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Creative Zen Vision :M Review

By: Grahm Skee on January 19, 2006 11:00 AM

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The Vision:M is Creative’s newest creation poised with an impressive set of features. The most notable feature is the video playback file support which easily handles MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV9, and Motion-JPEG. The video, as well as photos, play back on the Vision:M’s bright 2.5” 262k color 320 x 240 pixel screen.

Features and style aside, you cannot argue with the massive amount of quality content providers- Napster, Yahoo!, Rhapsody, MSN Music, AOL Music, to name a few, along with the upcoming content deals with MTV, Microsoft, BBC, TiVO, and others. When selecting a new MP3 player, this one should not be overlooked. It is a well built, well designed, easy to use player with lots of useful features. Overall I am very impressed with the Vision:M, despite some of its shortcomings.

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Design

Weighing in at 5.7 ounces and measuring 4.1" x 2.4" x 0.7" the Vision:M has a smooth design with soft edges making it nice to look at and easy to hold. Music fans will have the option of 5 different colors: black, white, pink, green, and blue. All of the controls are located on the front of the player, except for the on/off/hold which is located at the top next to the headphone jack. All buttons, including the on/off/hold switch, glow blue making it easy to use in the dark.

The Vision:M sports a brilliant 2.5" 320 x 240 pixels 262,144 color screen. On the screen the pictures are crisp and the video is smooth. The viewing angle is somewhat limited top to bottom but is fairly standard when viewing it left and right. Since the screen is not trans reflective, it can be tough to see in direct sunlight (more or less the same way your color cell phone screen would wash out in the sun). The screen will dim to 10% when inactive but will shut off when the hold switch is turned on.

A major design flaw is the material used to cover the entire front of the player. It is made out of a soft plastic which scratches easily, even under normal use.

Accessories

The Vision:M comes with earphones, AC adapter, USB/AC/Video connector, USB cable, carrying pouch, software, and manual. The earphones are your typical Creative earphones, not the best but not the worst. Creative has chosen to include an AC adapter which charges the player faster than USB. Like the Zen Sleek, the Zen Vision:M has the same proprietary connection on the bottom. Proprietary connections are never a good thing, so included in the packaging is the next best thing: a USB/AC/Video connector. It is a small piece that snaps into the docking port and it gives you audio/video out, AC, and USB connections, which is a little better than carrying around another cable. You can then attach the supplied standard mini-USB cable to transfer music and data. Finally, the carrying pouch is a nice touch to help keep the scratches away. The supplied pouch is made of some sort of synthetic chamois. (You know... that leather like cloth you use to dry your car off with.)

It would be nice to see third party manufactures make some accessories for the Vision:M, but don't hold your breath. In the mean time, Creative has a decent set of accessories to go along with this player, like a leather case (in black, white, or tan), AV cables, wired remote, docking station, and car charger.

Software

There are a couple different pieces of software that help you transfer your media to the Vision:M. The easiest and best method to transfer music to your player is to drag and drop- if the device supports UMS, which the Vision:M does not. However, it is still easy to load music onto it with the provided software.

Creative Media Source

Creative Media Source is Creative's answer to the jukebox media player. It rips, burns, and organizes and it will also allow you to transfer music to your player. I would not bother installing this program. It is just another lack luster media player. Windows Media Player 10 is already installed and it does the same thing.

Creative's Technical Marketing Engineer in charge of CMS contacted me the last time I put CMS in the Zen Sleek review. He wanted to know why I thought it wasn't worth installing and wanted additional feedback. I was impressed by this. Creative soliciting ideas from the outside shows they are truly interested in improving their software. And they are. Creative is currently working on a new version of the MediaSource software with a "cleaner and sleeker user interface" along with a more consistent design and will probably integrate video along with Creative's ZENCast podcasting portal.

Zen Vision:M Media Explorer

This is the main tool to transfer media, browse media, rip CDs, convert video, create playlists, manage data, and sync with Outlook. Everything is straight forward and easy to use. The Zen Media Explorer has a familiar browsing screen just like Windows Explorer where you can brows your audio, video, pictures, playlists, and data.

I was, however, disappointed that it did not work exactly like Windows Explorers in some ways. Zen Media Explorer will not allow you to create, rename, edit or move files and folders. It is very limited to basic functions, such as browsing files.

Despite the minor annoyances, this program is useful for synchronizing all of your media as well as converting your videos to the optimal formats for viewing on the Vision:M

Windows Media Player

If you like the bare minimum then Windows Media Player works just as well. Having the Zen Vision:M work with WMP allows you to transfer media on a Windows XP machine that does not have any Zen drivers installed. This is great for when you are at a friend's house.

ZENCast

ZENCast is Creative's podcast and video cast directory that works with the Zen Vision and Zen Vision:M. It will probably work with the rest of the Zen family in the near future. Both types of "casts" can be downloaded directly from links on the site or they can be downloaded and transferred to the device automatically with ZENCast Organizer. The software is still in beta, but I have had no problems with it so far, as it is still very basic.

User interface

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Navigation Controls

All navigational buttons are located on the face of the player. The vertical touch pad is located in the center with small forward and back buttons located on the edges of the touchpad. Additionally, the pause/play, menu, back, and short cut buttons surround the touch pad. The shortcut button is a new edition to the Zen player line up. This is a nice feature that can be programmed to jump to any menu item, whether it is the EQ, Volume, Now Playing, or any menu item for that matter.

By brushing up and down on the touch pad, it allows you to scroll through tracks and menu items. By tapping on the center of the touch pad, it selects the current item. Also, by pressing and holding the top or bottom of the touch pad, it will rapidly scroll through the several hundred songs you may have on the player. The touch pad sensitivity can be set just like in previous Zen models, but even at the lowest setting I find it to be still too sensitive.

I never liked any of the "touch" interfaces- not on the iPod and not on the Zen Vision:M either. I would much prefer to have something that has tactile feedback, not just a clicking sound. With the iPod's click wheel and the Zen Vision:M's touch pad you often miss select menu items or accidentally adjust the volume. However, if I had to choose one over the other, the iPod's click wheel is more accurate and less likely to miss select menu items. Most manufacturers share a common myopic view on touch interfaces. They assume that the touch interface is the best interface but in most cases it may not be. Tactile interfaces are much more user friendly.

Graphical User Interface

The graphical user interface is very familiar to anyone who has used one of Creative's Zen players. Even those who have never touched a Zen player will easily be able to navigate their way through Creative's very intuitive and easy to use hierarchical navigation. The menu is highly configurable, allowing you to change the order, move, remove, and add menu items pretty much wherever you want.

One of the problems with earlier Zen models had to do with the repetitious navigation of hundreds of tracks with the brushing up and down of the touch pad. This has been fixed in two ways. The first, as discussed earlier, was rapid scroll by pressing and holding the top and bottom of the touch pad. The second is the alphabetical sidebar. When browsing your media, if you press the forward button on the side of the touch pad it will jump to the alphabetical bar on the right side. By selecting a letter automatically jumps your selection to the corresponding item with the same starting character. You then press back or tap on the touch pad and it will return you to the left column with the media.

The only complaint I have about the GUI is that it can be a bit sluggish at times, especially when dealing with video and photos. It is not horrible but it can be a minor annoyance.

Battery

The rated battery time for the Zen Vision:M is 14 hours of audio or 4 hours of video playback. The battery times are dependant on how you use your MP3 player- how much you skip or scan songs, how bright the LCD is set at, what volume it is at, if you use the EQ. These are all variables that will effect the battery time. The battery time that manufactures give are times at optimal use. I found that under everyday operation, you will get between 10-13 hours of audio only playback. I could easily watch an average length movie or two shorter movies, both with a few hours of audio playback. Under several tests I continually got a little over 3 hours of video playback.

