Learn: Home » Out and About with the Panasonic SV-AV20
 I used Panasonic's SV-AV20 as an MP3 player, a digital camera, an MPEG4 camcorder, and a voice recorder. |
You're thumbing through the latest issue of the Crutchfield catalog when, on the Portable Audio page, you spy the line "e-wear™ multi-format digital A/V recorder/player." You're intrigued. What type of device could possibly inspire such an arcane description? Just what does a "multi-format digital A/V recorder/player" do?
In fact, Panasonic's SV-AV20 is a kind of portable jack-of-all-trades that combines the functions of an MP3 player, digital camera, camcorder, and voice recorder. If you're wondering just how well such a small device can perform all these feats, so was I. In early July I packed up the 'AV20 and took it on a road trip deep into Illinois farm country, where I happened to be attending a four-day music festival.
On my trip I used the SV-AV20 to take pictures, capture MPEG4 movies, and make voice recordings; after I returned, I tested its competence as an MP3 player. Since the 'AV20 is designed to operate primarily in that capacity, with the other functions secondary in importance, let's look first at how the 'AV20 stacks up against other MP3 players.
 I took the Panasonic SV-AV20 to a music festival and used it to snap photos of shows. |
The SD-Jukebox software included with the SV-AV20 was easy to install and use. (Take note: it's only compatible with newer Windows® PCs, and it doesn't handle WMA files. As always, be sure to check compatibility with your computer before you buy.) SD-Jukebox has a two-step process for getting music from your PC to the Secure Digital® card: first, the application must "import" the song to its playlist, then you can "check out" the song to the SD card. The "import" step takes the longer of the two (almost a minute for a 4.5MB file), while the "checkout" step takes only a few seconds.
Once I got the music onto the card, playback sounded good, and I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of the earbud headphones Panasonic includes with the SV-AV20. Even so, if you don't need headphones as small and inconspicuous as these little guys, you can always improve the sound using your favorite on-the-ear or around-the-ear headphones.
Although it's about the size of a deck of cards, the SV-AV20 is significantly larger than other current Panasonic MP3 players (such as the diminutive SV-SD50, 'SD80 and 'SD85). If you want the smallest player around, and you're not going to use the photo or video functions, you'd probably be happier with a single-function MP3 player. That said, the 'AV20 is still a good deal smaller than a CD or MiniDisc portable, so it's compact enough that it's easy to carry. In fact, it's amazingly small considering all that it can do!
