[ChicagoNB]

Besides carrying around a giant 60G Ipod are there any other small video daps out there that have good sound and sight. I think watching Star Wars on my Nano might make me go blind. Also one that works well as a DAP and not just for vidoe.

All opinions welcomed.

Chris

 

[D555]

iRiver Clix is a nice 2GB flash unit: plays video, mp3, ogg, and has a nice FM radio section. Sound is strong for such a little device. Otherwise, I use an Archos AV500 (a small brick!).

 

[gattler]

From what i've read (i do not own) the iriver clix has 15fps. The Meizu Miniplayer (www.miniplayer.info) however has 20fps with its current firmware update. If you get 24 (PAL) or 25 (NTSC) Frames per second you can watch video smoothley. The best for that task while keeping the size small is currently the Zen Vision M. It has an beautiful screen. But the ZVM is even bigger than the ipod 5g. Check out reviews and videos and youtube.com.

 

[rockin_amigo14]

the miniplayer is probably the best bet.

 

[GSTom1]

The Creative Zen V Plus shows good promise.

ZEN V PLUS

 

[dr.morton]

I have come to DAPs and portable music because I started to look out for a good PMP.
I tried out a lot of stuff but I do not feel that it is fun to watch videos on something that is smaller then my Cowon A2.
But sadly it is bigger then an iPod video.
I reserve the A2 for videos only and I think it was one of the best gadget investment ever.

 

[SlackerClerk107]

I'm an owner of a Zen Vision:M, and it has the best screen out of all the portable players that I've seen. I recommend it highly, but I'm not sure if you would dig the size of it. I don't have a problem with it, I like to be able to know it's in my pocket.

 

[erlik]

I have been doing some research on the same subject recently to maybe replace my 3rd gen ipod by something that also do video.

The best DAP depnends a lot on what your main objective is (size, price, SQ, Video quality, features etc...)

I find that the flash based DAPs (nanos etc...) usually have a screen way too small for video to be usable for movies or even TV shows, so it starts with the HD players if you want decent video.

If you want something very pocketable, the ipod with video and zen vision M have good SQ but small screens. The new archos 406 has a bigger screen but apparently SQ isn't as good (it seems that SQ problem is fixed by a firmware upgrade, so it's difficult to find a consistent group of reviews when the quality varies with firmware).

If you want to go for something bigger (and more expensive) the Zen vision (NOT M) has the best screen resolution (640*480) but is a bit pricey at €400 for 30 Gb. In widescreen format I'v heard good thing about the cowon A2, but they are difficult to find in Europe. The new Zen vision W and the new archos 606 are also options but I don't know enough about these yet to make myself a clear idea, as these are very new. The archos looks very interesting but I am a bit worried that they seems to require a few firmware updates to get the SQ right.

If you want a small DAP with a big screens the archos 406 should be good if you can get confirmation that the sound problems have been solved.

Personally I'll wait and see what the next Ipod and the zune look like before I make a buying decision.

 

[ILikeMusic]

If you consider an iPod to be 'giant' then your options are pretty limited in a video player. The Video iPod / Zen Vision:M class units probably represent the smallest practical form factor for watchable video.

 

[unlazy4sports]

try looking into the Archos 404 that's going to be released soon.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoNB Besides carrying around a giant 60G Ipod are there any other small video daps out there that have good sound and sight.

The 30GB iPod video!

 

[ChicagoNB]

Ok so here is a second question. Would you consider carrying 2 DAPs. 1 that you use for audio only and a second to use for video only for like using on a plane. If you would do a second player for just video, what would that be. I checked out the Cowon A2 and the Archos and both seemed ok. But if you are going to have just a dedicated player for video what would you want to use. Something smaller than carrying a portable dvd player but not Nano size either. What would that dream machine be?

 

[ChicagoNB]

I like some of the products that Archos is advertising on their website. I would like to see a couple in person to get the "feel" for what they are like. Cowon only sells the A2? What other brands are out there that could rival the Archos. I have read things about the Muze that don't thrill me or make me want to buy it.

Damn I hate this forum!! I always find something else that I need!!! or should I say need to have.

 

[<GNEFF> killbot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gattler From what i've read (i do not own) the iriver clix has 15fps. The Meizu Miniplayer (www.miniplayer.info) however has 20fps with its current firmware update. If you get 24 (PAL) or 25 (NTSC) Frames per second you can watch video smoothley. The best for that task while keeping the size small is currently the Zen Vision M. It has an beautiful screen. But the ZVM is even bigger than the ipod 5g. Check out reviews and videos and youtube.com.

cinema is 24fps
pal is 25fps
ntsc is 29.97fps

EDIT: 16fps is generally considered the lower limit for persistence of vision (smooth playback).

My Nokia N91 (with upgraded firmware) handles 25fps just great and even at 12.5fps the result is very good for tv shows in 4:3 format. But I would not use it for movies in 16:9 or cinemascope and the likes.
An hour of video in good quality (320X240, 12.5fps, 64kbs aac mono audio, 288kbs video) take up about 150MB HD space. The screen is only 220X176(?), but the resizeing is done in realtime with no skipping and once I get a new phone with better resolution I don't have to encode again.

 

[dr.morton]

There are a lot of interesting little players coming mostly from Korea.
Go to the Cowon forum []http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/fo...play.php?f=50] where you can get an overview over a lot of not so well known PMPs.