decisions

[mr_mike0223]

ok so after about 3 years my gen 1 15gb dell finally pooped out. so i've been shopping around and around and i'm having a very difficult time decided what player to get. idealy, i want a 30 gig with color picture capabilities at least if not video. i've been looking at the 30gb x5 and the new creative vision. i thought i'd try here to get some advice since i figure everybody here most likely is very well educated in the audio world. i'd really prefer not to spend much upwards of 300 bucks, but i'm really looking for the best of 30gig color pic and video players. so what are my options?

[afruff23]

If you want GREAT video, then look elsewhere. If you want GREAT pcture-viewing, then look elsewhere. For great video, look for a PMP(personal movie player). Make sure it supports many formats. Also make sure it is UMS(universal mass storage; it shows up as a hard drive in my computer). Also check the resolution, brightness, color, and size of the screen.

For great picture-viewing, then read reviews and make sure people don't keep complaining about picture loading times. Also be sure to check the maximum size picture it can read. Make sure it has USB-OTG to transfer pictures from a digital camera without a computer. Make sure it can zoom and pan. Make sure it has a thumbnail view.

There is no USB-OTG for the Vision: M, so great picture support is not there, though it is nice that it displays EXIF info from JPEGs. ALso with the ipod and vision: M, you HAVE to use software on your computer. This disappoints me greatly. If the Vision allowed you to transfer your music and other files without software, then I might have considered it. The X5L's battery life is a big plus along with its USB-OTG port.

[CptnObvious999]

I would wait around 2 weeks to see what the X5 successor seems like since they are supposed to release it at CeBit which starts next week. Like Afruff23 said if you want great video and picture viewing go for a PMP (I suggest you checkout the iAudio A2). If video isn't that important then the X5 might be for you. It really depends on what you will use it for and need for example do you need OGG/FLAC support, UMS support, or USB-OTG?

[afruff23]

Heh, I just realized that the A2 fits that bill nicely. Except it could have an "l" extended abttery version, because the battery life at the moment is not that impressive, though great.

[HiMDforMe]

i actually enjoy video on my X5L. sure the 2" screen is small, but another half-inch would still be small. the picture is fine and looks good once you get the conversion process down for videos. and with the L-version battery life you can actually watch videos without worrying about draining your battery. the picture viewing is a bit lacking, as you can't view and listen to music. however, its definitely a music player first. overall, the video part is just fine for me for casual watching. the others will play videos better because they have better screens, but you gotta make trade-offs somewhere.

[mr_mike0223]

yeah video isn't my most important concern. my most important concern is that i want a quality piece of equipment to store all my music without worry of crashing. but i do want the possibilty to store pictures and videos too. if somebody could briefly explain what ogg/flac support, ums support, or usb-otg is that would be great. i'm not an expert with everything but i don't wanna deal with ridiculous programs that i need to install in order to put music on my player.

[afruff23]

yeah video isn't my most important concern. my most important concern is that i want a quality piece of equipment to store all my music without worry of crashing. but i do want the possibilty to store pictures and videos too. if somebody could briefly explain what ogg/flac support, ums support, or usb-otg is that would be great. i'm not an expert with everything but i don't wanna deal with ridiculous programs that i need to install in order to put music on my player.
That's UMS. You don't have to use ridiculous software, you just plug in and drag n' drop like the X5 does. USB-OTG is connecting the X5 to another device without a computer to transfer files. You could for example take all the pictures off your camera and put it on your X5 without a computer. OGG is an audio file format which is lossy(like MP3) and has been proven to have better quality sound at the same bitrates as MP3. FLAC is lossless compression audio. It is basically a WAV but with only half the space. The X5 is very reliable. Never had problems.

[Zeus's Uncle]

sort of. the ipod supports UMS too, just not for loading mp3s in a fashion that would be playable on the device. UMS is USB Mass Storage class. All of these hard drive players are UMS, but many players like the ipod require software on the computer to builld the database used to browse for the songs. There are others that allow you to do drag & drop, but they build an id3 database at the next boot of the device (making that boot time very long). Currently, and probably for a very long time, the x5 doesn't do id3 databasing and folder browsing is the only way to use it.

[Diego]

I say if you like UMS compablilty and realize that video is seen as an extra than go for the X5. I thought I was going to use the video feature on the X5 but I rarely do. I use it for sports highlights and music videos, but not full-length movies, even though its definitly possible. Something that I think you would really like is that with the X5L version you get 30 hours of playback(you'll find it for $310.00 or less if you search well, prices go up and down every week). If you move files from computer to computer or like sharing music and files with friends' computers than the X5 is for you. I love the ease of drag n' drop.

I wouldn't mind the 2.5" screen of the Zen-Vision M, but I mostly care to just find my songs and listen to them.

If your really not sure, I would wait for Cebit(where they present new products). Iaudio supposedly has something up their sleeves. Check out the new players next week( they'll most likely show them at DAPreview.net , if you don't like them or the prices are too high, than go for the X5.

[afruff23]

sort of. the ipod supports UMS too, just not for loading mp3s in a fashion that would be playable on the device. UMS is USB Mass Storage class. All of these hard drive players are UMS, but many players like the ipod require software on the computer to builld the database used to browse for the songs. There are others that allow you to do drag & drop, but they build an id3 database at the next boot of the device (making that boot time very long). Currently, and probably for a very long time, the x5 doesn't do id3 databasing and folder browsing is the only way to use it.

But it's still better than the boot time of iTunes.

[afruff23]

I say if you like UMS compablilty and realize that video is seen as an extra than go for the X5. I thought I was going to use the video feature on the X5 but I rarely do. I use it for sports highlights and music videos, but not full-length movies, even though its definitly possible. Something that I think you would really like is that with the X5L version you get 30 hours of playback(you'll find it for $310.00 or less if you search well, prices go up and down every week). If you move files from computer to computer or like sharing music and files with friends' computers than the X5 is for you. I love the ease of drag n' drop.

I wouldn't mind the 2.5" screen of the Zen-Vision M, but I mostly care to just find my songs and listen to them.

If your really not sure, I would wait for Cebit(where they present new products). Iaudio supposedly has something up their sleeves. Check out the new players next week( they'll most likely show them at DAPreview.net , if you don't like them or the prices are too high, than go for the X5.

There's no confirmation at all. People are just making wild guesses based off of nothing other than iAudio releases products at electronics shows.

newegg.com has the cheapest price for an X5L I could find.

[Zeus's Uncle]

But it's still better than the boot time of iTunes.

It's not. It's also not really the same thing. I am speaking of the boot time of the player.

[afruff23]

I know that you were talking about the device boot. I am saying the alternative would be to have a software(such as iTunes), build the database on your computer instead of on your digital audio player rather than have a hardware based ID3 database. iTunes takes over 20 seconds to open for me and runs two background processes even when not open. I've used iTunes on a a much faster computer. There was some improvement but not much. I guess that's what happens when a program made for Mac gets ported to Windows. Same thing with Quicktime, that POS media player. Somehow it hijacks firefox and associates itself with streaming avis. I go to add/remove programs and quicktime has the firefox symbol and has somehow grown to over 50 mb! I deleted that POS and I now use quicktime alternative for .mov videos.