| | |  | Other Electronics | Home » » » » Sony 8 GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (Black) | | | | | | | Description: | | Enjoy an unparalleled audio and visual experience with the NWZ-A818BLACK Walkman Video MP3 player. The slim-line player is compatible with multiple audio file formats and includes built-in Clear Audio Technologies and EX Series headphones so you can listen to your favorite songs in crystal clarity. The 2" QVGA LCD screen9 allows you to view videos and photographs in rich color, either horizontally or vertically. Small enough to slip into a bag or pocket, the 8GB1 NWZ-A818 Walkman Video MP3 player can store up to 5,050 songs, hours of video, or hundreds of photograph, giving you the delight of multimedia entertainment anytime, anyplace. | | | Features: | |
• High Quality Video Playback at 30 frames per second
• Up to 33 Hours Battery
• 2.0" QVGA LCD Screen
• Compatible with Secure Windows Media Audio
• Video Codec Support: MPEG 4, AVC Baseline
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 1.3 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.75 inches | | Product Height:
| 6.58 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.12 pounds | | Package Length:
| 6.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.5 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 127 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 127 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
127 of 130 found the following review helpful:
 Absolutely Perfect Player !!!Oct 06, 2007
By Sachin Kumar
"sssdddaaa222"
I won't even compare it with any other mp3 player as this is a class on its own.
I just got it 4 hrs ago from sonystyle shop and am playing with this for a couple of hrs now.
I've had tons of mp3 players in past. Actually i have 3 ipods at this time (shuffle(1GB), nano(8GB) and ipod (20GB) and except shuffle other 2 are going to go to for sale today. Personally i can say with 100% confidence that ipods sound quality is at the rock bottom. Shuffle 1st gen is good though.
Ok now about this player, sound quality is beyond comparison (you need to hear it to believe). player itself is smaller in size than 2 gen ipod nano and is all brushed metal body so no chance of scratching. screen is absolutely gorgeous and vibrant with more than 260k colors.
player is extemely responsive and there is no lag in anything.
Drag and drop is the best you can ask for. it plays mp3 and wma files with no issues.
Connection port is also covered with inbuilt cover that automatically engages once usb cable is disconnected.
supplied earphones is of extremely high quality (though not as good as my shure e2c).
Overall i am absolutely convinced that Sony is the only company that knows how to reproduce excellent sound quality.
Also this player doesn't seems to need any kind of enclosure as it is really durable.
I'll update once is use this over the weekend.
Okey here is the update!!!
I've been using this player for a week now and i'm extemely satisfied with the performance, sound is the best i've ever heard from a mp3 player and there are lots of useful sound settings...
i've transfered a lot of video songs to the player by converting them to AVC format using nero 7 and it playes with absolutely stunning details and as i said earlier "no lag" the player is very responsive (i think sony used some very fast processor in there).
earphones that sony bundled with player is extemely good and very very comfortable.
I converted some movies to play on this player using nero 7 into AVC format and a single 2 hr movie is about 500 mb (at highest settings) which is great as i can have about 4 movies in addition to about 6 gigs of music on the player.
I have uploaded some pictures that i took comparing this player with various ipod models which might be useful for potential buyers.
Important Update:
Based on several other reviewers comments and a couple of emails i have received it seems that several users are having trouble playing and/or transferring videos onto the player. So for the benefit of everyone i'd try to explain the process.
For playing videos there are 3 important aspects
1. This player can only play videos in MP4 format (sony's "memory stick" video format) which has 2 varieties MPEG4 and AVC. Max bitrate for MPEG4 supported is 2.5 MBPS and for AVC 750 KBPS.
2. The player can only play video with maximum video size of 320x240, anything larger than this size will not be played.
3. Videos needs to be copied in video folder on player.
I find Nero Recode 2 (included with NERO 7 Ultra) to be an ideal SW for converting videos into MP4 format as it gives options for manipulating video size and audio range and also extracting parts of videos.
