I need a high capacity portable media player

Wonderwill

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Sep 28, 2006
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OK here goes my predicament. I originally intended on buying a portable player that played music and video. I went for the Creative Zen V Plus 2GB, mainly to play music but also for a few quick videos. The thing is really buggy (locks up often and sometimes gets really slow), the picture quality on video/album art is crap, and I'm in the process of trying to RMA it for online credit at the same store.

In the meantime, I've learned my lesson and am going to spend the big bucks on a portable media player. My main contenders at this point are the Zune 80 and Ipod Classic 80. I'm torn in both directions because I want primarily to view ripped DVDs/TV shows, and my friend's classic 2.5" screen is smaller than I'd like, and the Zune 80s 3.2" screen is the perfect size, but according to online reviews (which I don't necessarily trust) the screens lower pixel density renders video viewing pixelated-not something I'm looking forward to (I haven't personally seen video on the Zune 80, just my other friend's Zune 30 which looked great to me).

I checked out bigger players like the Archos or Zen Vision W, but they seemed to clunky to double as a music player (which I'm also in desperate need for). My only option left is to head over to a retail store, ask if I can open the Zune and check out a video on it. If it fits my standards, I'll buy it; if not, I'll just settle for an 80GB ipod classic.

If someone could recommend the Zune over ipod, or vice versa, or even recommend a worthy alternative I would be happy. Many thanks!
 

Wonderwill

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Sep 28, 2006
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18,560
UPDATE:

I went ahead and bought the Zune 80 from the Sams Club website (which had the best deal at 238.99!) with a 1 year service plan ($15 dollars extra) which, with tax, added up to be just $10 more than buying the player w/o a warranty at Circuit City!

This way, if the player is defective, I have a surefire way of either getting it replaced or exchanging it for an ipod classic at any Sams Club store!