The Rio 900 is a portable digital audio player with enough memory to hold 6 hours of MP3 or WMA digital music, and a rechargeable battery that gives you up to 10 full hours of listening enjoyment. The Rio 900 offers 192 megabytes (MB) of memory, compatibility with both MP3 and WMA audio files, skip-free playback, great sound, and a large, backlit display. You'll also enjoy the freedom to play MP3 music from your Rio 900 in the car with the included Rio car cassette adapter.
Playback
This player supports MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) files. The most important factor in digital audio quality is the bit rate at which the file is created. This is a measure of the number of kilobits per second (Kbps) used to store the audio. More kilobits per second equates to higher-quality audio. For achieving near-CD-quality audio, the standard bit rate for MP3 audio is 128 Kbps and 64 Kbps for WMA files.
The low standard bit rate of WMA files, a compressed audio alternative from Microsoft, is not necessarily bad. A WMA file encoded at 64 Kbps will have a sound quality equivalent to MP3 files encoded at 128 Kbps.
Memory and Transfer
With a 192 MB memory, the Rio 900 can hold over 3 hours of MP3 files or 6 hours of WMA files (encoded at the standard rates mentioned above). This player uses flash memory, which is also referred to as "solid state"--meaning that there are no moving parts in the memory. (A hard drive, on the other hand, has a spinning disk.) This makes the Rio 900 more durable and eliminates skipping.
You can also add more music to the Rio 900 using optional Rio memory backpacks.
To transfer files from your computer, simply attach the included USB cable between your PC and your camera. USB connectivity offers fast data throughput with rates of up to 12 Mb (megabits) per second. It's also "hot-swappable," meaning you can add or remove devices from the computer while it's running.
Compatibility and Software
The Rio 900 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, 2000, Me, and XP. Because it uses USB connectivity, it is not compatible with Windows 95 or NT 4.0. The Rio 900 is also compatible with Macintoshes running OS 9.04 or later. With both Windows and Mac systems you will need an available USB port.
Use the included RealOne (for Windows) or Apple iTunes (for Mac) software to manage your digital audio library as well as create (or "rip") MP3 and WMA files from your CDs.
Contents
The Rio 900 is powered by an internal rechargeable battery, which is charged by the included AC adapter. This package comes with a pair of folding headphones, carrying case with belt clip, car cassette adapter, CD-ROM with software for Windows and Mac, and a printed guide to getting started. It is backed by a one-year limited warranty. --Agen G.N. Schmitz
1 very expensive - not reliable
Paid huge money for big storage MB. Recharge system does not work and AA must be used. Often firmware will lock up and it must be re-booted. Lots of trouble getting audible books onto the device. Have bought two RIOs now and both are not a good value.
2 Rio 900 192 MB MP3 Player
I bought this (refurbished)player on line after joining the audible.com program. After three days the player malfunctioned. When I called their "customer service" I find that "Realaudio" has acquired the company. They were very nice in advising me that the 900 had been discontinued but would be replaced with a comparable model. So after I sent the unit to them in Arizona at my expense they promptly replaced the unit with a (refurbished) Rio S50.
When I contacted them to advise that the S50 DOES NOT support the audible format that I had initially bought the unit for, I was politely told that they were sorry but they had no plans support any players using the audible format in the near future.
3 not a good product
I received my rio 900 as a gift and have had nothing but problems with it from the very beginning. Real Player didn't recognize the mp3 player unless I plugged and unplugged it in several times, turned it on and off... after a while (5-10 minutes) of fiddling with it, it would finally recognize it and I could load music onto it. After a while, the player would tell me it had a full charge and then just shut off after a few minutes. Then it wouldn't turn back on unless plugged into the charger. After finding shareware to replace the software that came with this device I have found that I don't have to play games to get realplayer to recognize it again. Today we pulled out the batter and placed a regular AA battery and it works just fine. I'm ordering a rechargeable energizer battery to see if that will work. For now, AA batteries will suffice.
for the money spent on this, it should not have performed like this... poor software and a defective battery. I will be sure not to recommend this to anyone and I will never by another thing from sonicblue.
4 Addicted to music
Stay Away from...
