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More Zen Vision:M goodness (pics + preview)
comment: 40 | Thursday, December 08 (2005) 10:23AM | Posted by Lone
We know you're probably not sick of the Zen Vision:M just yet, so here's another news item for ya. Monsternet.org, who have reviewed Creative DAPs in the past, got a hands on with their latest creation.

Initital Impressions:


The Zen Vision:M doesn't have the same viewing angle problem of its predecessor, the Zen Vision. However, the 320x240 screen resolution shows its weakness when watching a 640x480 video. Some aliasing could be seen. However, this is a problem with current PMPs with 320x240 screen anyway. The great news is, the Zen Vision:M can output 640x480 via the video out. That means reasonably high quality display, which would be especially noticeable on modern plasma and LCD TVs.

The Zen Vision:M is rather thick. Not uncomfortably thick, but it looks obese compared with the video iPod. The touch pad is rather comfortable to use, and not overly sensitive like past players (e.g., Zen Micro). The OS is quite responsive....

No AV cables bundled? Sheesh. Sure, you can get them pretty cheap from some electronics store, but coming from the company that claims to bundle lots of accessories instead of making the consumer shell out more money for them, this was a disappointment.

Still, video support is great. Apparently you can transfer videos as large as 720x(something) to the player, which is about the normal DVD resolution. That means less re-encoding (transcoding).

Overall, the Zen Vision:M is a promising PMP.


LINK via Head-fi forums

Comments

undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 10:38AM  

Size has always been a huge factor, this thing is larger in every aspect (longer, wider, thicker). Its a shame too, since at that size it also costs more. However, one MUST take into consideration that its got the iPoo trounced, the features (Divx Support and no need to reencode like for ipod!!!) are actually worth more than the 30 dollars (look at the cowon a2, its pricey).



painkiller

Comments: 109
 		Dec 08 (2005) 10:43AM  

Very nice.



P0iNT

Comments: 18
 		Dec 08 (2005) 10:58AM  

It's state in the link that the battery life is
Battery: 14 hours (music), 4 hours (video)
This is better than 11hrs but its still below average and for there size you would expect at least a little more juice. Other than that the player looks like a solid contender.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:03AM  

i really like the high-res output. i'm curious what battery life is like playing higher-res movies (i'm guessing crappier than the ipod). i'm still trying to figure out why its so fat.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:16AM  

anyone else think this looks a little scratched?
[Linky]



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:20AM  

not as bad as this:
[Linky]



Austin Vaughan
Location: Lenexa, KS
Comments: 768
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:32AM  

dang that's one chunky monkey. might as well get a full size PMP, i'd say. liiiike, the A2? yeah.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:43AM  

yeah undesign, you're right. throwing the ipod out of a car and running it over really does compare to normal use.



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:47AM  

zip22: but thats what nanos really do look like, even without being thrown out of a car window (deservingly). I was at the apple store around a month ago, all the display units were scratched. you could put this thing in ure pocket and 5 minutes later its gonna be scratched. this isnt very pleasing.



Flid

Comments: 262
 		Dec 08 (2005) 11:59AM  

zip post #2 :- Yes. Well spotted. That does look disturbingly scratched for a two day old product. Uh oh. Here we go again.

zip post #3 :- Aaaaargh. Learn. He's bating you. Don't rise to it.



musicman

Comments: 336
 		Dec 08 (2005) 01:09PM  

Yawn, this is not the DAP we're looking for, moving along now, move along.....



enCORe_XTG

Comments: 317
 		Dec 08 (2005) 01:45PM  

hmm, Vision:M has better video screen than iPod Video ?


zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 01:51PM  

no, its just crappy pictures.

but the vision does have more colors. not sure if that actually affects anything, though.



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 01:53PM  

actually, ZIP22, IT DOES HAVE A BETTER SCREEN:

262k colors as opposed to apples amazing 64k colors.

stop lying.



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Dec 08 (2005) 02:05PM  

Wait so they are calling it a pmp? Hmm... what ever happened to the dap that happened to play movies?



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 02:14PM  

apparantly creative has a deal with BBC in UK so that all previous episodes/shows of whatever can be downloaded for FREE.

ou, $0.00 for unlimited legal stuff sounds much better than $1.99/each using some shite format.



wmurch3

Comments: 25
 		Dec 08 (2005) 03:08PM  

that's for people already paying BBC licensing fees. so, yeah, not free.


zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 03:30PM  

did you read my post? i stated it had more colors, but that is not at all what the guy was refering to. he was talking about the picture on the site where the ipod looks really washed out. that is not due to the screen at all. having more colors does not mean they are utalized. the screens could appear exactly the same.

and shite format? do some goddamn research.

and anything for free from the BBC will be free for everyone. i believe it is only in the UK, and i don't thinik it even has anything to do with creative the company at all.



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 03:42PM  

yes, you heard me, i said SHITE FORMAT. maybe h264 is a decent format in the movie industry for dvd crap, but in the online world where the user gets his videos off an already popular and amazingly good codec, AKA Divx or xvid, this is a different story. how many complete movies have u been able to download to ure computers HD in h264? not many, if any.

dont even get me started on quicktime.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 03:47PM  

what? i'm not understanding your argument at all. first you said you would rather not pay $1.99 for a 'shite format'. i said its not a 'shite' format. now you're saying its decent, but its not good because you can't download pirated movies in that format?

yes, you are correct, it is not a popular format online. but that has nothing to do with people paying for the videos from itunes which are actually in a good format.



_Ender

Comments: 50
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:03PM  

zipp22

You do not have an iPod, but somehow you KNOW what PEOPLE like, well, you know that PEOPLE are crazy about a few mm diff in one dimension of the player and all other things are less important to them. And now what Itunes video format uber alles?

zip22, ever thought about getting some real LIFE?

