[Vai]

Verizon Wireless, Blackberry Pearl (8130)

Problem: some mp3 music files get cut-off while playing in the media player. The media player shows, for example, that a song is 2:59 long, while it's really 3:32. It cuts off at 2:59.

Description of what I've done: I initially transferred music files to the miniSD card using the software that came with the Pearl. I didn't experience any problems. Just today, I started moving LOTS of music over to the Pearl, using the same software (Roxio Media Manager or some such nonsense). When I was listening to the songs later, though, I noticed that some of them stopped playing and went to the next track before the song was over. At first, I thought it was a problem with the settings on the media player, that perhaps it was 'shuffling' the songs and only playing the first 3:00 minutes, though that turned out to not be correct. I found out that for the songs that were getting cut off, the media player showed that they were the exact length that it was playing, but that length is shorter than the true length of the file.

So, I deleted ALL the music from off the Pearl, and tried re-transferring one of the songs that I new to be problematic. No dice, it did the same thing again. Delete and start over.

I began to suspect that, perhaps the Roxio software was the problem, that it was cutting the songs off mid-transfer or something of that nature, and so instead of using it, I just opened the Pearl up from 'My Computer' (mass storage option turned on) and tried transferring files over that way. Things looked great. The files were going over, and comparing the 'properties' of the files on my hard drive and on the pearl confirmed that they were identical--same length, same size and all the other details. Perfect, problem solved--stupid Roxio.

Except that when I went to play the song in the media player, once again, I noticed that it had been clipped. Even though in the Windows Explorer window, the file details showed it at a length of 3:32, the media player on the pearl said it was only 2:59, and cut it off right when it got to the 2:59 mark. Just to make sure, I opened the file on the Pearl in my media player on my computer, and sure enough, it worked just fine. Computer recognized the file length and played it correctly.

Has anyone heard of anything like this before? I have to assume now, that the problem is with the media player, and not the files or the transfer process itself. I've even gone the tried and true route of pulling the battery, but it didn't change anything.

Any help or thoughts? Thanks in advance,

Vai

Edit--It doesn't happen on every song, just some. And it's not every song over 3:00 long either, as I have some longer ones that play just fine...

Edit 2--Just found one other oddity with it. When I am in the 'all songs' screen, looking at the list of songs there, they show that they are the FULL length. When I click on one to open it, it shows the correct length for half of a second, then switches lengths to the 'shortened' length. Almost as if when the mp3 itself is opened, it's not as long as the details show it to be. But I know that can't be the case. Perhaps I'll go back to the Roxio software and try doing it's 'optimum playback' conversion option when transferring a file...

Edit 3--Tried transferring a problem song via Roxio again, and selecting the 'convert for optimal playback' option, still does the same thing.

Edit 4--So I've dome some research on the songs themselves, and the bitrate, id3 version, and all else has no effect. The problem exists (or doesn't) across all bitrates, id3s, etc...

Edit 5--So, while searching, I found another thread with a use having a similar problem. It seems that the mp3 tags might be the cause of the problem. I went to my problem song, deleted all the tag information using a tag editor, and then re-entered it all by hand. Moved the song over to the Pearl, and viola! It worked perfect. So, now that I can fix the problem, by manually editing the tags on EVERY mp3 in my music collection, I'd like to make a heartfelt plea to RIM. Fix your media player so that it doesn't have tag issues!