A80x and iPod nano screen display

[tonyjaa]

When Apple released their new iPod nano with video they boast quite a bit about the 2-inch (diagonal) liquid crystal display with blue-white LED backlight

320-by-240-pixel resolution at 204 pixels per inch. Does anybody here knows the PPI specification of the Sony A80x screens?

I did a comparsion with my A808 at an Apple store and personally I think the pixels per inch on the Sony and Apple are the same. The only differences I found is the backlight is more brighter on the nano and has more precise light levels at your disposal.

[AntiPod]

according to sony canada:

2.0” TFT colour LCD (QVGA (240 x 320 dots) / 262,144 colours)

apparently nano 3 is on par with A800s

[bryue]

I wonder which one has a better video quality...

[pomj]

I wonder which one has a better video quality...

The nano has better specification. Given they will provide a video out so you can watch on a TV that is cool. Otherwise it doesn't matter. You won't see any difference on the builtin screen.

[Shinji Ikeda]

It all comes down to perference. The battery life is sub par on the nano. Make your choice on what you want. Remember Sony has delievered on drag-and-drop, something many people have been waiting for.

[GusG]

Someone said that the 800 has continue video playing option and that the nano only stops in the end of a movie.. It may be importante for some people...

[tonyjaa]

Sony A800 series do have continuous playback function under the movie settings. So if you have more than one movie clip it will play them all seamlessly without having to to go back into the thumbnail menu to play the next.

Of course Apple can always add this functionality to their iPods via firmware update.

[Shinji Ikeda]

Someone said that the 800 has continue video playing option and that the nano only stops in the end of a movie.. It may be importante for some people...

The continuous playback is something that is current in the 800 series Walkman (no wishing for a firmware upgrade). Additionally, video playback will start at the point that playback was stopped. This is something many has wanted in the NW-A800 series for audio playback.

About the screen brightness of the NW-A800, it can be adjusted. The default setting is 2 with 5 being the brightest, which is excellent under bright sunlight.

The NW-A800 screen is orientated vertically, while the nano is horizontally. This means that you need to re-orientate the NW-A800 for wide screen videos, but can view videos at either orientation. Both have a Quad-VGA 320x240 screen.

Unfortunately, the NW-A800 does not have a flashy name, or is manufactured by Apple.

[Bazooka]

Someone said that the 800 has continue video playing option and that the nano only stops in the end of a movie.. It may be importante for some people...

You are correct.

One more thing I notice on my black 8 gig 3G Nano, is the video will often play choppy or even freeze for a quick moment. Just the video does this, the audio in the video chugs along smoothly. And the video, when it does lag, catches up with the audio, so there is no audio/video sync problems ever. Not all video files do this, so I can't pinpoint the problem yet,

Also, the A80X has a quality put-together screen. My 3G Nano's screen was put together sorta off centered. I'm hearing people are sending theirs back because of this, but the screens viewing area is not obscured at all, even though it is not centered perfectly.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Bazooka

[Shinji Ikeda]

You are correct.

One more thing I notice on my black 8 gig 3G Nano, is the video will often play choppy or even freeze for a quick moment. Just the video does this, the audio in the video chugs along smoothly. And the video, when it does lag, catches up with the audio, so there is no audio/video sync problems ever. Not all video files do this, so I can't pinpoint the problem yet,

Also, the A80X has a quality put-together screen. My 3G Nano's screen was put together sorta off centered. I'm hearing people are sending theirs back because of this, but the screens viewing area is not obscured at all, even though it is not centered perfectly.

I have a question. What do you mean sorta off centre? I know that sometimes manufacturers may place something off centre because of some specific reason. In other words, is this a minor error in putting the device together?

[pata2001]

Regardless of the resolution or pixel-per-inch, IMO watching movies on a 2" screen is still stupid. It's great for video podcasts though. I would simply look at the specs of the videos you want to watch, and buy the device that matches that to reduce any transcoding.

[map68]

I've recently converted from an iPod to a NW-A806 and I'm more then happy that I did - I recently returned 3 Apple Nano 3g's in a row because they all had the tilted screen issue. Tilted in as much as it's not square to the body, off by a couple of mm. It was really noticeable, everyone's first reaction upon seeing it was "why's the screen tilted".

After the third one I demanded a full refund.... I then saw the light and purchased the A806

The video on the Nano worked pretty well, but I don't reckon it was a smooth as my A806.

[pomj]

Regardless of the resolution or pixel-per-inch, IMO watching movies on a 2" screen is still stupid. It's great for video podcasts though. I would simply look at the specs of the videos you want to watch, and buy the device that matches that to reduce any transcoding.

I disagree...

Besides the music I always have a full length movie and a bunch of sitcoms on my 808. Great for commuting. Even subtitles are very legible.

[cc@mp0s.cl]

I've recently converted from an iPod to a NW-A806 and I'm more then happy that I did - I recently returned 3 Apple Nano 3g's in a row because they all had the tilted screen issue. Tilted in as much as it's not square to the body, off by a couple of mm. It was really noticeable, everyone's first reaction upon seeing it was "why's the screen tilted".

After the third one I demanded a full refund.... I then saw the light and purchased the A806

The video on the Nano worked pretty well, but I don't reckon it was a smooth as my A806.

I disagree too...

I have some Animatrix chapters (5) and almost the full concert of Madonna (Confessions Tour)

Edited October 10, 2007 by cc@mp0s.cl

[Shinji Ikeda]

Regardless of the resolution or pixel-per-inch, IMO watching movies on a 2" screen is still stupid. It's great for video podcasts though. I would simply look at the specs of the videos you want to watch, and buy the device that matches that to reduce any transcoding.

I disagree...

Besides the music I always have a full length movie and a bunch of sitcoms on my 808. Great for commuting. Even subtitles are very legible.

I would have to agree with both you. However, I would use the word silly not stupid. At a resolution of 4:3 the 2" is fine. However , for 16:9 you can find yourself squinting to watch a movie. At 2" you find that you miss a lot of detail. I honest prefer large screens, but for the size the the NW-A800 series for commuting.

Thanks for the advice.