iRiver H320

[kombolcha]

for a long time i've begged my parents for an ipod... until i layed my eyes on the iriver. Now that i have one, i love it.

Price: $312 @ newegg

the basic info:

- 20GB

- mp3, wma, asf, wav, ogg vorbis

- USB 1.1 and 2.0 transfers

- FM tuner

- voice recorder

- able to store other files (anything you want, as long as it fits)

- firmware upgradeable

- 16 hour battery life

- color display

- view .jpg or .bmp files

First, you start with the box and this is what the box looks like... (click the image for the high res pic.)

more angles --> Here, Here, and Here

The first thing i saw was my iriver inside a hard plastic cover and under that was:

- ac adapter

- USB Cable

- ear phones

- manual

- installation CD

- carrying case

- audio line-in cable

With all electronic things, i never like to read the manual unless i have to. I try it for myself first, how easy is it to configure/use? With the iriver you quickly learn what the buttons do. Although i finally had to reffer to the manual to figure out what some of the little icon pictures meant.

When you first turn it on you are greeted with this.

I do have a slight problem with the iriver starting up.. the more hard drive space you take up, the longer it takes to boot. Currently i have over 1,300 files in there and it takes about 10 - 15 seconds for the iriver to load. Once it loads you will be looking at this.

From here you can go into the menu and you can choose from a number of views. Some people like the "File Tree" view which just lists everything you have. Otherwise you can select your music by "artist" "album" or "genre". The best thing i like about this is how the iriver creates a database and sets up the folder structure based on the id3 tags. Don't have any id3 tags? Don't worry. You can manually set your own folders and organize your music files the way you want, after that you run the "iriver DB" again which takes about 30 seconds everything is good to go. This is the root of my iriver, but please ignore the "Video" folder (for now :shifty: )

Besides manually loading your music files you can use WMP10 to sync your music. It is great, it runs you through a configuration. There are a few thins that i did not want sync'd onto my iriver, you can configure pretty much anything through wmp10. i would show you, but after i upgraded the firmware wmp10 does not recognize my iriver anymore. everything else still works, just not wmp10 and i could care less. I'll just say wmp10 is a very powerful tool, maybe the best when it comes to syncing your music and picture files to your iriver.

Now lets talk about the menu settings. Under the "general" menu you have the option to change the following:

-Resume

--on

--off

-Language

--Danish

--Dutch

--English

--Estonian

--Faeroese

--Finnish

--French

--German

and 20 other languages i'm too lazy to write out...

-Tuner Region

--USA

--Korea

--Europe

--Japan

-Load Defualt

-Firmware Upgrade

-DB Scan (has to do with the navigation/menu/folders/file tree)

-Format

-----------------

MENU:

The display menu just has options about the LCD display, contrast, brightness, when it shuts off, unfortunately it does not have color styles, thats something i have not looked into yet, but i know it is possible.

Other menus, are your normal options like sound and recording options. With the recording options you can set it to the microphone thats built-in or you can use the line-in as the recorder. You also have the option to change the bit-rate from 40kbps up to 128kbps. You can also record from the radio.

When listen to the radio you have a few options, and that is all you need. You can either let the iriver autoscan channels for you based on what stations it can pick up, or you can set your own pre-sets. Very easy to figure out.

There is also a folder called "text", i think that is self explanitory. No, you can't save text while using the iriver, you can only upload already made .txt files and then view the file on your iriver... not a bad idea if you can convert an e-book into .txt format, the next question is can you stare at the LCD screen for a long time?

SOUND:

I hate earphones, i hate em very much. The iriver comes with sennheiser earphones, they're good quality, but the little fuzzy things you pull over the earphones are just horrible, they easily slip off and i lost mine within the hour of opening it.

I just went out and bought me a Phillips HS-500 behind-the-ear headphones ($10) and that also sounds great.

