Creative ZEN Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black)
by Creative
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List Price: Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative ZEN Vision:M 30 GB MP3 and Video Player (Black)
Customer Review: Hands down the best
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all [i] was sucked into buying an ipod (the fourth generation click wheel) and loved it. I used limewire for a while(it was illegal though), but when i got a new computer i decided to stop and use iTunes. Well to say the least iTunes has a TON of songs, but i hated the fact that there was other music stores that didnt charge .99 cents a download. So that was the major facor into me deciding to switch to a new mp3 player. Basically all the kids in my school have an ipod video or an ipod mini, so you know i kind of wanted to be different. So i did some research and stumbled upon this CNET thing on the best new mp3 player and the vision M was there. Now the first thing that came to my mind was the fact that it looked similar to an iPod, but after i did my research I realized that it was far from it.
The PROS:
Best screen quality for videos- has something like 265,000 colours while the ipod has 64,000. Also you can change between 6 different backgrounds, which is a small but yet cool feature.
Long Battery Life- I used to charge my iPod every night but with the Zen I only charge for two and a half hours every two or three days, which is great if I forget to charge it one night i dont really have to worry about "Is it going to die on me" factor. By the way its amazing because you can plug it in for around 45 minutes to charge and its halfway full when you pull it out. 2-2 1/2 hours to charge fully.
Controls- I peronally love the layout of the buttons and ill exlplain them to you too. The one on the upper left with the arrow touching the dot is your "short cut" button. What that means is you can set it to on your setting and set it to bring you to a certain page in you player ( I set it to "Artists") so that when you are listening to a song and dont want to go back you just press that button and BAM you are there. The button underneath it is the back button which is just to go back. The button on the top right is the Play/Pause button, and the one on the bottom right is the small menue type button. You can use this to delete a track from you player(+)at any time.
The controls are pretty basic to get used to, I picked them up in around ten to fifteen minutes. By the way on the long touchpad button there is to little small buttons to the left and right that is the Forward and Back buttons used to cycle through songs.
Navigation- When you are in any of the sub folders for music you can hit the side button next to your touch pad and access a small side bar that has all of the letter in the alphabet. You just scroll down with the touchpad while it brings you the beginning section that starts with that letter. Which save you all the time of scrolling through thousands of songs.
Video- I used windows media player to transfer music videos onto there and it transfered in about 10 seconds for a 3 minute video.
Programs- I use Window Media Player to transfer songs, which is basically like a more advanced version of iTunes, and its pretty easy to get used to.
Sound- Better than the iPods in my opinion. I played the exact same copy of a song on my ipod and on my zen at the same time with a different headphone in each ear (the song opened wiht a slow but loud drumming) and the zen beat it by a mile. To describe the sound its basically like your watching T.V in a way its sort of all around you and right next to you.
Size- I don't see why everybody is complaing about the size. its basically about the size of the 40g 4G ipod. It feels comfortable in your hand. The front is pretty scratch worthy, but not too bad. I ordered an invisible shield from www.shieldzone.com and i could rub a coin all over it and just wipe it off and it looks brand new. The best part is you dont need to worry about the back getting scratched up because its like a sand blasted back. On the back the zen logo is indented with a ripple effect which adds some nice touch.
Here is a website that shows a comparison to the ipod video (but if youve ever held an ipod video in your hand they feel somewhat uncomfortable, the zen feels sturdy but light)
(...)
THE CONS-
Album art- O.K i have strived to get the album art onto the Zen but to me its literally impossible. Its not like itunes where you can just copy and paste a picture from amazon if you dont have it. I went to creatives online support and followed the instructions, which include, deleting a hidden folder on you zen, saving the picture, resizing it, import it, open it and choose the cover style. Its just crazy for creative to do everything practically perfect and screw up on a small thing like album art
Customer Support:
Not really part of the zen but I called the technical support (for the album art)and i had to wait on the phone for 45 minutes, which is far from reasonable for a technical support (all the while listening to some sort of Japanese techno) and when the guy answers he reads me the thing from the website and says hes not to familiar with the vision M. So i called again (another 45 minutes) and the lady sends me a software up date for the wrong player. So i call back again (40 minutes) and now im really mad, and that lady puts me on hold and talks to her supervisors about how to do it and just redirects me to the online website which didnt even help me in the first place. So you get the picture on why the technical support stinks.
Forgot to add i subscribed to Rhapsody for 15 dollars a month and now have unlimited downloads ande everything so that made this purchase all the more worth while.
