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Component DVD/MP3 Player for $170
JohnDonagher
among many other sent this in. I still haven't had a chance to get to Circuit City to confirm this, but apparently Apex Digital is selling a component DVD/MP3/Karaoke player for $170. The model number is AD-600A, and you have to ask for it because its not being kept on the shelves. The player will play any MP3s on an ISO formatted CD, and you can use the standard CD controls, although apparently you can't scan around within tracks. MP3 CDs aren't bad. 600 megs is getting a lot closer to that 'I don't need to insert physical media' line that I'm itching for.
MP3 and karaoke? Oh yeah. Why the big hush? Once consumers find out they'll want it. I'm sure the record industry will try to fight it.
Some people have been able to find them, others haven't. Some have problems, others don't, etc. etc.
Go over there and scroll down on the first page a little. Some of the guys have gotten their hands on this little puppy and had good things to say about it.
I bought one a few days ago. It reads all of the discs I have burned (with Easy CD Pro 95) for archiving my mp3s. I was impressed that I didn't have to re-burn a special cd for it. The on-screen interface is a little dis-appointing, as it only displays the first 8 characters of the name of a dir or file, but if you have one album per directory, its pretty easy to naviagate. Quality seems very good to me. I have played a bunch of dvds and they all look good.
The links are from an Ars Technica blurb
Select Home Audio Department, search for AD-600A:
Your Search for AD-600A returned 0 items.
I wonder what all the hush-hush is over...fear of getting sued by RIAA?
Eric
If anyone reading this article hasn't already, check out some of the posts about this on the "Open Forum" at http://www.arstechnica.com. Some of the more interesting comments on the Apex player mentioned an inability to do low bitrates (less than 32kbps), an 8-character track name limitation on the unit's display, and weird problems with audio sync on certain DVDs.
:-)
Still, the overall consensus was that the unit was a bargain despite these limitations. Of course, I recommend you read and decide for yourself before you throw your money at Best Buy employees.
Check it out here.
It plays DVD,VCD3.0,VCD2,DVCD,MP3 all the standard stuff, even copied DVD's work on it. And for the Europeans under us (like me
Cheers,
Arno
Joliet is just an ISO extension, and it only exists because microsoft didnt want to use what was already out there, rockridge. I dont see any advantages to using joliet, but i have noticed it doesnt like characters like : and ? in filenames.
Frys in Southern California has been selling DVD players that can play mp3s for some time now. In November they had a sale on a model from RAITE for $150. That model was particularly interesting because you could include lyrics and pictures to be displayed while the song is playing! And they are proudly displayed on the sales floor - not hidden in the back.
What'd be _really_ cool is if the psx2 could play mp3 cd's.
There will be an mp3 player out for the PSX2 pretty quickly. Essentially you'll burn a CD with boot info, an mp3 player and a "browser" for your playlist stuff with a disk full of mp3's. It won't be Sony's, but it'll be out there.
There was quite a bit of effort put into something like this for the standard PSX, but the processor isn't powerful enough to handle the decompression. There are a couple of add-on's that you can plug into the expansion port that'll let you do this, tho. Search for "psx" and "mp3 player" to find more info.
I saw a DVD player at Fry's while doing my Christmas shopping with a big "Plays MP3" sticker on the front. Since there are already enough computers around here which are mp3 enabled, it wasn't a selling point, though. I got a Sony instead. ;)
I have a Raite 715, which plays MP3, VCD, SVCD, DVD, and CD. I bought it at egghead.com for under $150. They have another model that does Karaoke, too. One of the best things about this player is that you can upgrade the firmware by CD--just download, burn, and insert!
The problems with this player: Doesn't have random play for MP3s or CDs; the drive mechanism is relatively noisy.
Firmware issues: Is picky about filenames for MP3 files, and has trouble with VBR and files from certain encoders. I'm waiting for them to email me the latest firmware so I can see if that helps.
Other features: secret codes from the remote to disable region coding and macrovision.
Features I would like to see: Photo CD support. (Well, it will display an image associated with any given MP3 file, so you could use it as a slide show that way.)
briiiiing me the SAMPO
It does.
It plays Mp3's & DVD's, CD are assumed. DVD drives absolutely can play a music CD.
Cool, eh?
http://www.somethingpositive.net Funny + bitter = comedy gold
The portability of the media notwithstanding, I still would like an mp3 network appliance -- a simple system with:
- a decent processor
- an os in flash for upgradability (with some careful consideration of security)
- a local drive for cacheing
- network connectivity (dhcp capable, since a lot of dsl and cable bridge/routers provide this)
- http, ftp, and maybe nfs protocol support
- a stupidly simple browsing mechanism (lcd touch screen?) that would allow you to pull files or playlists
- subtle styling so that it doesn't look out of place on top of a tuner
Hook up the cat 5 right alongside the RCA plugs, enter a couple of starting points (small keypad?), and browse for music. Now THAT would be a component mp3 system.J
I think not...(*poof*)
I have one of these. I purchased it from futureshop.ca over X-mas. It was also available with their doorcrasher sale on boxing day.
