Customer Reviews
its great but alittle big 
2008-03-19
I have had this for almost 2 years now. I bought it when it first released. The picture quality is wonderful, movies, music, everything. The screen is large and crystal clear. It is alittle big but that was expected since i wanted the large wide screen. After owning it and using it for almost 2 years I have NEVER had any issues with it. It never froze or gave me any problems. The battery life is still great. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for quality. It is not something that is easliy portable for jogging etc. it is more for recreation.
DAMN NICE UNIT !!!! 
2008-03-05
I've owned several MP3/video players like the Sandisk Sansa e200 4Gig ( Awsome !!! ), and have been a network admin for 20+ years now and been a Broadcast Engineer. This device blows them all away. I've used it for 6 months now and it's great !!!! I also searched all the reviews on CNET and AMAZON for about 1 month before I bought this; so on to the review........
* Size - Not Bad, fits in a Large shirt pocket.
* Weight - slightly heavy, about 1/2 pound, but that's because it's ALL METAL !!! No Cheap Plastic here !!!!
* Menu System - AWSOME !!!!! VERY SIMPLE and POWERFULL !!!!! Quite Quick.
* Video Quality, Colors, and Screen Resolution - PERFECT.
* Beats the ARCHOS ( Bad Menu system ) and the ZUNE ( Plays nothing !!! )
The only ( Quirks ??? ) about this unit:
* You can only charge the unit using the large white wall adapter. It will take about 2 hours for a full charge, but will run non-stop for about 3 days if using about 4-6 hours a day. It CANNOT be charged via the mini USB Port. :-(
* In order to view pictures,etc. that you bring in via the Compact flash card ( or you can use a multi-adapter that fits in the CF slot - to bring in files from SD,MMC,Etc. ), they MUST be copied to the internal 30 gig hard drive before they will show up on the menu. With average size JPEGs of about 1 meg in size, it will take 5 minutes to transfer about 100 - not too bad of a wait time. Mabey Creative will fix this is a future firmware update ??????
* The software isn't bad although it's confusing and slow. No Problem though.....Get a copy of CloneDVD Mobile and convert all your DVD movies using that, it's much easier. And NO YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRANSFER ANY OF YOUR FILES USING THE SOFTWARE !!!! IT'S JUST SHOWS UP AS A DEVICE IN WinXP AND IT'S SIMPLY DRAG AND DROP YOUR FILES INTO THE CORRECT FOLDERS !!!!!
* You WILL have to convert any DVD movies to it's mobile file size. Again, just use CloneDVD Mobile. It will take a good 30 minutes to convert and transfer your movies to it. They Will then show up as .AVI's and be playable. EXCELLANT Video Quality !!!!!
* Built-in Mic is excellant ( anthough good to only about 5 feet with normal speaking voice ).
* FM Tuner works very well, but you will need the headphone cable fully extended.
* All Buttons very SOLID and mostly METAL !!!!! Almost all light up with a cool blue glow ( easy to find selections in a dark room ).
* Seperate Metal volume control and power button ( both on top ).
Other things to mention.....
* Get the leather case by VIZU ( Not the others ) with the big single "Snap" on the front of it sold thru amazon. It will protect the unit - the case is heavy leather and has a very solid belt clip on the back.
* Get the Tru-Vue Crystal screen protectors by LEXERD.
* Get a Compact Flash ( CF ) to ( SD ) Type II adapter from SEMCO or JUSTPAL ( Gray White background with a white star in the upper-left corner ) if you need to transfer your pictures from SD card to the internal hard drive, so you can view them on your ZEN W.
That's about it. Bottom line....Ignore any bad reviews, this thing is built like a tank, good support from Creative, plays ANY FORMAT commonly in use today, better than the ARCHOS and ZUNE players that you may read about, easy menu system, flawless video, and a 4" screen size !!! I mean, come-on, what else would you need here ????? Well worth the money you will spend on it !!!! :-)
If you need something a bit cheaper but still built well then get a Sandisk Sansa - another VERY GOOD solid unit. The newer ones now have larger screen than my e200 did. Happy Hunting !!!! :-)
Awesome Video Player, A Bit Bulky 2008-02-29
I bought the Creative Zen Vision W in October after figuring out that I would need more space than my Sansa e260 was currently offering. Before I bought this product, I had researched the Zune 30 GB and the iPod Classic. I ultimately decided on this product because I had read from various reviews that the 6th generation iPod was a lemon and the Zune software left something to be desired.
I have been satisfied so far with the Creative. It plays almost any video format I throw at it and shows the video beautifully. I originally had thought that I would be put off watching videos on the screen and would be using the AV cables to watch on my tv most of the time. I was wrong. The screen is more than satisfactory to watch a movie on or various episodes of a tv show. As a video player, this exceeded my expectations and it's great.
The audio on the Creative is awesome; everything sounds crisp and clear after you get rid of the stock earbuds and get better earbuds. The Creative also works well with Windows Media Player which was definitely a plus for me.
One of the cons of the Creative is it's software, which is not all that great. I've only used it a couple of times because I had Windows Media Player, but the couple of times I did use it, it would not convert the videos that the Creative player originally couldn't play. I would have to use 3rd party software to convert most of the videos that actually needed converting.
The biggest con for me was the Creative's bulkiness. While I had read reviews that said that this was a somewhat bulky player, I didn't think that it would be much of a problem for me. But it was. In my opinion, it's far too big to act as a person's primary mp3 player. I was forced to use it as my primary player after my Sansa e260 stopped working. It was far too big for my coat pockets and I had too keep it in my purse, which is not good for me since I'm a picky person and tend to skip a lot of the songs I have in my player if I'm not in the particular mood for them.
