MP3/Portable Media Players - which one?

The Breeze · Post by **The Breeze** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:28 pm

Happy New Year everybody!

Please forgive me if this has been asked before, (I can't seem to find the search option), but I want to ask some advice on Multimedia Players.

My nephew wants a portable player he can load/listen to songs on and watch episodes of The Simpsons.
He has Â£80 to spend (I think that's about $7000 in the U.S.A?)

I bought the 30GB Creative Zen Vision M which is fantastic. Plays feature- films, TV Programmes and holds about 15,000 average length songs (roughly 4 E.A.R albums).
It cost me Â£165.

I'm trying to help my nephew out but the bit that's confusing me is that the 4GB Creative Zen says it has Video Playback but does not ellaborate. Does this mean you are pretty limited on the length of clips? Is avi out of the window?

What are people's favourite players, especially for those on a tight budget?

P.S. Please tell me to bugger-off to an MP3 forum if this bores you.

The Breeze

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:29 am

Personally I'd go with a refurb iPod video 30 GB, which run about $180 US, but not sure about GBP. Looks like around Â£160.

http://www.ghc.co.uk/acatalog/iPod_Video.html

Here are a couple non-Apple players with video playback:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... GB&cpc=SCH
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... 12&cpc=SCH

dselevan · Post by **dselevan** » Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:35 am

I use an 80gig Apple Ipod. The refurbished ones are a great deal, but as a gift, it's nice to have the box. If he's watching video, he may need the 80gigs which is what is so awesome about the ipod. It is very easy to get Simpsons Episodes on the iPod. You could even get a DVD and convert seasons to iPod format. I'd go with the iPod 80gig video...

The Breeze · Post by **The Breeze** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:57 pm

Many thanks for the ideas.

I think you're right that if he wants to watch tv shows and films, he needs something much bigger than 2 or 4 gigs.

I think we may look out for something on ebay or he can start washing cars and walking dogs.

ash · Post by **ash** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:11 pm

I've read in a few different places that iPods on ebay are a favourite of scammers, so you might want to explore that option with a dash of caveat emptor.

This story from Wired is a couple of years old, but probably still pretty much on the money:

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,62226-0.html

And here's an article from ebay themselves:

http://reviews.ebay.com/IPOD-Scams-on-e ... 0000957611

a beautiful noise · Post by **a beautiful noise** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:00 am

here's what i did.

go to the mac website http://www.apple.com go to the ipods, click on REFURBISHED, you can pick up any ipod at a hell of a discount, just make sure tyou pick up the extended warranty. that pretty much covers your butt in case of any malfunctions.

i've had my ipod for a few months and not a single problem (knock on wood).

good luck,

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:10 am

one FYI: the extended coverage, or AppleCare, doesn't cover accidental damage due to drops, crushing, spills, etc. - only premature failure of a major component other than the battery.