SanDisk Sansa View 8 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

First... yes it works and plays music like you expect. I've no need to give any review of what it does as every glowing review here hits the things that it does well.

To that end I thought it only necessary to hit a few of the weaknesses... lets face it nothing is perfect and you don't get upset with a product weeks after you buy it because of the things it does right, its the things that aren't quite right that start to bother you... so to that end, here are the problems.

Build construction is a little weak, you are likely to think the LCD screen is safe as its behind a clear plastic window on the player, well the front case of the player isn't that stiff so if you happen to have it in your pocket and set down on it you can expect the LCD to crack.

Also related to build... the case isn't very dust proof and the LCD screen inside isn't sealed off well enough to keep things out of it. In my case I had a cat hair get in between the player's case and the LCD within a month of buying it. Now the good news is you can take a screw drier and open the thing up and clean it off but it isn't for the fain of heart and is likely to void your warranty.

Now the more annoying issues. Video play isn't unlimited in duration, I tried to load up a player with spongebob cartoons for the kids... well you can't put a full spongebob episode on because its a couple of minutes beyond the time limit for videos. What's the point of a video player if you are limited to 10 minutes of video?

You can't play videos from the sd card slot. Oh you can load it up with music but you can't put videos on it the videos have to be on the internal memory.

The up side is that you can get past the video and memory problems by loading Rockbox onto the player and bypassing Sandisk's software.... if you dont mind skipping out on the pre-loaded operating system and are willing to use a more text and less graphic operating system then its a good deal... even with the short falls.

I purchased an 8G Sansa View after doing some research and the following are the things I did to maximize my experience:

*) I ordered the Crystal clear hard case and the Wall/Car chargers (they work just fine. The case was because I read that fingerprints are a neusance with the View
*) After I recieved the produce, I dloaded the Sansa Media Converter but found that the Prism Video Converter (Free) was much easier to use and allowed me to place the videos in the folders that I wanted.
*) I downloaded the manual and printed it (all 37 pages) because I KNEW in advance that the paper manual that comes with the product leaves a LOT out!!!
*) I started using WMP (Windows Media Player) to sync my albums to the device but since it won't go higher than 192 bit rate, I now use my own program (yes, I wrote a TAG manager in C++ and Visual Basic). If interested, I can e-mail the program, it's free but has NO help files (cause I am a LAZY programmer).
*) When you use the WALL charger, remember that if you plug that into the View when the View is off, it will go into BM/Mini mode and you can not do anything with it. So, before you plug the wall charger into your View, power the View on first (this is only if you plan on listening to/watching while you are charging).
*) The manual is not clear so I will state it here: To power the device off, hold the HOLD/Power button on the left side up for about 3 to 5 seconds, it will go into shutdown.
*) The videos are only as good as you make them. So, please use a decent frame rate when you create them, then convert them to MP4 format. You can then put them on the View or (like I did) put them on a Micro Card and just plug them in.
*) You might want to purchase several micro cards (2G if you do music, 4G for music videos and 8G or more for full length movies). Yes, I watched Lord of the Dance (1 Hour and 42 Minutes) on the View without any problem.
*) I noticed that if you plug the Headphone out into a computer's MIC input, the following might happen - computer dependent: You will get nice sound, you will get low volume sound and when you mic-boost, you will get sound that has some feedback in it, no sound at all). For this reason, I HIGHLY recommend that you use the LINE-IN and not the MIC jack.
*) Because, even in the crystal case, the ports are open, I keep my View in box when not in use or in cotton hanky when in use because I live in a very dusty area (call me paranoid).
*) Lastly, when I listen to music off the View in the bedroom, I use external (Powered) speakers that sound fairly decent and just plug the cable into the headphone jack on the View. Works VERY well and with the WALL charger plugged in (no computer in the bedroom), I can listen to HOURS of music without draining the battery.

Hope my experience helps others who have stated that they had some problems (like with the wall charger). I don't know how you will request my TAGGER program (since they do not like you to leave E-Mail addresses in reviews) so if anyone has an idea, post it in a review and I will try it. Lance

Worked fine... until the battery died after one year. You can't replace it so essentially the player is useless. Would not recommend.

The Sansa View 8GB I received was faulty. The battery would not hold a charge and/or the player would not turn on. This happened within hours of opening the player packaging and attempting an initial full-charge of the player's battery. The battery is only chargeable via USB and I tried using a PC and an AC to USB adapter to charge it. There is no hard reset button like I have seen on other players (namely Cowon brand players) so it could not simply be reset.

I decided to return the product for a refund because it did not seem worth the trouble of waiting for a new (or repaired) player. I was not very impressed with the build quality of the player. It felt and looked very prone to scratching or other damage if not treated with extreme care. Furthermore, I found another player that suited my personal needs and desires better than the Sansa View.

This is my first MP3 player and I wasn't expecting it to be that great, since everyone seems to be in love with the Apple ipod mated with itunes software. Boy was I in for a surprise. Not only did this player fulfill my expectations, it made me a believer in SanDisk products.

Since I listen to the radio a lot, I really appreciate the built in radio; which by the way, works great. The only time you'll have a reduction in sound quality is when you are in an elevator, or in an underground parking lot. Otherwise, the sound is as good as a car radio when you are out in the open.

You won't be able to use itunes with this unit. You have to use Windows Media Player. WMP may seem a little confusing at first, so just make sure you have the latest version of the player, and you should be OK.

One reviewer complained about not being able to charge the player through his PC. SanDisk mentions that not all PC's will be able to charge the player when the computer is OFF; but it will always change with no problem when the PC is ON. Keep that in mind. If you don't want to always have the PC on to change the player, then get the Belkin changing kit. It's cheap, and you'll get a car charger along with an AC adapter.

I paid about $115 for my player brand new. I see that "Like New" units are going for $70, and unless there is some defect in the unit that you get. I would consider that price as a "steal." I like my player, and knowing that I can add more memory makes it even more of a value. SanDisk will always get my vote for a job well done!