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Reviews (7)
May 03, 2008
TA-454 Audio/Video/FM/Player/Recorder: "Manual" labor
This is more of a plea for help than an actual review, but aside from the fact that the "manual" is woefully incomplete, the actual unit is fairly amazing.
First, if you have seen any reference as to what the software that comes on a mini-CD actually DOES, that would be helpful. As is, with the general navigation instructions in the manual, you CAN get it up and running.
SigmaTel also provides a conversion program which will turn most popular video formats into .SMV format, which is the ONLY video format the TA-454 will play.
The descriptions on several eBay pages are incomplete regarding its memory capacity. Yes, it comes with 256MB internal memory, but there is an SD card slot, letting it handle an additional 2GB (max) of storage space.
So far, I have found NO reference as to exactly HOW files should be saved on in what kind of directory format on the addition card, but it may not be necessary:
I have installed an SD Ultra II 2GB card in my unit In the ONE response I've gotten from the company's support department, they recommended using a relatively high-end card for video handling. Makes sense.
In the different sections of its Menu, it provides access to Music, Video, voice recording, FM radio listening and recording, and what they call "E-book reading"--don't bet on it. The 1.5" screen is so small that barely a sentence will fit and the word wrap is from Mars.
After I copied about 10 X-Minus One old-time-radio .MP3 files into the root of the brand new SD card, the unit found them under its "Music" section, so I'm guessing *anything* with an .MP3 extension is going to show up under that category.
The FM radio picks up only a few stations, but the sound quality through the EARBUDS is great. Ditto, recorded FM. Recorded voice works very well, too. What they call a "HiFi" speaker has the expected tinniness of headphones turned up loud.
Converting existing, say, .AVI files is easy and are copied via USB to the unit. Normal 4.3 (or wider) aspect ratio videos are shown "sideways," that is, turned the "long way" of the rectangular screen. Playback looks like some of the first video from the moon, though the color is nice. Lateral movement on-screen looks a bit like the ancient Six Million Dollar Man action scenes.
You really understand how SMALL this thing is when you watch a video. If you have a ball-point pen handy, stand it on end: The TA-454 stands about ONE-HALF that height.
For the money, its versatility and flexibility are a pretty good deal. Now, it needs just one more thing: A users manual that is COMPLETE and perhaps written by someone whose first language is English.
--John Doyle
Jun 13, 2017
Looks good, but...
There are no subtitles. When the soundtrack gets noisy, the voices get lost.
Nov 01, 2016
Good quality, Sensational Price
1 of 1 found this helpful They're not paying me for enthusiasm, but this is probably the best price-per-pen I've ever gotten on a dozen Sharpies.