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Digital Portable multimedia players (.psd 1/2007)Thanks to portable multimedia players that can record audio and video it's not only your music collection that's now accessible on the move. It wasn't long ago that we were wowed by the idea of being able to carry all our music with us on a device not much bigger than a cassette tape. But now that every John has an iPod or something similar, these audio-only players are starting to feel a bit like old news. So it's not surprising to discover that manufacturers have been adding more and more features to these devices. In fact we're now at the stage where a wave of exciting portable media players is arriving. These players allow you to carry much more than your music collection with you; they can also store thousands of digital photos and lots of movies. Whether you want to want to watch an episode of your favourite sitcom on the train to work or show off your holiday snapshoots to your mates down the pub, these devices are up to the job. Portable multimedia players are really a development of the digital audio players that we use for playing music. In an attempt to break Apple's stranglehold on the market, many manufacturers started putting colour displays on their devices to attract new customers. Once these had colour screens the next natural step was to allow people to view slide shows of their digital snaps as the music played in the background. Even Apple's iPods now have this feature. As the devices got more powerful, video playback was added allowing users to play movies that were specially converted into digital formats such as DivX, Xvid and WMV. These formats can be thought of as the MP3s of the video world because they are able to take large video files and make them much smaller. Typically a full movie can be made to fit in 600Mb. But even using this clever compression, video still takes up far more room than audio, so portable multimedia players usually have bigger hard disks. Most offer at least 20Gb of storage space, but some can reach 100Gb. These bigger hard disks and all the extra electronics needed to play video mean that many multimedia players are larger than models that only play music. Another downside is that, because they use big colour screens and power-hungry video technology, they tend to have short battery life. The battery is usually good enough for around four and a half hours of video or around 12 hours of audio, but these figures vary from model to model. Multimedia players also tend to be more expensive than audio-only jukeboxes. You can even use it to record MP3s directly on the device itself and its built-in video recorder lets you record shows straight from TV (although not from premium channels such as Sony) or movies from a DVD player. The Zen Vision from Creative is a similar beast. It can play videos as well as music files and can show digital pictures on its high-resolution screen. There is a built-in voice recorder and also some organiser features that allow you to put all your contacts on the device. Unlike the Archos, however, it has no recording features. Instead all video and audio has to be recorded using a PC and then transferred to the player. Another unit that doesn't have built-in video recording features, but instead relies on movies being downloaded into it from a PC, is the PMP-120 from iRiver. It has a 3.5in colour screen that it uses to play back files in DivX and Xvid formats. Naturally, it can also play MP3 and WMA music files and has an onboard voice recorder. A USB port allows you to transfer pictures directly onto the hard disk from certain types of digital camera and, although the PMP-120 does not have video recording features, it has an onboard MP3 encoder so you can record CDs directly to the device. Portable media players won't be ideal for everyone. They're bigger than audio-only jukeboxes and usually have shorter battery life. Many of the devices are fussy about the types of movie files they will play, with the result that you often have to convert videos that play fine on your PC into a format that suits the jukebox. To our consumers test we decided to consider similar features, it wasn’t easy, but i hope that our choices, and users’ reviews will help you to choose the best portable entertainment studio for you. Enjoy that. 10 tips before you make your decision:
Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage ViewerThere’s a great new way for photographers and media lovers to store, view and share digital photos, movies and music. The screen on the P-2000 is amazing. Transferring images from a storage card is easy, as the device has a Secure Digital and Compact Flash media slot. When you insert a card into the device, you can copy the images instantly to the P-2000. Images can be viewed individually, in a slide show format or as a bunch of thumbnails. When connected to certain Epson printers via the USB cable, you can print directly to those printers without a PC intervening. The P-2000 also stores MP3 and AAC audio files, so you can use the device as an impromptu music player, or use the music files as background music for the digital image slide shows. Video files (MPEG-4 and Motion JPEG) also play on the device, so you can use the device to show home movies or other files (although transferring large video files will work fastest through a PC's USB connection). If the P-2000's screen is too small, you can use its VGA output to display to a TV or projector. Because the device is basically a hard drive with a display interface, you can also store non-multimedia or "boring" files on the drive, such as Word documents or PowerPoint files. The 40G-byte capacity should let you do this with plenty of space left over for more photos and music files. It's like having an album full of images to pass around. And an album of images you just shot!. Vosonic VP6230iVP6230i improves the LCD display to high quality 320x240 RGB. It lets you view photos at 4/3 format with better image display. It supports all memory