While writing this review for my new Creative ZEN Vision W, I realized just how old I am. I still remember the massive amount of buzz surrounding the Rio PMP300. Back then such devices were called MP3 players. Now they’re called portable media players, which I have to admit is a pretty apt description for this device.

To call this an MP3 player would be like calling a Leatherman a knife. Sure the Vision W plays MP3s, but it also plays videos and displays pictures off of its 60 gig hard drive. And if that’s not enough, it includes an FM radio, a calendar/organizer, and a built-in microphone for recording.

Basically it’s like carrying all your CDs, DVDs, and pictures in your pocket. Videos look fantastic on the 4.3″ screen (480 x 272) and when I plugged it into my father’s 720p 42″ “high def” television it was surprisingly watchable. The audio quality is amazing. All my music sounded full and three dimensional with solid bass. All the subtle nuances of the music were exposed.

It also has a built-in speaker so you don’t need headphones, which comes in handy in certain circumstances. The speaker is loud enough to use while outside or even on a crowded bus. And it has a replaceable battery, so it would be great for long plane trips.

The included software installs an application called Creative Video Converter to convert your videos into allegedly compatible formats. Why would you want to use it when the device plays so many formats natively? Because it can allegedly convert your videos into much smaller WMV files. Basically a full length movie ends up being only 400 megs. Which means in a perfect world you could easily fit more than 120 full length movies in this device. But unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, we live in a world with crappy software. (See the update below, the problems I had have been fixed!)

While you can batch convert your DivX and XviD files the application always craps out after a few files. And about half of the files you do convert will not transfer to the Vision W because they’ll be deemed incompatible. What sort of BS is that?! But wait, it gets even worse as a few of the converted files that were transferred locked up the unit when played. (The original XviD files played fine.) So to recap, the conversion software barely works, but even when it does, it probably didn’t.

So if you want smaller files, I would strongly recommend not using Creative’s “solution” but to make smaller file by simply using a lower bit-rate when ripping. As an example, I got an 80 minute movie down to 369 megs by using 77kbps. In comparison I usually use 228kbps and the same movie would have been 1.05 gigs. The 77kbps XviD version looked better than the one encoded in Microsoft’s WMV format too! But you don’t have to convert, with 60 gigs there is plenty of space for even large video files.

While the fine print says it only plays version 4 and 5 of DivX, it will play DivX movies encoded in even the latest codec, which I tested myself. It also played all the XviD files I tossed at it, except for one of several I downloaded from the Interwebitubes for testing purposes. (I figure that’s how many people will use it.) It is also doesn’t like large resolutions. I usually rip action movies at 848×480, but those are deemed incompatible. I suggest using 480×272 for widescreen content and 360×272 for standard.

The unit comes with a built-in CF reader. Which would be an incredibly cool thing if the unit could play files off it. But for some bizarre reason it can only copy files from the reader. I used this “feature” on my latest vacation transferring photos and videos from my cameras. But it’s kind of pointless because if your camera’s card was full, it would be much more convenient to simply buy a second flash card. You also cannot copy content to the CF card, which could be a useful feature.

I don’t understand why the CF reader is crippled. It certainly is not to avoid piracy because it makes copies of content. I’m guessing maybe it would be too much of a battery drain to read files off of it, but then why put it there in the first place? The only point I could possibly see is for a professional photographer who takes a lot of pictures. (You can buy a converter to connect different types of flash cards here.)

I recently used the device on a 10 hour road trip. I connected it to two cheap vehicle screens for the kids and plugged the audio into the 1/8″ plug of my truck’s Aiwa in-dash CD player. Generally, it’s a pain in the ass bringing a bunch of movies with you, i.e., the space they take up, keeping them organized, plus a few will always get lost or scratched. But with this unit I was easily able to bring nearly all of the kids’ movies and TV shows on our vacation. It was handy for killing time too. Like when we had about a 30 minute wait for some fireworks, I pulled it out of my pocket and the kids and I sat in the grass while we watched an episode of Avatar. All the kids nearby were leaning over and trying to watch too.

I must admit I love the interface Apple uses in its iPod. A friend has a Nano which he let me play with for a weekend, so I’m familiar with it. However, I think Creative’s is better. (Let the flaming begin!) While Apple’s interface may be elegant, ZEN’s interface is the very definition of intuitive. Every button does exactly what you’d think it should. I never needed to read the instructions on how to use this thing. It’s incredibly easy to find the exact song or show you want. And if you want to skip through a movie, the fast forward is hyper fast. By continuing to hold down the button it starts flying through the movie. So you can easily get to the end of a movie in about 10 seconds. It also remembers exactly where you left off even after turning it off. You will not be aggravated using this device, even my Luddite wife uses it without difficulty.

So if you want an MP3 player, I’d suggest something else, because this baby is simply too big. But if you want all of your media with you all the time and you’re not tied to Apple’s vertical business monopoly, this is the player for you.

Positives:
Your life, wherever you are! (If anyone from Creative’s marketing department wants to buy that line, email me here!)
Lots of formats
Great screen
TV-Out
Replaceable battery
Built-In speaker

Negatives:
Conversion software sucks
Pointless CF reader
No screen protection
Can’t use TV-Out and built-in screen at the same time
Slow interface for pictures

Formats:
MP3, WMA, WAV and Audible
MPEG1/2/4-SP, XviD, DivX, AVI, MJPEG and WMV9
JPEG, GIF, TIFF and BMP

The prices for this device cover a large range, so shop around to get the best price. Usually cheap as dirt Walmart is selling it for a whopping $394.73 while I got it from Newegg for only $299 after a rebate.

Update 10/06/07: I’ve recently built a dual-core system. The Creative Video Converter seems to work perfectly now. And the software really takes advantage of the second core as the process is much faster.