MP3 player

[Norm In Norman]

Ok South Ovarians, these polls never work and never sway my decision in the least. But I think in this case, your opinions might be valuable. We'll see.

Here are the challengers:
IPOD VIDEO
http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html
http://reviews.cnet.com/Apple_iPod_5G_30GB_video/4505-6490_7-31556111.html

CREATIVE ZEN VISION M
http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/zenvisionm/
http://reviews.cnet.com/Creative_Zen_Vision_M_30GB_green/4505-6490_7-31632697.html?tag=sub

I've got money burning a hole in my pocket. Which one should I get? Here is a chart I gleaned off another website:


Manufacturer Creative Apple
Model Zen Vision M Ipod Video
Model 2 - 5G
Price 319.00 269.00
Power Adapter X Add $30
HD Size 30 30
Display Size 2.5 2.5
Display Resolution 320x240 320x240
Color X X
Display Colors 262144 260000
Display Type LCD LCD
Battery Type Lithium Lithium
Playing Time music 14 14
Playing Time Picture ? 3
Playing Time Video 4 2
USB 2.0 2.0
MP3 X X
WMA X -
AAC - X
Audible - X
Apple Lossless - X
AIFF - X
OGG - -
FLAC - -
MPEG-1 X -
MPEG-2 X -
MPEG-4 X X
DivX X -
XviD X -
WMV X -
M-JPEG X -
WAV X X
Text - -
Voice Recording X -
Line Recording ? -
FM Tuner X -
JPG X X
BMP - X
GIF - X
TIFF - X
PSD - X
PNG - X

I like the stats of the creative better, especially since it plays more file formats, has a built in microphone (I record voice memos sometimes on my phone) and the battery lasts twice as long while playing video. And I think it looks better. Did I mention it won best of show (and a couple of other awards) at CES? But, it's new so it might be buggy and who knows how good their warranty is.

The apple, on the other hand, is an apple. it's been around forever and there are a ton of things you can buy for it. Some crazy dude once said his buddy washed his in the washing machine by accident and he sent it back to apple and they sent him a new one no questions asked. Also I have some songs I downloaded on I-Tunes already AND there is probably more to download from apple. Of course I mainly plan on listening to stuff I rip from my CD collection, but it will do that too.

So - what should I do?

[jk the sooner fan]

my niece got the ipod video for christmas and i must say the 5 minutes i spent playing with it had me convinced that THEY ROCK....no idea on the others

[Norm In Norman]

PICTURES!

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/55-101-442-03.JPG

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/55-102-226-03.JPG

[ultimatesooner1]

I voted for the ipod

I just bought a dj ditty for the fm tuner to use at football games and to listen to mp3s while I am working out but I am going to add an ipod video to use in my truck and at home and on trips and stuff

[Norm In Norman]

Damn. Are you guys voting this way because you already have an ipod and like it, or because you've heard bad things about creative? Or is it because you can install Linux on the ipod?

[OklahomaTrombone]

Just go with the iPod.

[OklahomaTrombone]

I had a Creative and it worked well but the iPods just have so much support for them.

[IB4OU2]

Norm, I got the Video Ipod for my daughter for xmas and after using it for the limited amount of time that she's let me it's now on my birthday wish list. I looked at the Zen at Wal**** and it looks pretty nice but I didn't see all the extra stuff for it as mentioned in a previous post. I believe it cost around $280 or so. I still vote for the Ipod.

[Norm In Norman]

This creative just came out this month. I looked and wal-hell didn't have it.

[IB4OU2]

This creative just came out this month. I looked and wal-hell didn't have it.

They had it at the Wal-hell uphere (Stoolwater), saw it Sunday.

[SicEmBaylor]

Other)I love my Philips HDD120 (20 gig) though its been replaced with a newer model that I understand is even better. Only problem with any non ipod player of course is the lack of all the nifty gadgets and accessories you can get for an ipod.

[Norm In Norman]

They had it at the Wal-hell uphere (Stoolwater), saw it Sunday.
Really? Maybe I need to try the other walmart. All they had at the one next door was the zen picture or something like that. For 288, I might go ahead and get it no matter what you guys say!

No really, vote and give me opinions.

[49r]

If you get an iPod, you'll regret it in about a month.












