Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

Hi,
Ive been looking at the review sections and have noticed that there are many MP4 players there which are just rebranded IDENTICAL versions of what i am finding. Most people here are in the USA, im in the UK you see, and they are all pretty much the same. Made in China and mass produced.

Anyway I have £30 and am looking to buy an MP4 player. The cheap ones ive looked at nearly all have 2.5mm stereo sockets and usually come with an adaptor but i'd rather get a 3.5mm socket to begin with. Anyway here are some ive been looking at, the best one imo being the ATMT. Maybe some people here could give advice on a good buy:

A388 1G TeckNet MP4/MP3 Player with FM Radio & F-03 205 Channel FM Transmitter(Silver)

LKO 309 1G MP4/MP3 Player with Build-IN FM and Speaker

ATMT V-PLAY MP4 PLAYER - 2GB EXPANDABLE with RADIO and DRM10 - BLACK

Rumble 1.5 inch Palm PMP 1024MB - Black DIGITAL AUDIO MP3/ MP4 PLAYER!

TeckNet A83 2G 1.8" Screen MP4/MP3 Player with FM Radio - Silver

TeckNet A399 1G MP4/MP3 Player With Build-In FM (Silver)

TeckNet A819 1G 1.8" Screen MP4/MP3 Player with FM Radio - Black

EW-Link E80 1.8" Screen 1G the last generation MP4/MP3 Player With 1.8" LCD Screen and Build-In FM (Black)



The choices are pretty crazy, i love the style of the ATMT and its one of the few with a 3.5mm socket.

Any advice?

Re: Hi i'm new, looking for cheap MP4 player
 

£30 should get you a RockChip Mp4 player in the UK if you shop around.
This would play Mp4 (.avi) videos and have a miniSd memory slot. These Mp4 players are very stable and offer the best value for money at the moment and have 3.5mm sockets.
The sound quality is as good if not better than an Ipod.
Ebuyer.com recently had a 2Gig for £30 and 1Gig for £20 which you can add a further 2gig to with a miniSd card.
If you decide you want to buy from Ebay be careful of scammers and have a look at the advice on this forum.

This player is a RockChip, but is £39.99 inc vat:-
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128646/rb/0

Re: Hi i'm new, looking for cheap MP4 player
 

Don't go to cheap. Sellers and online stores selling hacks sell players super cheap.

There are scammers on amazon as well.

But you are definitely doing the right thing - shop around and compare. And check out all of the info at the forum.

Ok so your in the UK! if you have an Aldi store near to you take a look and see if they still have any of the MP4 player they were selling from the 12th of July.

I do know they have limited stock, but you may be lucky and they may have one or two left.

At least you can see it before you buy, and have a full warranty also, 2GB for £27.99 which is not bad.

A second on the Rock Chip players.

The video is great, and the sound is good. As a long time iPod user (I have a 3G and an original iPod that are still in use) I am of course biased on the audio front, but with a decent pair of earphones the sound is quite good.

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

The Rock Chip thing is too expensive.

Is anything else worth buying? I thought this would be:

ATMT V-PLAY MP4 PLAYER - 2GB EXPANDABLE with RADIO and DRM10 - BLACK

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...QL._SS400_.jpg



I can't find the American equivalent though.

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

[html:6864f7e4f3]
You can have a look at these players from <span style="font-weight:bold">UXcell</span> as well. I've tried to match them against the &quot;ATMT V-PLAY MP4 PLAYER - 2GB EXPANDABLE with RADIO and DRM10 - BLACK&quot; player you mentioned.








<span style="font-weight:bold">Glacier - MP4 Player 2 inch TFT LCD 2GB Black (using Nokia Battery)</span>


- Roughly same price, with 3.5mm earphone jack but larger 2.0&quot; screen.




<OBJECT codeBase=http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0 width="600" height="289" classid=clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000> <PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk2048mp039_ux_c.swf"> <PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high"> <embed src="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk2048mp039_ux_c.swf" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="289"> </embed> </OBJECT>







<span style="font-weight:bold">MP4 Player 2&quot; TFT Display MTV + Speaker Black 2GB &quot;Palladium&quot;</span>


- Alittle more expensive, with 3.5mm earphone jack but larger 2.0&quot; screen.



