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Portable media player
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==Typical features== PMPs are capable of playing [[digital audio]], [[Digital image|images]], and/or [[Digital video|video]]. Usually, a colour [[liquid crystal display]] (LCD) or [[organic light-emitting diode]] (OLED) screen is used as a display for PMPs that have a screen. Various players include the ability to record video, usually with the aid of optional accessories or cables, and audio, with a built-in [[microphone]] or from a [[Line out (signal)|line out]] cable or [[FM broadcasting|FM tuner]]. Some players include readers for [[memory card]]s (such as [[CompactFlash]] (CF), [[Secure Digital]] (SD), and [[Memory Stick]]s), which are advertised to equip players with extra storage or transferring media. In some players, features of a [[personal organiser]] are emulated, or support for [[video game]]s, like the [[iRiver Clix]] (through compatibility of [[Adobe Flash Lite]]) or the [[PlayStation Portable]], is included. Only mid-range to high-end players support "savestating" for power-off (i.e. leaves off song/video in progress similar to tape-based media). ===Audio playback=== [[File:SONY Walkman NW-A1000.jpg|thumb|Sony [[Walkman A Series|Walkman NW-A1000]], one of the earliest Walkman players that played MP3 alongside the proprietary [[ATRAC]] format]] Nearly all players<ref>{{cite web |last=Bell |first=Donald |date=25 October 2004 |title=Sony Network Walkman NW-HD1 (20GB) Review |url=http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-network-walkman-nw/4505-6490_7-30959614.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224134933/http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-network-walkman-nw/4505-6490_7-30959614.html |archive-date=24 December 2007 |access-date=12 December 2007 |publisher=[[CNET]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2020 |reason=article discusses Sony support for formats but doesn't comment on other players}} are compatible with the MP3 audio format, and many others support [[Windows Media Audio]] (WMA), [[Advanced Audio Coding]] (AAC) and [[WAV]]. Some players are compatible with open-source formats like [[Ogg Vorbis]] and the [[Free Lossless Audio Codec]] (FLAC). Audio files purchased from [[online store]]s may include [[digital rights management]] (DRM) copy protection, which many modern players support. ===Image viewing=== The [[JPEG]] format is widely supported by players. Some players, like the [[iPod]] series, provide compatibility to display additional file formats like [[GIF]], [[PNG]], and [[TIFF]], while others are bundled with conversion software. ===Video playback=== [[File:Gigabeat S Black.jpg|thumb|left|100px|[[Toshiba Gigabeat]] running [[Portable Media Center]], allowing video playback]] Most newer players support the [[MPEG-4 Part 2]] video format, and many other players are compatible with [[Windows Media Video]] (WMV) and [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]]. Software included with the players may be able to convert video files into a compatible format. ===Recording=== [[File:IRiver iFP-190TC,1.jpg|thumb|An [[iRiver]] iFP-190 player, with a built-in microphone for voice recording]] Many players have a built-in [[electret microphone]] which allows recording. Usually recording quality is poor, suitable for speech but not music. There are also professional-quality recorders suitable for high-quality music recording with external microphones, at prices starting at a few hundred dollars. The recording capability means that these players can [[data compression|encode]] directly to MP3 or other digital audio formats directly from a [[Line level|line-level audio signal]].{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} ===Radio=== Some DAPs have [[FM radio]] tuners built in. Many also have an option to change the band from the usual 87.5 β 108.0 MHz to the Japanese band of 76.0 β 90.0 MHz. DAPs typically never have an AM band, or even [[HD Radio]] since such features would be either cost-prohibitive for the application, or because of AM's sensitivity to interference. ===Internet access=== Newer portable media players are now coming with Internet access via [[Wi-Fi]]. Examples of such devices are [[Android OS]] devices by various manufacturers, and [[iOS]] devices on Apple products like the [[iPhone]], [[iPod Touch]], and [[iPad]]. Internet access has even enabled people to use the Internet as an underlying communications layer for their choice of music for automated music randomisation services like [[Pandora Radio|Pandora]], to on-demand video access (which also has music available) such as YouTube. This technology has enabled casual and hobbyist DJs to cue their tracks from a smaller package from an Internet connection, sometimes they will use two identical devices on a crossfade mixer. Many such devices also tend to be [[smartphone]]s. ===Last position memory=== Many mobile digital media players have [[last position memory]], in which when it is powered off, a user does not have to worry about starting at the first track again, or even hearing repeats of others songs when a playlist, album, or whole library is cued for [[shuffle play]], in which shuffle play is a common feature, too. Early playback devices to even remotely have "last position memory" that predated solid-state digital media playback devices were tape-based media, except this kind suffered from having to be "rewound", whereas disc-based media suffered from no native "last position memory", unless disc-players had their own last position memory. However, some models of solid-state flash memory (or hard drive ones with some moving parts) are somewhat the "best of both worlds" in the market. === Miscellaneous === Media players' firmware may be equipped with a basic [[file manager]] and a text reader.<ref>[https://www.manualslib.de/manual/7968/Transcend-Mp870.html Transcend MP870 Handbuch] β Pages: 50, 55</ref> Some portable media players have recently added features such as simple camera, built-in game emulation (playing [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] or other game formats from ROM images) and simple text readers and editors. Newer PMPs have been able to tell time, and even automatically adjust time according to radio reception, and some devices like the 6th-gen [[iPod Nano]] even have wristwatch bands available. Modern MP4 players can play [[video]] in a multitude of [[video format]]s without the need to pre-convert them or downsize them prior to playing them. Some MP4 Players possess [[USB]] ports, to allow users to connect it to a [[personal computer]] to [[sideload]] files. Some models also have [[memory card slot]]s to expand the memory of the player instead of storing files in the built-in memory. === Hardware === [[File:IriverTD.jpg|center|thumb|400px|The [[iRiver]] SPINN portable media player features [[Samsung]] storage and a Telechips processor. It also features both a touchscreen and a click-wheel mechanism for navigation. The SPINN implements [[Haptic technology|haptic]] feedback by vibrating with user input. Additional hardware capabilities enable it to decode the [[MPEG-4 Part 2]] format and play back audio using [[SRS WOW]].]][[File:Noname MP3 player - case removed-6800.jpg|thumb|Interior of a small unbranded flash-based DAP]] PMPs may come in different form factors such as portrait styled, landscape styled, or keydrive type. [[Modularity|Modular]] MP3 [[keydrive]] players are composed of two [[wiktionary:detachable|detachable]] parts: the head (or reader/writer) and the body (the memory). They can be independently obtained and upgradable (one can change the head or the body; i.e. to add more memory).Display sizes range all the way up to 7 inches (18 cm). Most screens come with a colour depth of 16-bit, but higher quality video-oriented devices may range all the way to 24-bit, otherwise known as [[24-bit color|true colour]], with the ability to display 16.7 million distinct colours. Screens commonly have a matte finish but may also come in glossy to increase colour intensity and contrast. More and more devices are now also coming with touch screen as a form of primary or alternate input. This can be for convenience and/or aesthetic purposes. Certain devices, on the other hand, have no screen whatsoever, reducing costs at the expense of ease of browsing through the media library.
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