Creative DAP-HD0013 Zen Portable Media Center 20GB MP3/Video Player

Reviewed by: eva10127

Strengths: upload fast, can view videos.

Weaknesses: It can crash once in a while. Sometimes the audio does not work and you need to reset it. also you can get an Error 5 which means, hard drive has error & u'll need to send it back to creative factory

Overall: It's not all that. I'm starting to doubt creative's products. I have friends who need to send back their creatives (muvo, zen micro etc.) to the factory for fixes. I realize creative comes out with "beta" products. There's a lot of bugs for their mp3s I would prefer Samsung.

Reviewed by: lobounm2004

Strengths: 3.8" TFT LCD Screen, Removable rechargeable battery, 20 GB

Overall: I had been waiting patiently for PVP (Personal Video Players) to arrive. Creative Zen looked really good at the store, so I bought it. The player sounds good, the UI is great, and the size is very convenient, and the features are fantastic.

Reviewed by: The_nVIDiA_Guy

Strengths: Battery life, speaker, Screen

Weaknesses: Size. Lacks features from the full media center. Bundle is not good

Overall: I got this player as my Creative Labs Zen NX can't play MSN music DRM proctected, so when I saw this PMC for $199.00, I said GREAT! But ZipzoomFly will not shop to PR, so I had to get it from Newegg.com for 229.00. This device is MASSIVE, it wont fin in my pocket with the case. Which brings another point, the case DOES NOT HAVE A BELT CLIP. I don't know why CL didn't add a belt clip, but they didn't. The speaker is excelente, however, it is not very loud, so you really need to crank up the volume, and there is no way that you will be able to use it in a noisy place with the speaker, you will need the ear buds or a headphone. The LCD monitor is very nice and very large, however, the video chip is a tad bit slow. The buttons have a cheep plastic feel to them, but they work well, however I would have prefered that they used soft rubber keys like on the media center remote. The PMC has some missing features, such as FM radio or deleting media. The Video quality. The video quality is quite good, even on a TV. However, the video need to be encoded into a PMC format, and that takes some time even on my AMD Athlon 64 3000+. Bottom line. If you want a macro media center, I recomend it.

Reviewed by: nodink

Strengths: Audio

Weaknesses: Video

Overall: I have 4 diff Media Players: Archos, Lyra, NHJ & this Zen. This is the worst of all. It's a pain to convert movies. I buy these products to watch movies on the go, listen to Mp3 is secondary. I won't get another ZEN anytime soon.

Reviewed by: tracernet

Strengths: Great screen, good battery life, accessories and price! Syncs easily with Windows Media Player 10

Weaknesses: Some glare and smudges on the screen, and the video output is a non-standard connection.

Overall: If you're looking for a simple way of taking your Media Center PC files on the road, the Creative Zen Portable Media Center is a great choice. The unit is black with a matching case that doubles as a stand - handy on airplanes. The unit has great battery life, as it survived a cross country trip as well as a day in the car passed between two kids. A very well built unit, Creative has made a great and affordable device that dollar for dollar rivals their new Zen Vision: the original has longer battery life and is a much better value (it's cheaper, $ per GB). The unit has well situated controls, superb audio (especially when paired with noise cancelling headphones) and external video - but remember to bring along the proprietary video output cable as the mini connector is non standard. (The output is to a composite, RCA video output rather than S-Video, fine for playback on TVs up to 27".) Also, the docking module is a great accessory as it makes for quick and easy charging and sync'ing with your PC. For a first iteration, the Creative Zen Portable Media Center is polished and for the most part delivers on the promise of PMCs and the new Windows Media Player 10.