Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) and PlaysForSure FAQ
Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) and PlaysForSure FAQ
Last Updated: August 12th, 2008
Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is a technology used to improve transfer and management of digital media between the PC and portable media players. The primary purpose of MTP is to connect portable devices to a Windows XP PC and synchronize digital media content between those devices, the PC and compatible content download services without the need to install separate device drivers. It is also used to synchronize licenses files between the PC and devices.
It is one of the three core components of the PlaysForSure certification program from Microsoft. The other components are Windows Media Codecs (WMA/WMV), and Windows Media DRM 10 (Janus).
PlaysForSure is a Microsoft certification program that is designed to simplify buying a portable digital player and locating music or video to play on it.
The PlaysForSure logo applies to portable media devices, their literature and documentation, and online music or video services.
There are generally two types of PlaysForSure audio logos.
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This logo indicates that the device is capable of playing music downloaded from an online store. |
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This logo indicates that the device is capable of playing music downloaded from an online store. It also indicates devices will be able to play back media that has been purchased through an online store that offers subscription or rentals. |
PlaysForSure is supported under Windows XP or later systems only. To use PlaysForSure with a portable MP3 player, you need the following:
- A device that supports PlaysForSure. Some players may require a firmware update.
- Windows Media Player 10. It is distributed with PlaysForSure devices, and it is also available as a download from the Windows Media Download Center.
- An online store that carries the PlaysForSure logo.
For more information on PlaysForSure, you can visit www.playsforsure.com.
Subscription services use a Digital Rights Management (DRM) system to provide legal access to entertainment content, through a paid service. Rather than selling individual media files, subscription services charge a monthly fixed-fee for unlimited access to its library of music collections.
At the end of one month, all licenses expire. Consumers who renew their subscriptions receive new licenses for tracks that were downloaded and can continue to access the music from the Web site. Consumers who do not renew their subscriptions are unable to continue playing their downloaded tracks. These tracks automatically expire from the PC and the portable device.
To use an online subscription service, you need the following:
- Windows Media Player 10 version 10.00.00.3802 or later. To check its version, open Media Player 10, click on Help, and then click on About Windows Media Player.
- Windows XP Service Pack 1a (Service Pack 2 is strongly recommended). To check the Service Pack version, click on Start, Control Panel and then System.
- A MP3 player with MTP/PlaysForSure firmware installed. Currently, the following ZEN players support PlaysForSure either out of box or with an available firmware upgrade: ZEN Vision:M, ZEN Vision, ZEN Sleek Photo, ZEN Micro, ZEN MicroPhoto, ZEN Vision, ZEN Sleek, ZEN Touch, ZEN Xtra, and ZEN PMC.
Online subscription services are available to users of Windows XP or later systems only. It is not supported under any downlevel operating systems such as Windows 2000, Windows ME or Windows 98SE.
The following hard drive based players support PlaysForSure.
NOTE: The information above for PlaysForSure support for our players is subject to change.
Note: If your ZEN MicroPhoto package included a PlaysForSure leaflet advising to download compatible firmware from www.creative.com, please disregard this. This was erroneously included in early shipments. The ZEN MicroPhoto is fully PlaysForSure compatible out of the box.
Flash players such as the MuVo or ZEN Nano players use Mass Storage Class (MSC) drivers, and appear as a Removable Mass Storage Device. They are auto-detected by Windows and by Windows Media Player 10 or 11. You can transfer files via the drag and drop procedure in Windows Explorer, though these devices are not technically MTP compliant. MTP is used to synchronize licenses between the PC and devices. Only MTP compliant devices have the potential to support Microsoft DRM 10 subscription based content.
Devices that use MTP as their connection protocol can be installed and configured without additional software. When a portable device is upgraded with MTP or PlaysForSure firmware, you no longer need to install its device driver. This means you can use your player on any PC running Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10 or 11.
Your unit will be recognized in other music player software that supports PlaysForSure, such as Napster to Go, Yahoo Unlimited, and many others.
You can use Creative MediaSource or ZEN Media Explorer if you are using Windows XP, though you will need to install software updates for these applications after installing the PlaysForSure firmware upgrade.
Under Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows 98SE, you will need to use Windows Media Player 9 to access the player.
When an MTP device such as Creative ZEN Micro, or ZEN Vision, etc is first connected to Windows XP PC, Windows will prompt which application to launch for use with the MTP device as indicated below. In the event that the application has already been chosen and you wish to change the application, you uninstall and reinstall the MTP device.
To uninstall and reinstall the MTP device, follow the procedure below:
- Connect your player to PC. Wait for detection, and then close the application that was launched.
- Go to Start, Run, and key in DEVMGMT.MSC.
- It will bring up the Device Manager, right click on the MTP Device, and select Uninstall.
- Reboot your PC.
- Windows will detect the player again, and prompt for an application to use with your player.
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