Review of Creative's new Zen Portable Media Center
posted Sep 2nd 2004 12:00AM
It was a long time in coming, but the first personal video players running on Microsoft's Portable Media Center software are just about to arrive. We managed to get our hands on one and have been playing around for it for the past few weeks, and our review has tons of photos, exclusive screenshots and even show how to get DVDs on this puppy. The soundbite is that we think the Portable Media Center is good for folks with Media Center PCs and PCs with TV tuner cards which can record TV-that's really the one killer feature of these new devices. If you don't have a Media Center and don't record TV to your PC (or don't download a crapload of movies) then this device might not be quite as useful for you.
What's a PVP and a PMC?
"Ppersonal Video Players" or PVPs as they're being called, have been around for quite some time. One of the first entries into the market, and one of our favorites so far, have been from Archos (specifically their AV300 and AV400 series). Most have hard drives and small LCD screens and you can usually use them to listen to music and look at digital video in addition to being able to playback video clips.
With that said, Microsoft's Portable Media Center (PMC) operating system was developed with partners like Creative,
iRiver and Samsung, with the goal of bringing PVPs to the masses and break into this newly-formed market.
We've been using Creative's new Portable Media Center for about 2 weeks, traveling with it, recording TV, and really
pounding on it, trying to figure out how useful this thing really is. And that's pretty much the big question: Who
really needs these?
Who needs a Portable Media Center?
Simply put, if you don't have a Media Center PC, or a PC with a TV tuner/recorder—and don't plan on getting one—the
PMC isn't really going to fulfill any portable content playing needs. The PMC, at least how it is now, is mainly
intended as a companion to a Media Center PC or a PC with a TV tuner/recorder, so we can't really imagine using one
without either of those. There are already plenty of other personal video players out there, but being able to playback
TV is where the PMC really shines.
Unlike the Archos devices we mentioned, the PMC cannot record video directly, it needs a Media Center PC or a PC with
a TV tuner/recorder to get TV recordings. Something worth noting: we have an Archos, and while we occasionally recorded
to it, it was a bit of a hassle to manage yet another recording device. So for day-to-day use we're more likely to copy
recordings off of a Media Center PC or something like it and put that on a device. You can of course move any recording
onto an Archos, it was just easier with the PMC + Media Center PC combo.
Now, on with show for the folks who have Media Centers and TV recorders (we do and use it a lot). The PMC is basically
a portable version of your Media Center so you can take all your photos, videos, TV and music with you, and it does
this extremely well. There are some caveats with getting TV and movies on PMCs and we'll cover those in a bit.
The Creative Zen Hardware
The unit is pretty solid, weighing about a pound, it appears well built. It won't get any awards for industrial
design, but all of the PVPs on the market pretty much look the same. So far, the Creative Zen, in our opinion, looks
the best. Here are the specs of the Creative Zen:
Processor Speed: 400 Mhz
Storage Capacity: 20 GB HDD, 40 GB HDD (Note: OEM-dependent)
Memory: 64 MB RAM; 2 MB ROM
Screen resolution: 320x240 pixels
Screen size: 3.5 inches to 4 inches diagonal
PC connection: USB 2.0
Transfer rate: Between 35 Mbps and 40 Mbps, based on USB 2.0 transfer (transfers a two-hour movie in less than three
minutes )
Supported digital media file types:
•Windows Media Video and Photo Story files (.wmv, .asf) at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and at a bit rate less
than 800kbps
•Windows Media Audio files (.wma)
•MP3 audio files (.mp3)
•JPEG image files (.jpg, .jpg, .jpe, .jfif)
Compatible with:
•Windows Media and Photo Story files (.wmv, .asf) at a resolution higher than 320 x 240 pixels and/or at a bit rate
higher than 800kbps
•Microsoft Recorded TV Show file (.dvr-ms)
•MPEG movie file (.mpeg, .mpg, mpe, .m1v, .mp2v, .mpeg2)
•Windows Video file (.avi)
•Windows Audio file (.wav)
Navigation: The green Start button always brings you back to the Start menu from any location in your Portable Media
Center. The Start screen is the main access point for your Portable Media Center.
