Toshiba Gigabeat Video 30 GB Portable Media Center

MPN: MEV30K

Description: The Toshiba MEV30K Portable Video Player puts all of your entertainment needs in the palm of your hand. With a big, bright 3.5" diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K let's you enjoy full, feature length movies, up to 8 hours worth! And getting videos is really easy! Whether you su... read more

The Toshiba MEV30K Portable Video Player puts all of your entertainment needs in the palm of your hand. With a big, bright 3.5" diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K let's you enjoy full, feature length movies, up to 8 hours worth! And getting videos is really easy! Whether you subscribe to movie services like Vongo or record videos on your PC, this portable video player lets you take your entertainment with you. Thanks to Microsoft Portable Media Center software, downloading to your gigabeat is a snap. If you never seem to find the time to print all of your digital still images from your camera, the MEV30K is your answer. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat; no need to connect to your PC either! Of course you're not always going to watch movies, there will be those short commutes to work when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. That's why the MEV30K also let's you download your favorite music from subscription sites, buy your music from music sites and even rip your favorite CDs. Again, thanks to Microsoft's PMC platform it's always quick and easy to get your content. It even has a built-in speaker so that you can share your music with your friends. All of this entertainment means needing enough juice to keep it running, right? The MEV30K comes with a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that allows for up to 8 hours of continuous playback for your favorite movies and videos and up to 30 hours of continuous playback when just enjoying music. minimize

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johnfriend from NC

Member Since
Apr 2002

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User has 12 Days of experience with this product

I love this player

Strengths:

Get intergration with Windows Media Player

Weaknesses:

No accesories, can't find a case I like.

Posted Dec 12, 2006 - I have a Windows Media Center PC and wanted a way to watch the shows I've recorded on the road and this player works great for that! Beautiful screen… CNet said it was grainy 3.5 inches… compared to what? Looks great to me. It doesn't matter how great a player is if there noting to load on it and because the Gigabeat is a “plays for sure” device AND supports Media Center syncing I have lots to watch and listen to. I bought my daughter and iPod early this year and this player is WAY better. Bigger screen, great battery life, external speaker, better interface and completely open. Love it!

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IronicMania

Member Since
May 2007

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User has 2 Days of experience with this product

Great PMC for people on a budget

Strengths:

Big 3.5" screen that is not grainy, as per CNET's review, easy-to-use interface (support 7+ languages), 30GB Hard Drive can hold a ton of video and music, no-hassle software and competitive pricing.

Weaknesses:

Battery life is not as advertise, screen "stays on" when playing mp3 and idle, support only wmv video files, lack of OEM accessories, and cannot charge through usb.

Posted Jun 18, 2007 - Two months ago, I chose this PMC over other because of price alone. However, this little beast provide much more than expected. Sound quality is good over the speaker, all the positives listed above, and the photo album is not too shabby. Minor complains: The control knob was made probably to compete with the IPod control, which fall short. As mention, the battery life doesn't last as long as advertise, but that's probably a reason why they have a switch that can disconnect the battery from the PMC. It helps a lot when it's not in use. Although this machine states it only supports up to 800 Kbps, you can force higher Kbps video to synchronize to the machine by opening WMP10 (not 11)-> Tools -> Options -> Device -> Gigabeat, then Advanced -> and unchecked the recommended converting option. The machine plays the video with no problem at all.

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Michaelite from NY

Member Since
Aug 2005

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User has 3 Months of experience with this product

One of the best !

Strengths:

User interface, Sound quality, External speakers, Large screen, Battery life

Weaknesses:

Size, Lack of accesories, No charging over USB, WMV format for videos

Posted May 4, 2007 - This has got to be one of the best non-ipod players in the market. The Microsoft Portable Media Center UI is very intuitive and simple to use. In fact, in some ways it is better than the ipod UI. Sound quality is pretty good. That is one area this PMP scores over the ipod. Also, it integrates well with WMP 11 and Media center.I have not used this player with Vista so cannot write about its compatability. It is a bit larger than the ipod but manageable. Screen size and layout is good for viewing movies and photos.The resolution is not as bad as CNET describes though. One major short coming is that the videos have to converted to WMV format for viewing. Fortunately, microsoft provides Windows Media Encoder (for free) making conversions easier. Though not greatly touted, the player can also obtain photos directly from the digital camera. I had no problems synchronising DSC W5 with this player.

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Happy n Nor ... from CA

Member Since
Sep 2003

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User has 5 Days of experience with this product

Awesome player!

Strengths:

Does everything I want it to and more. Easy to use. I do not need Player 10 to download video and music to this player. Syncs perfectly to WMP11.

Weaknesses:

Everything that the new model Gigabeat does such as built-in FM radio receiver, smaller form factor; control knob is a bit awkward to use but by no means do these issues make this a bad player.

Posted May 27, 2007 - I bought this for my children so we will see if this can withstand the test of handling and road use. The selection control toggle is a bit awkward to use due to it's design (size and placement buried inside a cup-shaped housing shroud) but does the job. Below the toggle are the MS Windows back and browser buttons which are simple and easy to use. Windows Portable OS is fast and handles the job well. Battery life is yet to be tested from the player I have. Will test on up and coming journey across midwest. Use DVDFab to convert all my video media into avi and WMP11 handles the rest. Downloading takes a bit of time due to WMP11 encrypting all files for one-way transfer. You can use this player as a file player if you reserve some space on your drive when first set up. Come with all cables and accessories to do the job. One disadvantage is the size and shape of the player makes it hard to find a cover protector. Overall nice player.

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