The battery charges with the USB cable or the AC power adapter. The AC adapter takes 2.5 hours to charge it completely, where as the USB adapter plugged into your computer will take 6.5 hours to charge completely.

Features

FM Radio

The FM radio is there for those who still use it and it is also rich in features. The player uses any headphone plugged into the jack as an antenna so the reception is very good. A unique feature of the FM radio is a signal strength indicator that shows you how strong the FM station is coming in, much like your cell phone signal indicator. With this player you will not run out of FM presets, as there are 32 of them which can be named and not just given a number. Additionally, the stations can be auto programmed and simply flipped through like TV. The Vision:M will also record radio in IMA ADPCM 22kHz stereo WAV format. It is not the best quality but is good enough to record radio. Recording the radio is very straight forward, but also has a feature that lets you split the recordings on the fly. The recorded files get dumped into the radio folder and are available for immediate playback.

Voice Recording

The Vision:M's voice recorder is very straight forward and the recordings sound good. The recording screen shows the levels before and during recording. In the middle of a recording session the track can be split into two files with the track split feature. It would have been nice to be able to choose the recording format other than the only option, IMA ADPCM 16kHz mono WAV format.

Organizer

Zen Vision:M Media Explorer will let you sync your Outlook contacts, calendar, and to do list to your player so that you can view them on the go. However, you cannot edit this information from the player. If you do not use Outlook you can edit this information with the Zen Media Explorer software on your computer. How useful this feature is would be up to the user. For me this feature is useless due to the fact that if I have my digital audio player, I almost always have my mobile phone with me which has everything I need. On the flip side other people may find this useful.

Removable Disk

The main down fall of the Zen Vision:M is that it is not UMS (Universal Mass Storage) compliant. You cannot simply plug and play then drag and drop files to the player on any operating system without additional installation of drivers. However, you can partition a section of the 30GB drive in order to use it for universal mass storage. But the catch is that all you can use it for is storing data and not playing music. The storage partition is only recognized by the computer you plug it into, weather it be Linux, Mac OSX, or Windows XP, but will not be recognized by the Vision:M's own operating system. None the less it is a good feature for those who use removable storage devices for anything from office documents to school projects. Either way, you can allocate 512MB, 1GB, 1.5GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB on this player.

Other Features

The content protections feature allows you to lock or hide individual folders with a password so that you can hide your porn highly classified photos from prying eyes. Date and time are also an available option along with an alarm function.

Photo

With the Vision:M you can easily carry around every photograph you have ever taken with more than enough room for music and video. I have about 5,500 personal photos and they take up almost 4GB of storage space on the player with plenty of room left over. Not bad for every photo you have ever taken, but if you really wanted to get crazy, when you transfer photos to the player you can automatically have them resized to the Vision:M's native resolution to save space. The player only supports JPEG format, but when being transferred over, the software will automatically convert GIF, TIFF, PNG and BMP to the supported JPEG format.

Browsing

There are two different views while browsing the photographs. The list view shows a thumbnail on the left, the file name on the right and the folder in the top bar. When browsing a folder in the list view, it will show folder thumbnails with the folder name to the right and the parent folder name on the top bar. The thumbnail view shows 5 x 4 thumbnail matrix on the screen with the file name at the top bar. When browsing the photos in thumbnail view it will show the same matrix with folder icons with the name of the selected folder on the top bar. To select just tap the touch pad and it will go to full screen mode and the pictures can be flipped through with the forward and back arrows.

Options

There are a few different things you can do with the pictures when you are looking at them full screen. You can rotate, zoom in, rate it, delete, view the details, and set it as wall paper. The rating system is a 5 star system which just basically allows you to mark your favorites and not so favorites. The player can read a select amount of the pictures EXIF meta data, showing the image size, file size, date taken, lenses speed, and whether or not the flash was fired. The last feature worth discussing is the wall paper option. Creative has done a fine job with this one. When you select a photo to be set as wall paper it will take you to an editing screen where you can set the brightness from 10% to 100% so that the wallpaper can be more subtle and not wash out the menus. In this editing screen it also gives the option to change the colors to original, warm (redish), cool (blueish), grayscale, and sepia.

Slideshow

The Zen Vision:M has a slide show option where you can simply play an entire folder or create your own slide show by making a photo playlist with the Zen Media Explorer software. Also, on the upside you can listen to music while the slide show plays. This would be a nice feature to have while playing a slideshow with music in the background at a party piped in thought your TV. The options for the playlist allow you to set the intervals between the slides as well as the type of transitions.

Audio

The Zen Vision:M does fall short for supported audio file types. MP3, WMA, and WAV are the only audio file types supported. Granted they covered the majority of codecs and most consumers will be just fine, but there are quite a few hardcore users that would appreciate FLAC, OGG, or AAC.

Despite the lack of codec support the audio play back from this player will not disappoint, even with the use of higher quality headphones. The :M plays loud and clear even at high volumes. I could only get it to distort if I really boosted the low end and turned the bass boost on. I like that Creative kept the audio setting to the essentials. They did not include the extraneous and unnatural sounding audio tweaks like WoW SRS, 3DSound or any of the other synthetic "audio enhancements".

EQ and Sound Options

The custom 5 band EQ is very responsive and works well, but I would have liked to have been able to save more than one custom EQ setting. The other EQ settings are pre programmed into the player at acoustic, classical, disco, jazz, new age, pop, rock and vocal, which are actually useful and not just another feature.

The "Bass Boost" works very well for some music, but not for all. When the bass boost is tuned on it boosts the low end but at the same time it boosts the lower-midrange in cases, which makes it sound "muddy".

Many times you will turn up a track that was recorded with a lower volume, then the next track comes along and plays twice as loud, thus scaring the hell out of you and damaging your ears. Well this moment of terror is over thanks to the Vision:M's "Smart Volume" feature. This normalizes the volume of every track played, so that each plays at the same volume. This is a really nice feature which all MP3 players should have.

Gapless?

The question that the hardcore digital audio player enthusiasts want to know is: Does it do gapless playback? Sorry, it does not. The gap between tracks is very slight; better than a lot of players that have a second or two pause between tracks. Gapless has been a feature that DAP enthusiasts have been requesting since they got a taste of gapless on two gapless players, the Rio Karma and the Sony HD5 (but the latter only plays gapless in ATRAC format). Gapless is great for continuous DJ mixes when the mix is broken up into individual tracks. Are you listening Creative? We want gapless playback!

Audio Playback Options

Under the Music Library menu item there is a selection called DJ which gives you the options to play the most popular, rarely heard, all tracks random, or album of the day, which is nothing more than a random album selection. While listening to a song you can rate it by tapping on the touch pad while the track is playing and give it a one to five star rating. A really nice option is the "seek to" option. Rather than scanning through the entire track, this allows you to stop the music and scroll to the part of the track you want. This works well for very long single track DJ mixes. Oddly, there is a "Purchase This" option. There is not an explanation for this anywhere, but I am assuming it will be an integrated feature in upcoming media players or online stores.

Playlists & Bookmarks

The Vision:M on the go playlist management is very nice, and it is vastly improved from previous Zen models. Playlists are created by adding all the tracks you want to the now playing queue then saving that queue as a playlist. The playlists can be named by using the on screen virtual keyboard.

