The first portable media viewer to be based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform is here: Jørgen Sundgot gets all warm and fuzzy about the Creative Zen PMC-120.
Review summary of the Creative Zen PMC-120:
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 For being a first attempt at a portable media viewer, the Creative Zen PMC-120 is a honourable one. Massive capacity and truly excellent synchronization scheduling are upshots, along with a simple and user friendly interface, but marring flaws also exist: the unnecessary limitation of convertible formats and no recording capabilities are the two major ones. Battery life is extensive thanks to the large battery, yet simultaneously renders the unit somewhat unwieldy. Overall, however, the PMC-120 is a good alternative for those who primarily wish to be able to view digital content on the go. Release: September 2004. Price: $500.
Pros: Massive storage; good battery life; user friendly
Cons: Unwieldy; conversion limitations
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Full review of the Creative Zen PMC-120:
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Having shown off concepts for quite some time now, Microsoft and one of its Portable Media Center hardware partners has finally delivered the goods. Creative's Zen PMC-120 is the very first Portable Media Center (PMC) to hit the market, offering photo, audio and video viewing. This reviews lends an eye to the platform itself, as well as the hardware - and whether or not the two make a good combination.
Design
Compared to other offerings from Microsoft's hardware partners, the Zen comes across as a bit clunky - although the form factor itself is more pocketable than for instance Samsung's upcoming Yepp YH-999 PMC. Still, at a hefty 144 x 81 x 27 mm and 340 g, it's clear that the only pocket that will hold it is a jacket one. That being said, a colour scheme of glossy black and matte gray makes the Zen comes off as rather slick-looking.
A 16-bit, 3.8" screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels is the main centerpiece of the unit, and with five levels of brightness is pleasingly crisp, clear and fully adequate in most conditions - although, as expected, prolonged outdoors viewing is entirely out of the question.
The display is flanked by a standardized array of buttons which to the left includes a five-way navigational pad with an 'Ok' button at its center, as well as 'Back' and 'Start' buttons. To the right is a circular media control pad with a combo Play/Pause button centered, flanked by Forward and Rewind buttons, and sandwiched between these and the battery charging/low LED we find the volume up/down controls. This setup works well, and allows for rapid navigation when using both hands - the latter of which is a requirement, unless one has a particular desire to set a new world record for developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Furthermore, four preset buttons which can be tied to favourite content line up at the top of the device, whilst the bottom contains a combined USB/charge connector that connects both to a cradle and standalone synchronization cable. The left side caters to the power jack, whilst the right holds audio/video out ports and a button lock mechanism - useful to prevent accidental activation.
And last, but not least, the lower right corner of the Zen's front panel harbours a speaker which delivers surprisingly good audio - perfect for sharing content with others, as well as taking a break from headphone use.
Connectivity
Lacking any sort of exchangeable memory solution, the sole connectivity option for the PMC-120 is by means of a USB 2.0 (backwardly compatible with USB 1.1) cable which connects the device to a Windows XP based computer running Windows Media Player 10 or higher, or the Media Center edition of Windows XP. File transfers move along at average speeds of 35 Mbps, which is quite sufficient.
For audio output, the Creative Zen offers a 3.5 mm analog connector with a fully adequate set of stereo headphones bundled in the package - however users with a particular interest in quality audio would be wise to replace these on the spot. Additionally, users can connect a wired FM Radio remote control to the Zen through a proprietary port placed right next to the aforementioned headphone jack.
Video is delivered by means of a standard RCA tri-plug connector, which in itself is fairly common but can also easily be converted to S-Video or SCART connectors, making it compatible with virtually any TV set sold in recent years. Both NTSC and PAL standards are supported, and to conserve power whilst in TV out mode, the Zen cleverly forces the internal screen to disable when switching to this mode.
Specifications
Powered as it is by a 400 MHz processor and 64 MB RAM, the Zen supports playback of files stored in WMA (DRM, Lossless, Standard and Voice) and MP3 formats for audio, as well as WMV 7, 8 and 9 for video. The bundled Windows Media Player 10 software will convert files stored in ASF, AVI, DVR-MS, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPE, M1V, WAV, AU and SND formats to those supported by the Zen. For pictures, the Zen supports JPEG only, and for video, the maximum playback rate is 30 FPS at 800 Kbps and a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, thus rivaling VHS video quality at best.
A rechargeable, exchangeable 3600 mAh Lithium Ion battery should according to Creative provide 7 hours of audio playback and 22 hours of video playback; we found the Zen PMC-120 to fall only marginally short of these claims, exhibiting 6.5 and 19 hours respectively. Of particular interest to globetrotters, the power adaptor for the Zen is a two-piece solution which accepts 100 V - 240 V and as such is world compatible - and to top it all off, the Zen also supports USB charging.
Software
For users familiar with the Media Center edition of Windows XP, any device running the Windows Mobile-based Portable Media Center platform will be a familiar sight as most of its user interface paradigm stems from this. For those who are not, it suffices to say that Microsoft created a user interface which nicely blends metadata with quick and relevant navigational features, abandoning the traditional hierarchical approach for a 'task-most-likely-desired' setup.
Synchronization with Windows Media Player 10 can be carried out either manually or automatically, the two of which users must choose between upon first connection. In manual mode, all content transfer to the PMC is conducted via drag-and-drop, whilst the automatic option leads to a number of interesting choices. Briefly explained, Windows Media Player 10 contains a number of 'Smart Playlists', from which users can pick - and, importantly, prioritize - depending on what content they want automatically synchronized.
Choices abound, and users can get down and dirty to create their own highly specialized playlists, such as music added in the last month, recorded TV from the last week, all video, or the last six months of pictures. This is nothing short of an excellent tool, however it also exposes that PMC devices only really shine in conjunction with (overly expensive) Media Center PCs which enable users to automatically record TV shows and have these synchronized to the PMC hassle-free. Alternatively, users can use a dedicated tuner card capable of storing TV in DVR-MS format, however this does not yield the same level of integration as a Media Center PC-PMC combo would.
This also sheds light on another part of the equation, which is conversion. The Zen supports a limited number of formats, to which Windows Media Player 10 will convert files for compatibility. Strikingly, however, Microsoft has deliberately rendered WMP 10 incapable of converting audio and video formats not on its shortlist (see Specifications for more information), despite the appropriate codecs being installed and WMP 10 itself being capable of playing back said formats.
Fortunately, the conversion process itself is very smooth, and although we've seen better analog-to-digital results, it is also quite user friendly. Users are recommended to manually adjust settings - varying in degrees between best performance and best results - to their liking, however, as the default setting yields unpleasantly choppy video.
Once content is finally on the PMC, navigating is a breeze thanks to the user interface which - although might not suit everyone - seems apt at providing useful tasks and navigation in the vast majority of situations. We did notice one major flaw, however: if the PMC is disconnected whilst converting content, it will not pick up where the process was left once reconnected. Trust us when we say having this happen is not particularly amusing having spent the last hour and a half waiting for a large video file to convert.
On the bright side, however, the PMC supports background conversion when set to synchronize automatically, meaning new content is immediately converted and synchronized. Obviously, this scenario applies primarily to Media Center PC users who schedule TV recordings - to whom such a setup is oh-so-convenient.
Availability
The Creative Zen Portable Media Center PMC-120 is now available in North America and Europe, and sells for $500 USD. It is compatible with Windows XP Media Center Edition, as well as any Windows XP system running Windows Media Player 10.
Price and availability
The Creative Zen PMC-120 will start selling for $500 () in September 2004.
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