Creative Zen vision M

[Flare]

My Review took me some time :rolleyes: I hope you guys appreciate it.

Intro

Well, I think we're about the last site on the net to offer a review of the Zen Vision: M. Sorry about that but the ZVM was released in the USA right as we hit CES 2006 and my order took several weeks to arrive. By the time I got it, we had already reported on a dozen or more reviews. I figured I might as well take my time and test it out for a month before putting together my thoughts.

Specs, Features, Overview

* 30gb hard drive, 1.8-inch

* Size: 104 x 62 x 18.6mm

* Weight: 163g

* LCD: 2.5-inch TFT LCD, 320 x 240 pixels, 262k colors

* Battery life: (up to) 14 hours audio, 14 hours radio, 4 hours video

* Supported Audio formats: MP3, WMA (including DRM10/Janus), WAV

* Works with music subscription services like Yahoo Unlimited and Napster

* Supported Video formats: DivX, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP, WMV9, Motion-JPEG

* Supported Image formats: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF

* SNR (signal-to-noise ratio): up to 97dB

* FM radio, radio recording, 32 station presets, can name presets

* EQ: 8 presets, 5 band customizable

* USB 2.0 transfer interface

* Connects to Windows XP via MTP interface, no drivers required

* Configurable MSC partition (512mb to 16gb)

* PIM functions: Calendar, Contact, Task list

* Clock, with a configurable alarm

* Charges via AC adapter (2.5 hours) or through USB (6 hours)

* TV output through composite AV port, supports NTSC and PAL

* View photos while listening to music

* Voice recording with built-in mono microphone

* Album art during playback

* Photo display features include slideshow, thumbnail preview pages, zoom & pan

* Main controller: touch-strip with

* Dock connector on bottom side (desktop dock not included, mini-dock included)

* Includes a mini dock with AC port, USB port, and AV out port (AV cables NOT included)

* Retail package includes AC adapter, headphones, USB cable, cloth protective pouch

* 3.5mm headphone jack with wired remote support (remote not included)

* Media must be loaded through a PC with Windows XP

* Main controller: touch-strip for navigation which rocks left/right for playback control

* 4 dedicated buttons: Play/Pause, Back button, Context menu, and Custom

* Custom button can be mapped to just about any function/feature

* Combination On/Off/Hold switch on top edge

* Plastic construction

* Available in 5 colors

* MSRP $330

Features NOT found on the ZVM

* Line-input audio or video recording

* Digital audio output

* Voice and radio recording to MP3 (ZVM supports recording only to ADPCM)

* Support for AC3, OGG, and FLAC audio

* Gapless playback, crossfading between tracks

* Text file viewing

* Games

* Wireless remote control

ZVM = Shorthand used throughout the review for Creative's Zen Vision: M

MSC = Mass Storage Class/Compliant (aka UMS)

MTP = Media Transfer Protocol (Microsoft)

DRM = Digital Rights Management

Divx & Xvid = Implementations of the MPEG-4 video codec

WMA10 DRM/Janus = An extension of Windows Media Audio, supporting subscription-based content

This review is based on the firmware that ships with the ZVM at the time of this writing, version 1.11.01. I checked Creative's support webpage and it also seems to be the most recent firmware available, dated January 12, 2006.

Package

The retail package comes with a decent set of accessories, but it's not as complete as I'd like considering the premium price of this player. You get the usual stuff, like a USB cable, a cheap set of earbuds, and a CD with software. They also include an AC adapter, which is getting rare these days as most DAPs can charge from USB.

What you don't get is a protective case or an AV cable. It does come with a simple cloth pouch, but you'll probably want to spend $20-30 on a decent case if you don't plan on babying this thing. You need the AV cable in order to use the TV output feature, which will cost you another $19 (+ shipping) and is only available from Creative's webshop.

Omitting a case is forgivable, but the AV cable should have been included since it's needed in order to utilize a core feature of the ZVM.

