D2 Questions, Is It Worth It? :-)

[covertrussian]

Hey Guys and Gals!

I currently own a 60GB Zen Vision: M and I like it a lot, but I want something thinner and well no moving parts

Creative is going to be releasing a Zen which is much thinner, and has a card reader etc. I was really starting to like it, until a person on SR20DEforum.com suggested this player... (it's a car forum, so yes it is a bit ironic to hear about MP3 players on the car forum )

I researched this player, looked at some operational videos. The more I look at it the more I like it!

I love the fact that is has filename browsing, a UMS device, has a card reader, and has a built in USB port.

At first I thought the card reader didn't support SDHC, but after I read the ABi Review, I fell even more in love with this player!!!

Now I'm thinking of either getting a 2GB and then buying a 8GB card. Or is it worth just shelling an extra $20 for 4gb?

I also do have a few questions, if you guys know the answers I would greatly appreciate it!

How is the SD card support? Is it pretty flawless, or are there some very terrible and annoying bugs?

Does the the screen shut off while playing a song? I guess it has to for such good battery life!

How hard is it to switch songs while your driving, since it's touch screen and all

Are there any new versions that are going to be released? Should I wait a bit because this player might drop in price?

How is the Divx/Xvid support?

Anything else I should know before I consider getting this player?

Thanks a lot guys!

[CrowdAds]

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by covertrussian

Hey Guys and Gals!

How is the SD card support? Is it pretty flawless, or are there some very terrible and annoying bugs?

Does the the screen shut off while playing a song? I guess it has to for such good battery life!

How hard is it to switch songs while your driving, since it's touch screen and all

Are there any new versions that are going to be released? Should I wait a bit because this player might drop in price?

How is the Divx/Xvid support?

Anything else I should know before I consider getting this player?

Thanks a lot guys!

No problems AFAIK with SD or SDHC cards

It turns off, yes, but you can set it to always be one... with 52 hours of battery live, you have a little to go on if you want it to be on all the time

Changing song shouldnt be too difficult, youve prob seen how big the on screen buttons are from pics so you shouldnt have any trouble with that. browsing the filelist however can prove more difficult

There is a 8GB version coming... Also a european one with DAB and one with DMB has been rumoured, but none of these have any major advantages over the current one unless you want those new features. As for 2 vs 4 vs 8 gb, 20 bucks for 2GB more might be worth it, but as for 4GB vs 8GB (12 vs 16 GB max for now) thats something you have to figure out if you need

it supports xvid at 320x240 pixelss, 128kbs mp3 sound... and some wmv shit that noone cares about
hopefully they will give it better video support with updates

[covertrussian]

Thanks for the great info man!

I don't mind just a 4GB one, esp since I can buy an 8GB SDHC card. And soon a 32 GB one

Actually I want the screen to turn off, I hate my Vision M for not turning off the screen unless you put it on hold!!! lol

Alright, this one is pretty important to me. How's the shuffle? Does it play the same songs 5 times a day?

Oh and what kind of playlists does the player take? Just standard .m3u's?

I'm not sure what DMB or DAB is, so I probably wont miss it, but could you tell me what it is?
Thanks!!!!! I am very close to actually getting that bad boy

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by covertrussian

Thanks for the great info man!

I don't mind just a 4GB one, esp since I can buy an 8GB SDHC card. And soon a 32 GB one

Actually I want the screen to turn off, I hate my Vision M for not turning off the screen unless you put it on hold!!! lol

Alright, this one is pretty important to me. How's the shuffle? Does it play the same songs 5 times a day?

Oh and what kind of playlists does the player take? Just standard .m3u's?

I'm not sure what DMB or DAB is, so I probably wont miss it, but could you tell me what it is?
Thanks!!!!! I am very close to actually getting that bad boy

You can set the player to turn off the screen after only 5 secs so thats no problem then

The shuffle works by creating a imaginary playlist when it starts playing. Meaning the player doesnt choose a random song each time, but instead makes a playlist with all songs in random order. That means that you wont hear the same song twice. It also means that if you skip ahead 3 songs, then back 3 songs, you will land on the song you had, because it doesnt randomize, just moves through the random playlist.

Playlist support in itself isnt good though, unfortunately. There is no good playlist method on the player now, hopefully it will come in a fw update soon, as many people use that fnction. myself i just use folders

dmb is digital media broadcast, dab is digital audio broadcast... in short terms, digital tv and digital radio on the go. however, i think dab is europe only, and im not so sure about the dmb version of it, since countries use different types of digital tv

[covertrussian]

Originally Posted by Captain Ødegård

You can set the player to turn off the screen after only 5 secs so thats no problem then

The shuffle works by creating a imaginary playlist when it starts playing. Meaning the player doesnt choose a random song each time, but instead makes a playlist with all songs in random order. That means that you wont hear the same song twice. It also means that if you skip ahead 3 songs, then back 3 songs, you will land on the song you had, because it doesnt randomize, just moves through the random playlist.

