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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Sansa View Pocket Video Player Q&A With SanDisk's Le Tran
When I travel, I really enjoy watching videos: TV shows, ripped DVDs, etc. Unfortunately I'm still seeking the ultimate device for portable video: something that combines a big, bright screen with a reasonable amount of storage, and most importantly, isn't too big and bulky. I've tried all sorts of devices over the years and none have fit the bill. When I saw the Sansa View Pocket Video Player, SanDisk's forthcoming digital video player, I was very intrigued because it has everything I'm looking for: a big, four inch wide angle screen, support for a variety of video formats, 8 GB of Flash-based storage that's expandable via SD cards, and is only 0.66 inches thick. I would have preferred to have 30+ GB of storage of course, but to get a thin device I can put up with "only" 16 GB of storage. The Sansa View is scheduled for release in late May 2007 and will sell for $299 USD.
I wanted to learn more about this new device, so I submitted my questions directly to SanDisk and Le Tran, one of the people directly involved with the Sansa View, was kind enough to answer them.
DMT: What's your history at SanDisk and what's your involvement with the Sansa View Pocket Video Player?
TRAN: I joined the Audio Video Group at SanDisk last year as a product marketing manager. Along with my Sansa View team, I help define, develop, and launch the Sansa View globally into the retail market.
DMT: SanDisk's entry into the digital audio player market has been interesting to watch - from low-cost, entry level blister-pack players to high-end devices featuring integrated wireless and video players. How would you describe SanDisk's evolution in this market - has it gone as expected? Was the intention always to start on the low end and work your way up to more high-end devices?
TRAN: Our original intent a few years back was to develop music players that embodied Flash memory, since Flash memory has always been SanDisk�s line of business. Since then we have grown beyond price and Flash and are very focused on becoming a consumer electronics company with solid products including audio and video players that compete well in the marketplace. SanDisk has held a firm #2 in market share in the US for a while now, and we intend to continue to develop products that are interesting, useful and cutting edge. We�re excited about how we�ve evolved in this space.
DMT: The Sansa View is fairly unique in that it's one of the only players I'm aware of that combines a large screen with Flash memory - most large-screen devices use hard drives, which then drives up the thickness and weight. What were some of the hardware design goals when SanDisk set out to design the Sansa View?
TRAN: The over-arching design goal was to create something as simple as the portable DVD player, but pocketable. This can be broken down into 3 major design goals:
1. Pocketability: We wanted the Sansa View to be slim, sleek, and lightweight, so that you could put it in your pocket and take it with you on your travels. When you�re on a plane or while you�re commuting is a great time to catch up on your movies or TV shows, so the Sansa View needed to be something very easy to carry around with you.
2. Simplicity: Many portable media players out there have a lot of bells and whistles that aren�t really used and complicate the product. We wanted to make the Sansa View easy enough that the whole family can use it (whether it be gadget Dad to busy Mom to the next American Idol kid). So we streamlined the device to be able to do the 3 most important functions very very well, which are to run videos, show photos, and play songs.
3. Video Support: We wanted to take the guesswork out of video support. It�s a very frustrating experience when users have different types of videos and aren�t able to play it back on their portable device. By supporting a wide array of video formats at resolutions as high as D1 [editor: D1 is DVD and TV resolution, 720 x 480 in North America], users will not encounter so many problems with video playback. In addition, users can also view their videos on their hi-def TVs from the Sansa View with an optional docking station that scales up their videos to 720p or 1080i.
DMT: One of the things touted on the marketing page for the Sansa View is the inclusion of pre-loaded content. What was the goal here - to make it an entertainment device right out of the box? And can you delete content off the device itself without needing to dock it with a PC?
TRAN: We wanted to provide users with instant gratification as soon as they open the box. The Sansa View is partially powered, so users will be able to turn it on immediately and with a variety of preloaded videos, photos, and music, they can experience how the various forms of entertainment look, feel, and sound on the Sansa View. At any time, they can delete the content directly from the View.
DMT: Let's get into the hardware itself now. The Sansa View will have a four inch widescreen display, but there's no mention of the resolution. What are the specs for the screen? Is it a 16:9 screen?
TRAN: The screen resolution is WQVGA or 480x272 with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
DMT: The battery is a removable Lithium Polymer - great work on making it removable by the way - but there's no mention of battery life or the mAH rating. What can users expect from the battery with regard to video playback? What about audio playback?
TRAN: Users can expect up to 4 hours of continuous video playback and up to 10 hours of continuous audio playback on the Sansa View. We also offer a regular battery pack and an extended life battery pack for separate purchase. The extended life battery pack offers double the battery life of the regular battery pack, which is the size that comes with the Sansa View in the box. This way users can easily pop in a fresh battery pack, just like they could with a cell phone, when they are not near a power source.
DMT: Buyers always wonder if the device they're going to purchase will work with their other accessories. Does the Sansa View use a standard miniUSB connector for synchronizing? And does it charge over USB? There's no mention of USB 2.0, but I assume it will use 480 mbps USB 2.0?
TRAN: The Sansa View does use 480 mbps USB 2.0. It comes with a 30-pin-to-USB cable connector for synchronizing of content to the computer, and charges the Sansa View at the same time.
DMT: Audio aficionados always wonder about support for things beyond MP3 and WMA - is there support for other audio formats such as AAC, OGG or lossless audio files such as FLAC or WMA Lossless?
TRAN: The focus on the Sansa View has been on video playback, so we support the standard audio formats of MP3 and WMA.
DMT: I see MPEG-4 512 kbps video mentioned on the product page. What video file formats and bit rates are supported? You're using Windows Media Player for synchronizing content, but that software is only as good as the codecs it has installed - and transcoding video content into WMV means a drop in quality and a long wait. What sort of on-device codecs are there to avoid having to transcode video?
TRAN: We designed the Sansa View to support a wide array of video formats at different resolutions, bit rates, and frame rates, including cell phone formats. Though we are still in negotiations around some of the formats we will support, we intend the Sansa View to support the following codecs:
* MPEG4 (SP & ASP) up to 4 mbps
* WMV up to 4 mbps
* DivX up to 4 mbps
* H.263 up to 4 mbps
* H.264 up to 1.2 mbps
Upon successful negotiations, we intend to support up to D1 resolution on all of the above video codecs, including H.264 (baseline). H.264 (MP) is supported up to WQVGA resolution. We will support up to 30 fps on the video codecs.
DMT: There's mention of the SD card slot being used to load up pictures directly from a camera - can you view them directly off the card, and can you chose to copy them over to the player? Is there any sort of bit for bit verification of the copied photos? I can see vacationers using this device to offload their memory cards, but only if they're sure the photos copied over without any errors.
TRAN: You can view pictures directly from an SD card. However, you cannot copy the photos over onto the Sansa View�s internal memory.
DMT: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions - I look forward to checking out the Sansa View in person.
TRAN: And I look forward to showing you the Sansa View. Thank you for the great questions.
More photos of the Sansa View Pocket Video player are available at SanDisk's site.
Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He loves mobile video and continues to quest for the ultimate mobile video device.
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