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Step 1 - MP4
Players
Price Range: Up
To £500
MP4 players are ideal for watching videos,
televison recordings and movies. They
are capable of both playing and recording
very large media files through their handheld
sized units. They require more power to
operate than the other players as their
large screens and video components consume
more power.
They are designed to support the most
popular types of video, photographs and
music file formats.
Key
Benefits
1. You can watch
and record videos on the move.
2. You have a
higher quality screen than hard disk players.
The key features
to look out for in MP4 players are their
build quality, the types of multimedia
files they can play, their audio visual
quality and battery life.
Build
Quality
These units have hard discs and screens
that can get damaged when dropped or badly
knocked. It is therefore important that
they are built with a good lightweight
yet strong body. An aluminium magnesium
alloy casing is ideal and shoul be combined
with a good quality player cover.
Number
of Media Files
Typically these players feature 30 Gigabytes
of memory that is capable of holding 7,300
tracks of MP3 music, or 30,000 photographs
(at 3 megapixels) or 70 hours of MP4 videos.
Larger capacity units (80 Gigabytes) are
ideal for playing a broad mix of multimedia
files. For further information on multimedia
file storage capacities please Click
Here.
Types of
Media Files
All MP4 players will play the standard
DVD video file format (MPEG4), however
their ability to play other video formats
will differ between each brand. Higher
specification models can directly record
from televisons, dvd and hard disk players
and convert their signals into a MP4 file
format. They are also capable of playing
audio files (MP3 WMA and WAV) and picture
files (JPEG).
If you intend to download media files
from the Internet it is important that
you check that the file format you are
downloading is accepted by your MP4 player.
For further information on the different
types of multimedia files then Click
Here.
Audio
Visual Quality
These players are designed to give you
a high quality multmedia experience. Their
LCD screens are typically
2.5 inches (diagonal - from corner to
corner) with a resolution of 320 x 240
pixels. This specification will offer
a good quality image. The video signal,
image files and audio signal can also
be played back through a normal television.
Battery
Life
Typically 3.5 to 14 hours - these times
are dependent on the type of files played
back. Playing video files is more power
hungery than playing music files. All
these units feature rechargeable batteries
that take about 3 hours to fully recharge
through a USB cable that connects to a
computer. Some units feature mains rechargers
and docking cradles.
Positives:
You can watch
DVD and video recordings on the move or
away from home. You can also record directly
from your television, hard disc recorder
or DVD player on higher specification
models.
Negatives:
These units
are expensive and can be damaged when
dropped or badly knocked. Their video
screens can become scratched or damaged
when not protected by a suitable cover.
Our Verdict:
This is a sophisticated
multimedia recorder and player. Ideal
for travel and in the home but do make
sure that you protect these players from
getting knocked or damaged by carrying
them in a suitable protective case.
You can also check the latest product
reviews using the links on our product
review page in order to shortlist
your preferred MP4 player.
Now check our
Specification Guide
against your intended MP3 player usage:
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