40GB RCA Lyra: Apple Fans Needn't Fret 314
PaulEshoreLives writes "The Globe and Mail isn't taking too kindly to RCA's Lyra 40GB iPod 'competitor.' Amongst its gripes are a crazy-slow FFW. How slow? Like 6 minutes to get to the end of a 60 minute file. Gotta wonder how these things get missed at the beta stage."
Lyra: the * MPY * player. (not MP3) (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if this Lyra play MP3s or MPYs?
Re:Hey, not all codecs .. (Score:3, Interesting)
Valid mp3 decoders must allow "garbage" data before a header. So
cat somerandomtxtfile.txt mysong.mp3 > new.mp3
new.mp3 is now a valid mp3 file/stream.
Chances are the testers aren't actually users which is why they didn't find a really slow FFW "a problem".
Though really cumbersome MP3 players are pretty much the norm. Mine [from Samsung of all companies...] doesn't sort the files so even though my tracks are numbered they never play in any particular order [and no this is with shuffle turned off]. It also "plays" as you seek which is annoying [so it's even slower than 6min/60min as this player has].
Tom
iPodian (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Hey, not all codecs .. (Score:5, Interesting)
My Lyra 64 MB SD mp3 player also has this problem, it only fast forwards at a fixed rate of about 10:1, which is entirely unacceptable for a "whole albumn" mp3. For "large files" they need to rise to 50:1 after 5 seconds, and 200:1 after another 10 seconds. Maybe leave it at 10:1 and 30:1 for files less than 10 minutes... heck scale the rise in rate with the size in file...
And my Lyra isn't processing the file either like this reviewed device is, I don't hear any clipped chatter.
Reasons to fear (Score:3, Interesting)
I believe "apple fans" have a reason to fear iRiver [iriveramerica.com] and the Nomad Zen [nomadworld.com] more then this.
since IMNSHO both of these give you far better bang for your buck, not to mention the iRiver has more features.
Just my two cents really.
Re:ffw ? (Score:2, Interesting)
I didn't see anything about 17-minute file copying in the article. What's that about?
Aside from the author's pro-ipod bias, I only have one issue with the article:
With the original OS, my Archos Jukebox Recorder [archos.com] required me to hold down the On button for something like 5 seconds to turn it on, and I found that to be a real PITA. With the Rockbox [rockbox.org] OS I only have to hold it down for about 1/2 a second to power up the unit, and I've never had it turn itself on in my pocket (or anywhere). My point is: Don't make the user hold the button down for any length of time to avoid accidental power-ups; design and place the power button properly instead!
Re:Why should Apple fans fret? (Score:5, Interesting)
IN THE PAST, they didn't have a way to fix the issue of a dead battery. That was bad. Bad Apple! But they fixed that problem. Now, they are just like every other manufacturer out there: your battery dies within the warranty period? You get it fixed for free. Your batter dies outside the warranty period, you pay to replace it (either through Apple, or through many of the "unofficial" sources available).
Can we stop grousing about this issue now? Please?
Taft
REPOST - I have the old 40 gig RCA player... (Score:2, Interesting)
Initially, it had lots of problems. You couldn't resume a track from where you left off if you turned the unit off and back on, the track would start over. If you had both mp3s and wma files on it, there was static when it switched between the 2 formats. Shuffle was buggy, etc... these were all fixed in a recent firmware upgrade though. FFW is slow on mine, but not as slow as the review says it is on the new model. Playback isn't gapless, but it's "pretty close." Battery life so far seems to be about 10 hours continuous play, 7-8 if I shuffle around, so that's not bad. It comes with an AC adapter, cigarette lighter adapter, carrying case, and the headphones are better than the typical stock headphones.
The downside: For some reason, the line-out is a 1/16" jack instead of the usual 1/8" headphone sized. An adapter is included though. Also, it requires a 5.5v AC adapter, which I have had trouble locating online... so if you lose your adapter I'm not sure what you'd do. Occasionally, if you shuffle around to songs that aren't in order, the song will start about 1/2-1 second into the track.
The one feature that sold me, over everything else, is that it's one of the few players that doens't require any special software. It's recognized as a standard external USB drive, you just copy files over to it like you would any normal drive (so you can also use it to store other files besides music). There IS a Windows system tray application that you use to "profile" the device, which scans all the id3 tags so that you can browse your songs by artist/genre/album/etc. But you don't need to use it, because the player has a profiling feature built in! It's just a little slower than using the windows app.
In other words, this player is PERFECT for linux users.
And, they're cheap. I got mine refurbished on ebay for only $160. At that price, for a 40 gig player that includes all the accessories and requires no software and runs effortlessly under Linux I don't mind the few faults it has!
Re:Speaking of portable music players... (Score:3, Interesting)
JOhn
Re:Why should Apple fans fret? (Score:3, Interesting)
2) Complaining about iPod batteries dying may be a valid complaint if you're talking about them dying faster than other mp3 jukeboxes.
3) Complaining about how hard it is to replace iPod batteries yourself relative to other mp3 jukeboxes is a fair complaint.
Agreed. Very rational.
I would like to see stats on the length of the iPod battery's life versus other players, though. I know that not all batteries are created equal, but they ARE commodity products, so I am a bit sceptical that Apple would be too far below the average in terms of quality.
Taft