About the User Guide Return to Pg.
Copyright and trademark Return to Pg.1 Page 2 Copyright and trademark © 2001 SONICblue Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. SONICblue Incorporated does not assume any responsibility for errors or omissions in this document or make any commitment to update the information contained herein. Rio® is a registered trademark of RioPort, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries and is used under license.
Introduction Return to Pg.1 Page 3 Introduction Congratulations on purchasing the RioVolt SP250, the premier portable CD player. This high-powered device plays all of your standard audio CDs (Red Book), plus CDs you’ve burned with MP3 and Windows Media (WMA) files. When playing your MP3 and WMA music files, the RioVolt SP250 delivers 8 mintues of skip protection (up to 160 seconds for CD Audio). It also supports firmware upgrades should new features become available for your player in the future.
Package Contents Return to Pg.
Safety Information Return to Pg.1 Page 5 Safety Information WARNING TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF SHOCK OR INJURY, DO NOT USE OR OPERATE THIS DEVICE IN OR NEAR WATER OR WET LOCATIONS CAUTION RISK OF EXPLOSION, DAMAGE OR BATTERY LEAKAGE IF BATTERY REPLACED INCORRECTLY OR WITH AN INCORRECT TYPE. DISPOSE OF USED BATTERIES ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS AND LOCAL LAWS. Use only certified and approved Batteries and AC Adapters as specified in the RioVolt User Guide.
Getting Started Return to Pg.1 Page 6 Getting Started You will need the following items to start using your new RioVolt: • The RioVolt SP250 • 2 Rechargeable Batteries (included)or 2 AA Alkaline Batteries (not included) • RioVolt AC Adapter (included) • Headphones or earphones (included) or powered speakers (not included) • Remote Control (included) Battery Door 1. Unpack the RioVolt SP250 and all of its components. 2.
Getting Started Return to Pg.1 Page 7 6. Slide the Release Latch at the front of the RioVolt to the right to open the case. Release Latch 7. Place a music CD or a CD that you have burned with your own digital music files into the RioVolt. 8. Close the top lid securely. 9. Press and hold the Play button on the Joypad to turn the RioVolt SP250 on and to begin playing the first track on the CD.
Using Your RioVolt SP250 Return to Pg.1 Page 8 Using Your RioVolt SP250 The Display When powered on, the RioVolt’s Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is backlit for easier viewing while buttons are in use. The backlight turns off after a few seconds to conserve battery power when selections are not being made unless the AC Adapter is in use. The LCD displays the status of the RioVolt and the Track information for the the encoded music. The LCD assists you in selecting new music to listen to.
Using Your RioVolt SP250 Return to Pg.1 Page 9 Menus and Buttons The buttons on the face of the RioVolt SP250 include: • CD-FM • MODE • PROG • +10/EQ • NAVI/MENU • VOLUME + • VOLUME • Joypad (Play/Pause, FastForward, Rewind, Stop) CD-FM The CD-FM button toggles the RioVolt SP250 between playing CDs and FM radio stations. If you are playing a CD and decide to check what’s playing on the radio, press the CD-FM button. The CD will stop playing and the display will change to show the radio frequencies.
Using Your RioVolt SP250 Return to Pg.1 Page 10 PROG The PROG button allows you to repeat selected sequences of your music or to program a playlist of tracks you wish to listen to. Repeat A-B 1. Once you have located the sequence you wish to repeat, press PROG once. This initiates the sequence and places the Repeat symbol and an A at the top of the display. 2. Press Play/Pause on the Joypad to begin playing the music you wish to repeat. 3.
Using Your RioVolt SP250 Return to Pg.1 Page 11 NAVI/MENU The NAVI/MENU button a couple of different purposes. • It allows you to look through the directory of music available on a CD and select tracks from folders based on Album Title or Artist Name, depending on how they were structured before the CD was burned. • It allows you to go through the Setup Menu system to adjust how the RioVolt SP250 is configured and operates. NAVI 1.
