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Portable video players with FLAC
Donald Bell,
Senior Editor
April 6, 2009
If you like your videos HD and your music lossless, you need a serious portable video player (PVP) that doesn't skimp on audio. Lossless audio options on PVPs are pretty limited, though. You're not going to find a lot of support for WMA Lossless or Apple Lossless file formats on most portable video players, but you will find a surprising amount of support for FLAC.
The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is an open-source lossless audio format capable of reducing the size of uncompressed audio sources by 40-50 percent without any degradation in sound quality. You can find free programs for Mac, Windows, and Linux that will play and rip FLAC files, but figuring out which portable video players support FLAC isn't quite as easy. To help you out, we've rounded up our top FLAC-compatible PVPs.
For a more pocket-size FLAC player, check out our list of small FLAC MP3 players.
- More Resources
- FLAC MP3 players,
- Editors' top lossless MP3 players
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| Price | Check Prices | $250.13 | $199.99 to $231.26 | Check Prices |
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| Review date | October 30, 2008 | September 30, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | January 25, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The Cowon O2 isn't flashy, but it's an incredible value for a convenient way to take your video library on the go without the hassle of converting files. | Until Iriver lowers the price on the Spinn, it will remain a luxury portable media player best suited to an early adopter with a penchant for unique gadgets and a library of lossless music. | The Cowon S9 is a sexy-looking gadget with exceptional audio and video quality, but its construction quality and user interface pale in comparison to the competition. | 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. |
| Similar Products | Compare more products | Compare more products | Compare more products | Compare more products |
| Features | ||||
| Device Type | Digital AV player | Info unavailable | Portable media center | Digital AV recorder |
| Supported Audio Formats | ASF MP3 MPC WAV WMA AC-3 FLAC Ogg Vorbis MPEG 1 Audio MPEG 2 Audio APE (Monkey's Audio) | Info unavailable | MP3 MP2 MP1 WMA FLAC OGG WAV APE | AAC ASF MP3 PCM WAV WMA AC-3 FLAC G.726 Ogg Vorbis MPEG 1 Audio MPEG 2 Audio Apple Lossless APE (Monkey's Audio) |
| Weight | 7.2 oz | 0.2 lbs | 0.2 lbs | 9.9 oz |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 4.7 in x 0.7 in x 2.9 in | Info unavailable | 2.2 in x 0.5 in x 4.2 in | 5.2 in x 0.9 in x 3.1 in |
| Battery | Internal Rechargeable - Lithium polymer - Internal - Rechargeable - Lithium polymer | Info unavailable | Internal Rechargeable - Lithium ion | Internal Rechargeable - Lithium polymer |
| Display Type | 4.3 in TFT | Info unavailable | 3.3 in OLED | 4 in TFT |
| Product Description | Cowon O2 - Digital AV player | Info unavailable | Cowon S9 - Portable media center | Cowon A3 - Digital AV recorder |
| Video Playback Formats | ASF AVI WMV XviD H.264 MPEG-1 MPEG-4 DivX 4.0 DivX 5.0 DivX 6.0 DivX 3.11 MPEG-4 SP Motion JPEG | Info unavailable | AVI WMV | ASF AVI VOB WMV MPEG XviD MPEG-1 MPEG-4 DivX 4.0 DivX 5.0 DivX 6.0 DivX 3.11 MPEG-4 SP Motion JPEG OGM (Ogg Media) |
| PC Interfaces | Hi-Speed USB | Info unavailable | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB |
| Supported Still Images Formats | BMP GIF PNG JPEG TIFF | Info unavailable | JPG | BMP GIF PNG RAW JPEG TIFF |
| Key Features | Voice recorder Digital audio player Digital photo viewer Digital video player | Info unavailable | Digital audio player Digital video player Digital audio recorder Digital photo viewer | FM tuner Voice recorder Digital audio player Digital photo viewer Digital video player External HDD function Digital audio recorder Video capture from external source |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices |
As Reviewed: $219 |
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