Bookmarks on the other hand, will keep your exact place in the middle of a track. This feature is great to use with audio books which can be really long audio files.

Video

Video support is one of the Vision:M's fortes. It will play MPEG1/2/4-SP, WMV9, Motion-JPEG, DivX, and XviD (ASP without GMC) video formats. So what does that mean to you? Almost every DivX or XviD file you can download from P2P or Bittorrent site can be played on the Zen Vision:M. If the file type is not supported, Zen Media Explorer will convert it.

I would have liked to see native support for MP4 due to the mass amount of video out there supported by the PSP and iPod. The MP4 is convertible by the supplied software but takes a very long time even on a fast PC.

If the video is less than the supported screen or a different aspect ratio there are two options that will allow you to enlarge it. The first "fit to screen" will enlarge it to fit the screen keeping the aspect ratio. The second option "stretch to screen" will fit it to the screen but will distort the aspect ratio.

Quality

The quality of the video playback is superb in all the formats. The frame rates are smooth and the video has no artifacts. The video also scales down nicely if the video is larger then the screen real estate of 320 x 240 pixels.

There were some earlier reports that the DivX and XviD video would freeze for a second due to a buffer problem. I found that the problem only exists in earlier firmware versions and the problem has since been fixed in the latest firmware that can be downloaded from the Creative web site.

Video out

The video out is handled by a 3.5mm plug on the bottom of the USB sync adapter that connects to the bottom of player. It appears that it is a common 3.5mm to RCA "camcorder" cable that will simply then plug into your TV. It is a standard "camcorder" cable but Creative has made it proprietary by switching a few of the contacts in the cable. If you want video out you are now forced to purchase a Creative $20 video cable from their website as apposed to an off the shelf cable for a third of that price. It is extremely frustrating.

At the time of testing this, Creative did not have these cables in stock on their website nor did they sell them in stores. However I was able to test the video out by cutting up a standard camcorder cable and switching the connectors inside. The video out is just what you see on the LCD screen outputted to 640 x 480 on the TV screen and it looks great. It is just as smooth and clean as if you were watching it on the LCD screen.

Conclusion

I have one major problem with the Zen Vision:M. It is not the proprietary dock connection, nor is it the non-removable battery. I can live with that. It is, however, the fact that I am not able to simply plug it in without drivers and drop music onto it. In other words, it is not UMS compliant. I am forced to install software and I am restricted to using Windows XP. By making an MP3 player UMS compliant, you open it up to all operating systems and you give the user the freedom and ease of transferring and managing their media. Update: Drag and drop has become hassle free with Vista and much better with XP SP2. This is not longer much of an issue.

The Zen Vision:M is an impressive personal media player. It is well deserving of the Best of Show and Best Portable Audio & Video device awards it recently won at 2006 CES. The greatest appeal of the Vision:M is its ability to playback the majority of popular video files (especially DivX and XviD), which saves you a lot of time by not having to convert all of your video. Audio and video is top notch on the player as well as on the TV. The battery allows you to get in a full movie or two while on the go. Even though the user interface can be a bit slow at times it is still extremely easy to navigate. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a hard drive based digital audio player. The Zen Vision:M is everything the video iPod is and then some.

Purchase

In the US the Zen Vision:M is selling at major online retailers like Amazon and should be in many brick and mortar stores. As for the UK and the rest of the world check out AdvancedMP3Players.

Update: The Zen Vision:M A/V cable is not really proprietary, it is just uncommon. Here is a post on the pinouts and places to get a Zen Vision:M A/V cable.

The Good

  • Video Codec Support
  • Bright Screen
  • Video Out Quality
  • Sound Quality
  • User Interface
  • Many Content Providers
  • Battery Time

The Bad

  • No UMS Support
  • Proprietary Video Cable
  • Windows XP Only
  • Non-Removable Battery
  • Sometimes Sluggish UI
  • Scratches Easily
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Comments

John Q. on January 19, 2006 11:14 PM

Thanks for the review, it's very informative. I have been thinking about picking up one of these to replace my rapidly filling Zen Micro. Much of what you mentioned (faster scrolling methods, originally not UMS supported, playlist creation) sounds very similar, which is not a bad thing. I'll bet a firmware update will come along in a few months and fix the UMS thing for you. I have a few questions about the differences between the two, though:

-How are the left and right buttons? They look small from pictures. Do they respond well?

-IIRC, the depth of the player (0.7 in) is close to the Micro's. Is it bulky/unwieldy at all to carry around in a pocket?

-How long does wall charging take?

-Is the proprietary connecter a large hassle?

-I didn't hear many UI differences, like I said. Is it improved in any way in your experience, besides the shortcut button?

None of these are major issues (I'm really trying to decide if video is worth $100 USD, since I could just get a Sleek instead), but if the thing's really spectacular, I might just bite the bullet.

On a side note, Creative reviews on audio are sounding like a broken record. Memo: Add more codecs and lossless already! I know at least one audiophile to whom this is the dealbreaker.

EnzoTen on January 20, 2006 9:52 AM

If you dont mind the extra bulk then the ZVM is definitly worth the extra $$

The left and right buttons are better than the ones on the Zen Micro for the simple fact that they are tactile not touch.

Yeah it will fit in a pocket. But the Micro is more comfortable in the pocket.

Check "Battery" above for charging times.

The proprietary connections is not that bad, it is just a jumpack on the end. But it could be a pain when you are traveling with it.

Beside the short cut button, the alphabet browsing is great when you have to scroll through hundreds of artists or tracks.

bakersdozen on January 20, 2006 10:25 AM

i was just wondering what it felt like in the hand is it shiny like the ipod videos or a dull plastic? does it feel well built or a bit cheap and tacky?

Whisky on January 20, 2006 10:35 AM

Any idea when it will be available in stores? at least to look at it. Creative people were not very helpfull, they said "no idea" I would really like to get it, but can't hold off so long.

Davin Peterson on January 20, 2006 10:45 AM

I can't wait to get one. How'd you get a white one? Only black is available to purchase.

EnzoTen on January 20, 2006 11:09 AM

-I would say the build quality is just a slight notch below the G5 ipod, but it still feels sturdy in your hand, its just a little less dense. I would note however that the plastic on the front is the same as the iPods and scratches just the same.

-I have called creative a few times to ask when it will be available in the store and they had the same response: "no idea". (when it would be available in the stores)

-Got the white one imported from a friend in Singapore over a month ago.

Pecanha on January 20, 2006 12:06 PM

One doubt about the AV out: what have you done to make a non-Creative cable work? I mean, doesn't it work just like the Ipod Video, where you only have to switch the connections?

Breeze1138 on January 20, 2006 12:06 PM

I've seen the black one at Fry's here in SoCal. I'm still waiting for mine that I ordred when I was at CES.

Goodman on January 20, 2006 2:02 PM

QUESTION: I'd be reluctant to get a Creative player, due to battery issues they've had in the past. With prior Creative Plays-For-Sure players, when you turned them off, they actually went into a kind of stand-by, and the battery kept depleting. I've got a Dell Pocket DJ and they've got the same problem, you've got to charge them every night. Not too good if you want to listen to music on the way to work, and then on the way home 8 hours later. Does the Creative Zen Vision M remedy this? Otherwise I'd be inclined to wait for the Gigabeat S with Vongo support.

Zim on January 20, 2006 2:48 PM

What do you mean they censor? Sure, if you curse I'd imagine they would, but is there any information you posted about the pictures that people would want to know?