Sync: After you run the Portable Media Center Setup disk, you are ready to add music, videos and pictures to your
Portable Media Center using Windows Media Player 10 and a USB 2.0 cable.
Metadata support: Portable Media Centers support information related to audio, picture and video files, including
album art, music ratings, video title and TV information.
Settings: You can control the music equalizer, display, effects and language settings, including the following:
•Display brightness
•Stereo and TV Out, including support for both NTSC and PAL
•Backlight dim timing
•Select a language (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Traditional and Simple
Chinese)
•Display information about drive content (number of songs, videos, pictures; used and free space)
•Enable or disable UI sounds and UI animations
•Shuffle and repeat functions and equalizer
For the hardware geeks out there, here's the
reference design, which seems to indicate some
future models "could" support removable memory for loading in and getting data off of PMCs.
One thing we'd like to see in future units is for the bottom of the unit to be angled and for it to be able to stand
on its own, the Zen can't stand up without falling over usually. While that's usually not a big deal, for a long movie
or show it would be better to be able to prop it up somewhere. The included carrying case can do that, but we're
talking just for the device itself.
Battery Life
We're rarely away from a PC for more than 15 hours, so we never ran out of juice watching TV, listening to music or
even leaving the device on for a few hours while at a conference while letting a few dozen people use it, so for the
most part we can't complain at all about that. It can charge via the USB connection, so even in a jam we think we could
get more than enough time to watch or listen to anything we'd need to. We watched TV for 5 hours on a long trip and the
battery still showed 50%. Here's the battery in all of its 3.7V Li-ion glory.
Content
The PMC can pretty much play anything you throw at it, however you may need to convert it using Windows Media Player 10 (now in beta, final version likely out this week). When you use the PMC you can sync all your content with what you normally have in Windows Media Player.
The PMC natively plays WMA, WMV, MP3 and JPGs (see the list above). You can play other formats, but the Media Player
may need to convert them first. If you're looking to only play XviD and DivX (lots of BitTorrent content is in this
format) you might want to go for the Archos which does that natively, otherwise you'll need to covert it first,
something which can add extra time. Not a huge annoyance, but we thought we'd mention it.
Speaking of downloading movies and TV from the web, here's something we noticed. While we'll often hunt for a movie or
TV show on BitTorrent, it's usually faster to just use the Media Center PC guide and search for a movie or show. With
200 channels on cable there's a good chance what you're looking for might be playing somewhere soon. Then we just set
it to record and automatically transfer it over to the PMC.
TV
With a Media Center PC, you record TV and it saves the files as DVR-MS files, these files are usually huge, about a 1
GB per 30 minutes which is normal for TV recording. These files can then be added to the Windows Media Player,
converted, and sync'd to the PMC. Same goes for a PC with a TV tuner/recorder.
One thing to always realize is that this process takes awhile. As we found out, if you have a 30 minute show it
takes on average 30 minutes to convert to WMV (Windows Media) and sync to the PMC. Future versions of the Windows Media
Player will allow batch or background processing, but for now, if you record 4 hours of TV, it's going to take about 4
hours to convert. The new version of the Windows Media Player, which should be out this week, will background encode as
you record so you'll always have content ready.
Here's a small Windows Media file we cut down so you can see what TV recording is like,
click here to view.
Disney, FoxSports and MLB have announced that they will offer TV clips and shows, so as these come available there
might be custom TV content you can just download directly to you PMC.
Now you might be asking, why wouldn't you just send over the native DVR-MS file? Well, that would be a huge file, 1GB
per 30 minutes, so until we're up to bigger hard drives, we still need to convert things to smaller file sizes.
Future versions of the Media Center PC will likely have a "record for PMC only" option and that would eliminate any
need for conversions, along with other TV recording devices which will offer this.
