Customer Reviews

Creative Zen Vision:M 60 GB Portable Media Player Black

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I received my ZVM 60GB about two weeks ago. I have not had a chance to work it out that much, but to date I am very impressed. The screen is fantastic to watch video on. Very clear and sharp. The sound is Creative fabulous as well, as one should expect. The USB Host feature works well with my camera, slow, but usable transfers for how I use it. For those of you interested in this feature, I can copy about 400 JPG images of about 4.5MB per file in about 1 hour - this is not fast by any stretch but a useful storage option at the end of a day of shooting. Photos really look sharp on the player and you can select any image you have on the player as the wallpaper. You can also sync your outlook data (contacts & calendar). Navigation is a breeze. The unit is certainly larger than other players, but by no means a brick IMHO. I don't find it overly large, it fits comfortably in a shirt pocket and in my hand (I have normal size hands). I like the feel of a larger sturdier player. You have to realize that there are many things built into this player! Creative makes good sturdy players in my experience. Not much comes in this package. No wall charger and no usable case (it comes with a silly pouch). I will use my player more when a case becomes available, I find it rather slippery and it slipped out of my hands twice the first day I had it!!!. There are no cases currently that are designed specifically for the slightly thicker 60GB version that I am aware of. I have inquired about the silicone cases and reputable sellers tell me they do not work well on the 60GB ZVM. My gripe: The black version, which I have is a smudge/scratch magnet. While the black version looks cool, I wonder if the white is less prone to showing wear. Amazing to make something with such a finish!

For Christmas I received an 80 GB iPod. After about a month of fighting with it to do what I did very simply with a Dell Digital Jukebox I finally gave up and returned it. I have an extremely large music collection so I began to search again for the biggest player out there.

The Creative Labs Zen Vision: M fit the bill perfectly for what I was looking for: large hard drive and easy to use features. I would have preferred an 80 GB if not larger but I'm fine with 20 GB's less to be rid of the iPod.

Features of the Creative Zen are really what sets this apart from the competition. The color screen does a great job of showing not only the track name and artist but also the cover of the album itself. If you can see the button in the upper left hand corner below the screen, this button is for randomly choosing the album of the day. This is a nice feature for those that want to listen to something different but really don't know what. The touch pad is MUCH easier to use than the iPod circular touch pad. The iPod touch control was very difficult to control - especially when trying to select an artist a ways down the alphabet. With the Creative Zen all you have to do is hit the button on the right side of the touch pad to move the cursor to the alphabet and then just use your thumb to move down the alphabet. Another great feature is the "add to selected" feature. While it may be available on the iPod, I could never find it - despite reading the manual. This makes adding various songs, albums or even artists to the now playing extremely easy. As a nice side feature once you're finished your only about 3 clicks away from saving it as a playlist if you choose.

There are quite a few other great features but I think the point has been made. I highly recommend giving it a try. [...]

I absolutley love this unit. It has evrything: great sound, great video play (supports more video types than ipod), picture storage, tv out, etc. People are going overboard on the thickness issue. It's not that thick and it's not that heavy. Loading it up with music, video, etc. is easy.

The only issue is not with the player itself, but with Creative's media program. One plus is that it plays the player through the PC. But is has a folder system and does not sort the music on the player my artist, album, or genre. But there is thrid party programs that will like real player.

All and all it's the best DAP I have owned and this is my 4th.

I've held off on buying a new MP3 player for over a year, anticipating the release of a great high capacity MP3. Although IPOD just released their 80gig IPOD, I'm still definitely pleased with my purchase and the wait. The color's are more vivid, it's not that big (2-3mm thicker than the 30gig version) the software is VERY easy to use, sound is excellent, has a lot of features and was reasonably priced. Worked just fine using Win Media Player (Creative did provide both Media Player 11 and their own organizing tool, but you can use anything to sync this up). It takes almost every type of format you have without having to convert everything (and if you do, WMP does it for you). You can search by album, genre, artist, etc., not sure what the other guy was doing wrong. I haven't figured out if there's a way to shuffle all the songs you have on a particular artist yet. It did take about 2 hours for the initial sync, but that's because I have 45gig of music, vids, and pics. I've done all the large capacity reviews, read em all, tested the MP3's at the stores, etc, etc, and I have to say that the quality of the Creative is definitely the best overall MP3 on the market today. Only downsides I've found are the lack of all the accessories and that Creative needs to keep up with the market (hint, release a 80gig or better now!) and advertise more. If they step that up, this can definitley be THE IPOD killer. I'm still waiting on the sport case to come in I ordered, hopefully it will fit (the company said it would), more to follow on that. But, I've read that the sport cases actually scratch the player and would advise everybody to put the protective plastic on it before putting it in the case. Hopefully this helps you make a wise decision!