EnzoTen on January 20, 2006 3:31 PM

Some 13 year old was going on about how much he doesn’t like this site and the people here... accusing us of manipulating photos to show that it is thinner than it really is... blah blah blah... of course in much more harsh words. that’s why both comments where censored or rather deleted.
...
anyway... here here and here are the original photos, this site has nothing to hide

Dan on January 20, 2006 7:43 PM

What an idiot. The Vision: M isn't thick as most people think. I prefer the extra thickness, because it feels better and more solid in your hand.

Graham on January 21, 2006 10:53 AM

I love this Mp4, but the thing that there is No UMS Support and thats its easily scratchable is pissing me off. Things i can live with .. I'll have to buy covers apart from the Fm transmitter .. (Damn can't they make a mp4 without having such drawbacks..).

James on January 21, 2006 5:26 PM

I bought mine early from an Ebay seller in Singapore. The one greatest hatred I have for the ZVM is that its an MTP device. While it features UMS for data storage only it would've have been nice for creative to let users choose how to transfer and manage their data on the ZVM.

There is nothing on the packaging to tell you that the ZVM is an MTP device. I would've have second thoughts had I known this.

Instead you must go through that process through the ZVM media explorer or WMP which is a pain because I can't get the damn thing to work properly on my main computer. Many users are also having the same problem connecting their ZVMs. Thank goodness I have a second PC that works with it properly.

Otherwise this thing is definitel better than iPod video. Its Fantastic!

Chad on January 21, 2006 9:28 PM

Which firmware is this review based on? In the link above, Creative indicate this is fixed in this 1.11.01 firmware release which would make a huge improvement to the device.

Can someone verify this?

David H. on January 21, 2006 10:04 PM

Breeze1138, where did you see the ZVM displayed in SoCal? At what Frys location?

greatt review btw

David H. on January 21, 2006 10:20 PM

EnzoTen, Do you need Service Pack 1 and up to use the ZVM?

stephen on January 22, 2006 12:08 AM

They have this at my university book store (along with the iPod) and I've seen it in stock at Amazon.com

Ray on January 22, 2006 2:07 PM

I been useing a archos av500 great for movie but not friendly for music,so decided on a ipod video or vision M,the shop keeper showed me both and the vision m had the better color screen and longer battery life 4 hour vs ipod 1.5 hour,there were only three color green,black and white,i decided white unit as it will hide the finger prints the best.
There lots of good features,
1 You can delete photo,movies,music and files from the player,(not on ipod)
2 You can adjust brightness from the player,(no adjustment on ipod)
3 Played my divx6 movie ( box say divx4 and divx5 only)
4 back of the unit has rounded edges and is very comfortable to hold,
5 Ipod movie looks wash out compare to Vision M
6 My version had the early firmware and had little pause but the latest firmware has done the trick and now it give even smoother play back,

Hope this information will help any one deciding on one.

Ray on January 22, 2006 2:12 PM

Forgot the best bit,

7 The PSP usb cable with the charging socket work well on the vision m,save me from useing the creative mains charger.

John on January 22, 2006 8:13 PM

Are the buttons just like the zen micro? Im thinking about trading the micro in to get this.

mike on January 23, 2006 1:33 PM

i cant wait to get this, only 2 days to go until it arrives from amazon.co.uk, im getting to black model because the white is too clean for my lifestyle, lol

Thank you creative for beating the iPod, i always hated them anyway

nathan on January 23, 2006 3:51 PM

windows XP only?! does this mean all of us windows 98 users are screwed? or is "windows xp only" just one of those catch phrases people say?...ugh...

Rock Lee on January 23, 2006 6:07 PM

@ nathan: Looks like it's about time to upgrade your OS. :p

lanceb713 on January 23, 2006 9:02 PM

Got my ZVM today!
It's great at start but then I ran into lots of problems...with the video.

Don't know if this is a bug or video compression problem.

I mix my videos into long clips 10 -15 minutes long. On large clips, the unit FREEZES!! and you can not POWER DOWN.

THe only thing to do is reset...and lost all your settings...this sucks..!!

I works fine with short clips...

I compressed all my clip down to SVCD MPEG, so they are all uniform in format...

But this FREEZING bug is annoying!!

EnzoTen on January 23, 2006 11:32 PM

Chad: The review is based on the latest Firmware 1.11.01

David H:I don’t think you need SP1 for XP to use the ZVM. Regardless, you should probably have the latest windows update to keep you safe from bugs and attacks.

Nathan:Yes you need Windows XP. Windows 98 Will not work. Take the $329.99 you were going to spend and buy yourself a new computer. =)

Lance! Update your firmware buddy. All the freezing bugs will go away. I have not had any video problems with the new firmware.

Zurvan on January 24, 2006 1:51 AM

I just made my own review which is of course from my own perspective :

http://www.zurvan.ws/Zen_Vision_M.htm

Doug on January 24, 2006 4:08 PM

One of the biggest problems with the last generation Creative players (Zen Touch, Mirco, etc.) was that over time the headphone jack would wear, you'd first lose audio from the left speaker, and then finally you'd lose all audio (I learned this lesson myself with the Zen Touch)... has Creative done anything to address this issue as it is a big one and I've never heard of similar problems with ipods.

Matt on January 24, 2006 10:21 PM

Anyone know when Amazon should have the green ZVM in stock? I ordered one weeks ago and I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, I'm ripping CD after CD...

Thoreau on January 26, 2006 11:51 AM

Anyone know how to make this thing work with Windows 2000?

Peter Miller on January 27, 2006 8:57 PM

can you browse and look at the photos while having music playing in the background?

MALDATA on January 28, 2006 1:18 PM

I just got one and I'm really enjoying it... my only question is how you "cut up" the camcorder cable to make it work. I just tried plugging each RCA into each input until I found the video and audio, but the video is all scrambled and the audio sounds scratchy... what am I missing?

MaT on January 28, 2006 2:04 PM

Hello i got the same question as MALDATA. If anyone know how to switch the connection in a simple cable, to put the player working with the Tv, please EMAIL ME: mat1983@mail.pt

Someone help me please

Breeze1138 on January 28, 2006 9:38 PM

David H.: Fry's in Burbank had two last weekend. I was just at the Canoga Park Fry's, but it looks like they sold out there. But there's one on display to play with. I finally got mine in the mail and it's even impressing my friends who have the new iPods.

you on January 29, 2006 2:29 PM

How do you create a video-out cable from a standard a/v cable?

sam on January 29, 2006 2:33 PM

I have a zen xtra jukebox 30 gb and I got it for my graduation last yr and it all ready stopped working 3 tymes and the creative labs just keeps giving me a new zen xtra 30 gb in the mail finally they asked d me if idd liek to replace it and gave me recommendations of mp3 players of 1 gb that hold way less then my zen and are way cheaper so i sent them an email requesting for a zen vision:m in pink!! matches with my zen xtra!! hey might reply 2 morrow hope so!!!!! I want the vision real bad!!! It cost 1oo$ dollers more but come on I had to deal with problems with my zen 4 tymes it just stopps working!!!

A.J. on January 30, 2006 1:01 PM

I really like the ZVM but i m really confused wether i should buy the ipod its thinner its more stylish and there is the itunes (i think biggest digital music store) anywayz the ZVM has a whole bunch more options and by the way the ipod is too thin it looks as though it will break so i advise ZVM

Jay on January 30, 2006 9:00 PM

So can this thing output divx video via its tv-output?

that would sell me right there

Jelle on January 31, 2006 9:13 AM

My standard AV cable didn't work either eventually, but I found out a litlle trick: When I put my cable in for about 2/3 in the sync adapter instead of completely, it works perfect! I know it sounds odd and it took a while before I discovered it, but I hope it solves your problem too!