As usual, and the earbuds they give you sound pretty awful, so plan on getting a decent set of headphones if you don't have one already. I would suggest Koss KSC-75 ($14) or the Grado SR60 ($69) to start with, or visit Head-Fi.org to learn more about the good stuff.

Build Quality

The overall build quality of the ZVM is very good. The body is a mix of smooth, glossy plastic on the top half and a magnesium shell on the bottom half which is coated in a pearly-white paint. This is a more practical solution than the polished steel plate on the back of the iPod.

It feels solid and everything fits together just right.

The one issue I have is with the buttery-soft plastic used on the face of the unit. You've probably heard this before, and it's true: the ZVM is a scratch-magnet. Not even the cloth pouch they give you can protect it from harm, as I've kept the ZVM tucked away in there whenever possible and yet it still managed to sneak a few scratches into the screen.

The iPod has a similar problem and it's the one thing that people complain about the most - even sparking a class-action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the iPod can't stand up to normal wear and tear. Creative would be wise to pay attention to such things.

The problem isn't bad enough to be a deal-killer, but be aware that it takes extra special care to preserve the aesthetics of a ZVM.

Design

The design of the ZVM is reminiscent of the iPod, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In Creative's defense, they had to be working on the ZVM long before the new iPod debuted, and there's only so many ways to arrange things on a device of this size. I like the way it looks, and the layout is sensible.

Compared to the iPod, the ZVM has the same height and width, but it's a good deal thicker. In actual use, I find that it doesn't feel like much of a difference. Both fit comfortably in hand or in pocket.

I don't really like how they put most of the I/O connectors on a mini dock instead of building them into the main unit. The mini dock plugs into a dock connector on the bottom edge of the ZVM, and contains the USB port, the AC power jack, and the AV output jack. Without the mini dock, you're screwed. There's no other way to recharge or connect with a PC so you have to be very careful not to lose it.

I would much prefer a player that was a half inch longer, with all of those ports built-in. That's all it would take. The only reason for Creative to bother with this configuration is to keep the dimensions of the ZVM as close to the iPod as possible. Otherwise, it's a dumb design with no practical value.

Controls

Like most of Creative's players from the last few years, the main controller on the ZVM is a touch-strip. This is used for navigating the menus, controlling volume, and playback control.

They way it works is that you slide your finger up and down on the strip to move up and down through lists in the GUI. Tap on it to select an item.

Unlike previous versions of the touch-strip, the strip on the ZVM also rocks left and right to control playback functions (Next track, Previous track) and for selecting some things in the GUI.

I've criticized the touch-strip control on some of Creative's other players for being rather frustrating to use. I remember finding it difficult to move precisely through lists and often enough it would register a tap (selecting an item on the screen) when I didn't intend it to. It just didn't offer the kind of effortless navigation like you have with the touch-wheel on an iPod.

So, I'm happy to say that the touch-strip on the ZVM is an improvement. I don't know what they did exactly - it may be just a subtle change - but this one feels more natural to use and is less likely to act unpredictably. It still takes a bit of getting used to but at least it's no longer a major source of frustration.

If you want to tune its responsiveness, the sensitivity of touch-strip can be adjusted in the settings menu to high, medium, or low. The default, medium, seems fine.

Around the perimeter of the touch-strip are 4 buttons: Custom, Back/Main Menu, Play/pause, and Context Menu. The buttons are mechanical now, instead of the touch-sensitive areas that acted as virtual buttons on the last couple of Zens. I think it's better this way since they are less likely to get activated by mistake. The buttons also have a fairly firm feel, take some effort to push down. Again, this is a good thing because it helps prevent them from getting pushed when you don't intend to.

The buttons are backlit with a blue LED, which is a nice effect, and useful in the dark.

The Custom button is really handy because it can mapped to just about any feature or function. I have it set to call up the EQ menu so I can make a quick adjustment whenever it's needed. The Context Menu button can be used in any screen to call a pop-up menu with options that are relevant to that screen.

