Customer Reviews

Samsung Yepp YH-999 20 GB Portable Media Center

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was present at a Microsoft Windows Portable Media Center introduction in San Jose this summer. After the presentation and Q&A had ended, I had the privelidge of taking one of the three WPMC devices for a spin, the Samsung YEPP YH-999, which will debut along with the Creative WPMC product between late September and early October.

Holding the YH-999 was a surprise for me; based on pictures, I had been expecting a device much larger. However, Samsung surprised me with the packaging efficiency of this device, I was easily able to wrap fingers around it, and would effortlessly fit into a small-normal sized pants pocket opening. I also appreciated the slenderness of the YH-999, however, there is a downside to this, addressed later on.

The actual O/S itself is quite similar in appearance and function to Microsoft's Media Center, albeit slightly less intricate. It isn't in any way less user friendly or adequate than MCE; it is simply less substantial, which many will appreciate. One feature that I particularly enjoyed on the WPMC was how well interweaved the music player and photo album features are. Playing a music-accompanied slideshow is a seamless procedure, one that I would find particularly useful at family get-togethers or business venues that demand an attractive, well executed result that the WPMC so effectively delivers. I was also impressed by the quality of the video playback, as I found almost no discernable quality differences between it and a portable DVD player; however, I am still skeptical if the YH-999 will deliver the same quality in a high-demands home theater environment. I found the buttons and controls were idiot-proof, the ham-fisted included. The single feature that was icing on the cake for me was the 5-band sound equalizer that Microsoft incorporates in the software. Anyone who owns an iPod can't ignore the lackluster sound quality the device delivers, especially on Audiophile level headphones. Microsoft appears to have taken note with the inclusion of this feature. One feature I think that few will have a use for is the TV playback feature. A Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition with DVR setup is required to capture the TV show format the WPMC will play. Most households don't own MCE PCs, which will render this feature almost pointless unless Microsoft adds a TVR feature to Windows Media Player 10.

Now I must address the negatives of the YH-999. Archos has a well designed A/V player out that has a whopping 80GB hard drive, the Samsung Yepp YH-999 is being introduced with a paltry 20GB of storage space, and costs 100$ more than an Archos 20GB A/V player. Another fault that almost all portable A/V players suffer from is miserable battery life. If I wanted to watch a movie on a flight from New York to L.A, I'd be left high and dry less than half way through the flight. I would sacrifice some space to get better battery life. Also, the YH-999 doesn't support any sort of audio or video recording, which should be a no-brainer on a device of this caliber. Finally, I was unimpressed with the lack of support for different file types. The ubiquitous DivX format, which is supported by the YH-999's various competitors, is conspicuously absent from the YH-999's list of supported file formats. Although I don't doubt that an enterprising third party software company will create a solution to this issue, Microsoft is only being self-defeating in its quest to universalize its own file formats and applying it to the WPMC.

For those that need the latest and greatest, I'd say look long and hard at this product, but don't ignore the competition. The YH-999 is very effective at performing a multitude of tasks; however, it isn't without drawbacks. Also, I'd be willing to bet that Samsung, Creative, iRiver, and any other company that will make WPMC based products aren't going to offer only 20GB storage capacity for long, if they want their products to be a success. That means the YH-999 will receive a dramatic price cut when these larger capacity models debut, and based on the current standards for portable A/V storage space, the larger capacity models can't be far off. Also, based on their past and hints given by the WPMC program director, they will do yearly overhauls of the WPMC software which will require updated hardware. I think the A/V market will experience an explosion in interest and sales once these products go on sale, which will result in a more rapid refinement of the products, along with price cuts. If you don't feel a burn to purchase a WPMC right now, wait. The battle among portable a/v player companies is just starting.

I have used this now for over a month and I love it. It's stylish, easy to use and works well. I use it for music (I subscribe to an online music service) and I transfer TV shows to it (I have a media center PC) and watch them when I'm flying. Theoretically, you could rip your DVDs, transcode them to DivX and transfer them to this device and take them on the road or on vacation or whatever. This takes a bit of doing (you have to get the DVD Decrypter and Dr DivX programs), but if you do it this could hold about 20 movies. That'll keep the kids occupied for a while! And they could even watch the movies on the TV, not on the player, because the Yepp has normal TV outs just like a DVD player/VCR. I would definitely rather do this than buy for instance a Sony PSP and have to buy special discs that only work in the PSP...and then I guess have to buy a regular DVD to play it in my DVD player?? How about no to that.

