Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

ok, this is going to be controversial, but I am about to compare the highly rated Meizu M6 SP with my Rockchip MP4 (unbranded, but is identical to the Optimus Cosmic found at MP4Nation.com - http://www.mp4nation.com/products/index.php?PID=mp8282b). I own both units, and can therefore make a fair comparison, based on experience.

MEIZU M6 SP - 8GB (Firmware S 2.003.2)
What do I like?
Memory capacity of 8GB
MP3 Audio - Outstanding quality with very flexible acoustics tweeks, which can result in a fat deep bass and high treble ensemble. Bit hissy though at low volumes!
Battery Life - seems to run for several hours
Very quick file transfer - 130Mb in 20 secs
I can record off the radio in Stereo at 128kbps
Well supported with forums, firmware updates etc
Fast 'fast forwarding' of movie is quick, and you can return to the place you left off.
Easy to customise the look of the menus using your own image for the background - for example, I like a completely black background with white or green text.


What don't I like?
The screen is good - but only to a point. There is an annoying 'bright blur' at the top right of the LCD, where I can see one of the white backlight LED's shining through. This is common on cheaper LCD's but I wouldn't have expected to have this issue on the M6 with a Samsung display. I have a Blackberry 8700v and the screen on that thing is fantastic (good viewing angle, no 'white spot', superb colours), and it's just a phone!
Movie playing... Hmmm- I'll come onto that in a moment.
Seemingly slow fast forwarding of music (although it gets progressively quicker, the longer FF button is held down for)


Rockchip Player
What do I like?
It cost $50 ! The M6 was $155.
Very smooth video playback, with perfect audio sync when I use Xilisoft's DVD2MP4 converter.. Better than the M6. Sorry!
Good quality sound for both movies and MP3's, with none of that horrible 'digital' ticking you get with cheap nasty AMV players.
I can record off the radio in high quality 256 kbps mode


What don't I like
Poor battery life - only around 80 minutes (Although for $6, I installed a 850mAh battery which gives over 3 hours of movie at full screen brightness).
It's only got 1GB of internal RAM, but I use a 2GB MiniSD as well. I haven't tried a 4GB yet, but I think one would work.
Slow video transfer - 130Mb takes over 2 minutes.
No support disk whatsoever! I bought mine from some anonymous Ebay seller in Hong Kong. I guess you'd get the full package from somewhere like MP4Nation.
It takes ages to fast forward through a movie, and starts back at the beginning if you shut down / leave movie mode.


Build quality - seems to be about the same for both the M6 and the Rockchip. Both are very acceptable. I suppose the M6 would still be working in 3 years time - who knows about the Rockchip?!


I have tried umpteen video converters at various FPS settings, and I just cannot get the M6 to play movies as smoothly as the Rockchip does. Even the demo movie (Chinese man and woman bumping into each other) runs better when converted to play on the Rockchip than it does on the M6!

Don't get me wrong- I am not out to slate the Meizu M6. It is a very good player indeed. If the world it competed in had only Ipods at one end of the scale, and those horrible AMV players at the other end, for the money, the M6 would be great. However, we also have Rockchip players which for the money they are, offer near enough everything I need for portable movie playing at far less than half the price of the M6 - with the added benefit of significantly smoother video playback. I am glad I bought an M6, just to try. If I had never bought one, I'd always be wondering "just how good are these things?" Now having had the chance to compare with my Rockchip player, I am more convinced about the power of Rockchip! The M6 will be Ebayed very soon.... !

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

Note, Meizu M6 uses a similar processor (Samsung SoC with ARM940T) to iPod (ARM7TDMI).

The sole reason why i feel the M6 and the M3 have done to well, as opposed to other Chinese companies who release a new product every other week, is that Meizu spent time developing a mobile database system capable of sorting songs by artist, album, genre etc and being able to support playlists - there really are no other Chinese made players capable of doing this and this is why i feel the M6 has been doing so well.