I love this way more than a comparable (and more expensive) iPod Video, but the player has some quirks you should know about first.

I picked this player because it has a built-in voice-recorder that I could use for interviews and to record school lectures, and the built-in FM radio receiver is a nice touch.

The Good:

The player works, sounds, and looks great, and is easy to use. Another great thing is that it acts literally just like an external hard-drive, so you can put songs on it - or copy songs off it - very easily from any computer with a USB drive (unlike the iPod that goes out of its way to keep you from accessing your files).

You can record audio that is super long, there are FM radio pre-sets, a nice bright screen, and the controls have some very innovative features to make it easy to quickly find the album or artist you are looking for.

It also natively plays lots of popular video-formats, so if you're into downloading TV shows off the internet, you can usually watch them without having to convert anything.

The Bad:

Their software for putting songs and video on the player is just terrible, but luckily you can do it yourself with the Windows Media Player or the regular File Manager. The FM Radio reception isn't that great, but works fine most of the time.

There are also some quirks you have to get used to:

-When listening to music, the screen won't turn off after a period of time to save battery (like the iPod) unless the player is "locked". I hook this up to my home stereo-system all the time and always forget to lock it, then when I do, I have to fumble with the controls to un-lock it when I want to change songs or play-lists. You don't have to lock it (and I've never had the battery die on me), but it just feels dumb to be wasting power to keep the screen brightly lit when I'm not looking at it.

-It takes some time to boot up. I'm not sure how long exactly, probably less than ten seconds, but it is quite obnoxious when you want to listen to something and have to wait for it to start. Once the player is on, everything else is quick (Switching between menus, loading files, etc).

-You have to adjust some of the controls to make it really work well. For example, one of the buttons comes factory-configured to make a completely random song start playing, which I see as a totally useless feature. But with a few clicks you can easily re-program that button do anything else you want (like jump to the "now playing" window as I did, or the artist selection page or whatever).

Overall I really recommend it, but only if you are a bit nerdy and won't freak out about having to change some settings or use software other than what comes in the box. If it's a gift for grandma, I'd say to stick with an iPod, which is meant to be super easy for anyone to use.

The Pros:
+ Comes with a plastic cover the screen out of the box. I left it on because it had no bubbles.
+ Best Video with good amount of space.
+ Best Sound Quality
+ Great Interface, in my opinion.
+ Most Formats
+ DRM compatible
+Great battery life
+ FM tuner, built in microphone, and can act as USB host.
+ Great with To-Go subscription services. For $14.99 a month, I can fill up my Vision:M (all of it) with music, legally, using Rhapsody. The next day, I can fill it up again with new content. It will never cost me more than $14.99 a month.

Cons:
- Thicker than iPod (pro in my opinion, I broke a Razr before)
- Must be charged on a computer, unless another cord it bought
- Comes with a silly pouch, and is difficult to find a case for the 60GB Vision:M (I did find it, I purchased it from Audio-Outfitters, and will update on the quality when it arrives)

My Explinations:
Having built my own computer through a lengthy process of upgrades, I have learned to thoroughly research any computer-related product over $50 before I spend my money on it. I bought a Sound Blaster audio card for my PC, and was completely impressed with the sound quality. I even invested in some speakers for my computer, although I had no prior intention of turning my computer into a multimedia machine.
Lucky for Apple and Dell, not a lot of people have the desire or know-how to research technology. Dell has created half-decent computers that are available to the public. The iPod became the first widely known MP3 player, and by all means, is decent. If you are looking for something more than decent, then this is the machine for you.
Its video, although not as colorful as a PSP, was way more colorful and vibrant than an iPod. After testing all three with the same video at the same brightness, I will say the Vision:M wins because it is able to play whole movies, is the most vibrant, and the PSP requires an expensive memory card to do so.
The sound quality is the best, hands down. This is expected from Creative Labs.
Its interface is awesome. Having had an iRiver, used and iPod, and still owning a PSP, it is best, in my opinion. It's great. The buttons are great for selecting things. Unlike the iPod, I can pause and go to the next song without my thumbs messing with the volume. However, the volume pad in the middle makes it easy to turn it up quickly. By starting in the middle and moving it down to the bottom, it turns the volume down at a fast speed.
The size is no big deal for me. It is the size of a pack of Marlboros. Although Camels are my personal favorite (and slightly smaller), the Vision:M is no way cumbersome.
The multiple formats make it easy to sync. In video, it does more than just MP4s. It does AVI, MPEGs, and DivX to name a few. It plays MP3s, of course, but also WMA and WAVs. It plays all common image formats. The USB host feature also makes it possible to get the video and images off a digital camera. The only thing the Zune has on the Vision:M is the WiFi transfers, but they expire.
Digital Rights Managements (DRM) makes Vision:M win. Rhapsody To Go (my personal favorite) works flawlessly with the Vision:M. iPod only works with iTunes. Zune only works with Zune Market Place... The Toshiba Gigabeat works with Rhapsody To Go, but operates with Microsoft Portable Media Center. In my experience, avoid PMC!
It has great battery life. I do not know much about the batteries of other devices, but it lasts 16 hours with just music, 5 with video.
Additional features: the FM tuner is a nice feature, along with the built-in microphone (which records well, by the way). As I said it can act as a USB host for cameras.
A side note, the software that came with the Vision:M ripped and transferred my scratched CDs without giving me an error. They were played in a CD player before and after, both times it would get stuck and skip. Windows Media Player would say "Unable to rip" on the tracks that skip. Creative records over the part that skips, and although the quality of the scratched part is lower, it has saved me at least $60 in replacing these CDs.