The Yepp is too big for jogging, and is bigger for instance than an iPod, but it's not ungainly. In fact I would say it's pretty sleek. I do carry it in my pocket from time to time and it's no big deal. One nice feature by the way is the kickstand on the back that allows you to set it up when you're travelling or something and watch it without holding it up. Also, if you're just playing music it actually is kind of cool to have the screen because it shows the album art so if you're at a desk doing work you can set it up and it's a little more fun than an iPod or a screenless mp3 player.

The only problem I have had with the Yepp is that while songs transfer easily from my PC, playlists, so far, have not. Bummer for me. I blame Real's dumb Rhapsody to Go service. It's very buggy. So I blame Real. I wish I could review that >:()

This thing works great. I love it. It's really user friendly. I recommend it.

The Windows XP Media Center Edition has launched Okt. 12 in the Netherlands and I was amazed by this device that was presented at the launch. I have been using it now for 1 week and it is amazing how slick the device is, it is relativly small (Very small compared to the Creative one!).
It has AV out so it's great to take it to family or friends and hook it to their TV and show you pictures or just listen to music you brought to the party!
In my opinion it respons quickly, the screen is bright and clear.
But the best thing is the synchronisation. Boy, this thing is integrating with Windows Media Player 10 so easy!
If I had to say one thing against it that would be that the TV shows take some time to convert but that's bearable. The shows are pretty big otherwise so.

The bottom line: If you have $300 to spend on a portable player, the Personal Media Center is the gold standard and the Samsung Yepp is a very good choice. A great but pricey companion for audio and video, durable enough for kids with room for everyone's favorite content.

The details: I've used both the Samsung Yepp Portable Media Center ("PMC") for a few months now and have found this product to be a solid performer. The unit is roughly the size of a paperback book. I like the CE look and feel of this device, although I found the brick style of the Creative Zen more to my liking: the Zen fit nicely into one of the slots of my laptop bag (which I suspect was designed for a large laptop battery). The Yepp stands evenly when seated on a table or lap.

The first thing you notice is - if you own a Windows XP Media Center Edition ("MCE") PC - the UI on the PMC is the same which is very straight forward with simple scrolling selections for video, photos and music. The toggle controls on the Yepp are responsive and allow quick navigation through content lists and playback of audio and video. The audio volume controls are a good size and easy to adjust. All audio/video playback controls are easy to understand and use.

Content is loaded on to the PMC via Windows Media Player 10 (WMP). Unlike other reports, I've had no problem getting content loaded. The software via WMP 10 is user friendly and fast - I found that conversions of files on my Media Center PC were happening at about 1/4 to 1/3 faster than real time (where a 1-hr show - edited to 42-44 minutes - was encoded in about 30 minutes). Once you assemble play lists of audio and video, you press the "sync" button and walk away... I set up a bunch of files to be loaded the night before a plane trip and found that all of the files successfully converted and loaded to the PMC.

Keep in mind the conversion time: files recorded on a MCE PC must be down converted to the screen size and resolution of the PMC - this takes time. But the resulting quality is very good: I converted several shows, cartoons and movies without any noticeable video artifacts and excellent audio. Some people have noted that conversion can take about the same amount of time as the play time of the show - this seems to be impacted by your PC's processor speed, so I found that although it was no speed demon, it worked fine.

On the operations side, the ultimate test is how quickly my young kids get up to speed: within a few minutes they were happily watching (and rewinding and watching again their favorite parts) from their favorite cartoons. My kids had no trouble holding and sharing the unit, using a headphone splitter to accommodate both of them - I found that they preferred the size and weight as compared with other PMCs.

As for loading DVD movies, this is covered in other posts. For the purposes of playing back movies I recorded on my MCE, the movies looked and played fine. And unlike the smudges that appeared on the Creative Zen PMC screen, I found that the Samsung Yepp didn't suffer from these problems: the metallic finish around the screen mask any smudges and prints, and any smudges on the screen were cleaned easily with a damp cloth.

Operational controls are strong, with good fast-forward and rewind functions: if you pause a movie and return to it later, you can pick up where you left off (a nice feature). Battery life was good but not great: I was able to run for three hours with no noticeable issues. The Zen ran for more than six hours without a problem (but that unit is also heavier). Overall the Samsung Yepp PMC is high quality with great design and very good manufacturing.

Pros: Great quality TFT screen, video playback, super UI, good bundled software and strong manufacturing and design

Cons: Battery life is lower than other PMCs, no support for SD cards as on newer (2nd gen) PMC units.