Jan on February 3, 2006 1:50 PM

I just recently bought a Zen and already I'm having problems with the darn thing. When I plug it into the USB-port it does recognize a mp3 player (MTP Media Player to be exact) only the problems included to transfer files to it, Creative Zen Media Explorer and Windows Media Player 10 both say that there are no portable devices connected, or atleast they detect one.

I tried all my USB-ports with no succes and updating my firmware is not possible cause in order to do that my Zen has to be connected, which it is according to my computer, but not according WMP10, Creative Media Explorer and Firmware Updater. Anybody have any experience with a Creative device or happen to know what's wrong? Thanks in advance.

Baker on February 3, 2006 2:23 PM

Can I place a DVD in my PC, transfer it to the Zen, and watch it?

Gabor on February 4, 2006 4:03 PM

Hi,
I am thinking on buying a ZEN and the only thing is keeping me atthe moment that I don't know if I can connect my digital camera to the ZEN and upload my photos to it directly. Or do I need a pc 1st.
Please let me know so I can go and buy one :) Thanks

EnzoTen on February 4, 2006 7:31 PM

No it does not have USB host support. You cannot hook a camera up to it directly. The iAudio X5 is a nice MP3 player and has host support, but it just doesnt have the nice screen the Vision:M has.

ZazooPits on February 5, 2006 11:01 PM

Can you delete songs while playing? I need something that I can delete the song right away if I don't like it rather than rating it, taking it back to my computer and deleting the file.

Ricta on February 7, 2006 2:22 AM

ZazooPits, You can delete on the go.

Larry on February 7, 2006 1:22 PM

Well....I love the little booger but my primary use was to show videos on my TV for presentations.
I've had it a month now and Creative still does not have any accessories for my Vision M. I'm still lugging around my laptop to show 3 min. videos to clients. I want my A/V cable NOW!!!
Sheesh, make a fabulous product and forget about the necesary add-on accessories. Maybe they just have rocket scientists at Creative or they hired outside marketers on contract. Buy one....and wait for the accessories.

Glenn on February 7, 2006 9:43 PM

I was curious about making a partition on the 30 gb drive. Do you use that select amount to store files and the rest for music? Also, if you were to connect it in to a different computer it still wouldn't recognize the files that you put in? Because I was thinking about also using it was like an external hard drive that I can save my school projects and to work on them else where.
Thanks in Advance

Richard on February 9, 2006 7:24 PM

Question. I am an NW-HD5 owner. Soundwise I am very satisfied with the unit. I am satisfied with the size and satisfied with the battery life and the fact that it is removable. I usually get 10-15 hours per charge, because of the bit rates I use and constant button pushing. Yeah I have the silver with the cracked buttons, but that doesn't bug me at all. What bugs me is the lack of a now playing list. There is no reason why I shouldn't be able to que up the next song to play while the first one is still playing. I know you have a bookmark feature but it is not the same thing. This really bugs me because other players have it. I thought they might introduce that feature with the new walkmans but they are sticking with the bookmarks. I know this is not a terribly important feature but it bugs me more and more each day. I don't want to have to use my computer to create a playlist. Who knows what I'm going to want to listen to? Plus I'm tired of sonicstage. It uses up too much memory and whenever I am playing music from my computer the harddrive always makes strange noises. omg.exe always hovers between 60-80 percent and I have a very new high spec computer. For this reason I am in the market for a new Dap. Specifically the Vision:m and the upcoming toshiba model. GETTING TO THE POINT: For those who possibly have owned both hd5 and the vision:m how does the sound quality compare? HD5 is the only dap I've owned or listened too. For the ipod lovers in the house: NO. Lets just leave it at that. I use the digital preset on hd5 for both atrac and mp3 tracks, heavy on the bass, just a little bit more treble. I use e2c's (But about to try the sennheiser cx-300 this weekend) (yeah I would love to get the e3c's but I for some reason I cannot make myself spend more than $100 dollars on ear buds. And at home I use the hd5 with logitech z2300 (amazing speakers for the price. Given this information would I be satisfied with the sound quality of the vision:m using equalizer. I don't care about the video part as I am a music addict. And I listen to a mix of r&b, jazz, new age, and brazilian (yeah I'm all over the place. I am probably the only person in my neighborhood who likes enya. I would prefer to stick with sony as from past experience their products usually last me forever but the little things they overlook have begun to anoy the H.. out of me.

EnzoTen on February 9, 2006 7:38 PM

Richard I have both the Vision:M and HD5. The Vision:M sounds very good, better than most. The HD5 has a slight edge over the Vision:M as far as sound quality. However the difference is very minimal. I prefer the VM to the HD5 just because it is a easier to use (especially for playlists) and I don’t have to deal with SonicStage! If you get the VM you wont be disappointed in the sound quality and EQ functions.

Larry on February 12, 2006 2:49 PM

i hear so much about creative and headphone jack problems that it seems like a broken record. does the VM have the same problem?

Mike on February 14, 2006 6:18 PM

i live in Connecticut. I am 17. I am frustrated. Maybe Creative simply forgot to make shipments to the "bend in the river" state, the state of rivers and trees and mediocre beaches. I have yet to find a single "brick and mortar" store (as that is the popular categorization) that carries the vision M. Not Best buy, not Circuit City, not staples, not Electronics boutique. Coicidentally, most of these stores are listed on the official Creative site as retailers for Creative products (and yes, EB is strangely one of them, though I always thought that was just a video game store...). I called Creative. When I asked when it would be available in stores (after all I've stayed loyal since before christmas to this product) they told me it was in stores. I said, NO its NOT in Connecticut. they said YES IT IS! I then realized that I had gone insane, and that when i was calling retail stores everyday to inquire about the whereabouts of this product, I was really calling my great auntie in pittsburg, while sipping a cup of tea with some nice bisquits. And so, I vent to ye public, possessors of the vision M. I still want one, and would like to know if anyone in or near connecticut knows of any stores that have them on the shelfs. I would greatly appreciate this. And with my Zen vision M, peacefully I could sleep-perchance to dream: ay there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.

RobHDean on February 15, 2006 7:56 AM

For those who want the A/V pin-outs to modify a camcorder cable (4-connector 3.5mm -> 3x phono), I've just done it successfully & the connections are as follows: working from base of the 3.5mm plug to tip: Earth, Video, Audio Right, Audio Left. (e.g. the audio left connector is the tip of the jack).

RobHDean on February 15, 2006 7:59 AM

Does anyone know if the European version of this product is volume-limited due to EU regulations (many other players are). If so, how can I remove the limitation from mine - I'd be glad if I could make it a little louder!

NeTsNiPeR on February 15, 2006 7:13 PM

im considering buying it, but i dunno, how long until my batt stops recharging, and waat will happen then?

lori on February 16, 2006 2:53 AM

hi! im REALLY torn apart between the philips hdd6330 gogear and the creative zen vision:m. i would like to know if it is possible to load my pictures directly from my canon a80 unto the partition storage of the ZVM. i do not ned to see the pictures, but i dont really want to buy a new CFcard... and the ZVM is a beauty. if this is possible, then its my choice-- no questions asked. and does anyone know if creative will solve this problem-- cables or adapter??? thanks!