All in all the Zen is a great produc, and in my opinion kills the iPod video. BY THE WAY IF YOU DONT HAVE WINDOWS XP DONT BUY THE VISION M BECAUSE IT WONT WORK ON ANYTHING ELSE. Just wanted to let you guys know how much I love this little gadget
Customer Review: Thank you Vision M (The Destroyer) **UPDATED**
Summary: 5 Stars
i'am one of those who seek the best product in its category even if i have to pay more. The ZEN VISION M is one of those best products in the MP3 field. when i first decided to buy an mp3 player, first of all like everybody and without thinking and comparing i bought the ipod nano. i was looking for a small mp3 player with a descent storage and of course it must be good looking. After, having the nano for two months, i got so bored. the nano can't hold anything else except music and photos that must be seen on 1.5 inch screen therefore you will need a loop if you want to view your pictures. i sold the nano to one of my friends and i got the san disk sansa e260, excuse me san disk but that thing is suck. tha material from which that thing was made can't compete with other mp3 player in the market. the e260 gives you that very cheap look although it costs me 220 USD. i returned tha sansa back to best buy and i decided to spend a little bit more and get something with a video (fully equipped) and a big screen. i started comparing between the 2 most rivals in the market, the ipod video and the ZEN Vision M. finally, i decided to buy the VISION M for the reasons below:
1-the vision M is equipped with an FM tuner with a perfect reception for 70% of the channels.
2-the vision M is equipped with an FM recorder so you can record your favorite radio show, song or game and listen to it later.
3-the vision M is equipped with an excellent voice recorder. i made a test for the voice recorder in Best Buy, i recorded my voice talking in the middle of a crowd and WOW i can still hear my voice clearly
4-the 2.5 inch LCD(high definition)screen is very clear and sharp that you can see your pictures very vivid plus, you have a zoom in feature. so i don't need a loop anymore!
5-the player is customizable. you can change the defalut backgrounds with any picture uploaded on your player. Plus, the player comes equipped with 6 different backgrounds and fonts.
6-the Vision M is not scratches and fingerprints magnet like the ipods.
7-the included software is very easy to use. i got used to itunes and when i used the software included i found it pretty much similar and i dealt with it like if i have been using it long time ago.
8-the player comes with a wall charger!! thank you so much creative for giving the player's buyer his rights. the ipod video doesn't come with a wall charger, you have to buy it seperately for around 30 USD, ipods are charged with the included USB cable which is ridiculous because i remember one time i was in a hotel and i couldn't listen to my ipod because the thing ran out of battery and i had no access to computers.
9-sound quality is pretty much the same, but the included speakers with the creative are prettier than the ipod.
10-the accessories for the Vision M started to show up in stores, DLO company made till now 2 different cases for it. plus, many different cases that you can find online especially on Amazon.com.
11-the Vision M has better battery life, lasts 1 - 1.5 hours more than the ipod video when playing videos and more hours when you play music
12-The vision M has one of the best features that ever came in an mp3 player before..you can search for your song alphabetically. plus, you can click on the vertical touch pad and a keyboard will apears on which type the name of your song using the touch pad and the player will look it up for you whereever this song exists. Isn't that excellen?
Conclusion: the vision M offers you all the Ipod Video features plus the list above. for the same price. you pay 300 USD for both!!!!
the Vision M from my opinion worth every penny sipmly because if you want to buy some accessories for the Ipod video to make it with the same features equipped in the Vision M you will have to spend at least 120 USD over the initial 300 USD to add the fm tuner and the voice recorder and you will never have zoom feature or customizable player.
Some Remarks:
-they say that the itunes is one of the pros of the ipods, i don't know why, this software can be downloaded for free even if you don't have an ipod!!!
-they say that the accessories is on of the pros of the ipods, i don't know who's going to buy all these cases and speakers offered in the market by everybody?
-they say that the ipods are easier to use. Feel this one and try it anywhere and you will find very easy to use and even easier.
i hope that my review can be helpful. thank you creative for making such an excellent product and saving the customers from this bad monopoly called iPods...