'Cause they always come out with something about 987766455464 times cooler right after you buy one.

[OUstudent4life]

ok, i voted for ipod, but i've got one reservation, and two side notes:

1) 49r is right. the current rumor, based on Apple's hiring and recent trademark aquisitions, is that a wireless iPod (i.e. tap into wifi signal, if the rumor is true) is currently in the works.

2) if I've got it figured out right, iTunes can convert a lot of those file formats to iPod-readable ones, and/or there are programs that easily do that.

3) now that Steve Jobs is the largest shareholder in Disney, I bet a lot of their video content is exclusively delivered through iTunes (including ABC and ESPN, since they're owned by Disney). iTunes now has a huge edge in legal online downloads of music, and I bet they try to leverage that into the video market.

[Beano's Fourth Chin]

If you're really getting it to watch videos, get the iPod and get the 60 gig version. I have all the lord of the rings, the first disk of Arrested development, a ton of Disney cartoons, 2 bogart flicks, I'm doing the matrix trilogy tonight. I've also got the first 4 episodes of Lost Season 2 on there plus about 10 episodes of the office. The 60 gig can hold something like 150 hours of video.

The stuff I've encoded has been roughly 260 megs for an hour show, half a gig for a movie (that's not much smaller, if any than xVid.)

The thing about the zen is that, regardless of how many video types it plays, you're going to have to reencode anything you really want to watch, anyway, either from dvd or from the xvid video you dl'd from the internet.

I foresee that there will be ipod compatible mpeg-4 versions of all the stuff on bit torrent fairly soon, if not already. I don't see that you're missing out much by having it play mpeg-2 since it won't play the file as it comes out of the Tivo as the resolution is too big.

The iPod is stable, works well and has a ton of accessories. Just don't install the 1.1 version of the firmware if you buy one soon.

I'm not saying don't get the zen, just that you're not gaining much by being able to play all those formats.

And to make it simpler, the new version of iTunes will automatically convert video to an iPod compatible format, just right click and say convert.

I'll come over and get that disk and I'll bring mine over so you can play with it.

[Norm In Norman]

Good idea ... I'd like to see it. And maybe I should spend the extra for a 60 gig. I figured I'd probably just put videos on as I needed them though then delete them. I figure the video portion I'll use just for short trips and such, for the boy.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting the ipod now, but I've been known to be REALLY wishy washy about buying stuff.

[Norm In Norman]

Wait - don't you live in houston?

[Ike]

Good idea ... I'd like to see it. And maybe I should spend the extra for a 60 gig. I figured I'd probably just put videos on as I needed them though then delete them. I figure the video portion I'll use just for short trips and such, for the boy.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting the ipod now, but I've been known to be REALLY wishy washy about buying stuff.

or you can buy a smaller one and then pop it open and put a bigger hard drive in there yourself.

[Norm In Norman]

I've got a 80 gig IDE just waiting to be used.

[soonerboomer93]

my friends reaction to her Zen was that the ipod sucked compared to it (she had one before).

[Jimminy Crimson]

iPod with Apple Care, just to be on the safe side. I know you and consumer products. :texan:

[Ike]

another issue to think about (unfortunately) with this is the DRM schemes you are expecting to pick up in your music and video...Apple has its own DRM scheme for iTunes crap that, if I remember correctly, doesn't let you play it on other types of mp3 players. of course, if you are acquiring your video's and music the old fashioned way, you probably dont have to worry about DRM, but it is something to think about.

[Ike]

oh, and you might want to look into this one:

http://www.mustek.com/ProductDetail.aspx?product=PVR-H140
http://www.mustek.com/product_resources/images_thumbs/portable-media-player-t-pvr-h140-1.jpg
the one listed on the website is a 40 gig model, but according to wired news, a 60 GB model is in the works, and retails for $299. bigger screen, and all that.

[Norm In Norman]

Yeah, I'm not reading too many good things about that one. The specs are pretty cool though.

[Sooner_Bob]

Sounds like it might just be a toss up . . . I'd like to buy one at some point myself. Video isn't necessarily a must, but if it'll play it then cool.

You can use MuvAudio or Tunebite to strip the DRM from just about any audio file you download via iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody or Yahoo.

They cost like $20 each.