Music
If you have tracks in your playlist in Windows Media Player these'll sync right over to the PMC. Simple, painless and straightforward. Added bonus: you get album art displayed on the device, which is kinda nice. You can fit about 5,000 songs or so on a 20GB PMC.
We can't imagine not using our iPod rather than the PMC for music. They're definitely different devices. The PMC is geared towards TV, video, movie, photos, and while we put some of our music on it, it's not our full-time music player. Here they are if you want to see the size comparison:
Like music, the PMC syncs up with the photos in your "My Photos" Library. One of the best features of the Media Center is displaying photos on a TV, we have thousands, so this was a great (and quick) way of bringing them around everywhere.
Any home video or pretty much any video you've downloaded off the web can be sent over to the PMC and/or converted.
You can play video at 30fps @ 800kbps. So that means if you download lots of things off BitTorrent, KaZaA, etc., and
you want to bring them with you, the PMC might be something to check out.
Microsoft and their partners are gearing up to make it possible to rent or purchase movie downloads for the PMC through
CinemaNow.com. Prices will be around $3 for a rental and $15 for purchase, and you'll be able to download movies
directly to your PMC. They're will likely be some protection on these files, which is completely expected, but we
haven't tried it out yet so we can't report on the experience. We've used MovieLink a lot on our PCs, and if it works
like that it'll be fine—easy to use, with a pretty good selection and DRM protections on the files that don't get too
much in the way of user experience. You'll be store about 80 hours of movies on a 20 GB PMC.
Now awhile back we showed you how to get movies on PVPs, and all of what we said then still
applies. We're still confused how the world works now: you buy a CD and you can put it on your iPod, or PMC, but if you
buy a DVD you can't do anything with it, at least not very easily. If PVPs are going to succeed, users will need to be
able to copy movies from DVD to hard drive-based video players just like they do with their CDs.
One "trick" we like to do is record a pay-per-view movie on our Media Center PC and then transfer the file to the PMC.
Works great, plus no commercials.
Recording DVDs to the PMC
To do this we used DVD To Pocket PC from Makayama. This tool
takes any DVD and creates a WMV (Windows Media) video file out of it. While it is meant for the Pocket PC, it's perfect
for converting DVDs for the PMC. The cost on the application is $27, but it's worth it. We converted 4 or 5 movies, and
they looked and played pretty well.
Is it legal? Seems like it falls under fair use, but depending on who you ask and what time of day it is, it may not
be. So be smart. We don't think recording a DVD for personal use you own to a device you own should ever be considered
illegal, but these are odd times folks and we're not giving you legal advice.
Final Thoughts
Like we said, if you have a Media Center or a PC with a TV tuner/recorder, this is a great gadget. If you don't, a PMC
most likely won't be that fun.
Personal video players are still fairly new, and it's going to take some time to see if people start buying these. We
think the biggest obstacle will be the frustrating copyright laws regarding movies and DVDs, so while you can copy DVDs
you own onto these devices, it's not exactly easy and the legality of doing so is still unclear.
Where to get and how much?
The Zen's are shipping as of today. Ourst was a review unit, but we found the Zen for
as low as $469 through Froogle.
If we missed anything you want to know, post up in the comments and we'll try and answer them in a jiffy.
Phillip Torrone can be reach via his personal website http://www.flashenabled.com.
i pre-ordered one from amazon.com and i have no idea when they are to be released, do you got any idea?
Maybe because PocketPC's screens are portrait in orientation vs. PMC?
You can pick up the device at best buy today.
How long does the conversion from a format like xvid take?
How do you convert the video from your home media center to the PMC. I bought one yesterday and can't get the Tv shows from my Xp media center over to it. It says unable to allocate no file size has been set. I also get WMP cannot convert the file to the format required by the device on some tv shows, I have all the latest drivers and media center version. Also media center 10 installed. Please help as I Would like to not have to return it.
You kick ass :)
What good taste to have Logans Run on :)
You shouldn't overlook the utility of combining one of these with a Replaytv. There are several utilities to download recorded media content from Replaytv units with the most popular being DVArchive (freeware). I regularly download recorded tv to my notebook for viewing on airplanes, and one should be able to do that to this device as well.