The last control is on the top edge of the player, a spring-set switch that is used for turning the player ON, OFF, and for putting it in HOLD mode which suspends the use of the other buttons. The hold mode is good for carrying it in your pocket or wherever else the buttons might get accidentally pressed.

Screen

The ZVM has a color screen that is state of the art among digital audio players. The resolution is good at 320x240 and it's very bright, clear, and colorful.

Compared to the new iPod, the screen on the ZVM is brighter, with greater contrast, and colors are more saturated. For viewing pictures, the colors and contrast is certainly exaggerated, but I think most people will like the effect.

While the contrast is not adjustable, the brightness can be set from 10 to 100%. The default setting of 50% seems fine to me. Even at the lowest setting it is easily viewable (indoors).

The ZVM uses a traditional TFT LCD, which requires a backlight in order to see anything, while the iPod uses a transreflective type LCD that is viewable with or without a backlight. Without a backlight, the iPod's display is very dim, but saves battery power and has the advantage of being easier to read under direct sunlight.

GUI (Graphical User Interface)

One of the most impressive characteristics of the ZVM is the new GUI system, which is about the best you'll find on any DAP right now. It looks nice and polished, the menus are sensibly organized, and you can even customize how it looks. There are 6 themes you can choose from in the settings menu, each of which has its own color scheme and wallpaper.

A part of the GUI I especially like is the Context Menu system, which can be called up for any screen and provides a number of options which are relevant to that screen. When browsing through media, you can use this menu to access commands like View Details, Delete, Add to Playlist, and Volume control.

The touch-strip shares a number of functions, so it was smart to put a volume control option in every context menu. For instance, while listening to music and looking at photos, if a new song begins and it's too loud then you can call up the context menu and quickly adjust the volume. This is a problem I've encountered with the iPod, which requires you to navigate all the way back to the Now Playing screen before you can adjust the volume.

The ability to delete files from within the GUI is useful for weeding out the songs you don't like as you listen to them. Not possible on the iPod.

Library Organization

Music on the ZVM is organized into dynamic lists of Playlist, Artists, Albums, Tracks, and Genres based on the iD3 tags within each track. The usual hierarchy applies. For example, after selecting an Artist, you can drill down to a list of Albums from that artist, and then you can drill down into one of those Albums to see the individual tracks. Tracks are listed in album order (or as set in the iD3 tags). Select a track and press the Play button to start the music, or Press the play button on an Artist or Album name to start playing everything from that Artist or Album.

This is the same kind system used by the iPod, but in fact, Creative was using id3-tag based music organization in their players more than a year before Apple, starting with the original Creative Nomad Jukebox (6gb) released in August of 2000.

Video Playback

Aside from the screen and the GUI, the other big thing going for the ZVM is its video capabilities. The ZVM smashes the iPod in this department, offering superior visual quality, support for more types of videos, and longer battery life.

Most importantly, the ZVM can play Divx/Xvid type videos (with MP3 audio), with resolutions of up to 640x480, at a smooth 30fps. By comparison, the iPod is limited to MPEG-4/AAC type videos with a maximum resolution of 320x240.

Although both the iPod and ZVM have a 320x240 screen, there are several advantages for being able to play videos at higher resolutions:

* Most DVD rips and other videos distributed through the web are in Xvid format with MP3 audio, at resolutions of 512px to 640px in width, with MP3 audio. These can be played on the ZVM without any further processing.

* You can rip your own DVDs to one file that is of good enough resolution to play on your both a home video player (like my TViX) and a portable video player.

* With higher resolution videos, the picture is much sharper when viewed on a TV (using the video output feature). Near DVD quality, with a 640x480 source. I tested using the AV cable that comes with the Cowon A2 which seems to be perfectly compatible. I also tested the video output quality of the iPod a couple of months ago and it looked more like I was watching a VHS tape than a DVD because video playback is limited to a resolution of 320x240.

