i just use the do it yourself sheet of clear film protector from bestskinsever.com its the same stuff as invisible shield, very very tough stuff, depending on whos marketing dep you believe its helicopter blade edge protector or fancy car bumper paint protector film. either way its under 10 dollars shipped or so...just make a stencil by pencil rubbing a sheet of paper over the screen edge, then cut it out and still have plenty left over for whatever. only the screen needs much protection in my opinion, i just don't like bulking a slim device up. this stuff isn't like that garbage film material sold at big box stores, its clear and doesn't come off easy.
video of it being applied
YouTube - iPod Full Body Invisible Shield
btw the 726 is $129 at frys, the 728(8gb) is $169
i got the 726 instead of a nano, better headphones and sound quality and bigger screen for 20 bucks less!
plus i did have some experience with a 615 which impressed me with its sound quality. i like the feel of the 726 much better, it feels solid and tightly built. the 615 type feels like hollow plastic. and the tactile buttons are better than the annoying to push button under a sheet of flexible plastic that 615 had some of. and the screen gives a much larger impression than the .4" would suggest.
as for encoding videos, i did try SUPER a while back, it sometimes rejects videos and feels bogged down. xilisoft encoders work fine, i like the batch processing/dvd encoding. tmpgenc has a moviestyle encoder that can encode in time stretching which might be neat but i haven't tried it yet. handbrake might work, but i haven't tried it yet. last time i tried i couldn't get any h264 to play with the 615. i tried so many settings. mpeg4 was much easier to get a video working.
video isn't brilliant, it needs more contrast. it is however smooth and watchable enough. the creative has a better screen, but its video battery life is half..never mind the general feeling of cheapness of the zens...
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