Video iPod

Chumpski

Can anyone give me recomendations on if the new video iPod is any good. Ive never owned one yet but I realise it has quite good music capabilities, but what about video? Is the small screen size annoying? Is it a pain converting files? Generally is it worth paying EUR 329 (i think) for the 30 GB version?

Any help would be much appreciated.

ambro25

[opinion]TBH, go Archos or i-river. It's already pretty much accepted that iPod isn't the best mp3 player you could get for your money, and these guys have been at it (PMCs) a hell of a longer time than Apple.

The iPod video smacks of me-too in the PMC sphere, Apple have waited on Archos, i-river and others to develop the market for them.

Problem with iPod video, is that Apple/Steve Jobs are selling a business model (buy your tunes for iPod, buy your vids for iPod video, use proprietary cradle, etc.), whereas other longer-established (but not as mass-mediatised) manufacturers are selling Swiss Army knife-grade pocket video solutions (that also record off AV sources, à la TiVo).

Not to mention compatible video standards (Divx, Xvid, Mpegs 1/2/4, wmv for Archos and I believe i-river also vs...well...QT for the iPod) and the whole DRM affair (got to download your content for the iPod or recode anything with QTime, vs just drag and drop files to the other two) - note that I'm going by not much more than hearsay about these last two points, and would need to look into it in further details..[/opinion]

I've owned an Archos 420 for the past year and a half. I'm not about to replace this anytime soon, it's without a doubt the absolute best personal portable media solution that I've ever owned or seen. If it ever dies (HDD failure or other), I'm 99.9% certain that I'll replace with another Archos. It's bulky compared to the iPod, but it does everything - video playback and record, digital photos, mp3, voice recorder, USB 2.0 portable HDD, with no compatibility issues whatsoever. As a matter of fact, after digitising any old VHS tapes that were lying around for keeps, I've flogged my VCR - I don't ever need it anymore (the AV420 can record video in higher def than standard PAL). I've not experienced i-river, but keep hearing good things about them.

Chumpski

Thanks for that, i think ill consider it until after xmas. Might get a Archos player cheaper in the january sales cos they are quite expensive.

ADSLUSER

Chumpski wrote:

Can anyone give me recomendations on if the new video iPod is any good. Ive never owned one yet but I realise it has quite good music capabilities, but what about video? Is the small screen size annoying? Is it a pain converting files? Generally is it worth paying EUR 329 (i think) for the 30 GB version?

Any help would be much appreciated.

I have an ipod video and it's the best gadget I ever got. No regrets whatsoever. It's very easy to use, looks very stylish and sounds fanstastic. The video screen is surprisingly very watchable and it's great to be able to watch videos in such a compact package. All this power in a size no bigger than a cassette tape! When I first got it, I didn't expect to use it to watch videos - just thought it was a gimmick. However, I find myself watching more and more on it. Unfortunately, the iPod doesn't support more video formats but converting them using Videora (free software) is a doddle. And when you want to watch your videos on your TV screen, just plug it into the TV!

The cons to the iPod is the battery life which is only 14hrs for music (which is not bad) but only 2hrs of video using the screen. The 60GB version has better battery performance but is more expensive. It's also a little bigger - roughly the same size as the old 4g 20GB model.

Hope this helps your decision.

Praetorian

I just picked up one of the Ipod videos for my brother from the states for about $300. They are the business (really small and sexy) and this is coming from a notorious apple basher

Dublinstiofán

i used to be very anti apple and wouldnt buy any of their products. Had an iriver h320 and h340 and they both let me down so i went apple. Bought the 60GB video thing and it was great. my mate still has one and loves it. Its a great little gadget

MrPinK

ambro25 wrote:

I've owned an Archos 420 for the past year and a half. I'm not about to replace this anytime soon, it's without a doubt the absolute best personal portable media solution that I've ever owned or seen. If it ever dies (HDD failure or other), I'm 99.9% certain that I'll replace with another Archos.

