Microsoft's Portable Media Center Devices: Exposed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 27, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Final Words
Now that we're at the end, what's the final call on the Portable Media Center? Unfortunately, it's not as clear cut as we would have liked it to be. On the one side, many have dismissed PMCs as being useless, overpriced MP3 players with video functionality. Then there are those who have cast unfathomable praise upon the devices, citing the beginning of a revolution that the rest of us can't seem to see. Our take on it is a little more middle of the road.The PMC interface is pretty, nice to use and look at. It does make searching for your music a lot more appeasing to the eye than scrolling quickly through a bunch of text. As an MP3 player, the Portable Media Center does just as good, from a functionality standpoint, as an iPod - there's no question about that. Add in the fact that the currently available units have built-in speakers and there is even additional functionality beyond what an iPod can currently do. But the size and price of a PMC demands that it be much more than just an MP3 player; if a truly portable MP3 player is all you want, then a PMC would be overkill, and an overburden.
As a video content player, the PMC concept is interesting - the ability to take your TV with you wherever you go is something that hasn't really been done in the past, and the PMC enables that. It also really enables you to get more use out of your PVR, since now you have even more opportunities to watch your recorded shows throughout the day when you're not at home. The PMC could even replace the single bachelor's stack of magazines in the bathroom. But a replacement for a portable DVD player, the PMC is not. For watching movies, you're much better off with a different device, preferably one with a larger screen. Put some widescreen content on the tiny 4:3 3.8" screen on the Creative Labs Zen and you'll be squinting to make out details. The PMC can play movies, but it seems far better suited for watching shorter 4:3 programming throughout your day or on trips.
Coming from someone who originally didn't see a use for the product, if you're a heavy user of a PC-based PVR, then the Portable Media Center is something that you will get use out of.
There are some very valid complaints that have to be made, however. For starters, the choice of Windows Media Player 10 as the only method of getting content onto your PMC is an issue. Frankly, Windows Media Player isn't strong enough of an application to make it the clear choice for media management. Microsoft could (at least in the past) push Internet Explorer on everyone because it was the best browser, or Office because it was the best productivity suite, but Windows Media Player is quite far from being another IE or a Microsoft Office. Media Center Edition is a much more suitable companion for the PMC, but not everyone has MCE.
Currently, the hardware is also not without flaws. The Creative Labs Zen PMC is good for a first generation device, but it is in dire need of revision. The device itself is bulky and shows fingerprints entirely too well, coupled with slow transfer rates and far from the best navigation buttons - you have a tough sell at $499. Despite the complaints, if you're a heavy Windows PVR user (e.g. MCE, SageTV, etc.), then the Zen PMC is still quite attractive.
Much like with their Tablet PC efforts, at this point, Microsoft is still selling to a very niche market. Since set-top PVRs can't really be used with a PMC, the target market of these little devices are all Windows PVR users, or people who download a lot of TV/video content from other sources online. Thankfully, unlike other niche products that Microsoft has ventured into (e.g. Tablet PC), the Portable Media Center is already much more affordable and much more usable. What Microsoft and the rest of us need now are more manufacturers to begin shipping their devices; once MCE 2005 comes out, the Portable Media Center may become a nice accessory.
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Reflex - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+focuses+on+camera+co...Thats the announcement on MTP. Its an open standard and anyone can support it. Its NOT tied to Windows Media Player 10.
crepticdamion - Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - link
Hello, it seems some people know more than AnandTech concerning this article.There are other MUCH better solutions that are not from Microsoft. I don't have anything against Microsoft (even had a lot of PocketPC generations and still have 2 PocketPCs) but when the Microsoft product is worse than the others, well I won't have it because is Microsoft. With me, the better product (overall) always wins.
Put that apart, this PMC is completely so MUCH weaker than Archos AV400 product, that my heart screams with indignation regarding this article. The diference in Size, Weight, Performance, Capacity (AV480 has 80GB, while AV420 is 20GB as PMC), and what Archos does more is infinite. Microsft ALWAYS looses.
I advise everyone that read this article to go search on Yahoo or Google for an Archos AV400 Review. Your mind will be boggled with its capacities and it is already available.
Archos AV400 is several years ahead of everyone else in these products and they deserve it, they've been working on this for almost a decade.
Good Hunting and always compare the alternatives.
Pjotr - Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - link
#14, That's why the Archos is so much better.Wizkid - Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - link
That hard drive is capable of 16MB/sec minimum. The rediculously slow transfer rate must be a software or implementation issue.mindless1 - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
Transcode the video?I think I'll wait for a non-crippled PM player.
ViRGE - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
At 320x240 and 10MB/min needed for the best video quality, it seems Microsoft is working way too hard here. Those specs are right around the sweet-spot for MPEG1 of all things, which is fast & easy to encode and decode, and at such a low resolution would return very similar results. Obviously MS is planning for the future here, and on that note, these devices will be much more notable once they start using full VGA screens instead of QVGA.michael2k - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
Hmm, I call.This thing can only do 2MB/s with USB2.0 on video transfer? And you blame the laptop drive for that?
My laptop (PowerBook 400) can field 16MB/s, and my iPod 2G with it's PCMCIA sized drive can field 12MB/s.
Of course they were both using the FireWire interface, and they were talking to other, faster, hard drives, but still...
Reflex - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
Pjotr - I have nothing against the Archos or anything, however no special software is needed for the Creative product. The only reason WMP10 needs to be installed is to add MTP support to Windows, but you are free from then on to use any MTP aware software to transfer data, or you can do so simply through explorer if you wish, its browseable through there(something Anandtech forgot to mention).Not saying anything bad about Archos, just pointing out that MTP devices are just as easy to transfer to and from.
val - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
9: yes but think about use case, i do not want to watch movies so often somewhere to buy such a device. PDA makes much more fun on long trips, holiday or waiting for the bus. And if i would watch them, i like to record them in full quality and than convert from PC.Pjotr - Monday, September 27, 2004 - link
#8,Maybe for the Windows PMC device, but not for Archos. Archos AV series are fully stand alone with video input for recording straight into MPEG-4 to the device HD for later playback to the video output. Read the product info on the link I posted above. There is no need to transfer movies from a computer, or record onto a computer, or covert into formats readable by the device.
I think the Archos is light years ahead of the Windows version in practical applicability.