This is a good player if watching videos is your primary reason for getting it. If you're planning on playing more music than video, I suggest getting a smaller mp3 player. I actually decided to get an iPod Classic as my primary mp3 player last month and use the Creative as a video player for when I want to watch movies or shows and a tv is not anywhere near.
So, to wrap this up, the Creative is an excellent choice for a video player since it plays almost any video format. The screen also displays the videos sharply and clearly. However, if you are looking for an mp3 player and are planning on scarcely playing video than I suggest a smaller mp3 player since the bulkiness can be a problem.
The Worst Purchase I've Ever Made 
2008-02-09
I regret purchasing Creative's Zen Vision W 100%. I spent a lot of time researching players, and narrowed it down to the Vision W and Zune's 30 GB player, and I made the wrong choice. Though I haven't loaded any pictures or video yet, I will say that the screen is BEAUTIFUL -very clear and I love the widescreen. The sound is great, even with my mediocre headphones. It's big, though, and heavy, though that didn't bother me at all. I cannot give this item anything but an F, and if I could give it zero or negative stars, I would.
When I received the player I was able to load 1300 songs right away. No problems whatsoever. However, starting with the very next day, when I tried to load more, I had nothing but complete failure. Suddenly the device wasn't recognized, other than maybe once every 15 tries. Even in that one time the player was recognized, it froze in 'DOCKING' mode before any songs could be added, and the only way to do anything -even turn it off -was to remove the battery and then have the system 'REBUILD.' I hate this player, and will never buy another Creative product. The Creative website, too, is a joke. There are all these questions you have to answer -none of which gives you an answer, other than something like, 'You should change your Reg files. Here's how to do it.' Then it tells you, once you update the Reg files, your system may become unstable. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! I'm going to do that when I don't even know what the problem is? I notice, also, that CL obviously doesn't want to talk to customers -all CS is YOU spending time troubleshooting. I finally fired off an email -I'm sick of wasting my time. I paid $258 to waste my time? So the emails tell me to reboot, then when that didn't work to update the Reg files, which I did. Nothing helped. Customer service then told me I would have to send the player in to have it analyzed, and if they couldn't find anything wrong, I'd be charged for postage both ways. In a last-ditch effort I finally reformatted the stupid thing -erasing the nearly 4 hours of time spent downloading the 1300+ songs already on the beast. Only then could I re-load the songs. After doing that I knew the next day would be make-or-break. I tried adding more songs. Nope. Apparently, one had better load all the songs one ever wants at one time, or forget about it. I had the same exact problems as before -freezing in docking mode and an unrecognized device. Thankfully, Amazon is great. I've purchased so much from them over the years and this is the first item I've ever had to return anything. They made the entire process completely painless, as far as returning the defective item for a full refund. I do not recommend the Creative Zen Vision W AT ALL. It's garbage, and their customer service is severely lacking.
Nice..take that IPOD! 2008-02-08
I like this better then the IPOD just because the screen is bigger, more clear, and the price is way better. though it is only a 30 gig, you can add more memory with an SD.
the screen is what got me. it is nice and BIG! its like having a PSP minus all the buttons. the sound is great, and the controls are easy to use.
Beautiful MP3/Video Player 2008-07-14
I've owned the Zen Vision: W for quite some time now, and it's a great alternative to the iPod. The widescreen display is beautiful! Perfect for watching movies on the go. The quality and different resolutions you can set make most movies look great.
The software that comes with the Zen is relatively easy to use. It's similar the Apple's drag-and-drop mentality, and you get the hang of it pretty quick.
I felt the buttons were a little small (and I have small hands), but they stood out from each other well enough to use it without a problem. Keeping the buttons small and off the to side allows for the big screen, and it's a sacrifice I'm glad I made.
The only reason I didn't give this a 5-star rating was the sheer size of the thing. It's big, heavy, and definitely noticeable in your pocket. The Zen isn't the most portable device, but that screen is just so pristine, I don't really mind the trade-off.
Creative Zen Vision W 30 GB Widescreen Multimedia Player (Black) 2008-06-16
Very good, great sound and picture. Has hooked up to a car stereo input and worked great. Now 2 years old.
Great MP3 2008-05-28
I've had my vision W for about a year and a half, and it's fantastic. it still looks and works as if it were new. this is probably the best (if a bit chunky) mp3 you can buy, if you want everything plus a 14 hour battery life.
My only complaints are that the earphones only lasted a year, and that it is a nuisance trying to get album art if you don't use windows media player, which adds it automatically. otherwise it held up fine. I have around two thousand songs on it, and thousands of pictures, and I've only used about 10GB. Originally I had a card for videos, but I don't think I'll need it, because there's so much space on it.
If you like watching movies, and fly on long international flights, get this. Don't even consider a smaller screen. I've been there.
It's easy to use, lasts a long time, and has a big screen. buy it.
The Beast 2008-04-22
I going to keep this simple. I purchased this for my husband last Christmas. He affectionately calls it The Beast. He loves it. The screen is HUGE, the menus are easy to navigate and it holds tons of stuff. The sound quality isn't the best but it's better than many other players on the market. It goes everywhere he does. Mans, new best friend, the Zen W!
Sending it back 
2008-03-26
I should have researched this player more thoroughly before ordering it, as it is MUCH bigger than I envisioned. There is no way it could be used for walking or running (which is what I purchased it for), and wouldn't fit into most of my pockets. I'm sure it is a wonderful player if your intentions for it are different than mine.
