Sansa TakeTV 8 GB Video Player

by SanDisk

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1 x 1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000XB2TXW
• Item model number: Sansa TakeTV 8GB
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,626 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Sansa TakeTV system provides an easy and convenient way to enjoy video files from a PC on any TV. With 8 GB* of built-in flash memory, the Sansa TakeTV player is as simple to use as a USB flash drive.

The Sansa TakeTV is a stylish and compact device that allows you to bring your favorite videos with you. View larger.

Use the included TakeTV cradle to watch your videos on any television. View larger.

Use the fanfare content delivery service to download favorite TV shows and movies onto the TakeTV player.

fanfare makes it easy to get the shows and movies you want. View larger.

Not longer than a pencil, the TakeTV is truly a portable theater. View larger.

To enjoy robust video file playback on a TV screen:

1. Connect the TakeTV player to your PC via USB.
2. Drag your video files onto the device.
3. Slip it into the provided TakeTV cradle, which connects to your TV.
4. Press Play on the included remote, and enjoy!

It's Easy
With the TakeTV as part of a home entertainment arsenal, your favorite video files can be enjoyed almost instantly. There is no confusing Wi-Fi setup, and no waiting to burn DVDs. The system comes with: a TakeTV player unit, which resembles a typical USB jump drive; a TakeTV remote control, which you can use to manage your favorite video files from across the room; and a TakeTV cradle for easy A/V connectivity with your TV. The cradle can connect to any TV that supports composite video, analog stereo, or S-Video A/V inputs.

Load the TakeTV player with video files via its convenient USB connection, and then dock the player to the cradle. Immediately after you dock the TakeTV player, the TV monitor displays a menu you can use to browse files and select a video to watch. The included remote makes it easy to do this from the comfort of the couch.

fanfare Content Delivery Service
You also can take advantage of the fanfare content delivery service (currently in public beta) to download favorite TV shows and movies onto the TakeTV player. fanfare, an easy-to-use Web service, offers users access to a growing list of TV shows and movies.

Broad Format Support
The TakeTV supports MPEG-4-–Divx and xVid. Also, the system is DivX home theater profile certified, DivX DRM compliant, and supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios at a resolution up to 720 x 576. For speedy file transfers, the player's USB connection supports both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 connectivity.

Compatible with Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Mac and Linux operating systems, the 8 GB TakeTV system provides enough memory for 10 hours** of continuous video file playback. The system supports NTSC and PAL color televisions. When docked in its cradle, the TakeTV system measures only 4.55 x 1.5 x .45 inches. It comes backed by a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

What's in the Box
Sansa TakeTV player, Sansa TakeTV remote control (battery included), TakeTV cradle with integrated cables (composite/s-video), AC power adapter, and quick start guide.

* One gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions; thus, it is not available for data storage.

** Video capacity based on MPEG-4 1.5-Mbps video at 720x480 pixel resolution combined with 128-Kbps audio. Actual capacity varies by content.

NOTE: For home and personal use. This product is intended to be used for playback, for your home and personal enjoyment. Copying and commercial use of copyrighted material without permission of the copyright owner may be prohibited by law. Use of your TakeTV device in compliance with all copyright and applicable intellectual property laws remains the responsibility of the user of the product.

Product Description

Takes video content from your PC to your TV

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, execution just short of great, November 6, 2007

By 

SuitedPair (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sansa TakeTV 8 GB Video Player (Electronics)

This is a great item, especially for the people out there that download a lot of video content online. It's small and very easy to set up. The quality of the video obviously depends on the quality of the files, but they seem to be generally in line with the comparable quality of burning a file onto a DVD and playing it through a DVD player. It does exactly what it advertises at a reasonable price.

A few nitpicks: 1) the resolution of the menus looked absolutely terribly on a hi-def set (the borders were not straight and the text was very jaggy, 2) the remote is very awkward -- buttons are not terribly responsive and it seems like the IR signal is pretty weak, 3)the power plug connector is bundled with the A/V plugs and not part of the base unit, so if you use a front inputs on your tv, you need to run the power cord right up to the tv, 4) the dowloadable content on fanfare.com was not of great video quality.

It is believed that some of these issues will be rectified by firmware updates moving forward.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great compact DIVX viewer, November 22, 2007

By 

xC1er (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sansa TakeTV 8 GB Video Player (Electronics)

Got the 8 gig unit and am using it to view DIVX and HVID files. Works well with good resolution (I am not using it on a hi def TV). Haven't tried it with mov or mpeg2 files, but I assume it won't work. The remote has a button to cycle between original, letterbox, pan and scan, fill, etc. which is nice.

A few limitations: It takes a long time (2 minutes) to load a full length movie. The fast forward is only 16x. It does not accept any other flash drive (even if you manage to get the USB connector to fit), so get the 8 gig unit.

I use it for when I am on the road, plugging in to hotel TVs to catch up with my favorite programs, and its great for that. At home I use the Philips DVD player with USB input that also works well with the Sansa flash drive part of the unit. Haven't used the download service that is bundled with it.

Regarding the above comments on the power cord - the power line is on the outside of a flat ribbon - just strip the cord back away from the ribbon down to the connector (see the picture of the unit) and you have another 3 feet of power cord down to the floor.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Ready for Prime Time Yet, November 15, 2007

By 

Don65 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sansa TakeTV 8 GB Video Player (Electronics)

My Sansa TakeTV arrived today. As a piece of hardware, it seems to deliver what it promises although I have not checked out file types other than Divx. I agree with the observation another reviewer made on the location of the power cord connector - very awkward placement. However, the Fanfare video service associated with the TakeTV is dead-on-arrival for me. Very, very, very slow download speeds. Admittedly, it is in beta and perhaps they are having technical problems tonight but I would not advise buying a TakeTV with the intent of using it with the Fanfare service. Fanfare gets zero stars - I'll give the TakeTV hardware a four.

These further comments are added after I have owned and played with the unit for a day. If I could change the rating I made earlier, I would reduce my rating to 2 stars. This unit is just not ready for prime time - wait until they get the software/firmware updated which hopefully they will do.

It does work well on DivX files and if you are willing to convert everything to DivX, you may be satisfied.

I haven't tried Xvid files but would expect it to work well there since these are well specified file types.

But, it does not work with AVI files created by the two digital cameras I use (both Canon digital Elphs). It does video but not the audio of files created on an Archos Gmini. I have tried a wide variety of settings to try to find some combination which would allow conversion to runnable AVI or MPG or MPEG-4 files with no success. The literature for the TakeTV is totally devoid of technical detail so there are no hints as to what will make an acceptable AVI or MPG file. I have communicated with Sandisk customer service and am awaiting a reply.

Sandisk does not claim that the unit works with a Mac. I can confirm that you can connect it to an iMac and drag files onto the unit. The unit "ejects" as expected and the icon disappears from the screen but when you physically remove the USB unit, it crashes the Mac requiring a restart. It is the only device I have ever tried which "blue screens" OS X. Similarly, the "safely remove hardware" command in Windows XP never produces a "safe to remove" message. Fortunately, physically removing the unit does not upset XP.

Perhaps this device was rushed to the market for the Christmas shopping season and has arrived a bit prematurely. I suggest you wait for improvements before you buy.