I use the following settings for video conversion
AVC format (portable) with 320x240 video size and 500 KBPS bitrate and i use very high audio settings (to keep audio low on player).
I hope this information helps users. Feel free to seek more help.
79 of 82 found the following review helpful:
Superb sound quality in a nice small packageOct 24, 2007
By S. Su
I was looking for an mp3 player to replace the iPod shuffle that was a gift. I like the shuffle. It has nice sound quality but the UI - if there's any - is just not good for use in a car. I narrowed my choices down to nano, classic, and this walkman. Evetually, I decided to get this sony because I am not a big fan of iTunes and this new walkman finally gets rid of SonicStage so I can play wma and drag-&-drop files into it. Besides, I read that the sound quality is pretty good from various users' reviews.
However, I wasn't expecting sound quality this good. It's at a totally different level from iPod.
The first thing I notice is that the walkman produces an amazing level of details. No matter how complex the song is composed of, the player never falls into ambiguity and always handle it with an authoritative feel. In addition to the resolution, the walkman reproduce songs with a sense of dimension that expands not only in breadth but also in depth. I find that the walkman especially good at handling vocals. I can easily visualize the singer singning in front of me, to the level that I can feel how he/she uses his/her mouth... IMHO, I think this mp3 player would sound better than usual portable CD players, let alone mp3 players....
However, it's not all-conquering. I find the player in its default setting not so remarkable at classical music. The player handles Sonata well. However, the sound can feel a bit artificial and has a processed feel, a bit like DG's 4D effect. It doesn't seem to suit larger pieces, like Symphony or Concerto, well. I find the response a bit slow and the sound lacking power. It's a bit disappointing because usually a setup with high details and clear dimension should be good for classical... I also try it with iPod's earpieces (which sounds brighter and lighter.) Unfortunately, the music still doesn't sound that attractive. I eventually dig into EQ and bump up treble. It sounds more favorable, but still not as wonderful as when playing pop music.
Talking about EQ, I don't know why the range of adjustment is only +/- 3. I find that a bit limiting. There are a lot of "gimmick" sound enhancing modes in this player. I don't care about surround effect. Sony's implementation is decent but still induces broken sound sometimes. DSSE really works. It's a bit like a tuned-down BBE. I can do without it just fine. ClearStereo is less obvious... it seems to me for DSSE it works better on files with average bit-rate (like something in the 100-200 range), but for ClearStereo it works better on high-bitrate (200+) files. The effect is minimal and again I can do without it just fine. I like these two options this way because they are flavors that would not spoil the good base sound that the walkman can produce. The last one is the ClearBass. Well, it simply works. This kind of bass enhancement always work so there's not much to talk about. One thing to note is at its default setting with the supplied earphones, I find it not necessary to turn on ClearBass for pop music. It is more useful to boost classical.
Sony almost always have good UI and the one on this unit follows the norm, though it can be better. For example, Sony should learn from Sony Ericsson and enable the ability to go into/out of options by pressing right/left button. I find that having to move your thumb away from the 5-way controller to reach the "BACK" button can be slightly annoying at times. I am being critical, though.
Overall, this walkman is definitely worth considering. It has no extra functions but it does what it is supposed to do exceptionally well. I don't want to give out five stars but there's little to find fault with. It might sound like sony paid me to say this, but after listening to this mp3 player, I can't help wondering how much is left quality-wise in mp3 playback... for this fact alone, I gave it four stars. Plus good UI, long playback, and solid build quality, it has to be a five-star recommendation. Unless you are into buying accessories, you can't go wrong with this model.
[ Update#2 ]
I played with the walkman more and felt that ClearBass affects the sound quality, in addition to bass level.
I decided to update my previous update.... in the previous one I said ClearBass +3 suits Anne-Sophie Mutter's Tschaikovsky Violin Concerto very well. However, I later found out that ClearBass colors the sound differently depending on the setting. Which one works best depends on the music and one's preference. For example, I listened to Beethvon's Piano Concerto and felt +1 was better because the sound was more expansive. However, in the wrong cases, that could turn into excessive echo. The differences are not huge, though.
