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Any potential for a portable DVD MP3 player?

Jun 11, 2005 at 10:06 AM Post #16 of 35
I know of a place in Hawaii that is clearing out the Sony MPD-AP20U for about a $100. I might be able to get a few and send them out to people who are interested. Do any of you know for sure whether it can play mp3's off of dvd's? I know for sure it can play them off of cd's but I was never able to confirm mp3 playback off of dvd's.
 
Jun 11, 2005 at 3:13 PM Post #17 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by ichiro
I know of a place in Hawaii that is clearing out the Sony MPD-AP20U for about a $100. I might be able to get a few and send them out to people who are interested. Do any of you know for sure whether it can play mp3's off of dvd's? I know for sure it can play them off of cd's but I was never able to confirm mp3 playback off of dvd's.


http://www.compuvest.us/ProductDetai...roductID=95937

"but has the ability to play CDs and DVDs with MP3 and WAV files in addition to normal music CDs. Up to 1,000 songs can fit on a DVD recordable disk, or about 120 on a standard CD-R/RW disk."

The only thing I'm confused about is if I got a USB>AV adaptor (seen usually as a camera/camcorder accessory,) would it be possible to play DVD's out of a TV (without any computers?) I've read up on everything I can about this and can't seem to figure it out.

____
ichiro,
I'd certainly be interested in getting it for $100 + shipping.
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 6:28 PM Post #19 of 35
*cough*
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Jun 13, 2005 at 6:49 PM Post #20 of 35
I think the primary reason for this sort of product not being more widely available is... why make it? It wouldn't necessarily be that much cheaper nor that much more reliable than a HD player (hard drives can always fail of course, just like any component, but where did you get the data that HD players have such an abnormally high failure rate based on the HD?) Why have to carry 10-20 DVDs with you when you can simply use a HD? With HD capacity increasing and OEM prices dropping every year I don't think many would see much of an advantage in a DVD-based audio player. Or at least the manufacturers apparently haven't...
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 7:24 PM Post #21 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by ILikeMusic
I think the primary reason for this sort of product not being more widely available is... why make it? It wouldn't necessarily be that much cheaper nor that much more reliable than a HD player (hard drives can always fail of course, just like any component, but where did you get the data that HD players have such an abnormally high failure rate based on the HD?)


Well, I do know that you're taking my post out of proportion. I said that their failure rates are higher than I would like, nowhere did I mention that they're abnormally high. I just happen to have high standards, I expect any music player that costs >$200 to withstand a good amount of jostling. I have read many consumer reviews on many different players, and there are a decent amount of people who get HD failures. Why do you think flash-based players are so prominent? Why do people buy 1 GB flash-based MP3 players when they could buy a 5GB mini-HD player (that's right around the same size) for just about the same price? Hard drives just aren't meant to be jostled too much, that's why many manufacturers encourage that you don't. My experience with CD players is that they don't stop working altogether unless it gets a nasty drop or two, which isn't a good idea to do with anything.


I'm pretty sure that it would be a good deal cheaper than an HD-based player (don't bother mentioning the Entempo Spirit.) By the way, if I were carrying 10-20 DVDs worth of MP3, I'd be packing 47-94 GB. Not bad at all.

As I mentioned before, I believe the reason why manufacturers haven't made these is because it would require owning a DVD-burner, which I imagine many people still don't have, to make the data-DVDs. It's not like CD-mp3 players came out the second that CD-burners and the mp3 format were introduced.
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 8:03 PM Post #22 of 35
One thing I don't like about HD players is that their life expectancy is far too short. Whether it's a hard drive failling in 3 years or the battery losing charge in 3 years. That's too short a life span for such an expensive product. Whereas, look at CD players. Many people have PCDP that are more than 10 years old, yet they still work.
 
Jun 13, 2005 at 9:48 PM Post #23 of 35
Unless it has a lot of anti-skip memory (and hopefully an anti-skip system that doesn't degrade sound quality too much) a DVD-based player would probably be more sensitive to shock than a HD player.

And yes, you can pack a lot of compressed music onto 10+ DVDs but you will lose functionality as well. Along with the inconvenience of having to carry & swap discs in and out you lose the ability to have playlists that span your entire library, etc.

I'm not trying to make fun of your idea and I didn't mean any insult, was just suggesting that there wasn't enough advantages in a DVD-based player vs. HD to make such a player really viable.
 
Jun 15, 2005 at 7:49 AM Post #24 of 35
My MP3 CD player ($200 new, with AM/FM/TV/Weather radio that works fairly well by today's portable standards) has survived innumerable drops to a hard floor after a year or two, and still works perfectly. I think I'd probably have to run over it with a truck to break it - it seems like it's built nice and solid like a tank.

When I get a hard drive player (haven't found one that I like yet, though, and NOT THE IPOD!!! I want more features (and am williing to use advanced options) than it has), I fully expect it to last at least 10 times as long as the CD player, assuming the same rough treatment.

Anyone know of a current >250GB <$250 hard drive player that's good quality, has full recording options, a good LCD screen, multiple memory card slots, and other features that's durable like I described? It should be able to withstand a 60MPH impact while the hard drive is running.
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Jun 19, 2005 at 5:02 AM Post #27 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Disiskurt
Ugh...it would be much more reasonably priced if it didn't have that CD-burning feature (which is supposed to be pretty lousy anyway.) A one-line display doesn't help much either. The cheapest I can find it new is $165.

(Also, no one go after that auction, it doesn't come with the remote and all of the buttons for the player are contained on the remote.)


Just as a reference, the top of the line MP3/PCDP by Sony costs $200, and lacks any sort of DVD playback ability. Getting one for $100 is most definitely a bargain if I ever saw one.

Time to add one more Sony Remote to my collection.
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Jun 20, 2005 at 3:56 AM Post #28 of 35
Further research reveals the following with MPD-AP20U:

1. Firmware upgrade for MS Pro Support is there. You can easily use this as a really big flash player given the proper MS Pro stick.

2. Battery life with on-board LiIon battery is about 10 hours. However, the doc has ability to use 8 (8!!!) AA batteries, boosting the battery life to 50+ hours (MP3 CDs. DVD-Video seems to take up much more juice, about 2-3 hours to 20 hours with dock). Official reported hours are about 30 hours for MP3 playback on a CD and 5 hours for DVD video, double layer. Probably more on single layer DVD.

3. It plays MP3s on DVDs indeed, and even on a Double Layer burnt DVDs as well!!

Update: Manual confirms this, plays on anything you can throw at it, CD-Rs and RWs, DVD-Rs and RWs. Manual is inconsistent on this. In one section, it reports that it supports both plus and minus, in others, only minus.

3a. It plays uncompressed PCM 16-bit WAV files as well.

4. One concern: it's picky when burning CDs, and certain users report that it goes bonkers after about a year's time when it comes to reading pressed CDs (but not CD-R/Ws and burnt DVDs...). Strange. It's also a bit flimsy compared to other portable CD units.

5. Unit also supports playlists.

Very intriguing indeed, I'm going to bite on this one.
 
Jun 20, 2005 at 6:52 AM Post #29 of 35
So...

what are all the portable (non-screen, preferably) DVD players that play DVDs with mp3s?

And, where are direct links to their owners manuals (PDF, whatever format)?

Also which ones are built to withstand a considerable amount of abuse without being "flimsy" or having the player itself break?
 
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