Recommendations for a video player?

Eoin

Hi folks,

I'm looking to get a portable media player for music and video. I have totally lost track of what products are out there, so any suggestions are welcome!

The main products I have seen so far are the iPod video, Archos PMA,
iRiver and the iAudio A2 and X5L.

Can anyone give any feedback on these, or suggest any alternatives?

thanks in advance,

Eoin

muckwarrior

Well there's one glaring omission from your list, the Creative Zen Vision:M. If you want a DAP sized device then forget about the X5 or the iPod, this is the one to go for. If you want a proper PMP then the A2 certainly wouldn't be a bad choice.

Bard

I got the A2 there yesterday and it's a top class piece of kit!

Although, it's a bit bulky alright... if I were looking for a standard sized one, I'd certainly recommend the Creative Zen Vision:M. Brilliant little machine... and should be back in stock in most major retailers now. (Where I work, we took delivery of 13 of them today )...

projectmayhem

psp

Eoin

The creative one looks exactly like what I am looking for. It is a birthday present for herself, so the A2 type player woul dbe a little big. The 2.5 inch screen seems generous enough also. Komplett have it for €350 which looks like good value.

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like we may have a winner already!

Eoin

muckwarrior

Yeah tis really good. MUCH better for video than the iPOd or X5 due to the fact that you can just drop most video files straight on to it, i.e. no need for tedious conversions first. You can also hook it up to a TV to watch them. The screen is also better than the iPod, and the X5 isn't even in the same league.

Ham Ahoy!

if ye need a player particularly for video, an archos would be best. i now wish i had gotten an archos instead of an iPod, so archos is the way to go.

well **** me! after seeing that zen one, i have to say the vision:M = iPOd 5th g 30 gigs. and the ipod still beats on song capacity, as the zen only holds fifteenn thousand "*Based on four-minute songs at 64kbps in WMA.", whereas the iPod has them in AAc, 128kbps. It's no competition to the iPod/

In conclusion, get the archos.

MOD EDIT: Sig image removed (it breaks the rules)

Eoin

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

if ye need a player particularly for video, an archos would be best. i now wish i had gotten an archos instead of an iPod, so archos is the way to go.

well **** me! after seeing that zen one, i have to say the vision:M = iPOd 5th g 30 gigs. and the ipod still beats on song capacity, as the zen only holds fifteenn thousand "*Based on four-minute songs at 64kbps in WMA.", whereas the iPod has them in AAc, 128kbps. It's no competition to the iPod/

In conclusion, get the archos.

I had a good look around, and I think the Archos type players are that little bit too big, and I think she would prefer something more like a standard MP3 player. The Creative Vision:M is looking like the best option for that as far as I can tell, but thanks for the response anyway.

muckwarrior

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

well **** me! after seeing that zen one, i have to say the vision:M = iPOd 5th g 30 gigs. and the ipod still beats on song capacity, as the zen only holds fifteenn thousand "*Based on four-minute songs at 64kbps in WMA.", whereas the iPod has them in AAc, 128kbps. It's no competition to the iPod/

Bullsh1t!
30GB = 30GB. Doesn't matter how many songs the manufacturer claims they hold. And the Zen is vastly superior to the iPod in video terms.

richieg

Does anyone know if you can connect the ipod video to TV and watch videos/photos? What is the quality like?

Ham Ahoy!

richieg, you need an iPod av cable, which you can buy wherever they sell apple products, or indeed o2 shops. dunno what the quality is like, but i think it's okay. i mean, i burned a divX disc with a video and watched it on my DVD player (it plays .avi), and got the same resolution converted onto my iPod. I'm sure they're pretty much equal.

Muckwarrior, iPod rules Creative. Besides, it's all a matter of opinion. Like the XBox fans who should be shot for saying 360 > PS3. ZING!

eoin_s wrote:

I had a good look around, and I think the Archos type players are that little bit too big, and I think she would prefer something more like a standard MP3 player. The Creative Vision:M is looking like the best option for that as far as I can tell, but thanks for the response anyway.

Jesus! the archos ARE the way to go if you need it mainly for video. iPod, and the Zen, are just music player with video support, whilst the Archos range are designed specifically for video, with MUSIC support.

Therefore, need a video player, get the Archos, need a music player with some fancy extras, get the iPod, or the Zen. But better the Zen if it's for a girl.

muckwarrior

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

Muckwarrior, iPod rules Creative. Besides, it's all a matter of opinion.

Perhaps you'd like to quote some specs to illustrate your opinion. I'll give you the chance before I give you a whole list of ways that the Zen kicks the sh1t out of it!

Edit: I'll give you a head start. iPod pro - it's thinner.