Playlist support in itself isnt good though, unfortunately. There is no good playlist method on the player now, hopefully it will come in a fw update soon, as many people use that fnction. myself i just use folders

dmb is digital media broadcast, dab is digital audio broadcast... in short terms, digital tv and digital radio on the go. however, i think dab is europe only, and im not so sure about the dmb version of it, since countries use different types of digital tv

Oh I like that kind of random, and I love the fact that you can go back!

I use folders all the time too! Thats another reason I'm wanting to move away from the Zen. Plus the UMS support makes me want to sing

I don't see myself using DMB or DAB. Thanks for clarifying though!

[covertrussian]

Man its a hard choice. I'm loving the features of the D2, specifically the filename browsing, UMS and battery life. But I it costs almost as much an 8GB Zen will. And the 8GB Zen is a pretty slick/slim design...

I guess I'll hold off for a bit, and wait till both players drop a bit more in price

[LuvMusic]

Originally Posted by covertrussian

Man its a hard choice. I'm loving the features of the D2, specifically the filename browsing, UMS and battery life. But I it costs almost as much an 8GB Zen will. And the 8GB Zen is a pretty slick/slim design...

I guess I'll hold off for a bit, and wait till both players drop a bit more in price

Besides from features, how important is sound quality to you?

I have a couple of Creative Zen players in the family and the sound quality of the D2 blows them away!

[dfkt]

And from what I read, the new Zen "Nothing" isn't as good sounding as older Zen models.

[covertrussian]

Sound quality is pretty is a good one, but not the top most on my list.

I mainly listen to my player in my car, and I don't have the best speakers, so it wouldn't matter... but I will be installing a Bose system, so then I think sound quality will matter a lot.

I think the main thing that is pulling me back from this player is the fact that it's a bit too thick and the touch screen. Is it bad on switching songs etc.?

Oh, does the player have a search feature? If so is it a touch keyboard?

[Zyro]

Have you seen the stylus? It's a sort of stick you get together with the player, with a thin top, such as with PDAs. With that, you won't run into problems switching songs or doing whatever you want.
It does not have a search for songs though.

[Almoxil]

Actually, once you get used to the touch screen, you won't need the stylus at all. Mine is still inside the original plastic bag.

[Amblin]

Listening in your car? BOSE speaker system? Then dont worry about getting the ZEN.

[covertrussian]

Originally Posted by Zyro

Have you seen the stylus? It's a sort of stick you get together with the player, with a thin top, such as with PDAs. With that, you won't run into problems switching songs or doing whatever you want.
It does not have a search for songs though.

Sure have, but I think it would render useless for me. My fingers are not too big, plus its an extra object to worry about.

on no search feature.

Originally Posted by Almoxil

Actually, once you get used to the touch screen, you won't need the stylus at all. Mine is still inside the original plastic bag.

I think it would be the same for me

Originally Posted by Amblin

Listening in your car? BOSE speaker system? Then dont worry about getting the ZEN.

Haha I see

I'm just still surprised at the prices, I wonder how long they will stay like that...

[covertrussian]

Alright so I've been thinking and I'm wanting this player more now!

One question, if I get a 2GB model and get an 8GB SD card, will I be able to survive perfectly off of it? Or is the SD card slot not so friendly?

Also about playlists, can I take any folder and create a playlist or no?

Thanks!

EDIT: Also how good is Cowon about adding features etc.? Like how well does Cowon listen to the community for suggestions etc.?
What does this mean? "500 folders and 5,000 files" after I reach that limit say on my SDHC card, Am I screwed?

[covertrussian]

Ok about playlists, I heard you have to be in MTP mode to do that, thats perfectly fine by me

What are the odds that Cowon will add higher resolution support for videos, so that they dont have to be transcoded?

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by covertrussian

What are the odds that Cowon will add higher resolution support for videos, so that they dont have to be transcoded?

Everything is speculation, no official statement available. But sure enough everybody wants this feature, since the hardware can play ridiculously braindead overpowered 2000kbps 320x240 XviD - it is definitely powerful enough for downscaling any 640x480 video...

[covertrussian]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Everything is speculation, no official statement available. But sure enough everybody wants this feature, since the hardware can play ridiculously braindead overpowered 2000kbps 320x240 XviD - it is definitely powerful enough for downscaling any 640x480 video...

But the chances of them implementing it is greater then Creative doing it for the Zen right? lol

Edit:

Can you have playlists for music on your SD card?

[covertrussian]

Thanks a lot for all of your help guys, but I decided to go for a Insignia Pilot... you can view more details here