With the iPod, most videos will need to be recoded into the proper size and format which is a big pain the ass - it can hours. The only advantage held by the iPod is the easy access to the iTunes Media Store, where you can pay $2 or so for each 320x240 video with DRM protection.

My one complaint about video playback on the ZVM is the lack of AC3 audio support. AC3 is the format used for Dolby Digital encoding and supports up 5.1 channels. Some people - like me - prefer to rip DVDs to the Divx or Xvid format with a 5.1 channel AC3 audio track, because it's better for playback through a home stereo and surround sound speaker system.

Now, even if the ZVM did support AC3, it wouldn't be able to supply 6 channels of audio output since there is no coax/optical digital output port. But it should be possible for the ZVM to downmix the 6 channels into 2 analog channels (left/right). The Cowon A2 supports AC3 audio tracks in videos like this which is one of the main reasons it's my top pick for a portable media player.

Creative: add AC3 audio support, would ya? I have over 100 DVD rips in my personal movie collection that will not play on the ZVM because I use AC3 audio.

Another thing - the ZVM lists MPEG-2 among its list of supported video formats, but I have not found any way to load VOB files ripped from DVD (using DVDdecrypter). It's not very practical to put a 5gb movie (about average for a DVD) on a 30gb player, but still, it could be useful from time to time. I'm guessing that the ZVM might not be able to handle video at DVD resolution (720x480) anyway.

TV Output

A I mentioned above, the ZVM can be used for playing videos on your TV. You need the $19 cable accessory to do so, but I'd say it's a worthwhile investment considering it turns the ZVM into a home video player as well as a portable video player. Picture quality through a standard TV is very good, similar to the quality you get from many high-end portable media players like the Cowon A2.

To make it work, you simply plug the AV cable into the mini dock and the GUI automatically appears on the TV screen. You navigate through the menus with the controls on the ZVM.

You can display pictures on the TV or play music through your home stereo in the same fashion.

It would be nice if the ZVM had some kind of remote control receiver, like the regular Zen Vision, but no such luck.

Of course, the primary function of any DAP is to play music, and the ZVM does a fine job of it.

Sound quality is as good as you would expect from a high-end MP3 player. You can fine tune the sound with a 5-band custom EQ - a basic but important feature that has never made its way into the iPod.

Power output through the headphone port is strong, enough to blow out your ears with the average type of headphones.

The ZVM supports only 2 audio compression codecs: MP3 and WMA. It plays WAV files (uncompressed PCM) as well although a full album will usually take up 600mb or more.

Why not support OGG and FLAC (lossless)? These are FREE, OPEN SOURCE codecs that are popular with audiophiles. By not supporting these codecs, some people would rather go with brands that do - like Cowon and iRiver.

The ZVM does support WMA10 DRM, which allows you do play tracks downloaded from music subscription services like Yahoo Unlimited and Napster. This is another big advantage over the iPod, at least, for people who use those services. Like me. For 5 bucks a month, I can download whatever music I want, and as much as I want, from Yahoo's collection of over a million tracks. I can also transfer the music to a portable player that supports WMA10 DRM. Of course, if I stop paying then the music will stop playing after the license expires, so I have to sync the ZVM with the Yahoo Unlimited program about once a month. It's a great way to try new music.

ZVM supports the regular kind of WMA DRM as well, which means you can purchase tracks from most of the online music stores - where WMA is the standard. Check out our guide, HERE, for a list. This gives you a lot of options compared the iPod, which only works with one music store: iTMS.

Sadly, the ZVM does not support gapless playback or crossfading between tracks. The gaps between tracks are quite short (about 1/10 second) but they are detectable if you pay attention... as audiophiles do. This is a disadvantage for some types of albums, including live concerts and continuous DJ mixes where there should be a seamless transition from one track the next. So far, the only player that can do this trick is the Rio Karma which debuted in 2003 and was killed off in 2005 along with the rest of the company.

Bookmarking

When playing any audio file, you can call up the Context Menu and choose Set to Bookmark. There are 10 slots for bookmarks and you can choose to make that bookmark in any of the available slots. It lists the name of the track and timestamp where the bookmark was made. The list of bookmarks is available as a main category in the Music section.