I bought the Zen Vision because I wanted to listen to music and to record FM broadcasts. I went with the 60GB model because I thought bigger was better. Although I like the MP3 player, I'm sorely disappointed by two things:
1. This is slightly bigger than the 30GB model, so the 30GB Vision cases don't fit. I've been unable to find any cases to fit this model, even on the Creative website. That's pretty poor customer service, in my view.
2. For unknown reasons, the 30GB model can record FM broadcasts, but the 60GB model can't. This is a subtle difference that isn't made clear in the promotional materials. You'd think the bigger and more expensive model would have more features, not fewer. Very poor product design and marketing.

Let's just say right off the bat that I am somewhat technologically challenged when it comes to these new fangled gadgets, at least until I get used to them. I still used the CD player and CDs. Well, my 33 year old son told me I needed an ipod. He has a friend who is really into this stuff and said to buy Creative Zen, because they are better and cheaper, with better capabilities. I picked this one because I wanted plenty of room to hold DVDs and music. Besides for sixty dollars more, you double the gigs. I bought this gizmo and asked my son to figure it out for me. Big mistake! He started loading all his stuff on it, so I had to buy one for ME and give him the first one.

All that said, and also that I am just getting my feet wet with it, this is an awesome little gizmo and I am tickled pink with it! Will be travelling in a couple of months and HAVE to take my Barry Manilow music with me. I would go into serious withdrawal without it. I've got 46 songs loaded already and it didn't even make a dent in the memory. It loaded in seconds. Was amazed at how fast. There's no little wheel. It's a rectangular touch pad and 2 buttons to each side. It needs only a light touch for the pad. You can also lock the pad so it doesn't get moved by mistake, like if you want to start it playing and leave it on. You can also set it to turn itself off in varied amounts of time if you leave it on by mistake.

I think it takes tens of thousands of songs and a couple hours of DVD. You can load photos too and can also pull in radio stations. The screen is a couple of inches square and it shows a crystal clear picture. You can watch a DVD and actually see it! The music is clear. Man! What a neat little gizmo. It's small and packs a whallop! I can load ALL my 7000 Barry Manilow albums (well, maybe not quite that many), and still have room for some meditation music for the plane, some Wayne Dyer motivational stuff and maybe add a little Earth, Wind and Fire, and Benny Goodman, and Harry James, and whatever and STILL have room for a DVD.

It comes with earphones and a charger that plugs into the computer. It also has a software disc that comes with it and a fabric type pouch. You charge it up and start.

Can't wait till I really get into this gizmo. Welcome me to the 21st century! If I can do it, you can too. (Not nearly as scary as I thought.)

PS--My son is even more tickled than I am, cause he understands the gizmo better (but not for long). He's just not tickled pink--maybe blue, or green. Actually, he likes green. He is an electrician and has loaded a bahzillion songs on his, so he plays it while he is wiring stuff all day long.

Anyway--Buy it. You'll like it.

Update: The sound quality is AWESOME. I hear things in my CDs that I never heard before, and these are CDs I have previously played over and over. I loaded songs all day yesterday, maybe something like 40 CDs and I still have something like 48 gigs left! I already loaded enough songs to take myself to France and back and I still have room for tons more stuff. No kidding, I DID load my ENTIRE Barry Manilow collection (and it's a big one) + 8 meditation CDs and some old stuff like Reader's Digest set of 4 1950s CDs. Come to think of it, I might have loaded more like 50 CDs yesterday. Anyway, you get the idea. Did I say this gizmo was a nice size for your hand, guy or gal. Not too big, not too small, but j-u-s-t r-i-i-i-i-g-h-t! One of the best buys I ever got for my $$$. And, my CDs are here, so if they get scratched in CD form, I've got 'em right here! Oh, if you copy something to the gizmo you don't want, you can easily delete it off through the software. Look out world! I'm starting to get into this gizmo!

