New Player: FLAC, large display, robust folder access

[willie_mctell]

I'm looking for a new player. I currently have a Sansa Clip+ that I use all the time. It was a superb $35 investment. When I use it in the car I can't see the display without my reading glasses. My vision is fine except for a focal length somewhere between six and eight feet. :)

I'm looking for a player with a display that uses a large enough font that I can read it without my reading glasses. I can read the display on my car stereo with no problems. I've tried various Rockbox large type themes and haven't been that happy, especially since the themes don't do anything for the menus.

My criteria are:

Large type display, if possible legible in sunlight. Menus must be legible too.

FLAC support. I don't want to bother reencoding my FLAC rips just so I can put them on a player temporarily.

Robust folder support. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20K tracks. Most all of them are haphazardly tagged. I rotate them on my player by folder. I've always organized my music in folders and am perfectly happy with that. I'd rather play a folder than build a playlist.

Sound quality should be good. That probably goes without saying. :)

Not an Apple product. I've had strong feelings about Apple since the late '80s.

A nice to have would be DLNA capability. I'd like to be able to stream music from my computer when I'm working in the yard or am in a room where it's inconvenient to use the audio setup in the living room.

[CrowdAds]

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by willie_mctell

II've tried various Rockbox large type themes and haven't been that happy, especially since the themes don't do anything for the menus.

OT, but themes in rockbox do control the menu font. For example, if you go to settings and then load a 14 point font, the menu text gets larger. Then reload cabbiev2 (the default font) and the menu text will be reverted back to the default size.

[FreeZ5]

Willie....

I understand your issue with reading the Clip in the car when not wearing my regular glasses, as I have the same problem.

I see one immediate solution for you - get bifocals or progressive lenses. You may be needing them soon anyway. I went straight from no glasses to progressive lenses (both a mild prescription), but it helped me a lot.

Next solution...a large player for use in the car - some kind of tablet, perhaps. [Sorry I do not know how bad your eyesight is.] An original Fuze may work as it has a bigger screen than the Clip+. Most people here would suggest that you avoid the Fuze+.

The Samsung Galaxy Player which comes with a 4" or 5" screen (as I understand it anyway) is very popular at ABi (at least based on the number of posts).

DLNA capability? Hmmm...don't recall anybody asking for that before (I had to Google it). Good luck on that one.

Steve

[steinburger1109]

Originally Posted by FreeZ5

The Samsung Galaxy Player which comes with a 4" or 5" screen (as I understand it anyway) is very popular at ABi (at least based on the number of posts).

There's a Rockbox app for Android (though it isn't officially a stable release) and you can modify the font on that to make it larger. I use a fairly large font on mine.

[willie_mctell]

"I see one immediate solution for you - get bifocals or progressive lenses."

I've been using glasses for reading for over 20 years. My current prescription is only magnification for close up. My distance vision has deteriorated though. It's down to 20-20. From what I've been told, my eyes have pretty much stabilized until I get cataracts.

[willie_mctell]

"themes in rockbox do control the menu font."

I'll have to try that. Thanks

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by willie_mctell

"themes in rockbox do control the menu font."

I'll have to try that. Thanks

Yeah, but on second thought the blue/yellow split makes it less useful.

[willie_mctell]

I decided on a Samsung Galaxy 4. I researched Android folder based players and found several candidates. I like Mort just because of the Terry Pratchett allusions, but several of the others look promising. I thought about the 5 but couldn't quite afford it. I got the 4 with a 32 GB memory card instead.

I notice Consumer Reports gave the Galaxy 4 a high rating although I find their criteria bizarre.