Dataton PICKUP Manuale utente
1| PICKUP PRODUCER'S GUIDE
DATATON PICKUP
PRODUCTION GUIDE
3| CONTENTS
CONTENTS
1. AT FIRST GLANCE ............................................................................................................... 5
2. AUDIO TECHNOLOGY.........................................................................................................7
3. PICKUP AS A DIGITAL AUIO PLAYER .................................................................................... 1 1
4. PICKUP AS AN AUDIO GUIDE ............................................................................................19
5. PREPARING AUDIO FILES IN ITUNES................................................................................... 23
6. DOWNLOADING AUDIO FILES TO PICKUP........................................................................ 39
7. CLONING THE MASTER PICKUP.......................................................................................... 41
8. PICKUP AUDIO GUIDE – PRODUCT OVERVIEW.................................................................. 43
9. GLOBAL COMMANDS – SUMMARY ...................................................................................46
10. LOCAL COMMANDS – SUMMARY ....................................................................................47
4| PICKUP – PRODUCTION GUIDE
Ø 20 × 100 mm.
2GB memory capacity from factory,
memory card can Be upGraded.
analoGue volume control
one-Button interface
Sound fileS doWnloaded
durinG cHarGinG
loudSpeaKer
lanyard HooK
fm receiver
mp3 decoder SoftWare, neW
compreSSion codeS can Be added
Standalone diGital audio player
WitH fm radio
5| 1. AT FIRST GLANCE
1… AT FIRST GLANCE
Infrared transmitter/receiver. PICKUP uses infrared signals to communicate with IR HOTSPOT
TRANSPONDER units. Transponders are mounted next to points of interest in the audio tour.
When you charge the PICKUP or transfer audio les, the LED will ash.
Volume control. Twist the ring on the IR transmitter/receiver for volume control.
Built-in loudspeaker. A small loudspeaker is located behind the display. The loudspeaker
may be used as an alternative to headphones.
Action button/Display. There is a single control button to start, stop, pause and select audio.
The button features an illuminated display, reminiscent of a clockface, with 12 indicators
and a light in the middle. You turn the button clockwise or anti-clockwise to access special
functions in the audio guide.
Base. The base may be unscrewed and removed to change the memory card or battery.
This is usually performed by an authorized PICKUP maintenance facility.
Headphone jack and USB connector. The jack is suitable for regular 3.5 mm headphones.
Connect a headphone splitter if you want to use two pairs of headphones on the same
PICKUP. The USB cable, shipped with PICKUP, plugs into the base of the PICKUP and con-
nects to a USB port on your computer. Use the USB connection to transfer audio les and
charge the audio guide. The headphone/USB connector also ts the PICKUP CHARGER,
letting you download les and charge up to 25 audio guides at a time.
Ø 20 × 100 mm.
2GB memory capacity from factory,
memory card can Be upGraded.
analoGue volume control
one-Button interface
Sound fileS doWnloaded
durinG cHarGinG
loudSpeaKer
lanyard HooK
fm receiver
mp3 decoder SoftWare, neW
compreSSion codeS can Be added
Standalone diGital audio player
WitH fm radio
actual
size
6| PICKUP – PRODUCTION GUIDE
GP1051L35 350 mAh
GP
GP1051L35 350 mAh
GP
7| 2. AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
2… AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
PICKUP is designed for use as a personal audio guide for exhibitions or similar public
arenas. It is used with Dataton infrared transponders as part of an audio tour. Transponders
are mounted in the exhibition area next to the items that form the subject of the tour. The
visitor selects a transponder by clicking at it with PICKUP and the relevant sound segment
starts playing. The basic features in PICKUP are similar to a regular digital audio player, as
described in the next few pages. Get to know these well and you’ll nd it is a smooth transi-
tion to creating audio tours.
BaSic conceptS…
mp3 audio file
This popular audio format features all the inherent advantages of a compressed format
while retaining superior sound quality. With MP3 encoding it is possible to shrink original
sound data from a CD by a factor of 12, with virtually no perceived loss of quality.
