Toshiba MEV30K Gigabeat V 30 GB Portable Media Player | 
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| Brand: Toshiba
Category: CE
List Price: $499.99
Buy Used: $345.00
You Save: $154.99 (31%)
Used (2) from $345.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 25176
Color: Piano black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Hard Drive Size: 30
Native Resolution: 3.5
Display Size: 3.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 3 x 4.9 x 0.8
Warranty: 1
MPN: MEV30K
Model: MEV30K
UPC: 022265000120
EAN: 0022265000120
ASIN: B000I62WVQ
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 30 GB digital media player with Portable Media Center (PMC) interface for movies, photos, and music | | • | Supports WMA Lossless, WMA, MP3, WAV, WMV, and JPEG formats | | • | Built in speaker, and TV output connection for external display | | • | 3.5-inch QVGA display with 320 x 240 resolution; supports wide range of music and video download services | | • | Plays approximately 8 hours of continuous video playback; approximately 30 hours of continuous audio playback |
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Product Description
The Toshiba MEV30K Portable Video Player puts all of your entertainment needs in the palm of your hand. With a big, bright 3.5" diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K lets you enjoy full, feature length movies! And getting videos is really easy! Whether you subscribe to movie services like or record videos on your PC, the newest member of the gigabeat family lets you take your entertainment with you.If you never seem to find the time to print all of your digital still images from your camera, the MEV30K is your answer. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat - no need to connect to your PC either! Of course you are not always going to watch movies, there will be those short commutes to work when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. That's why the MEV30K also lets you download your favorite music from subscription sites and even rip your favorite CDs. It even has a built-in speaker so that you can share your music with your friends.
Amazon.com Review
It seems that every electronics company has its own version of a portable media player on the market these days. If it's not a video iPod it has to fight for whatever piece of turf is not already ruled by Apple. The Toshiba Gigabeat is a worthy contender in this category. Its high-tech look and features, portabililty, and ease of use make it a great choice for all lovers of Windows Media Player looking to go mobile with their music, photos, and video. 
Crisp video in the palm of your hand. | What It Does
The Gigabeat MEV30 synchronizes with Windows Media Player on your PC via USB cable to its 30 Gigabyte hard drive, allowing you to bring your photos, video, and music with you wherever you go. Depending on the type of camera you have, it is also possible to connect directly to you digital camera when you out and about, so you can view, share, and store your photos without having to hook your camera up to your PC first. With the included audio/AV cable you can also watch video or slide shows on your TV. Design
With its shiny silver and black finish, and small and sleek design (4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D)) the MEV30 looks both high-tech and sophisticated. It's a little too big for the pocket of your jeans, but fits nicely into a jacket pocket or purse. The front of the device is dominated by its 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, which supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors. While a a 640 x 480 with support for millions of colors would be better, the display is still bright and crisp. The widescreen format is also very welcome and gives it an edge over the square screen of the video iPod. To the right of the screen you'll find the buttons that let you interface with the device. 
Logical controls and a user-friendly interface. | Chief among these is the small joystick that lets you quickly navigate lists in four directions, and make selections by simply pressing down. Just beneath, there's a Home button displaying the Windows symbol, and a return button. Volume controls and a small speaker round out the main controls. Along the top are buttons to control the video player, as well as a sliding lock and power button. The left side is responsible for input/output and charging. This includes USB, a single jack for audio and video, and the AC power adapter. On the bottom are two tiny holes that allow you to reset the device or switch off the battery for storage. Setup
Aficianados of Windows Media Player will find it a snap to the get the MEV30 up and running. The device itself is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0. It comes formatted and ready to go right out of the box, and no additional software is needed for your PC beyond the free Windows Media Player. We had no trouble all using WMP 11 to load photos, video, and music onto the device. To move photos onto the device, 
The joystick is all you'll need for most tasks. | simply drag and drop them into the synce window within Media Player. For video and music it's important to remember that since the MEV30 runs only with Windows Media Player you can only add content allowed by Windows. Try to sync an album you bought on the iTunes Store, for example, and all you'll get is an error message. If you can create playlists, organize video and photos, and generally get Widows Media Player to do what you want it to do, you will have no trouble at all using the MEV30. If Media Player is new to you, however, you will need to spend some time working with it before attempting to go mobile with your media. Operation
Once you are synced up, the intuitive interface makes it easy to find what you're looking for. The main menu lists media by type: tv, music, pictures, and videos. You'll also find a "settings" feature that lets you adjust functions for all media types. Moving through these menus is a snap with the four-way joystick; simply point and click. The photo viewer plays slide shows and also allows you to zoom in on a picture and pan and scan to see exactly what you want up close. The video player is simple to use and does everything you want--one click on the joystick pauses, a push to the right lets you fastforward, and a push to the left rewinds. The music player likewise contains most functions you would expect from a serious media player: shuffle, equalizer, support for playlists, repeat, and time display. Here it would be nice to have a few other options, such as alarm and sleep timer functions, but as a basic music player it is functional and easy to use. One click on the menu button returns you directly to the main menu. To sum up, the Gigabeat MEV30 faces stiff competition both from the iPod, as well as from Microsoft's new Zune media player. If you are looking for a fully-functional and sleek portable media player that uses Windows Media Player, however, you won't go wrong with this device. Pros
- Easy to setup and operate.
