Why do people love the Vision:M so much?

K

kumquat

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
5,269
I always see people loudly proclaiming how the Zen Vision:M is superior to the iPod in every possible way.

I don't get it.

The 30GB Zen is almost twice as thick as and much heavier than the 30GB iPod. It has an FM radio, but so did many MP3 players and no one ever seems to use it.

The only possible pluses I see are:
1) Supports multiple video formats natively
2) It's not from Apple (?)

The video thing isn't that big of a deal to me, because iPod conversion is so simple. If I were loading DivX videos onto the Zen, I'd have to reencode them to the proper resolution anyway... no point in having a library of 640x480 or larger videos on a portable device with 1/4 that resolution.

What's the huge appeal? Is it just the native video formats thing? Is that *really* worth the extra size and weight to everyone? And does that really make the iPod the "Lamepod"? It doesn't seem like that big an advantage to me. What am I missing?
 
No idea, I bought one and returned it the next day and put the money towards this laptop. I dunno I feel for some reason its people trying to be anti-trend with the ipod. I dunno
 
1) Great sound quality

2) Yes the native support is a good thing, You may wish to re-encode your avis when sending them to your player, but my 640-res avis look great on the Vision's screen. Saves a lot of time.

3) For me it's not so much that it's not Apple, but you're not locked into iTunes. You can put both music and video on this thing by simply opening Windows Explorer, navigating to your music collection on your HDD, and dragging it to the Vision. That said, it also supports WMP 11 and putting music on it that way is a breeze as well.
 
The only reason I can see is that it nails the point between price and video quality. Watching family guy eps on a nice looking screen without the hassle of re-encoding is pretty choice. I had one for more than half a year but eventually sold it: Menu system was too loose for me and it would scratch if you looked at it wrong. Plus, it doesn't really fit in a pocket all that well which wasn't a problem until summer rolled around...
 
Zen:

Does not sort podcasts
Does not support gapless audio playback
Is 60% larger and 20% heavier


iPod:

Does not support DivX/Xvid/WMV natively
Requires iTunes to import media
Does not record
Does not have FM radio


Seems like kind of a wash to me. Neither is the clear winner. Pick which items matter most to you.
 
Sound quality is king. If it doesn't sound good, what's the point? I use a Rio Karma. Not even a color screen, but i've never heard anything that sounded better (i've heard equal). What's the point of the 'amazing' interface on the ipod and it being so slim if it sounds horrible. It doesn't sound horrible, but it wouldn't win any awards with me either. Then again, i guess most people wouldn't notice with 96kbits/s and 128kits/s encoding and $7 headphones. :rolleyes:

And personally, i do not like the ipod. Yes a big part of it, i'll admit, is being 'anti-trendy'. However, i dislike it for a host of VALID reasons. For instance, they keep making them smaller and thinner. Why? Just give me more battery for the same space. Sound quality. itunes. Ick. Observed battery failure rate seems unacceptable. etc.


I'll stop there, but yeah. You get the point. Sound Quality. I'd even use an ipod if nothing else sounded as good as it. And i don't mean thumped the loudest in my earphones either. I mean ACTUALLY sounded better.
 
It's better because:

Divx/Xvid, mp1,2,4, wmv9, and motion-jpeg video support
DRM friendly
Programmable/Customizable interface and themes
Tivo 2 support
A screen that blows the ipod's out of the water (64K vs 262K colors)
Better battery life
Shorter charge times
FM tuning
FM recording
Mic recording
DRM friendly
Syncs to outlook and acts as an organizer
640x480 TV out (vs the ipod's 320x240)
Supports more formats
Doesn't need specific software to manage files
Linux support
Supports mutiple music stores
Supports mutiple video settings (Fit to screen, stretch to full, etc)
Supports image rotating, zooming, panning, resizing, etc
Acts as a USB host
Customizable EQ (as opposed to the ipod's presets only)
Video and Audio bookmarking


It also plays podcasts just fine (it converts them) and the size isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Most reviews actually prefer the thickness because it's more comfortable to hold. Simply put the Zen is a much better player than the ipod with MANY more features and to say a comparison of the two is a wash is simply ludicrous.
 
kumquat said:
iPod:

Requires iTunes to import media
Click to expand...

100% false.


http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod
or
http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay (not free)
or
http://www.jakeludington.com/ask_jake/20050816_sync_ipod_with_windows_media_player_10.html
or
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod (not free)

And I believe there's a plugin for Winamp to interact with your iPod.



Soud quality is still fine on an iPod, and if you care enough you can use Rockbox or something else with finer EQ features.. I would rank interface as 2nd place, and you can't beat the clickwheel.
 
The ZVM is just the best thing there is out there, not that it's that good. I'm still waiting for a company to release a really good sounding player, the ZVM isn't that good many old portable CD players best it. That and why do companies keep releasing players that look like toys, not everyone that owns an mp3 player is 16
 
GJSNeptune said:
and you can't beat the clickwheel.
Click to expand...
Why? The Vision has a touch pad with physical buttons full of shortcuts for quicker accessing. The touch pad is straight, the clickwheel is round.....they're basically identical. I'm sorry but "the ipod's clickwheel is king" crowd really burns me up. It's no better than any other form of navigation.
 
