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media player posts

How would you change Sony's OLED Walkman?

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 11th 2009 at 12:42AM

Sony's OLED Walkman is something else. Literally. In many ways, it's Sony's first formidable iPod rival to emerge in quite some time, and with its striking OLED panel, tastefully appointed graphite casing and absolutely amazing audio quality, it's certainly worth a look. For those of you around the world that have picked one up, we're curious to see if you think you made the right decision. For many, anything sans an Apple logo is the right choice, but we're wondering if the UI, design and value here were up to snuff in your mind. Are you digging the overall look and feel? Do you mind not having an App Store? Are you floored with audio / video performance? Have at it in comments below -- don't hold back now, okay?

Safa rolls out accelerometer-equipped G3 PMP

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 18th 2009 at 6:05PM

Safa's PMPs haven't always done that much to distinguish themselves from the masses of nondescript players out there, but it looks to have stepped up its game slightly with its new G3 model, which not only looks decent enough, but packs a still-not-all-that-common accelerometer to boot. Apart from that somewhat notable feature, you can expect to get a 3-inch touchscreen, 4GB or 8GB of storage, a built-in microphone, an FM tuner, support for all the usual audio / video formats, and a promised 15 hours of battery life for audio and four hours for video. No word on a price or release date just yet, but if Safa's past PMPs are any indication, you can expect this one to remain a Korean-exclusive.

[Via Le Journal du Geek]

LaCie's LaCinema Classic Bridge media player: just add storage

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jun 8th 2009 at 5:45PM

LaCie's back with another addition to its steadily growing LaCinema family. The Classic Bridge ships for $99, including an HDMI cable and that iconic blue light, yet forgoes the hard drive -- perfect for all you crazy kids who already have plenty in the way of storage, but still need a way to get your media files onto the TV screen. Either install your 3.5-inch SATA HDD (FAT32 only, folks) or plug in an external USB drive, and you'll be watching re-runs of B. J. and the Bear in no time. Supports "flawless" 1080p HD resolution and all of the formats you depend on for your pop-culture fix, including: MPEG4, MP3, JPEG, and HD-JPEG. Not yet available for purchase, but in the meantime feel free to check this bad boy out in the gallery below.

Gallery: LaCinema Classic Bridge

Video: iriver B30 taken for a spin around the box

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 5th 2009 at 6:21AM

Time for a break from all the MID, smartbook, and netbook action from the Computex show for a glimpse at the latest from Korea's iriver. The B30, like most iriver devices, starts with elegant hardware. iriver then slips in a UI and physical controls that may or may not be new to its user base. While we appreciate iriver's dedication to innovation, a bit of consistency would be appreciated, especially since none of the UIs have quite reached perfection. So take a look at the B30 after the break -- you feeling those white boxy outlines and rotation delays as the display moves between portrait and landscape? Korea-only huh? Fine by us.

Continue reading Video: iriver B30 taken for a spin around the box

ASUS O!Play HDP-R1 media player won't likely get an O-face

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 1:53AM

We knew it was coming, now the ASUS O!Play is official. The HDP-R1 HD Media Player supports HD video playback in a variety of codecs including MPEG1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, and RM/RMVB in a multitude of packages including .mp4, .mov, .avi, .divx, and .mkv just to name a few. FLAC and OGG audio? Yup, no problem. The box connects to your display over HDMI or composite A/V with an option for optical digital audio for multi-channel setups. Media can be slung off a single USB 2.0/eSATA combo port, second vanilla USB 2.0 jack, or streamed over fixed Ethernet if you prefer to keep your content on the other side of the house. Sorry, no 802.11n because, you know, everyone's home is wired with Cat 5 (riiiight). No price or release date given; but it would have to be cheap and soon for us to be even remotely interested.

ASUS to introduce O!Play media player at Computex

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2009 at 5:41PM

Wait, what's this? ASUS diving head first into the HD media streamer game? Based on images and details acquired by Hardware, we'd say chances are looking pretty good. Reportedly, the aforementioned outfit will showcase its very own media player at Computex next week in Taiwan, and our expectations are already fairly lofty. The O!Play (codename HDP-R1) is said to be a fair bit quicker than competing models, and the file compatibility list is also worthy of laud. Port wise, this one's packing eSATA, USB, HDMI, stereo audio jacks, optical digital audio, Ethernet and an AC port. If all goes well, we could see this little bugger in European stores by July, with a price tag pegged at €119 ($168). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if that price nets you an internal HDD, but we'll find out for sure soon enough.

[Via The Inquirer]

Sony Ericsson's facial recognition patent plays the perfect song to complement your mood

by Ross Miller, posted May 21st 2009 at 11:43PM

We don't expect this to be indicative of any near-term projects for the now financially hindered phone maker, but one of Sony Ericsson's recently unearthed patents paves the way for some interesting uses. From what we gather, while listening to music on your device, a picture of your face would be taken. That image would then be run through software that interprets your mood, and an appropriate next song based on those emotions would be picked -- so much for the art of mixtapes. Presumably, it'd also require a phone or device with a camera mounted on the same side as the screen, so unless mobile video conferencing takes off in a huge way, we can't see people paying extra for a phone or device with this configuration. And if you just got dumped over SMS, we hope it doesn't intepret those tears as a good time to play that Damien Rice song you two fell in love with. Hit up the read link for the full patent details.

