Which is a better media player?

[ojsinnerz.]

So, you're gonna go with a Creative product? Ugh.... Even though Creative is a dying company that produces awful products with awful designs, enjoy it while it lasts. It also seems like my Zune comment didn't even matter, even though it's the truth....

 

[Splych]

Yea it seems like I am going with the Zen. What makes the Zune better anyway... Sure it is newer, but I actually like the Zen better since the screen is bigger. I will most likely, be watching anime episodes on the go and it has a bigger screen then the Zune. Since I have no plans of spending over $130 (/w Tax) for a media player and with the Zen having a larger screen, expandable memory, cheaper price, double the actual memory, i might as well go with the Zen.

What would help is if there was some comparison chart that tells the pros and cons, but this is all I am seeing right now...

Zen
- Expandable Memory (SD Card)
- 8GB Current
- 2.5" Screen Size
- Price: $125 CAD (/w Tax)

Zune
- Touch Pad
- 8GB Current
- 1.8" Screen Size
- Price: $159 CAD (/w Tax)

I would actually get the Zune if they would price it a bit cheaper, but atm, with the comments I am reading about the Zen, I have a better feeling I am gonna buy one of them instead.

 

[ojsinnerz.]

Yea it seems like I am going with the Zen. What makes the Zune better anyway... Sure it is newer, but I actually like the Zen better since the screen is bigger. I will most likely, be watching anime episodes on the go and it has a bigger screen then the Zune. Since I have no plans of spending over $130 (/w Tax) for a media player and with the Zen having a larger screen, expandable memory, cheaper price, double the actual memory, i might as well go with the Zen.

What would help is if there was some comparison chart that tells the pros and cons, but this is all I am seeing right now...

Zen
- Expandable Memory (SD Card)
- 8GB Current
- 2.5" Screen Size
- Price: $125 CAD (/w Tax)

Zune
- Touch Pad
- 8GB Current
- 1.8" Screen Size
- Price: $159 CAD (/w Tax)

I would actually get the Zune if they would price it a bit cheaper, but atm, with the comments I am reading about the Zen, I have a better feeling I am gonna buy one of them instead.

Ah, you were going for the flash Zune. I thought you were thinking of buying a Zune 80 or the sort. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure you can find Cheap Zune 80s on Craigslist or something. Back on topic, I'd still take a flash Zune over a creative product anyday, only because the Zune has a lossless audio codec support, with an actual support team. Creative stopped caring about its customers, and obviously, they're dying. A few more severe blows, and they'll be down for good.

Since you're trying to watch anime, I'd rather go with neither and save up some money to get something actually useful. I've heard far too many cases where the Zen was constantly freezing, breaking, stopping, and with quite a large number of people complaining about everything. Heck, my friend had a Zen, and it broke in less than 2 months. He took a decent care of it, and one drop (not very high) killed it. He stopped buying creative products from that point, and he's using his cellphone as an mp3 player now. He says he liked it when it was working, but the lacking build quality was very disappointing. Oh, and I really can't see the appeal of a product, where the company doesn't give a damn about its customers.

In this little case, the Zen would be of a better value. But would you really want to watch anime on a 2.5 inch screen? I suppose it's good enough for some people's standards... But think about this. If it breaks, like 20398409389 others out there, you'd be losing money. You may get a new one under warrenty, but you'll have to pay for the shipping, etc. If you don't mind saving up some money, why not get something small, like say a Sansa clip, and save up for something better? There's the upcoming Sony X1000 series with an OLED screen, a touchscreen that rivals the ipod touch, wifi capabilities, and the ability to go on the internet.

If you think you'll be fine with the risks, go with a Zen. You probably will be happy with it, unless it breaks. I can't see the SD as a pro, as everything is placed in the SD part of the menu, and not the actual music library. But I guess it's fine a for videos.....

 

[MrDillDough]

@ MrDill ~ I actually have no idea where to get one of those in Canada. And am not planning on buying for shipping and handling if it is out of Canada xD

Rofl, fair enough. You can get one in China by the way.

Just in case you have a change of mind.

Oh, and if you do change your mind, check out the Meizu range.

 

[Satangel]

The format is .wmv.

 

[WildWon]

Buddy of mine has a Zen, and its not a bad media player at all. I haven't watched any vids on it, but i know he does, quite a bit. Also, the sdhc support is nice, but it doesn't integrate all the music into one selection. If you select "Music" from the menu, it takes you to a nicely setup menu of the music on the BUILT-IN DRIVE where you can see the album art and whatnot while you select. To access your external card, it pull up a similar menu, but with generic folder icons. It still plays the same way, but you have to select the folder with the album you wish to play. And, i don't know if there's a way to shuffle ALL the music together (both built-in and external). From what i've seen, it doesn't look like its possible.

On the other side, i LOVED my Zune (before i cracked the screen *cry*). BUT, it was the G1 30-gig model... so i know nothing about the Zune Minis (or Flash Zune, or whatever they're called. ZuNano?). But with that said, i really liked the Zune software, and the Zen software looks a little limited.

So... out of those two... I honestly don't know what to tell you

 

[Satangel]

Buddy of mine has a Zen, and its not a bad media player at all. I haven't watched any vids on it, but i know he does, quite a bit. Also, the sdhc support is nice, but it doesn't integrate all the music into one selection. If you select "Music" from the menu, it takes you to a nicely setup menu of the music on the BUILT-IN DRIVE where you can see the album art and whatnot while you select. To access your external card, it pull up a similar menu, but with generic folder icons. It still plays the same way, but you have to select the folder with the album you wish to play. And, i don't know if there's a way to shuffle ALL the music together (both built-in and external). From what i've seen, it doesn't look like its possible.

On the other side, i LOVED my Zune (before i cracked the screen *cry*). BUT, it was the G1 30-gig model... so i know nothing about the Zune Minis (or Flash Zune, or whatever they're called. ZuNano?). But with that said, i really liked the Zune software, and the Zen software looks a little limited.

So... out of those two... I honestly don't know what to tell you

No you cannot shuffle all the music (internal and external).
I have a 2GB ZEN and a 8GB SD card with all my music on.
I agree that the SD part could have been worked out better, but you can shuffle your music of the SD card, so no real reason to complain for me.
I just converted The.Shield_3x01_Playing.Tight to the wmv format for my ZEN with the official software.
I always choose the Optimal setting for converting and it did it in +- 20 minutes and the 278 MB file went to a 137MB file!
The quality is still very good, you can't see the difference between the ZEN and my TFT screen.

My system has a Q6600 and 4GB RAM and I was surfing all the time.

The software of the ZEN is indeed limited, but you don't need anymore. Why would you add stuff if it already does what it has to do

 

[Splych]

Bleh... GBAtemp was slow. Then went offline, then was slow. And here I am now, reading it xDD.

Well, I already got a Zen. I am loving it right now ^^. Thanks for the help guys... I would've read this before, but it was too slow. And the Zen seems to be enough for me. I am gonna try adding a few music videos on it to see how well they are. And once again, thanks ^^