Cowon S9 - The official 'Ask The Editors' thread - Page 2 of 3

Nate Lanxon
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Posts: 2,122

29 December 2008, 11:52 pm

ssk says:
is the coverflow slow compared to that of the ipod touch? also is the rest of the interface sometimes sluggish or not at all?
could u also let us know if it supports subtitles...it says on its site that it can read smi subtitles, so could u check if it does that because i read on another review that it doesn't support soft subs.
thanks...

The subtitles I tested did not work, however I've yet to test SMI-format subs. I'll get back to you on this.

The coverflow is slow, yes. It's nothing like the iPod touch, and frankly I hated it. The rest of the interface is okay. Again, it's no iPod touch, but it's the best Cowon interface to date.

Nate Lanxon
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Posts: 2,122

29 December 2008, 11:54 pm

Pokeh says:
Probably too early to tell as you haven't given it a full review yet, but here goes:

Which is better then? The iPod Touch or the Cowon S9?

Also, I thought that MPEG-4 and H.264 were the same thing?

And, horror of horrors, does it actually have less buttons than the iPod Touch? Jobsy must be shaking in his boots.

1) The iPod touch is a low better. More responsive, more features, more intuitive. That said, the S9 destroys the touch in terms of sound quality.

2) MPEG-4 is a format in its simple profile, but H.264 is a codec in its own right, stored inside an MPEG-4 file. They're two separate formats.

3) No, it has a lot more buttons. Full roster of navigational controls, volume controls and lock switches.

Nate Lanxon
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Posts: 2,122

29 December 2008, 11:56 pm

yyzxex says:
Hi. Could you comment on your cnet colleague D. Bell's comment -

"The first drawback I've noticed on the Cowon S9 is that it just feels kind of cheap--which is a complaint I rarely have with Cowon. Unlike the glass and steel design of the iPod Touch, the S9 uses an all-plastic design that--though lightweight--has a hollow and flimsy feel. Even the all-plastic Samsung P2 feels a little more durable and substantial."

Agree? Rebuttal?

I have to agree. I think it looks great, but to me and Donald it's not got the solidity of the touch.

Nate Lanxon
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Posts: 2,122

29 December 2008, 11:57 pm

paulkinsey says:
what codecs? is it your typical Korean product that supports every codec known to man?

In our tests, the following audio formats played without issue: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, OGG and WAV. However, AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MusePack and Real Audio files did not play. And although WMA Lossless files began to play, after a few seconds the sound became distorted and the entire player locked up. Oops!

As for video file support, the S9 played DivX 5, Xvid and WMV. That's decent, but MPEG-4 SP would've been a bonus, as would H.264, which would not play in our tests.

Nate Lanxon
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Posts: 2,122

29 December 2008, 11:58 pm

gino_76ph says:
hiya. i currently have the bril Samsung P2 but sad to hear it' s been discontinued. ever since i've heard of the the P3 coming out i felt excited but the excitment died down easily because IMHO i think it's just a "slightly improved" version of the P2. then i heard about the S9 with all it's features and capability. my question is...like Sammy's P2 does it have any "pre-set" empty playlist list wherein you can just add tracks "on-the-go" on the player itself then delete them whenever as well? and how about firmware updates? will it be as often and as easy as the P2?

Excellent question. I'll get back to you on this issue when I'm back at the office (stupidly neglected to bring it away with me over Christmas!).

Deepurple
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Joined: 17 Jan 2007
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30 December 2008, 05:30 am

Nate I was just wondering if you would recommend this to a Zen Vision M 30GB user. I'm kinda wavering away from the ipod touch because it relies on running itunes which I have a rather dislike for. Your initial report shows the cowan like the creative seem to support more formats and codecs than the Apple. One thing that I do benefit from the Zen is it's plug and explore feature a bit like a USB drive which comes in really useful for quick access and temp storage.

ssk
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Joined: 27 Dec 2008
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30 December 2008, 05:01 pm

thanks a lot for the reply nate!

Loki
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Joined: 5 Jan 2009
Posts: 1

5 January 2009, 04:31 pm

hi, i'm finding it very hard to pin down the actual maximum bitrate that the S9 is able to record to via the Line-In facility, some say 128kbps, some say 256, and some say 320

could someone confirm which bitrate quality it is?

also, will there be firmware upgrades available for the player?

Nate Lanxon
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Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 2,122

5 January 2009, 04:43 pm

Loki says:
hi, i'm finding it very hard to pin down the actual maximum bitrate that the S9 is able to record to via the Line-In facility, some say 128kbps, some say 256, and some say 320

could someone confirm which bitrate quality it is?

also, will there be firmware upgrades available for the player?

The maximum line-in quality, I can confirm (because it's in my hand), is 256Kbps.

Firmware is already available from Cowon, and the company is pretty good at regularly updating its site with new firmware versions.

Nate Lanxon
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Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 2,122

5 January 2009, 04:45 pm

Deepurple says:
Nate I was just wondering if you would recommend this to a Zen Vision M 30GB user. I'm kinda wavering away from the ipod touch because it relies on running itunes which I have a rather dislike for. Your initial report shows the cowan like the creative seem to support more formats and codecs than the Apple. One thing that I do benefit from the Zen is it's plug and explore feature a bit like a USB drive which comes in really useful for quick access and temp storage.

It works just like that, yes. You'll manage files on the S9 just like you do on the Creative player. Sound quality is better too.

It's a very different player to the Zen Vision M, and the Zen is certainly the simpler to use thanks to its interface. But the S9 definitely has some great features. It just depends on whether you want or need them!