Why My iRiver Portable Media Center Is an iPod Killer

I bought an iRiver Portable Media Center PMC-120 a few months ago and thought I would share my thoughts on it. The PMC-120 is a ‘portable media center’ device that shares the Windows Media Center interface and syncs to your computer (XP or Media Center) so you can play music, photos, and videos.

The iRiver PMC-120 series plays your movies, TV shows, music, photos and more. It features the ultra-intuitive Microsoft® Media Center interface and connects seamlessly to Windows Media Player**. Plus, it comes complete with a widescreen vivid color display, integrated speaker, 20GB† of internal storage and a removable rechargeable battery.

Features
• Plays digital music and video files
• Synchronize your media library with Windows Media® Player
• Intuitive Windows Mobile™-based Portable Media Center interface
• 20GB of internal storage†
• Store up to 80 hours of video or up to 600 hours of music*
• Wide 3.5 inch vivid color display
• Supports secure transfers from Windows Media Player™
• Connect to your home entertainment system
• Built-in speaker
• Store or transfer files of any type
• Rechargeable, replaceable Lithium-ion battery
• Up to 14 hours of battery life (audio)
• Up to 5 hours of battery life (video)

Syncing with Windows Media Player

When you connect your PMC to the computer, Windows Media Player automatically detects the player and shows you your sync options. Besides manually selecting files to put on your PMC, you can setup automatic synching based on all sorts of criteria like new files, favorite list and so on. Overall, the sync options are pretty good and easy enough to use. The only downside is when you want to sync video. Since the iRiver PMC has a max resolution of 320x240, just about any video on your computer from recorded DVR-MS TV shows to ripped DVD’s (in a compatible format such as wmv) has to be transcoded to the proper resolution. And this takes a long time. A really long time. Did I mention it takes a really long time? I’ve found it best to sync my video overnight (while on the charger) so it’s ready for the next day. Music and photos sync a lot faster and since the PMC-120 is play for sure compliant it supports DRM music services like Napster. I have transferred multiple songs downloaded from Napster without any issues.

Extra Hard Drive

When you hook up your PMC to your computer, Windows automatically detects the device and it shows up under My Computer. If you click on your device, then you can browse the contents. All of your Media is stored under the Media folder and you can use the Data folder to store any additional files that you want. I really like this feature because with the 20gig hard drive this is a lot of extra storage if I need it.

I haven’t tried just placing my media files directly in the media folder, bypassing the syncing, and seeing if the media files show up under the portable media center interface. One thing to try would be to copy over a video file at full resolution and then try to play it back on a TV using the TV out. This would test what the real video output resolution of the player is – the 320x240 resolution may just be for the screen but the actual video encoder may be able to output a higher resolution.

Player Controls

I think the player controls are very well done for this device. On the left, you have an arrow style control for navigating and a center button to select options. You also get the infamous Green Button and a back button. On the right, you get the typical player functions for fast forward, rewind, stop/play/pause and volume up/down.

 Here is the main screen – just like a Media Center PC:

 My Videos

You can sort your videos by date and other options. You can see above how the video looks and the list view you get.

My Music

You have a lot of options for viewing and playing your music. You can view by album, song, artist – just like in Media Center. Since there is no keyboard input or typepad, it is a little tedious to scroll through your music if you have a lot of songs on your player. I am really impressed with the music options and I think it really blows the iPod out of the water in this category.

My Pictures

Viewing your photos on your PMC is as easy as using your Media Center PC. You can search by folder or by name and thumbnails are visible. The coolest thing is you can setup a slide show with music playing in the background. This is how I often have mine setup – it’s a music player and a digital photo frame all in one.

Options

There aren’t too many options but you get a few to change the backlight brightness, how long it stays on and some other audio settings.

Audio and Video Output

The audio output is as good as my iPod mini with headphones. I’m not much of an audiophile but it sounds great to me. The external speaker could use some work though. For some reason it is a lot louder for video playback of my recorded TV shows than my songs.

The iRiver PMC-120 comes with a widescreen 3.5in screen. Watching video on this screen is surprisingly pleasant – even for two people. I don’t think I would want to watch video on the 2.5in screen of the video iPod – there is definitely a fine line on screen sizes for these devices. The quality of the video is good and the screen resolution of 320x240 isn’t too bad. It’s not as high res as some recent Creative players or the Play Station Portable but it’s good enough.

Playing video through the TV out port isn’t going to be that enjoyable since the max resolution is 320x240 but if there is a hack to get around this then it might not be a bad portable movie player.

Battery Life

I was very impressed with the battery life. It actually lived up to the manufacturer’s claims. I’m able to watch 4 to 6 hours of video back to back on one charge and about double that for just music playback. Having an iPod mini myself, this is a huge improvement in battery life. This gives you enough battery life for a cross country flight which is great for travelers.

Final Thoughts and Why It’s an iPod Killer

It should be pretty obvious by now why these portable media center’s are iPod killers: they have bigger screens and more functionality than an iPod. And if you have a Media Center PC, then you don’t have to pay to watch downloaded TV shows. The iPod may be smaller, but you get what you pay for: smaller screen and less capability. Overall, I’m very happy with my portable media center and have no desire for a video iPod. I think the media center interface is perfect for a portable player and has been sorely overlooked by tech reviewers when comparing the iPod to other devices.

So what’s your vote – Portable Media Center or iPod?