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Apacer CP200 - first impressions vs Vosonic X's Drive Pro

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y2ky

y2ky

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I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys, chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs, although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV, then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer - perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries. Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc. genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II, whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
 
I am interested to know about the battery life of the Apacer CP200. I am looking at buying a portable CD burner unit for hiking and bicycle touring where there may not be electricity available for a number of days so the battery life becomes very important.

Also where in Oz did you buy your CP200?
y2ky said:
I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get
the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so
unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the
Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually
sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos
that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro
look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't
look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends
and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which
fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys,
chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for
burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies
the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad
either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful
experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs,
although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's
guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and
hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV,
then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer -
perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot
of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter
hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these
non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly
detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to
put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it
was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low
quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries.
Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First
Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in
the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo
later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure
that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the
difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc.
genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was
cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II,
whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
Click to expand...
 
I haven't had a chance yet - just run a search for "battery" and "Apacer CP 200" and I'm sure something will turn up.

I bought mine from http://www.eyo.com.au - by far the cheapest.

Another little niggledy thing - although it works fine with the PC as a card reader, the on board software can't seem to handle my 192MB Kodak compact flash card. It can't read or display the CF card with teh Av out. Whihc is odd cos it works fine with the xD card in my D-CF adapter. Not a major problem since i only would be burning my xD cards anyway, but it's a bummer that I cannot play MP3s right off my CF card, nor can I seem to backup my CF card.

Perhaps a CP200 guru like Jim T might know if this is a firmware issue or not?
rumi said:
Also where in Oz did you buy your CP200?
y2ky said:
I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get
the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so
unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the
Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually
sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos
that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro
look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't
look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends
and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which
fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys,
chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for
burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies
the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad
either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful
experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs,
although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's
guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and
hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV,
then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer -
perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot
of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter
hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these
non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly
detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to
put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it
was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low
quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries.
Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First
Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in
the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo
later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure
that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the
difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc.
genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was
cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II,
whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I'm not a Guru please. I'm learning and stumbling just like you guys when it comes to this stuff. I have my expertise, but that's something else.

Battery life on my CP200 has lasted through three filled cdrw's so far without any problems. That's the most I could do with the burner from memory card.

I attempted to copy a full dvd-r from the CP200 to my dvd burner last week and forgot to plug the AC line in. The disc copy function was able to copy the full 4.7gb of files onto my hdd without power problems but sometime before the dvd-r was written the battery went dead. My burner is very slow and this process took 2 hours with the verification of the data crashing because the CP200 shut off. I've watched at least one dvd played in the CP200 through the USB cable onto my PC without any battery problems. Can't watch dvd's on TV under battery power as the unit requires that the AC cable be plugged in.

For my uses the battery power is fine and since I use mine in my car the 12v to 9v adapter I have from Radio Shack works. I also have a 12v battery pack flashlight thing that has plugs for 3,6, 9 and 12v output so I use this in the car occassionally. I'd prefer the use of AA NiMH batteries since I have a large inventory of these already, but the lithium battery seems fine. If battery power was the only source of power on a hiking or bike trip I'd expect to need at least one backup lithium battery. The size of the CP200 is in my opinion more of an issue if you need a backup device for hiking or biking. Most of portable hdd units are smaller than the CP200, the size of the CP200 could be smaller and I'm sure as these thing develop the size will reduce, protable CD players are getting really small but the battery and card read slots just physically take up space.
 
I would think it's related to firmware issue. the new firmware should clear it up. you might want to check their site.
y2ky said:
I bought mine from http://www.eyo.com.au - by far the cheapest.

Another little niggledy thing - although it works fine with the PC
as a card reader, the on board software can't seem to handle my
192MB Kodak compact flash card. It can't read or display the CF
card with teh Av out. Whihc is odd cos it works fine with the xD
card in my D-CF adapter. Not a major problem since i only would be
burning my xD cards anyway, but it's a bummer that I cannot play
MP3s right off my CF card, nor can I seem to backup my CF card.

Perhaps a CP200 guru like Jim T might know if this is a firmware
issue or not?
rumi said:
Also where in Oz did you buy your CP200?
y2ky said:
I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get
the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so
unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the
Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually
sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos
that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro
look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't
look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends
and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which
fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys,
chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for
burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies
the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad
either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful
experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs,
although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's
guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and
hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV,
then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer -
perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot
of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter
hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these
non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly
detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to
put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it
was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low
quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries.
Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First
Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in
the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo
later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure
that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the
difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc.
genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was
cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II,
whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Ruey,

I checked that and I already have the current firmware (November 2003).