Uploads often freeze, battery life remaining is a joke it tells you 90 % still available and the player doesn't last an hour (so if you leave home with it make sure to bring some "AA" batteries otherwise you might have to sing your way back home), the ear buds are not made for active people if you exercise and sweat they will either fall from your ears or short circuit and leave you with less than one half of the volume, controls are weak when you want to skip more than one songs at the time it often get lost and stop, the player consume energy even when it OFF so you have to shut it off and start over at the begining of your list, The Rio 900 is not even a year old and he`s already obsolete you can't find any support for it. On the Sonic blue website the are no more traces of the Rio 500, 600, 800 and 900 only that should tell you something!! STAY AWAY....
5 Shoddy Quality
Bought one. Worked great the first time. The second time out it froze up and would not shut off. Slipped off the battery pack to shut it off and then it wouldn't start again. Got a replacement. Worked great the first time. That night I tried to amend my playlist and the downloading hung up. Checked out the tracks that were on the player and saw some weird scribbling (listed as a track) which I could not delete. And then, again, could not turn off the player. Once again, slipped off the battery pack and then it would not turn on. I'm done with Rio forever!!!
6 Very Happy with the Rio 900
I received the Rio 900 last X-Mas (2002) and have been very pleased with it. I use it with Windows XP and Windows Media Player 9. Grab the Windows Media Player Plug-in from the Rio website. Don't even think of using Real Player! If you do choose Real Player, read the installation options VERY CAREFULLY or else Real with infest your computer.
I store only .wma music files encoded at 64 kbps to maximize the amount of music in the Rio. I find the sound quality very good with the Koss KSC35 earphones I use. The sound does vary with different headphones, so to me, that shows that the Rio is less of a factor in sound quality than the headphones. The battery life for me is about 5-8 hours. I have not bothered to measure battery life more accurately because it hasn't been an issue for me.
The controls are intuitive. I am able to operate it without looking. One thing I do dislike is that many steps are required to adjust the treble and bass. Fortunately, I don't need to change them much.
Even though it weighs so little, the Rio 900 seems physically sturdy to me, especially when I put in the included case. I travel with the player a lot and it has survived so far with nary a scratch. One shortcoming is that I have to remove the player from the case in order to recharge it.
My only significant complaints are that the manual is not very helpful, and that I haven't figured out a way to sort the order of the songs on the player! So far, I have gotten around this problem by creating playlists in Windows Media Player to copy to the Rio.
The remaining issue to consider is that Sonicblue is bankrupt. As of this review, the ReplayTV and Rio divisions have been sold to D&M Holdings, which make Denon and Marantz. It remains to be seen what kind of support D&M will provide.
Again, I'm glad that someone gave this player to me!
7 RIO MP3 Players - Stay Away for your own good
Bought a Rio 600 which has the same 'packaging' as the 800 and 900 - the quality is the cheapest plastic you can imagine, the controls are unprecise and my on/off switch broke after 2 hours of absolutely non-violent indoor use.
You'll be bettor off with no MP3 player than with this RIO line.
8 I think the Rio 900 is great!!
I bought the Rio 900 as a replacement for the Rio 500.My main purpose is to listen to books from Audible.com. The first advantage is not having to constantly be buying AA batteries, because it has an attached rechargeable battery. The second advantage is that it has 192 mb of memory, where the Rio 500 has 64 mb of memory. I just downloaded 5 books onto the player with alot of memory to spare. The sound is also awesome. Music as well as the spoken word comes through loud and clear. You can also adjust the audio depending on what you are listening to...jazz, rap, classic, books, etc. I listen to books most of the time and this player is compatible with the Audible.com formats and the Audible Manager. I have not had any issues with the battery either. The controls are easy to figure out and simple to use. I don't see how you could go wrong buying this player.
9 Use to be good until...
Use to love this product until I bought I-River's IFP-190T. The IFP-190T is the same quality of music (it has the same flash memory built inside of it) It holds more (256 MB's as opposed to the 192 this one has) It is much lighter,smaller and easier to cary around (something like 1.1 onces, lightest flash player on the market) and also has a built in FM radio including a radio recording device and a voice recorder with a high quality mic. Plus its fifty bucks cheaper. Now i'm not putting down this product because i must admit i did love it for quite a time but sonicblues support is terrible and i also had battery problems, go with the IRiver flash player, i know you will love it..