Interesting!
I will have to try and play my MP3s when I get home. Cause if this is the case, then it is pretty sweet.
I have had the SAMPO for over a month now and it is my favorite customer electronic gear I have. Here is what is great about it:
1. It plays MP3s great. Unfortunately it's menuing for MP3s uses 8.3 naming. Also, it will only play MP3s encoded in 144kbits or higher.
2. It plays VCDs off both CDRs and CDRWs. The only thing that plays VCDs better is the Konka, but that player has other problems.
3. It has *NO* problems with complex interactive menus. I have had the Bug's Life Deluxe Edition crash other DVD player but this one handles that disc (and others) just great.
4. The SAMPO has a "hidden" menu that allows you to disable CSS and Macrovision. This has a legitimate use too. You can not daisy chain your VCR between your DVD player and TV if Macrovision is activated. Also, this allows you to tape your DVDs on your VCR.
If you have any questions about it, please email me.
The Apex does this. It also handles CD-RW media as well, which is a sweet feature - get tired of yr MP3 party mix? Reuse the media!
It is a bargain, definitely.
-Isaac
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
http://www.pjbox.com/product.htm
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I just visited my local Circuit City.
Go to the video section and ask them to look up the following:
Vendor: APX
Model: AD600A
To their amazement, this little beauty will pop up. My local store had 4 (3 now).
The unit looks fairly clean on the front, and sparse on the back. The remote looks like my cd-changer's. The manual is nothing special, but looks readable.
Steven Yelton
After reading the thread, I jetted out to Circuit City on my lunch hour to try and track down the player. After teaching the CC employee how to enter stock codes into his terminal, I discovered that Apex DVD player is listed as:
APX AD600A
My local Circuit City didn't have any in stock, but they had over 400 units in the warehouse, some scheduled for delivery within a day or two.
Retail price was $169.99.
What I should have said was nothing.
The Price is $149 in many Circuit City Stores. Some as low as $139.
It's often not on display, you have to ask them to look it up on the computer.
They cannot order from other stores, but can have them hold it for you or order from the central warehouse.
And what's odd about that? You opened it.. and now they should shoulder the cost of you wanting to return the product because you don't like it?
IANAL, but nobody *has* to take returns at all, unless they sold the product under false pretenses, ie: "Sure it'll play mp3" but then it doesn't... then they would have to give you a full refund, as it was a fraudulent transaction.
So.. always be VERY CLEAR about your intentions for the device before buying it.
Just picked up two (one for a friend), they had one on Display, two in the back.
m l
$149 each, normal price, no special sale or anything.
Display says nothing about MP3, box has a small line of text saying it supports MPEG3 Audio.
Salesman said it's a new item, had them a couple weeks.
It really does play MP3 CD's, even with complex directory structures and long filenames.
The 8 character limit is far worse than you suspect. First for any duplicates (in the first 8 chars, which is darn likely) it immediately chops off 2 characters to put a 'N' and '1' to '9' to handle the duplicate names. If it hits more than 9 duplicates it chops off another 4 characters (leaving you with 2 unique chars), putting a 4 digit hex checksum of some sort, then a 'N' '1' (assume that's there on the 1 in 65536 chance of a duplicate hex checksum).
So it's really quite hard to figure out what the tracks are!
Even when playing a track there is no extra info, no more filename, no track number, no MP3 tags. Only an elapsed time for that track (which defaults to off, you have to use the display button to get it). You have to read the track number from the front display.
As for VCD, it will actually play a PAL format VCD on a NTSC TV! So all those pirate movies from Hong Kong on VCD will now play on your TV. Even plays slightly messed up VCDs (like a couple I burned with Adaptec CD Creator 4.0 which would never play on my Phillips play fine on the APEX).
Still at $149, it's a STEAL!! I am so happy to be able to play my MP3 CDs directly without a computer, if I was richer I'd buy one for everyone in my family.
The drive is a standard DVD drive with IDE interface and 4 pin power connector.
It's based on the ESS 4308A chipset (which I assume is a newer version of the 3308 since the default Adult password is 3308).
Here is a press release from ESS announcing APEX using their chipset:
http://www.esstech.com/Newsroom/1999/9-23-99.ht
I submitted this story back when it first appeared on Ars. Glad somebody else was able to submit it at the "right" time.
By the way, I couldn't find one at my local Circuit City. I even had the guy check in the computer system and no good there either. Oh well.