<OBJECT codeBase=http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0 width="600" height="289" classid=clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000> <PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk2048mp036_ux_c.swf"> <PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high"> <embed src="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk2048mp036_ux_c.swf" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="289"> </embed> </OBJECT>







<span style="font-weight:bold">Spectrum - MP4 Player 2 inch TFT LCD 1GB Black (Alloy Version)</span>


- Cheaper, with 2.5mm earphone jack though but larger 2.0&quot; screen.



<OBJECT codeBase=http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0 width="600" height="289" classid=clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000> <PARAM NAME="movie" VALUE="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk1024mp054_ux_c.swf"> <PARAM NAME="quality" VALUE="high"> <embed src="http://twigtrick.com/uxcell/images/item/catalog/ux_mv0blk1024mp054_ux_c.swf" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="289"> </embed> </OBJECT>







Hope that helps.
[/html:6864f7e4f3]

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

Thanks but i dont buy from US websites.

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

Huh? Three posts up you ask for an American equivalent. Someone gives it to you but then you don't want to buy an American equivalent? I must have missed something there.

Rock chip players cost more, but they also play Divx .avi files not some format that nothing else uses. I own two players and the video quality is definitely better. Like knob said, you can do it but you'd need to do some shopping to find a good deal. He then gave you one example that was cheaper than your budget.

As the others have said, cheap is well, cheap. You can get a piece of rubbish that doesn't even have what its description claims.

Good advice given but not taken, take a chance and pay for rubbish

Could you guys clear something up for me?
Is Rockchip a brand of player, or a type /brand of chip used in a player?
Thanks

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

It is a type /brand of chip used in a player.
The chips are quite powerful for an Mp4 player at 100Mhz, they can multitask, i.e you can browse music and play it at the same time.
I good way to tell a RockChip player is they only play .avi videos and tend to have a miniSd slot. They are often mass produced unbranded and are Chinese made. some are branded by Sumvision ,Onda and Teclast.

You got it wrong. By American equivalent i meant the same MP4 but made in America. So i can find reviews of it and see what people think.
Man you think i'm going to buy rubbish? Look at all the dead mp4 threads and problems people have.
I dont buy from American stores. I bet the majority here dont buy from UK stores.

I'm waiting for an answer to that one, cause I could answer it?

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

EazyE16,

UXcell is based in China. They are an actual manufacturer of MP3/MP4 players. So you are buying direct franufacturer. They have sponsored our site in the past with giveaways and prizes. There is also a dedicated section in the forum for UXcell on this site as well.

When you say "...I meant the same MP4 but made in America", you've got to understand that over 80% of the MP4 players are manufacturered in China. A large proportion of that is based in Shenzhen as well. I would think that even iPods are manufactured in China. SO you will find it very hard to find an MP4 manufactured outside of China and if u can, it will be a lot more expensive (mainly labour costs associated). I would bet you the player from Amazon would be manufactured from China too.

In reply to your "...dead mp4 threads" comment, that is mainly due to people incorrect flashing/updating their players with the wrong/incompatible firmware.

I think if you really want assurance, you might best to buy from a retail store rather than an online store. At least you can go back to the store and return or have it fixed rather dealing with a website store. The cost would be higher due to running/overhead costs of running a 'real store' than an online store.

Just alittle backgroun. There are only a handful of MP4 chipset manufacturers, most (if not all) are based in China. The variation is in the casing and the slight modifications to the button configuration and also the features requested by the manufacturer. Most of the "manufacturers" of MP4 players are more like assembly plants. They buy parts from other companies, assemble them, test them and then sell them on with their own brand/packaging.

Hope that helps.

I think the majority here would buy from a UK store if the seller has good feedback, prices are good, and shipping is reasonable.

Honestly, I don't care what part of the world the player comes from as long as I get what I paid for.

