Customer Reviews

iriver 20 GB PMP-120 Portable Media Player

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

 

 

I had bought Creative PVP sometime back, but had to return it bcoz it uses Microsoft Media Player. Wrong media player choice. It makes the whole process of uploading media very tiresome and slow. So i returned the Creative. I checked iRiver at the store and found that it did NOT use Windows Media Player. So I bought it. I have been playing with it over the past couple of weeks. It provides a DIVX codec software and associated media converter software, that makes importing videos easy. Use the Portable Media Center DIVX profile, when coverting videos.I use the AVI format to upload videos onto the player. It is also a full featured mp3 player, voice recorder and a fm tuner. The speakers are little bit low in volume, so have to use headphones in noisy situations. The fit and finish of the hardware is not as nice as Creative. The software has some spelling mistakes such as "FM Tunner" instead of "FM Tuner". But at the end of day, it does what it is supposed to do. And it provides all the software and cables right out of the box. I am in process of creating a PC based DVR solution, to capture and record live TV. iRiver will then become my portable video system. iRiver can also send video signal's to TVs through a provided port and cables.Provides USB Master port capabilities to interact with other USB port capable devices, without using a PC. It comes with a nice hard case, that U can use to carry it around and to even prop it up while watching it on an airplane. Battery is removable type, so u can buy an extra one, if U are on a really long flight. PVP space is still evolving fast, so expect to see lots more new models coming out in next couple of months. If like me, u want one right away, iRiver is an reasonable choice. You will need some experience in media conversion to successfully import videos in a watchable format. Experiment with video sizing, audio mixing etc till u get it right. iRiver has also released another PVP that uses Windows Media Player. Do not buy that, unless you have a full featured Windows Media Center PC.

An update to the review. Using Pinnacle Dazzle DVC 80 Video capture device (USB based) and excellent Pinnacle Video Capture Software, I have been able to successfully capture TV output and import into iRiver. I had to reconvert the Dazzle AVI output files to iRiver AVI using the iRiver media converter software. Now I have a complete portable video solution. I am a bit surprised it all actually worked. I was even able to capture HD channel outputs from my DISH TV satellite box using the AV components in the back of the satellite receiver.

Actually I was waiting for the portable media player from Microsoft. But I heard unfortunately it won't come out soon. And I found out that iriver is in partnership with Microsoft for the portable media player.

Anyway, I've been using this little surprise for a week. I think it beats any portable media players in the market.

The battery hour is very long. I roughly guess it lasts at least 3 times longer than my wife's Ipod. The lcd display could be bigger, but still quite large as a portable player. Speaking of the quality of sound, you know irivier has superior sound quality to any other players.

I'm a digital camera mania. This device not only save files through the usb fort but also host usb port. So you can read all the image files directly from the digital cameras. This is fantastic.

It also has a FM tuner. One thing I found really great is that you can record the music directly from the radio, and you can control the quality of sound files. It may be some kind of music piracy. Not sure though.

In sum, believe me, this one is a killer toy. I hope the price will be lower so that I can buy one for my brother.

It does what it says it will do. However, the player has enormous trouble with Xvid, regardless of settings. Plan on only encoding in Divx. With Divx, it can handle 1500kbps, 640x480@30fps and lots of B-frames. It also must have CBR-MP3 to play the video in sync, so if you have VBR with anything, you must encode it over to CBR. The screen isn't particularly detailed because the pixel size is so large. With video, you are limited to 192kbps for audio; anything higher will cause a desync.

It also tends to hang while playing a "non-standard" movie (such as VBR-MP3 or Xvid). You will have to remove the battery to reset the machine and allow for control response again. This problem is alleviated by making absolutely sure you're using Divx and CBR-MP3. On top of that, you lose the ability to fast-forward/rewind through movies above ~650MB. If you have a 1.3GB movie, you'll need to break that up into smaller chunks if you plan on being able to fast-forward through it. It'll play the larger file, and it'll even continue the movie at the stop point, but you will not be able to fast-forward.