- Multi-functional: video, photos, music. A/V out lets you watch on tv.
- Sleek and stylish design.
- 30 GB hard drive lets you store lots of pictures, music, and video.
Cons
- Only works via Windows Media Player. Knowledge of WMA required.
- Higher resolution would be nice.
What's in the Box
MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner's manual), and quick start guide.
Amazon.com Product Description
Feel free to take all your entertainment with you. The Toshiba MEV30K gigabeat V Series Portable Video Player puts all your favorite videos, music, and digital images in one convenient, powerful, and highly portable device. With a big and bright 3.5-inch diagonal LCD screen, the MEV30K lets you enjoy up to eight hours of feature length movies. Weighing in at just under half a pound and measuring 4.9 x 3.0 x 0.7 inches (W x H x D), the MEV30K is extremely portable, so you won't hesitate to bring it along wherever you roam. Getting movies to enjoy on your MEV30K is easy. You can subscribe to movie services such as Vongo, or record videos on your PC. However you choose to get your entertainment, Toshiba's newest member of the gigabeat family offers a great way to enjoy entertainment on the go. The large screen supports 320 x 240 resolution and up to 65,000 colors, while a 30 GB internal hard drive stores your media. The device is powered by Microsoft Portable Media Center Version 2.0 Software, and it's compatible with videos encoded for Windows Media Player 9 or 10 (WMV). All that's required is a PC and the included Windows Media Player 10 software. The MEV30K features a USB 2.0 interface for lightning-fast transfers of video files between your computer and the device. There's even a TV-out connector so you can view your videos on a larger screen. If you're like most folks, you don't have time to print out all your digital photos to show to your family, friends, or colleagues. With the MEV30K, you can just take all your digital stills with you. Simply connect your digital camera via the USB input and all of your images will download onto your gigabeat--there's no need to connect to your PC, either. And then there will be those time when you might just want to sit back, relax and enjoy your favorite music. The MEV30K also lets you download your favorite music from subscription sites; buy your music from music sites such as Napster, eMusic, and Rhapsody; and even rip your favorite CDs. Again, thanks to Microsoft's Portable Media Center platform it's always quick and easy to get your content. The MEV30K supports playback of MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless and WAV audio files, and you can also view album cover artwork. The device even has a built-in speaker so you can share your music with your friends. To keep the entertainment going, the MEV30K comes with a rechargeable lithium ion battery that allows for up to eight hours of continuous playback for your favorite movies and videos and up to 30 hours of continuous playback when just enjoying music. What's in the Box
MEV30K portable video player, A/V cable, USB cable (A-miniB), USB conversion cable (miniA-A), headphones, AC adapter, CD-ROM (software, owner's manual), and quick start guide.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 39 more reviews...
 it's up to you September 11, 2008
first of all...the warranty on this thing is excellent...i sent mine in about a month after i got it (july last year) and they sent it back working fine (audio line didn't work)...but after the warranty that's when it started breaking down...i used an old neoprene case from my handspring pda from like...1999...it fit perfectly...but i dropped it on a soccer trip...the white casing shattered into a million pieces...basically i thought i was screwed...theni just sucked it up and kept using it...and now...well it just doesnt charge anymore...since the warranty is expired...they won't do anything for me...so if you are careful...go ahead get it...but if your gonna run with the MEV30K...it wouldn't be wise to grab one
 Gigabeat for education too. April 16, 2008
I have had my Gigabeat for 2 1/2 years and have read(listened to) over 300 books. Your library has them for free. (all categories, even children's books) What a way to exercise, take a walk,or just lay out in the sun. You can catch up on all your reading and you don't even have to turn the pages.