[Norm In Norman]

Like I wouldn't pirate a program used to pirate music.

[Norm In Norman]

I'm sold.


TUNEBITE = QUAD-SPEED-RECORDING & DIGITAL QUALITY SUPPORT. RERECORDS & CONVERTS LEGALLY PROTECTED WMA, M4B, M4P, AAC, MP3. Automatically records & saves with quad-speed DRM-protected music & audio books while it is being played on the PC. TUNEBITE IS WORDWIDE NO.1 - SOMEONE WHO SAY SOMETHING ELSE IS A PROGRAMMER OF A WORSER TOOL. BUILD YOUR OWN OPINION & DOWNLOAD IT!

[Norm In Norman]

http://hymn-project.org/

Eh - that looks pretty old. Surely they've made this not possible anymore.

[TopDaugIn2000]

I got a 60 g video iPod for Christmas and absolutely love it. I have 3,973 songs on it right now, most from my own CD collection, some that I've downloaded. iTunes said it's 9.5 days of music and just over 11 gigs full. I haven't put any video on it yet.

if you go with the iPod, spend the extra $100 and double your hd space, especially if you want to put video on it.

I also installed an iPod interface to my factory radio (all by myself) and it sounds GREAT. (bought an FM transmitter as well, for when I'm in someone else's car, but the quality is the suck)

[TopDaugIn2000]

if you buy on ebay, watch out for this seller. heh

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60949

[Howzit]

As the poll indicates, the Zen is the obvious choice.

[Widescreen]

Unfortunately apple has pretty much taken over this industry. I view this as a Windows vs. OS/2 issue. You're really taking a risk on losing some decent money by going with something other than iPod even if the other thing has better features.

[Sooner_Bob]

I'm sold.


Heh . . . the programs are actually put together better than the dudes english.

And that hymn project (if it's the one I'm thinking about) will do nothing more than screw up your PC . . . or so I'm told.

[Norm In Norman]

COME ON! I need more votes for ipod!

[Widescreen]

COME ON! I need more votes for ipod!
I was watching Who Want to Be a Millionare the other night (this actually has a point so be patient) and the contestant didn't know the answer. He decided to use a the Ask the Audience lifeline and they came back with a 68% certainty on one of the choices. He went with them and lost $100,000.

Moral: Don't listen to us yahoos in the peanut gallery.

[49r]

Buy one of each.

...for research...

[Norm In Norman]

OK - ipod it is.

[IB4OU2]

OK - ipod it is.

Good choice Norm! It should be a special gift for your special day today. ;)

I want one too.

[KC//CRIMSON]

This is almost as hard as choosing between Colico Vision and Atari.

[Nab'R]

Sam's has the 60g Black for $389

[IB4OU2]

Good choice Norm! It should be a special gift for your special day today. ;)

I want one too.

I picked up the 30G Video Ipod in Tampa last week. I'm lovin it...(already downloaded/purchased over 550 songs) :D

[Sooner in Tampa]

I voted Creative, but I am just anti-IPOD...we have the Creative Zen 20 Gig and I love it. But ours is just for music too...we are not into the video. The Zen holds pictures, but we are just using it for tunes.

[BeetDigger]

Sam's has the 60g Black for $389



Well, once you go black....:eddie:

[IB4OU2]

I downloaded "The Office" video, this was the one about sexual harrassment........one of my favorites.:D

[Norm In Norman]

Yeah, I'm loving my ipod. I've got about 100 CDs to convert to mp3 and I've sort of lost interest doing that. Last week when we had our 3 hour trip to wilburton, we listened to part of a harry potter audiobook. That was pretty cool.

They are doing construction on the floor below right under my feet, so the ipod has been essential this past week.

[TopDaugIn2000]

Yeah, I'm loving my ipod. I've got about 100 CDs to convert to mp3 and I've sort of lost interest doing that. Last week when we had our 3 hour trip to wilburton, we listened to part of a harry potter audiobook. That was pretty cool.

They are doing construction on the floor below right under my feet, so the ipod has been essential this past week.

I used audiograbber to convert all of mine to mp3s. It will go online and find the album, then title it with artist, etc if you so choose.

can get it from download.com, it's free.

