Database Users

Quick questions: Audio quality and wifi range.

Hi all... just a couple of quick questions...
1) What is the audio quality of the HD2 like compared to the Ipod or Touch Diamond? I have both, and I can certainly tell the difference between the two when playing mp3 files, but there is an even bigger difference when playing videos. The Ipod always wins...
2) What's the range like when using a wifi router? My Diamond likes to be about 2 foot away when surfing the web over wifi - any further and she just refuses. Is the any HD2 better?
If I do get this device, my main uses for it will be mainly for video (due to the screen size) and a very close second, music, as I would like to lose the ipod altogether!
I am a heavy WM user, so I would love this to be the one-for-all product!
Thanks all, your honest views appreciated.

In all honesty, WiFi range is pretty good.
WiFi
Mine is currently connected with aprox 50% signal about 40-50 metres away from my router, but i guess that also come down to how good the router is as well.
Audio
Audio through the external speaker can be a bit "tinny" if i am honest. Having said that, though ear phones the quality is a lot better and nothing to be complained about. I don't currently have my ipod with me at the moment so i cant compare the two side by side but the HD2 does sound pretty nice, even on low volumes. The HD2 does come with Audio Booster - An equalizer to adjust the sound to how you want it. I personally haven't played around with it much (the equalizer) seems to be on pretty good settings as default for me, but its obv nice to have the option there to tinker if you wanted to.
Video
Personally i love the video playback on movies on this phone. I can happily sit there and watch a movie in a very decent resolution for a phone. The best thing is because of the screen size you won't find yourself squinting trying to figure out what if going on. Playback in general is very crisp and clear.
Music
The music player built into HTC Sence in my opinion is a little simplistic. Not as many options as i would have liked to have seen but it does make it simple to use and navigate around your music.
I believe HTC HD2 is meant to be guaranteed to take any Mirco SDcard upto (and including 16gb) not sure about 32gb+.
**Disclaimer**
Don't really know why I'm doing this, but my response was as per my opinion and personal user experience.
Use this info as a guide not fact.

Timmzy89 said:
**Disclaimer**
Don't really know why I'm doing this, but my response was as per my opinion and personal user experience.
Use this info as a guide not fact.
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Click to collapse
LOL.. I like the disclaimer bit
Wifi.. works very good.. I dont see any reason why you would be any more than 15-20 mts from the router.. and Timmzy is right.. it very much depends on the quality of the router as well.
Music/ Video.. no worries
Get the phone.. its kick ass

Thanks for the info guys.
My laptop works in the garden, streaming via the router, some 10 metres away no problem. But my diamond is a pig on wifi! Not sure if it's anything to do with the roms I've installed, but you have to sit next to the router when using my Diamond.
Video quality is better on Diamond than on Ipod, but the audio quality is better when watching the films. Not a big issue really, but I'll have a another go at ripping my films to get them sounding better on the phone.
Cheers

Can someone post a video comparison of coreplayer on HD2 another WindowsMobile phone?

Hello, I know that there are hundreds of you who have coreplayer, an HD2, and another Windows Mobile phone.
Can some of you post videos of coreplaying on action on both the HD2 and another phone?
I would prefer a simultaneous comparison on the same footage being played roughly at the same time (volume can be muted).
I would prefer a comparison between a 4 inch screen to a 3 inch screen.
Please please please post a video! It would be awesome and I need it to make a certain life changing decision!!!!!

What's the point? Coreplayer works better on the hd2 than on any other (except maybe that couple of phones for which it has hardware acceleration) thanks to the 1ghz cpu. Not much more to say...

kilrah said:
What's the point? Coreplayer works better on the hd2 than on any other (except maybe that couple of phones for which it has hardware acceleration) thanks to the 1ghz cpu. Not much more to say...
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I want to see clearness and screen size, and to see if the size is actually worth it. Just saying that it is clear and big does no justice. Video representation is the best method to show you how big an object in a film really is.
People on the Xperia X1 board used to say that the screen was very big, and many enjoyed the video experience but there was no actual comparison to prove to naive people like me that 3 inches is utterly useless.

I agree with kilrah... works better than it did on my nokia e71 and my htc touch pro2
video comparison is moot, its the same program with the same features, on a faster phone with a bigger screen

What do you like and hate about your E71?
And I still want to see a video comparison, nonetheless.

poetryrocksalot said:
People on the Xperia X1 board used to say that the screen was very big, and many enjoyed the video experience but there was no actual comparison to prove to naive people like me that 3 inches is utterly useless.
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Tell me why the 3 inch screen is useless?? I have crystal clear images and video on my x1... is a great little phone for vid... however the hd2 is much better in terms of size... same clarity and quality, just bigger...