Doesn't play Vorbis/FLAC/ACC/AC3 audio, but it will handle VBR-MP3 just fine. The playlists are fairly standard, and the player will let you make your own playlists. The radio uses the headphone cord for it's antenna, and it does a good job with gain. Radio reception is good. There is a built-in microphone for recording audio to MP3, but you cannot record from the radio.

The player comes with iRiver's own little converter, and it's extraordinarly poor. They have pre-selected options, and it is adjusted for encoding speed, not quality. Plus it will crash if you have various codecs on your machine.



You spend more than what you get. There are superior products available for less money. 2 stars because of the price, 3 stars for the machine itself.

This is a geat product that I have been waiting for. But, the fact that this device could not record any movie (comparing to: Lyra RD2780, Archos, and more are coming with movie recording capability) really make this product inferior.
I have called the customer service and they told me that they don't have any plan to support the movie recording capability.
I hope they can oversee this weakness and change their mind to support the movie recording capability on the next firmware release.

This mp3 player comes extremely well equipped with anything I could ask for: MP3, Radio, Video, Pictures, Voice recording, Line in audio, WMA, huge screen and more.

Most of the people who don't like are the people who don't know how to record the radio or how to put movies on it.It's a good product that is very organized with a big screen compared to ipod video, and is only about $200 used. So if I were you I'd buy it.

Dear Amazon, I been proud to be your customer, but this Sellor has cheated me. The poduct was advertised as New in Box and before buying it I had asked the sellor if I would be provided a Sales Receipt stating that the item is infact New, because iRiver will not help without the receipt. Upon receiving the item- I noticed that there was No Receipt,No warranty Card, No cables,No Owner,s Inst.Manual,No Quick Start Guide,No host Cable etc. Upon, Amazon,s help and request I did everthihg I could to resolve the issue, but first the sellor did not care to respond to my E-mails and then upon Amazon,s intervention - the sellor acknowledged after two weeks that there is Warranty Card and Receipt and the item is New. When I challenged that its 8-Years old and per the Manufacturer it needs upgrading and without the Receipt & Warranty Card, unless I pay $140. in advance it cannot be done. Sellor stated that it (did,nt care less if its 8-years old). All, I got from the sellor is run-around and I had already told that I will not send it back,because I was advised by the authority that since its my Evidence- I must not return it if I have to file a Complaint of Fraud/Cheating. I must prevent another buyer not to become victim of this kind fraud. ( These cheap sellors advertise stating that item is New and in-fact its not. Since, these cheap one-night sellors do not give Return Policy/Full Refund on Amazon,s site- wnenever and whom so ever I contacted I never got satisfactory response or the sellor will not reply ). That tells me that there is something Fishy ? I lost 100% of my money because I purchased the item in Good-faith. Wonder how many more are there like this one ?

I have had my media player for about 3 weeks and it is great once
you figure out how to work it, the user manual is a piece of trash!Converting dvd to the formats that are supported takes a bit of time and finding a freeware program to do it is a little hard but can be done.Picture quality is very good audio quality is good battery life is great.I also wish that you could record video directly to the hard drive.Would make loading movies alot easier.

I just wanted to point out to the guy that gave the PMP a bad review because he couldn't get an AVI file to play that AVI files CAN IN FACT BE ONE OF MANY DIFFERENT FORMATS. So unless a video player actually supports all the formats, you'll run into this with any player. And unless the company pays licensing fees for certain formats, the support will be shoddy.

At least iRiver products don't artificially restrict your freedom to use different formats by only allowing you to play wmas and mp3s. There are other formats out there that are free that manufacturers avoid due to the pressure to implement DRM as a means to restrict your experience as an end user.

Basically, if you use a Windows-based product you're supporting a group of people who actively work to take away our digital rights. Which, hey, I've done it too. I forgive you.

20 GB media player does it all. Keeps your documents, pics as well as music and videos, movies as well. I am not a fan of the heft of it but my husband doesn't mind the size and this was a gift for him. Adapts to IPod car adaptors but again, bulky to carry around. Great for traveling though.