However on a hardware to hardware match up, the M6 is outdated and has been for sometime, the SE release won't make any vast improvements, infact it will reduce the battery life by 25%.

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

It's absolutely unfair, almost silly, to compare a big brand product as it is Meizu M6 with a generic type of chip (Rockchip). In this aspect, there are two choices: or to compare Samsung SA58700X07 chip (with its ARM9 processor) against Rockchip, or to compare Meizu vs. Teclast (or any other known brand the uses this chip in its devices).

Anyway M6 player is not just a Samsung chip: is a bi-processor device it uses a Philips processor for its sound, which indeed is a great sound, as I have proved myself with my M3 device, which uses the same scheme.

Then comparison have to go on image which seems to be what Rockchip and Samsung manage itself. Maybe Samsung deliver a better image than Rockchip, maybe not, but... at the size of a 2.4" screen is really noticeable a big difference in quality?. I really doubt it, in my humble opinion, it's just a matter of preferences. Lets say that Meizu for M6 first started with a Toshiba processor, later changed to Samsung due to its better image.

Concerning sound, unfortunately Rockchip is far from the good sound of Philips processor, thing that engineers of Teclast seems to agreed, as for their product C280 and later they have choose to add a Wolfson processor for the sound of their devices. All the latest products of Teclast have the same bi-processor scheme.

About FM reception Meizu M6 uses too a different processor for the purpose, a Philips too, not sure of the model, I hope as good as the TEA5767 that uses my M3 device. In this point my rockchip C260 have a horrible FM reception, not knowing is uses an integrated chip or other solution.
Anyway both devices deliver s great FM reception compared with that non-existent of the iPod model $$$$.

This is why I believe that comparison among a chip and a good product well polished fully customizable and still in evolution is unfair. Soon will appear the slim M6 that probably will overpass the MiniPlayer M6.

A word for Teclast, they have done a great job with a raw firmware adding lots of functionalities to their first big product as it was (still is) the C260. Somebody might not like the thermal pad of this device, but it's cute and more important... cheap.

Thanks for the review. I agree with all the points you made. I don't have the led "white spot" on my m6, though. Perhaps you got a defective unit? I have a 2.4" rockchip, similar to the "Optimus X" on mp4nation or "Vista" on UXCELL. I prefer the video quality on my rockchip to my m6. The only thing that I hate is the resume function (or should I say lack of it). A poster here, jp, suggested I break the video into smaller pieces using VirtualDub and that will make me have to fast forward less. I'm going to try it.

Your screen must of been a defect...You can pickup a M6 for $79 4gb , your rockchip i presume was only 1gb .
The M6 is far superior to rockchip players in processing power. And also the M6SL Razor was talking about has come out already with beta models and is exspected by the end of this month , that is thinner with 25% less battery , whereas the M6SE has vast improvments but wont be out till 2008 it dosnt need converting videos... it contains a 667mhz processor reportedly.... thats 4x that of the ipod video... and has a line out... It will be introduced that the price of the M6 previously on its launch

Hi guys,

I knew (and perhaps wanted!) this to cause a little 'upset', and to start a debate here...

I am dealing with the cold hard facts of having a Meizu M6 in one hand and the Rockchip in the other.

The Meizu video playback is jerky, and the Rochchip is not - FACT! :)

Yes, the Meizu has more audio 'tweeks' but....FACT: :) it is more 'hissy' than my Rockchip (through various headphones ranging up to $500 Sennheisers)

As for FM reception, I live in a strong-ish area and....FACT: :) the Rockchip unit (I didn't mention this before) actually outperforms the Meizu again, both in terms of how many stations it locks onto and general reception whilst moving around.