So you hope to see a difference in playing a video on 2 phones with different screen sizes on a video of both? Good luck.
I could film my 37 inch tv and send you the video, it wouldn't look different to you than if I did it with my 2.8 inch phone.
Go in a store that has phones on display, and compare yourself in real life. It's the only way to get an accurate idea.

kilrah said:
So you hope to see a difference in playing a video on 2 phones with different screen sizes on a video of both? Good luck.
I could film my 37 inch tv and send you the video, it wouldn't look different to you than if I did it with my 2.8 inch phone.
Go in a store that has phones on display, and compare yourself in real life. It's the only way to get an accurate idea.
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They don't have HD2 on display in America. Look at where I am from.
I got to compare my brother's HTC Touch Pro2 to my Xperia X1 and learned that even 3.5 inch screen is not good enough for me to watch a movie on the plane. And guess what, damn it, before I get to compare the damn devices, I was 100% certain that the 3.5 inch display would be enough for me.
Nope.
Even my brother said that the screen size for video playback was awesome. Nope, not for me. But I do enjoy watching movies on my laptop, I just want to know what the minimal size for me is.
So.......I wish I could have the damn HD2 so that I can compare to the Touch Pro2 and Xperia...but no, it's not in America....yet...and besides that, damn it, once the HD2 hit T-mobile stores, there probably won't be any video to compare to other phones, and if there is, the videos are different.
I am looking for details in film, because when I watch a movie on the go, I still enjoy the little details in the background. The little easter eggs, and stuff that you are meant to see but not on the first screening. A big but minimalistic screen is vital for such details.
If I see a basketball of the same color and shade on the basketball court because it is from the same film, I can compare that in-motion footage on two different screens. I can see if a 4.1 inch is perfect for such details, because I already have experience with 3.5 inch screens with actual video playback. And with the implication that I have experienced testing 3.5 inch screen, you should know that if I see two same objects, I can roughly imagine myself seeing the actual visual representation in real life. I am not just talking about comparing a windows icon to an apple shortcut icon. Nope, if I compare a windows icon, I must compare it to the same windows icon.
If I compare films I must compare the same films at roughly the same moment.
This is a true comparison of visuals.
And your TV argument is pointless; the contrast in size is way too apparent. And guess what, I can test that on my own.
I can no longer just listen to what people have to say about the devices, for example--my brother or the person who said that 3 inch screens are awesome. A truly unbiased review does not praise an object, but it does compare it to relevant ones.
The HD2 screen is so big that the video experience is awesome, because this fits in the reviewer's criteria. If the review simply states that the HD2 screen is bigger than the Xperia or Touch Pro2, there is no preference in the criteria. But if one gives a careful visual comparison, he can let the beholder make the decision (not the reviewer himself).
I feel like some of you are implying that I am stupid, but I wish you could understand my reasons.

poetryrocksalot said:
I wish you could understand my reasons.
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And I wish you would understand why even if someone shot a video of 2 devices next to each other it wouldn't do any justice to how it actually looks like.
poetryrocksalot said:
I am looking for details in film, because when I watch a movie on the go, I still enjoy the little details in the background. The little easter eggs, and stuff that you are meant to see but not on the first screening.
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Click to collapse
A compressed youtube video of the 2 will just show some half blurry screens on which you can't see anything of the little details that interest you, even if they were actually there. All you'll be able to see is that the HD2's screen is bigger, but you already know that.
Apparently we can say all we can, you seem to not have the same expectations than most of us if you were disappointed following the advice you were given with the X1. So even if we say that properly encoded video looks extremely crisp on the HD2 you'll have to see for yourself on the real thing. So wait until it hits the store, take your current phone with a short clip, go there, grab an HD2 on display, send the clip to the HD2 via bluetooth, with a coreplayer cab if needed, and do your test... that's what I did with my usual programs, spent 2 hours at the store doing what I usually do on my phone on the HD2 before buying it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=582122
The "modded video" in the first post is a good example of good quality video for the hd2, best played with the built-in player.

[Q] Video Playback: How bright is the screen while playing movies.

Quick question, Regarding Video playback, How bright is the screen? I have a HTC Desire and I love the bright screen either while watching movies or for any other thing, and I believe the tab is like that as well, however I went instore to Tesco to play with one and I have to say, the Video playback quality was disappointing for me, it was playing smooth no problem but the colour was bad and I tried about 10 different videos on it, Will this be due to the quality of the Video on the device etc..
Please advice as this is the reason I got rid of my Archos 70 IT.
Also does Vplayer work on the tab, I love the app and I use it on the desire, it plays Mkv mp4 etc. very nice app. I dont want to have to convert before watching...

