Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black) by Creative
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Digital camera reviews of Creative Zen 8 GB Portable Media Player (Black)
Digital camera Review: Awesome media player
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had mine for eight months and I use it all the time. I watch TV shows and movies, and I listen to music. It is easy to use and I have not had any problems with it at all. Get the screen cover thingies and put one on right away and you will be very happy with this media player.Digital camera Review: Awesome overall
Summary: 5 Stars
I've always been a fan of Creative's products (also owned the Zen Micro and Muvo V100) as alternatives to the iPod. It's not that I'm anti-Apple - I actually came very close to getting either a Shuffle or Classic, but higher prices aside, most reviews I've read for either iPod product always seem to mention some minor kink or flaw that made me hesitate (i.e. the shuffle's "hiss" and humdrum sound quality). So in the end I decided to go with the 8GB Zen (they must've run out of names)because it seemed to have everything I was looking for (good sound, long battery life, no mandatory software to install), and offered a lot of bang for the buck. It turned out to be a very good decision.
SIZE/AESTHETICS:
This player is the size of a credit card, and about half an inch thick. It seems much tinier when holding in your hand. The 2.5 inch screen is a full-fledged 16.7 million color LCD and is absolutely gorgeous. The glossy plastic coating scratches very easily however, so get yourself a film covering and some sort of skin with the player.
FILE TRANSFER:
I can't vouch for any other OS, but in XP you can drag and drop files directly. Once you plug in the device it will be detected as a drive preformatted with designated folders for music, video and pics.
I highly prefer this method to any software like iTunes or Sony's dreadful Soundstage. But Creative's own file transfer (called Media Explorer) suite is straightforward enough to use.
INTERFACE:
If you're accustomed to navigating menus in other players, cell phones/electronic devices, you should have no trouble here whatsoever, as the menu items and buttons are laid out in sensible order. There are sections for music, recording, video, pics, and settings. You can also customize the extent of options displayed in the root menu. Additionally there's a programmable button and a hold button.
SOUND:
The consensus seems to be that the sound of the Zen is at least equal to some of the best sounding players on the market. Music is clear and balanced across the frequency range and is distortion-free at all but the maximum volume. My advice though, even if you're not an audiophile, is to ditch the included earbuds for at least something in the $50-$100 range. The sound in this player is great but with decent headphones it will sound fantastic and you would never want to go back to anything less.
Zen supports mp3 and aac. I would have preferred a wider range of supported formats. It's annoying to have to convert all my FLAC, APE and OGG files into mp3 before they get recognized by the player.
VIDEO:
As mentioned the screen is a spectacular sight to behold. But mind you, only WMV and MPEG are supported, and even those will probably need to be converted into a lower resolution before they can be viewed. Creative's video converter (free download), can be used to make the necessary conversion but the process is lengthy (around 20 minutes per hour of converted video) and takes up a lot of CPU power. While the finished product is quite viewable and just plain darn cool for the novelty of watching on a 2.5 inch screen, I doubt I'll be watching too many full-length movies due to the overhead time involved, unless I was going on a very long trip.
MISCELLANEOUS:
The record function works well enough.
The SD card function is a good addition, but keep in mind that your SD files do not mix with the other files in the player. In other words, you can't have files from both sources in playlists, albums, etc. And it won't shuffle between the two. The SD function is sort of a separate entity, not completely integrated into the playing field of the device, which can be annoying if you plan on using SD cards a lot.
I did get the unit to crash once, when I tried to open a picture it did not recognize. I had restart it by poking the reset button with a pin.
The buttons might be a tad too small if you have large hands.
BATTERY LIFE:
The battery charges by the included USB cable (which is all of 2 inches long explicably) and is not removable from the player - unless you are prepared to break it. AC wall charger is sold separately. I haven't done drain tests but the claims from Creative are 25 hrs audio/5 hrs video on a full charge.