Don't get me wrong, the 'Clickwheel' is nice; it suits Apples long-standing image of elegant hardware. Sadly I do not share the love for it however, it is sometimes too sensitive and other times not sensitive enough. There isn't enough precision in it (Experiences from a 5th generation iPod video) so that in instances where it is used in a car for example, it makes it hard to quickly and accurately find a specific album/artist/song. When on the person it isn't as bad but I still find it a little annoying to use no matter the surroundings.

I was ready to buy an iPod Video for quite some time but the 'Clickwheel' bothered me a little and I wanted more than what the iPod offered. When the Zune came out, it answered my wishes, now the 'scene' just has to catch up and realize it's potential so MS will offer its full functionality and even expand on it.

The 'Big 3' (Creative, Apple and Microsoft/Toshiba) all have great products, and I feel their differing selections while in the same basic genre, they each fill different niche groups within the large-capacity MP3 market. Apples to Oranges to Pears IMO -- whatever best fits you is the best option. The Zune happened to be what fit me, the iPod is what fit a few of my friends, the iRiver found it's way into the hearts of a few in my group as well as the Creative catches a bit of attention as well.

_Kris
 
I don't mind the clickwheel..Seems to work well enough. I just dislike the way the menu system works and interacts with the clickwheel. It is more of an interface problem than an input device problem, IMO
 
I like my Nano and my Video, but the interface/navigation on the Zune is Teir I for SURE. I absolutely love it.



Yet I have a video so no reason to have a zune :p
 
Wow and I thought *I* was picky.
Nano gets left in the car, playing. Cassette adaptor to the stereo, power connected, in the console. It will come inside if I ever decide I need to change the song mix.

My phone is enough of a player for portable, and one less thing to carry around. VX-8600 for now, but looking at getting a HTC tytn or the next gen version. Data, wireless high speed modem for the laptop, browsing, organizer, and 2+GiB of music. Who really wants to scroll through 5000 songs to find the one they want anyway. Also looking at getting that new A2DP recieving head unit for wireless music from my phone to ditch the ipod completely.

Also, several music programs have hacks or plug-ins to synch ipods.
 
You use your phone as a serious mp3 player? Wow. I've toyed around with it and streaming music from my laptop, but because i'm not in Sprint's EVDO coverage area, the streaming rate isn't high enough to be even remotely ok.
 
havand said:
You use your phone as a serious mp3 player? Wow. I've toyed around with it and streaming music from my laptop, but because i'm not in Sprint's EVDO coverage area, the streaming rate isn't high enough to be even remotely ok.
Click to expand...
VX8600 is verizon only. I run off my microSD card, so the speed isn't an issue (though is IS evdo and I run it as a modem for the laptop).
Navigation could be easier, and getting to the player faster, but once in its decently quick. I can get to the player without opening the phone, too.
 
Blown 89 said:
It's better because:

Divx/Xvid, mp1,2,4, wmv9, and motion-jpeg video support
DRM friendly
Programmable/Customizable interface and themes
Tivo 2 support
A screen that blows the ipod's out of the water (64K vs 262K colors)
Better battery life
Shorter charge times
FM tuning
FM recording
Mic recording
DRM friendly
Syncs to outlook and acts as an organizer
640x480 TV out (vs the ipod's 320x240)
Supports more formats
Doesn't need specific software to manage files
Linux support
Supports mutiple music stores
Supports mutiple video settings (Fit to screen, stretch to full, etc)
Supports image rotating, zooming, panning, resizing, etc
Acts as a USB host
Customizable EQ (as opposed to the ipod's presets only)
Video and Audio bookmarking


It also plays podcasts just fine (it converts them) and the size isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Most reviews actually prefer the thickness because it's more comfortable to hold. Simply put the Zen is a much better player than the ipod with MANY more features and to say a comparison of the two is a wash is simply ludicrous.
Click to expand...

For someone like me it also doesnt go and convert all my hard earned MP3's into crappy m4a's. :D I cant stand I-tunes and I have always felt the I-pod was overated and overpriced. But thats just me.
 
Occidio said:
For someone like me it also doesnt go and convert all my hard earned MP3's into crappy m4a's. :D I cant stand I-tunes and I have always felt the I-pod was overated and overpriced. But thats just me.
Click to expand...
iTunes doesn't convert anything unless you tell it to.
 
havand said:
Sound quality is king.
Click to expand...
qft

Then again, i guess most people wouldn't notice with 96kbits/s and 128kits/s encoding and $7 headphones. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

hahah! seriously, i see people walking around my school and all i hear are really, really high frequencies and their volumes turned up. it sounds like foil in the wind! i dont understand how they can listen to CRAP ass audio quality... well i do have picky ears, so all of the stuff that i feed them must be of excellent quality :D
zen + EQ + hd580's FTW!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top