I can reply to the first question.
The screen is very bright, i have it at 30 percent normaly, its kinda saturated like a amoled. Maybe the store unit you checked had battery saving turned on, it really messes up the colors, try checking that in settings next time you are there. Havent tryed thr archos but i would say the screen is is only seccond to the ipad when it comes to watching videos. For me it's even better and i got one in the house.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

simon2901 said:
I can reply to the first question.
The screen is very bright, i have it at 30 percent normaly, its kinda saturated like a amoled. Maybe the store unit you checked had battery saving turned on, it really messes up the colors, try checking that in settings next time you are there. Havent tryed thr archos but i would say the screen is is only seccond to the ipad when it comes to watching videos. For me it's even better and i got one in the house.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, Might take another trip down to the store to check it out again.....

I watch with brightness around 20% and it's much better than my desire on 50%

with my rip of predators the samurai scene is barely viewable. this is with power saving off, full brightness, and black density all the way up (turns blacks to a dark gray). i think it's a hard scene to playback anyways. on my archos 101 i can see everything, tattoos and all but it looks washed out and blacks become mid grays.
so the galaxy produces truer blacks, but it makes dark scenes harder to watch unless you're in a dark room. honestly i like the richer blacks.

madsquabbles said:
with my rip of predators the samurai scene is barely viewable. this is with power saving off, full brightness, and black density all the way up (turns blacks to a dark gray). i think it's a hard scene to playback anyways. on my archos 101 i can see everything, tattoos and all but it looks washed out and blacks become mid grays.
so the galaxy produces truer blacks, but it makes dark scenes harder to watch unless you're in a dark room. honestly i like the richer blacks.
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Seeing as you seem to have both devices the archos and the Tab, whats your take on the video playback?

saayinla said:
Seeing as you seem to have both devices the archos and the Tab, whats your take on the video playback?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry so long to reply.
as far as format compatibility goes, the archos handles more formats. i've had a few videos that choked on the tab that had no problems on the archos.
i prefer the archos media player interface also. it seems if you can get the right info into your media files it'll actually list the series in order, no matter what the file names are.
the screens are a no contest though, the tab wins by far. better angles and better color.

Buy Dell Streak or not?

Hi,
I am planning to purchase a Dell Streak but I have a few questions before choosing it.
I have read that the camera is really bad - since i used to shoot photos with my phone, will the streak suit me especially when taking pictures during the evening/night indoors (in a restaurant, at a party...etc)? How about the flash - is it really useless and weak?
Also, how is the video recording during the night and in low light conditions? Is the video choppy and the frames are skipped at times? Is the video watchable and most importantly can it been shown to people without being embarassed at the video quality?
I am a big fan of the streak's big screen but I would like to know more about the camera photos/videos before making a definite choice. What are your opinions?
Thanks people!!
Note :I forgot to ask: does the streak feel heavy? I mean if you hold the phone when on bed for 1-2hrs, do you feel any strain/pain in your arms afterwards? I just noticed the streak is 220g!!

i love this phone for everything except the camera
Gud when light is good but in low light its terrible.
( i prefer my wife's iphone to take pics in low light. )

Camera is acceptable, but camcoder is terrible. and this is the only issue I have with dell streak.the rest of it is awesome. I love its screen when you look at under sunlight, impressive.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA Premium App

drgopoos said:
i love this phone for everything except the camera
Gud when light is good but in low light its terrible.
( i prefer my wife's iphone to take pics in low light. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Argh,if the iphone (i guess you mean the 2g/3g) camera is better than the streak, then this is a big problem since the iphone's pic quality is not that great itself, and if the streak is behind the iphone, I can't imagine what crappy results to expect when shooting pics or recording movies in low light...wow!! this is really unexpected!
tritran18518 said:
Camera is acceptable, but camcoder is terrible. and this is the only issue I have with dell streak.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the videos - are they really choppy and skip frames and lag at times? I've watched some videos on youtube and the video quality in low light seems very bad with lag all over and are choppy.

coming from an iphone 3g the 3g's camera is definitely better, when it's a bright outdoor day.
the 3g is just as bad as the streak indoors with low light conditions. the streak has a led flash which helps a bit, but leds arnt ever as bright as xenon flashes (but you can leave the led on, i use mine more as a flashlight than as a camera flash)

