Anybody have any feedback on the Rio Riot. I need a portable MP3 player for a specific purpose. Is this thing any good? Any problems or surprises I should know about before I buy?.

Well, after having dinner with Toby and Rob, I got the distinct impression that I'd be much better off it I waited a few months. Check out the CES threads if you want a better idea of what is coming up. If cost is a big concern, the Riot is getting really affordable, however.

Matthew

I personally like it. It is the right size for me, but for some it is way too big. It needs both hands to work it but the screen is ultra clear and the menu system is spot on.

It is built well, but the case it comes with is naff and it does scratch quite easy (but so does the ipod). The headphones are ok, but I've replaced then with some quality in-ear Sony ones.

The big down side is the transfer of musc onto the player, it's USB1 so it is quite slow, not a problem for me as you only have to do it once really. Another downside is if you are using a PC you HAVE to use Real JukeBox to get the mp3's onto the thing, which is a real pain for me, as I hate anything "Real".

There is word that the SonicBlue guys are working on some new software for the new Pearl that may work with the Riot too (I think thats right ???)

So overall I love it for the price, I paid £150UK but I beleive you can get them for approx $100 in the US so it's a bargin. Sure there is something fancy just around the corner, but it still just play's mp3's and the Riot does that really really well once the tunes are on to it.

Hope this helps.

Cris.

I like the player it needs insert and append though. I don't have a problem with the size and the battery life is great. The worst part is you have to use real one / jukebox to put the music on it and after you upload it you can't edit the track info you have to delete and reload the tracks to change anything.

It's a really good deal for 100.00.

What are you trying to use it for ?

Where are they being sold for $100? I feel the need to purchase one!

Keep your eye on the SonicBlue Auctions on ebay, they only ship to the US.

EBay

Cheers

Cris

there are a ton of them on ebay from sonic blue and other people. sonic blue won't ship internationally but some of the other people will.

This may seem like a stupid question, but can you plug it into a stereo with RCA cables? I keep looking on the ebay listings, but there is no mention of it.

Yea, just get hold od a phono to jack (headphone type) lead from any hi-fi or electronics shop. You can plug it into you car through the cassette with an adater.

Cheers

Cris.

You can plug it into you car through the cassette with an adater.

Have you tried this, does it sound OK?

I use mine with a cassette adaptor it sounds about as good as a cassette which I think is pretty bad but that has nothing to do with the riot.

I just got mine and it's great. Not as good as the empeg, but hey, for 100$!!!. The thing I would like to see (will certainly be on the Pearl) is Insert/Enqueue. Other than that, the fact that playlists HAVE to be created on the player is a little bad too, but again, you can still get some cassette walkman for 99.99$ or a Riot for the same price.. choice isn't hard.


The biggest problem I have is, like many others, the software bundled with it. BUT, I found that moodlogic, even unregistred, is able to upload songs to the riot. It's still way overkill for the job, but at least, it's not Real(tm) ;-) For some unknown reasons, Real will hang at third or forth song transfered and only way to quit is to Reset my PC (because I can't quit Real because a transfer to a portable device is being done AND even if I press Cancel transfer, it doesn't cancel and will try forever). Moodlogic sometimes hangs too, but if I choose End Process, it will.... I can then restart it and continue from where it stopped.

Patrick

Had Parkinson and double-clicked on Submit

Doh!

Sorry

I love mine as well. I haven't had or heard of anyone else having problems with transfer hangs. It's a great purchase. Yes, Real is less then great but for the price it's something that I've been able to deal with. Still looking forward to PEARL.

Can the HDD be uprgraded as easy as empeg ?

Are standard laptop HDD's used ?

This may sound like a dumber question, or it could be the answer to a problem. Theoretically, could the Riot be hooked in throught the Empeg Mic In line to take advantage of the FM Tuner and a 20GB mobile disk? Just wondering...if so, I'd definitely pick one up, if only for the Tuner option. But, then again, I don't know the quality of the FM Tuner on the Riot.

Which brings up another question: Could the Riot be wired through the car antenna to increase reception? Again, this is all in my head, so who knows if any of this would work.

Bog standard FM radios don't tend to work very well on the move at all.

They actually go for more like $120...I think the cheapest one to close recently from sonicblue closed for $107.50.