Ematic EM708 VID 4.3" 8GB MP4 Video Player - Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So. . .I'm the first to write a review on this neat little video player.So, here goes. . .

First, what comes in the package:
- a microfiber cloth
- headphones
- a coupon for free mp3's
- usb cable
- no case or bag is included for the player - I really wish there were, as I don't know where to obtain one for this player

About the player itself:
- matte screen (a huge plus for me)
- 320x240 resolution
- 2 headphone jacks
- rear speaker

First impression . . .wow, this thing is heavy. . much heavier than I anticipated. . .must be the battery.Nice fit and finish.

The audio on this player is easily on par with an iPhone/iPad; better than anticipated for this price range.It's good enough that I was watching a video and though someone walked into the room beside me. . but it was the audio of the video.

Video playback is good as well.Most .avi and .mpg files I tried played smoothly.However, some exhibited some frame skipping; audio never skipped, but the video playback would sometimes seem to slow down then fast forward and catch up to the sound.All of the files I tried were in the 1000kbps video encoding range.. so it could also be the original encoding of the videos, since most played without issue yet some skipped frames.Speaking of encoding, there is no software included with this unit.Not a big deal, as it shows up as a mass storage device in Windows.After a bit of experimentation, I found that encoding videos in Super! at 320x240 (576kbps Xvid) lose no fidelity. . but can save a lot of space on the player.The 320x240 resolution might sound bad on paper. . but video really does look good. . you'll notice a difference if you were to play the same video on a 800x400 or so screen, but at this price range it looks great.Brightness/contrast is also quite good, and the matte screen allows it to be viewed in sunlight.

The battery seems pretty good. . roughly 3 hours or so of video.Unfortunately, the battery meter only has 3 divisions. . so it is impossible to tell if you are at 33% or 1%. . that is until the player shuts itself off without warning!You can plug this into a usb wall jack or lighter adapter; however it causes distortion on the screen (grounding issue?).When you plug this into a computer, you do not see a batter meter. . only a "usb" graphic.It seems to take quite a while to charge. . but again, it's hard to really know where you're at as far as a charge due to the battery meter.I hope this gets updated via a firmware update.Video formats supported are .avi, .mpg, and .wmv.It will not play .flv, .asp, etc.

I have not tried the radio or ebook readers; so no comment on those.I also didn't try the included headphones.

So.. overall, I'd give this player 4 stars.. at this price, it really is a nice little unit, and you can fit a whole lot of video on it if you encode it to 320x240 (a 45 minute video is around 160MB).This is a very new player, the ematic website does not even show it yet. . .a firmware update could easily fix the few issues I've seen.

Pros:
+ incredible price
+ matte screen
+ great audio
+ good battery life
+ can double the memory with a micro SD card

Cons:
- battery meter
- no warning that battery will soon be drained
- playing video while charging causes distortion
- no bag/case

Hope this helps anyone looking at this player!

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Product Description:
4.3" touch screen / Video & picture playback / FM radio & FM record / Voice recorder / Micro SD expansion slot / USB 2.0 Digital Video Recording - Record over 48 hours of video in AVI format and in different video modes 5MP Digital Camera - Take quality JPG photos in different camera modes Voice Recorder - The built-in mic allows you to record quick notes and lectures, playback through the external speaker or headphones Webcam - Connect the device to your PC and use as a Webcam TV-Out - Use the included A/V cables and view videos and photos on your TV or monitor Social Networking - Easily upload your pictures and videos to your favorite social networking websites Equalizer -Yes Sound Output Mode -Stereo Photo Output Mode -JPEG Video Recording Output Mode -AVISupported Digital Photo Standards -BMP, JPEG Supported Digital Audio Standards -WAV, WMA, MP3Supported Digital Video Standards -AVI, MP4, FLV and more using conversion CD Battery -Rechargeable - lithium polymerHeadphones - binaural Connector Type - 1 x headphones/TV-Out, 1 x Hi-Speed USBSystem Requirements -OS Required -Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista, Apple Mac OS Microphone Type -Microphone - built-inRadio Type -Radio tuner - digital - FM Dimensions -Height -3.25 in Width -2.0 in Depth -0.5 in