P.S: I DON'T AGREE WITH THAT "I'AM ALMOST SOMETHING" THAT THE BACK AND THE FRONT OF THE SAN DISK SANSA E200 LOOK GREAT,I AGREE THAT THE SOFTWARE AND THE DESIGN OF THE THING IT SELF LOOKS PRETTY BUT THE MATERIALS THAT THAT THING WAS MADE OF SEEM TO BE VERYYY CHEAP, THE SCROLL WHEEL MADE SOME CRACKY NOISES WHEN USING IT IN SWITCHING BETWEEN MENUS AND ALSO IT WASN'T SMOOTH AT ALL. THE BACK OF THE SANSA IS MADE OF LIQUID METAL WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO RESIST SCRATCHES WHICH I LIKE, BUT WHAT I DON'T LIKE IS THAT THIS BACK AND THE WHOLE PLAYER GIVES YOU THAT FEELING THAT THE PLAYER IS CHEAP AND CERY CHEAP BUT OF COURSE I AGREE THAT THE SANSA E200 HAS MUCH BETTER VALUE THAT IPOD NANO..
Regarding the accessories i placed an order for an awesome silicone case from DLO.com and i received it yesterday.. the case fits my vision M perfectly and i got the case on time wih no hassles.
Customer Review: IPOD KILLER!!! Awesome player
Summary: 5 Stars
I had first written a review, and my original enthusiasm still remains for this player. I bought it on the US date of release, and have used it for a fair amount of time. I still love the player, and here's what's happened so far.
The Player (after a Firmware upgrade) still performs like a beauty. Most Divx/Xvid files downloaded from Torrent sites can be thrown right on. The Majority of the content on my Vision M are videos, which is my main purpose. The player performs well, and I can squeeze off a movie, and 2 TV shows, roughly 2.5 Hours of video, and still go on with about 6-7 hours of music (or possibly a few more shows).
The player is indeed a scratch magnet on the front. I had originally invested in screen protectors from Kroo. Unfortunately, they are of low quality, and a Screen protector is a must. I also snagged an Action Jacket for my Vision M, which increases the bulk slightly, but not enough for me to notice. The player has survived Coke and Sprite spills, and there is no evidence of discoloration.
The Player is obviously a little large, in a "brick" sort of design. Don't let this turn you away though. It is very easy to hold, and is very sturdy. The Buttons require a significant push, and the player feels like it is well built.
Sound quality is great. The Navigation does have a learning curve, and your Menu Colors are limited. Your options as far as customization go are wallpapers and menu order.
The Main menu contains menu items, which can be deleted/rearranged with ease. There are 6 preset themes, appealing to different tastes. There is little lag in between menu options. The player is VERY sensitive, almost to the point to cause frustration in some people. Scrolling does have a clicker noise, which can be disabled, along with a clock, calendar, and dates. Customization is a key feature. Imagine an Ipod Scroll wheel, with all the options broken apart into 4 buttons, and the actual wheel became vertical. Enter, Vision M!
For the Ipod fans, I have used an iPod video enough to review, and it can be safely said that you will probably navigate easier on an Ipod than a Vision M. The Ipod's Navigation wheel is much easier to use. However, usually this has nothing to do with the actual features.
The FM Radio is of good quality, and features a little Cell phone style bar that indicates signal strength. I usually have full bars, and the reception quality is crystal clear. No hissing, buzzing, or such (for you Rio Fans).
The Screen is gorgeous, and re-encoded TV shows and DVD movies still retain their quality. I tested many movies, and all have been clearer than your standard Tube TV. Although the Vision M can support many formats, movies play best at medium-High Divx Bitrates. Oddly enough, XviD seems to cause problems such as synch (see below).
Most of your p2p, Torrent, and Ripped movies will be ripped in Divx. It is best to Re-encode DVDs into around 700+ kbps Divx movies, to avoid problems. The codec is simple and most full-length movies will set you back 14-20 minutes. A good program is PocketDivx.
Now come for the Two Massive Cons. Movie Synching, and Freezes.
My player has frozen on me 5 times. 1 time included me asking a hotel for a sewing kit so I could use the needle to reset. All this time an image of Brad pitt was frozen on my screen. When the player freezes, the lights will usually remain on, and the on/off switch will not work. Usually I encountered this problem on XviD Movies. Divx however, was very stable.
Another Huge Con is the synching of movies. Again, usually with XviD movies, video files desynched after 20 minutes of play. This meant that the audio was about 2-5 seconds behind the video. The point of desynched was set in stone, and there was no fix. Desynching usually occurs when the Video Bitrate exceeds the Vision M's CPU capabilities. Recommended bitrates are 600-800 kbps, and a 14-minute re-encode to Divx can skip over such hassles.
The Vision M comes with a proprietary connector to Charge and to use Video Out. Video Out is good at the proper resolution, and looks like Basic Cable. Still fun to use, but don't expect HDTV. The Dongle can be annoying, and it is like an ipod dongle, but reversed.