Using Your RioVolt SP250 Return to Pg.1 Page 12 The Joypad Controls: Play/Pause — Press once and hold to turn the RioVolt on and to play the first song in the current selection. Pressing Play/Pause while a song is playing pauses the song and the song title in the display blinks to indicate that it is in Pause mode. In NAVI Mode — Scrolls up through folder and track choices. In MENU Mode — Selects menu tabs and options. Fast Forward — Press once to skip to the next track.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 13 The Setup Menu Pressing and holding down the NAVI/MENU button brings up the RioVolt’s Setup Menu. Each tab across the top of the display represents a separate menu group. Within each menu group exist tabs at the bottom of the display that provide setting options. Setup Menu General Timer Control Mode User EQ • Beep Volume • Sleep • f. scan • Repeat • • • • • 0-4 Sleep Power OFF (Min.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 14 General When you first enter the Setup Menu, the General tab will automatically be highlighted as the first menu group. 1. Press to select this menu group, which will then highlight beep vol in the bottom row of tabs. This option controls whether you hear an audible beep when you press buttons or not. 0 turns off the Beep function, while 1-4 adjust the volume level of the Beep function. 2.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 15 160 seconds of skip free MP3/WMA music is always available regardless of the ESP setting. 22. Press to activate the CD ESP screen, which will then display an arrow next to the marked checkbox. 23. Press or to move the arrow to the checkbox option you prefer. 24. Press to mark the checkbox you’ve selected. 25. Press to deactivate the CD ESP screen and to enter your selection. This completes the list of options in the General menu group.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 16 The Tag Information screen allows you to decide whether you want the display to show you the track information available for each digital audio track you play. This information can include the Artist Name, Album (CD) Title, Track Title, etc. By default ON will be selected. 17. Press to change the selection to OFF if you do not want to see the tag information. 18. Press to mark the checkbox you’ve selected. 19.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 17 8. Press to highlight the power off tab. 9. Press to activate the Stop Power OFF screen, which will then display a sliding bar scale of minutes that the RioVolt will remain on without activity before automatically shutting off. By default this number is 1 minute. 10. Press to move the slide right and increase the number of minutes before the RioVolt powers off. 11. Press to deactivate the Stop Power OFF screen and to enter your selection.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 18 18. Press to activate the Remocon Mode Button screen, which will then display an arrow next to the marked checkbox. This option allows you adjust the function of the CD-FM/Mode/Volume button located on the remote control. There are three options: • Keep it functioning as a Mode button for all Repeat and Shuffle options. • Change it to a Program button so you can select sequences of music to repeat (A-B) or Program in playlists or select existing Playlists on the CD.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 19 9. Press to activate the Shuffle Mode screen. By default all of the option checkboxes will be selected. You can select multiple options by marking all of the checkboxes or none at all by clearing all of the checkboxes. 10. Press or to move the arrow to the checkbox option you prefer. 11. Press to mark or unmark the checkbox. 12. Repeat until you’ve completed making your selections. 13. Press to deactivate the Shuffle Mode screen and to enter your selection. 14.
The Setup Menu Return to Pg.1 Page 20 7. Press to activate the Bass Corner Frequency screen, which will display a graph of the bass corner frequency range. 8. Press or to adjust the levels in the graph until they match your preferences. 9. Press to deactivate the Bass Corner Frequency screen and to enter your selection. 10. Press to highlight the t. boost tab. 11. Press to activate the Treble Boost screen, which will display the sliding bar scale for the bass range. 12.
Using the FM Tuner Return to Pg.1 Page 21 Using the FM Tuner By pressing the CD-FM button on the RioVolt or the VOLUME/CD-FM/ MODE click wheel on the remote control you can toggle between playing CDs and listening to FM radio stations. • Press and to tune the FM frequencies in 0.1 intervals. • Press and hold or to scan through the FM frequencies for available stations. • Press MODE to select whether you want it played in STEREO or not. • Press +10/EQ to select whether you want it played with DBB or not.
The Remote Control Return to Pg.1 Page 22 PLAY/PAUSE • Press once to play a song. Pressing when a song is in play will pause the song and cause the title to flash. STOP • • Button Button Press once to stop the current song. Press and hold to turn off the RioVolt. FASTFORWARD Click Wheel / REWIND Stop Play FF/RW NAVI/MENU / NAVI/MENU FASTFORWARD/REWIND • Press the click wheel towards to fastforward to the next track.
How to Upgrade Your RioVolt SP250: Return to Pg.1 How to Upgrade Your RioVolt SP250: Periodically, new RioVolt firmware is released to provide additional features or to support improved music formats. Check out www.riohome.com to determine if new firmware is available. To upgrade the RioVolt SP250: 1. Download the new firmware from the the www.riohome.com. 2. Burn the unzipped file onto a Data CD with your CD-ROM Writer.