cards such as Compactflash, IBM Microdrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard and 4 other formats, Mini-SD, RS-MMC, MS Duo and MS Pro Duo with a adapter. It uses fast USB 2.0 interface for file transfer to your PC. Connecting the VP6230i to your PC, it works as hard drive enclosure and multi card reader/writer. The backup function allows you to transfer the data from your cards to the HDD anytime, anywhere during your trip. No need to carry a notebook or several cards any more. You can save all the data: music, photo, video and documents into it as super portable storage device. Let VP6230i be your personal move theater where you can view the movies anytime and anywhere. TV out function even let you connect the device to TV and share the movie and photo on TV with your friends. Amazing! Set Music as "play in background", you can view the picture and enjoy music at the same time. It works as photo album with huge memory. The zoom in/out, rotate and slide show functions make the photo display more interesting. Exif information support is useful for professional photographer. VP6230i allows you record the audio from line-in or internal microphone. You can record lectures in classrooms or record music from another audio player. It is just perfect to store all multimedia in one place! Coby PMP -7040Coby introduced a great looking Portable Media Player called PMP-7040. The front is composed of mostly a screen; this player looks sleek and clutter-free. With a nice and big 7-inch LCD display, you can watch all the media you can hold in 40GB worth of memory. As for formats, you can play AVI, MPEG 1/2/3/4, MP3, WMA, JPEG and BMP. If you do not have enough contents to put on this player, you can use the A/V connections to record some more. And if you find yourself running out of space, the PMP-7040 can take SD and MMC at the same time, which can increase your memory. To move files back and forth on the PC you will have to use a USB 2.0 port, no WiFi or Bluetooth here, but no one is complaining. As for battery life, this baby can go up to 7 hours. You will need to give up about $330.00 USD to get the PMP-7040. Zen Vision WExperience 16:9 widescreen entertainment on the move. Enjoy your favorite blockbuster movies in superior spectrum of sight and sound. The ZEN Vision W is in a league of its own with powerful multimedia features to support popular formats of movies, music, photos and includes FM radio. Available in both sleek 30GB and heavy-duty 60GB models, you will never run out of space for the moments you cherish. That's tens of thousands of photos, up to 240 hours of movies, or even 15,000 songs all stored in your pocket. Tune in to the radio, or make personal voice memos. Photo gallery is completed with a thumbnail gallery, it makes it easy to scroll through your entire photo collection. Zen offers really nice function, Personal Calendar there you can store and view all the information that's important to you - daily tasks, contact lists and even a calendar - that you sync with Microsoft Outlook, or edit with Creative Media Explorer. Unfortunately, the player isn't particularly sleek, and its audio battery life is shorter than it should be for a device this size.One thing that makes it a little less attractive is it’s lackage of video recording function. However it is worth spending money on such device where you can store your multimedia. Archos 604It appears that Archos has got this portable media player gig down pat, as the 30GB 604, unveiled as an affordable replacement for the well-received AV500, has done quite a commendable job building itself a bit of buzz. Rather than altering too much of a good thing, Archos decided to just tweak the 604, adding several meaningful extras while removing a few advanced features in order to get that price tag down to near-bargain basement levels. Although the 604 isn't the most pocket-friendly unit reviewers had seen, they felt that increasing the screen size from 4.0 to 4.3-inches (and improving its durability / performance) was well worth it. The sexy metal look was touted as being "pretty hot" in regards to its design. One feature that definitely satisfied the reviewers was the kickstand, something sorely absent on the AV500 .The controls and well-developed GUI left a very positive impression, and its ability to play back all types of media ranging from AVI, MPEG-4, PlaysForSure WMA and WMV, MP3, and WAV garnered even more praise. But, not everything was entirely peachy, as those looking to record video/audio right out of the box won't find the tools they need. Archos apparently made a purposeful omission and left the DVR gear as an optional accessory. The biggest selling feature of the Archos 604 is its price; at just $350, this powerful PMP is likely to sell well being able to play both video and music in a variety of formats. iPod MA146LL/AWe should not consider this player a video player, but a great iPod music player, with video capabilities as a fantastic bonus. Nevertheless, the iPod with video playback is the most capable and feature-rich iPod ever produced by Apple. The iPod plays back H264 and MPEG4 encoded video. The iPod's new display is larger than ever at 2.5 inches, giving it a resolution of 320x240. If you want to put some of your own video, onto your iPod, you will need to use an application such as QuickTime Pro to convert the video to the specific requirements to play on the iPod. You can also find video podcasts, which will play on the new iPod. Even if you do not plan to view video on the new iPod, its primary purpose is to be used as the world's best music player. You can still benefit from the beautiful new display, for it will help you find your favorite music faster, and you can view the album art that accompanies your music.The iPod is beautiful, but the back's chrome finish is prone to scratches, and the screen can become scratched as well. It is a very good idea to protect the back of the iPod and the screen in some way.You can store literally hundreds of audiobooks on here that you buy