I recently bought a MP3/4 player/recorder (for the very first time) which was cheap and I got what I paid for I think. The instructions were not clear at all on how it works and I have never bought one before nor I a brilliant on the latest in technology on most things these days.

Based on that, is there any MP3/4 players/recorders that you're aware of that have instructions that a novice will be able to work out easily and be able to work out how to record music off the internet onto the device?

Thanks in advance.

If you tell us which one you already bought, someone may be able to help you with that one without more money being spent.

That's an impossible question to answer. For a start, your idea of "recording music off the internet" isn't what the vast majority of MP3/4 players do anyway, so you're going to have to involve a computer at some point which then adds a whole extra layer of complexity.

The better brands such as Zune, Apple, Sony, iRiver, Cowon etc will all have instructions written and/or proof-read by English speakers. However, it still takes a level of technical understanding or at least some perseverence to get to grips with any new bit of technology. Even something as seemingly simple as a toaster might baffle someone who is technically illiterate until they read the manual.

It's unclear what you really mean by 'recording from the internet'. That could cover anything from legal downloads to ripping off music from Youtube. Thirty-plus years ago it was not uncommon for kids to sit in front of the telly or radio with a cassette recorder and microphone waiting to record Top of the Pops or the chart show. If you want to do the same today then have a look at the Olympus LS-P1. I don't think it would make a very user-friendly MP3 player though.

There are other ways of making recordings such as using a Line Out/Line In connection (Line Out from an audio source to a Line In socket on a suitably equipped MP3 recorder) but you'd end up with a load of unlabelled recordings so finding anything after would be a chore.

TBH, you have two parts of the problem, and so you really need two solutions. The first bit revolves entirely around computers. It's "How do I create a digital music library?" For that you really need access to a spotty yoof to show you first hand how to rip CDs or rip off music artists from online streams.

the second part is "How do I get my legal/illegal music on to my player device?". That's when you need some decent instructions on the player and possibly the intervention of the aforementioned yoof to show you the process of connecting and syncing the player to your PC-based music library.

The one that I bought was from e-bay, here's a links for it, I didn't find the instructions on it very user friendly at all. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-8GB-4T...8AAOSwgmJXyRtm

@chris, I would like to buy an MP3/4 player that gives me clear instructions on what I need to do to record from legal sites and how. I'm not sure about recording from youtube, is it illegal to record music onto an MP3 player? There seems to be various sites that convert the music etc?

Do you have any good easy to understand links as to how it generally works in this area for a novice, i.e. connecting the device and then what to do on the computer to make it all happen?

p.s. If it helps, I have a desk top computer, an Asus one bought about 2 and a half year ago. Has the MS/windows 8.1 version loaded on it.

Best to buy an MP3 player that can handle various formats such as compressed low bit rate up to Flac for CD quality. Obviously Flac is a much larger file than the usual MP3 but storage is so ridiculously cheap today that it's hardly worth squeezing as many songs you can get into 8GB.

I would also look at an MP3 player that you can add a micro card so that you can always extend your storage you can even pick 128Gb cards around £30 64GB for half that. This means you haven't run out of sapace after adding just a few of your favourite albums/tracks.

There are plenty of "legal" download sites soundcloud, bandcamp, roughtrade, KCRW, too many to mention. You can also legally by from itunes etc. You could use itunes or a better ripping software tool such as dbpoweramp which will rip your cd's to almost any format using accurate rip which corrects any errors.

I presume you have discounted a smart phone, android or OS as that is the easiest solution of all and you can add stroage. Downloading and transferring is really easy, all you are doing is dragging and dropping your files from your computer to your player/phone.

I came across this one on Amazon which has expandable strorage but as always read reviews, what they do and what suits your budget.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubik-Playe...ds=mp3+players

Re bib, Not entirely but I want an MP3/4 player to listen to music while I am at the gym or going for brisk walks, its getting pretty boring without music. What puts me off trying to download this onto a phone is I do get put off from the radiation of a phone and don't want the phone to close to me unless on a call etc.

I don't think any mp3 player is likely to give you instructions on how to acquire audio and video files, as that all happens on the computer side.

But you can expect the instructions to tell you which file types it supports and how to transfer those to the device, and how to play them using the menu system on the device.
As it claims to double as a USB pendrive, I would imagine transferring files is just a matter of plugging it in to a USB port dragging and dropping them to the appropriate folder on the player using Windows Explorer.

Have you received the device, and does it connect to the computer OK?
The thing I would be worried about with such a cheap device is that the non-standard USB/charging cable supplied just didn't work, and then you'd be in the position of having to return it, as a standard USB lead wouldn't fit.

But as you've already bought it, and if it works, you might as well experiment with various uses and see if you use it enough to justify paying more for a better one.