I find it interesting that the comments so far are about how to get one as opposed to what was left out of the review.
I can use my iPod while driving, walking to work, to the store, on the plane, etc. I can not use a video player except while in a stable seated position without any requirement for my attention( like in a car ). We use our eyes for so much and our visual attention is needed almost all the time with the exceptions being rather solitary activities.
So, my burning question is why we need one of these and where is it most likely to be used? If this becomes popular with only the geekiest of elementary school students, then if you think they felt isolated before, wait til they go off and sit in the corner to watch their little portable Anime player....
Mark my word, this is likely to be just like the Microsoft tablet PC experiment. Such that there is already existing products for portable video( laptops, handhelds, etc ) available for niche users needing portable video and this is most likely to just be a money loser to those believing Microsofts marketing machine.
I say this because, like the tablet PC, it's likely that the marketing will present this is "cool", while the fundimental usefulness is lacking. And the marketing will no be able to show why this device is useful. You can only tell people that they'll be cool if they have one of these for so long before a few take a look and figure out they really don't NEED it.
I ask Phillip, the author of the article, where and when he used the device for testing? And was this part if his normal daily routine or did he find he had to make time to use the device? Thanks.
Does it ONLY charge via USB? Please tell me it comes with a power adapter for charging, too...
Just a nit-pick: Personal not Ppersonal :)
This site rocks for downloads!
http://www.liketelevision.com
They have hours of free stuff, and even more
in their premium section. I've downloaded 5 movies today for a trip out west (ok, I took the bait and joined up for a year), and have found this site to have some odd titles and stuff you won't find elsewhere...Internet or otherwise. Mpeg downloads, upload to my device (have a Zen on order for us to evaluate, currently testing the iriver and zvue). This one appears to be the most solid unit around.
I'm not sure I can get through this massive library, but any other site suggestions (other than the usual suspects ie Movielink, CinemaNow, Starz) would be appreciated.
Peace,
JSS
I currently own the 4G 40 gig iPod and really enjoy accessing my music while traveling to work via the subway.
I read the above review with interest because I want to see a device that hit the market that does it all. It will be cool to be able to play my music, look at music videos , play games by using broadband, make phone calls and provide contact management. Tall order?
We all will see how all of this unfolds.
ARF
I'll tell you who needs this thing...ME! I travel quite a bit, and have a fair amount of down time. The battery life in this thing is amazing! Now, instead of carryiing a portable DVD player and some movies, along with an MP3 player, I'm carrying one small device!
Why don't you use a laptop? Two reasons...one is that the battery life on a laptop is good for one movie of any length or maybe two short one's. Two, the hassles of security and removing and replacing a laptop repeatedly from your carry-on simply makes it a chore.
Currently, I have 12 movies, about 4000 songs and a hundred or so pictures I can carry easily anywhere. AND, I have just over 10GB left!
Lastly, I want to point out that yes...you are right, you can't jog or work out with this device, but that's not what it's designed for. This is designed to provide multiple entertainment options to those on the go.
is it possible to put other files on ther to take them with me some where and take them on to a diverent computer
like when i have homwork and i did a powerpoint presentation can i take it with me on the divice and copie it onto a different computer like my school computer
thanks for your answer in advance
can this be interfaced with my car stereo (alpine 9827)?
Just like any other MP3 player, you can drag and drop files onto it. As for interfacing with a car stereo, you would have to use a wireless FM Transmitter, a cassette adapter or if you've got RCA or S-Video input jacks, it will work. We watch movies
can you recomend a tv turner/recorder?
can i connect a dvd player to a t.v turner/recorder and record a dvd to my pc?
wat is the best one the iriver pmp or the iriver pmc or the Creatives new Zen Portable Media Center i want to buy one of these but dont no which one is the best
Is there a cradle for the car?
Thanks for the review. I've got one of these waiting on me back home. I'm on a semi long-term consulting gig and I am very much looking forward to having this thing with me in my travels.