Like cinema, church, swimming pool, dunno, what about girls, do you like girls...?

We asked you to:

1. get a dap first, any let it be iPod, because you lack any reference point.

2. do some essential reading on [Linky]

Please.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:09PM  

i 'KNOW what PEOPLE like' because i have been into the whole mp3 player thing for quite some time. i have helped many of my friends and family decide which DAPs to get. you could also just look at any study of the ipod dominance in the market.

could you please elaborate on what you meant by "And now what Itunes video format uber alles"?



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:11PM  

and i appreciate the personal attacks, they really help to maintain the integrity of your argument. the discussion has greatly benefitted from your post.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:12PM  

and even undesign can agree with me that this thing being significanlty thicker will be detrimental. and how many times do he and i agree?



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:23PM  

the double 'and' thing is pretty lame. i just don't have the patience to collect all my thoughts into one post, so i connect them with 'and'.



undesign

Comments: 786
 		Dec 08 (2005) 04:26PM  

zip, cant u just make one post instead of powerposting? is it difficult for you to collect all of your thoughts into one message?



Allen
Location: Dub Vee Ooo
Comments: 1511
 		Dec 08 (2005) 05:19PM  

Man... I could just rack up the comments if I took part in these arguments... Oh well... maybe Ill just go back to watching lotr..



sumguy_

Comments: 293
 		Dec 08 (2005) 06:13PM  

Just FYI, the iPod 5G screen IS also 262k colors. And even so, it doesnt say much about general quality of the screen... from that blurry pic its hardly decisive. It looks to be warmer and better on the Zen but anything from positioning/flash etc. couldhave played a part.

The Creative's compatibility with many video formats is a very good plus. Arguably H264 is the best format technically, but transcoding is a bother with the iPod, wastes time and quality as well.


sumguy_

Comments: 293
 		Dec 08 (2005) 06:20PM  

Just looked at those pics at MonsterNet! I love it, looks very slick in the photos, not plasticy, like I thought, from the press pics.

Its quite fat/thick, but something about it... me wants.



Kovno

Comments: 110
 		Dec 08 (2005) 06:56PM  

It certainly looks fat, but it's about the same as the 4G iPod.



jgiam

Comments: 7
 		Dec 08 (2005) 07:31PM  

1. Sorry for the bad shots, as I was under time constraint when snapping these. I didn't have a chance to really compare the ZV:M and iPod screens, but personally, the photo appeared better on the ZV:M screen. Also, the ZV:M brightness can be adjusted to your liking. At the maximum brightness, the ZV:M is brighter and more vibrant than the iPod.

2. Scratches: The ZV:Ms pictured were (most probably) production samples, as can be seen with the lack of serial numbers or anything on the back of the player. Which would probably explain why they are scratched.

3. PMP v DAP? I don't know. A DAP is a Digital Audio Player, which doesn't do it any justice considering it plays most video formats, and it has TV-out.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 07:31PM  

4g ipod: 14.6mm or 17.6mm thick

so its bigger than the 4G 60gb



Civil Disobedient

Comments: 10
 		Dec 08 (2005) 09:09PM  

"you could also just look at any study of the ipod dominance in the market"

This only proves that most people are dupes. And Apple's not even top-3 in Korea.

Does anyone know what the *real* video capabilities of the ZV:M are? Does it support b-frame XVIDs @30fps? I couldn't care less about 3 millimeters of thickness as long as I don't have to spend hours re-encoding my videos. Also, is it USB Mass-Storage, or do you need some disguisting proprietary program (*cough* Apple)?



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 08 (2005) 09:24PM  

i think you need a program. windows media player or a supplied program.

apples not in the top 3 in korea because they didn't have flash players for a long time and there is no music store in korea. also, that study was just from an online retailer.



Civil Disobedient

Comments: 10
 		Dec 08 (2005) 09:35PM  

If you need a program to transfer files, it's worthless to me. I checked out the specs from the translated press release, and while it DOES support MPEG-2 (DVD native) it doesn't support any advanced XViD encodes (AC3 audio, for example). And no USB-host features. Oh well... the search continues.

And no, zip, the reason Apple isn't doing well in Korea is because they have an enormous market, and people there don't have this fetishist view of the iPod as an accessory, when there are much more capable PMPs and DAPs available to them for cheaper.

Don't get me wrong. The Nano is about the sexiest thing I've ever seen. But my personal requirements (unfortunately) mean I have to cross it off the list.



Steve

Comments: 1197
 		Dec 09 (2005) 12:32AM  

It's a shame Creative has apparently decided to abandon UMS in favor of Microsofts shallow imitation. That's a big reason i'll probably never buy a Creative player.



zip22

Comments: 1809
 		Dec 09 (2005) 03:31AM  

Hooah, just like i stated last time you brough it up, many of the people here do not own the DAPs they discuss. we debate the merits of each player, speculate as to how each will perform in the market, and determine who's needs will be met and who's won't. for most discussions, owning the player isn't necessary.


Flid

Comments: 262
 		Dec 09 (2005) 09:33AM  

Ender & Hooah. What possible relevance has Zip's sexual orientation got to do with his views on DAPs. Or are you just homophobic bigots? What's to say Zip isn't a girl. Please stop the pathetic personal attacks.



Flid

Comments: 262
 		Dec 09 (2005) 09:37AM  

Oh.... and I don't own any product made by Cowon. I will happily extol the virtues of the company and its excellent customer support though, since I spent a long time researching and waiting for the release of the X5. Shame they released such a (subjectively) ugly player, otherwise I would have got it instead of my iPod photo (which.... is still a good player, regardless of how much its popularity offends you all).



Dominic
Location: Ireland.
Comments: 2396
 		Dec 09 (2005) 11:34AM  

boring, move along children



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