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Zen Vision W |
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#1 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 86
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Zen Vision W
I have been searching around for a portable player for my numerous AVI and MP3 files that sit on my Laptop.
I like the idea of watching films I have downloaded on a portable device and the Zen Vision W looks just the job http://www.creative.com/products/pro...&product=15752 I think the basic version is around £280.00 unless anyone knows of anywhere thats cheaper (not eBay) Does anyone have one of these, if so I would love to hear your views on this product. Is there any other devices better than this for under £300? Zen products look very cool and this would be my first purchase of one of their products. Any advice gratefully received.
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,762
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It's a nice player.
Personally, I use a Cowon A2 which has a very similar spec to the Vision W. Couple of key factors that stand out in the comparison between the two: Zen - 262,144 colour display. A2 - 16 million colour display. Zen - 4.5 hours of video playback A2 - 10 hours of video playback There are other minor things that one has that the other doesn't (for me, the text readon on the A2 is great ... films, music and e-books all in one box) but they are the big two that stick out to me. I may be slightly biased as an A2 owner (before I got the A2 I used a Creative player mind you) but it's the one I'd go for. I got my 30gb player for about £260 all-in imported from the USA. I think you can just about pick one up in the Uk for £300 ish if you shop around. ![]() The Iubi Blue is also maybe worth a look. Pretty new, so the firmware is still a bit buggy by all accounts but it's nicely spec'd and £249 is a decent price for something of that spec in the UK. ---> Just had a look and pricerunner is showing the 30gb A2 in the UK for £291 delivered. Not bad!
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#3 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 335
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yeh i want an A2 too much tho
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#4 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sancheeez
It's a nice player.
Personally, I use a Cowon A2 which has a very similar spec to the Vision W. Couple of key factors that stand out in the comparison between the two: Zen - 262,144 colour display. A2 - 16 million colour display. Zen - 4.5 hours of video playback A2 - 10 hours of video playback There are other minor things that one has that the other doesn't (for me, the text readon on the A2 is great ... films, music and e-books all in one box) but they are the big two that stick out to me. I may be slightly biased as an A2 owner (before I got the A2 I used a Creative player mind you) but it's the one I'd go for. I got my 30gb player for about £260 all-in imported from the USA. I think you can just about pick one up in the Uk for £300 ish if you shop around. ![]() The Iubi Blue is also maybe worth a look. Pretty new, so the firmware is still a bit buggy by all accounts but it's nicely spec'd and £249 is a decent price for something of that spec in the UK. ---> Just had a look and pricerunner is showing the 30gb A2 in the UK for £291 delivered. Not bad! ![]() |
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#5 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 86
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I have also heard a rumour that the A2 (the PMP) not the road, is not compatable with WMP 10, which is what I tend to use for buring CDs and watching Avi's. If anyone else has experience of the Zen Vision or any other media device that plays Avi's I would love to read your views. Not that bothered about playsing MP3's more for dvd, film and tv.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,762
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NodesPoint
Does the A2 play all formats and most importantly Avi's so I can watch avi's downloaded to my laptop and xfer them over to the A2 and vice versa?
The A2 plays DivX 3/4/5, Xvid, WMV9 and MPEG1 (VCD). I got it to play downloaded video files as it offered about the best CODEC coverage I could find. The vast majority of the stuff I use on it is DivX or Xvid and I'd say it plays about 85%-90% of them without any mucking about. You will not find a standalone (portable or otherwise) that will play 100% of video files aquired on the internet ..... such a thing doesn't exist. Standalones rely on firmware for compatibility and video formats used online invariably move forward faster than the firmware for any standalones that play internet video. Having said that, firmware updates on the A2 are pretty frequent. Also, not sure if AC3 sound is supported on the Vision:W ... I don't think so. (it is on the A2) As for transferring to and from a laptop ... again, on the Vision:W, I'm not sure if it's a true UMS device. The A2 is so I just plug it into any PC I want (assuming W2K or above) and drag and drop with no drivers or software required (in both directions). The Vision:W doesn't seem to support W2K so I suspect it's not a true UMS device so it may, or may not, work the same way through Windows Explorer ... I don't know. Quote:
Originally Posted by NodesPoint
I have also heard a rumour that the A2 (the PMP) not the road, is not compatable with WMP 10, which is what I tend to use for buring CDs and watching Avi's. If anyone else has experience of the Zen Vision or any other media device that plays Avi's I would love to read your views. Not that bothered about playsing MP3's more for dvd, film and tv.