After Firmware Upgrade:

Now moving onto the last part of this review. the "Video" This was not possible with the original firmware version the iriver came with, so i got myself a copy of the lastes Korean (Corean, whatever) version, which has a few changes. The first noticeable thing is the menu lay out is different, same icons, but a better layout. Then there is the "Browser" No, not an internet brower, more like "Windows Explorer" thats all it is.

It only plays .avi format, and not just any avi video you have laying around in your HD, it requires a few changes with a program. You download a codec or two and then Virtual Dub, configure the settings, convert the video, upload to iriver, and enjoy. :D I have two videos on there so far, one is about 1:45 long and is 2.86MB.

Each video has to be specially encoded.

File format AVI

Codec XviD MPEG4 (recommend XviD 1.0.2 codec)

Resolution 220 x 176 only

Frame Rate 10fps at Maximum

Bit Rate 500Kbps at Maximum(recommend under 450Kbps)

Plus each file can be no more than an hour long, which can mean painful splitting of videos.

In my experience if any of those settings are not exactly as that the video will not play.

/k

Here is one video - Here - 9.6MB .mov

It does have sound, i just didn't plug in the head phones.

More info on everything about irivers here: --> http://www.misticriver.net

Overall the iriver is worth its $330 price tag. You can't beat the simple menu layout, the drag and drop, sound formats, recording, and especially the firmware upgradable which leads onto many other things like in this case, it allows me to play back video files. who knows what else is possible. Another great thing about it is that it does feel like $330 in your hands, the iriver is well built and does not feel cheaply made. everything fits together nicely. this is something that will last.

More pics.. click for higher res.

Comments and Questions please?

Edited January 5, 2005 by Vice King

[Fedorpheux]

i'm currently attempting to save up for a H340....i've really been looking forward to it. i could live without the color screen and such, but since they discontinued the H140, the H340 is my current dream mp3 player.....

still have some money left to save up though :whistle:

[Kudos Veteran]

Got myself one for christmas, they're ****in sweet!!

Couple of people i know got iPods around christmas and they were all green when they saw my H320. Colour screen, fantastic sound, i dont need to use iTunes for putting files on to it, and the jewel in the crown for me, it plays video (although limited).

The _only_ bad point I have noticed so far is the boot up time increase when you start filling it.

Two thumbs up from me anyway.

/k

[BroChaos Veteran]

good review. iriver is so much better than ipod in many ways. good choice. i love my h120. the startup time sucks, but the ipod has a slow startup too when it's totally off, and since it's usually never totally off, it costs you battery time. if you leave your ipod sitting for a week or 2 unplugged, it will be dead. do the same with an iriver, and the battery is pretty much right where you left it.

why do you have the h1xx in your sig? did you have one before?

[kombolcha]

why do you have the h1xx in your sig?  did you have one before?

585231182[/snapback]

:p i'm working on that right now.. i took the image from the iriver site.. thats all they had.

[Fedorpheux]

...it plays video (although limited)...

585231181[/snapback]

yeah, it's so cool that it can do that. how "limited' is it though? i assume you couldn't watch a whole movie (like 1 and a half hours), or could you?

either way, it's still a sweet player :dj:

[PrototypeX2]

I do love the H320 but you guys should look at the new H10 that's coming out.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=265965

If you don't need such a big space this is the right thing for you.

[Fedorpheux]

I do love the H320 but you guys should look at the new H10 that's coming out.

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=265965

If you don't need such a big space this is the right thing for you.

585231218[/snapback]

that's cool, i was wondering when iriver was finally going to come out with their 5gig "mini" player....and here it is....still, i want the H340 *drool*

[Razorwing]

I still like the iPod design better.. :D

[Rappy Veteran]

Nice Looking Player Thnks for the Review...I Was Looking to Get an MP3 Player :)

[Mutex]

Thanks for the review; I?m edging ever more slightly towards picking one of these units up?or the rumored h5xx series or even an iAudio M5.