Well, I like it... but it ain't perfect March 28, 2008
We bought it as a replacement for a broken Gigabeat F40. Strangely, we bought this for $205, now it's about $60 more expensive! When do prices on electronics go UP?!!! This is a 2.5" hard drive based system. The current trend is to use flash memory and that'll catch up to the 30gig level soon enough, but for now... well this is pretty darn good.
Pros: It has lots of capacity. I haven't gotten over the 8 gig level yet, but then I'm using it as a glorified MP3 player. For movies, I've started using DVDFab Platinum that will convert my DVD's to WMV (Have to use the Zune setting). Works great. The interface is fine. I like the software for the most part.
Cons: Here we go. First off, the software on the Gigabeat is fine, it's the Windows Media Player 11 that likes to take command and do things you didn't tell it to do. They call it "sync" but you don't have any control over what sync's or how it does it if you just plug it in. It'll do it in the background. Took it to work and the Media Player there DELETED everything on my Gigabeat and wanted to put the songs I had there onto the Gigabeat. That sucked.
More Cons: The white bezel piece is a thinner plastic than that plastic wrap they put in the bubble packaging. It broke in three places from 'normal' handling. I baby my equipment, but it just takes a little bump. You can't drop this thing from one inch let alone if I had really dropped it.
Still More Cons: The battery wouldn't keep it running that long if you did any intensive searching or fiddling. It was fine if you set it and then just listened to the shuffle, but it really drained it if you hunted for the songs you wanted. It had about half the battery life I had expected.
Even More Cons: Well, the straw that broke the broken bezeled, short battery-lifed wonder-toy of my daughter's was the headphone jack. It went out after two months of use. It gave us fits on and off for about a week prior to quitting altogether. We were in the process of moving and decided to get her a phone with MP3 player functionality. She hasn't looked back (It's the MUZIQ, BTW, and she loves it).
Well, that's not the end of the story. Finally moved and settled in, dug out the MEV30K and called Toshiba. They promptly gave me an RMA number and I sent the unit off for repair. Thank you, Amazon, for having a reciept online I could print up... I didn't have one from when I bought it. Anyway, about a week and a half after sending it in, it came back with new bezels, a new board, and all of my kid's music still on there. Well, now it's got my music.
Bottom line: If you want something small and light to take jogging or to the gym, leave this beast at home. If you want tons of capacity and the ability to play low-quality movies, you might consider it. Remember, you'll need something that can convert files to WMV format. Windows Media Player says it does this, but the quality SUCKS.
For my purposes, this is a great unit for long car trips, for setting on your desk at work, or for plane trips. I use it at the gym now, but have the Sansa Clip on the way. 2 gigs is fine for workouts and I like the voice record and FM radio functions.
What would I do if I were Toshiba? Well, the capacity is great, add some functions. Put an FM transmitter in it so you can use it in cars that don't have an input jack. Put an FM radio in it so you can use it as a radio. How about a mic so you can record lectures, meetings, or memos? How about a car adapter so you don't have to worry about your battery life? All in all, we knew the shortcomings when we bought it and it performs as good as we expected. I marked it down only for the fragile bezel and jack that went bad, but Toshiba honored the warranty!
Good Product for the Price March 21, 2008
I consider myself relatively computer saavy. However, I do have some issues navigating through WMP. That is probably the biggest downfall to this gadget. The storage for the $ is spectacular when you compare it to something like an IPOD. While the size is big, a large protion of it is screen...great for uploading funny videos, movies (if you can get one formated right) and pictures. I only give it 4 stars instead of 5 because you do have to use WMP...which doesn't always Sync the way you intend it to (maybe if your better at using the program, this won't be such a PITA). Also, because I'm really picky about how my song screen displays, I find it really tedious to find the album information for each of my songs so that the name and album art display correctly with each song. I've spent nearly 48 hours fixing all of my mp3s.
Marvelous Device January 13, 2008
This device is a complete entertainment coup for Toshiba. I am not an audiophile but I know good music. I have enjoyed recordings from Roy Acuff to Rise Stevens and this Device reproduces sound to the nth degree. Pictures are supberb. The unit is easy to use and being coupled with WMP makes it better because my XP system naturally accepts its software. The new Amazon MP3 dowloads makes everything a complete package.
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