So my conclusion is none of the settings affects the sound quality negatively; they are just different in flavors. Try them with the music and pick the one that sounds better.
I think I am too much into review mode and that spoils the pleasure I have listening to the walkman. So I'll stop here. Thank you for reading this long review hope it helps.
[ Update#3 ]
I like the player a lot so I have uploaded some pictures I took in the gallery. Hope they are persuasive enough to make you click the shopping cart button.... cheers
49 of 50 found the following review helpful:
Buy This Product - No, I'm Not A Corporate ShillNov 20, 2007
By Wookalia
"Wookalia"
Sony FINALLY scuttled its abysmal propietary SonicStage interface.
FINALLY.
That is the first observation anyone familiar with their older players will make. I had long wanted Sony quality, but was unwilling to grit my teeth and use the horrendous software Sony mandated. The whole tactic smacked of Microsoft.
That software is gone, so I purchased this without hesitation immediately.
This player is MTP, meaning you plug it in, it appears like a hard drive, you drag and drop files. It supports all the usual playback options, sorting by Artist, etc., but also lets you sort, view, and play by FOLDERS. This simple but highly useful feature is not available on Sansa, Creative, etc. players. I put my audio books in one folder, lectures another, music another, and have subfolders for artist/album. On most other players, they all get jumpled into one heap, and if the ID3 tags aren't perfect (frequently the case with downloaded music), you have a mess on your hands no matter how perfect the interface. Being able to switch to folder view in certain situations is a VERY useful feature I am amazed so many manufacturers neglect.
Everything else is what you have come to expect from Sony, especially the:
Breathtaking sound quality. I cannot overstate this point. I listened to 2-Pac, Enya, Louis Armstrong, Sinatra, Britney Spears. . .songs that sound somewhat flat on other players have life on this one. The bass resounds for Tupac, Enya's high notes really resonate, you can hear the horns in Louis. I do not have an audiophile's ear, and was very surprised that I noticed such a profound difference in sound. I have owned Creative, Sansa, and a few other players (no I-Pod because I won't tolerate I-tunes any more than Sonic). This player has FAR & AWAY the best sound I have ever heard on an MP3 player. In part this is because Sony spent the extra few bucks on some great, space-age-looking headphones (the ones that arrived with every other player I ordered were a joke, and thrown out). But when I run this player through my Alpine car unit with a plug-in headphone jack (I have MB Quart Speakers), it sounds noticbly better than other players. Clearly, Sony has learned something about the electronic guts of music players that other, primarily computer, manufacturers have not. It just makes sense: do you buy your MP3 music player from a computer maker like Apple, or a company that has been producing high quaity audio equipment for decades?
The interface is the easiest I've seen, the three button format allows you to truly browse like a web browser, going back or forward. The player is remarkably small, much smaller than comparable products, and constructed with pleasing, subtle aesthetics. The screen is clear, bright, very readable.
Cons: My 8 GB player has 7.3 GB usable space, there is always some loss, but this was very significant. No extra memory card, so buy a big one. Proprietary connector (USB to Proprietary), meaning gougathon on cable replacements, and when travelling, another cable to add to the pile. Wouldn't it be great if companies stopped this, and a single cigarette-lighter adapter and USB cable allowed you to operate ALL your devices. Too much to hope for, I'm sure, but a company that did this would earn many converts. Flowing text on screen is somewhat slow, cannot find way to speed up, but I do read fast.
These are pretty serious cons, but they are dwarfed by the exceptional sound quality and easy navigation of this player.
I'm generally not a fan of corporations, but I have bought Sony products for years and have NEVER gotten anything that wasn't outstanding.
This is a pretty glowing review, and I have to reiterate the fact that I am not some corporate shill. I didn't bother writing scathing reviews of Sansa and Creative products due to time, but this is such an impressive product I hopped online to spread the word.
I can't speak about the features of I-Pod, but I know this sounds better. Much better. Tried it side by side with my buddy's with the exact same files. Not even a contest.