Bogdanlaiu on February 16, 2006 8:22 AM

hy there!

i read the messages posted by all of you and I'm very interested in finding out how I might turn a regular A/V cable (3,5 mm- 3 RCA) into a A/V out cable for my ZEN vision :M.
I did see the indications given by RobHDean , but I would like a more detailed piece of info on exactly what contacts need to be changed in the regular cable so that i might enjoy my ZEN on the TV

Thank you.

Matt on February 16, 2006 2:32 PM

Mike from Connecticut -> I live in Illinois, and nobody has them here, either. I preordered one from Amazon on 1/9, and they have no indication of when they will be available. I've been everywhere I can. I'm going to try Fry's again today. I don't want to buy a black one, but it seems to me that nobody has a clue when the other colors will even be produced, much less shipping, so I will probably have to (or buy an iPod...I'm getting tempted because this is getting ridiculous). But yes, I feel your pain.

Mike on February 16, 2006 6:25 PM

Thanks Matt, at least I know that I'm not the only one in this situation lol. I guess ill just keep waiting. What really bothers me is how uninformed the store employees are. It's a "good" day when I call best buy and someone even knows what product im talking about. A lot of store managers are just as clueless. It seems like Fry's, as you alluded to, carries the zen vision M. This, however, is useless to me because there are no Fry's electronics stores near my residence. Ill probably have to order one online, and.....wait...I am waiting for Godot, and my Godot is the ZVM. (Godot=never coming spiritual remedy)

David on February 16, 2006 7:02 PM

I only have 1 question for this product. If you put music from one computer into the ZVM, and you plug it into another computer, can you take the songs out of the player and put it on the second computer? This is the only question that I need answered before i actually buy the real thing.

EnzoTen on February 16, 2006 7:37 PM

David: Yes you can pull music off of the ZVM to any computer as long as it is Windows XP SP2. You dont get locked to one computer like the ipod or sony hd5

I will be doing a turorial soon on the ZVM cable...

David Kelly on February 19, 2006 10:25 PM

Hi i was wondering if you had any ads for your creative zen. I am doin a research project for my marketing class and I have been searching for some ads. Thank you for your time

jjaks on February 22, 2006 9:47 PM

I'm surprised no one here has a problem with the s-l-o-w wake-from-sleep-mode (as compared to iPod which is instantaneous), and the fact that on random mode, you can't go back to the previous track just played.

Or am I missing something?

Matt on February 22, 2006 10:09 PM

I just ordered one from Amazon after finally checking one out at Fry's. Can anyone recommend a good FM transmitter that pairs well with the ZVM?

stefff on February 23, 2006 12:50 AM

im pissed... i just bought the zen vision:M and im lost. what the hells up with having to have a Windows XP.. i have Windows ME isn't that good enough. if I dont go out and buy a whole freaking new computer can I still get crap on my zen??? helllp please

Omar on February 23, 2006 10:17 AM

Hey, I agree with the reviewer. The Zen Vision:M is excellent with only a few drawbacks. The audio is astounding, photos are crisp, and the video is much improved over the 5G iPod, which I actually owned and returned after 2 weeks. DRM is pretty cool too, I got a free 2 month trial for Napster to Go and I've got 10 gigs of stuff on my Vision:M already. I've got pretty much all the music I need. I have a few complaints which are these: 1. Sync Adapter, a minor inconvenience, but coupled with the proprietary video out cable, its definetely a drawback. But at least its a small removeable adapter instead of adding a little extra bulk to the player. 2. No drag and drop support, but that's not a huge deal because I sync it up with Musicmatch Jukebox, which works pretty cleanly and quickly. 3. It scratches too easily. This might just be a personal problem, since I am really anal about letting his beauty get scratched. Nowhere near as badly as the 5G iPod but it will scratch...unless you buy a good case/shield for it. I recently purchased the invisible shield from http://theinvisibleshield.com and it works great. It covered up some preexisting scratches, and hasn't been scratched ever since. I haven't seen any retailers carrying the Vision:M, but I bought mine online at Circuitcity.com and it came with free shipping, as well as 3 months no interest. I have a 10% off coupon for circuitcity.com so email me if you want the code if you're planning on buying the Vison:M. I figured I can save someone 30 bucks.

Omar on February 23, 2006 10:36 AM

I wanted the white Vision:M too but I am really impatient, so I went with the black, which is nice too. The black and pink are available directly from Creative's website as of a week ago, but I'm sure not many people here are interested in the pink :P I'm surprised they haven't released the white yet, since the Vision:M is in direct competition with the iPod. As of today, amazon.com, buy.com, and creative.com all have the Vision:M in stock but only in black.

Chris on February 24, 2006 2:08 PM

I only really want to do two things with the Vision:M. One, I want to take all my WMAs on the road with me and I understand that all I need to do to make that happen is to send them to the Vision:M via WMP). Two, I want to be able to watch my DVDs on the Vision:M. I'm not sure your review explained how--or if--this can be done with the Vision:M. I can handle the ripping the DVD to VOB files side of the equation, but what then? Will Creative's included software transcode the VOB files for playback on the Vision:M or is that done via WMP or would there need to be another intermediary step/software or is it just not possible at all given the included software?

Omar on February 24, 2006 6:09 PM

What do you mean VOB files? I might be able to answer your question. You can AIM me at scionoftheflames if you'd like.

homeranonymous on February 24, 2006 6:57 PM

Quick MacGyver A/V Fix!

(1) Buy a cheap Ipod compatable A/V cable.
(2) Cut off the video line a few inches from the end and reverse the wires. (Be sure to insulate the connections with tape or heatshrink tubing.)
(3) Cut about a 1" strip of the outer plasic insulation away from each of the L/R cables near the ends, to reveal the stranded copper "shield" wire. Do not damage (or strip) the inner conductor!
(4) Cut and remove the bare copper shielding from L/R cables (i.e., Break only the outer wire, leave the inner wire intact).

TaDa!

Danny on February 25, 2006 3:13 AM

Umm.. i was wondering, because you cannot remove the Zen Vision:M's battery, will the battery last a life time? because apparently the ipods have a life time battery guarantee.

Lily on February 25, 2006 6:39 AM

hey, i heard a lot of complaints about headjack problems. i'm not a computer kind of person, so, please bear with me, i require detailed explanations. whats a headjack? how do you fix it? how did it get spoiled in the first place?

Chris on February 25, 2006 11:08 AM

VOB files as in what's created when you rip a DVD. What would the process be for taking a ripped DVD and loading it into the Vision:M?

EnzoTen on February 25, 2006 12:00 PM

Lily: it is headphone jack. The headphone jack becomes worn. I have not experienced this problem with any of the new creative mp3 players


Chris: Use this to convert your vob files to xvid. When you convert do not user AC3 as the audio codec. That is the only one ZVM cannot handle.

The Duke on February 26, 2006 1:03 AM

Great review! I've been waiting for an mp3/video player like this for a long while. I'm glad that creative is constantly coming up with new gadgets. Looks like they have come a long way from the first zen and nomad players.
Hmmn... what's next... how about 3D stereoscopic screens on their players? They just came out with 3D stereo-view computer monitors, so the technology is out there:

http://www.sharpsystems.com/products/lcd_monitors/15-17_inch/ll-151-3d/

Lily on February 26, 2006 5:14 AM

uhh.. whats a headphone jack?

Omar on February 26, 2006 11:56 AM

A headphone jack is where you insert your headphones, if they use a standard 3.5mm cable. You can also hook up pc type speakers that use a 3.5 mm cable.

Chris on February 26, 2006 4:13 PM

Is it possible to play mp4 video on the Creative Zen. When I try to transfer a MP4 file using Creative Software it says that MP4 is not supported on this device.