[Beano's Fourth Chin]

I bought one of these for my trip:
link (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6084002/wo/LbdVPX1m1DnC2CMoGMNRz3jRjnW/2.PSLID?mco=55EFC253&nplm=M9861G%2FA)

Was able to put pictures to the iPod every night. Was a lot easier than taking a laptop.

[OklahomaTrombone]

Being here in Chicago, I can see how iPods really became so popular.

We are actually in Rosemont, so were about a 30 minute train ride to downtown.

If I didn't have my iPod with me, I think I would go crazy on that damn train.

[IB4OU2]

Yeah, I'm loving my ipod. I've got about 100 CDs to convert to mp3 and I've sort of lost interest doing that. Last week when we had our 3 hour trip to wilburton, we listened to part of a harry potter audiobook. That was pretty cool.

They are doing construction on the floor below right under my feet, so the ipod has been essential this past week.

I downloaded about 30 CDs Saturday night using Itunes. It took about 8 minutes per CD.

The daughter had some music in our library that inadvertently got downloaded.....groups like Killer, Yea, Yea, Yea, Beck and Coldplay.
I kinda like Coldplay and Killer though.

[Norm In Norman]

Yeah, but I'm not going to pay for an album I already own.

It's not that it takes me very long to do, it's just that after 10 or 15 I just started feeling that I was working on an assembly line. Also, i'm picky about how my mp3s are named and how the tags are, so I'm alway double checking stuff before I rip the CD. Being OC makes the whole process not fun.

[OUstudent4life]

Critical mass is building on the number of people buying the high end iPod...

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1602

Following the law of iPodia: once you've bought one, the new one will come out in less than a year, and you will covet it.

[King Crimson]

.

If I didn't have my iPod with me, I think I would go crazy on that damn train.

i take the commuter express bus from Denver to Boulder 3 times a week--about 40 minutes gate to gate--and i agree 100%. and flying, got to have one.

[TopDaugIn2000]

I still have to sit down and sort my 4,996 songs into playlists before I'll let myself get more. I just can't seem to make myself do it though.

[mrowl]

Critical mass is building on the number of people buying the high end iPod...

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1602

Following the law of iPodia: once you've bought one, the new one will come out in less than a year, and you will covet it.

I can't wait until April, if there is a Video Ipod coming out, it will be mine. :D

And rumor has it that there will be dozens of Disney movies available that same day on iTunes.

[Sooner_Bob]

Being here in Chicago, I can see how iPods really became so popular.

We are actually in Rosemont, so were about a 30 minute train ride to downtown.

If I didn't have my iPod with me, I think I would go crazy on that damn train.



Whatchu doin' in Chicago? Workin' or playin'?

[Sooner_Bob]

I still have to sit down and sort my 4,996 songs into playlists before I'll let myself get more. I just can't seem to make myself do it though.


I'm getting ready to rip all of my CDs to my PC and then sell them . . . and my 300 +1 CD Changer . . . :D

[OklahomaTrombone]

Whatchu doin' in Chicago? Workin' or playin'?


I'm here with TU women's basketball team.

I'm part of the pep band.

We won on Friday so we are getting ready to play tonight.

Its been a blast!

[GottaHavePride]

OK, so I just got my 30 GB video iPod that I bought with a combination of birthday and tax refund money. Freakin' sweet.

And Norm, I know the pain of having to go through and edit the tag information on all the tunes - especially when I get a CD that no one has bothered to enter the info for. Or when someone mis-labels tunes, like labeling "Play that Funky Music" as being by The Commodores, or "Brick House" by Wild Cherry, when that's actually backwards.

[Norm In Norman]

OK, so I just got my 30 GB video iPod that I bought with a combination of birthday and tax refund money. Freakin' sweet.

And Norm, I know the pain of having to go through and edit the tag information on all the tunes - especially when I get a CD that no one has bothered to enter the info for. Or when someone mis-labels tunes, like labeling "Play that Funky Music" as being by The Commodores, or "Brick House" by Wild Cherry, when that's actually backwards.
Yeah, I'm using cdex for the ripping and mp3tag for fixing tags on old mp3s. I quite frequently have to go browsing freedb.com to find the correct tags and manually enter the id number.

