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  1. Member
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    I am looking for some ideas on a Portable MP4 video player with the following requreiments.

    1) At least 7 inch in size, 9 to 10 inches preferred
    2) As high a battery life as possible between charges.
    3) Ability to play MP4 from a USB stick. it should do at least 16 MB sticks
    4) if it comes with a DVD player, that is OK. But that is not mandatory
    5) Ease of use. Computer and gadget phobic people should feel comfortable using it.

    Standalone video player is OK but if a tablet is suitable I can use that too, but this person most probably would not use it for any other purpose.

    Thanks!
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  2. Member
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    posted to the wrong thread. Please delete
    Last edited by ssinger; 7th Jun 2013 at 19:39.
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  3. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    If using an actual disc is not absolutely necessary and this is mainly for digital video files a tablet would be the best bet.

    The thing with tablets is you won't be using usb sticks you'll be using sd memory cards. Make sure you read that it has memory card ports of course. So far as I know there are no ipads of any type that have removable memory cards.

    You will have to go with android or a windows 8 tablet of some type.

    I would recommend for a power user to go with something like the google nexus - so long as it has the memory card slot, I don't remember if they do or not - but anyway loads and loads of android tablets do support sd memory cards (most up to 32gb card sizes, but also read the capacity before buying especially if buying a used older model, some of those may cap out at a lower size).

    If its ease of use you are after consider looking at the controlled environment of either a amazon kindle FIRE or a barnes n noble nook unit. Those are android but they aren't "pure" android and have their own framework on top of android. That might be more friendly to a novice user than a regular generic android tablet.

    Actually if you have a barnes n noble bookstore nearby check out the nook. There are multiple versions with different abilities.

    Only downside with the locked environments is your kind of stuck with their system, I don't think you can legally access google play with either without modding them thus voiding the warranty. I could be wrong about that they may allow google play nowadays not sure though.

    Also the locked nook and kindle fire may not be as robust of a video player as a more pure android tablet like the google nexus can be (the nexus has a 7 inch model and I'm pretty sure it has a 9 or 10 inch model too).

    If any of these name brands scare you off you can look into other lesser publicized models like asus that have their own models.

    The reason I'm suggesting a tablet and not a dvd player is it would be harder to find a portable dvd player that has a wide range of video support versus a tablet.

    Also a dvd player will have a certain amount of dead weight necessary to spin the disc and all that. A tablet is much lighter and compact.

    If a dvd player is absolutely necessary just be aware they most likely will have strict video file playback ability and require a lot more reencoding to meet its needs than a tablet would ever need to.

    Also mp4 is just a container. I assume you mean h264 video. however if its older divx video you could get away with a less sophisticated model from a generation or two ago. But you'll be restricted on what it will be able to play. And if you try to play new video files you obtain from the internet they probably won't play and need to be reencoded. Also hd files will be out of the question if you go back far enough (either 720p or 1080p).

    Also you didn't mention a budget. That will make the big determination here.

    Decent tablets should start at a 100.00 and up give or take a deal of the week.

    Dvd players (portables) can be had for much cheaper. However throw in video file playback and that will probably up the price more. Again though dvd players won't have as much file playback capability as a tablet can.

    Hope that gets you started.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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