Creative Zen Portable Media Center Review, Part 1...
 | Creative Zen 20 GB Portable Media Center $448.39  Click here for more information |
Customer Reviews
The Best Media Player on Earth!
I think The Zen Portable Media Center is a great media player. It is for everyone! All you need is an Microsoft Windows XP ( any one). You can put recorded TV on it. You need a Micrsoft Windows XP Media Center PC to do it. If you don't have a Media Center PC you can't use the recorded TV, but you can by a special TV recording device (has to hook up to your computer). Puting video on it takes a while. Puting music on it takes a few seconds. It is not easy to put pictures on. The software disc has Windows Media PLayer 10. You need it to put media on The Zen Portable Media Center. It also has the Portable Media Center software and Acrobat Reader 5.0 There is also a reset button. If you have a problem like it is charged and pluged into the wall outlet and it won't turn on take a sharp object (DO NOT USE KNIVE!) and press reset and it should work. This Media Center is a great size and it has a great sound system and great screen size. It also has easy buttons. It has a back button, a Main Screen button, sound buttons, fast foward and rewind button,a pause and play button a move up muve down move left and right buttons,and Presets. Presets are buttons that you can save albums on. There are four. You can set them loke this. If you are at your favorite album, hold a preset untill it says,"This album has been asigned to Preset 1,2,3,or 4. Also you should buy the docking station and the external Zen Portable Media Center Rechargeable Li-ion Battery. Check out http://www.creative.com/ for more information.
Great Gadget (not for geeks)
I think that this is a great foundation for up and coming video playback machines. I currently own one and have had it since christmas day. I love it. It is soo easy to use. Even my little 7 year old brother uses it with ease. All the options on the machine make it impossible to get lost, and if you do, there is a back button. I tested out all the video players out during christmas time and found this one the best. I have had 3 iRiver Mp3 players and was anxious to get there video player. After trying to use it i often found myself lost and confused on the machine, so i kept having to power back on and off. I also tried the archos, which was even more confusing. Overall this is a great hassle free machine here are some pros and cons. If your wondering why I didn't rate it a 5 because no machine is perfect.
Cons
-Big and bulky (Who cares it just means it has a big screen)
-Can't record to device directly from TV
-Scratches easily (I recommend using the case at all times)
-Can't tinker with audio (Can't adjust bass, treble, balance, etc.)
-Takes awhile to put video files on device
Pros
-Unbeilavbly easy to use
-Awesome video playback
-Sound is great (even has own speaker)
-Ultra fast putting music files on device
-Easy to watch during day or night
-Nice size memory for plenty of songs or video or pictures
-Incredible battery life 1 day of music or half a day of video
If you want all the little geeky features this is not the machine for you. If you want a easy to use audio-video player, this is the machine for you.
Best So Far
I don't know what all these guys are smoking, but this thing is great. I am a gadget geek, but this is very easy for a pc user to use. All you need is media player 10 and an XP pro machine or MCE. Convertion does takes some time, but it converts the video to utilize space , and all video convertion takes time.
I have an ipod as well but this is with me at all times, with my TV shows with me on the road that i capture hi def...looks sweet.
Get this if you want a great multimedia portable with great battery life.
And common 425.00 is not alot for this device.
Related Links
 | Creative Zen Portable Media Center Docking Station Click here for more information |
 | Samsung Yepp YH-999 20 GB Portable Media Center * USB 2.0 compliant * Rechargeable li-ion battery * Stores up to 20 GB of audio and/or video, in MPEG4, MP3, JPEG, and Windows Media formats * 3.5 TFT LCD display * Connects to a TV through composite output port Click here for more information |
 | iRiver PMP-120 Portable Media Player (20 GB) * Includes rechargeable lithium-ion battery; up to 16 hours (audio only) and up to 5 hours (audio/video) * Plays digital music and video files, including WMV, MP3, WMA, DivX (AVI), BMP, and JPEG * 20 GB storage total storage capacity--up to 80 hours of video, 600 hours of music * 3.5-inch color TFT LCD * USB 2.0 support, audio inputs and audio/video outputs, built-in FM tuner and voice recorder Click here for more information |
 | iRiver PMC120 20 GB Portable Media Center * Up to 14 hours of battery life (audio) Up to 5 hours of battery life (video) * Up to 80 hours of video using 320 x 240 at 500kbps AVI format. Up to 600 hours of music using Windows Media format at 64kbps * Plays digital music and video files Synchronize your media library with Windows Media® Player Intuitive Windows Mobile™-based Portable Media Center interface 20GB of internal storage * Store up to 80 hours of video or up to 600 hours of music* Wide 3.5 inch vivid color display Supports secure transfers from Windows Media Player™ * Connect to your home entertainment system Built-in speaker Store or transfer files of any type Rechargeable, replaceable Lithium-ion battery Click here for more information |
 | Archos AV400 20 GB Video Player/Recorder and MP3 Player AV420 * Connects to TVs, VCRs, and cable/satellite receivers * Watch video on 3.5-inch LCD screen * Store and play MP3, WMA, and WAV digital audio files * Archos 500619 AV420 20 GB Video Player / Recorder and MP3 Jukebox Player * Record your favorite video programs--up to 80 hours on 20 GB hard drive Click here for more information |
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I guess first things first… A brief introduction… Some of the people reading this will be friends of mine who have been eagerly waiting (impatiently) for some time in fact. If you’re one of them, then too bad, you’ll have to wait a bit more. I’m Corey Gouker (obviously); I’m a Media Center MVP who hangs out in the Microsoft newsgroups for everything Digital Media and Media Center related. I’m 20 years old and starting up college again at SJSU after alre ... (more)
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Last update: 06/18/2005