10 Rio has the worst support
I have a Rio Player 500 that I bought a couple years ago and now the company is saying that they will not support the software anymore. I really do love listening to it and even went out and bought an extra in case something happened to this one. I am very dissapointed with this company. I paid for an upgrade and it will not work and I have written several e-mails to get a refund and have not gotten any reply. Also there is no telephone support. If there were 0 stars, I would have given them that for a score. Are you going to take a chance with Rio 900?
DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!!...
...
11 DO NOT BUY
I bought one and had to return in because of display problems, volume toggle switch problems, and file corruption issues. I was sent another one. Guess what? I still had the same issues. The hardware is not reliable and the devices "freezes" frequently. The only way to get it working is by removing the battery. Please heed my advice and buy from another manufacturer.
12 Brutal battery life
Unless I am missing something after the calibration....the first time I used it, I ran it for 45 minutes while on my bike and it is now showing battery remaining to be 45%. Now I am no big Math whiz, however, I know when a company purports their product to last 10-11 hours on one charge and I will likely get 1.5 hours from one charge....something is missing. And it appears others are having the same problem.
I think it is going to have to go back to the store.
M~
13 Great Until It Stopped Working
I bought this player mainly to listen to audio books through Audible.com. This player has lots of memory and can hold 2 whole books and more. I had visions of going on vacation without the stack of books - just the Rio 900. It installed easily. I was able to download books with Audible Manager and listened for about 2 weeks. I did not use the Rio 900 for 2 days. When I picked it up again, it said "No Tracks" as if it had spontaneously erased everything. I thought I could just redownload the books, but Audible Manager will not add new content because the Rio 900 is full. Apparently, the index was erased but not the actual files. Attempts at formating the player or erasing all files have not changed the situation. SonicBlue does not answer email support inquiries and telephone support is a very long wait. Once they did answer,they didn't know how to solve the problem. I am sending it back!
14 Great Until It Stopped Working
I bought this player mainly to listen to audio books through Audible.com. This player has lots of memory and can hold 2 whole books and more. I had visions of going on vacation without the stack of books - just the Rio 900. It installed easily. I was able to download books with Audible Manager and listened for about 2 weeks. I did not use the Rio 900 for 2 days. When I picked it up again, it said "No Tracks" as if it had spontaneously erased everything. I thought I could just redownload the books, but Audible Manager will not add new content because the Rio 900 is full. Apparently, the index was erased but not the actual files. Attempts at formating the player or erasing all files have not changed the situation. SonicBlue does not answer email support inquiries and telephone support is a very long wait. Once they did answer,they didn't know how to solve the problem. I am sending it back!
15 Not Happy with it! :(
First, I purchased the RIO 600 (64MB model). I based my decision on ratings from Consumer Reports. After three months of use, I found this player to have several problems. First; it has a non-standard USB interface to the player. This interface is extremely fragile. Second, it completely mis-gauges battery life. It tells you it has 75% left at the time that it runs out & you have to do an annoying little calibration every time you put in a new battery. Third, the sound quality is mediocre. Fourth, the headset can't take getting wet, even though it is supposed to be a sports model. The headset is an in-ear, headband-less type. Every time I sweat for more than 10 minutes, the headset would short out lowering its volume significantly. Fifth; when the battery is changed it fails to keep the clock time, even though it keeps the music stored in ram (weird). Sixth point; you are forced to use Real Audio Player (limited feature version included with the player), because the driver for the Windows Media player is incomplete. It doesn't allow you to format memory, or re-synch the devices clock with your PC. Additionally; Real Audio Player constantly advertises at you to upgrade (for a monthly fee) and also shoots other ads at you, none of which can be disabled. Last but not least, doesn't take shock well; I dropped it once after about three months of ownership, and the display now shows only half a screen.
PS: Even at a compression of 128kbps, in many cases you can not fit an entire album on the machine.
In this newer model, none of the model 600's deficiencies were corrected. It came with a rechargeable battery, which also suffers the battery gauge problem. It also has an additional battery problems; the battery never is able to take a full charge, and discharges by about 10% every day when left idol??????????? Really weird. Needless to say, I returned the unit after only one week of usage.
16 Bought the Rio 900--then returned it
Nice look, great control layout and quite good sound. However, it was a little to heavy for use during workouts, memory expansions are very expensive and I opted for the Rio S35 which is smaller, has a built in FM tuner and takes regular batteries so when the power goes out you can pop in a fresh battery.