Simply put: buy this player. Any minor shortcomings in features will be FAR outweighed by the ridiculous sound quality.
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
This Walkman Simply ROCKS!Nov 22, 2007
By C. H. Chan
"Tech Audioholic"
WOW. This player simply handles music superbly well and just ROCKS!!! Before getting this player, I originally was going to get either the iPod Touch or the Samsung YP-P2, from my dying 4G iPod and insufficient 1G 1GB Nano. The touch interfaces are pretty cool, but eventually thought that they were ultimately a gimmick and also provided no tactile controls. Plus, excellent sound quality is a top priority for me, and then cost. Before I made up my mind to spring for the YP-P2 for it's above average sound quality versus the Touch on Amazon, I came across the Sony Walkman NWZ-A818 which won a CNET Editor's Choice for it's excellent sound quality and bundles of features.
After reading CNET's review, I became a member of AtracLife forums and read almost all of the reviews for this player. Sony has always made quality players with superb sound quality, but software packaging always marred the overall user experience and package. However, I learned that this Sony, the NWZ-A818, no longer supports the notoriously horrid SonicStage and thus the ATRAC format. Rather, the player supports Drag & Drop and MPT, which users will be able to sync and use the player with Windows Media Player, and music formats of WMA, ACC, MP3, and WAV.
I have always been a fan of iTunes and it's excellent integration with iPods. Before the iPod, I had a Rio Karma, which I still miss today because of it's excellent sound quality. After the Karma came the 4G iPod, and then the 1G iPod nano. I have always thought the iPod's sound quality lacked something, a particular enveloping warm sound and low levels of bass. (I highly disregard the iPod's EQ, but bass reproduction is certainly biased with ok to good sound with the use of Sony's MDR-EX51 or Vmoda bass freq, or so I thought until I got the Sony A818)
Then came this Sony NWZ-A818. I simply cannot emphasize how excellent the sound quality of this player is, so I'm certainly not biased in anyway in giving high praises for this Sony Walkman. I listen to a variety of music genres, but my love is for EDM genres such as trance, dance, or drum & bass. Sound quality is of a high caliber on the flat settings. I'm listing to the player as of writing this review. I have the volume on a relatively low level, at 10/30, and the sound is very well balanced. The treble and bass are very well defined and correlate together perfectly in harmony. And then there are the multiple options of boosting the sound even further with two custom equalizers (5-band parameter settings) along with other presets and other 'surround sound' (most noteable is the Matrix setting). Not to mention that it comes with Clear Stereo, proprietary DSEE (sound enhancer for high bitrate files), and dynamic normalizer, which all work well. As a bonus, Sony included $70 MDR-082 earbuds, which are one of the best balanced earbuds I have owned. The player above all simply works great right out of the box, with no hassle of purchasing better earbuds.
Many user reviews for the sound quality of the NWZ-A818 are certainly not kidding (such as the excellent reviews from "S. Su" or "Wookalia 'Wookalia'"). It really doesn't surprise me since Sony and sound quality really come hand in hand since they have nearly 2 decades of sound expertise from their original Walkman. You will really appreciate the sound quality of this player, especially coming from the iPod line. Sound is crisp, warm, and enveloping, which is just simply bliss. Classical music sounds clear, so well defined that you can hear all the ranges. Enya never sounded better. Sound reproduction of her work is so good that she seems to be literally standing in front of you and you can visualize the movement of lips singing. From what I hear, the treble is very crisp and detailed. With bass on the flat settings, it is clear and defined. It doesn't have the low quality muffled sound that degenerates the treble. I have to be honest and say that I'm a basshead. The "Clear Bass" of up to +3 definitely cures any of my cravings for pounding bass, and the name is very appropriate... the bass really is clear and not muffled. It is deep, defined, and and gives off a very nice punch. Bass heavy tracks are just simply amazing. Kanye's work is very punchy but not overwhelming so that you can't hear the treble, in another words well balanced and you won't be fatigued with long listening periods of bass intense tracks (on flat settings). Tracks from the more electronic genres such as Tiesto, Trentemoller, Armin, or Diesel boy simply makes my head spin with joy.
