Built-in memory
The amount of built-in memory installed in the player.
This parameter directly determines how much music and other content can be stored in the device without resorting to memory cards (especially since some models do not support such cards at all). For comparison: the size of one MP3 file usually does not exceed 20 MB, the same composition in lossless format has 3-4 times more volume, a film in standard quality takes on average from 700 MB to 2.5 GB, in HD 720p — up to 5 – 6 GB. Thus, in terms of data storage, the more internal memory, the better. On the other hand, the price of the player directly depends on the storage capacity. Thus, some models are available in several modifications, differing in the amount of memory and price.
When choosing, note that part of the memory will inevitably be occupied by software firmware and pre-installed applications; sometimes this part turns out to be quite significant — for example, in models with an OS on board (see above), several gigabytes can be occupied. Also note that memory cards in terms of gigabytes of volume are cheaper than built-in drives, and from the practical point of view, in most cases they are not inferior to them. So it makes sense to specifically look for a player with a large amount of internal memory, first of all, if this model does not work with memory cards.
Now there are players on the market with such a memory capacity:
up to 8 GB,
16 GB,
32 GB,
64 GB and
more. However, there are also models
without built-in memory, designed for use only with memory cards.
Audio formats support
Audio file formats that the player is able to work with.
—
MP3. The most famous of modern digital audio formats; supported by almost all compact players, the name MP3 has even become a household name for them. Provides so-called. lossy compression, where some of the audio frequencies are lost. However, during compression, the sound is processed in such a way that it "disappears" mainly frequencies, the loss of which is imperceptible to the human ear. As a result, the sound quality can be quite high, and you can clearly distinguish high-quality MP3 from lossless format only on Hi-Fi equipment.
—
WAV. Another popular audio standard, originally developed for storing sound on a PC. It can technically be used to store audio in a variety of formats, but is most commonly used for uncompressed audio. Due to this, the sound quality can be quite high, and its processing does not require special computing power. The downside of this is the large volume of audio files — many times more than MP3s.
—
WMA. An audio format, at one time specially created for the Windows operating system. By default, it uses lossy compression (although there is also a
lossless version of the WMA codec). WMA is particularly suitable for low bitrates, under such conditions it provides better quality than MP3 and takes up less space. On the other hand, this format is much less popular in high-quality digital audio.
...— AAC. A format developed as a potential successor to MP3. Also provides lossy compression (see above), but allows you to achieve better quality with the same file size; this difference is especially noticeable at low bitrates. Actively promoted by Apple in iPod players; nevertheless, it is noticeably inferior to MP3 in terms of prevalence, although it is supported by a considerable number of players.
— OGG. A lossy compressed digital audio format is one potential alternative to MP3. One of the key features of OGG is that as audio is encoded, the bitrate is constantly changing; at the same time, on fragments where there is no sound, the bitrate drops to almost zero (unlike MP3, where the data stream is constant, including in sections of complete silence). This makes it possible to achieve small file sizes while maintaining sound quality. Also note that the OGG format is open and not limited by patents.
— FLAC. One of the formats that uses lossless audio compression. With this compression, all the details of the original sound are preserved, so lossless formats are especially appreciated by sophisticated music lovers and audiophiles. The reverse side of this quality is large volumes of files. Specifically, FLAC is perhaps the most common of today's lossless formats. This is largely due to the fact that this standard is not particularly demanding on the processing power of the player. Thanks to this, its support can be implemented even in relatively simple and inexpensive players (unlike another popular format — APE, see below). On the other hand, FLAC files are larger than APE files.
— A.P.E. One of the popular lossless audio compression formats. Compared to another common standard — FLAC (see above) — APE allows you to achieve smaller file sizes with the same quality. On the other hand, to play such files, electronics with a fairly high processing power are required, so APE compatibility is relatively rare in compact players.
— DSD. A specific digital audio format using the so-called. sigma-delta modulation (as opposed to pulse code used in most other formats). Such modulation provides a very high sampling rate — 2822.4 kHz; however, it cannot be compared with the usual sampling rate (see above): in this case we are talking about a specific signal format. Its properties are such that DSD support can be provided even if the player's DAC formally has a much lower sampling rate. In general, this format is considered professional, its support is found mainly in Hi-Fi models (see "Type").
— DXD. Professional audio format originally created for editing DSD files (see above) — For technical reasons, original DSD is not well suited for editing. DXD uses a bit depth of 24 bits (8 bits higher than Audio CD format) and a sampling rate of 352.8 kHz (8 times higher than Audio CD). Like the original DSD, it is found mainly in Hi-Fi players.
— AIFF. Audio format developed by Apple for Macs and Macbooks; a kind of "apple" analogue of the WAV described above, also in most cases used for uncompressed audio.
— Audible. Proprietary file format used by the online audiobook store of the same name. One of the features of this format is that file playback is available only if you enter a login and password for the Audible online store; thus, supporting this standard usually means having a client programme to access the store.
This list is not exhaustive, modern players (especially the top category) may support other types of audio files.Other formats
Non-audio file formats that the player can handle.
— AVI. One of the most popular video file formats nowadays, it is used both in portable devices and in stationary video equipment. Technically, it is a container, that is, it can contain data processed by different codecs; playback requires that the device supports not only the AVI format, but also the corresponding codec.
— MP4. Video files using the MPEG-4 container. MP4 was once one of the most popular formats for portable players, and it is this format that is usually meant when people talk about "converted video" for a media player or smartphone.
— MPEG-4. Another name for the above MP4.
— MKV. A video container created as an open source alternative to the above described AVI and similar standards. Very handy when creating video files with multiple embedded video, audio and/or subtitle streams, which is why it is widely used and continues to evolve.
— MOV. Video file (container) format originally developed by Apple for QuickTime software players
— ASF. Microsoft's proprietary format, specifically designed to work with streaming content.
— SWF. A format in which animation clips are recorded based on flash technology.
— jpegs. One of the most popular modern image file formats, it is the standard for digital photography. Note that graphics support, including JPEG, can be pro...vided even in players with very miniature screens — to display album art.
— PNG. Popular graphic file format. In particular, it is widespread on the Internet due to the ability to achieve good quality with small file sizes.
— GIF. Another popular graphic file format. Notable for the ability to create animated pictures.
— BMP. One of the most common graphic formats. However, due to the rather large volumes of files, it is less common than the above standards.
— txt. Text-only files, no formatting (except paragraphs). Support for this format can be provided even in players with very small screens — to view lyrics.
This list is not exhaustive, other file formats may be supported in modern compact players.
Charging time
The time required to fully charge the battery in properly powered players.
In this case, we mean the battery charging time from 0 to 100% when using a standard charger (or a third-party charger with identical characteristics). Accordingly, in practice, this indicator may differ from the declared one, depending on the specifics of the situation. However, in general, it is quite possible to evaluate different models and compare them with each other.
Also note that an increase in battery capacity inevitably implies an increase in charging time. To compensate for this moment, special fast charging technologies can be used - however, they affect the cost and require the use of specialized memory.