If you're going to use a phone camera for low-light photos, the Streak is not the one for you. I think if the photos are immportant to you, stick with a P&S camera.
However, if you want nice phone with 5" screen, there are no others.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

well this is really a dilemma...i really like the huge screen since I check my mails hourly/surf the web a lot and the streak seems destined for these tasks...but on the other side, the camera is a really let down. I come from a htc hd2 with a powerful dual LED flash, and have used a nokia n8/n73/sony k800/satio which took great pics in low light, and I don't know if I will adapt to the streak's camera since it seems to be more mediocre than the phones I've used.
Still the choice is a real difficult one - big screen vs camera...haven't decided yet.

screen for sure! camera is ok

i went from iphone4 to streak and havent looked back, the camera isnt as good and compares to my iphone 3g that i have for backup, if you want a really good camera on a phone then you have to go with the iphone4
as for browsing, i love to browse on the streak, its so much nicer then on the small iphone screen.

I sold my iPhone 4 to get a Streak and now I woner why I didn't just get a Streak to begin with. Pictures are not that big of a deal to me, but the ones I have taken have been satisfactory. Noticed some lag when panning quickly when taking video, but if I remember correctly, the iPhone 4 had the same issue.

I just got the dell streak. Coming from an Iphone 3gs and my wife has an iphine 4. In terms of quality of the pictures the Iphone 4 is much better particularly in indoor situations. The streak is perfectly acceptable in well lit areas or outdoors. Indoors and low light not so good even with the flash.

I forgot to ask on the 1st post - does the streak feel heavy? I mean if you hold the phone when on bed for 1-2hrs, do you feel any strain/pain in your arms afterwards? I just noticed the streak is 220g!!

I don't find it that heavy, I hold it in one hand and use the other to touch the screen. I also hold it both hands and use my thumb to navigate. It's heavier than most phones, but still very holdable !
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

I just recently got my streak coming from a sony ericson xperia x10. I'm on the stock 2.2 baseband 347. so far I've rooted it and absolutely love it. I dont think I could ever go back to anything smaller than 5 inches for my next phone. I also own a viewsonic g-tablet and the streak is the best of both worlds, a powerful android phone with the size and feel of a portable tablet
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

Final5k said:
Hi,
....I have read that the camera is really bad - since i used to shoot photos with my phone, will the streak suit me especially when taking pictures during the evening/night indoors (in a restaurant, at a party...etc)? How about the flash - is it really useless and weak?
Also, how is the video recording during the night and in low light conditions? Is the video choppy and the frames are skipped at times? Is the video watchable and most importantly can it been shown to people without being embarassed at the video quality?
I am a big fan of the streak's big screen but I would like to know more about the camera photos/videos before making a definite choice. What are your opinions? ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand the desire to have a convenient all-in-one solution, but if you value the quality of your photos and vids, you should use a camera and not a phone.
I just don't think you're going to be able to find a phone that's as good a camera, as it is a phone. There's going to have to be a trade-off somewhere. I know that when we 'know' we're going to want to take, keep and show good vid or photos; we bring the camera.

jholmes5 said:
I can understand the desire to have a convenient all-in-one solution, but if you value the quality of your photos and vids, you should use a camera and not a phone.
I just don't think you're going to be able to find a phone that's as good a camera, as it is a phone. There's going to have to be a trade-off somewhere. I know that when we 'know' we're going to want to take, keep and show good vid or photos; we bring the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. There exist there economical phones (s-e mainly) with truly magnificent cameras. And the phone functionality is so much better than any smartphone.
And i do not believe that when buying a 500 euro 5inch phone, it is acceptable to have a next-to-horrible camera.
i too am considering getting it second hand and the only thing that gives me piece is that there could never be a worse camera that the one i have now in htc's touch pro 2

Get the Dell Streak. Its the best of both worlds. Tab/phone

The phone is great, but the camcorder sucks! Pictures are ok quality, video is just terrible. If you want a better camera, wait for the newer phones, the ones that are about to come out seem pretty good in that department, also since nokia and M$ are joining forces, expect some super duper phone that will blow you away within a year or so. You could always get the Streak as a temporary phone, then sell it, after all, it's kind of cheap for what it can do.

If you are getting the Dell Streak 5. A bluetooth earpiece is a must. You cannot unlock the phone with one hand while driving.

And a stereo bluetooth is a perfect combo with the streak for calls, music, watching vids..