Unfortunately, you cannot bookmark videos. I have the Cowon A2 (portable media player) which allows you do this and it has been handy from time to time.

Playlisting

The ZVM has a simple OTG (on-the-go) playlisting system. Nothing special.

You can add single tracks or a group of tracks from any Artist, Album, or Genre to a custom playlist. At any point, you can clear it out and start over, or and name and save the playlist. You can't rearrange tracks once they are in a playlist, however. The order in which they are listed is the same order they were added. Playlists appear as a list of individual tracks only.

It works well enough, but in a primitive fashion compared to some of Creative's older models like the NJB3 and Zen Xtra. These had a more advanced playlisting system where items you added to the playlist were nested. In other words, if you added an Artist, Album, or Genre to the playlist, that artist name, album name, or genre name would then appear in the playlist and you could drill down to see the individual albums or tracks contained within. You could also rearrange those items, moving them up and down the list. Creative: let's bring that back.

A big selling point for the ZVM is the built-in FM radio tuner. It's a popular feature that you don't get with an iPod. Sure, you can find accessories that will add an FM tuner to the iPod, but it's more stuff to buy and more stuff to carry around.

I don't listen to a lot of radio myself, but some. It's certainly a nice feature to have when you get tired of listening to your own music, or for news radio, or a morning talk show, etc.

The quality of the reception is fine. Not the best I've ever heard but far from the worst.

You can auto-scan for stations in your area, and store up to 32 stations as presets. A nice touch is that you can name the presets (like 98.9 The Rock) with a virtual keyboard. More players should have this.

You can record from the radio as well. Recordings are saved as ADPCM files (177kbps, 22Khz) and can be immediately accessed in the Music section under Recordings.

Image Viewing

The Photo display feature of the ZVM is similar to that of the iPod. Better in many ways.

When you go into the Photo section, you are presented with a number of folders that contain your photos. These can be created and arranged in Windows File Explorer, providing a way to organize your pictures. On the iPod, all of your images are lumped into one big list.

Select a folder and you can see a preview page of 25 thumbnails. The first time you look in a folder full of your pics, it takes a few seconds (depending on the size of the picture files) to generate these thumbnails. Thankfully, the thumbs are cached so they load near instantaneously on the next view.

You can quickly scroll through the thumbs using the touch-strip and click on one for a full screen display.

From there, you can click on the Context Menu button with gives you some useful options like Rotate Picture, Zoom, Rate Picture, View Details, or Start Slideshow, or Set as Wallpaper. Any pic can be set as the background image for GUI. Choose View Details, and it gives you the original image size and EXIF metadata (if available). Choose Rate Picture, and you can select from 1 to 5 stars, and then that rating appears in the corner of each thumbnail.

Zoom is a great feature, allowing you to see a full size image of the picture. As such, there's only one zoom stepping. This zoomed image is bigger than the screen, which acts like a window, and you can use the touch-strip controller to pan around inside the image.

The Slideshow function works just like the iPod, displaying one image after the next with various transition effects like fading and wipes. The slide interval can be set from 3 to 15 seconds.

And yes, you can listen to music while viewing pictures.

[/b]Voice Recording

Voice recording is becoming a standard feature on DAPs these days, and it's a nice bit of extra value. Not much use for it myself but I'm sure there are people who will find it handy at school or work. If you do a lot of recording, this feature can be mapped to the Custom button for quick access.

Recording is accomplished through a built-in, miniature microphone located behind a small hole on the right side edge of the player.

I gave it a try, and it works pretty well considering the size of the mic and all. The recording screen displays a pair of input level meters which helps determine if the recording volume is too loud or too quiet for good results.

Recordings are saved as ADPCM files (129kbps, 16Khz) and can be immediately accessed in Recordings category of the Music section.

