[MikoLayer]

Now that I feel robbed for not being able to use my zen to a good use before the sceen myteriously imploded one day, I am in the market once again for a new audio/video DAP.

<Requirements>
a nice bright screen with good colors
decent enough unamped playback quality (headphone out) with px100
support for SD media
support for x264, h264, divx, xvid and wmv
ability to play video files without re-encoding to a smaller size
ability to customize background image, theme and such
ability to show album image while playing music
reasonable pricing (<$150, <$100 ideally)

<Would be nice to have>
support for SAMI type subtitles
support for FLAC and APE
easy file transfer without resorting to proprietary managing software/DRM

<Do not need, probably better off without (but could tolerate)>
access to music stores
touchscreen
touchwheel
touch-sensitive buttons
mandated by-tag only sorting scheme (no thx, I know how to efficiently organize everything by folders)
excessively small size (and higher price tag / whatever complication that may bring along)
the very best accoustic qualities

Is this too much to ask for at that price? I am eyeing those chinese/hk players at mp4nation... Something hopefully reliable enough to last me a couple of years. Any thoughts?

Also, am I forgetting somethign on my list of criteria? Remind me if you have something else you feel important in a DAP.

 

[walkingman]

No small size players support all the features you requested, at least within the price range.

The closest two that I can think of are the Sansa View or D2. D2 has touchscreen and the View only takes micro SDHC cards.

The View supports DivX, XviD, WMV and H.264 but requires trans-encoding to 320x240 like the Creative to work. No FLAC support though, AFAIK, which is weird considering their other players have them...

If you can stretch your budget (and don't mind the touchscreen), Cowon's O2 will most definitely fit the bill.

 

[MikoLayer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkingman /img/forum/go_quote.gif No small size players support all the features you requested, at least within the price range. The closest two that I can think of are the Sansa View or D2. D2 has touchscreen and the View only takes micro SDHC cards. The View supports DivX, XviD, WMV and H.264 but requires trans-encoding to 320x240 like the Creative to work. No FLAC support though, AFAIK, which is weird considering their other players have them... If you can stretch your budget (and don't mind the touchscreen), Cowon's O2 will most definitely fit the bill.

that, and cowon having good reputation makes me think twice about my budget. How much are we talking with all kinds of rebates/coupons/discounts/live cash combined for the version with the smallest internal storage?

 

[walkingman]

I don't know about other countries, but in the UK the cheapest O2 is the 16GB from Advanced MP3 Player (the only store I know that ships overseas) for £209. Minus VAT and using the coupon AFFXMASCOWON (10% off), inc. shipping internationally, the price is £171.96 ($266 at current exchange rate).

Still more expensive than the list price in the US ($250).

It is probably worth getting it since it is a very capable all-around-PMP judging by its spec and feature list. I myself would have gotten it if it wasn't for the fact I already own a PSP Slim for video playback...