The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

We found that getting this right took a little practice - tasks like setting the output level of the source, for example - but performance was good enough to warrant the feature’s inclusion. The digitisation rate can be set to 192Kb/s, 128Kb/s or 64Kb/s.

Baylis Eco Media Player EP-MX71 wind-up multimedia player

There is also a handy little torch mounted on the front of the player

There are a few issues. The electrical output from some turntables may not be compatible with the player, in which case you have to get all clever by bringing a pre-amp into play, but the function is still worth having.

The player also comes with a really good standard of accessories. The USB cable has a really neat ‘reel’ which automatically retracts any spare cable during connection to a computer so there's no spaghetti to get tangled up in.

As the unit can also be used as a phone charger, there are also a range of converters bundled to make the machine compatible with most phones. There's even a handy little torch mounted on the front of the player.

Verdict

From a technical point of view this machine is a considerable achievement and marks another milestone in the development of kinetically powered products. Of course it will appeal strongly to those with green issues high on their agenda, so little Jeremy or Jilly may finally get that player they has been craving instead of another jumper knitted out of bee spit this Christmas. However, it would be a shame if the player’s appeal was limited to just this market.

85%

Baylis Eco EP-MX71 hand-cranked media player

Its feature set, functionality and independent power abilities make it worth real consideration...
Price: £139 RRP More Info: The Baylis Eco Media Player website
Latest Comments

All this to reinvent a 18th century device?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_box

0
0

Line out?

Turntable with a line-out? Do they have that these days? They certainly didn't in the old days when people bought records. They either had a moving magnet or moving coil cartridge which requires a phono amp to bring it up to line-out levels. That's what my Rega Planar 3 has - a MC cartridge that requires a phono preamp (which I built myself). If you buying a turntable with line-out (not likely to be a decent turntable) then why not buy a USB one?!

0
0

What about your CO2?

You'll be expelling more CO2 due to the required exertion to charge it up. How does that compare to a power plant? What if your power comes from hydro or wind? Then you would spewing more CO2 doing it yourself.

0
0

@Chris Morrison

Look up the term Peak Oil sometime, maybe you'd think again?

Oil production isn't accelerating fast enough to meet demand, so the price of oil will skyrocket.

0
0

external speaker

Windup radio /mp3 player with torch = camping. Why then is there not an external speaker?

Lack of linux video software disappointing. At least you dont need a restrictive application like iTunes to add music. My ipod is on its way out and I am not getting another!

0
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Apple cored: Samsung sells 10 million Galaxy S4 in a month
Beware of South Koreans bearing Android
Microsoft reveals Xbox One, the console that can read your heartbeat
Upgrades Live service – and no always-on requirement
US boffin builds 32-way Raspberry Pi cluster
Beowulf cluster built for the price of a single PC
Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
All roads lead to Chrome?
Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM
11th quarter of decline, 20pc drop on last year - Gartner
Fairphone goes on sale to all
The Android handset that's PC can be yours
Nintendo throws flaming legal barrel at YouTubing fans
All your walk-through vid revenue are belong to us

Hands on with Hyper-V 3.0 and virtual machine movement

Our award-winning Regcasts have teamed up with training provider QA for the deepest of deep dives into Hyper-V, including a live demo.

Understand VM movement - just click to play, or go here for a bigger version.