Author Topic: Cowon V5: To Buy, or not to buy? (Read 6742 times)

killazys · « **on:** April 12, 2010, 11:58:28 PM »

As some of you may already know, the V5 is now out in the US. Specs tower over the competition, including Cowon's ridiculous 39 different preset JetEffect EQ sounds, support of like 15 different audio and video codecs, native 1280x720 file playback up to 30fps on a LCD 800x480 4.8" display (as in, highest resolution you've seen). The 16GB white on amazon goes for $274.69. That's a rather high price, but when we couple that with a ~$30 16GB SDHC memory card, we get 32GB for around the same price as an iPod Touch of the same capacity. Question is, are prices going to go down? If so, I'm willing to wait until early June. What does BakaBT think?

The amazon link is here

mgz · « **Reply #1 on:** April 13, 2010, 12:17:31 AM »

i say wait for a few reviews to come out about its UI.

Cowon has a tendency to release AWFUL firmware with products initially and sometimes fix them real quick.

Other times you get the O2

killazys · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2010, 12:56:20 AM »

"In our opinion, the user interface is a marked improvement over the A3 that we tested in early 2008. Icons responded immediately to presses, and the music / video portals -- which are apt to be used most heavily -- are both well defined and easy on the eyes. Cowon managed to fit quite a few soft buttons onto the music panel, but amazingly, it doesn't feel cluttered. It's a breeze to scroll up and down your playlists, and it's easy to jump in and out of the EQ settings or to add a track to your Favorites list. In fact, we love just how many things you can do with a single press in the Music menu, but one of the most rudimentary things requires two clicks: getting out of one album and back to your list of albums. If a track is playing, you have to hit the Files icon and then the Folder Back icon; we would've loved to see a shortcut here for jumping back two steps with only one push, but again, this is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things."
Enoughness?
But then it got terrible C-net review. A perfect DO-NOT-BUY-EVER. ]=

mgz · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2010, 03:17:46 AM »

cnet also tends to hold everything up to APPLE = GOLDEN STANDARD

which is lolz, thats why i said wait for reviews from ppl who really like players. Im waiting for reviews to be posted on anythingbutipod.com

fohfoh · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2010, 06:21:16 AM »

If you have the cash to spare and don't mind small hiccups, I say go for it. It's not going to brick or anything. Just maybe random freezes and stuff like that at random intervals at the worst. Nothing a quick reset or turn off can't fix. I considered that one as well. I already have an 8GB S9 and I love the shit out of it. (Save the fact I have no room to put anything extra stuff on it and have to continually change media within it)

I considered the i9 and the V5... but in all seriousness, I don't need another mp3 so I probably won't go forward with my plans...

nstgc · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2010, 01:15:56 PM »

I myself am looking at getting an S9. I've heard great things about their audio plays and GUI. I'm not sure about the video units though.

killazys · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2010, 03:10:02 PM »

I would get the s9, but there's no native compatiblity for .mkv files, and converting is a terrible hassle. Oh, and space issues.

The prices for the V5 are slowly going down... but slow, as in $3 different from yesterday.

How about an Archos 5? The only thing with this is you have to buy support for different file formats or extra features...

fohfoh · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2010, 04:33:05 PM »

I've heard some good reviews on the archos 5, but I've never played with one myself. Though generally I hear that it needs a little more tweaking than most other pmp.

nstgc · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2010, 05:11:52 PM »

Quote from: killazys on April 13, 2010, 03:10:02 PM

I would get the s9, but there's no native compatiblity for .mkv files, and converting is a terrible hassle. Oh, and space issues.

The prices for the V5 are slowly going down... but slow, as in $3 different from yesterday.

How about an Archos 5? The only thing with this is you have to buy support for different file formats or extra features...

You can remux videos into mp4 containers can't you?

fohfoh · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2010, 06:07:31 PM »

Quote from: nstgc on April 13, 2010, 05:11:52 PM

Quote from: killazys on April 13, 2010, 03:10:02 PM
I would get the s9, but there's no native compatiblity for .mkv files, and converting is a terrible hassle. Oh, and space issues.

The prices for the V5 are slowly going down... but slow, as in $3 different from yesterday.

How about an Archos 5? The only thing with this is you have to buy support for different file formats or extra features...

You can remux videos into mp4 containers can't you?

Edited for clarification.

kyanwan · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2010, 06:13:45 PM »

Quote from: mgz on April 13, 2010, 03:17:46 AM

cnet also tends to hold everything up to APPLE = GOLDEN STANDARD

which is lolz, thats why i said wait for reviews from ppl who really like players. Im waiting for reviews to be posted on anythingbutipod.com

I'm seriously sick of that myself. The device looks good to me, but the price is wrong for something that's a bit on the sketchy side.

[ The spoiler button is me ranting about the ipad. Feel free to ignore. ]

(click to show/hide)

fohfoh · « **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2010, 06:24:33 PM »

Apple is a love hate relationship. I like their designs at times, then it goes into (for instance this generation) the ugliest shit ever. I liked the previous gen macbook/MBP look. White/Black or Pure silver. Current = Silver + Black... wtf?

Copies of Apple.... come on. Getting sick of it. Price sucks.

