a couple questions about the iHP series players

[mobilebuddha]

Hello,

1st i'd like to say this is an awesome site. I've found a lot of info about the iHP series players.

I am trying to decide whether I'd like to spend the extra money for the iHP 140 or buying the ipod.

In my particular case, I can buy the 40GB ipod for about $400 vs. ~$470-$500 for the iHP 140. so here are my questions:

I'd like to use the device as a recorder for my meetings. Is the internal mic (in your opinions) up for the task?

We are talking about meetings with at most 10-12 people with 3-4 people conferencing in via speakerphone.

the other question that I have is about the amount of time it takes to start once you select the "DB option". I have about 5000 songs (at ~25GB) or so. How long does it (again, in your estimate/opinion) for the player to start playing assuming that I upload everything that I got onto the player?

[Naruto9tails]

the DB function doesn't work with OGG only mp3s...

the DB function doesn't work with over 52 characters

that said... the iriver isn't very good with DB functions... possibly will be fixed with new firmwares... but just dont complain if they dont fix it anytime soon

if navigation with many different folders is an importance... ipod navigation is better if there are tons of folders... but if its songs within albums of a certain artist... navigation thru ihp is just fine.. its just if u have tons of different artists with only a few songs in each... ipod is better for navigating thru a very large amount of folders

however if u like the features of the ihp... you just need to realize that there will be a sacrifice in being able to use DB and navigation thru tons of folders (i mean A LOT of folders like 1000 or something)

the ihp should be cheaper then the ipod... so i dont know why the price is the other way around... i got my ihp-120 for 300 and that's 70 dollars cheaper then a ipod 20 gb...

if battery life/features is more important then navigation... then get ihp
if you need to use DB and thats essential and cannot use file tree... or have too many files to be able to scroll down quickly... then ipod is a better choice for you..

in terms of speed... file tree is like a few seconds... while DB takes 5 or so seconds... cuz of scanning but i believe this is the same issue with ipods... so if u want speed to access files... file tree is better.. and if u use file tree iriver is great... but if u like DB and dont mind waiting around for it to scan then ipod

from all the reviews i seen.. the recorder is really good... and lasts very long.. i think 3 hours? some complain it should last till u stop it and hard drive files up.. but 3 hours is a long time in my opinion.. and quality is very good

it seems two things are important to you... DB navigation and recording
and its just a matter of choosing which one to get... ipod doesnt have recording if i remember correctly.. so if u need that... get ihp... DB navigation isn't better on ihp but its useable... and its there for mp3s if thats what u have in ur file and are ID3 tagged already... dont get the idea iriver is horrible with DB but its not as good compared to ipod... compared to other players... DB is just fine

[angryofmayfair]

hmm, my iHP120 takes around 40 secs or more to start with the DB enabled (4500 songs) but only about 10secs to start with the DB function turned off.
I havent really used the internal mic but reports I have read say it's quite good and probably would be OK to record a small meeting, if necessary you can plug in an external mic and adjust the gain - these ext mics are basically just a small cheap stereo mic on the end of a minijack and I am sure that would work fine but try the internal one first.

[Vielo_Aiposh]

really? re[orts i have heard say that the external mic included is fine, but the internasl has problems with interference caused by the hard drive???

[angryofmayfair]

yes I heard that there could be noise picked up from the hdd by the internal mic but i wouldn't think this is a huge problem just for recording the contents of meetings. I guess it depends on how particular they are - recording meeting notes is hardly as critical as (say) recording a classical guitar concert...

[Naruto9tails]

Originally Posted by angryofmayfair

hmm, my iHP120 takes around 40 secs or more to start with the DB enabled (4500 songs) but only about 10secs to start with the DB function turned off.
I havent really used the internal mic but reports I have read say it's quite good and probably would be OK to record a small meeting, if necessary you can plug in an external mic and adjust the gain - these ext mics are basically just a small cheap stereo mic on the end of a minijack and I am sure that would work fine but try the internal one first.

geez how do u stand turning ur ihp on every time and wait 40 sec... how does that compare with ipod?

and if same... do u guys just leave it on then? paused?

[angryofmayfair]

I don't use the DB for that very reason - I can't be bothered waiting for it to work out the contents.
The file tree structure works fine for me - 10 secs is looooong enough!

[angryofmayfair]

Yes I do also tend to leave it in 'pause' mode for up to 30 mins - it uses very little battery power in this mode, probably less than powering it up again - there's another thread running about this at the moment...