PROS:::
Amazing Feature set
Crystal Clear FM radio
Good Software for Transfer
Gorgeous screen
Sturdy
Good sound/video quality
CONS:::
Freeze/Desynch Bug
WINDOWS XP ONLY!
No Drag and Drop (not a biggie)
Scratch-fiesta in your pants pocket
Proprietary connections
Overall, I am very happy with the Vision M. It Performs well, and under good care, looks well too. Once you learn the navigation, and find your sweet spot to avoid the bugs, you'll be in heaven!
IMPORTANT!!! There are 2 different Versions selling currently. Once reported as a Vision M: lite (not a common term), there is a smaller box that includes a Vision M WITHOUT A CHARGER. The Prices don't seem to be different. THE PROPER BOX IS THE ONE THAT IS ENCASED IN A THICK COVER, AND SLIDES OUT LIKE A MULTI DVD BOX. The smaller version usually is the same price. THE SKU NUMBER IS THE SAME. You are safer buying the vision M in store, as Both Boxes will be acceptable with the same SKU.
Customer Review: iPod or Zen Vison M: ? 30 days with Zen Vision M and Lovin' IT!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hey Everyone, If you are reading this review you are probably about to purchase either the Apple Video iPod or the Creative Zen Vison M: or some other similar device. For me it was between Apple 30-Gig Video iPod and the 30-gig Creative Zen Vision M.
I actually read a lot of the negative reviews for both devices. There were more negative reviews for the Apple iPod, but there were also more total sales of the iPod verse the Creative Zen Vison. Also, the iPod negative reviews contained negative reviews of the non-video versions. This led me to consider that people that 1) Bought an expensive personal electronic device, and 2) Had problems using it, and 3) Didn't know what product review section they were in...might not be the most skilled at using the devices they are complaining about. In simple terms, the user is the problem, not the device.
Therefore the negative reviews focusing on how a person can't use the device should not be a deterrent to you of purchasing the device. Also, the Creative Zen Vision M: comes with a 1-year warrenty, so if the battery dies, or the screen dies, or the hardware fails within 12 months of purchase, you can get it repaired or replaced. So, even if the particular unit you get does not work, or fails, that unit does not represent the whole of the quality of the product, just that particular unit. I also believe that although not as delicate as an egg, these devices with minituare hard drives and thin glass displays are not hacky sacs. If the outside of the box containing your shipped device is marked or dented in any way, it is possible that the device worked fine at the factory, but was damaged in shipping, and again, does not represent the whole of the quality of the product. In simple terms, one defective or broken unit does not mean ALL the units are defective or broken.
I choose the Zen Vision over the Apple iPod for four main reasons: Screen Quality, FM Stero, Recording Ability and non-iTunes freedom. Screen Quality: The screen on the Zen Vision M is better than the Apple iPod. I have a friend who has the video iPod and we played the same music video side by side and it was a no brainer. Even my friend had to admit that the video looked better on the Zen Vision. FM Stereo: Want to listen to NPR or some other live news report on the iPod? Oh, you can't. Recorder: The recorder records stuff outside the device, AND can also record from the radio. On the iPod, you can't record. Non-iTunes Freedom: Many people love iTunes and how seemlessly it works with iPods. However, after doing iTunes for years I wanted my WinAmp back, and/or MediaMonkey, and/or, the freedom to try different software. If you love iTunes, good for you. It's like living in the world's best prison. You don't even know you are trapped. Update: Some non-iTunes software can now interface with iPods.
What about podcasts? Can I get those on the Zen Vision? Yep, they are called Zencasts. I have not tried them out personally, but the option is available.
In the 30 days I have had the device I have put on 3000 mp3 files and 8 movies. The movies are about 1-gig in size, 800meg to 1-gig. I didn't think I would be using the movie playing aspect, but it turns out that it's way cool. With the 2 and 4 year old children in the house I can't watch "The Matrix" when they are awake as I think it will give them nightmares. AND I can't watch it when they are napping or sleeping as I want to watch it LOUD, as intended. Now I can watch it with the volume loud before going to bed or at lunch or whenever.
Music play back is awesome, as good or better than the iPod. I mention it in passing as it kind of goes without saying that the device is great at playing back stored music.
Lock-ups. My particular unit has not "locked-up" on me, but I only have vanilla *.mp3 and *.avi files on the device. It might be that people that were having lock-ups had non-standard files or corrupt files. I only mention lock-ups as it was my biggest fear after reading many of the reviews that the device would continually lock-up. I now believe that people that have multiple lock-ups may have corrupt files or are playing formats that are "supported" but may not be totally supported. Like mp3 files are supported, but I only have constant bit rate or CBR mp3s. I don't know how well the device does with Variable Bit Rate (VBR) mp3s.
