Epson P-2000 (40 GB) Digital Media Player
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- Number of Songs: 10000
- Usage: Music Video Photo Viewing
- Interface: USB 2.0
- Screen Size: 3.8 inch
- Main Storage Type: Hard Drive
- Expansion Slots: CompactFlash Card SD Memory Cards
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Excellent Media Viewer with Clunky Interface
Pros
Excellent image display, dual memory card readers, direct printing
Cons
Expensive, a bit large, renames your files
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Probably the best JPEG viewer and transporter currently available, but not ideal for MP3 and videos. Recommended for avid digital photographers.
The Epson P-2000 is designed first and foremost as a photo viewer and storage device. It will play MP3s and videos, but clearly the designers consider those formats secondary.
What I like about the P-2000:
The Epson PhotoFine 3.8 inch display is absolutely beautiful; my photos have never looked better than when they are displayed on this unit. I was worried that the included demo images had somehow been optimized for the screen, but the pictures truly are indicative of the P-2000's capabilities. Though I have only viewed jpegs, the system also displays several RAW formats -- a big plus for professionals.
With a 40 gig HD, there's plenty of space for photos and other media. I've copied my favorite still images, 6 full length movies, and 2 albums worth of music and have used just about 1/3 of the storage capacity. Data copies over pretty quickly, whether from a standard SD or CF card -- or even the relatively slow microdrive. The P-2000 supports USB 2.0, but my results have been acceptable even on my computer with just USB 1.1.
A feature I haven't tested, but which seems very useful, is the ability to print directly to compatible printers via the USB connection. There's also a headphone jack and it's even possible to connect directly to a television.
What I don't like about the Epson P-2000:
While the P-2000 displays images flawlessly, the design and interface could be smoother. The body is a bit large and heavy compared to other media devices, and the button layout could be better. Unless you use the included stand, it's difficult-to-impossible to control the device with one hand (as you can an Ipod,) and the "Home" and "Print" buttons would be more convenient if switched. Also, it's a bit counter-intuitive to insert memory cards with the label facing the back of the unit.
But it's the interface with ultimately keeps me from giving the P-2000 the full 5 stars. The menu structure makes sense enough, and can be accessed easily with the 4-direction switch, but the system is restricted to a 8.3 format and renames your files. That's difficult to tolerate when is just truncates a filename, but when you create an album and copy files it COMPLETELY renames them to a standard naming scheme.
For example, say you've edited a photo and named it Beautiful Bird.JPG. When you copy the file to the PC Data directory (the only directory you can use from the computer) the file will become Beautif~.JPG and if you copy from there to an album it will have a name like EPV00043.JPG.
There's no way to order the files once they've been copied to an album. This is particularly annoying since the P-2000 doesn't necessarily display the files in chronological, size, or even name order. The only way to identify your album images is through their thumbnail, and the thumbnails can be slow to load if your album is large.
While an entire album of images can be displayed using the Slideshow option, there's no way to create a playlist of other media files. If you want to listen to an entire CD worth of files you must select them one at a time; likewise if you've split a movie into parts.
Finally, there's no software included for converting audio or video files. That's not to much trouble for audio files as there are easily obtainable MP3 programs, but the not every video program supports the appropriate MP4 or MOV format. Epson recommends Quicktime Pro ($30) but with a $500 pricetag on the P-2000 it seems some software could be included.
The bottom line:
The Epson P-2000 has a few flaws, but they are more than compensated for by the device's strong points. Anyone into digital photography will love it.
What I like about the P-2000:
The Epson PhotoFine 3.8 inch display is absolutely beautiful; my photos have never looked better than when they are displayed on this unit. I was worried that the included demo images had somehow been optimized for the screen, but the pictures truly are indicative of the P-2000's capabilities. Though I have only viewed jpegs, the system also displays several RAW formats -- a big plus for professionals.
With a 40 gig HD, there's plenty of space for photos and other media. I've copied my favorite still images, 6 full length movies, and 2 albums worth of music and have used just about 1/3 of the storage capacity. Data copies over pretty quickly, whether from a standard SD or CF card -- or even the relatively slow microdrive. The P-2000 supports USB 2.0, but my results have been acceptable even on my computer with just USB 1.1.
A feature I haven't tested, but which seems very useful, is the ability to print directly to compatible printers via the USB connection. There's also a headphone jack and it's even possible to connect directly to a television.
What I don't like about the Epson P-2000:
While the P-2000 displays images flawlessly, the design and interface could be smoother. The body is a bit large and heavy compared to other media devices, and the button layout could be better. Unless you use the included stand, it's difficult-to-impossible to control the device with one hand (as you can an Ipod,) and the "Home" and "Print" buttons would be more convenient if switched. Also, it's a bit counter-intuitive to insert memory cards with the label facing the back of the unit.
But it's the interface with ultimately keeps me from giving the P-2000 the full 5 stars. The menu structure makes sense enough, and can be accessed easily with the 4-direction switch, but the system is restricted to a 8.3 format and renames your files. That's difficult to tolerate when is just truncates a filename, but when you create an album and copy files it COMPLETELY renames them to a standard naming scheme.
For example, say you've edited a photo and named it Beautiful Bird.JPG. When you copy the file to the PC Data directory (the only directory you can use from the computer) the file will become Beautif~.JPG and if you copy from there to an album it will have a name like EPV00043.JPG.
There's no way to order the files once they've been copied to an album. This is particularly annoying since the P-2000 doesn't necessarily display the files in chronological, size, or even name order. The only way to identify your album images is through their thumbnail, and the thumbnails can be slow to load if your album is large.
While an entire album of images can be displayed using the Slideshow option, there's no way to create a playlist of other media files. If you want to listen to an entire CD worth of files you must select them one at a time; likewise if you've split a movie into parts.
Finally, there's no software included for converting audio or video files. That's not to much trouble for audio files as there are easily obtainable MP3 programs, but the not every video program supports the appropriate MP4 or MOV format. Epson recommends Quicktime Pro ($30) but with a $500 pricetag on the P-2000 it seems some software could be included.
The bottom line:
The Epson P-2000 has a few flaws, but they are more than compensated for by the device's strong points. Anyone into digital photography will love it.