Perhaps different people rate different features in order of importance, but for me, the quality in terms of FPS of the movie is no1 and my Meizu M6 is not as good as my 2.4" 320x240 Rockchip. Perhaps someone out there knows the Holy Grail of Meizu video conversion software !!

btw PrincessAnne, I now split my movies into 30 minutes chunks, so Fast Forwarding to the bit I last watched only takes 1 min instead of 3 !!

I have been reading this thread with interest.
Before I got my current Rockchip player I nearly bought a Meizu, but I got a cheap Rockchip instead purely by accident.
I Have to say that the music quality on the Rockchip is the best I have ever heard on any pmp, I wasn't that bothered about the video side of things that was just a bonus for me.
I am now convinced that my next player is also gonna be a Rockchip, but maybe a something like a Teclast.

I think the headphones used make quite a lot of difference, I guess the Meizu ones are quite good, whilst the one you get with a no name Rockchip are usually pretty crap. I swopped mine for Sennheisers and it made a load of difference.

If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that's probably because the Rockchip amp is clamped at a lower sensitivity to hide a less than stellar signal-to-noise ratio. This isn't necessarily a good thing.

Hi Zaphod,

You could be right, but in listening to something with very quiet passages, I am more aware of the hiss on the M6 than any 'clamping' on the Rockchip.

The M6 is however totally silent when the vol is at zero, or when you press stop / pause. It seems to mask it's [possible] inherent hiss-iness by shutting off all audio output in these states. in going from vol=0 to 1 on a quiet piece of music, I notice the hiss immediately - it' not overwhelming, but it is apparent.

I should say that my Rockchip player wasn't perfect 'out-of-the (non existent) box'. It came with no software at all, and initially, I had to use the aviconverter software which came with my first 2" Rockchip player. I remember I was a little disappointed with the results.
However, when I stumbled across the DVD2MP4 converter from Xilisoft, I found a product which works in perfect harmony with my 2.4" Rockchip player and the video results are stunning - and consistently in sync. It might not be ideal for some, as it's quite pricey ($44 I think).
Unfortunately though, the Xilisoft product doesn't work very well with my M6 ! The videos are very jerky and tend to bomb out. I will have to ask them to write an M6 profile!
If someone can advise the perfect solution for creating movies on the M6, I'd be over the moon and won't need to ditch it on Ebay!

As I said earlier, I am not out to destroy the M6's reputation - it IS very good....but there are aspects of it, as already discussed, which don't seem to match the Rockchip. I am going to source another Rockchip soon - perhaps the version I have is uncharacteristically 'brilliant' - but I suspect all 320x240 units with the 'tabs across the bottom of the screen' menu behave the same...???

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

What I read here concerning sound of Rockchip devices maybe can be acceptable when no Meizu device have been heard.

Kindly clarify what rockchip rockchip are you talking about. If you are taking of that devices that uses a Wolfson audio processor, maybe I can agree with the awesome sound you said. I insist, Teclast did have to implement Wolfson to obtain a better sound of their Rockchip devices.
But I do have a rockchip Teclast C260 capable of play FLAC files (also APE), which are lossless formats and I have compared it with my Meizu M3 and there is no point of comparison in sound quality. This is not my only opinion is also Tadad1 in his excellent review here.

Maybe iixorbiusii for a personal reason just dislike Meizu M6, but it's not me who claims for the best sound of Meizu, is also Tadad1, and the engineers of Teclast, choosing a better audio processor for their best products.

Maybe about video he is right, as I haven't see M6 videos, but I've watched lots in my Rockchip devices, and I have get really satisfied with its performance.

Concerning FM reception... sorry iixorbiusii... what I've get from the Rockchip is even worse than Action devices. I am not talking of the capability of reach some stations, I am talking of the resulting sound and interferences, both tested in the same place... my bed.

I simply believe that for a personal reason you just hate Meizu products, based on your FM reception review, that is not in any way good for our readers, who wants objective comments.

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

iixorbiusii...

A direct and public question... what is the nick that you are using in www.meizume.com?