So, in short, I've been using the Creative Zen Vision M: for 30 days and I am lovin' it!
Notes: The Apple Video Cable that I got for my iBook works with the Creative Zen Vision M:. So if already have that cable, save yourself $30.00.
The Creative Web Site has Forums where you can get help with using the Zen Vision. One that really helped me enjoy the device even more was "Vision:M undocumented how to & tips thread" Google it if ye doubt my word.
Found an old 4.5VDC car charger that works instead of 5.0VDC
Screen Protector - yes, use one. One comes installed, leave it on and replace it as it wears.
Hope this review helps you out, God Bless and Good Luck.
Customer Review: Great Product - While It Works. Otherwise, Product Support is Awful
Summary: 2 Stars
I've had mine for almost a year now, and the good news is that, while it's working, it's great. During that time I downloaded about 2500 songs, and perhaps 500 videos on the Vision M. While I was actually using it, there were not many complaints about quality of sound, video playback, or things of that nature. Matter of fact, until last week or so, only complaint was that the Creative Media Organizer (the software program that lets the device interact with your computer) had a tendency to freeze every now, and a few times the Vision M itself froze while in operation, but sticking a pin in it to reset it solved the problem, so no big deal.
Then last week while I was tinkering with my playlists, the Creative Media Organizer froze, necessitating a rebooting of my computer. When I did, I found to my horror that the vast majority of what had been stored in my Vision M had disappeared. Instead of 2500+ songs and around 500 video clips, there were now 350 songs and no videos. To make things worse, the Vision M stopped being recognized by the computer - whenever I tried to use any of the software that I'd been using for a year to interact with the Vision M, I kept getting variations of the request to "please connect the device to the computer."
Went to the customer support website - it's mostly self help. Long and short of it was that after many fruitless hours, the only remaining solution was to reformat the drive. Downside is that doing so erases the drive completely, which means you have to restock it from scratch. Although I had all the media files stored in my computer, I still didn't want to go through that - they were arranged in a certain way in my device, and my playlists were arranged just so, etc. So I email customer support to find if there's any way to retrieve the data short of reformatting the drive.
First customer support response is an automated email telling me to visit the customer support website and a few links in there, and if that didn't help to write back. Well, that hadn't helped so I email back. Takes three or so days for a "live" person to write me back - and he basically resends the same links from the automated email, that boil down to what I'd already figured - reformat the drive and thus lose all data stored in it - which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place. In the department of unintended irony, he tells me to save the data on the Vision M to my computer before reformatting - which was kinda difficult since the problem is that the device won't connect to the computer any more. Email ends with additional instructions in very poor English to the effect that if that didn't work to arrange to have the product shipped back for repair.
Well, by then I'd already given up on the customer support route and had gone ahead and reformatted the Vision M thus erasing all the data, and then had to restock it with the back-up data stored on my computer. Now I'll have to try to rearrange it the way I had before, do my playlists again, etc.
Some of the things to bear in mind when deciding on whether or not to purchase the Vision M:
1. Although the quality of performance isn't bad while the product is operating, there's a high possibility that at some point you'll have trouble getting the product to operate in the first place.
2. If you do have trouble with the Vision M, Creative's customer support is very poor - assumes a higher computer tech savviness on the part of its customers than is realistic (e.g.; came across some self-help instructions that assumed the reader knew what a BIOS was, let alone how to tinker with it, or go into the product registry for various items), relies on automated responses, takes days before a "live" person emails you back, and chances are that person, whether tech savvy or not, simply doesn't have enough command of English to be able to effectively communicate helpful advice.
3. The warranty is extremely short - 60 days.
4. Outside the warranty, you need to shell $25 minimum just to have somebody take a look at the product - with the added caveat that you "might" get billed for more (i.e.; real world translation is that you *will* get billed for more once you ship the Vision M for RMA).
5. At some point you likely will end up with some corruption in the drive for which you'll need to reformat the Vision M and thus lose all data stored in it. If you have it backed up, then you only have to deal with the (relatively) mild hassle of reorganizing it once you restore it to the Vision M.
6. If you don't happen to have your data backed up, you're SOL. Of course, the need for backing up in the first place runs counter to the Vision M sell point that, in addition to entertainment, the device itself can be used for storage and data backup for things you don't want to clutter your computer with.
All in all, I don't think it's a horrible product, but I doubt I'll be getting a Creative MP3 player next time I upgrade.