Have you got a CD/DVD drive on your computer?
Most people start by ripping their CD collection to the computer (creating mp3 files) and then transferring those to the player to listen to on the move.
Most media players, including Windows Media Player, will do this easily.

You can also use a bit of free third party software like Audacity to record from Vinyl albums or to record internet radio etc.

Or there are sites (and software) that will 'record' Youtube videos to your computer, or will strip out just the audio as an mp3 file.
However the instructions with the player certainly won't give you help with that, as there might be copyright issues. But googling will get you far.

Thanks very much for your post/info. Yes I have a DVD/CD drive on my PC and the problem with the MP4 player that I have is the instructions for selections are not clear at all or they don't work. The main buttons seem to be the Menu and play button at the bottom but it doesn't make it clear at all if I should single press those buttons to select options or press and hold for a few seconds. Also it doesn't seem to say what the central "button" is for either.

I was sent this Youtube link for further info on how it works but I'm still not having much luck with it. It did come with the cable and I did connect it to the PC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MsXTjD-ZWY

That's not exactly the same player as yours, but if it's got the same user interface then it seems pretty rubbish TBH.
But there's nothing to stop you messing around with it.

The central button is to Play and Pause the tracks. The bottom button is for changing the volume.
Looks like you can long press on the Menu button to go in and out of the menu.
It looks like you use the fast forward and reverse buttons to scroll through the menu.

Doubt if it'd be any good for playlists or for setting up random play on music, but it's difficult to tell from that video.

I've got a Creative mp3/mp4 player (8 years old) that I have set to random play, that I connect to the aux input of my car's radio.
I've tried doing the same with my phone but it makes horrible connecting type noises that then just get amplified by the radio.
I do sometimes connect my phone via bluetooth, which is better. But that requires an extra device, as the car radio doesn't have bluetooth.

Dont want to appear rude but if you are having this much trouble with the MP3 player I doubt you are going to figure out how to use your PC to save Internet music as MP3 files and transfer them to this or any other player.

For what its worth, the eBay page you linked to gives enough info to guess how to use at least its main functions. Press menu and get a menu to appear on the screen. Experiment with the buttons on the ring to find how to scroll to menu items or sub items. Press the button in the middle to select an item. As supplied it will play its FM radio but it will not have any MP3 files unless you copy them from a PC or probably use a USB stick plugged into the USB port.

PS Should have added that if you don't have any MP3 files Google will easily find you a few that you can download and play with. Forget about Internet radio stations until you have sorted out playing those files.
Last edited by misar : 27-10-2016 at 16:23

The you tube video is fairy comprehensive and at just over £9 you can hardly complain about the price. I assume you transfer tunes on to it by connecting it to your computer, which will produce an icon on your desk top, and dragging the files on to that icon. The precise method will depend on your computers operating system and software.

Apple make the iPod Nano which is similar but costs £126, it doesn't come with written instructions but they are available on line as a PDF. Programming is usually via iTunes.
I get on well with iTunes but many on this forum hate it.

https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUA...user_guide.pdf

I see you thought of using your phone, have you ever put any music on that? If you really are worried about radiation from your phone, play the music on it with the phone in "airplane mode," that disables its phone and wifi radio functions.

Going for a walk without music should never be boring.

Thanks for the replies everyone. The problem with the central button that doesn't have any mark on it either is that it doesn't seem to do anything.

I think I have a book on windows 8.1 and If I don't, I think I will either need to buy one or look it up online further to try and work out how to download, save music files and then transfer them onto MP3/4 players. I was hoping it would be quite straight forward and maybe it will be once I find out the exact way of doing it and memorising it, but I have very little time these days in general. Thanks again.

Maybe a brisk walk is different?

It is! Its done to help keep off the pounds and stay in shape. About an hours worth too, very boring without music.

There is endless music, effectively free, not least youtube files which really are ''just music''. Download with free ''youtube to mp3 format'' converter software, from internet straight onto a PC. Or get mp3 talk podcasts on just about anything. See podcast lists and directories. Not least bbc radio, which packages lots of programmes onto mp3 podcasts. As for players, sony do a nice one, about £30.

On the bbc podcasts website, you just hit the ''download'' button. For youtube ''audio only'' files, there is various free software that will grab and download an mp3 audio version, this file type being the most common for audio players.

I had some old bought retail comedy cassettes of my Dads a few years ago and, with the machines being fazed out he was annoyed he would have to buy them again to listen to his collection...I found a Hifi system (Philips FWM377 - mp3 midi hifi system), came with a USB direct output......(handy because it had a cassette tape too)....that was as simple as putting the tape in connecting an mp3 player and pressing a record button on the midi system, it as it played the tape recorded it to the mp3 player.....

not sure if these systems are still around, but an option and very easy to use.