Digital camera Review: Awsome MP3/Video Player
Summary: 5 Stars
Great product! Everything about this player is awsome, love the SD Card Slot. Easy to use interface. Plays music and videos very well. Converting Videos to the right format and getting them to play well is difficult, but can be done...they need to work on this aspect of the player.Digital camera Review: Beats Nano by a Mile
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this product. I was pretty stunned when I went to look at the new nano and find it did not have a radio included, I needed one for my gym. Having been fed up with itunes for a while and the propriertary nature of it I decided to look around. This device is really sensible in including:
Voice Recorder
Radio
MP3 Player
Audible Compliant (I use this system)
WMA and DRM compliant (I download books from the Chicago Library)
Plays Video
8Gb for $110
It's light, the screen is fantastic as is the menu system and the ability to put placeholders on audio books and videos so you can return to your spot the next time you fancy it. Really great tool.
Sound quality is good too. It does not feel as good quality from a build perspective being entirely plastic but providing you look after it it shoudl be fine.
So so far I am well happy. Using media player and dragging and dropping makes me happy and it pics up Podcasts.
I can still download pod casts on itunes and tell this device/media player to monitor the itunes pod cast directory. You can just synch them onto this device so there is no need to lose that vast repository of podcast resources that you can find in itunes. I have already downloaded several podcasts, 5 books etc.
Very cool.
Digital camera Review: Best Bang for the Buck
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Zen 8 GB for two months now and am very happy with it. When I ordered my Zen I also ordered the clear plastic case thru Amazon from Eforcity for less than $4 and the Creative EP-630 earbuds, also thru Amazon, from CG Discounts for less than $20 including shipping. I haven't used the earbuds that came with the Zen so I can't rate them but the EP-630's are very good.
I believe that a screen protector and case are a must have for the Zen. While the $4 case from Eforcity is of good quality and fit well, it contacted the Zen screen in a small area and that produced an interference pattern that was a distraction when watching video. Judging from other people's reviews it's a hit or miss proposition with any plastic case, including Creative's. After that experience I ordered a screen protector and the Tuff-Luv Twin Skin silicone case thru Amazon from i-nique. The Tuff-Luv is pricey at $17 but it fits well, looks good, doesn't attract dust, and allows access to all the controls including the reset hole, microphone, and SD card without removal. The screen protector was easy to apply. I used a can of dust-off to get any dust off the screen before application. I should mention that the belt clip for the Eforcity case broke the first time I used it and the Tuff-Luv skin is advertised as having a belt clip but in reality it's actually just a small d-shaped carabiner like clip. When I'm not wearing a shirt that has a pocket to put the Zen into, I use a neck strap with a quick release clip that came with a USB flash drive. That way I'm able to wear the Zen around my neck and under my shirt which keeps it out of the way yet still easily accessible.
Other reviews have mentioned complaints with a variety of issues regarding the Zen but none of them have been a problem for me. The control buttons have just the right amount of tactile feedback to let you know you've activated them while resisting any unintended actions. The on/off switch also has a position to lock the buttons but I haven't had the need to use it. The back of the Zen is not plastic, it's metal covered with a textured matte paint finish.
Regarding Creative's Zen Media Explorer and Creative Video Converter software, I had no issues either installing or using both applications. Though I do suggest downloading the most current versions from the Creative web site instead of using the versions on the included CD. The Zen Media Explorer uses an interface very similar to Windows Explorer and I found it simple to use. The Creative Video Converter will convert files without having the Zen attached via the USB cable as long as you check the appropriate options in two of the dialog boxes. Some people have remarked that video conversion is slow, but that's just the nature of it. Every video conversion app I've used takes awhile to run. For files I want to convert at high quality I use the Creative Video Converter. For .flv files from YouTube and DVD's I use a command line converter that was referenced on the Creative web forum for the Zen. The command line converter encodes to .avi at 128kbps while the Creative converter encodes to .wmv at much higher bit rates, up to around 500kbps. The command line applet will encode DVD's as several 80MB .avi files, each about 20 min of playing time. They do not play sequentially so each file must be selected one at a time. I am able to play video files and DVD files from the SD card with no problems. I purchased two Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 flash cards thru Amazon for $16 each. Class 6 flash cards offer the highest transfer rates currently available for SD flash media. A cheap Kingston Dolica 2 GB SD card did not have a high enough transfer rate for video but worked fine with MP3 audio. While the SD cards do not integrate with the internal memory of the Zen that isn't an issue for me. I use the SD cards for larger files such as podcasts and video. Using a media card reader I can conveniently drag and drop files on the SD card without having to attach the Zen to my PC. Some people have complained about the length of the included USB cable for the Zen. At less than 5" long it is very short but that hasn't been a problem for me either, in use it's actually been a benefit. Since it is a standard USB 2.0 A to Mini-B cable you can always get a longer length.