PIM

Creative threw in a couple of Personal Information Management feature, just like you have on the iPod. In the Extras section, there is a Clock, Calendar, Tasks, and Contacts list. The Tasks and Contacts have be synced with Creative's own software application.

The battery can be charged via USB or from the included AC adapter. The AC adapter is the same kind used in all of Creative's portable products, with a C type connector and power rating of 5 volts at 2.4 amps. This is kind of nice since I have several of these leftover from other Creative products I've bought over the years.

Like most DAPs, the ZVM has a built-in and non-replaceable battery. A lithium battery will last about 3 years with regular use, but eventually it won't hold much of a charge.

In the past, many of Creative's players have been designed with a removable battery. This was a way to differentiate themselves from the competition (namely, the iPod) and they could market longevity as a feature.

To their credit, plenty of people did choose to buy a Creative player for just that reason - longevity. No one really likes the idea of buying an expensive Walkman that becomes useless when the battery wears out.

So it seems kind of strange that Creative would ditch this feature on their flagship model. I'm guessing that they didn't want to make the ZVM any thicker than it already is considering how chubby it looks next to an equivalent (30gb) iPod. On the other hand, it's already a good deal thicker, and I doubt it would add more than another 1 or 2 millimeters if done in the same fashion as the Zen Micro.

Without a removable battery, the ZVM falls in the same murky area as the iPod. Is it a throw-away type device? Or will you be able to get the battery replaced when it finally dies? Creative might be willing to service it, for a fee, but I don't know.

It's not an issue for me since I usually replace my gadgets with newer gadgets long before the old ones wear out. However, if you actually plan on keeping this thing for more than 3 years... it is something to think about.

Battery life

I haven't done any formal testing on the ZVM to see how long it can play music and movies, but in general, the battery life seems perfectly adequate. It certainly feels like it lasts longer than the new iPod (30gb) although both Creative and Apple list playback time at around 14 hours for audio. I tend to browse around the menus quite a bit and I think that's where the difference lies, apparently draining more power from the iPod than the ZVM.

For video, Creative lists the ZVM as getting around 4 hours worth, compared to 2 hours of video on the iPod. That's a significant advantage for the ZVM as many movies go beyond the 2 hour mark.

Value

The MSRP of the ZVM is listed as $330 and it's holding steady at that price. Due to demand, I would imagine. I haven't seen it discounted anywhere yet. In fact, some places are selling it for MORE than the MSRP. Newegg.com, for instance, had it listed at $349 when I last checked.

For $30 more than an equivalent 30gb iPod, you get the extra features built into the ZVM, plus an AC adapter. I'd say that makes it a fair price, but it's not what I'd consider a great deal.

All things considered, I'd have to say that the Zen Vision:M is the best DAP on the market right now.

It's a solid MP3 player, and sounds great, but it's the other stuff that really puts it ahead of the pack. The quality of the screen, the refinement of the GUI, and its video playback capabilities are all state of the art for a device of this size.

Compared to the iPod, the ZVM has some key advantages: a built-in FM radio tuner, support for Xvid and Dvix type videos at resolutions of up to 640x480, and support for the WMA audio codec including DRM10 (Janus). Unlike the iPod, most videos will not have to be recoded for playback on the ZVM. You can play tracks from music subscription services like Yahoo Unlimited and Napster, and you're not limited to buying music from any one store like you are with the iPod. The customizable EQ is another handy little item you that you won't find on the iPod. If you can live without iTunes/iTMS, this is the one to get.

I do have some gripes about the physical design, like the soft plastic used on the front, the I/O ports being stuck on a mini-dock, and the non-removable battery, but aside from that... it's a wicked piece of kit. Everything it does, it does well.

I would like to see a couple of things added to the firmware, including support for AC3 audio tracks within videos, and support for the OGG and FLAC audio codecs. The ability to view text files would be nice, too.

Overall, there isn't much to fault with ZVM - a rare thing for us. This is best player I've seen from Creative since the Nomad Jukebox 3 (circa 2001), and it deserves your consideration.

