Donald Bell,
Senior Editor
August 22, 2008
We certainly don't condone doing anything illegal, but let's face it: it's not hard to run afoul of the ambiguous laws surrounding digital music and movies these days. Whether you're guilty of ripping a DVD to your computer or borrowing your friend's media hard drive, few of us are squeaky clean when it comes to digital entertainment. Most manufacturers don't want to help those who would rather "steal" music and video than pay for it; however, there are a few MP3 and video players out there that look the other way.
The Cowon A3, for instance, is natively compatible with the DivX video format commonly found on P2P networks and includes built-in inputs for recording shows and movies directly from your TV. If you prefer to do your pirating outdoors, the slim design and high-grade microphones on the Yamaha Pocketrak 2G will let you capture live concert recordings incognito.
The unassuming Toshiba Gigabeat U has a line-input recording feature that encodes music directly to WMA files, automatically splits tracks, and works like a charm for ripping Internet radio or subscription music when connected to your computer's audio output. The Mac/PC-compatible Cowon iAudio 7 has an identical recording feature, but also records from its built-in radio.
Finally, if you're willing to spend a little extra to outfit the Archos 605 WiFi with a few software plug-ins and accessories, you'll be able to play the full-resolution DVD VOB video files, or make scheduled recordings from your TV using the optional DVR station. Yarrr!
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| Review date | January 25, 2008 | July 31, 2008 | August 13, 2007 | July 19, 2007 | August 30, 2007 |
| The Bottom Line | The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list. | The Yamaha Pocketrak 2G's design is ideal for stealth recordings, but its high price and scarce features make it hard to recommend over the competition. | The Toshiba Gigabeat U is one tough, classy player that nails all the right features at a great price. | The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player. | The Archos 605 WiFi portable video player is one of the best mobile distractions money can buy. |
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| Weight | 10.5 oz | 1.7 oz | 1.5 oz | 1.9 oz | 6.7 oz |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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