Not to mention I have their stock. Good to know Apple is doing well. Not good to know everything has to be like Apple to be comparable or to be "good". That's stupid.

IMO Cowon is a good buy. Sturdy and nice. It won't die on you firmware wise. But might have small hiccups which are ok to deal with. I hate the accelerometer thing in my S9, but I just have to turn it off and back on maybe ever few days when the issue occurs and the accelerometer makes the GUI get stuck.

nstgc · « **Reply #12 on:** April 13, 2010, 08:30:31 PM »

Quote from: fohfoh on April 13, 2010, 06:07:31 PM

Quote from: nstgc on April 13, 2010, 05:11:52 PM
Quote from: killazys on April 13, 2010, 03:10:02 PM
I would get the s9, but there's no native compatiblity for .mkv files, and converting is a terrible hassle. Oh, and space issues.

The prices for the V5 are slowly going down... but slow, as in $3 different from yesterday.

How about an Archos 5? The only thing with this is you have to buy support for different file formats or extra features...

You can remux videos into mp4 containers can't you?

Edited for clarification.

I don't count remuxing as converting. Thats like saying moving one box full of crap into another is cleaning.

I think the guy is thinking about actual converts which reencode. I had one of those for an old iPod. I'm talking about remuxing, which is taking what already exists and putting it into a different container. Its not hard, and its not time consuming.

CvP · « **Reply #13 on:** April 13, 2010, 08:37:26 PM »

V5 prices will not go down any time soon.

I think V5 is excellent except there's no wifi.

kyanwan · « **Reply #14 on:** April 13, 2010, 09:25:19 PM »

Quote from: fohfoh on April 13, 2010, 06:24:33 PM

Apple is a love hate relationship. I like their designs at times, then it goes into (for instance this generation) the ugliest shit ever. I liked the previous gen macbook/MBP look. White/Black or Pure silver. Current = Silver + Black... wtf?

Copies of Apple.... come on. Getting sick of it. Price sucks.

Not to mention I have their stock. Good to know Apple is doing well. Not good to know everything has to be like Apple to be comparable or to be "good". That's stupid.

IMO Cowon is a good buy. Sturdy and nice. It won't die on you firmware wise. But might have small hiccups which are ok to deal with. I hate the accelerometer thing in my S9, but I just have to turn it off and back on maybe ever few days when the issue occurs and the accelerometer makes the GUI get stuck.

I hope you didn't buy apple stock @ a high ( as in: now. )

Doing such = bad idea. ( I heard someone say "buy silver" - according to historical rates, buying silver right now, when it's 4x its historical value, is retarded. Now, if you were forward looking back in the start of the run, about 2001 - you would have made a killing right now - then unload your silver on someone in panic mode, shift your money into a relatively stable currency and bam - you're set. )

But that's just my opinion. ( If I were buying - I'd go for a big bank that is likely to recover - read: citibank - throw in an amount of money I don't mind losing - and sit on it. That's the kind of person I am. I've got a hunch there - last time I had this kind of feeling - the stock I picked multiplied about 40 fold. )

mgz · « **Reply #15 on:** April 13, 2010, 10:33:22 PM »

360 for a 4.8" 32 gig flash memory player with a sdhc slot really isnt all that unreasonable.

Although im curious if the video out is the same style as the s9.

I dont mind that cowon uses proprietary video out but i wish they would just use the same thing on them all.

killazys · « **Reply #16 on:** April 13, 2010, 11:21:07 PM »

i remember reading the video - out cables are indeed proprietary
and remuxing. would that be, (for example) on SUPER stream copying audio and video and just selecting container format as mkv?
.. that is, right?

nstgc · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2010, 12:26:00 AM »

Quote from: killazys on April 13, 2010, 11:21:07 PM

...and remuxing. would that be, (for example) on SUPER stream copying audio and video and just selecting container format as mkv?
.. that is, right?

I've done it several times, mostly from ogg to mkv, and all it seems to be doing is taking the the audio, video, and subtitle streams and putting them in a new container.

I don't know about in Windows, but in Linux and probably Mac, you can write a script which will do everything for you. I wrote a script, for instance, that ripped a DVD, encoded it, then muxed it. All I had to do was run it, and choose what I wanted the file names would be.

mgz · « **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2010, 12:35:39 AM »

Quote from: nstgc on April 14, 2010, 12:26:00 AM

Quote from: killazys on April 13, 2010, 11:21:07 PM
...and remuxing. would that be, (for example) on SUPER stream copying audio and video and just selecting container format as mkv?
.. that is, right?

I've done it several times, mostly from ogg to mkv, and all it seems to be doing is taking the the audio, video, and subtitle streams and putting them in a new container.

I don't know about in Windows, but in Linux and probably Mac, you can write a script which will do everything for you. I wrote a script, for instance, that ripped a DVD, encoded it, then muxed it. All I had to do was run it, and choose what I wanted the file names would be.

however the agreed point is that doing anything is more tasking then doing nothing

fohfoh · « **Reply #19 on:** April 14, 2010, 01:22:51 AM »

@ Kyanwan: I bought in at 87. I'm close to tripling my money due to the iPad fad.

But for mkv playback, don't you have to change the encode anyways to play? I think (at least for the S9) you needed to make the video smaller than a certain size for it to play on the S9 even if it was a supported file type.