What Is a Portable Record Player?

A portable record player is a full turntable device that fits in a suitcase or is small enough to be mobile. These players have the same capacity as full-sized record players, including speakers. Portable turntables can function on their own, but a few of them can also be attached to a computer through a USB connection.

One popular version of the portable record player comes as part of a suitcase or box. The player is contained inside of a briefcase like covering that opens up to play music. Inside is a full-functioning turntable, speakers and volume control. There are several different colors and designs that date back to previous generations.

The main advantage of a portable record player is that it takes up less space than traditional turntables. Also, some traditional turntables are more difficult to find through major retailers and outlets. A portable record player is a lower-cost option for those who still have music in vinyl format that they would like to listen to.

Most portable record players are battery powered and can play a variety of record speeds. The 1950s was the first time a portable record player was introduced to the market and some of the modern versions are modeled after the originals. Although similar in function to a small portable stereo, portable turntables are seen by some as more upscale or stylish.


There are some portable record players that are not contained in a suitcase or box-like covering. They are more compact in size and integrate radio and wireless technology. Music listeners can toggle back and forth between their vinyl records and the latest music on the radio. Some of them have the capability of being attached to a computer through a USB port.

When a portable record player is attached to a computer, digital music files can be created from the records that are played on the device. Digital music files can be stored on the computer or transferred to a portable MP3 player if the listener wishes. This functionality gives listeners the flexibility of converting music from vinyl and storing it in one location.

Some music listeners prefer the sound of vinyl records over digital versions. At times it is more convenient and enjoyable to play music from a stereo device than it is from a computer. Portable record players can be set up and carried almost anywhere, including the garage, outdoor patios, and over to friends and relatives' houses.

What Are the Different Types of Multimedia Storage?

Multimedia storage is usually made to fit the type of media being stored, sometimes reducing the overall area needed to hold a large number of items. Certain designs, such as rotating shelves, can preserve organization and accessibility while hiding the majority of items out of sight. Physical multimedia items are usually of a regular size, so many of these storage solutions include slots in which individual pieces may fit. Others are designed to fit the maximum number of different types of media possible by being adjustable.

Usually, multimedia storage is thought of in terms of what types of items the storage unit will hold. One of the most common types of storage is for CDs, as these items are small and do not necessarily require large bookshelves. CD storage units can be freestanding, but smaller items may fit on walls or desktops. Many multimedia storage units of this type have slots for each individual CD, which can be very useful if someone likes to keep CDs in order, because the items will not shift when removing an individual CD.


DVD storage is very similar to CD storage in that the items usually have slots, but it can be different because the shelves are larger. This type of multimedia storage is sometimes designed in such a way that a television can be placed on top of the unit, which keeps these related items close together for convenience. Sometimes, storage units may accommodates both DVDs and VHS tapes, although these items are becoming increasingly rare.

This type of storage furniture comes in many different designs and can be made from various materials. The design of the furniture also affects what types of media can fit in it. Among the different styles common for multimedia storage, units resembling bookshelves and those that look more like cabinets are common.

Photo storage is often designed to both display and organize photos, often on a coffee table. Boxes for photos commonly use a frame as the top of the box, making this an attractive way to hold a number of pictures. Some photo storage solutions also take care to protect the photos from sticking together, although these are often bulkier than photo boxes.

With more and more digitized media, it is becoming increasingly popular to store media in the form of disk drives and media players. These items often both store data and allow it to be used, although they are sometimes connected to televisions or other players. Given that these items are usually more closely related to mp3 players and computer storage devices, there are very few pieces of multimedia storage furniture of this type.

What Is SmartMedia?

SmartMedia was a flash memory format that was created as a replacement for floppy disks, which were commonly used by computer users in the 1980s and 1990s. Introduced in 1995, this type of flash memory card was designed specifically to compete with other similar types of flash memory and to replace floppy disks by being both smaller and capable of storing more data. Though this storage format was quite popular for a time, certain limitations inherent in its design ultimately led to a decline in popularity and the rise of other competing formats. SmartMedia has since gone out of production and other types of flash memory have become standard for manufacturers of mobile phones and portable media players.