A few reasons to buy the creative vision M:

1)A 93% score over at DAPreview is never without its reasons.

2)It's got a great GUI.

3)TV out screen resolution (twice the resolution). Unlike the ipod, the resolution is viable to use as a RCA player

4)Colors of the screen 262k compared to 65k

5) When people ask you if it's an iPod, you get to yell at them

6)The fact that you're not supporting Apple

7)It has a shortcut key!

8)t has an anti-theft feature.

How to use ZVM anti-theft:

1. Grab ZVM

2. Chuck at attackers head

3. Pick up

4. Run

9)Password protection for your folders so you can hide your stuff (i.e porn)

10)On-the-fly deleting

11)Not limited to one store to buy music from

12)Drag and drop feature, on windows explorer

13)Not limited to one program to transfer music with

14)Comes with an ac adapter

15)it has an FM tuner built in!

16)Has FM BUILT IN (Ability to record off of the FM radio)

17)Voice recording feature

18)Good for people who are hardcore music and video pirate not interested in fair use

19) Ability to choose different themes to use: up to 6. Ability to have you choice of wallpaper.

20) Abilty to view .TIFF images

21) Has a slideshow feature

22) Custom EQ

23)Not a thief-magnet on the subways

24)people will be staring at it. cuz it aint common (ie. ipod)

25)16 hours music play

26)4 hours video It most likely wont be replaced by a Newer Model in 5 months.

How long was that "ipod with color screen" out before it was replaced by the iPod 5G?

27) Has battery life up to 4 hours when watching video, 16 hours for music.

28) Has the same video chip as the cowon a2

29) Plays divx, xvid, MPEG - 4, 3, 2 and all other huge popular formats

30)Buttons have illimunating light

31) Can play videos up to 30fps

32) You have a choice of five colors

33)Has a capable resolution of 480 x 270

34) It has the most stunning display.

35) You don't have to move your hands in a circular motion so it looks like you're giving the dam thing a ...

36) 32 presets for FM radio

Don't underestimate read the review at dapreviews and you'll see what I eam: www.dapreview.com and do a search.

That's it folks.

Edited April 15, 2006 by Flare

[chconline Veteran]

DAP Reviews isnt entirely good... how many times have you mentioned them as if they are your god?

Yes this player is good... but no offence, this is not entirely a review :p

And no I did not rate this topic. Who keeps giving every topic a 1?

[Malik05]

i agree, this is WAY better then any ipod! its just that most of the popel have ipod stuck in there head when ever they think mp3 player...

[IanD]

I'm getting one of these soon, I'll post a full review then. Thanks for the comparison though ;)

[Quillz]

Nice review for a nice player.

[xxdesmus]

wow...that has got to be the longest post i have ever seen on Neowin :laugh:

Great review for a great product man. My only critique would be that your pictures don't quite do that beautiful screen justice...but it's hard to capture how gorgeous the screen really is. Nice job (Y)

[chconline Veteran]

I am sure you took some time to review... err... copy and paste. :p

http://dapreview.net/e107_plugins/content/...php?content.259

[Flare]

Well spotted, I never had anything better to do so I decided to post it, but anyway I thought it would be better to copy and paste than just giving the link because alot of the neowin users are actually distorted at having to go to another link to see the review and may think it's not good enoguh but when it's on the site they will read it. And boy they need to because this is one hell of a product.

By the way I was waiting for that, there was a clue at the end: check dapreviews Lol.

[Lazih3nri]

WOW... this is just plain funny after that other guy was caught with a fake review.

[giga Veteran]

Well spotted, I never had anything better to do so I decided to post it, but anyway I thought it would be better to copy and paste than just giving the link because alot of the neowin users are actually distorted at having to go to another link to see the review and may think it's not good enoguh but when it's on the site they will read it. And boy they need to because this is one hell of a product.

By the way I was waiting for that, there was a clue at the end: check dapreviews Lol.

:no:o: Plagiarizing is a no-no.