[INFO] Review of the Tablet

Found this on youtube - 2 parts. He reviewed the keyboard as well. Looks very well rounded. I'll be getting one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvxth_Sxfps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEQqXi-3NpU

Ya, I've been waiting for his 2nd video. It's one of the more comprehensive reviews of this awesome device.

popophobia said:
Found this on youtube - 2 parts. He reviewed the keyboard as well. Looks very well rounded. I'll be getting one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvxth_Sxfps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEQqXi-3NpU
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Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing! Finally a decent review on youtube! It helps making the decision to wait it out a little bit longer. I hope he's right on the price part too!

popophobia said:
Found this on youtube - 2 parts. He reviewed the keyboard as well. Looks very well rounded. I'll be getting one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvxth_Sxfps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEQqXi-3NpU
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Click to collapse
Interesting how he calls it "very intuitive" when there have been people saying its sooo confusing because its not like the Ipad

Outstanding overview, thanks for the link. Except now, of course, I'm even more anxious to get one.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

wynand32 said:
Outstanding overview, thanks for the link. Except now, of course, I'm even more anxious to get one.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Haha, same here bud

great review, thanks for posting - now I really can't wait until the keyboard arrives

czm said:
great review, thanks for posting - now I really can't wait until the keyboard arrives
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Click to collapse
This was the first time I've seen the device with the keyboard attached being used. I can definitively say that I will be buying the dock... If it ever arrives on US soil. With me not having a laptop it should prove useful.

He just posted a new video about the Polaris software.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGSfL6XjcN8

Just watched some of the first video. Shame it's so quiet. I wish google would normalise all the audio on videos uploaded to youtube. Just wanted to comment on a few things he said:
-The @Vibe app is for music and streaming radio, not for games, in the UK. Might be different for other countries.
-It's not lightweight. Lighter than other devices but its still not light.
-You get bad stuttery 1080p mkv's if theyre not encoded properly.
-That green screen camera thing is fixed in the latest firmware.
-The refresh rate of the video recording is bad. So is the fps of any video you record. Hopefully it will get fixed. It's meant to do up to 1080p @30fps.
-The playback and quality of the video streaming via Splashtop is ridiculously good as he says. I was surprised.
-He's also right about needing to have several apps to play various files. Feels odd to switch between them to play different formats but its not a problem.
Nice to see the dock in action. Cant wait to get mine.

stuntdouble said:
Shame it's so quiet. I wish google would normalise all the audio on videos uploaded to youtube.
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Click to collapse
Just an offtopic note: normalising wouldn't help in most cases (one high peek in the whole video will make the sound very quiet even normalised). Making sound louder would in most cases require compression and limiting which is not always wanted and can't be done properly by a machine only (if you want to know more - read about loudness war and audio mastering on Wikipedia). Normalising could also be very bad for videos recorded in silence - you would hear every background noise that was recorded very loudly.
Splashtop looks very interesting. It's a shame it's only for Macs and Windows (I would like to use it on Ubuntu).

Great detailed review. Just watched both part 1 and 2 and has reassured me that this is definitely the tablet I want. All of the negatives that I read on Engadget or Techradar can't remember which it was seem to be non existent in the video as they said it lags quite noticeably behind touch which it didn't really show and looks like it's going to be a great tablet with lots of future potential. Can't wait to save up and get one which looks to be at around the time stock will be back in with all the delays lol

stuntdouble said:
Just watched some of the first video. Shame it's so quiet. I wish google would normalise all the audio on videos uploaded to youtube. Just wanted to comment on a few things he said:
-The @Vibe app is for music and streaming radio, not for games, in the UK. Might be different for other countries.
-It's not lightweight. Lighter than other devices but its still not light.
-You get bad stuttery 1080p mkv's if theyre not encoded properly.
-That green screen camera thing is fixed in the latest firmware.
-The refresh rate of the video recording is bad. So is the fps of any video you record. Hopefully it will get fixed. It's meant to do up to 1080p @30fps.
-The playback and quality of the video streaming via Splashtop is ridiculously good as he says. I was surprised.
-He's also right about needing to have several apps to play various files. Feels odd to switch between them to play different formats but its not a problem.
Nice to see the dock in action. Cant wait to get mine.
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Click to collapse
Hi, Sorry, I should have adjust the volume of the video before I uploaded it, thanks for pointing that out.
@Vibe is like an entertainment center, it has Books, games, and Musics, at least that's how it is in Taiwan, not sure about other country.
and you are right, the video recording is really slow and hopefully it gets fixed soon.
Thanks for pointing out the firmware update, I've yet to update mine, will do and see if anything else is different.
Best,
andyxover