I agree with the last two posts and want to know if there is a American made player, I don't think so? Perhaps designed by Americans and made in China or elsewhere, as Admin has stated.

Most of the Hi tech equipment which are branded as American, are not made by them.

Even branded names such as Pioneer, Sony, and most other Japanease brands are made in China with a few exceptions.

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

Looking back at the first post and the link to the ATMT player, although I think the player looks good, I would advise against it, you only have to go to the Amazon link and scroll the bottom to see what other buyers have said and it doesn't look good.

I think that Cheap, Chinese and mass produced can often be a good buy if you are careful and look at the buyer reviews.

I actually think that they are getting a lot better at making these, and the RockChip player is a good example of this.

I have bought expensive branded players and they sometimes only last about 13 months.

I wouldnt buy anything. But i found a different mp4, the manufacturer/distributor is Tecknet.
Here is a review of a nano clone from Tecknet, its quite long but interesting:

"O.k so I'm writing the review I needed while I was looking at this product. I will start by saying that this product really is very good for all that it has. The instruction booklet that comes with it is translated from Chinese so hard at times to work out what they are trying to tell you and it's not in order so I will do my best to explain some things here. The battery lasts about 4 hours total, if playing continuously. I feel that it is a bit shorter than some mp3 players, not sure.(That's why it only gets 4 stars from me instead of 5). If you use it daily then charging it back up using the charger that comes with over night (do this when you get the player for the first time, before trying to use it) or the USB cable (2.0) via your computer while sat in the office at work would also sort it.
The usb cable attaches from the player to the computer and allows the fast transfer of files. I put a shortcut link of the E drive onto the desktop for faster access, though your computer does give you a prompt of what you want to do. The cable also inserts into the plug charger also.

The most important part is the mp3 player. I got the 4GB version and it does seem to have space for it. I have put as much as 4GB onto the player with no problems. For those who have windows XP it's very easy. Works on the same basis as the folders on your computer. It says you can put up to 9 folders on it with subfolders within them. I have not put that many but the 6 or 7 that I have have worked no problem. Simply open up your music folder window, open the E drive window then click and drag as many as you want in one go. Either individual files or the whole folder (which is quicker). Note the any file can be stored on the player as it acts as a removable disc.(4GB worth). Once you have moved the files over then click on the M button on the player to go into the main menu. The M button on the player basically acts as a enter/affirmative button. You must use this button when you want to select anything.
So you get a screen with a pair of headphones for the music. Click on the M button, it will go into a root menu, from here you will see your other folders/songs that you have loaded on to the player. Use the backwards and forwards buttons to scroll through the folders. When you want to play a song from a folder press the M button. This will enter the folder and will give you more subfolders if you have them in there or songs, they will have been copied onto the player in the same order as you had them in your folders)
To choose a song scroll down the list and press the M button to choose the song. Note you may fall fowl of clicking the play button to try and choose a song from the menu but this just takes you back to the start or the last song you had been playing, it can be frustrating. Once you get the hang of pressing the M button each time it will get alot quicker. Once you have the song you want come up, press the M button from the folder menu it then comes up with the song. ( a graphic equaliser will be showing also with 0:00:00 showing time played of the song) Now press the play/pause button and your song will play. In this mode it will play right through your music folder without you having to select them etc. If you want to be more selective, that's when this player loses the plot a bit. It will scroll through the songs when in play mode using the backwards/forwards arrows. It may take a while if the song you are looking for is at the end of your list. I personally organised the folder first by clicking on the 'view files in name order' on your computer. That way you will know that they will be in alphabetical order. Or you could really individualy organise each song to where you want it. Note, if you have itunes, you can highlight any/all the songs from a particular playlist and click right mouse button and drag them to the E drive window to copy them onto your player. I recommend putting them into an empty folder that is already on the player then they will be in the order you want exactly!
The sound is pretty good, there is a hum when changing inbetween songs but otherwise its crystal clear when on play mode. There is a repeat function when in play mode with Normal,Repeat one,Folder,Repeat Folder,Repeat all,Shuffle. So you can repeat just one song or the whole folder or all folders. Shuffle will just shuffle the folder you are currently in, if that's got a lot of songs then it will mix the lot up! There are other modes you can go into while in play mode, equaliser, tempo rate and replay. Equaliser speaks for itself, I choose to keep mine on the DBB for extra bass. The tempo rate is pretty cool to make the songs faster or slower. Very good if you are a dance teacher and use the player to hook into your stereo system (easily done with an adapter with two output sockets (L&R speakers) or just to mess around with I guess. The replay (I have not got into that yet) is I think to replay a particular set of songs A to B. You will have to figure that one out.
The headphones that come with the player are too short and the jack that you plug into the player is 2.5mm (english ones are 3.5mm) so they send you an adapter so you can plug that into the player and then your own headphones. I did have a problem with the first adapter making a noise when it was in the player ( when it swivelled around as it would do, if you were walking etc but the people/person at Tecknet sent me another with no charge or fuss).

