Q. I use an Apple MAC. I’ve deleted some files but they still play. How do I delete them?
A. For Apple users only, the process of deleting files is quite SIMPL, although this issue has to do with how Apple works and nothing to do with the SIMPL Music Player (or any other standard MP3 player for that matter). The SIMPL Music Player looks for and plays all the compatible files it finds on its internal memory regardless of which directory or folder they are in. The problem arises because Apple iOS doesn’t actually delete the files when you press the ‘delete’ key, but creates a hidden sub-folder called ‘.trash’ or ‘.trash-1000’ and simply moves them into that folder. While you can’t see the files, they still exist and so the music player is finding them and playing them. To resolve the problems you have two choices:
- Preferred: Re-format the SIMPL Music Player memory card (this will delete everything on the SIMPL Music Player) and then drag and drop the music you want back onto it again. How to reformat? The SIMPL Music Player acts exactly the same as if it’s a USB stick or flash drive plugged into your machine, so formatting is just the same operation. There are many tutorials on the web (again this is a ‘how to operate your computer’ problem), try this one www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/storage/how-format-usb… and your problems should be solved. There’s a very clear video at youtu.be/ac3jaZ7DjGg if you prefer video help. (Please make sure you only power up the music player once with the usb cable plugged in, or else it won’t operate in USB mode)
- Empty the trash folder. There is information how to do this here (as one example of instructions) www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-Force-1148
Q: Does it work in the USA, UK, Europe, Asia or Australia?
A: Units are supplied anywhere in the world. They are configured to have the correct mains adapter to suit the dispatch address on our order.
Q: How many tunes can be uploaded?
A: The internal memory is set at 4GB. Obviously the length of individual songs has an influence on the capacity. To some extent this is an academic question since most people with dementia are more than happy with a much smaller song list of say 25 to 40 tunes.
Q: Can the tunes be preloaded?
A: No. The unit comes pre-loaded with up to 40 big band tunes, but we are unable to add additional music to the player for you.
Q. Can it use headphones?
A: There is a headphone socket provided in the rear of the unit. Plugging in headphones immediately cuts out the main speaker. The socket is the light green one, the same as on your computer.
Q. Dad can’t move his hands very much. Is there any way he can use it?
A: We have provided two sockets in the back panel which over-ride the ’ON/OFF’ and ’NEXT TRACK’ controls. Switches from OT suppliers are readily available but please remember this does require a higher level of cognizance to operate than many people with dementia.
Q: Does it upload from Apple devices?
A. Yes, SIMPL Music Players bought since June 2015 have an Apple compatible USB interface. It can handle the .m4a file format directly from iTunes (Please note that it is not an Apple device so it cannot play ‘Apple protected’ .m4p downloads).
Q: I’ve reformatted the player, transferred the disk and now nothing plays?
A. If you reformat the player, you must choose an MSDOS-FAT format option, NOT an Apple IOS format.
Q: I do not have files in MP3 format. What do I do?
A: MP3 is a generic term for this type of player; the SIMPL Music Player can handle several popular file formats such as: .mp3 “MP3 format sound”; .m4a “MPEG4 Audio”; .wma “Windows Media Audio”; .aac “ADTS Audio”; and .wav “WAVE sound”
There are many free file converters which can be downloaded from the internet, which convert your music into MP3 format. Don’t be too concerned about which version of MP3 file you have, the ’SIMPL Music Player’ handles them all. However, for best results convert you files into mono and choose a higher bit rate (greater than 125kHz). Here is a short list of third party providers (we have no responsibility for their operation): Koyotesoft; Online-convert.com; DVDVideoSoft; and NCH Switch MP3
Q: When I use remote switches it stops when I press switch, but starts when I release is again?
A. You have the main lid open. To use external or remote switches ensure the lid to be in the down position.
Q: Do you know if/how to change the order of the songs the player plays? Does it always go back to the first song? Any way it can “shuffle?”
A: We purposely don’t have a shuffle function due to our front end research. The intent of the music player is to leave it permanently plugged in so that it plays in a complete loop (and doesn’t require the additional operation of plugging the power in to make it work, for the person with dementia). Generally we have found that most people with dementia only require between 25 and 40 tunes and the familiarity of the cycle is more positive than a random choice. When it is stopped by lowering the lid, it will restart from that position (i.e. not from the beginning).
Obviously, as a cognizant person, if you keep switching it on at the mains and it starts playing the same tune it becomes monotonous, but this isn’t what we’ve found with people with dementia. The continual loop of familiar music is far more associative than a random shuffle facility. The requirement for ‘shuffle’ tends to be the desire of a fully cognizant person, not the intended user.
Q. How do I delete the pre-loaded music?
A.The SIMPL Music Player looks for and plays all the comparable files it finds on its internal memory regardless of which directory of folder they are in.
The problem arises when some operating systems (i.e. certain versions of Apple iOS and Linux) don’t actually delete the files when you press the ‘erase’ button, but create a hidden sub-folder called ‘.trash’ (or similar like ‘.trash100’,etc) and simply moves them into that folder. Whilst you can’t see the files, they still exist and so the music player is finding them and playing them. To resolve the problem you have two choices:
1) Empty the .trash folder that’s been created on the music player by your computer. In MAC OS X v10.3 or later, you can securely delete items by choosing Secure EMPTY TRASH from the Finder menu. There is information on how to do this here:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-Force-11481.
2) Reformat the SIMPL Music Player memory card (this will delete everything on the SIMPL Music Player) and then drag and drop the music you want back on to it again. See below for reformat instructions.
Q. How do I reformat the SIMPL Music Player memory card?
A.The SIMPL Music Player acts exactly the same as if it’s a USB stick or flash drive plugged into your machine, so formatting is just the same operation. You must reformat using fat32 option – other options will not work.