[IB4OU2]

OK, so I just got my 30 GB video iPod that I bought with a combination of birthday and tax refund money. Freakin' sweet.

And Norm, I know the pain of having to go through and edit the tag information on all the tunes - especially when I get a CD that no one has bothered to enter the info for. Or when someone mis-labels tunes, like labeling "Play that Funky Music" as being by The Commodores, or "Brick House" by Wild Cherry, when that's actually backwards.

Great GHP! I got mine Thursday in Tampa......I'm using Itunes since my wife and daughter already have an account (hell, I'm paying for it anyway).

[GottaHavePride]

Yeah, luckily I already had most of my songs organized through Windows Media Player anyway. It was just a matter of fixing some that I hadn't got around to yet.

[Norm In Norman]

Oh man, most of my mp3s are from the napster days and before. Back then it was like, "we don't need no stinking tagses". I'd like to put CD art on all of my mp3s eventually too.

[mrowl]

I thought that iTunes would update those tags for you....

[Sooner_Bob]

I'm here with TU women's basketball team.

I'm part of the pep band.

We won on Friday so we are getting ready to play tonight.

Its been a blast!



cool . . .

[TopDaugIn2000]

Analyst: Apple's 60-gig iPod 'at risk'
Company may phase out 60-gig Video iPod, which retails for $399, in favor of a new model, analyst says.
link (http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/21/technology/apple_ipod/index.htm?cnn=yes)

[CobraKai]

Oh man, most of my mp3s are from the napster days and before. Back then it was like, "we don't need no stinking tagses". I'd like to put CD art on all of my mp3s eventually too.

If you use iTunes you can download a freeware tool called iTunes AI (Art Importer) that does this for you. I used it and it is pretty good.

[OUstudent4life]

Analyst: Apple's 60-gig iPod 'at risk'
Company may phase out 60-gig Video iPod, which retails for $399, in favor of a new model, analyst says.
link (http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/21/technology/apple_ipod/index.htm?cnn=yes)

I won ;) :D

bluetooth = battery drain, I'm thnking...scary.

though they may have "fixed" that with a better battery for the true video iPod

and I'm still hoping for a April 1 release...30th birthday for Apple!

[mrowl]

http://guides.macrumors.com/images/thumb/d/dd/1fullipodav.jpg/800px-1fullipodav.jpg

[OUstudent4life]

yeah, macrumors and appleinisider are sites I visit pretty much twice a day...things go up pretty fast on both...

gods I'm an iAddict.

[soonerbrat]

Yeah, I'm loving my ipod. I've got about 100 CDs to convert to mp3 and I've sort of lost interest doing that. Last week when we had our 3 hour trip to wilburton, we listened to part of a harry potter audiobook. That was pretty cool.

They are doing construction on the floor below right under my feet, so the ipod has been essential this past week.



do you have family in wilburton? i went to wilburton school in 7th grade..the WILBURTON DIGGERS!!

[mrowl]

yeah, macrumors and appleinisider are sites I visit pretty much twice a day...things go up pretty fast on both...

gods I'm an iAddict.

I want to pull the trigger on a new Mac, but I REALLY wanted a Home Theater Mac, and was dissapointed to not see any pvr software on the new Mini. :mad:

[Sooner_Bob]

Thanks to Techbargains . . . 60 GB iPod video for $365 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/tech-data/B000A3WS8O/ref=de_a_smtd/002-9715138-0707203?%5Fencoding=UTF8)

[Sooner_Bob]

And to make it simpler, the new version of iTunes will automatically convert video to an iPod compatible format, just right click and say convert.



Will this convert DivX files to iPod video compatible file types?

[Norm In Norman]

do you have family in wilburton? i went to wilburton school in 7th grade..the WILBURTON DIGGERS!!
Oops I missed this.

nope. Just visiting robber's cave.

[BlondeSoonerGirl]

Oops I missed this.

nope. Just visiting robber's cave.

OMG, dude.

You RMFO..seriously...

[GottaHavePride]

Whatever happened to that Normando the Magnificent guy? He was cool.

[BajaOklahoma]

Luck of the Norm says don't buy it.

[Beano's Fourth Chin]

Will this convert DivX files to iPod video compatible file types?

No. You'll need videora or various other video converters.

There's one called 3gp converter that work rilly naice.