I suppose that you, as a M6 owner, are participating in this Meizu fansite, which is providing lots of information about upgrade of firmwares, clues for modding, lots of technical data and thousands of backgrounds for your device. Recently have been published a cool tool for customize the fonts of M6.

I haven't see you there.

Hi DaremoS,
No, I do not hate Meizu by any stretch of the imagination, and I believe I have been objective throughout this thread. Please re-read everything I have said!!
I am offering to the public, my experiences and it seems others here have agreed with me - I guess Ipod 'fans' were equally shocked when people started to compare their beloved product with thinks like the Meizu's !!
So again, I do NOT HATE the Meizu m6 but I HAVE ONE and so far, it has not outshone my Rockchip player.
btw, I am not on Meizume yet, but have been reading around that forum for 6 months or more.
See you there soon ;-)

Hi DaremoS,

The inside of my Rock Chip player can be seen here ( I hope!)

http://www.mympxplayer.org/image-full-asp397.html

I guess the soundchip is the 'Elpida' one. Of course, it doesn't have all the DSP options of the Meizu M6 - the bass is not as fat, and the equalizer is only 5 band (as far as I remember - don't have it with me right now) as opposed to the 10 Band equaliser of the M6. However, my experiences are exactly as I have written above. Maybe there are audio quality differences between Rockchip players, and I intend to try out a few over the coming months - the one I have is excellent.
I primarily use the Rockchip / M6 as movie players. next comes music, then radio.
If I get a chance, I will try and put a comparison on Youtube, and you will be able to see for yourself, the difference in video playback (albeit with the limitation of Youtube quality!)

Keep smiling ! :lol:

Not at all. That's 8MB SDRAM.

Hi Zaphod,
Thanks - indeed I Googled "Elpida" after I posted the earlier comment and realised they manufacture memory!! (1GB in this case). :oops: I think the soundchip is the small raised one next to a timing crystal.

Anyway, I am clearly not getting the most out of my Meizu M6 at the moment and would like someone to suggest the ultimate piece of software for converting straight from DVD.

BACK TO BASICS: I want the Meizu to play videos as smoothly as my Rockchip player does. Over to you, folks.

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

Rockchip is in fact almost a complete mp4 player on a chip.
.
If you have a look at its datasheet the audio amplifier, usb interface, sd card interface and sound chip are all integrated into Rockchip itself.

It doesn't stop manufacturer's using an additional sound chip though, as I guess they would just disable the on chip sound using software.

Well, yes, but then again: No.

The 1GB (8Gb) NAND Flash chip (storage memory) is the Samsung one. The Elpida chip is, as mentioned, 8MB (64 Mb) SDRAM (system memory) into which the firmware software is loaded and run from when the player is in use.

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

You are right Zaphod... Elpida is a brand for memory.
The small chip is the FM receiver and Samsung is the flash memory (so called virtual hard disk).
Then sound is processed by Rockchip chip. The same as in my wonderful Teclast C260.
I have to say that it's easy to claim than Meizu sound is better than Rockchip, but I've been listening carefully both devices and I agree with those who enjoy Rockchip sound, is not as simple as it appear. Finally I think that it's just a more of subliminal sense of quality than clear differences.
Concerning sound quality Teclast, being the most known brand for rockchip devices, make some arrangement to introduce Wolfson sound processor together with Rockchip in their model C280, in order to get a better sound.
It's clear that for the engineers of Teclast, Rockchip itself doesn't deliver the sound quality they want to offer, and in their new products they have choose Telechip or Wolfson. No Rockchip then in C290, T39 and the future T59.

Hi DaremoS,
I think you know where I am coming from now. :)

Make no mistake folks, the Meizu M6 is a very very good product.... and Rockchips (well, mine anyway!) are very worthy competitors. The M6 has a lot of nice features which Rockchips don't.

