Viewsonic Moviebook VPD400 4.3-Inch HD Digital Portable Player

by ViewSonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.9 x 4.4 x 1.4 inches ; 7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002T30O6Q
• Item model number: VPD400
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,881 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

ViewSonic’s VPD400 4.3-Inch HD Digital Portable Player the next generation of the ultimate, all-in-one Portable Entertainment experience. The choice is yours – watch HD movies, listen to music, view photo albums, read digital books or even record voice memos. Stylish and ultra thin, this pocket-sized device will keep you entertained, anywhere. Super crisp, larger screen 4.3-Inch format with HD 720p, provides optimum viewing to share videos and movies with friends. Or simply hook up the MovieBook VPD400 to any PC or TV for full sized entertainment at home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Portable Video Player for Travel, January 20, 2010

By 

JohnS (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viewsonic Moviebook VPD400 4.3-Inch HD Digital Portable Player (Personal Computers)

Overall I'm very happy with this player. Not perfect but pretty much what I wanted and expected. I wanted a player that doesn't use a hard drive (more reliable and longer battery life). Since that means less memory I also wanted a slot for memory cards so I can take a lot of movies when traveling. I wanted simple drag and drop file management, no special software. This player fit the bill and the price was right.

Pros:
- Not a touchscreen so no fingerprints on screen.
- Larger screen and higher resolution than many media players.
- Plays MPEG2 Video files
- Even though it includes an AC charger that plugs into a separate jack, it can be charged through the USB port. So you can use any USB charger when traveling and can use external USB batteries for long plane rides such as Satechi iCel 4400 mAh Battery Extender Pack and Charger for iPhone 3G & 3Gs, iPod, Flip & Vado HD Camcorders.
- Play movies directly from microSD cards. Can carry lots of movies when traveling.
- Simple file/folder management. Behaves like USB flash drive. No special software needed.
- Remote control when connected to TV
- Composite video output for older TVs using menu settings and green RCA plug on inlcuded cable (undocumented) but image is considerably cropped.
- Can display text files in book mode.

Cons:
- Only about 4 hours battery life when watching movies.
- Not a touchscreen, navigating with buttons on side takes some learning.
- It is easy to push side buttons accidentally while handling.
- No HDMI output for TV, only component (480i, 480p, 720p) or composite (480i)
- On/Off switch is confusing. It is really battery power on/off. You turn the display on/off using the play/pause/stop button.
--- On/Off switch must be in On position to charge, otherwise battery status says "No Battery".
--- On/Off switch must be in On position to use in battery mode.
--- On/Off switch doesn't matter when using external power.
- Must download user guide from Viewsonic web site but no clear instructions provided on where to find it. Go to the VPD400 product page then click download.
- Cheap earbuds
- No carrying case included but Lowepro Volta 30 3.5-Inch and 4.3-Inch GPS Carrying Case (Black) fits almost perfectly. There is even a small pocket inside that will hold the remote or memory cards.
- No stand to sit on tray table.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great player., December 7, 2009

By 

MJC - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viewsonic Moviebook VPD400 4.3-Inch HD Digital Portable Player (Personal Computers)

I love this player. The navigation is easy enough, and there is no complicated setup. It plays WMV, MP4 and AVI with no problems. These are the only formats I have tested, so I can't tell you about anything else. I have not tested playlists either. I only planned to use it for video.

At any rate, it is great for video. One of my concerns was resolution. The resolution on this little guy is as good as I needed at its size. I did not want anything smaller than my Blackberry Storm. This is bigger, so it worked out.

The first time I used it, I managed little more than 2 hours battery life. I was very concerned about this, and originally review the product based on these results. I try to keep my movies at the highest quality I can get away with, so the movies I was watching (MP4) were around 3 Gig. That seemed to be the problem. I later tried this player with smaller videos, and the battery life increased dramatically. Still not 6 hours, but I knew going in that I wouldn't get that. I got more than 4 hours, and that makes me happy happy.

I think this is a great player. I highly recommend it to anyone needing a pocket sized video player with good resolution.

The only draw back for me is that I could not get the component output to work with my TV. My TV says "Device not supported." This sounds like a limitation of my TV, not the player. It's worth mentioning, as it is likely my TV is not the only one that will have this problem.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great portable video device, December 23, 2009

By 

K. Majors - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Viewsonic Moviebook VPD400 4.3-Inch HD Digital Portable Player (Personal Computers)

I bought this player strictly for watching video, not for music or digital books. For choice of format, there is no comparison. This thing plays every format I know of, plus WMV which is not listed in the product description. The battery life is fine, I got about 5 hours out of it before it needed charging. I gave it 4 stars for a few quirks. The firmware can be a bit cumbersome, and the updater on the Viewsonic website was incompatible with Vista, but worked with XP. The resolution is a slightly more narrow than 16:9, so you have to either re rip the video or live with it. There is a slight cheap feeling to the unit, but for $120, I can live with that. The screen is quite nice and the sound is also good. The memory is flash so you can drag and drop, witch is SO much easier than having to use a proprietary software package. Additionally, this thing comes with a bunch of cables so you don't have to shell out for more. In conclusion, if you don't want to deal with the transcoding software of the other two big players in this market and want a player for ANY video format, this is for you. I would like to see a second gen of this product make the $150 range with better quality and better firmware.

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