December 22nd, 2007Review Coby PMP-4330 portable media player
Coby’s PMP-4320 moveable MP3-and-video player didn’t make an crash on us much until we looked at the price ticket. As of this writing, you’d be hard pressed to find any other portable video players (PVPs) that will allow you to both view and record video on a 4.3-inch-wide screen for less than $300. Sure, this PVP has a laundry list of quirks and flaws, but it’s astonishing how much you can forgive, knowing you saved about $100 over the competition. If you want an inexpensive portable media device that does a lot–and are willing to make many sacrifices–the PMP-4320 could be just the tool you’re looking for.
Budget device or not, the Coby PMP-4320 looks elegant. The machined metal buttons and joystick on the front panel game the expensive feel of the Cowon A2. The screen is a 320×240, 4.3-inch TFT color display that has a wide presentation angle, but does not get very bright. The glossy plastic screen coating is a fingerprint magnetism that gives off a ton of glare, making the somewhat dim display even harder to see. Every time we wanted to show off the PMP-4320, we were compelled to wipe off the blotch that had calm on the screen (Coby acknowledges this by counting a cleaning cloth as an accessory). The back of the PMP-4320 includes a fold-out kickstand, allowing you to set it up on a table and keep your grubby fingers off it. The power jack, the headphone jack, the USB 2.0 connection, and A/V jacks are located on the left side of the player, leaving the right side for the power button and the SD card split. The top of the PMP-4320 hides the microphone and built-in speakers. With 20GB of storage, it’s a modest on the thick side at just less than an inch, but the curved, plastic back lets you fit the thespian into your pocket without looking too foolish.
speak what you will, at least the Coby PMP-4320 is packaged with all the cables you’ll need. Because the PMP-4320 can’t charge over its USB connection, the power supply is a necessary evil.
The graphic user interface can make or break devices that try to deliver as many features as possible. While the PMP-4320’s onscreen navigation isn’t flashy, it’s usable, readable, and more often than not intuitive. The main menu presents you with large graphic icons for each of its features, and the generic background screen can be replaced with any image you’ve transport into the photo library. The chief menu’s start again function allows you to resume live video true where you left off, in case you had to take a break or adjust a system setting in the middle of a movie.
You obtain what you pay for
The PMP-4320 is a type of device. As an audio player, it supports MP3, WMA, OGG, and WAV files, but it won’t play DRM-protected files and currently does not sync with Windows Media Player. The PMP-4320 doesn’t charge via USB, so you’ll have to charge using the included 9-volt DC power supply (a standard, nonproprietary connection category). Connecting and transferring files to the PMP-4320 happens by between via USB 2.0, then opening the machine as an outside hard drive. From there, you can drag your (hopefully) prearranged content into the suitable folders on the device. You do get ID3 tag support and space for lyric tag information to show, plus a five-band EQ with a customizable user preset. Other skin such as a photo album, voice recording, an FM tuner, and eBook have a basic, usable implementation–nothing imagine.
Once our music files were on the PMP-4320, we noticed considerable lagging while skipping between track during playback. We counted as many as five seconds of peace when skip from one MP3 to the next. during an era of gapless playback, five seconds felt like an eternity. If you can put up with the lag, the audio sounds quite good and delivers the lucidity and stereo separation critical for enjoying movie audio as well.
The real value of the Coby PMP-4320 hinges on its ability to play just about any video format you can think of, including DivX, WMV, MPEG-1/2/4, H.264, and XviD (in both 4:3 and 16:9 modes). Just dump it on the player and go–no converting tools are necessary. Again, there’s no support for DRM-protected satisfied, so most purchased download content will not play on the PMP-4320. On the upside, the built-in A/V mini-plug allows you to record all the satisfied you want as of any composite video source (TV, VCR, DVD player). The recorder is a cinch to use but only has one quality setting, labeled “High.” The PMP-4320 records to ASF video, which is playable in Windows Media Player.
The recording resolution was passable for watching on the 4.3-inch screen, but not suitable for archiving or playback on a television. Even with this limitation, this is the first portable wide-screen video player with built-in video recording that we’ve seen in the U.S. for less than $300. Just keep in mind that an extra $100 can get you a player with a better design, a nicer screen, and a much bigger hard drive–such as an Archos 504 or a Creative Zen Vision W–just without the video recording.
The one and only… for now
It’s about time someone let some air out of the PVP market’s inflated price tags. Coby’s PMP-4320 has some real warts–a smudge-prone screen with glare to spare, a bulky body that only manages to fit a 20GB drive, no support for Windows Media thespian or DRM-protected content, and a total lack of recording superiority option. Still, this underdog leads the pack (it might even be the lone wolf) in the sub-$300 wide-screen portable video player/recorder market, but I suspect the Coby PMP-4320 won’t be alone for long.
If you want one device that will let you record the news while getting ready in the morning and then watch it later on the subway commute, the Coby PMP-4320 would make a great fit. The 20GB capacity (plus SD memory expansion) is just big enough to make it a road-trip or in-flight entertainment solution as well. Users with iPods also should consider the newly unveiled iSee device, which for around $200 will adapt even older generations of iPods into wide-screen video players with video-recording functionality.
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