iRiver H320

[Novex]

Ive had one of these baby's since november last year and Ive got to add that it's all absolutely awesome..

cept of course the loading times, I have mine usually full cause I use it as an external backup too and it's horrible, it can be up to a minute before I'm ready to play :/

However battery life is awesome, Im stoked how long it can last without a charge, sure it's slightly larger than the ipod but for the features, etc it's so worth it ;)

[saxondale.]

might be getting one soon

[Kudos Veteran]

I found an app that effectively transcodes batches for the h300s.

Just run this app under smartphone settings (first one on the left).

The only settings that need to be changed are the fps (to 10) the codec (XviD) and the resolution needs to be 220x176, no more no less.

Get it Here

/k

[kombolcha]

I found an app that effectively transcodes batches for the h300s.

Just run this app under smartphone settings (first one on the left).

The only settings that need to be changed are the fps (to 10) the codec (XviD) and the resolution needs to be 220x176, no more no less.

Get it Here

/k

585255871[/snapback]

sweet! thanks (Y)

[riahc3]

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 -->

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?

585231121[/snapback]

Almost forgot great review hehe. One thing i have read on mysticrivier about some screen scratching so i would get a case ASAP. BTW You can also upgrade the hard drive to 30GB. In a couple of years when its old that hard drive will be worth squat and it'll be a nice and quick and cheap upgrade.

from where? ^

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

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http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=IRIH320 (Secure checkout)

$278.89

If you look you could have found the international version (supplied with more stuff) for about the same price you paid.

Oh well the price isnt that bad neways. Did you change your startup logo to Neowin yet :p ? I was gonna cop one too but damn paren.......err i mean Santa didnt bring me anything i could accually use.

[Liquid]

iriver is going to be my next player. THis is when I have spare cash or my iPod dies tho.

[kombolcha]

Almost forgot great review hehe. One thing i have read on mysticrivier about some screen scratching so i would get a case ASAP. BTW You can also upgrade the hard drive to 30GB. In a couple of years when its old that hard drive will be worth squat and it'll be a nice and quick and cheap upgrade.

http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=IRIH320 (Secure checkout)

$278.89

If you look you could have found the international version (supplied with more stuff) for about the same price you paid.

Oh well the price isnt that bad neways. Did you change your startup logo to Neowin yet  :p ? I was gonna cop one too but damn paren.......err i mean Santa didnt bring me anything i could accually use.

585269933[/snapback]

no.. i'll work on that today. post a pic if i can change the image.

and i just got paid.. i'm looking ot buy 3 things for my iriver.

the FM Tuner, the car charger, and a nice slim case.

[kombolcha]

:cool:

[ZZOOzzoo]

That is awesome, ViceKing!!!!!!!! :cool:

[Lare2]

Seems to be a great device, but the slow boot time keeps me thinking.

[kombolcha]

to tell you the truth.. that is the only con i can think of for this device, but hey, when you've got the neowin logo on there.. its all worth the wait. ;)

seriously though.. i got about 2,000+ songs and boot takes about 15 - 20 seconds.

[ZZOOzzoo]

Seems to be a great device, but the slow boot time keeps me thinking.

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That is because when you turn it off, it IS really turned off.

Taking iPod as an example, it only goes sleep mode, which eventually consumes battery even when not listening to music.

[kombolcha]

here's a sweet skin i found over at misticriver.net.. based on rokey's icons.

just random shots..

[saxondale.]

i might purchase one tomorrow night.....i need to sell my iPod first

[YBG]

Man, I was greatly considering getting a new iPod, but I think I might be getting one of these instead, even though the slow boot time is kind of a turn off.

Nice review though

[NYMidas]

hehe i just sold my 2month old 20gb 4thgen ipod to buy an iRiver H340 :p

gotta love the new firmware update, can play xvid :D

Edited January 14, 2005 by NYMidas

[ZZOOzzoo]

:woot: drool...

[riahc3]

no.. i'll work on that today. post a pic if i can change the image.

and i just got paid.. i'm looking ot buy 3 things for my iriver.

the FM Tuner, the car charger, and a nice slim case.

585270633[/snapback]

FM Tuner? huh? It has its own FM tuner.....

:cool:

Neowin Pics here

[/url]

585271583[/snapback]

VERY NICE :woot:

here's a sweet skin i found over at misticriver.net.. based on rokey's icons.

just random shots..

Skin

585278248[/snapback]

I loved about it that its skinable and trust me the slow boot up is worth it for all the features this wonderful device brings.

Ill get one when i can.....i think iRiver just dropped a new player so this player should go down somewhat...

[BroChaos Veteran]

the slow boot times aren't that bad. i just turn it on a few seconds ahead of time, get my headphones in, and then it's on and ready. and the fact that you don't waste battery like the ipod, and the fact that if you leave it off for a week, the battery will still be charged, and an ipod will be dead.

[Timmah Veteran]

Heh I'd never be able to leave my H140 off for a week! I use it like every day!

Well done on your purchase.

Now... the H5xx - THAT'S got me excited!

[kombolcha]

FM Tuner? huh? It has its own FM tuner.....

585293619[/snapback]

yup.. on their site you can buy one for $50..

i went to best buy and bought me a generic one for $10.. i returned it the next day.. i'll probably have to go out and spend a little more on a belkin brand.. i'll search on ebay for that one.

[BroChaos Veteran]

do you mean tuner or transmitter? cuz transmitters sound like crap. use a cassette adapter if you can.

[insanekiwi]

wow. this looks so awesome.

[kombolcha]

do you mean tuner or transmitter?  cuz transmitters sound like crap.  use a cassette adapter if you can.

585293899[/snapback]

i don't know :wacko:

i have the cassette adapter, but my car only has a CD, maybe my new car will have a casseetee, i'll know in about 2 weeks :D

[Kudos Veteran]

My flatmate is writing a VB program to take a video file in, pass it through built-in virtual dub at the required settings, and output an h300 compatible xvid avi.

He started an hour ago and expects to be finished tomorrow.

Its being coded specifically for me, but if it works well, i'll share it.

/k