Omatr on February 27, 2006 10:23 AM

Yeah, I've had the same problems with mp4 files, I always have to convert them with the included Video Conversion Software, but on the website, and on the box, it says mp4 is supported, so long as it is mp4 sp (Which I think means the audio has to be transcoded in simple format)

chris on February 27, 2006 11:45 AM

Thanks Omatr.

But when I have tried to convert my MP4's (used on the PSP) in the creative's softwear, it comes up with the error message "not a valid source video file" and will not recognise it. Is there any other way to convert it, as they run on the PSP fine but only show as mp4, not mp4 sp?

Katie on February 27, 2006 3:29 PM

Which store can you buy this at in Canada?

Nick on February 27, 2006 3:29 PM

Howdy.

Great review. One thing though, I'm considering ordering a ZVM right now, but I need to know if I can just pop a DVD into the computer, and rip it on to the ZVM with software provided, or would I need to download some software from a third party site and transfer it? If so what free software is everyone else using?

Thanks

Nick

walter on February 27, 2006 9:44 PM

hey omar, you mentioned the 10% off coupon for circuit city... you did fail to mention your email address though where i could get this coupon from you. email me at walty488@hotmail.com if you would be willing to give me that coupon. thank you.

sean on February 28, 2006 3:55 PM

hi

the easiest way to convert .mp4 to files for your zen is the Imtoo avi-mpeg converter

this will convert any psp / ipod video file into a format that will play

check out ebay for the software

chris on February 28, 2006 5:01 PM

Thanks Sean.

I'll give that a go. I'd be interested in knowing how to convert straight from DVD also, like nick!

Paul on March 1, 2006 8:35 AM

How is the screen viewing angle? While LCD is always subject to viewing angle issues, I had read that it is particularly bad with this unit. Good as iPod?

Omar on March 1, 2006 4:08 PM

Actually, the viewing angle is excellent for an lcd screen, and can be seen almost flawlessly from above or either side. If you view it from below, the contrast will be a bit off, but honestly, who's gunna view it from below? The 5G iPod had pretty good viewing angles as well, but the ZVM edges it out a bit.

Paul on March 1, 2006 6:22 PM

Thanks! Time to look at a ZVM then.

Omar on March 1, 2006 11:34 PM

I can submit a few pictures if you'd like. The viewing angles are great.

rebecca on March 1, 2006 11:50 PM

I am torn between the Zen vision M and the toshiba gigabeat 40..any help or input would be awesome!!!

i am mainly for travel in car or plane... what fm accessory also.. thanks!

Alex M on March 2, 2006 11:40 AM

Get the vision m cuz it does video and has a radio

Omar on March 2, 2006 3:10 PM

The toshiba gigabeat 40 is nice, but easily beat out in terms of features and sound quality as well by the ZVM. Also, all 5 colors of the Zen Vision:M are now available at creative's website, for thos who were holding out for the white version.

Rebecca on March 2, 2006 6:55 PM

Thanks.. Im having a hard time with this decision... can the creative work with the fm tuner for car radio?

Omar on March 3, 2006 12:22 AM

Yes it can, I use mine with an fm tuner and it sounds decent. Not great by any means, but for the most part it is static free stereo sound. Let me know which kind you have and I can tell you for sure. If its one of those like Belkin sells where you just plug into the headphone jack and set the station, yes.

dMan on March 3, 2006 2:11 PM

I just made my order for the zen vision M, but i was wondering if anyone knew what software was out there that will convert my DVD sitcoms into a format that will allow it to play on the vision m?? you can reply here, but if you like to elaborate, my email is DAP2082@hotmail.com (just put zen vision in subject line) :) Thanx

Rintintin on March 4, 2006 1:09 AM

One thing that hasn't been pointed out yet is what a terrific voice recording device the Zen Vision M is!


It can be used to record all sorts of meetings at work, quite discretely, from conference calls to 1-1 meetings with the boss, to customer meetings, etc.


Turns out the ideal case for the ZVM is a RIM Blackberry 7100 soft nylon holster case (cellularmountain.com $12.60). Hooked onto the left side of the belt, the microphone is facing forward, and does a great job of picking up all dialogue. The device can record for hours with the lock on and then once home and downloaded, the recording can be coverted into MP3 using Xilisoft MP3 WAV converter, then with EZ Softmagic's MP3 splitter & joiner, spliced into individual meetings/discussions and named under separate files. To take notes from a recording that is preferably played at a much faster clip than normal, the Pacemaker plugin for Winamp can be used to increase the playback speed while simulateously adjusting the pitch to keep voices at their normal levels. For the slight hiss, any playback equalizer can be used to make adjustments. For a boost in the base level volume at playback before transfer it back onto the ZVM, MP3Gain can be used to increase the base volume. All the aforementioned applications can be found on your friendly bittorrent directory.


In short if you are bad at taking notes or a bit dim like me and can do with a replay of key comments in a meeting, or if for your own personal SOX purposes you want to archive key discussions, the ZVM is an awesome and discrete tool for doing so.

fraser on March 4, 2006 5:56 AM

im about to buy one and iam looking so forward to having one. If you want to convert dvd on to your computer i will sugest that you use NERO its the simplest, it does everything and looks great too.

sean on March 5, 2006 4:41 AM

to rip straight from dvd there are 2 pieces of software i would recommend Xilisoft DVD ripper or Imtoo DVD ripper both work fine. Imtoo is easier to use and is faster. Imtoo will rip in faster than real time a 30 minute chapter will take approx. 15 min to rip. It will rip into a range of formats including mpeg mp4 avi wmv etc

Again the cheapest place to buy is ebay - some sellers will download the software as an e mail attachment expect to pay no more than £5 It will cost you more like $29 dollars from official sources

Omar on March 6, 2006 12:48 AM

Xilisoft worked for me. I have the trial right now which is good, except it cuts off 5 minutes into a chapter since its just the trial. It now know it works though, so it might buy full version.

Jassem on March 7, 2006 12:23 AM

Hey Omar, I know someone else asked for the Circuitcity 10% off coupon already, but I was wondering if it still works. Would you mind sending it to me? xnova117@gmail.com. I had a Circuit City replacement plan for the 4G ipod and it died on me 2 weeks ago. I should receive a gift card for it, hopefully tomorrow. The coupon you mentioned should sweeten the deal on the Vision M for me. Thanks

David on March 7, 2006 9:04 PM

Hey Omar, would you please also sent me the Circuitcity 10% off coupon. My e-mail address is dciceman@yahoo.com I am thinking about to buy a vision M.
Is there any one know that if I need to buy the protection plan? I am an outdoor person. If I can use Vision M for mountain biking without breaking it.

eroG on March 8, 2006 4:09 AM

hi just 2 simple questions:

1) there is another review where it is said that it is possibile to change the battery ("It is possible however to replace the 3.7v li-ion battery").

this is the link : http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2006/02/how-to-disassemble-the-creative-zen-vision-m.php


I d like to know if it is or it is not possible to have it replaced with a new one.

2) if I connect the ZVM to a PAL TV does it work fine?


thx for your help.
cu

Omar on March 10, 2006 9:13 PM

The ZVM is a nice player, but I don't know if I'd say its very rugged for mountain biking or something of the sort. You may be able to use it if you buy a good case, but I'd probably recommend against such usage. Also, I already gave away the 10% off coupon, but the Zen Vision M is $299 at Circuit City, so that's 10% off already.

