PQI mPack P800

Posted 07/01/2005 at 12:46pm | by

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In the movies, a scrappy ne’er-do-well gets thrown in with a jaded curmudgeon and together—against all odds—they find love. At Maximum PC, a me-too product from an unheard of electronics manufacturer arrives on the desk of a jaded editor and together, against all odds, they find love. At least, that’s what happened this time, with the mPack P800 from PQI.

Let’s start with the Big Reveal: The P800 does three essential things that no other portable video player (PVP) we’ve seen can do. First, it can play decrypted VOB files, the format used on DVD-Video discs. This means you can transfer the contents of your DVDs directly to the player without having to endure the tedium of video recompression; the 80GB drive will hold eight or nine films—enough for a summer’s worth of slumber parties.

Second, the P800 supports video encoded with AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio. Finally, it also supports the SRT subtitle format, so if you’ve got a foreign language video file that lacks embedded subtitles, you can track down an official or fan-created SRT file on the net and view the text-based subtitles on the P800.

The P800 comes with a ridiculous number of accessories, including a wired remote and an infrared remote; a small carrying case for the player alone; and an extremely tough, larger case that includes space for the AC adapter and cables too. It’s the first PVP we’ve seen to include a SPDIF-out connector, and there’s also a CompactFlash card slot for viewing (or storing) photos from your camera on the P800. The usual suspects—an MP3 player, a line-in for recording from analog sources, an FM tuner, and even a simple calendar and contacts viewer—are included as well. The removable battery lasted six and a half hours before wheezing out—not bad at all.

The P800’s somewhat coarse 3.5-inch, 320x240 LCD screen leaves a lot to be desired. It’s fine for casual viewing, but nowhere near as sharp as the Archos AV400 (reviewed in October 2004). Playback on our TVs and monitors looked fantastic, but if the P800 had been graced with the ultimate screen, it would have received a perfect 10 verdict. Even in the movies, no relationship is without its flaws.
—Logan Decker

DRIVE-INS: Plays virtually every format; packed with features; bundled with a decadent array of extras.

DRIVE-BYS: The P800 deserves a higher-quality screen than it sports.

Month Reviewed: July 2005
Verdict: 9
URL: www.pqimemory.com