There are other compression methods, such as AAC, WMA, Ogg Vorbis. PICKUP currently
only supports MP3, which is the most widely used format.
The various formats differ in quality, most obviously at high levels of compression, for
example, compression 20 to 40 times. The deterioration in quality is audible but varies in
degree according to the method applied.
PICKUP is primarily used to reproduce sound in a descriptive or narrative context, which
does not usually motivate such hard compression. Bearing this in mind, MP3 is considered
8| PICKUP – PRODUCTION GUIDE
to be the optimal format. This does not, however, exclude the possible addition of other
formats at a later date.
The last few years have seen many advances in memory technologies for portable players.
The storage capacity of PICKUP can be upgraded to keep pace. PICKUP currently features
a capacity equivalent to 140 hours of top quality MP3 les which also reduces the necessity
for extremely hard compression.
id3 taG
A compressed sound le has an embedded data container, an ID3 tag. The data is used by
the player to choose the order of play for the les, or various sorting criteria. You can even
add information about how an MP3 le should be reproduced, for example, the volume or
equalizer setting.
When PICKUP is used as an audio guide the information in the ID3 tag plays a major
role. The producer of a PICKUP installation has to be able to edit the content of the tag, as
described later in this manual.
artiSt, alBum, tracK, Genre…
These are the four basic categories that are used to classify MP3 les in the PICKUP
memory. They reect traditional music industry terms and also suit the audio guide features
in PICKUP. The information from all four categories is stored in the ID3 tag and is indepen-
dent of the actual le name.
9| 2. AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
fm radio receiver
PICKUP is also equipped with an FM receiver. In addition to listening to stored MP3 audio
les, PICKUP users can listen to FM broadcast radio channels.
In 2006, local FM transmitters with a range of 5-10 m were made legal in Europe. This kind
of local transmitter has been permitted in other parts of the world for many years.
In effect, an exhibition organizer can now complement the stored sound in the PICKUP
with streamed real-time audio from local, short-range transmitters. The hows and whys are
discussed later in this manual.
HeadpHoneS and acceSSorieS
Good headphones enhance the audio tour immensely. Most kinds of headphones equipped
with 3.5 mm jack will t PICKUP. Dataton currently recommends Sennheiser PX100 head-
phones. These are open headphones with replaceable ear pads. They provide excellent
audio without totally omitting ambient sound.
To keep your hands free, use the shoestring lanyard, available in three lengths. The lanyard
features a safety breakaway connector designed to release under pressure. Children should
be supervised at all times when wearing the lanyard.
10| PICKUP – PRODUCTION GUIDE
11| 3. PICKUP AS AN MP3 PLAYER
3… PICKUP AS DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER
Read this chapter carefully before creating your rst audio tour with PICKUP. It explains
how the PICKUP can work as a straightforward digital audio player with FM radio. As
such, PICKUP is in effect a simple audio guide with all the les played in a set order,
but without the possibility of interaction with the transponders.
BaSic functionS…
tranSfer audio fileS from computer and cHarGe tHe audio Guide
Plug PICKUP in to the USB port on your computer using the cable shipped with PICKUP.
Note > Do not use an extension cable. This may jeopardize both le transfer and charging.
Once you have plugged in the PICKUP, a disk symbol should appear on your computer
desktop, or where USB memory icons usually appear on your computer. The disk is labelled
DATATON PICKUP. PICKUP may be shipped with factory set les in its memory, such as the
PDF manual and demo les. If you need full memory capacity, delete these standard items.
If you need them at a later date, you’ll nd them here www.dataton.com/pickup.
To store your own les in PICKUP, simply drag and drop them on the DATATON PICKUP
icon. If you have already adapted these les for an audio tour, they will be played in the
following order:
GP1051L35 350 mAh
GP
USB port
Indice