Another update: it's really easy to load songs. The software practically does it for you. All you need to do is find the "Rip" and "Sync" buttons. You can also change titles or artist info later and it updates automatically when you sync something else. Got a pair of Bose headphones for my gizmo at the Bose outlet in Hagerstown Sunday. Awesome! I'm cookin', man! Am still in search of a just-right case for it. Meanwhile, I'm using an old CD belted holder. Think I might have found the right case. Will let you know when it comes. Check my other reviews for wall charger and auto charger and cases NOT to buy. Yes! Finally found a great case. See it in my other reviews.

May 1 update--still LOVIN' the gizmo! Ladies, guess what! Some of the purses out there have a nice outside pocket that the Giz fits in perfectly. Put the Giz in the pocket, dangle the wire from the Giz, and go shopping while plugged in and with your purse on your shoulder. Love it! I've got so darned many CDs on it now, it's pityfull, and I STILL have 47 gigs available! I am sooo glad I came to my senses and bought it!

Oct 2007 Update--my son wanted me to tell you all that he has beaten the heck out of his gizmo, unintentionally of course. Being an electrician and wearing it on the job while he crawls through things to wire stuff, it gets banged, dropped, etc. Anyway, he wants you to know that it still works fine even though it has taken one heck of a beating.

so, i had this (white model is all amazon had) for about 3 weeks in my cart and still no indication of when it was going to be in stock, so i bought a black one eleswhere, but of course, as soon as i buy it elsewhere, Amazon gets the black one in stock, but anyway, i got it and it is quite thick and on the heavy side, but so far, the video is crisp, clean, and very vibrant. no skips-very smooth video, the audio is excellent, photos are nice, great features like the A/V out-to watch it on your tv screen, it looks great. hardly any loss of resolution.(but i encode the video at the higest rate),havent tried the photo transfer yet, but it's a neat feature to have, and the creative software is very cool. i just started using the audio analyzer, which captures the tempo and the loudness of songs so when you put it on shuffle, it will kinda match the tempo and make the volume equal across all tracks. but you have to run it through the software first before loading the songs on your player. but it's worth it. my songs blend together and it's great. i didnt realize it at first, but after listening a few times, i really noticed that the songs all seem to fit well together.or is it in my imagination? but i did look at the properties after i ran it through the software and it does show the BPS(beat per second). i.e. 116, 110, etc..for each song. oh, and it also does batch conversion for changing the format to mp3, wma, vbr, constant, etc.. very cool.
so, to sum it up, despite the size, it's a great player. looks very cool and the touch pad is still too sensitive, but it's not a major issue.
i have alot of music that i encode at higher rates, so i went with the 60GB insted of the 30GB. but if i only wanted to put a couple of thousand songs on it, i would definately go with the 30GB model. i use this mainly for home use or travel, but i wouldent carry it around with me. i use the zen nano or zen v to carry around.

Pros: I travel frequently and need entertainment to get through long delays. The Zen Vision M holds every CD that I own with plenty of room to spare. I also like the fact that the 60 GB model can download photos directly from Canon cameras. I've found that 100 pictures can be downloaded in approximately 10 minutes. I also have purchased movies and TV series from Amazon's unbox service. The Zen screen is sharp and provides a reasonable picture and sound.

However, problems may occur when synching Amazon downloaded video to the player. The material transfers to the player, but can not be played and a message "no license to play appears". Apparently, "Hotfox for Windows Media Format 11 SDK (KB929399) causes this the problem. Once the update is removed the problem disappears. Unfortunately, Windows will continually attempt to redownload this so called "fix'. Microsoft at its very best!

Overall I am extremely pleased with my purchase and use the player daily.

Below are some downsides a potential purchasers should cosider before purchasing the Zen Vision M 60GB:

Cons: Poor Manual, Size, lack of Creative case, Charging only via Computer and Battery life

The Creative directions are skimpy and not particularly helpful. The same goes for support via the web. I've had to figure out how certain features work by trial and error.

The player itself is somewhat chunky. This is not a problem on planes, but is not ideal for using the player at the gym.

For the 60 GB model, Creative does not make a case that fits. However, I did find a case at www.podsplus. Creative makes no accessories for this player.

The Zen does not come with a wall power adapter, the player must be charged using a computer and the USB cable. Creative charges [...]for a wall charger. I bought a travel charger set for[...]that included a home AC charger, an auto charger, a battery extender cable and an extra USB cable.

The battery life when listening to audio is a reasonable 11-12 hours. The battery life for viewing videos is a little more than 3 hours at best. Thus, I carry the battery extender which allows one to run the player with 4 AA batteries.