copyright Stuart Healy www.aztrogon.com Page 19 of 25
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Step 5 – Add MP3 files to Birds Library
Okay, now we’re getting close to creating a sausage after lots of handle cranking. This step is almost
identical to adding the source CD tracks to the “Raw Birds” library. In fact, it’s actually the same library
since, as I mentioned earlier, Musicmatch only supports one library.
Operationally, adding MP3 files to the library is identical to adding the source CD tracks (see Step 2);
only the tagging is different. First, Genre is set to “Birds” instead of “Raw Birds”. This enables all tracks
in each Genre (pseudo library) to be manipulated independently as though they were separate libraries.
Secondly, I use capital letters in the family names and species names to improve readability on the player,
as shown in DJ Screens 1-6. I could also have done this on the “Raw Birds” library but I find that lower
case provides better on screen readability on a monitor.
Before adding tracks to the MP3 “Birds” library for the first time, I performed steps 2-4 for a base of
about 300 tracks (significantly less than that in terms of actual species because of separate songs and calls
for a number of species). Thus, the work involved was a lot less than for the “Raw Birds” library of 700+
tracks, but still required a significant amount of tedious editing work. I’ve subsequently added to the MP3
Birds library and continue to do so as the need for specific species arises.
Step 6 – Copy Birds Library to Dell DJ
At last, the final step. Musicmatch incorporates software plug-ins for a number of portable devices
including, of course, the Dell DJ which connects to the computer via a USB 2 interface. A couple of
connection options ship with the DJ -- I use the cradle shown here.
When the DJ is connected, Musicmatch can be configured to start automatically and display the Portable
Device Manager window. The disk on the DJ is read and the display shows all the tracks currently present
on the player, an example of which is shown in Musicmatch Screen 8.
Music tracks appear after the bird tracks. I’ve scrolled down to the last
bird family to illustrate this. The DJ behaves identically.
The usage summary at the bottom shows how little disk space is
required. Of the 846 tracks using a total of 1.76 GB, only 361 using
138 MB belong to the Birds library, the rest are music tracks. You
could include every bird in the world and still have room for plenty of
music (it might take you a while though!).
Dell DJ explorer software can also be used to perform the same
functions but, generally, I stick with Musicmatch to maintain library
integrity. The library is backed up on any day that I change it as part o
my routine daily backup.
I typically only use DJ Explorer for creating temporary client playlists
(more convenient than Musicmatch for this function) and to copy
photo files for temporary storage.