The next screen you get is movies, here you can play any movies in a AMV format. So you do need to get hold of a AMV converting tool. I think they are available out there on the internet free. Then you can change AVI, MPG, WMV etc to AMV. Then as before click and drag the file into a separate folder and when you click on the M button while on the movies screen it will go into the folder for movies it recognises and then click M again to select the movie you want and when it comes up like the mp3s with equaliser and 0:00:00 etc click play to see movie/ video clip. Image is small but good quality from the stuff I have played on there, also sound. If you really wanted, with a 4GB memory you could put a few movies on there when travelling etc. It is small though 1.8" But hey, it's a cool extra.

Next comes Record function, voice record that is, or any other sound I guess. Click on the screen with record on, M button, then it will initialise (start up) and will come to a screen with a picture of a mic, 0:00:00 with the type of record format you are using ACT or VOR. These can be ACT fine or long and VOR fine or long. You can get to this menu when in the record screen (with the mic etc) by clicking M and it will give you a choice of folder menu for previous recordings (to edit etc) or REC menu to choose type of record format. Have a play with it and you will see the better quality is fine. The format you use is maybe individual choice, very cool extra though, cool for lectures etc, not tried it on lectures but picks up voice very well and anyone else's, hmmm, james bond espionage comes to mind.
Anyway, to hear what you have recorded you have to go to the next main screen called voice (with a speaker phone) click M and it will enter the menu giving you a choice of files you have recorded. Note if you have no files it will say 'disk empty' (this goes the same for other folders that are empty too). As before click on the file you want to listen to (M button) and click play. It can record hours and hours of voice etc.
Next comes FM radio (picture of a portable stereo) click M into main screen Picture of a radio with 87.0 MHz and search bar. To search through the available radio channels click backwards/forwards buttons, or press and hold for automatic search. Remember that it is not digital, do it somewhere you normally get good reception for optimum function. When you have found a station press and hold play/pause button to store. The spec. says you can store 20 channels. I have 10 stored with no problem and perhaps if I travel somewhere else I would want to store the radio channels there. See how you go. Note, the radio will crackle etc if you are traveling, in a poor reception area, or high buildings/hills etc. If you are sat still or walking not to great a distance then it is pretty good. Some stations will give better reception than others. Again a cool feature that comes with it. Oh there is a Japanese channel option, but I think that might be for the originally intended market.

Next screen is Photo, picture of a photo. Here you can view your photos that you have put onto the player same way as everything else. To view click M then once into the file menu click on play to view. There is a mode for auto or manual viewing. Not bad quality, guess it depends on the original photo file the bigger the file/quality etc the better it looks on the photo viewer. Note that the bigger the size memory of the photo the longer it takes to load on the screen of the photo viewer. Enjoy it.