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
I'd like to see a standard set of tests any CD-based MP3 player should follow. Call it a benchmark - a torture test for any device purporting to call itself a CD-based MP3 player. At a very first draft, I'd like to see the following checklist in any review of MP3 hardware, and my thoughts on what should be required behavior in any such device, and what behavior would be "nice to have" but not essential.
- CBR support I: Playback of files with constant bit rates of 96/44, 128/44, 160/44, 192/44, 256/44, 320/44. (Required: All. You might convince me that 320/44 is a "preferred", but embedded CPUs are fast enough now that if you can do 256, you should be able to do 320.)
- CBR support II: Playback of files with low constant bit rates. Some old-time radio material or spoken-word material is encoded at 24, 32, or 64. Because it's mono, this is good; there's no real loss of quality. (Preferred: All. May be a requirement for some users.)
- VBR support: Does it play back Xing/VBR at all the Xing/VBR quality settings? If not, what playbacks are supported? (Required: All.)
- Media support: CD-R? CD-RW? Both? (Required: Both)
- File display: Filenames? ID3 tag contents? Both? (Required: ID3-tag-first, then if no ID3 tag, the filename)
- Filesystem: ISO-9660? Joliet? That next-generation-universal-filesystem? All of the above? (Required: ISO-9660 and Joliet. Only ISO-9660 should be required if and only if ID3 tag support makes the display of 8.3-munged Joliet filenames unnecessary.)
- File layout: Files in current directory? Files in recursive subdirectories? (Required: All. Directory-searching is computationally trivial.)
- Non-MP3 files: If you put a README.TXT file or a WINAMP.M3U playlist on your disc, is the player smart enough to not try to play it as an MP3? (Required: *.mp3 get played. All else skipped. Preferred: Support for at least one playlisting file format.)
For your typical 64M handheld, none of this matters. But if you've already got 10-15 CD-Rs full of burned MP3s, you care about whether they'll play on your new device. You care about the encodes you worked on from restoring all your old vinyl stuff will also play. You care about whether or not your practice of using subdirectories (or not!) on your CD-Rs as you burn them will screw up your player. Damn it all, you care about whether the device handles your data.If mp3.com and the other reviewers of MP3 playback devices won't do it, and the manufacturers of MP3 playback devices won't disclose their specs, then we should.
What else belongs on the checklist that any MP3-CDR player should be expected to do before we plunk down our money to be first on the block to own one? What other files, directory layouts, and filesystems belong in Tackhead's Box Of Benchmark CD-Rs when he goes to Fry's or CC to try out the latest toy?
(Aside: As someone who doesn't use Joliet, and who renames his MP3s to 8.3 before burning to ISO-9660 CD-R, this AD-600A sounds pretty good if the firmware in the boxes they're selling supports VBR!)
Why worry about filenames... Any self-respecting person that creates MP3's puts info in the ID3 tag fields anyway, and that info is usually better than the limited filename text anyway!
Anyone know how much memory these things have? Cause it would be really nice if it came with a few MB for anti-skip.
It's convenient, genious. Minidisc isn't solid state, CD isn't solid state, and yes, you can get a MiniDisc to skip - 40sec. skip protection doesn't do much good when you run cross country for an hour. Both those are power hogs, while Rio batteries last forever. Rios are smaller.
The quality is not worse; it's all a function of bitrate. At 128kbps some wierd noises occur, but I can't tell 190kbps from a CD, period. If you were cursed with more discerning ears, sorry.
Oh yeah, and don't even open the Pandora's box that is formats. I could rant on for hours about closed v. open formats, but I assume thousands will anyways, so I'll save myself the time.
Do you work for RIAA?
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
I'd love one to go in my car. Unfortunately, Empeg is a bit outta the ol' price range. It seems like a total waste to have hard drive in there when CDRs sell for $1. Alas, anyone know where I can pick up a car MP3 player with a CD drive?
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
It's convenient, genious. Minidisc isn't solid state, CD isn't solid state, and yes, you can get a MiniDisc to skip - 40sec. skip protection doesn't do much good when you run cross country for an hour.
.
There are ways to prevent MD players from skipping while jogging or running. While I haven't tried any of them myself, there is a list of ways to prevent skipping at http://www.minidisc.org/md_jogging.html
Both those are power hogs, while Rio batteries last forever.
Sony recently released an MD portable (the MZ-E95) which can (supposedly) run for 77 hours with an external AA battery. I don't know how long a Rio lasts, but for most purposes, 77 hours of music is much more than enough.
Rios are smaller.
The latest MD portable player/recorders are barely larger than a MD (in length and width). Rios aren't much smaller.
The quality is not worse; it's all a function of bitrate. At 128kbps some wierd noises occur, but I can't tell 190kbps from a CD, period. If you were cursed with more discerning ears, sorry.
With crappy headphones or speakers, MP3s sound the same as MDs or CDs. But with high-quality headphones/speakers, the difference is clear (at least to most people I know).