|
Philips PMC7230This boxy player has great controls and a recording feature but isn't quite ready for prime time. Price:
$349
By Russ Fischer 
The portable media player arena is dominated by companies such as Archos and Creative, but Philips' announcement of the 30GB PMC7230 promised an impressive alternative. At $349, the device is competitively priced and features stellar navigation and unique recording capabilities. But a few drawbacks prevent this player from being a top pick.
The PMC7230 is not exactly svelte. At 4.2 x 3.7 x 0.8 inches, the boxy case departs from the increasingly popular widescreen designs of competing players. On the plus side, this orientation allowed Philips to place two five-way switches beneath the screen, keeping all controls on the face of the unit. You won't have to hunt for the volume keys or anything else. The large frame allows for a sizable 3.5-inch screen with a 320 x 240-pixel resolution. That doesn't make for the sharpest picture when compared with other players; models from Archos and Creative sport higher-resolution displays. Viewed up close, the image takes on the "screen door" effect, where you can see vertical and horizontal lines that make up the pixels. We like the very wide viewing angles, making the PMC7230 well suited for watching movies with a friend. During playback, the PMC7230 performed well. We saw some noise in the deepest shadow areas of the picture, where the display's contrast ratio wasn't deep enough. But otherwise playback was free of skips and problems, and the audio sounded good through our reference headphones. The front-mounted speaker, on the other hand, presented very tinny audio. On the player's top edge is a set of ports (with USB, headphones, and A/V out and in). That A/V-in allows the unit to record video, a first for devices running Microsoft's Portable Media Center platform. There are options for different quality and resolution settings and a function for setting up timed recordings. Simply plug the included cable into the video-out of any TV, DVD player, or other device and you can capture the signal. That is, provided there is no copy protection (such as Macrovision). Like the Toshiba gigabeat series, the PMC7230 uses the Microsoft Windows Media Center OS. While we don't appreciate that the system limits connectivity to Windows XP (sorry, Mac fans), we can't deny how easy and intuitive the interface is to operate. You get the standard Windows Media Center categories: TV, Music, Pictures, Videos, Recordings, and Settings. Further into each category a nested set of menus breaks up your media by name, artist, and so forth. There's no learning curve at all; even a total multimedia novice could quickly master this system. Even setting the recording timer (which unfortunately requires the power cord, since the unit cannot "wake up" to record) is a simple process. Furthermore, the center-mounted Windows Media button allows an instant jump to all of the device's media categories. With PlaysForSure abandoned by Microsoft, that label isn't a huge selling point, but fans of services such as CinemaNow and Vongo will be relieved to know their purchased media will be compatible with the player. Unfortunately, video support is limited to MPEG-4, AVI, and WMV9; DivX support would be welcome. Philips rates video battery life at three hours, which was consistent with our use. With frequent trips through the menus to select songs and artists, we found that the rated 16 hours for audio became 14 to 15 in the real world. The ease of use, even for features like timed recording, makes the PMC7230 a decent option for casual media fans on the go. But the format limitations, combined with the less-than-stellar screen, prevent Philips from unseating the Archos 604 as our favorite portable video player. Compare Prices | Philips PMC7230 Specifications
Featured Site Sponsors
|
 |
|