Created and owned by Toshiba, SmartMedia was introduced in 1995 as a replacement for floppy disks and an alternative to several other forms of flash memory available at the time. Flash memory typically consists of a single device, usually small in size, which can be inserted into a computer as a form of portable storage. The SmartMedia cards were significantly smaller than floppy disks and also quite a bit smaller than other competing forms of flash memory at the time. Due to the size of the cards, they were quite popular for use in early digital cameras and similar devices.


A SmartMedia card was typically accessed by removing it from a phone and inserting it into a reader that was connected to a computer. Though the cards were quite popular in the early 2000s, other forms of flash memory for cameras and similar devices were developed around the same time; formats such as “Extreme Digital” (xD) ultimately came to replace the SmartMedia™ format. This happened primarily because of a major design flaw in Toshiba's storage format.

When they were developed, these cards were intended as replacements for floppy disks by providing greater storage, up to 128 Megabytes (MB), in a much smaller size. These cards never surpassed the 128 MB size due to the way in which they were initially designed. Other formats, however, that were developed after SmartMedia were designed to provide much greater storage capability.

Since SmartMedia was principally designed to compete with floppy disks, there was a lack of foresight regarding future competing formats and the need for greater storage ability. This, ultimately, resulted in other formats that offered more storage to become far more popular and ultimately take over the market. As a result, these cards are no longer manufactured, and newer forms of media storage are now used in cameras, phones, and other devices.

What Is a Portable Media Center?

The Portable Media Center was a device that was first introduced by Microsoft in 2003 and released by a number of different hardware manufacturers in 2004. This device was intended as a competitor to the popular Apple iPod and was a single format meant to connect multiple computer systems and devices for audio and video playback. While Microsoft™ introduced the basic concept, designed the core software for such devices, and required basic hardware minimums for manufacturers, the actual devices were made by other companies. The Portable Media Center devices were ultimately eliminated in favor of a second approach at portable media players: the Microsoft Zune.

Created to work with computers running Microsoft Windows, the Portable Media Center was a basic media playback format devised by Microsoft as a way to compete with the success of the iPod. The Portable Media Center was intended to allow a user to transfer various types of media, typically audio and video files, from a computer or similar system onto the device and then playback the media. It was first unveiled in 2003, and the first models were released in 2004; though the product initially was somewhat successful, it was ultimately abandoned in favor of a different approach to portable media players by Microsoft.


The Portable Media Center ran on software developed by Microsoft that allowed the device to connect to computers and similar devices. It was intended as part of a larger system of devices that could be utilized throughout a person’s house, creating a single network that would make the house into a digital, interactive environment. The entire system was never fully developed or released commercially, and ultimately Microsoft™ chose to abandon the attempt at full household integration at that time. One of the major flaws of the Portable Media Center was that most devices utilizing the format could neither stream media nor connect wirelessly to computers and other systems.

These devices were also never able to successfully surpass the public perceptions of the iPod and create a unique or noteworthy brand for themselves. After only a few years, the format was abandoned by Microsoft in 2007, and the Portable Media Center was replaced by a second attempt to capture some of the portable media player market: the Zune. This device was typically somewhat smaller in nature and designed to capture more of the aesthetic and functional appeal of the iPod. The Zune was also intended as more of a standalone device, and though it could connect to other Microsoft systems, it was not designed to be part of a larger integration in the way that Portable Media Center devices were.

What Is a Portable Digital Media Player?

A portable digital media player is a compact device that is capable of playing various types of digital media. This generally includes digital media audio, digital media video, and various image formats. Some of the more sophisticated models have advanced features such as Wi-Fi capabilities, and act as personal digital assistants (PDAs). Because of their portability and extensive playback capabilities, it is not uncommon for a modern cell phone to be considered a portable digital media player.

Nearly every portable digital media player supports audio playback. Most are compatible with the MP3 format, but several others are capable of playing Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Windows Media Audio (WMA) and WAV. Some devices even support open-source audio formats, such as Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC) and Ogg Vorbis. Regardless of the format, each device has a bit-rate limit that determines the overall quality of the audio files.

JPEG is the universal format for any portable digital media player that is capable of displaying images. Some players, however, have the ability to display additional formats such as GIF, PNG, and TIFF. Because there are so many formats available, some players are integrated with conversion software that enables the device to support other types of files.

Many of the newer portable digital media player models support video through the MPEG-4 format. Some are compatible with Windows Media Video® (WMV) and AVI, which is the standard container format for Microsoft Windows. Digital media players are increasingly being developed to support video in DivX format, as well as Xvid — its open-source counterpart. While a portable digital media player may or may not come bundled with conversion software, most support third-party software that allows the user to convert video files into formats compatible with their device.