I am not claiming that the M6 is rubbish, because that simply is not the case. Yes, my Rockchip has better FM reception, but the M6 is not bad at all. My Rockchip plays movies 'smoother' than the M6, but again, the M6 is also very good - it's just that in the absence of 'the ultimate' M6 enconder, my Rockchip is better - and only in terms of smoothness/FPS. The colours, details etc are very similar and in strong lighting conditions, the M6 is brighter.

I will try and do my first ever 'Youtube' movie over the weekend and hopefully show what I mean....

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

"Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player"
so is it a tie then? (hehe)

I would call it a tie knob. Some people have had better experiences with Meizu, others with non-branded Rockchip players. I think all that really matters is that you're happy with your player. 8)

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

Yes sure it is a tie.

When we compare a cheap Rockchip against a more costly multi-processor device we get into a tie, mainly due to the low cost of Rockchip and when the final benefit is to watch videos / photos, or listen music from files or FM.

When it comes to compare the operating system embedded in the firmware, that support this functions, Meizu have gone further than Rockchip, due to the flexibility of the chip and is bringing to the final user a more complete set for the purpose. Is enough to mention the ability to search by any concept, like artist, album, song etc. which is done in a Rockchip in a more raw way, as it is thought the Navigator. Maizu brings also the option to use any picture as paperwall, and the option to use MTP or MSC when music is loaded in the device (despite of the fact that is not fully functional yet in Meizu firmware), which is not available in Rockchip.

But, we must not forget that to have a MP3/MP4 brings also other pleasures, like it is modding, customizing or finally solving bugs or technical issues. which will probably lead also to a tie, as both devices brings us that fun in a different form. In Rockchip it's needed to solve the problem of firmware upgrade, managed in a good way by Teclast. And in Meizu to use appropriately the resources than the firmware offer.

A tie too for with the Action chip devices, which bring us another assorted challenges to fully enjoy the cheap devices.

And in all the Chinese products is also a challenge to solve its bugs. As this seem to be a common interest for the members of this fansite, we enjoy this kind of challenge.

And is in this moment when I wonder why from time to time appears here some iPod users, claiming that their device are bringing them lots of fun. Geez... when they have spent lots of money for a product that not deliver a good sound, do not give FM reception, if you don't pay, do not play videos, if you don't pay... and is not bringing them the chance to deal with bugs, modding, conversion, navigators, etc. etc.. which is the salt of the life for MyMpxPlayer.org members.

This debate has gotten less to do with facts and specifications and more to do with personal experience. We have quit debating what is certain for what we have experienced. You cannot have a winner under those circumstances, hence the tie.

I think the end-user experience of any product is worthy of this kind of debate - after all, a positive one is what makes a device satisfying to own, and not necessarily the long list of technical whiz bang widgets it has.

I am just one person with one experience - I do hope that more owners of both units continue to contribute to this thread, and offer the experience they have in comparing Meizu with Rockchip ( I guess Action players are out of the debate, but hey – chip in Action Owners !).

...In the end, I sold the Meizu M6...

For me, my priorities in a player are 70% Video, 20% Music and the other 10% goes towards games, photos, FM etc.

For someone who places the music listening experience over movie watching, then the M6 is a great player for that - perhaps 'the best'.

As my priorities place movies above music - and because I just never managed to get the M6 to run as smoothly as my Rockchips, I couldn't justify keeping hold of it.

Perhaps in a year or two when they fall below $50, I'll get another one, just to add to the collection, but for now I can live happily without it :wink:

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

:!:

well :-
optimus-cosmic-player-240x340-rockchip?

maybe a new thread is called for :)

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

duplicate post deleted..

Re: Meizu M6 vs Rockchip Player
 

duplicate post deleted..

This thread now continues here with Meizu vs Everything else.
Meizu Vs ?
:wink:

(hehe)!

It sure does. 8)

I think you were using the wrong software to convert your videos. :P VirtualDub + a little Avisynth and they run as smooth as a baby's ass. :D