While the Zen supports a wide variety of formats most videos will still have to be converted to the appropriate size and bitrate. Photos can be transferred to the Zen as 640 x 480 jpg's, which is larger than the Zen's screen resolution. The Zen has an easy to use photo-zoom feature that can enlarge a section of the photo. It is also easy to change the default wallpaper to any photo using upper right button which functions in context to the mode selected. The microphone function of the Zen works well though recording sessions are limited to around 10 min. per clip. During recording the Zen screen displays two bars that indicate the recording levels, though with a single mic you will not get stereo sound. The default folder for microphone recordings is listed in Music > Albums > Recordings. The Zen is very feature rich and allows quite a lot of customization including menu layouts. I find the menu access and controls to be simple and intuitive, though they did take some getting used to at first. It's very easy and fast to navigate through albums, artists, and genres quickly using the alpha scroll feature that appears on the far right side of the screen when you select any of those options in the main Music menu as well as in the Video menu and the Memory Card menu.
With Firefox 3 and various extensions such as Download Helper, and the Better YouTube Greasemonkey scripts authored by Gina Trapani of Lifehacker, I'm able to download YouTube videos and many other videos as MP4's, which offer better quality than the standard .flv files. Lifehacker also has a guide to their "Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters" and their "Hive Five - Five Best Media Converters" (both PC and Mac) which give many free options for converting and encoding video. I have been able to convert for the Zen whatever I attempted to using either the Creative Video Converter, or one of the free converters. There are obvious limitations regarding DRM protected content so some files/formats may not convert or play on the Zen.
The battery life for the Zen has been fine. I don't know just how long it lasts but I have no complaints. I did have to reset the Zen a couple of times when I tried to delete too many files from it's internal memory using the Zen Media Explorer app. As long as I select just a couple of files at a time, it works without locking up the Zen. The only other problem I've had is with WMP-10. For some reason it insists on syncing the Zen's clock to a different time zone that what I'm using for my system. An easy work around is to just not use the option to sync the time with WMP-10. I should also mention that before you sync your music library with WMP-10, it's a good idea to make sure your tracks are tagged properly. This makes it much easier to find particular albums, artists, genres, and playlists on your Zen. Otherwise they will be listed under the <Unkwown> category in each listing. If your music library in WMP-10 includes album art, the image will be displayed by the Zen when playing the relevant tracks.
The standard warranty for the Zen is 90 days labor and 1 year for parts. Additionally, there are a couple of options for purchasing extended warranties. The Creative Care Protection Plan is available through Creative's website. It must be purchased within the first 90 days of ownership. As of Jan. 1, 2009 the price is $35. It gives 2 years for both parts and labor. Coverage also applies to the original included accessories as well as the battery (with caveats).
A "2-Year Replacement Plan for Electronics Products $100 to $124.99", offered by NEW Customer Service Companies Inc. is available through Amazon for about $22 but it only kicks in when the manufacturers warranty expires. With this plan, if you require warranty service for your Zen after the first 90 days, you will be paying for labor costs for an additional 9 month window until the 1 year Creative warranty ends.
Overall I think the Zen offers a lot of capabilities at a reasonable price. It may not satisfy everyone but I'm very happy I bought it instead of an iPod or some other media player. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Zen to just about anyone. One drawback for Mac users is that I don't believe Creative's software is offered in a Mac compatible version. Though there are workarounds, I don't have a Mac so I can't comment on their effectiveness.