I'll most likely use it on the plane to watch movies, training videos (there are thousands in my industry), anima, and TV shows. I'll also hook it up to the television in my apartment/hotel room to watch instead of lame cable or expensive Pay-per-view.
We don't have cable because I never can make the time for it. Now, I'll get cable, set up my media center PC to record things that I like, and enjoy my media for the first time in my life - on MY TERMS!
Bring on the DRM, just make sure I can transfer my media from my home server to the PCs in my house as well as to my PVP (PMC).
In fact, I am a difficult consumer, but give me access to all the movies out there (either for rent or for purchase) to download and I'll be spending more money than I currently do on DVDs (which is significant).
Hey media companies, are you listening?
OKEY. Im seriously thinking buying this for christmas. It costs 666,14 US dollar in sweden.
The only thing i wonder is:
Where is the speaker/speakers, and is it good? Can you actually hear with good quality?
I just received my zen today. I am trying to figure out how to download movies to it. Dont know if you download to computer for a preview or own can you then download to zen. What about movies you have at home on DVD?
I really love this xmas gift to myself. BUT I have one question if anyone can help. It claims on the box to be able to play AVI, MPEG etc...only if you install a third party codec or software. Well, HOW do you do that then? Also, I'd like to better arrange my 'VIDEOS' by placing certains clips in folders, but you can't create folders on the PMC...or can you?
Go ROBBY GO! agreed and i'll get this player soon too!
I defintly going to buy although I have to wait till may the 16th...2005
Will there be anything new released thats better before that?
And can you only recharge via USB.
Anyway I like the review:)
Download "DVD to Pocket PC" software. This converts DVD movies to a format compatible with your Zen. Depending on the quality you choose for conversion the file is between 100-300mb. This software resides on your computer and not on your zen. Your computer is the conduit.
As for the speaker, it's workable. Clearly because of the unit size, you shouldn't have any illusions of a theater quality experience, but it's slightly better than those old pocket transistor radios.
I've had mine for about 6 months now, and I absolutely love it!
So, slightly unusual question, has anyone seen the insides of these? I am wondering what size hard drive they use. Is it a laptop drive (2.5") or iPod style (1.8"). I really want one of these qith 40GB or more, however, I am not sure what the hard drive size is.
Nice review. If only it were true.
I have used my Creative Zen Media center for a little over two weeks now.
The results are not impressive even before considering the cost.
To get a real feel for this unit just visit the Creative Website forums on the Zen and you will experience what a truly unworkable video / TV center it really is! As well as the touchy lack of support Creative provides!
The moderator Caterina is reminicent of an SS prison guard and just as helpful!
This attitude is quite typical of this company historicly though. IMHO
Now consider that if you would like to copy any LEGALLY OWNED DVD content to the Zen it is not at all straight forward and WAY LESS than convienient. No help from Creative, or Microsoft, and precious few resources on the net for the most theoreticaly useful function of the zen.
I now have over 25 links to codec's and conversion software sites that all do equallly poor work of SIMPLY transferring a DVD to the Zen Box!Most of which are wildly overpriced and intentionally vauge in describing just what they are capable of doing.
I have used DVD to pocket PC (posted above) and found it annoyingly crash prone and incapable of producing any quality product at all.
All of this performed on an
AMD 3200 with 1GB ram and 16X DVD R/W
Windows XP-SP2 & Media Player 10
For $500.00 USD I could easily buy
2 CD players and a DVD player with cash to spare and have working products. Why didn't I do that?:-(
CREATIVE please lets try to be a little CREATIVE when bringing this type of product to market.
Is this device able to hook up and download photos and video directly from a digital camera like the Sony Cybershot via USB?
One question......
Is it really worth it? I want to get at least an mp3 player to listen to my music. The device sounds awsome with the video, tv, and music, but is it really worth it? I would like to make a purchase soon is there any reconmondations if this isn't the wisest choice?