How much faster would the battery life drain for the h320 compared to a non-color screen (h120)? Is it true that a color screen = more battery usage?

Also, are the battery's changeable like the Zen Micro or do you have to send the unit in?

[kombolcha]

about the battery, no i don't think the color is going to make that big of a difference in draining the battery, unless you are constantly pressing the buttons to keep it illuminated, the screen shuts off after 10 seconds (that can be changed)

and no you dont' have to send the unit in, there are online guides on how to remove the battery, there was one guide i've seen where they sell this battery back that doubles your battery life, although it will make your player bigger and heavier. you can do it yourself.

[Kudos Veteran]

yeah, it's so cool that it can do that. how "limited' is it though? i assume you couldn't watch a whole movie (like 1 and a half hours), or could you?

either way, it's still a sweet player :dj:

585231215[/snapback]

Each video has to be specially encoded.

File format AVI

Codec XviD MPEG4 (recommend XviD 1.0.2 codec)

Resolution 220 x 176 only

Frame Rate 10fps at Maximum

Bit Rate 500Kbps at Maximum(recommend under 450Kbps)

Plus each file can be no more than an hour long, which can mean painful splitting of videos.

In my experience if any of those settings are not exactly as that the video will not play.

/k

[vincent]

All i got for xmas was a buzz after drinking 5 glasses of whiskey and coke :(

[kombolcha]

Each video has to be specially encoded.

File format  AVI

Codec  XviD MPEG4 (recommend XviD 1.0.2 codec)

Resolution  220 x 176 only

Frame Rate  10fps at Maximum

Bit Rate  500Kbps at Maximum(recommend under 450Kbps)

Plus each file can be no more than an hour long, which can mean painful splitting of videos.

In my experience if any of those settings are not exactly as that the video will not play.

/k

585232582[/snapback]

(Y) i'm going to add that to my original post.

[nekrosoft13]

iriver is better then ipod

i got one request: picture of the back, i seen plenty of front, side pictures. never seen the back

plus does it feel solid?

[PrototypeX2]

iriver is better then ipod

i got one request: picture of the back, i seen plenty of front, side pictures. never seen the back

plus does it feel solid?

585233420[/snapback]

[kombolcha]

iriver is better then ipod

i got one request: picture of the back, i seen plenty of front, side pictures. never seen the back

plus does it feel solid?

585233420[/snapback]

i knew i forgot something :p i'll take some when the sun comes out..

and yes it feels very solid, everything fits together nicely.

[imtoomuch]

I like these things except for the buttons on the front. I don't like the design or looks of them at all. You also could have gotten it cheaper. With tha being said, congrats. :)

[Fedorpheux]

Each video has to be specially encoded.

File format  AVI

Codec  XviD MPEG4 (recommend XviD 1.0.2 codec)

Resolution  220 x 176 only

Frame Rate  10fps at Maximum

Bit Rate  500Kbps at Maximum(recommend under 450Kbps)

Plus each file can be no more than an hour long, which can mean painful splitting of videos.

In my experience if any of those settings are not exactly as that the video will not play.

/k

585232582[/snapback]

thanks for the info...doesn't sound that bad. it may not be as good as watching a movie on a full TV or on a computer, but try lugging one of those along with you...i cant wait until i get my H340....i'm still gathering money :shifty:

[Slimy]

for Tuner Region

is it only u.s. or does that include all of north america.. canada?

[.KICK]

for Tuner Region

is it only u.s. or does that include all of north america.. canada?

585238490[/snapback]

It has Japan, Europe , USA and one other, no its fine , I used America when i went to Canada, picked up loads of channels :)

[riahc3]

like imtoomuch said you could have gotten it for 280-290$

Congrads tho

[kombolcha]

from where? ^

i've seen a few on some other sites, but i wouldn't trust them.

[Xtreme $niper]

Yes, the USA region for the FM tuner works for Canada. I use it on my H120.