PANASONIC SV-SD85 MP3/WMA PLAYER

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as they say
Review: After reading negative reviews, I was expecting to be disappointed by this player. The hardware and accessories are awesome - earbuds provide great sound quality, and volume is more than adequate (and I listen to music loud). The pc software crashes pretty often, but it is easy to resume transfers after reopening the program. After reading about the copyright protections online and in the owner's brochure, I comprehensively and unsuccessfully tried to get it to prevent me from putting various types of mp3s onto the player. Maybe Panasonic improved its software; I don't know. I can't imagine this device being a major problem for anyone, and I would buy it again in a heartbeat. (It would have been 5 stars if the software didn't crash)

Rating:
Summary: Beauty is only skin-deep
Review: I bought this player to travel with. It's a great size and so tiny I can drop in my pocket and not feel the bulk of it like my PDA. But despite it's miniature size, the software that comes with it SUCKS! The SV-SD85 comes with a USB SD card reader/writer and you have to use that with their proprietary SD-Jukebox software to transfer music to the SD card. Unfortunately, the music files get converted to Panasonic's own proprietary format that can't even be seen in the File Manager. What's worse is the SD-Jukebox software is so outdated and there's no upgrade or patches for it. And the software regularly crashes, especially when importing songs with file names that have special characters like accents. It doesn't do well with too many songs either. And I can't even use other music managers like Real Player or iTunes to trasnfer songs (also doesn't work on Mac).

Overall, the design is good but Panasonic really failed to deliver on the software and handcuffs you to their buggy proprietary software.

Rating:
Summary: Someone please hack this software
Review: I bought this portible audio player recently as an upgrade for my SD-SV80 model. The feature I was most interested in is the ability to create playlists. What I got, however, was a whole new set of headaches.

First the player itself: It sounds great. It's tiny. It runs forever without recharging - especially when in the case with the back-up battery. It charges easily. It takes SD cards - which I like because they are small and cheap.

Next the interface. It won't play MP3 or AAC files without "SD-ifying" them with a program that transfers them to an SD card (you also HAVE to use the included SD card reader/writer). I can live with that. Yes, kind of a pain, but the hardware was worth it. I really missed the ability to create playlists though - why scroll through 500Mb of tunes to hear the ones you want?

So I invested in the SD85, which supposedly has this ability with the new included Jukebox software. It does - but only between its frequent crashes. THIS SOFTWARE WAS DESIGNED BY DRUNK RODENTS. It's terrible. It crashes frequently. It's so counterintuative that it's worthless. I actually find myself using the old SD80 software to rip and transfer files and I only attempt to use Jukebox when I want to make playlists.

Please do not buy this unit. Supporting Panasonic when they make such bad software is unconcienable. Wait until another brand makes a similarly small unit.

Rating:
Summary: Panasonic SV-SD85 is a great Mp3 palyer!!!
Review: I don't see what all the fuss is about with the software you have to use with the player. I bought the Panasonic SV-SD85 from Amazon. When I received it, I opened it up and took the time to read all of the directions for the Mp3 player and the software. It is really easy to use. If you don't know your way around a computer then you might have problems. The sound quality is great. The size is awesome. I had no problems importing music or uploading it to the SD card. So what, you have to use the SD card reader to write to the card. Just make sure you format the card and rip music to the included software and you're good to go. It's called a little patients, and if you have none then just buy something that is plug and play. It is somewhat expensive, but anything that is really small usually is. You need to take certain things into consideration. The player is really nice, and if you are familiar with computers then you should have no problem with the player.

Rating:
Summary: Player Great but Software not user friendly
Review: I love the size and sound of this player. I upgraded memory so playback is longer. Software really stinks. I had to call manufacturer to resolve a problem.

Rating:
Summary: i really wanted to like this player too..
Review: I mean, just look at it. It's a sexy little thing, isn't it. Everything was fine with this unit....Until I lost my disc...You wouldn't BELIEVE the lack of support Panasonic gives their expensive mp3 player. Most of the "techs" you speak with when you clal literally do not even know this exists. There hasn't been an update to the software in 3 years (since it first came with the sd-80), and Panasonic refuses to not only put the software on their website for download, but also mail you a replacement disc! Unbelieveable. Eventually I had to download a version someone posted to a website and "hack" it to install it on my computer since I didn't have the CD-key. All this just so I can use something I paid way too much for. do not, whatever you do, DO NOT buy this product. You will be so, so, so so sorry.
PS After I lost the original CD which had a decent RealJukebox interface, the only version I could find was some stupid Panasonic check-in/check out sotware, and all music seemed to play at about 50% of the sound level they should have been at. This thing is just a nightmare. I evenntually Just bought an IPod Mini.

Rating:
Summary: excellent hardware design, but not the rest
Review: I own SV-SD80. It seems to me, that SD85 is the same model with bigger SD card. The sound is awesome, and it's the tinest player. But the rest is just unacceptable. Provided software is one the worst I ever saw. The "firmware upgradable" is just a promise, I still can't find upgrade and "play list" feature is still not available. It's hard to manage all songs on a big card as a lump. And I'm still hoping to get some helpful reply from Panasonic's customer support. This is the reason of giving 2 start instead of 5. BTW, I'm not pleased with it's headphones. I'm using foldable Sennheiser px-200; and so far did not see (hear) anything better.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent sound with no problems
Review: I owned a Sony NW-MS9 and then bought the Panasonic. The Panasonic software is superior and easy to use. No problems with it crashing and was able to learn it in 15 minutes. The only reason why I give it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because the neck strap the give you is the color rainbow, which is kind of, and that they do not give you an armband. I went running with it and everything is great. I couldn't be happier with it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent sound with no problems
Review: I owned a Sony NW-MS9 and then bought the Panasonic. The Panasonic software is superior and easy to use. No problems with it crashing and was able to learn it in 15 minutes. The only reason why I give it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because the neck strap the give you is the color rainbow, which is kind of, and that they do not give you an armband. I went running with it and everything is great. I couldn't be happier with it.

Rating:
Summary: Simple to use
Review: I really like this music player, once I figured out how it works, I imported all of my music files into the supplied program and ripped all of my CD's into my computer. It automatically labeled all of my tracks and all I had to do was change CD's. You can check in and checkout songs as you choose, and memory cards are available from 32-512 MB allowing you to choose the best size for your budget and needs. I think this thing is great for the casual portable music listener.