Apart from sound quality, the excellent user interface is logical and fast to find songs. A 35 hour battery life is just stunning for such a thin package. I got a polycarbonate hard clear case for this model and it's still thin at 14mm (which i prefer over the original player of 9mm). How thin is too thin? Probably when Apple comes out with the iPod Pico, that is literally paper thin and has 1 hour of battery life, considering the rate that each phase of the nano is going haha ;). Pictures and Videos look excellent, but I rather save the memory for of course music ;).
Sony is also coming out with Media Manager for Walkman soon, which is a software that will offer even tighter integration with music files (hopefully gapless) and conversion of various files. One downer though about this player (at its current firmware) is that it does not support on the fly playlist creation and rating songs. I am quite sure sony will address this issue with future firmware updates, since the NW-A808 (a European sibling of the NWZ-A818) supported playlist creation and rating of songs on the player. I can live without these features missing at the moment, since my music library consists of 106 GB and playlists can be transferred quickly from iTunes to Windows Media Player and then synced to the player.
All in all, I am extremely happy with the purchase of this player, and quite frankly will probably not go back to the iPod line until Apple does something about it's sound quality (such as a custom EQ), which will probably be never since I have been waiting for that feature since the 4G. It is VERY VERY ironic since they can create such a fantastic User Interface and OSx on the iPod Touch but not create a much more simpler program such as user defined EQ? Ultimately, the build quality, sound quality, user interface, and other unique features of this Sony NWZ-A818 most definitely outweigh any of the player's cons. I'm very confident that true music lovers and audiophiles will not be disappointed with this player :D.
[EDIT]
After owning this player for about a week, it's really amazing what this player can do. Not to kid, but the player actually has breathed new life in my older songs. For instance, the bundle of the player and the MDR earbuds enable me to hear subtle background noises with great clarity, such as the ping of a music triangle. Seal's new album "System" just sounded wonderful. I was listening to the player in the library at a low volume of 6/30 and even at this low level, the music is still VERY WELL defined. I do use the dynamic normalizer on the player and the sound image (at flat settings) is just amazing! To me all ranges of the treble, mid, and bass are just perfectly balanced. Or rather, this player really enables you to truly listen to what the artist originally recorded. Perhaps it was the significant upgrade of the MDR-EX51 to the MDX-EX082, as headphones do make a huge difference in sound quality, but i did a sound comparison of my 4G iPod and this Sony. With the Sony stock earbuds, i hooked it up to the iPod and played "I can't get no satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. Volume was at 50% and sound definition was good. But lower than 50%, i started to lose the sound definition. What is interesting though was that the Sony at a volume of 10/30 matches the volume level of the iPod at 50% approximately. Of course the Sony sounded much better, sound was definitely warmer and more defined in all ranges. Even at a lower volume on the Sony, say 5/30, the sound retained the track's definition but at a lower decibel. I can definitely see why this player got the CNET's Editor's choice, this player really makes me appreciate the artist's work!
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Sound Quality & Beautiful DesignSep 24, 2007
By C. Stark
Now that Sony has removed its proprietary handcuffs (Sonicstage and ATRAC), this player really shines in all respects. Plug and play with Windows Media Player 11 - works great. Or drag and drop. The design and build quality rivals and I think maybe exceeds Apple iPod. It's solid, feels good in the hand, but easily slips into a pocket (it is very tiny!). Sony can definitely design a world class product, nice touches abound: the small dimples on the play button and volume + button are nice for blind use. The speed at which this player boots, resumes and navigates through interface is great.
Other big pluses: sound quality, screen quality (if small at 2"), the ability to support H.264 for video podcast compatibility (very handy), album art throughout interface, battery life, EQ customization
Some negatives: proprietary USB cable, no podcast software from Sony (I use iTunes to download, and then manually drag over to the player).
Highly recommended.
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