I want a Portable Media Player

[antonyfirst]

I want a portable media player. I need it to use a flash capacity, have a very good screen and video reproduction. It wouldn't be bad if it played music nicely too. I am keeping an eye over the iPod Touch at the moment, but would like to know if there are other alternatives I should consider. Video reproduction is the most important feature, but I need it to be at least 16gb (I wonder if there is a 16gb Teclast T39 in existence).

What are my options?

Even an HD based player would be fine, provided that:
-It's slim
-It's cheap

I am not considering the Cowon Q5, but you could try to convince me by describing its main selling points.

 

[LostPhil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyfirst /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not considering the Cowon Q5, but you could try to convince me by describing its main selling points.

That's a dangerous game you're playing there!

 

[MilkyWay]

I myself use an iPhone for videos and iPod (soon to be iMod) for music. The sound quality of the iPhone is really quite respectable as long as you use an amp and LOD but I'm sure you already know that.

 

[jant71]

The SmartQ T5-II is a good player. I have one with a 16GB card and it sounds great. I don't use it much for video but you can check out the specs and see if it fills your needs. It is better than a T39, maybe even for sound as it has the same chip and 20mw per channel @32Ohm and 94SNR and excellent sound settings. More juice than my Cowons' 32mw per and it sounds better.

It is a game emulator also and is designed as such so the design may or may not be what you want.

For more info
Singapore SmartQ T5-II PMP Fans Club -- Powered by Play Smart Singapore Co.

and a quite long video
SmartQ's T5-II handheld does multimedia and emulation - Engadget

 

[antonyfirst]

Cool, I have never heard of it. How much is the 16gb version? Which gaming systems are being emulated?

 

[jant71]

It runs off SDHC memory only, no internal external thing. The player was $145 and you can shop around for memory. It cost me about $210.

It emulates GBA, NES, SNES and NEO GEO. There is a wireless controller coming out for gaming through TV-out with no cables. I like some games but I have only a dozen or so. I believe it runs quite well until the more complex games.
This thread list some performance with games from people who are really testing them out. MP4 Nation Forums • View topic - GBA games that work and dont work with the smartq and the video shows a bit too.

The June 20th firmware update seems to have improved performance with regards to games. There have been 7 firmware releases for the player since it came out so it is supported similar to Cowon players are.

 

[Gautama]

Whats the battery life like, this looks very awesome

 

[jant71]

You can find/click most of the specs on the Play Smart link.There is too much too list. I believe the current battery life is 23 hours audio/8 hours video/10-11 hours video-->TV-out.

 

[antonyfirst]

Thanks. What resolution does the screen have? What's the FPS? Do I need to re-encode videos in order to watch them?

 

[goober-george]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyfirst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks. What resolution does the screen have? What's the FPS? Do I need to re-encode videos in order to watch them?

Here are the specs.

SmartQ T5-II (With TV Out and Game Emulation)

 

[antonyfirst]

Thanks. The screen resolution seems a bit low to me.

 

[jant71]

It is actually a nice screen since it is a LTPS with 16M colors but the res is low. The res is not bad for a 3" screen. That was my minimum screen size. You definitely should go with a 4.3" if the main purpose of video mostly on the unit itself. 3" and 3.5" are small no matter the resolution.

I don't know of many decent flash PMP with good size screens right now. In another month a couple of months there are a couple coming out. One is the Ramos T8, a 10mm thin 4.3" touch screen movie player. The other is the Onda VX787, also a touch screen 4.3" player that will come in 16GB and have wifi, internet radio and card slot for up to 32GB additional storage.

You can Google and look at the current Onda model VX767. It is 14mm thick, comes in 8GB w/a card slot for 32GB extra, has 480x272 res and TV-out and good battery life(30 audio[50 in powersave mode] /10 video/ 15-->TV-out). It is not touchscreen. This manual should give enough info on it. http://www.dynomo.adsl24.co.uk/767Menu_Eng.pdf

People seem to be looking forward to these new players but I don't know how good they really are myself. There are some sites that should give you an idea of the quality of the Ramos and Onda brands. I do think there are some videos of the 767 in action, similar to the SmartQ video.

 

[Tomikans]

Wow, can i mention the samsung yp-p2? The 16gb is out..

IMO it's better than the itouch ..

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

has anyone listened to this?

 

[mikeymike66]

Archos?

wwww.archos.com