Epson P-5000

Using the AV cable provided, you can output the video (and audio) to a TV set, which works pretty well on standard CRTs.

Audio, on the whole wasn't very loud but still loud enough to minimize external sound (with headphones), at full volume. There are 7 equalizer presets to choose from, namely Normal, Jazz, Classical, Rock, Pop, Live, Full Bass, along with a custom 5-band graphic equalizer.

The Li-Ion battery lasts for around 5 hours of average usage, which is pretty good, considering the previous versions use to max out at 2 and a half hours.

With all the good things mentioned above, I think its time I pointed out the negatives too. Though I understand, that the P-5000 is an image viewer before everything else, it does have a function to playback movies. But unfortunately the dimensions of the P-5000 are a bit too huge to hold in your hand throughout the duration of a film without causing a strain on your wrist. What I'm saying is that Epson should have given the ability to lean the player back with a help of a stand (as in most PMPs), which would make it ideal.

Secondly the player just isn't fast enough. Though by default, the menus are simple and easy to navigate, the speed at which you get to move through options are not fast enough. Zooming in and out of images too can get cumbersome pretty soon, with the long delays. Even the startup and shutdown times go to over 4 seconds.

Now here's the thing. It's great to have a Multimedia Storage Viewers as a temporary solution till you get your hands on your laptop, and having memory card readers on those viewers is also a brilliant idea. But an MRP of Rs. 50,000 for a unit like the P-5000 makes absolutely no sense to me. Most other PMP's with that much storage space and impressive specs will usually cost you under Rs. 30,000.

If you're the kind of photographer who will probably recover the cost of this unit in a couple of photo shoots, then it'll be a great companion to you. For the rest of us, the laptops don't seem that bulky anymore.