from iTunes, or Audible. The iPod even has a feature that can slow down or speed up the reading of the audiobook, so that you hear it at just the right pace. Output - The iPod connects to your PC or Mac via the dock connector at the bottom of the unit. You will connect the included cable, to the computer via a USB 2.0 port. Furthermore, accessories are being made that will also connect to the bottom dock port, and you may purchase Apple's Universal iPod dock, for easy syncing to your computer. The dock (available separately) also includes s-video output, so you can show off slideshows and video, on a television. There are also iPod A/V cables available that allow composite video and audio output, for connecting your iPod to your television. This might interest you, not only to display slideshows on a television, but also to display TV shows or music videos on a television, which you purchased from iTunes. Overall, this is another excellent product from Apple Computer. The design is elegant, simple, and intuitive. It will provide hours of entertainment and convenience. JOBO GigaVu PROThe GigaVu PRO is just what its name implies - it was designed for use by professional digital photographers. There is only one card slot on the unit, a CompactFlash Type II slot, located on the top. This will directly accomodate any CompactFlash solid state flash card or Microdrive which are the storage devices used by all digital SLR cameras (except the new Pentax *ist DS.) Other types of flash cards (Memory Stick, SD, MMC, SM, xD) can also be used with an optional CF adapter if desired. The viewing features are also designed for the pro user and include options to view the RGB/B&W color channel data, histograms, zoom up to 400%, rotate image (JPEG only) and detect dust on image sensors from a test image. Still image formats supported are JPEG and RAW (from Canon, Kodak Pro and Nikon currently but firmware upgradeable in the future.) It decodeS large JPEG images very QUICKLY, a 6-megapixel Canon 10D image was onscreen in just one second! The color LCD is 3.8 inches in size with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels which is good but not great. It is OK for quick in-field review but not for critical color or focus confirmation, it would need to be a higher resolution screen for that in my opinion. I am not into MP3 song files or motion video files so I can't really tell you how well the GigaVu PRO functions in those areas, Jobo claims the unit will play MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, DIVX 3 and DIVX 4/5 encoded video formats. The WiFi support requires an optional WiFi CompactFlash card not included. The GigiaVu PRO is very portable and runs on AC power or an internal Li-ion 2200mAh battery pack. A fully charged battery yields about 120 minutes of operational time. It's compact but not what I would call "small," it won't fit in your pocket but it will fit in a medium to large size camera bag along with your camera and lenses. Toshiba's MEV30K GigabeatToshiba MEV30K Gigabeat video player puts all of your entertainment in the palm of your hands. Large 3.5 inch LCD screen you'll enjoy crisp and bright feature length movies without interruption. It's massive battery capacity allows up to 8 hours of movie enjoyment between charges making it perfect for long trips or frequent commutes. Enjoy movie and TV download services on the go, or take your MP3 collection with you as well with a up to 30 hours of audio playback for the 30 GB hard drive. You don't need to be a technical whiz to load your media onto the MEV30K either. Using Microsoft's PMC (Portable Media Center) software it's as easy as drop and drag and you're ready to go. On top of the V30, you'll find the Power/Hold switch and tactile media playback controls. The location of these controls (away from the main controllers) makes it a bit awkward to control, though it's not too different from the Gigabeat S in this respect. The left side of the V30 features a standard mini USB port, a headphone/A/V-out jack, and a power port. Unfortunately Toshiba Gigabeat V maxes out at 30GB. The display is pixelated, thumb-stick controller is not universally effective. It’s not possible to charge over USB which gives the user some kind of limitations. iRiver PMC-120The PMC-120 is the player for you IF you happen to own a computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition - a recent creature that turns your computer into a kind of TiVo, recording TV programs directly onto your hard drive. I do in fact own a Dell MCE model, and have scads of TV shows I'd like to take on the road with me, as well as vacation photos (*.jpg), music, etc. The PMC syncs neatly with Window Media Player 10 to convert TV files (*.dvr-ms) to a format playable by the portable player. Installation and translation of files is straightforward, just build a playlist and hit synchronize. The portable's screen is bright and the controls are much more intuitive than I-River's other model, the PMP-120 (P not C). There is a USB port built in so, if your digicam also has a port, presumably you could send photos right to the player without going home to your computer. It's a nice way to show people your snapshots. This is basically a grab and drop procedure to get your pics in the device and you can arrenge them in folders or subfolders. You can not transfer directly from your camera so if you are travelling and dont have a PC to transfer your pics this little baby wont do that job for you. The PMC is so reliant on Windows Media Player that other files formats are not so easily handled (how to translate DVDs, for example, is not clear - presumably it's possible if you use third-party translation software). So if you don't have a Media Center computer you are better off with the PMP or with another brand. Translation is slow and doesn't always work: of the first three files I tried, one got corrupted in the process and two worked ok but have some minor problems in syncing the audio and video.
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