Troubleshooting Return to Pg.1 Page 24 Troubleshooting Problem: The RioVolt SP250 gives a No Disk error message when spinning up. Troubleshooting measures: 1.) Make sure the CD is seated properly. 2.) See if a standard audio CD functions properly. 3.) Try to play a CD created with standard MP3/WMA files encoded at 128 Kbps, not variable bitrate (VBR) files. 4.) Try burning to a different media or brand of media. 5.) Try using a CD created on another CD burner. 6.
Troubleshooting Return to Pg.1 Page 25 Problem: When the player is left unattended and in a ’stop’ or ’pause’ state, often when I return the player is ’off’. Why is this? Troubleshooting measures: To preserve battery life the player will shut itself off when not in use. This is normal and will help to extend your battery life. You can adjust the amount of time that the RioVolt remains on before powering off in the Setup Menu in the Timer menu group.
Troubleshooting Return to Pg.1 Page 26 Problem: I cannot get the Program function to work on the player. It always tries to set an A-B loop instead, what’s wrong? Troubleshooting measures: The player must be stopped to create a playlist. When the player is not playing, press the Prog. button and you will be able to add tracks to your playlist.
Frequently Asked Questions Return to Pg.1 Page 27 Frequently Asked Questions What type of CDs can I play with the RioVolt? You can play CDs that have MP3 and/or WMA music files or you can play regular CD audio music discs. Can I mix CD Audio with MP3 and/or WMA files? No. You can play either CD Audio discs or CDs with MP3 (and/or WMA) music content. They cannot be mixed together. Can I put both MP3 and WMA files on the same CD? Yes.
Frequently Asked Questions Return to Pg.1 Page 28 *There is an ESP switch on the back of the device to choose this option. This only affects Audio CD skip protection and is available to help increase battery life. The CD seems to stop during playback, is this normal? Yes. This is part of the skip protection and battery life protection. When the CD is stopped, the RioVolt plays songs from memory.
Frequently Asked Questions Return to Pg.1 Page 29 What are ID3 tags and how can I use this feature? ID3 tags store the information about the music track within the file. When an MP3 or WMA file is created from a CD with an internet connection, the file is labeled automatically. When playing or searching for these tracks on the RioVolt, the artist name and track name will be displayed.
RioVolt SP250 Specifications Return to Pg.1 Page 30 RioVolt SP250 Specifications Category AUDIO Item Specifications Number of Channels Stereo (left and right) Frequency Range 20Hz-20KHz Headphone Output 7mW(left) + 7mW (right) (160 d) Line out Level 0.57V ms(47kd ) max. volume Signal vs.
One Year Limited Warranty Return to Pg.1 Page 31 One Year Limited Warranty Our warranty to you: SONICblue Incorporated warrants that your product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original retail purchase. If you discover a defect covered by this warranty, we will repair or replace the product at our option using new or remanufactured components.
Regulatory Information Return to Pg.1 Page 32 OFFICER OF SONICblue Incorporated. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS, WHICH VARY, FROM STATE TO STATE. SOME STATES LIMIT WHAT WARRANTIES MAY BE EXCLUDED AS WELL AS HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Glossary Return to Pg.1 Page 33 Glossary AAC Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is one of the audio compression formats defined by the MPEG-2 specification. AAC used to be called NBC (Non-Backward-Compatible), because it is not compatible with the MPEG-1 audio formats. AAC may eventually replace MP3 since it offers better sound quality and greater file compression. Bitrate, file compression Bitrate denotes the average number of bits that one second of audio data will consume.
Glossary Return to Pg.1 Page 34 MP3 MPEG-1, Layer 3 Audio (MP3) is a compressed digital audio file format. This format allows for near CD quality sound, but at a fraction of the size of normal audio files. MP3 files encoded from CD-ROM may be compressed to under 10 percent of their former size. This digital sound encoding and compression process was developed by the Fraunhofer Institut fur Integrierte Schaltungen and Thomson Multimedia.
Contacting Customer Care Return to Pg.1 Page 35 Contacting Customer Care Technical Support - US Hours of Operation: Mon.- Sat. 8am-5pm PT Email customersupport@riohome.com Telephone 1(541)-967-2450 Fax 1(541)967-2401 TDD 1(541)967-2451 Technical Support Wizard www.riohome.com Customer Service - US Hours of Operation: Mon.-Sat. 8am-5pm PT Email customersupport@riohome.com Telephone 1(800)-468-5846 1(541)-967-2450 Fax 1(541)967-2485 Website www.riohome.