Ham Ahoy!

i really couldn't be bothered. you still won't change my opinion. i stand by my statement.

muckwarrior

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

i really couldn't be bothered. you still won't change my opinion. i stand by my statement.

Thought so. You prefer the iPod, fair enough. But don't go around telling people that it "rules" the Creative when actually the opposite is the case.

Ham Ahoy!

I still disagree with your siding with the Creative, and like I said, that's just my personal opinion.

ambro25

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

iPod, and the Zen, are just music player with video support, whilst the Archos range are designed specifically for video, with MUSIC support.

That is actually a pretty neat way of summing it up, come to think of it (A420 owner here )

... and it's not as if we Archos whores are not constantly trying to get people to give the little guys some notice when looking for true multimedia portability (as in multi-function/multi-format, not size/weight )

Bard

Ham Ahoy! wrote:

I still disagree with your siding with the Creative, and like I said, that's just my personal opinion.

Ah but you were saying originally that it was BETTER, not that you personally preferred it. Big difference.

On technical specifications alone, the Zen Vision:M kicks the Apple iPod's arse up and down the street. It's simply a better player.

On looks, the iPod wins (barely)... but, frankly, functionality is king.

Kintarō Hattori

Bard wrote:

On looks, the iPod wins (barely)... but, frankly, functionality is king.

Hmnnn who buys an -->MP3<-- player for looks? I always bought mine for functionality, seeing as it's in my pocket 95% of the time.

muckwarrior

eo980 wrote:

Hmnnn who buys an -->MP3<-- player for looks?

iPod owners obviously.

daveg

Back on topic I have the Archos PMA400. It is the dogs bollax. All the functionality of the Av400 series (can record direct from TV to avi format, plays Avi's, MP3's etc). Also has PDA functionality with full Wifi. Also has a 30GB hard drive. Being honest it does have some drawbacks - only 3 hours battery time for movie playback (9 odd hours for MP3 playback), Wifi isn't fantastic but is ok - Opera browser only, Can be finicky with playback of Avi formats but once you get used to this it's ok.

Overall I would consider it a great multimedia player with some PDA functionality. Highly recommended. Oh, btw, the TFT screen playback quality is second to none. It is amazing.

Slutmonkey57b

I'd recommend the Archos as well. Bought a gmini400 in the states and while it doesn't support as many file types as I'd like, it's a great machine - also, all Archos machines come with software that'll convert video into its default format for you.

Eoin

Well, I went for the Creative Zen Vision:M and I am well impressed. The video quality is excellent, and it doesn't need to convert XVID avi files, it just copies them directly across and they can be viewed immediately.

We watched some episodes of "Arrested Development" on it, and it really is watchable on the screen. We haven't watched any movies on it yet, but I am sure they will be just as watchable. The battery life when you are watching videos is between 3 and 4 hours.

The only real downsides are that the screen is very very soft. The player has only been used a couple of times, and has been kept in it's pouch when not in use. The screen has still gotten scuffed slightly though, possibly because the earphones were also in the pouch with it.

The only other real negative point is the centre control - it can be very sensitive at times, and not sensitive at others. I have the same problem on my iRiver H10 which has a similar interface. It's probably just a case of getting used to it though.

Overall though, an excellent player - and the quality was much better than we were expecting. I know it is more of an MP3 player with video support, rather than the Archos style video player, but that description really doesn't do it justice.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions

shuushh

can you hook up the archos to TV and watch on the big screen ?

just how finicky is it with video files ? are there any firmware updates to change this ? does the video ever go out of sync with audio when you play it back ?

Slutmonkey57b

The archos gmini comes with an adaptor for hooking it up to the TV - it's all simple enough. The higher-end archos portable dvr machines have a dedicated cradle for connecting to the tv which is a more reliable option though. No sync problems on mine. As far as formats goes, the gmini really only plays mp4 based avi files - no firmware updates to change it.

ambro25

shuushh wrote:

can you hook up the archos to TV and watch on the big screen ?

just how finicky is it with video files ? are there any firmware updates to change this ? does the video ever go out of sync with audio when you play it back ?

The AV420 hooks up using standard composite cable (White/Red/Yellow) input.

It plays straight-out-the-box: standard (windows) Avi, DivX Avi, XviD Avi and wmv with a firmware upgrade. In addition to mp3 and wav, of course.

No synch problems unless your file is wonky to start with. Some badly-encoded files with VBR audio (instead of CBR) can sometimes show issues, such as those TV shows sometimes sent by US relatives - nothing Dr DivX (or VirtualDub) can't sort out in a few minutes.

But most often, just drag/drop the Avi, place in cradle, select AUX input on TV and away you go. Personally, I prefer ripping my DVDs and reencoding at max possible res. playable by the ARCHOS (720x576 at 25fps) and put that through a projector whenever I can borrow work's .