I'm sorry that Theller has had a bad experience with his device. I personally haven't had a need arise where I had to contact Creative customer service, so I can't comment on that. I can tell you that I have used DVD to Pocket PC to convert over 40 movies from DVD to carry on my device, and have had no crash issues. The process is time consuming, but produces solid results.
Copying over video from MSN Video downloads and through the Media edition process has also been seamless.
Again, don't expect theater quality video. This is a portable unit. When in the store, view the sample video they have on the machine and you'll get an idea of how movies look. If it's not good enough for you, walk away. For me, based on the amount of travel I do, it's perfect.
As an MP3 Player it's also good quality. BUT, this is not a unit to buy to take to the gym or go jogging with. This unit is best for traveling and time killing. If you're looking for portability, look elsewhere.
Again, I don't doubt that Theller has had a bad experience, but I'm not sure what his expectation level was to start with. I personally did a lot of research both online and actually handling the unit in the store, and for me, it's been tremendous.
Does this thing have a TV Tuner or no?
I was thinking of using this device to attach it on a TV monitor a couple of times (beats bringing a DVD player with me), any oppinions on the playback quality? Since 320*240 is a bit low and 800kbps isn't that good for bigscreen movies (although perfect for 320*240)...
A large online retailer is selling the Zen PMC 20gb for $199 after a $250 rebate today. My question is - why is there a more-than-50% off rebate for a product that came out only a year ago? Is it being discontinued? Was it such a dismal failure? Or did the video ipod just kill the pmc market? Also, for those with issues with the dvd to pocket pc software, xp-sp2 might be the culprit.
As for playback on a TV, the resolution is predictably less than desirable for video, but certainly works fine for pictures.
My best guess on the price drop and rebate is that Creative hasn't exactly done the greatest job of marketing the PMC. They haven't made much of a TV or Radio splash, and they're print advertising has been limited to computer magazines for the most part. Plus, I don't know how your Best Buy and Circuit City stores are, but the one's in Northern California have the MP3 players and PDA's all in the same area and there seems to be a lot of holes on the shelf.
Frankly, I've had my device for over a year and it's been an outstanding investment. If you have the opportunity to acquire one with such a great rebate offer, I'd suggest scoring it if it interests you at all.
im getting one from newegg for $227 after tax and shipping =] via $250 rebate hehehe
Does anyone know if you can make playlists with this machine?
Thanks
i bought one in march of 05 and i was impressed, untill it stopped working all together and i exchanged it. now the second one is doing the same thing. 450$ for like 6 months of use. pathetic. this is the 3rd media player ive owned from creative. and the 3rd to break in under a year due to faulty design and crappy software. last thing ill ever buy from creative.
Dale - I'm wondering if you did the firmware update for your device through the Creative website? Perhaps this pertains to your problem. I downloaded the software update to my mine and haven't had a single problem. I use my unit on average 10-12 hours per week and all is working like it did the first day. Perhaps you simply need to do a hard reset. Just trying to help here.
Firstly, I would say sorry, because my english not good.
I used many Ipod, ipod nano..., they are really good for what it make for, listen music, and I just bought a Creative PMC about a week.
I would say what I feel about it, it is big, so don't think about put it in your pocket, the function music and photo are fine, video is really good and acceptable, but the problem are:
1 there is no stop button, so when you play music or video, you can not stop it, you can pause it but not stop, I tried many buttons and still can not stop, so if you want to stop it, you need to have a needle and do a hard reset, so I put one needle in the case, so if I need it, it is there.
2 I can not put video in a folder, say if I have music video and sex video, I can not put it in different folder, and when I open the PMC in my computer, I can not copy or delete or make folder by myself
3 the convert time are to looooong, and it will convert even the video already WMV files
4 I don't know what is the tv recorder?, I think it is just a file or files that you use what ever ..dvd recorder or tv tunnner, then convert it to a suitable format file and the PMC can play back, if that the case, it is just a video files player.
I don't think it is very good to buy, you will get anoying, upset for nothing, too hard to organize files.
But anyway, it is only my own think
Please let me know if anything I am wrong or any sussgestion.
thank
Le Hung