The portable digital media player has advanced very quickly. A number of players have the ability to record video, while others include memory cards to provide users with additional storage. Some devices support games and even rich media technologies, such as Adobe Flash Lite. Other advanced features may include built-in radio receivers for listening to FM stations and web browsing capabilities.

While it is largely viewed as consumer device geared towards entertainment, a portable digital media player has a multitude of purposes. It can be used to record an interview, display business presentations, or simply playback an intriguing audiobook. These devices are widely available, with the iPod and Microsoft Zune being among the most popular brands.

What is a Media Player?

A media player is a software program designed to play multimedia content as it streams in from a network like the Internet, or from local storage on a hard drive or other resource. A media player might be expected to understand and translate several audio and video codecs, covering many digital music and video formats.

A few media players commonly known and widely used include Apple’s QuickTime, Miscrosoft’s Media Player (from which the general term followed), now known as Windows® Media Player (WMP), and RealNetworks RealPlayer. In earlier days one needed the QuickTime media player to watch Apple content, and Media Player to watch Windows content. RealPlayer was a program that would play both types of content and its own proprietary format. RealPlayer was an Internet favorite for a short time in the late 90s, but fell out of favor due to widely publicized privacy concerns about spyware-like behavior and bloat.

Patrons of Apple products like the iPod and iPhone will have iTunes installed, a versatile media player that, like Microsoft’s WMP, has many advanced features. These large, comprehensive programs not only act as players but as multimedia libraries, rippers and burners.


Having an all-in-one media player works for some, but others prefer their favorite proprietary software for tasks like ripping and burning. These people might opt for a media player that serves just one purpose: a streamlined, small program that executes fast, does its job, and stays out of the way. Something without the flash, bang and glitter of larger, bloated players.

One of the most popular in this category is a free, open-source media player called VLC. Originally designed by students at a French university, VLC is now a global project with worldwide contributors. It is popular for a number of reasons, including its cross-platform flexibility, at home on all popular operating system, and its ability to play what is perhaps the widest variety of codecs of any media player. VLC will even play an .iso file, a format that normally must be converted to an MPEG or burned to DVD before playing. Best of all, VLC has a small footprint that executes fast, uses few system resources, and does a great job of streaming live multimedia content.

No matter your preference, there is no shortage of media players to choose from, nearly all of which are free. Many, including VLC, have browser plugins so that the player will automatically open music or movie files while surfing. Even if you prefer an all-in-one player, installing a faster program can be handy for this purpose.

If interested in trying out a new media player, try entering “best media players” in your favorite search engine, being sure to read not just one, but several links from various resources. You can also Google your own media player “+reviews” (minus the quotes) to see how it stacks up against the competition.

What Is a Portable Media Player?

A portable media player is a device that plays digital media. It is usually small in size, and it can come in different colors. Besides its compact size, a player has other valuable features; for instance, in most cases, it is capable of playing more than one type of media. The different types of media that can be played on any media player are pictures, video and audio files.

Most of the time, a portable media player is a considered a consumer electronic device that is used for pleasurable purposes. It can also be used in business and professional environments, however. Professionals might use one to hook up to a television during a presentation or conference.

The first portable player was introduced in 2002 by a company called Archos. Archos was founded in 1988, and is famous for its portable media devices. The first portable media device played digital video and audio files.

Today, there are many types of portable media players. Most of the basic models can play digital audio files, digital video files, and digital image files. More advanced players can record video and support games. Some models may even have a personal organizer.

The best media players also offer additional storage space. This space is usually in the form of memory card slots. Memory cards are ideal for holding digital files; plus, they are small in size and easy to use. Portable media player memory cards come in different sizes to meet the needs of different people.

The amount of storage space that a person needs for their media player depends on the amount of files the person wishes to carry with them. Some types of files are larger than others, but they can all usually be played on a standard media player. There are some basic pictures, audio and video files that are almost always compatible; these files include MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, JPEG, MPEG-4, and WMV. Some players can also display GIF, TIFF, and PNG image files as well.

Getting files onto the portable media player can be a difficult task if one does not know how to do it properly. Players can usually be hooked up to a computer to transfer files. Files can also be transferred to a memory card from a computer.