Jim T informed me in another thread that he found one firmware on the Jobo site dated jan 2004, so after I get back from my holiday (am nervous about experimenting!) I will try that out.
ruey said:
y2ky said:
I bought mine from http://www.eyo.com.au - by far the cheapest.

Another little niggledy thing - although it works fine with the PC
as a card reader, the on board software can't seem to handle my
192MB Kodak compact flash card. It can't read or display the CF
card with teh Av out. Whihc is odd cos it works fine with the xD
card in my D-CF adapter. Not a major problem since i only would be
burning my xD cards anyway, but it's a bummer that I cannot play
MP3s right off my CF card, nor can I seem to backup my CF card.

Perhaps a CP200 guru like Jim T might know if this is a firmware
issue or not?
rumi said:
Also where in Oz did you buy your CP200?
y2ky said:
I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get
the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so
unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the
Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually
sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos
that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro
look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't
look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends
and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which
fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys,
chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for
burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies
the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad
either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful
experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs,
although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's
guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and
hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV,
then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer -
perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot
of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter
hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these
non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly
detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to
put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it
was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low
quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries.
Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First
Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in
the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo
later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure
that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the
difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc.
genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was
cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II,
whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
yup, the new firmware should solve your problems. if not, you can always call apacer for tech-support. let me know how that works out for you.

ruey
y2ky said:
I checked that and I already have the current firmware (November
2003).

Jim T informed me in another thread that he found one firmware on
the Jobo site dated jan 2004, so after I get back from my holiday
(am nervous about experimenting!) I will try that out.
ruey said:
y2ky said:
I bought mine from http://www.eyo.com.au - by far the cheapest.

Another little niggledy thing - although it works fine with the PC
as a card reader, the on board software can't seem to handle my
192MB Kodak compact flash card. It can't read or display the CF
card with teh Av out. Whihc is odd cos it works fine with the xD
card in my D-CF adapter. Not a major problem since i only would be
burning my xD cards anyway, but it's a bummer that I cannot play
MP3s right off my CF card, nor can I seem to backup my CF card.

Perhaps a CP200 guru like Jim T might know if this is a firmware
issue or not?
rumi said:
Also where in Oz did you buy your CP200?
y2ky said:
I bought the CP200, returned it in disgust because we Aussies get
the non-DVD to TV playing model, got an X's-Drive Pro, was so
unimpressed that I returned it...and now I'm finally with the
Apacer CP200 again. And yes, the sales guy did laugh and actually
sent me the exact same unit I returned. Life is a lesson! :-)

Onto the unit: (note all comparisons are against the X Pro cos
that's the other one I tried)

Price: Great: $A360 (cf X Drive Pro $330)

Build: beautiful. Top-brand kind of finish, makes the X Drive Pro
look very cheap. Case in point: the battery. X Drive pro doesn't
look like it's supposed to be removed - uses those little plug ends
and cables etc. Apacer has a nice rechargeable battery pack which
fits snugly into the bay - just like a digicam. Seriously guys,
chalk and cheese.

Ease of use: easy. Turn it on, then it's one button operation for
burning (pick either fast mode or Safe mode, the latter verifies
the CD), use TV screen for file browsing. X Drive Pro isn't bad
either, although the s& (house screen makes it a more painful
experience.

Preview ability: Works with my portable TV so you can verify jpegs,
although output is not very clear - when file browsing, it's
guesswork. Then again my portable TV is about 10 years old and
hasn't been used for about 9.9 of those years.

Speed: fine with me! No specific speed tests yet.

So, does it work: Yes. After a burn, i previewed the pix on TV,
then loaded the CD-RW on my PC and checked it with My Computer -
perfect.

Works with xD-CF adapter: absolutely! (Olympus MACF-10) Man, a lot
of worry about nothing...

Card reader function: perfect. Time to put my other reader on EBay.

Plays CDs: yep, with the AV out - haven't tried getting an adapter
hooked up with headphones etc yet.

Manual quality: bad English is almost par for the course with these
non-household name brands, and CP200 no exception, but surprisingly
detailed and exhaustive and gives u the idea it took some time to
put together. (cf X Drive Pro manual which honestly looks like it
was written and put together in half a day (inc badly pasted, low
quality photos).

Screen clarity: OLED - can be read in day or night, no worries.
Gorgeous. X Drive pro comments already in my other First
Impressions post

Plays DVDs: my particular model doesn't, but obviously the one in
the USa does. Might try fidgeting with the Firmware patch from Jobo
later. Would be sweet if I could.

Ok, to X's Drive Owners, I hope I haven't been too harsh. I'm sure
that the X's Drive does what it's supposed to. But really, the
difference in impressions - not just build, but the manual etc etc.
genuinely shocked me. The X's Drive really does look like it was
cobbled together hurriedly from the more useful X's Drive II,
whereas the Apacer looks very slick indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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