Toshiba MEV30K Gigabeat V 30 GB Portable Media Player

Crisp video in the palm of your hand.

What It Does
The Gigabeat MEV30 synchronizes with Windows Media Player on your PC via USB cable to its 30 Gigabyte hard drive, allowing you to bring your photos, video, and music with you wherever you go. Depending on the type of camera you have, it is also possible to connect directly to you digital camera when you out and about, so you can view, share, and store your photos without having to hook your camera up to your PC first. With the included audio/AV cable you can also watch video or slide shows on your TV.

Design
With its shiny silver and black finish, and small and sleek design (4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D)) the MEV30 looks both high-tech and sophisticated. It's a little too big for the pocket of your jeans, but fits nicely into a jacket pocket or purse. The front of the device is dominated by its 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, which supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors. While a a 640 x 480 with support for millions of colors would be better, the display is still bright and crisp. The widescreen format is also very welcome and gives it an edge over the square screen of the video iPod. To the right of the screen you'll find the buttons that let you interface with the device.

Logical controls and a user-friendly interface.

Chief among these is the small joystick that lets you quickly navigate lists in four directions, and make selections by simply pressing down. Just beneath, there's a Home button displaying the Windows symbol, and a return button. Volume controls and a small speaker round out the main controls. Along the top are buttons to control the video player, as well as a sliding lock and power button. The left side is responsible for input/output and charging. This includes USB, a single jack for audio and video, and the AC power adapter. On the bottom are two tiny holes that allow you to reset the device or switch off the battery for storage.

Setup
Aficianados of Windows Media Player will find it a snap to the get the MEV30 up and running. The device itself is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0. It comes formatted and ready to go right out of the box, and no additional software is needed for your PC beyond the free Windows Media Player. We had no trouble all using WMP 11 to load photos, video, and music onto the device. To move photos onto the device,

The joystick is all you'll need for most tasks.

simply drag and drop them into the synce window within Media Player. For video and music it's important to remember that since the MEV30 runs only with Windows Media Player you can only add content allowed by Windows. Try to sync an album you bought on the iTunes Store, for example, and all you'll get is an error message. If you can create playlists, organize video and photos, and generally get Widows Media Player to do what you want it to do, you will have no trouble at all using the MEV30. If Media Player is new to you, however, you will need to spend some time working with it before attempting to go mobile with your media.

Operation
Once you are synced up, the intuitive interface makes it easy to find what you're looking for. The main menu lists media by type: tv, music, pictures, and videos. You'll also find a "settings" feature that lets you adjust functions for all media types. Moving through these menus is a snap with the four-way joystick; simply point and click. The photo viewer plays slide shows and also allows you to zoom in on a picture and pan and scan to see exactly what you want up close. The video player is simple to use and does everything you want--one click on the joystick pauses, a push to the right lets you fastforward, and a push to the left rewinds. The music player likewise contains most functions you would expect from a serious media player: shuffle, equalizer, support for playlists, repeat, and time display. Here it would be nice to have a few other options, such as alarm and sleep timer functions, but as a basic music player it is functional and easy to use. One click on the menu button returns you directly to the main menu.

To sum up, the Gigabeat MEV30 faces stiff competition both from the iPod, as well as from Microsoft's new Zune media player. If you are looking for a fully-functional and sleek portable media player that uses Windows Media Player, however, you won't go wrong with this device.

Pros

• Easy to setup and operate.
• Multi-functional: video, photos, music. A/V out lets you watch on tv.
• Sleek and stylish design.
• 30 GB hard drive lets you store lots of pictures, music, and video.

• Only works via Windows Media Player. Knowledge of WMA required.
• Higher resolution would be nice.

Getting movies to enjoy on your MEV30K is easy. You can subscribe to movie services such as Vongo, or record videos on your PC. However you choose to get your entertainment, Toshiba's newest member of the gigabeat family offers a great way to enjoy entertainment on the go. The large screen supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors, while a 30 GB internal hard drive stores your media. The device is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0 Software, and it's compatible with videos encoded for Windows Media Player 9 or 10 (WMV). All that's required is a PC and the included Windows Media Player 10 software. The MEV30K features a USB 2.0 interface for lightning-fast transfers of video files between your computer and the device. There's even a TV-out connector so you can view your videos on a larger screen.

If you're like most folks, you don't have time to print out all your digital photos to show to your family, friends, or colleagues. With the MEV30K, you can just take all your digital stills with you. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat--there's no need to connect to your PC, either.

And then there will be those time when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. The MEV30K also lets you download your favorite music from subscription sites; buy your music from music sites such as Napster, eMusic, and Rhapsody; and even rip your favorite CDs. Again, thanks to Microsoft's Portable Media Center platform it's always quick and easy to get your content. The MEV30K supports playback of MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless and WAV audio files, and you can also view album cover artwork. The device even has a built-in speaker so you can share your music with your friends.

To keep the entertainment going, the MEV30K comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery that allows for up to eight hours of continuous playback for your favorite movies and videos and up to 30 hours of continuous playback when just enjoying music.

What's in the Box
MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner's manual), and quick start guide.