[Via Slash Gear]

Chuwi's W3000 MID comes to life, likely matters not

by Darren Murph, posted May 15th 2009 at 5:36AM

After spotting renders of this here device last week, we have to say -- the real Chuwi W3000 MID is a looker. Boasting an ARM processor, GPS module, support for MP3, WMA, OGG, AVI and RMVB files (among others) and a built-in WiFi chip, this touchscreen beauty is tailor made to deliver the best of the web without a keyboard. Oh, except for the teeny, tiny fact that someone thought to equip this with WinCE 5.0, thus eliminating any chance whatsoever of it being relevant. Too bad, really.

[Via MP4Nation]

Sony OLED Walkman impressions

by Darren Murph, posted May 5th 2009 at 1:59PM

Considering that we're holding a Japanese unit in our hands, our impressions of Sony's OLED Walkman will be somewhat limited. That said, we figured it prudent to pass along our initial judgments until the US model shows up sometime between tomorrow and next century. After giving the flashy PMP a photo shoot yesterday, we spent the rest of the day (and night, we won't even front) toying with Sony's most hyped Walkman in quite some time. Eager to hear just how fantastic / horrible this critter is? Follow us past the break for our two pennies.

Gallery: Sony OLED Walkman (NWZ-X1050) hands-on

Continue reading Sony OLED Walkman impressions

RAmos RM990 iOne2 PMP looks surprisingly desirable

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 20th 2009 at 5:51AM

RAmos definitely isn't the most respected name in PMPs here in the US, but as of late, it's done a commendable job of staying relevant... at least on the design front, anyway. The firm's latest concoction, which goes by RM990 iOne2, is a touchscreen-heavy media player that's clearly not anorexic. Specs wise, we're told that it features a 3-inch WQVGA touch panel, haptic feedback, a built-in accelerometer, 4GB of internal storage and support for a whole gaggle of file formats. Not bad for the low, low asking price of just 399 yuan (around $58), but it's hardly worth a trip to Shanghai.

[Via PMPToday]

QNAP intros NMP1000 network media player, we go hands-on

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 4th 2009 at 10:40AM

While swinging by QNAP's CeBIT booth to check out its array of recently launched NAS devices, we happened upon a demonstration that was showcasing a brand new device: the NMP1000. Short for Network Multimedia Player, this set-top-box is pretty much like every other HD media streamer already out there, as it connects to networked storage and pipes out audio and video content to one's TV via a customized user interface. What we saw looked pretty slick, even though it was inexplicably connected to the LG display via S-Video. As for specs, it's boasting a Sigma Designs SMP8635 processor, 256MB of DDR RAM, room for one 3.5-inch SATA drive, a single gigabit Ethernet jack, dual USB 2.0 sockets, one eSATA port, HDMI 1.3 / component / composite / S-Video outs and a bundled remote. It supports just about any format on the map, and the on-hand representative told us it should be out next month for "somewhere under $10,000." Have a look at some in-action shots below.

Gallery: QNAP intros NMP1000 network media player, we go hands-on

Thanko rolls out HDD Media Player 2, hard drive not included

by Donald Melanson, posted Feb 6th 2009 at 4:54PM

It's not quite as whimsical as some of Thanko's other gadgets, but those looking for a barebones media player may actually want to consider the company's new HDD Media Player 2, which looks like it should get the job done and do so on the cheap. Naturally, you'll have to supply your own hard drive, but the enclosure will handle most of the media-playing abilities you'll likely want (including DivX and even DVD VOB file playback), and you'll get a decent enough complement of ports, including VGA, component, composite, s-video, and an optical digital audio output. Look for this one to set you back just over $70 -- plus the necessary shipping charges from Japan, of course.

[Via Le Journal du Geek]

Mvix quietly reveals media playing / recording MvixPVR

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 16th 2008 at 1:19AM

Mvix has a history of pumping out reliable, multi-faceted media streamers, but it has evidently decided to branch out a touch with its latest piece. Taking a note from the HD PVR from Hauppauge, the box packs component video inputs that will likely capture high-def video from set-top-boxes and the like. It's also an HDD-based media player (bring your own hard drive, of course), which outputs content up to 1080p via HDMI. You'll also find integrated WiFi, a USB port for streaming files on external drives and UPnP / BitTorrent functionality. Mvix hasn't stated when this puppy will go on sale nor how expensive it will be, but those looking for a multi-purpose media streamer / recorder should probably keep a check on this one.

Philips GoGear -- now in glorious color!

by Laura June, posted Oct 29th 2008 at 7:39PM

It's true, we were less than impressed with Philips GoGear MP3 squares back when they were first released, so the announcement of the GoGear 2940 isn't really going to shake the foundations of the universe. It's essentially the exact same player as the previous models (MP3, WAV, and WMA playback, built-in EQ, USB 2.0 connectivity, voice recording capabilities, FM tuner) with the addition of a color OLED screen which displays album art or photos. There's something mildly endearing about them, though, isn't there? No details on price or availability.

Aigo "revs up" Formula One-themed PMP with 720p output

by Samuel Axon, posted Oct 24th 2008 at 5:26PM

Unlike certain other Chinese devices, the Aigo Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP5 personal media player is actually a working, fully-featured PMP with support for FM radio, eBooks, and an adequate variety of audio and video formats -- it even outputs 720p content, though its own display is limited to 480 x 272. While Aigo's sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes Formula One car is this thing's excuse for existence, it's technically also under the company's Patriot name (it's called the Patriot MP5-MK3510) but we're guessing the F1 theme will be more attractive to the Y chromosome than Winnie the Pooh.

[Via PMP Today]