Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Silver) | List Price: $199.99
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Brand: Sony
Binding: Electronics
Features: - 8 GB of built-in memory
- High-quality video playback at 30 frames per second
- Up to 33 hours of battery life
- 2-inch QVGA LCD screen
- Compatible with secure Windows Media audio files
Sony NWZ-A728 Comprehensive / Usage Review [Posted on 2008-09-18]
I'm going to try to make this review as comprehensive as I can.
I've owned this Sony NWZ-A728BLK MP3 player for about 10 days now and have tweaked around with it as much as I can. However, I did not like the included media manager software and won't be discussing that part of the package.
In short, the main reason why anyone would consider this player over other competitors is simple--sound quality.
Pros:
Excellent battery life
Excellent sound quality
Very crisp 2.4 inch screen
Pretty good video playback
Plug and play recognition
Organizes music files based on ID3 tags as well as file name
Cons:
Charges only through the included USB cable
No FM radio, voice recorder, or other extra functions
No playlist creation on the MP3 player itself (has to be done on the computer)
Sound quality:
Compared to the Sansa and Ipod players, this thing blows them away due to its crisp sound quality. Playing the same track on each one, I was able to hear background instruments and melodies that were inaudible on the other MP3 players! This is particularly useful when listening to orchestrated music tracks or any other tracks with a wide array of instruments playing at the same time.
The 5 band equalizer also includes a "clear bass" column that you can adjust, which really helps to bring out the low bass sounds. There are a few preset equalizer configurations as well as two custom ones. (Mine is set to a V formation across the 5 band with bass up to +2, try it =P).
The VPT Simulated Surround feature is amazing and offers 6 different surround sound environments for the user's taste. (Matrix is my favorite followed by Studio and Live whenever I feel like listening to my songs in that kind of setting).
The other sound options, DSEE and Clear Studio are mentioned in the item description above.
The included Sony EX earphones are great looking and quite durable. You get small, medium, and large changeable silicon rubber earbuds in the package. I even accidently yanked the earphones out of my ears while doing some punching exercises only to find it undamaged.
Video:
To get video playback on MP4, you must find a video converter with customizable conversion settings. Simply getting a PSP converter won't work due to differences in the required resolution. I have converted 4 files so far without fail by following these conversion specs:
Video Codec: mpeg4
Video encoder: H.264 / AVC
Video Size: 320 x 240
Video bitrate: 1000
Audio Bitrate: anywhere from 128 to 320
Audio encoder: AAC
Audio channels: 2 (stereo)
Hopefully everyone else will be as successful in their attempts to get their video files to play on the MP3 player.
The video files play beautifully once you get them in with the right format and can be viewed vertically or horizontally left as well as horizontally right (basically means from every side except upside-down from the top). The only downside with the video playback is that you can't tweak the sound quality like you can with music playback.
File transfer and organization:
This player is automatically detected on the computer and works just like a flash drive. You can click and drag files into either the "MUSIC," "PICTURE," or "VIDEO" folder. You can also store your music into organized folders that you make yourself (basically a folder hierarchy that goes down all the way to the 8th folder in a folder according to the manual). This also allows files to be played according to the folder it's in if that's your desire. You can also create new folders outside of the MUSIC and VIDEO folders to carry other bits of data such as text or PDF documents (flash drive-like function).
Once everything is loaded onto the MP3 player, you'll be able to browse through your songs via the first character of the file name itself (including 0-9) or the folder name that contains the file. This means messy and old mp3 files will still be manageable when mixed in with new mp3 files that contain ID3 tags! It's essentially up to your preference on how you want to organize your collection.
Battery life:
Sony claims this MP3 player can do 36 hours of music, but the problem with that claim is in the details. The player does get 36 hours when playing 128 kbps files with all the sound features turned off and the equalizer set to all zeros. But why anyone would plan to do that is beyond me... You paid for the advanced sound features so you might as well use it! I got roughly over 20-some hours with all the features turned on and constant fidgeting with the options as well as some video playback. (This is a very rough estimate. If I have time to track the playback time with all sound functions on, I'll update that number). Overall, I'm still impressed with the longevity of the product's battery life.
To extend the running time of the battery (aside from the sound features), you can turn:
-turn down the screen brightness
-set the screensaver timing to "15 sec"
-set the screensaver to "blank"
-set New Song Pop Up to "deactivate"
This configuration will prevent your player from needlessly turning on its screen while playing music (which it does every 15 seconds by default).
Other accessories:
Accessories for this MP3 player are few, far, and expensive. The only one I bought was the silicon case, CKM-NWZA820. This thing comes with a screen protector as well as the silicon case. For anyone who has a problem with the ease in which the "hold" button slides, this might help. (This has never been a problem for me though).
Conclusion: This is a great MP3 video player that does what it's supposed to do very well.
Update: With all sound features turned on, including equalizer and VPT surround, I got around 20 to 21 hours of playback (tracks ranged from 128 to 320 kbps).
No Video Conversion Software [Posted on 2008-09-19]
It is actually not a bad device. But given the high end price, I am somewhat disappointed by:
1) Poor video support:
It is more expensive because it has a larger screen. However, there is NO VIDEO CONVERSION SOFTWARE included. You are supposed to purchased that separately. There is LITTLE INFORMATION about the audio/video it would accept, besides MPEG4/H.264. I eventually work out how to get ffmpeg to reliably generate conforming video and audio, but it took two whole hours.
2) Poor unicode support:
Many of my MP3's have traditional chinese tags. Technically, the characters are shown correctly, but some characters have thick strokes and some have thin strokes that make them look very incongruent.
3) Can only delete songs using a computer
Other than that, it is a good device, with sleek looks and generally smooth performance. However, given the high end price, I am likely to pick a different product if I were to make a purchase again.
The usb cable to the device looks proprietary, so better not lose it. I was able to connect the other end of the proprietary cable to an iPAQ charger that I have, so I can keep playing songs while charging. (It can't play songs when connected to a computer).
Problems with photos [Posted on 2008-09-22]
I have and love the 4GB unit. I run out of space and got an 8 GB unit. Mp3 and videos work as good as the 4GB, but when I loaded my photos I was completely disappointed. Colors are just not right, and pixelation shows in High res images (the same files display great in the 4GB unit). It looks like the JPG engine was changed.
One more suggestion for dear Sony, how about a Micro SD slot?
MP3 For Dummies [Posted on 2008-09-30]
This Sony 8G MP3 player has everything I needed. Easy to load. Easy to use. Excellent sound quality. Excellent ear buds. This is the second one I have purchased so that now my wife & I each have our own to use. Worth the price.
Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player [Posted on 2008-10-01]
Ignore the color factor - this is a great unit. 8GB is much better than the 4GB as it hold significantly more data. Easy to use, load, edit and change content from your computer using MS Media Player or the Sony software.
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