17 PROBLEM NO EXTRA MEMORY
IS OK
SETING UP AND WORKING IS COMPLICATED
THE WORST PROBLEM IS THERE IS NO STANDARD EXTRA MEMORY AVAILABLE I THINK THIS SPOILS ALL THE POSITIVES
18 Nice design ruined by buggy software and inadequate support
This player has lots of memory, for which you pay a premium, of course, hence the rather steep price. It is also a very lightweight device with a robust protective holster/case, perfect for exercising, even with a lot of sweat. Rounding out the plusses, the Rio series is among the few that is (allegedly) compatible with Audible.com files (although Audible Format 1 is not supported).
The controls are fairly straigthforward, but the control wheel gives poor tactile feedback, so it's easy to activate the wrong command while you are exercising. This can make you stop the player and lose your place in the program, a real pain for audiobook listeners.
The biggest problem I initially had was that when I downloaded certain mp3 or Audible.com files, the download application (both Audible manager and the bundled Real One app) would freeze after a certain percentage of the file had transferred to the Rio 900. I wasted hours on this problem; neither Audible or SONICblue customer service had a solution. Finally, I was able to determine that the problem was the USB hub. If I connected the Rio 900 directly to the computer's USB port, everything was fine. It really gripes me that manufacturers never test their peripherals with USB hubs; it seems that half the USB products out there don't work with them. Isn't the use of hubs the whole point of USB (as opposed to SCSI)? Grrr.
The other big problem with the Rio 900 is buggy performance. Half the time after a complete charge, the player will not boot. I actually have to remove the battery (which is not easy, by the way), put it back in, and then the player boots. The other software problem is loss of place in Audible.com files. For Audible to approve a player (which it has done for the Rio 900), the player is supposed to pick up where you left off listening when you turn off the player. Infuriatingly, sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn't. You end up having to set a bookmark to be sure you can start again in the same place; this is easy to do, but still another step that good software design should have avoided.
Finally, the battery management software is totally bogus. I can charge the battery up to what the software says is a full charge (11 hours play time), set the player aside, turned off, for six hours, turn it back on, and the software says I have only 5 hours left. Where did the energy go? Double grrrr...
ADDENDUM (12/6/02): I have found that one big problem is the no-name battery that ships with the Rio 900. Replace this piece of garbage with a name-brand NiMH AA battery, and it should double or triple the unit's play time, and the rate of battery discharge while not in use will be much slower. With the original battery fully charged, using the Rio for about 1 hour dropped the battery level to 50%. With a new Radio Shack battery, the same usage drops the level only to 92%. It is inexcusable that SONICblue would ship their premium-priced top-line unit with a low-quality battery.
SECOND ADDENDUM (1/24/03): I have now been using the Rio 900 for several disappointing months and have ultimately lowered my rating to one star. Users of Audible.com will get hit by the double whammy of buggy memory management by Audible Manager and the cluelessness of Audible.com's support staff concerning the Rio 900. They referred me to rioport.com, not realizing that SONICblue no longer supports its own players. "Support" is done by RealNetworks (go figure!), which opens a whole new can worms. You can't even open RealPlayer to manage your player memory without initiating a spam stream from RealNetworks, and the manager program still won't solve the problem of not being able to download new files to the player or display files that are already there.
So, the bottom line is that because of lack of software support, my strong recommendation is to avoid SONICblue products altogether, the Rio 900 in particular.
19 Hmmm, we seem to be missing something.
I got the Rio 900 to do some audio work for a corporate event that I was working on. The product arrived during the week and I got to the installation on the following weekend. To cut to the chase, the package I received was missing the USB cable. Their phone support is open only Monday through Friday. I emailed the Support mailbox and got a couple of bot auto responses trying to fix the problem by FAQ responses. Since none of the emails supplied the USB cable, they were of no assistance. It took about three working days for my request to get to a real person. Once in the hands of a real person, Rio Support staff did take the initiative to order a cable for me to be delivered via Next Day UPS. This was without needing to talk to me or gather further information about the problem. In my original note to Rio Support, I had said that they had 5 business days to resolve the issue or it would have been returned as parts missing. So they met my request to have a cable by the following weekend. Overall, while perhaps not really warm and fuzzy on the support side, they met my need with the minimum of hassle. Thanks Cary!