The next screen is the setup, it has a cog on it. Here you can set the clock,(not sure why, do not use it, not sure even where it comes up) LCD set is for screen brightness etc. Language, there are loads of them. A power/sleep off time so you can set it to switch off after so many minutes in tens of mins. Note that pressing and holding play button will switch off/on the unit/player then at the top there is an on/off button, click this to off if you are not going to be using it for a while. I think it saves battery. Replay mode, not sure what that's about, Online mode again have not explored this, memory info gives you the amount of space on the drive of your player. It comes up with a total out of 4000mb (1000mb = 1 GB) on mine it seems to have a clitch as it comes up for a split second only. Not too bothered as you can always look to see how much memory you have on there when you have the E drive window open on your computer just press control and A to highlight all the files then while they are still highlighted right click mouse and choose properties, on the properties this will show how much memory is on the E drive/player. There is also firmware upgrade, it's says in the rather dodgy English instructions that come with it that you can upgrade, but it is not needed for the correct functioning of the player. It also says that it could cause the player not to work if you do upgrade and it does not work well with the player, so my advice is leave that well alone. I believe that the player does not need any upgrade to work well.

The next screen is the e-book, I have not looked into this much, when I did load a note pad ebook it worked well enough though as the screen is so small it takes a bit of time to read and scroll, so not my fav. of additions but hey how many are there comapared to some mp3 players!

The last screen is games with cards showing. There is only one game called Russia block, also known as Tetris style game. Fun enough if your bored with the music, video, ebook, photos and radio! ;-0

The FM tansmitter (an optional extra) is a load of rubbish so just get the player by itself.

I hope I have given you a bit of help with this, it's taken me long enough to do! I wanted to help people with doubts about this player as I did while I was looking. I hope you enjoy it and have fun with it. Cheers.

p.s feel free to post any questions on the reviews of this player and I will try to help. Stellan."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TeckNet-Scre...4497133&sr=8-7

So it seems fairly good quality to be fair.
And by American equivalent i didnt mean made in America, i meant the same mp4 player but rebranded in America. And there are plenty of them, even the Ipod clone in the link above is the UK equivalent of the American ones ive seen in the gallery. Sorry i should have made it clear, i know its not made in America hardly anything is in terms of gadgets.
Anyway here is the Tecknet site:

http://www.tecknetdirect.co.uk/Produ...id=2&mid=1&p=1

And here is another player i quite like:

http://www.tecknetdirect.co.uk/Produ...d=55&mid=1&p=1

Ive seen the same one in the gallery but rebranded. Found the link, its awfully simular:

http://www.mympxplayer.org/album_sho...php?pic_id=138

Anyone know the brand? If so i could search and find some American reviews to help my decision.
Thanks!

The technet is more or less the same as all the MP3s players around on E bay and everywhere else

It seems to me you don't want to take the plunge and just dip your toe in the water.

Best advice to you which has already been given is go to a UK store and buy one.

Lets put it this way, you won't get a Rolls Royce on the internet or anywhere else for Robin Reliant money.

I'll buy one i just want feedback first. But as usual the ignorant anti social forum members find that to difficult to understand.
You cant even answer a simple question of what brand the american equivalent is.

If you can't take advice from very experianced members on this forum, who have given there upmost to answer you honestly then why bother asking? if you can't hack what they are saying.

Seems all here have advised you correctly :roll:

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

EazyE16,

I certainly hope you weren't referring to this forum and it's members? I would be disappointed if you are as everyone here has taken the time to reply to your posts to try to help out.

There are some reviews here which may be of some help: http://www.mympxplayer.org/reviews-vf19.html.

I have a player very similar to the 'TeckNet A388 2G MP4 Player With Build-In Stereo Speaker & FM' player. I found it OK. It uses a Sigmatel chipset which is not easily modifable. If you can, get a hold of an ACTIONS chipset player as there are more tools available so you can theme it etc. It's nice to have the two external speakers and two earphone jacks. The menu navigation isn't all that great and intuative.

Hope that helps.

Thanks. Does it have a speed up/slow down feature? I read it does but i think some models vary even though they look the same. Does it have a custom equalizer? Also do you have any pics/videos of it. And what brand is yours?

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

Bump

Re: Hi, looking for a cheap MP4 player
 

bump.......