I've had mine about for that long too, and I really can't imagine using anything else. I quite like the iPod Video, it's a nice little piece of kit, but when it comes to video it just can't compete with the archos. One of the best things is just being able to connect it to the tv and hit record, and then you have something new to watch on the way to work tomorrow.

cormie

Get the Cowon iAudio X5 instead, cheaper (€407 delivered from mx2.co.uk compared to about €450 for the 60GB version), has better codec support, battery, remote (not included either), sound, firmware, etc etc etc. Whatever apple bring out, there always seems to be something better and cheaper so keep your eyes open:)

ambro25

MrPinK wrote:

I've had mine about for that long too, and I really can't imagine using anything else. I quite like the iPod Video, it's a nice little piece of kit, but when it comes to video it just can't compete with the archos. One of the best things is just being able to connect it to the tv and hit record, and then you have something new to watch on the way to work tomorrow.

I think that's a pretty fundamential difference, which perhaps I didn't emphasize enough in my posts and -going from the OP's initial queries- I would ask the OP in return if the ability to record from any AV source is of any importance?

As far as I'm concerned, once the €250 threshold is crossed for that kind of gear/gadget, I'd be looking for as much functionality as possible... e.g. record from any AV source and play the recorded material or play some ripped material or some downloaded material with little to no codec/recoding hassle whatsoever.

Ro-76

i just got the ipod video 30gb. this is my 5th ipod. i have had every model except the 1g, and the photo. It's excellent. The video quality is very good, much better than i expected, and it's so small and slim.

I Agree that there are many features that Apple could have added, particularly an fm radio, but on the whole it's an excellent package.

robio

any1 know how to put videos on these bad boys! i'm very happy with mine but i'm still only getting used to it (never had an ipod b4)

richieg

I have been thinking about getting 1 or a psp. i have a 4G (pre colour) ipod but i would like something that shows video as well. I had a look at 1 and to be honest I don't think I could watch more than 15-20 video on it the screen is too small. Think I will go for psp as I can watch movies, play games and pspware will convert video from imovie to the psp on my mac. If you are buying an ipod then it is great to have but if you are upgrading I don't think its worth it. Mr. jobs said it himself that it is still primarily a music player than can show video rather than a multimedia player

ambro25

robio wrote:

any1 know how to put videos on these bad boys! i'm very happy with mine but i'm still only getting used to it (never had an ipod b4)

Hohum...the Plaintiff rests his case...

Ro-76

ambro25 wrote:

Hohum...the Plaintiff rests his case...

I use videora ipod converter - works very well so far.

cormie

ambro25 wrote:

Hohum...the Plaintiff rests his case...

Exactly what I was thinking:p If I've ever seen a quote that should be in my sig, that is it!

Robio, you'll need to convert each video you put on so as it plays on the screen size/resolution as the screen is much different to the likes of a laptop/pc screen where mpeg/avi files etc are usually played. I'm not too sure about converters but try Ro's suggestion:)

ubu

I have an iAudio X5 60 Gig, my brother has the ipod video and my friend has the iriver H340, of all of them the ipods screen is the biggest and the playback of videos is the clearest, but saying that, it should not be a reason to buy an ipod, think about it, how often are you actually going to watch videos on the thing? 99% of the time i use my X5 for music playback and thats what its best at, the ipod falls behind in this field, the interface is the best on the ipod the other two take a bit of getting used to but in every other way the iriver and iaudios are superior to the ipod.

cormie

Once you get used to iAudio/iRiver interface, which is "better" to use? Still iPod? I'm not sure as don't have the means to compare. One thing I'm sure of though, I hate the fact you have to sort by album/artist. I have the ability to use tag database on my H140 but wouldn't dream of changing from filetree to that.

tman

ADSLUSER wrote:

Unfortunately, the iPod doesn't support more video formats but converting them using Videora (free software) is a doddle.

i don't suppose you've tried converting files with subtitles?
i watch a hell of a lot of fansubbed anime and have been wondering if this would be watchable of such a tiny screen (and indeed, if the converter could handle the subs as well...)

cormie

tman wrote:

i don't suppose you've tried converting files with subtitles?
i watch a hell of a lot of fansubbed anime and have been wondering if this would be watchable of such a tiny screen (and indeed, if the converter could handle the subs as well...)

You'd be killing yourself trying to read subtitles on any mp3 players screen boss! Also, unless it's fully charged, you're not really going to have battery power to watch a full movie either, you should probably just get an mp4 player if that's what you'll be needing it for, they play mp3s too:)