I've had this media player for about a year now and at first I was very skeptical because I was new to this kind of technology. At first I mainly used it like an IPod. However, it's so much more. I've used it to hold thousands of pictures, movies, music and tv shows. Its great in that sense that i can carry everything I want with me and immediately hook it up to a television to show my family and friends pictures or movies. Almost in a sense, its eliminated my spending money on cd's, developing pictures and buying dvds. The internal hard-drive makes it wonderful for use of back-up files on your computer. I've used it to hold all the research papers I've done, so wherever there's a computer there's no longer an excuse for forgetting anything.

It's very user-friendly with WMP 10. But with that there a few drawbacks, very minor in my opinon based on how much it does. The battery life when listening to music, with decent headphones, usually lasts only about 6-9 hours depending upon the volume. The battery is low after watching a 2 hour movie, understandably because the screen is always lit for viewing. I love how this device allows you to view the album art for your music, but I've noticed that it clashes with WMP 10 and either the album art won't transfer to the device or WMP cant give accurate album art. I suppose its a defect with Windows Media Player.

Overall, I love the device and highly recommend purchasing it. It's at a more affordable price now than a year ago. I paid $450 so its a better use of your buck over a IPod.

I've tested and read about them all and the Samsung, overall is the best out there. The transferring of DVD movies and television can be a little difficult. For individuals that are somewhat computer savy, it should not be a major obstacle. I have downloaded everything on it. Pictures, movies, television and music. I transfered my whole CD collection which consists of 400 CD's and I have yet to fill up the memory space. If I had to pick a flaw about this media player, it would have to be to battery life which is a little limited. That;'s most due to it's small and sleek design. On the go, this player can fit right in your back pocket. A must get, you will not be disappointed!!!!

I have order this product because of the price being cheaper than other products and but after I got it, I have realized that it has THREE hours of video life and 12 hours of music life...
My main goal of a PMP was to watch tv recorded KDramas and stuff... but the battery.. is kinda harsh...
the main point of a PMP is to watch video, if you were to just listen to music, an Ipod or such mp3 player would be half the price...

if you were all in it for the video playing, go for the creativezen (around 7 hours of vid) and/or the Iriver with its 5 hours of vid life.

I have assumed that it will have around 5-7 hours of vid life as the product discription doesnt say nothing about battery life until I have read the manual... (my order coming soon)
I wish I can go back and change my order to a creative zen where its around 50 dollars more but having 2times + battery life makes that product worth more..
so bottomline is : all good but the battery. I just hope they can sell batterypacks or something I can use to lengthen my time with this or to change my order to a creativezen with 7 hours.
I think PMP is all about watching movies and when it can only play for 3 hours on a lets say a 4 hour round trip on a field trip on a school bus or some other situation where, batterylife is definitely important.. If your like me and was all about movies, you should look at the creativezen one as the 50 dollar extra might be worth it or if ur in for the music, I suggest an Ipod with around same b-life. I guess samsung made 1 mistake of a batteryfailure.

(...)

I watch a ton of movies with it. I had them rented from blockbuster. The player only reads wmv video but I converted all the movies using Crazi Video for PMC. I was able to watch them on the long usually boring bus ride. The player has 20GB that was enough to fit 12 movies. It is also light weight and very stylish.The movies have a very clear picture quality and Great sound quality.

WEll 5 years ago I did buy this little thing before I bought my PSP .

I bought it used and I dont remember why I bought it.Thinking about it that this little device can only sync with Window Media Player 10 if you have Windows XP running in your computer.

In the advent of updated Operating system for Windows , the new OS renders this little device obsulete.It actually have a really nice screen and audio. Ipod user where smarter because you can still use the old generation up to the present 2011 with your Mac and PC.

What was Samsung thinking when they made this player.I found mine under all my junk during winter spring cleaning and it is going to the donation box.

I am TRULY amazed of this wonderful mp3 playa !!! WHOLLY CHRIST ! Honestly, i didnt know, that you can get such a great product for THAT price!! I absolutely LOVE IT !! THANKS !!! I will order one more in a nearest future for sure (to make a perfect present to my lovely g/f):) Coming back to the item, in my humble oppinion, it definitely hits around 99.9 out of the 100 ! I love everything about it - its got wondows (which is HUGE plus, at least in my opinion), its very easy to operate, its VERY well manufactured, all details are carefully thought through - fabulous! As usual, the only problem with it - 20 GIG HD (i d need, like 200 GIG, lol). But other than that, its absolutely amazing playa !! recommend to ALL !!!