Jiang Jun on March 11, 2006 1:27 PM

Is there file tree browsing enabled on the Zen Vision M? And also-if there isn't, is there any chance that there can and will in the future with firmware upgrade? And I've read some where else (CNET Review+other sites) that you can drop and drag files with windows explorer or do you have to use software (which software btw?)?

thea on March 11, 2006 3:53 PM

does anyone have problems with the screen remaining blank after you have turned it on?

fishsticks on March 11, 2006 9:41 PM

can u change the batteries when u disassemble the ZVM?

Omar on March 12, 2006 1:21 AM

Thea, how often do you have the problem with the screen staying black? Do you mean a long startup time or it just dosen't start up?

Thea on March 13, 2006 5:55 PM

It just doesn't start up. I have to turn it on and off about 3-4 times before the screen comes on. I received some technical support advice from Creative, so I'll see if this works. Anyone know about sending in a ZVM for repairs if it is something not covered by warranty?

Scot on March 13, 2006 5:57 PM

I bought the ZVM & am quite disappointed with the lack of ease of use. Does anyone want to trade for the 30GB ipod? I have lots of MP3 files, which transferred over to my old iPod quite nicely. With this device, many of the songs transferred over as , so I used the utility to correct that. I've tried itunes, WMP, and both of Creative's programs that came with the device. It has taken up over 20 hours of my time, and I'm done being a rebel....I want to go back to the iPod world. Sure, this thing has a better picture, but I won't really watch anything unless it can bring in live video (TV) signal.

Seriously, does anyone want to trade? This one is black & in perfect condition.

Cody on March 14, 2006 5:11 PM

This thing beats the iPod any day. The ease of transfering songs is so freaking easy. I dont think the guy above realized u can just drag and drop. You dont have to actually use the creative software. The sound and video quality are superior to any iPod out right now and just all around quality out ranks the iPod. I would say that if you were going to buy an iPod I would seriously get the creative zen over anything apple has.

Omar on March 15, 2006 11:06 PM

Cody, how do you drag and drop your songs onto the ZVM? I personally would recommend creative sync manager or musicmatch jukebox with syncing for gettigns mp3s on it. Musicmatch jukebox is a little better in my preference because you can add the album art.

Mark on March 16, 2006 7:44 AM

Can someone clear this up please. Yes or no, is it possible to load ripped dvd's onto this player?

Mark on March 16, 2006 9:43 AM

Much appreciated. Cheers!

Matt on March 16, 2006 5:45 PM

Does anyone know when this PVP player will be available in stores in the US?

Omar on March 17, 2006 1:50 AM

Bestbuy.com and Circuitcity.com have them, and at their websites you can check if they are available at your local store. Apparently an electronics store named Fry's is getting them as well.

James on March 17, 2006 7:35 PM

Just bought a leather case for my vision on e-bay. I don't go on e-bay much but I must say I was very happy with the product. The seller was very nice and offered me a coupon code for $3 off any item. Just msg him imaxpromo before you bid on the item and he/she will deduct $3 off your purchase. Anyway, heres the link, check out the case, VERY CLASSY.

http://stores.ebay.com/Art-of-Accessories_Creative-Zen-Vision-M_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ7QQftidZ2QQtZkm

dMan on March 18, 2006 11:47 AM

I tried the method explained above about how to rip DVD's and convert them to .AVi files, but its not working, i keep getting an error at the end telling me that it could not complete becuase the file is being used by another source, however i dont have any other programs running. Can someone please help, my email is DAP2082@hotmail.com, in the subjuect line put Vison M. :)

Loki on March 18, 2006 7:20 PM

If you have recorded all your CD's already using Itunes in mpeg4 audio format, can they still be played on the Creative Zen Vision M or if not is there an easy way to convert them?

Omar on March 18, 2006 9:49 PM

I had no problem doing so, as many of my cd's were ripped from when I had an iPod 5g with iTunes. However, you can convert them from mpeg4 to mp3 directly inside itunes, just pick the songs, right click, and select convert to mp3. I was able to send them to the ZVM without conversion though.

Tom on March 19, 2006 12:24 AM

are all the colours shiny or only the black

Danny on March 19, 2006 3:12 AM

Umm to cody, You cannot drag and drop music files onto the ZVM, because it is not UMS compliant. You can synchronize it with WMA 10, but if you partitioned a section of it to drag and drop, the player would not be able to recognise it as a music file when you listen to music. It would just be treated as data, and can only be accessed when it is plugged into a computer.

Bluebear12 on March 19, 2006 3:16 AM

Its a shame about the AV cable, but this message from the creative forums says you can use an Archos AV Cable. This sounds better than playing around with electrical wires and possibly killing the player. However I have cant find the cable anywhere. Any ideas for some websites?

Also try this link - its an unofficial FAQ guide for the Creative Zen vision: M
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=pmc&message.id=8645

inekinokine on March 19, 2006 11:22 AM

I have Vision:M, somebody please tell me what's this ZENcast organizer (from http://www.zencast.com/downloads/ )what does it do, what's the use of it? Anyway there's a firmware update for ZVM, version 1.30.02.( http://www.zencast.com/downloads/firmware.asp )Has anybody update the new firmware to their ZVM device? Care to share the experience?

Jessica on March 19, 2006 5:54 PM

I need advice. I'm debating between this and the Zen Sleek Photo or an iPod. I have some questions about ZVM.

1) I really like using iTunes cuz it's easy to organize my music...is there anything that I could use for ZVM that's similiar to iTunes?

2) Does it work in the car with any FM transmitter?

3) How is Creative's service? Are they helpful, especially if it breaks?

Thanks so much!

Jessica on March 19, 2006 5:54 PM

I need advice. I'm debating between this and the Zen Sleek Photo or an iPod. I have some questions about ZVM.

1) I really like using iTunes cuz it's easy to organize my music...is there anything that I could use for ZVM that's similiar to iTunes?

2) Does it work in the car with any FM transmitter?

3) How is Creative's service? Are they helpful, especially if it breaks?

Thanks so much!

aj on March 20, 2006 12:44 PM

i'm trying to change a divx from ac3 audio to something compatible with the vision:m. i've extracted the ac3 audio with VirtualDub. then i coverted the ac3 to wav with another tool. how do i put the wav back into the avi file? or should i generate a different type of final video+audio file? thanks.

t.j on March 22, 2006 1:03 AM

Yeah i would also like to ask about the colours does anyone no if there metalic or shiny or mat

Omar on March 22, 2006 3:16 PM

All the colors are shiny and reflective, like the 5g iPod. Having owned both devices, I have to say the ZVM is shinier, and a little bit more scratch resistant, but not a lot. The closest thing to iTunes in terms of simplicity would probably be the included Creative Sync manager, and pretty much any portable audio device will work with fm transmitters, so long as the transmitter recieves its input through a 3.5mm stereo jack. And the firmware update does nothing but include a subfolder through the ZVM for easier access to Zencasts, which are the same as podcasts. They are just RSS files that can be downloaded from websites such as video content or more typically, audio files such as talk shows or discussions.

Les on March 26, 2006 4:50 PM

I just purchased the ZVM about a week ago. I have Windows XP and for some reason I can't get my computer to recognize the device. The device recognizes that it has been connected to my computer because a USB type icon appears on the screen. I've tried reinstalling the drivers and the fix recommended by Creative and Microsoft with no luck. Does anyone have a solution?

For those of you who are having problems finding one visit www.j&r.com or visit the J&R store in Manhattan. They seem to be the only store in the area that has any in stock.