Using the Rio is fun. It took a little time to determine the right software tool to use. In hindsight, the manuals do a fairly good job of laying out what does what. If you just do the typical "Install Everything on the CD" route and try to figure it out as you go, be prepared for a little head scratching. (Note the voice of experience here.)
Otherwise, it looks like a good solid product...If you haven't played much with MP3 music and such, be prepared for great sound quality and a comfortable listening experience.
I'll echo previous comments on the battery life. The claimed 10 to 11 hours of time between charges doesn't appear to be realistic. I am not sure if the problem is in the meter or the actual life of the battery charge. Charging doesn't appear to require the player being removed from the carrying case. At least it hasn't for me.
If it weren't for the missing cable, this would be a 5 star review.
20 RIO 900 Great Style & Sound But...
This is my first review on the internet, but after spending so much time researching MP3 players I wanted to advice those that will follow me. After several weeks looking, holding, testing and pricing MP3 players, the RIO900 was the clear choice for me. The size is great, not even as big as a 3" X 5" note card, and the weight of the unit is no issue. You can hardly feel it on you belt. The carrying case is nice and includes a built in belt clip and don't worry, it won't scratch your expensive belt your wearing with that work suit as you commute to work, it's padded and good quality. The only down side to the carrying case is getting the unit to charge. You'll need to remove the unit first to access the charging port.
The display is clean, and for me, easy to read and navigate. I have yet to try using it as I'm running in the airport, or on the treadmill (that will never happen!). But for being able to navigate your RIO 900 it's just fine. Sound quality is very good for such a small device and I'm impressed every time I use the RIO 900. From classic rock to classical or jazz, the tones are clean and crisp. Unless you are unrealistic your in for a treat with the RIO 900's sound.
Software and Battery Issues: Since this device is rather new there are no plug-ins for MusicMatch Jukebox. Unlike the RIO 800 and 600, you'll have to use the provided "REAL ONE" software that is included on the support CD. Not the best software, but it works. There are also no drives for Windows 2000 and I'm guessing that would also include Windows XP (however I don't use XP). When you connect your RIO 900 to your computer, it will detect a new device, but you'll not be able to navigate to it via "My Computer" or "Explorer". That is where "REAL ONE" will come into play. Do the old "drag-n-drop" for setting up the transfer of files to the RIO 900. Tech Support was kind in telling me they are the last to know when the software engineers are done creating plug-ins or drivers. At least getting in touch with support via a phone was easy and took less then a minute to do and the real person on the other end was very helpful and willing to go the extra mile for me.
As for the battery it looks like the nightmare of the RIO 800 is coming back to haunt Sonicblue once again. To keep it short, the battery meter is telling me that my two calibrations have worked in priming the battery, but it's not looking like I'll get the indicated 10 or 11 hours of play advertised by Sonicblue. I'll keep you updated in regards to this issue. Tech support has a open trouble ticket on my unit and if the issue does not go away, I'll be getting a new unit under the warranty. Not bad, just a slight inconvenience.
To close, I'll say this. Sonicblue's RIO 900 is a nice MP3 player, but being a new player on the market, you the buyer will go through the growing pains of no plug-ins, no drivers support for Windows 2000, and perhaps Windows XP. Looks like a rush to market for Sonicblue. Prices are dropping so look hard and you'll find a good price for the RIO 900. Give one a try.
21 Audio books
Yeah, for music you can find something bigger (more memory), but I also enjoy listening to audio books, and this player offers the software to listen to audio books. It has the most memory of any Audible(tm)-compatible device. I like the idea of long trips and being able to listen to a book on my car radio :-)
22 Why?
Why would anyone buy this outdated thing when Apple's iPod, with 5 GB (or 10 or 20) could be had for not very much more? Plus you get FireWire to boot!
23 Ehh-- Think Twice
(Disreguard the rating)
I personally dont have this item, but i suggest that one thinks twice before they decide to purchase it. I do have the RioVolt SP 250 Mp3 cd player, and that is like the greatest purchase i ever made. What confuses me about this item is that it costs like 250 dollars, and it only has 192 MB of memory. With the SP 250 you can hold up to 700 MB on a blank cd that costs about 50 cents. On top of this the RioVolt SP 250 only costs about 150 dollars. I thought i would just get that out there to people who were considering purchasing this product.