If you think you're going to find a player that says "If it plays on WMP10, it'll play on this!" ... you're dreaming! Lastly .... you mentioned playing "dvd, film and TV". If you're not referring to downloaded rips of the 3, then what do you mean??? If you want ANY PMP to play DVD's, you'll need to rip/convert them first. TV .... you can use the A2 as a recording device attached to the TV and records straight onto it (don't think the Vision:W has this feature) and it's OK on the A2 but the Archos AV series is better for recording. Last edited by sancheeez : 18-10-2006 at 16:51. |
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#7 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 86
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Thanks for all your help, you would make a great salesman for the A2. Basically I want to be able to transfer Avi files about 350MB in size, tv shows and the like, from my laptop to any PMP. The A2 looks to have more features, maybe not as sexy as the Zen, but its functionality I am after not looks. Battery life is important also as are colours. Finally, anything that slightly bugs you about the A2 that I should be aware of and do you use a screen protector or have you been able to keep it relatively scratch free. Cheers
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: moon
Posts: 12,983
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Have a look into Archos devices as well, many of them can record from TV and some can legally record from DVDs too.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,762
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I don't use a screen protector. The entire A2 is encased in plastic, including the screen. I carry it in my pocket all the time and there are no visible scratches whatsoever on the protective case over the screen. Although, I do avoid keeping keys and money in the same pocket as it.
That was one thing that put me off the Archos, the fact the the screen is totally exposed, I'd be worried about damaging it. Mr brother in law has a Gmini and it is a nice little player (although it did pack in at one point and he had to get it repaired or replaced - not sure which). For me, the only annoyance with the A2 is that dust can get under the protective layer over the screen. You have to dissasemble the player to get in and clean it - there are guides online for how to do this but if you're not happy taking gadgets apart (I am) then might be something to consider. It is only an annoyance though .... the dust isn't visible once the screen is on unless it's in very bright sunlight in which case you can't see the picture anyway! (Thats a problem - the bright sunlight thing - with all portable players .... it's not specific to the A2) You can get a sort of silicon skin thing for it that prevents this by covering the seam where dust can (doesn't on all units apparently) get in but I can live with it as it is. If it gets silly bad, I'll open it up an clean it. Other than that .... I can't actually think of anything else that bugs me about it .... ! It's a bit bigger than the largest iPod .... but so are all PMP's with a decent size screen built in, but still pocket size. The battery isn't *supposed* to be user replaceable but again, if you don't mind opening things up, it's easy enough to do yourself. The navigation system isn't as nice as say, an iPod clickwheel, but it does the job and personally, I'll take an not-quite-as-good navigation system and the ability to play masses of file types over a clickwheel and endless video conversions any time .... ![]() Oh, and just to throw another wild-card into the mix .... the Viliv P2 looks pretty damn good but I don't think they are actually on the market yet? (seems to have been in the pipeline a long time now) |
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#10 |
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Banned User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 86
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Archos 604 versus Cowan A2
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBigM
Have a look into Archos devices as well, many of them can record from TV and some can legally record from DVDs too.
http://www.cnettv.com/9710-1_53-2372...tag=cnetfd.ld5 |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,762
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Hmmm.
The A2 won but they missed a few things out ... or didn't pay much attention to a few key factors ... like double the battery life for video playback on the A2! It got a mention .... just. Yes, the Archos is easily removeable but I don't want to cart a second battery around with me! I'd rather it just lasted a decent amount of time in the first place! The also didn't mention the text viewer .... I use that a lot! 1000's of e-books on tap (the files are tiny) and you can listen to music at the same time (be rubbish if you couldn't). Even better though, the remote (which you do have to buy separately unfortunately) controls the music while the onboard controls work the e-book. ![]() The format support for the Archos does look pretty good but you have to pay extra for firmware support for H264?!?!? wtf?!?!? Why you'd want to play H264 files on a device like that I don't know anyway .... most H264 on the net is encoded at crappy small resolution for iPod use so it'd look garbage anyway .... DivX & Xvid are what I use, and the A2 plays them so I'm sticking with it. TBH ... A2, 604, Vision:W even a few older Archos models, the Vision:M and even the Iubi .... are all decent players, theres just likely to be one or two little things that swings you in favour of the one you end up buying.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,762
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Oh .... one other thing with the A2.
They are already using a DMB Tuner to receive mobile digital TV in Korea. Assuming the TV people over here don't opt for some stupid proprietary format when/if it goes live over here then it's all ready for TV on the go .... |
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