Digital Trends

Samsung Yepp YP-T5V July 28th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Testing Continued

Playlists are supported by the YP-T5V, but you have to create them using the Yepp Studio software which creates a proprietary file extension. There is no support for Winamp, Apple iTunes or other music programs which may create their own play lists. But the upside is that the YP-T5V can at least support play lists, even if that means using their own software.

We found the integrated FM tuner to work quite well also. The YP-T5V gives you the option to either automatically or manually search for a station frequency. Once the station is found, you have the option to save that station frequency into the player's memory. If you decide you want to save what you are listening to, simply hold down the record button and it will encode the FM broadcast into an MP3 file for later use.

This ability to encode an audio source and convert it to MP3 is a feature we have seen on several digital audio players recently and it's a trend we hope will continue. The YP-T5V offers this encoding feature and it works very well. Using a feature called AutoSync, you can set the YP-T5V to stop recording if there is a silence for more than two to five seconds depending on which one you have it set to. You also have the option to set the bit rate at which you encode the song to; however the bit rates are limited to 32kbps, 48kbps, 64kbps, 96kbps, and 128kbps, so those looking for a higher quality bit rate will be disappointed.

Conclusion

Samsung's YP-T5V is an above-average digital audio player and it does not pretend to be a more advanced player than what it is. It does not support Macintosh or Linux operating systems, cannot read Ogg Vorbis audio formats and doesn't offer an Apple iPod quality finish, but for what the YP-T5V is capable of doing, the player does it pretty well. The ear buds are high quality and the cable is long enough to use while working out, and because the YP-T5V is so tiny and includes an FM tuner, it is perfect for the gym.

The Samsung Yepp YP-T5 series of digital audio players is the type of product that may be geared towards someone who is not a hardcore techie. Its controls are simple to use, the instruction manual is easy to read you can get the player up and running in a short amount of time. Those looking for a more advanced player may want to consider offerings from the iRiver and Digitalway product lines. At around $150, the YP-T5V is a very good value.