Philips Portable Media Center PMC7230 Reviews

Jun.16, 2008 in Philips

The company’s latest device, the Portable Media Center PMC7230 (30GB, $349) is quite a departure from the aforementioned players, in more ways than one. The Philips PMC takes two user-friendly features–direct video recording and the Media Center interface–and wraps them into an attractive, TV-like package. Unfortunately, the device doesn’t fully live up to its potential.
Features
Portable Media Center devices usually aren’t known for having a plethora of features. You get excellent syncing from Media Center PCs, playback of the three main media types (music, photo, and video), and that about covers it. The Philips PMC isn’t much different: it’s compatible only with Windows XP, and it doesn’t have an FM radio. Audio and video file type support is also limited, with WMV and MPEG4 being the only supported video types (MP3 and WMA for audio). It is, however, a PlaysForSure device, so it supports DRM-protected WMA files, including those from subscription services such as MTV Urge

Philips Portable Media Center PMC7230 Reviews From msn

The total entertainment experience is now in the palm of consumers’ hands, thanks to amazing Portable Media Center PMC7230. This revolutionary gadget provides entertainment freedom with the ability to download recorded TV shows from a VCR, DVDR or DVR. It’s a portable DVR and MP3 player in one ready-to-go package. More versatile than an MP3 player or portable DVD

Philips Portable Media Center PMC7230 Reviews From cnet

The good:
The Philips PMC offers an attractive design and a screen with excellent viewing angles. It’s very easy to use and it includes video recording, as well as a built-in kickstand.

The bad:
The Philips PMC’s audio quality is subpar, it doesn’t record from protected DVDs, and there’s no way to adjust the recording volume levels on the device. It also costs about $50 more than most other 30GB portable A/V devices, and there’s no FM radio.

The bottom line:
The Philips Portable Media Center PMC7230 is a stylish device with lots of potential, but it’s not as impressive as we expected.