Video iPod Vs Creative Zen Vision: M

wonderfullife_2

Aiadi wrote:

It may help to know that the iPod has the very best sound quality out of all the MP3 players if this is important to you.

Hi
Have listened to Ipod/Creative and my Iriver and I personally think my Iriver H140 is the better sound quality, but perhaps I'm biased

Aiadi

wolfman wrote:

Care to elaborate?

From what I've read (and seen on the Gadget Show) the iPod does have slightly better sound quality to the Zen Vision. It's also much more usable.

Totally agree.
I guess people would always be biassed to what they own but you have to see or read independent reviews to know the truth. at the end of the day the proof is in the pudding and the millions upon millions of people who chose the iPod can not all be stupidly mislead. Remember that MP3 player and iPod are almost synonymous terms now and that is definitly not the case with the much less-selling (despite more specs and cheaper price) other brands like the Zen or iRiver. The world is yet to see something that will take the iPod's place as the biggest phenomenon in the world of digital music. If you can show me any MP3 player that is selling faster or better than the iPod then I'll be converted and this is nothing to do with being a sheep but I think it is wise to look at the experience of millions and draw your own conclusions.

Brodel

Aiadi wrote:

Totally agree.
I guess people would always be biassed to what they own but you have to see or read independent reviews to know the truth. at the end of the day the proof is in the pudding and the millions upon millions of people who chose the iPod can not all be stupidly mislead. Remember that MP3 player and iPod are almost synonymous terms now and that is definitly not the case with the much less-selling (despite more specs and cheaper price) other brands like the Zen or iRiver. The world is yet to see something that will take the iPod's place as the biggest phenomenon in the world of digital music. If you can show me any MP3 player that is selling faster or better than the iPod then I'll be converted and this is nothing to do with being a sheep but I think it is wise to look at the experience of millions and draw your own conclusions.

One word for iPods success, 'Marketing'. No one can touch them on the way they market iPods and make them 'cool'. IMO that is why they sell so well.
I still think that if you actually shop around, look for specs and price etc then you can do better, like you said.

An iPod might be more useable in that its easier to navigate, but that is about it. Being forced to use iTunes and certain audio formats is by no means more useable.

dk143

Can't argue with that.... ipods are certainly "cool".

It just seems to me that the Vision M is more practical. Though it does seem more bulky compared to the ipod.

aliasojo

No experience of ipods but I bought OH a Vision M for his birthday and he's very pleased with it.

It's true that is is bulkier than an ipod, but after the initial thought has passed you don't think about the size anymore as it's not overly bulky.

It's so very easy to transfer files to and the screen quality is very good as is the sound.

I have an iRiver and the M is much better imo.

I'm sure iPods are very good, but I do feel much is down to marketing as was said before.

dk143

Cheers aliasojo,

how's the battery life on the Vision M? For example, can you get through an entire film, and still have power to play music?

And does it play .avi files, as that isn't listed in the files supported?

Thanks again,
K x

herman2811

I've read that the Vision: M can handle up to 4 hours of video.... I don't have one though.

wolfman

alexjohnson wrote:

You're no more forced to use audio formats on an iPod than on anything else. They don't play WMA - but the Playsforsure-compatible non-iPods can't play AAC. However, WMA is a proprietary Miscrosoft format. AAC was invented by Dolby Labs and songs you've ripped from your own CDs can be played not just on iPods but Sonys, and Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and Nokia mobile phones. Most people wouldn't find this very limiting!

The iPod handles mp3's very well, which for me is by far the best format due to it's diversity and open support. The only thing I don't like about the iPod and storing music, is the way it's stored. It'd be much more preferable just to drag and drop tracks as you've named them, rather than the iPod changing it to a random numeric file path.

alexjohnson wrote:

Apparently you're not forced to use iTunes, but I still can't get my head around why you wouldn't. It's fantastic. You'd rather use Windows Media Player 10? What about using AirPort Express to stream music to your home stereo? Waste of time? Hardly!

On a Mac great. On Windows it's bloated, slow and doesn't do anything that other players (Winamp, Media Monkey) already do, and do better. Plus it means you have to have iTunes installed to change your collection which doesn't exactly make it truly portable. I could go on...

Use Portable Winamp, makes the iPod truly portable. The software used to transfer the tracks is carried on the iPod itself. It's light easy to use, and Winamp is superior to iTunes.

alexjohnson wrote:

The iPod does have sound quality which is, at worst, the same as everyone else's. But there have been plenty of reports that it's actually better, including as wolfman said the last Gadget Show.

And to be honest, the chances of you noticing much difference through a standard pair of headphones is unlikely, or it'll be down to equaliser settings.


The iPod for me, is still the best mp3 players out there. It's by no means perfect, but is very usuable, small, and looks great. If I could drag and drop music onto it without the need of a piece of 3rd party software, maybe increase the battery life a further few hours, and make it more resistant to scratches (without having to get a damn case!) then it'd be perfect.

Also iTunes is a great store, and has a lot to offer. It's still to expensive though! Buy the cd from the shop for what will probably be the equivalent price, then you have a better quality copy, and backup already, and it comes with packaging. Or go to one of the sites we're not allowed to mention where prices are more reasonable and they don't enforce DRM.

herman2811

Sorry if I'm being really thick, but what does DRM stand for?!

wonderfullife_2

herman2811 wrote:

Sorry if I'm being really thick, but what does DRM stand for?!

Hi
Digital Rights Management, a broad term used to describe a number of techniques for restricting the free use and transfer of digital content. DRM is used in a number of media, but is most commonly found in video/audiobooks and music files.
Audio files purchased through many online stores, such as Apple’s iTunes Store, Virgin etc have various DRM schemes built in to limit the number of devices they may be played on

Hope this helps