[xxdesmus]

WOW... this is just plain funny after that other guy was caught with a fake review.

Busted ...what a tool.

[Brodel]

I knew I'd seen those photos somewhere else.

anyway... I'm really tempted to get one of these, the only things that bug me are no .ogg support and no gapless playback. Does anyone have any idea if these will be introduced in later updates?

[Flare]

What's gapless playback? And why do you need ogg when you can just convert it to .mp3.

[chconline Veteran]

Ogg is better than MP3 for compression to quality ratio. Also for players that support WMA, I tend to use that, MP3 isnt as good as WMA (Altho you do sacrifice a bit of battery life)

[Brodel]

What's gapless playback? And why do you need ogg when you can just convert it to .mp3.

Pretty much what chconline just said.

Gapless playback means that with tracks that were originally mastered without any breaks between tracks (for example live bands, dj mixes etc) play as they were intended to. At the moment, most players make a break between the track which isn't much, but I find it a bit irritating sometimes.

[lexor]

and the video capabilites are stated wrong! you compared mpeg4-ASP on ZVM vs mpeg4-AVC on iPod, both players have exactly the same stats for video if compared asp vs asp and avc vs avc.

[Cellocity- CIO]

Pretty much what chconline just said.

Gapless playback means that with tracks that were originally mastered without any breaks between tracks (for example live bands, dj mixes etc) play as they were intended to. At the moment, most players make a break between the track which isn't much, but I find it a bit irritating sometimes.

Gapless = No pauses in the song

[Brodel]

Gapless = No pauses in the song

That's pretty much what I said? I was explaining why it was a good feature.

[Cellocity- CIO]

Well, it is sometimes a good thing, but if lets say there is silence, like for example Britney spears "Stronger" song, then it may cause problems

[chconline Veteran]

You listen to Britney Spears :|

[Cellocity- CIO]

No, just an example

[davekilljoy]

In canada they are the same price as the ipod 30G (379.99).

Im always so tempted to buy one, @ my work we have a bunch coming in all the time and they fly off the shelves. Shame tho we only get the wierd colours, some people have even given into lame colours juss kuz the ZVM is so awesome (2x pink ones for 2x guys..diferent occasions....wierd).

Anywho great review.

[Smigit]

Well, it is sometimes a good thing, but if lets say there is silence, like for example Britney spears "Stronger" song, then it may cause problems

I don't believe thats how it operates. I dont think Gapless playback attempts to calculate whether a part of a file is silent or not and remove that from the file, what it does is cache files in advance so that if you skip track or run over to a new one the next track will play INSTANTLY as opposed to most players that will have a fraction of a second delay. If you have a large bit of recorded silence I think that would still play, it's really just for changing tracks and removing the delay in that process.

Not many players at all support Gapless out of the box. Rios had one (RIP) and I believe the Rockbox firmware adds support to those players that can run it (iAudio X5, iRiver H100 etc)

[MiG-]

I don't believe thats how it operates. I dont think Gapless playback attempts to calculate whether a part of a file is silent or not and remove that from the file, what it does is cache files in advance so that if you skip track or run over to a new one the next track will play INSTANTLY as opposed to most players that will have a fraction of a second delay. If you have a large bit of recorded silence I think that would still play, it's really just for changing tracks and removing the delay in that process.

Not many players at all support Gapless out of the box. Rios had one (RIP) and I believe the Rockbox firmware adds support to those players that can run it (iAudio X5, iRiver H100 etc)

The playback is only gapless if the original source is Gapless, e.g. the CD.

if u just import mp3 files it wont play gapless, only if the CD is ripped directly to the MP3 player, then the playback will be gapless, as intended.

[Martyn]

8)It has an anti-theft feature.

How to use ZVM anti-theft:

1. Grab ZVM

2. Chuck at attackers head

3. Pick up

4. Run

I found that bit hilariou:laugh:h: !

Even though you copied the review it was still quite insightful. It look's a good player but much to expensive...