Archos 704 80 GB WiFi Portable Digital Media Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I like this player a lot. 3 minutes out of the box I was connected the home WiFi. 2 minutes later it found my Infrant ReadyNAS (ReadyNAS NV+, 1.0TB (4 x 250GB pre-installed Seagate Barracuda ES SATA HDD), X-RAID, 256MB memory, Silver, SFF desktop NAS) and was streaming MP3s and video to the player flawlessly.
Size:
It's thick and heavy. It has a similar footprint to a Sony ebook reader, but much deeper and heavier. It's just about as wide and tall as a DVD case, but again, much deeper (almost 3/4 of an inch deep).
Formats:
I do not have any media formats that this won't play. I did purchase the optional .VOB codec from the Archos site. It plays my WMV (including DRM stuff), Divx, AVI, MP3(all kinds).
Accessories:
It comes with a nice woven nylon case and a 120V power adapter. It has headphones (with inline volume) and USB in and USB out.
Connections:
It has audio out (headphones), power, USB (mini in, mini out, two Archos plugs for docking and that's it. Everything else needs a dock to work.
Screen:
The touch screen is vibrant and very bright. I have big fingers so I do better with a stylus for controls. The high resolution is amazing.
Sound:
The speakers are "OK" but headphones could be louder. I took this on a plane yesterday and the included headphones were not loud enough to hear over the engine noise. I had to use my Sure E5c headphones to hear anything on videos and MP3s (Shure E5c Sound Isolating Earphones).
Internet:
It comes with Opera and surfing was fine. A great device for webmail or shopping (it comes with am eMusic 50 free MP3s certificate). I will take this (instead of a laptop) on my next vacation.
Sync:
The platey can snyc (USB) as a Windows Media Device or a USD hard drive. I love that option (it asks you each sync).
Issues:
1. I would have liked a place to "plunge" the stylus in the device for storage (the case has a tiny pocket).
2. I would have liked Svideo out without buying a dock.
3. Audio out should be louder.
Wishes:
1. I would love to see this use a bluetooth phone as a DUN to the hit the net.
2. I would love to have and SD Card reader on board to help move media on the road.
Other Issues:
1. Be careful with Unbox video. The resolution of this player far exceeds most mobile players. One of my goals was to start buying Unbox videos instead of ripping my DVDs all the time. Problem: the "mobile" size of Unbox video looks very poor on the screen (please try an inexpensive one for yourself)due to low resolution. And Unbox does not allow you to sync (no snyc rights) the larger video that you download. So I have a video that I "bought" that I cannot use on this device because the low version looks so bad, and the high-res version has DRM restrictions that won't let it play on the 704 Wifi. Not terrible, but it will keep 704 owners from renting or buying from Unbox for sure.

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More than just a Portable Media Player (PMP) with a bright 7-inch screen and the ability to store all your favorite movies, tunes and photos, the groundbreaking Archos 704 is also outfitted with Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11g). Through your home wireless network, you'll be able to browse through your multimedia library stored on any computer on the network. You'll also be able to connect to online video stores to download content directly and wirelessly to the 704 WiFi. It features an 80 GB hard drive (providing capacity for about 70 DVD-quality movies), a 7-inch bright LCD touchscreen, and integrated speakers. Additionally, when paired with the optional Archos DVR Station docking station, you can easily connect the 704 WiFi to your TV to watch movies and photo slideshows on a larger screen as well as turn the 704 into a digital video recorder (DVR) to take your favorite programs with you wherever you roam. It measures 7 x 5 by 0.75 inches and weighs just 22 ounces.
Wide Touch screen The Archos 704 WiFi features a wide, high resolution (800 x 480) 7-inch color touch screen that allows you to navigate through menus easily with a stylus or even a fingertip. The size of screen enables a great visual comfort.
WiFi The integrated 802.11g wireless interface is perfect for those who want to access their media wherever they go, including surfing the Web, sending and receiving email from Web-based mail applications, and connecting the device to a home network to transfer files or play content directly from the network.
Video player The Archos 704 WiFi is the perfect companion for people on the move: its 40/80 GB hard drive capacity allows you to store up to 50/100 movies encoded with a PC. Play them on the built-in 7-inch LCD color screen or playback on TV in high resolution up to 720 x 576 (DVD quality) with the DVR station. Play a large variety of video files, including MPEG-4, WMV and protected WMV and read MPEG-4 AAC/H.264 (.MP4 QuickTime files), MPEG-2, and VOB with optional software plug-ins (available on this website). The Archos 704 WiFi also offers many more functionalities such as slow motion, adjustable screen size, video editing and even a video bookmarking function.
Record TV or external video sources Transform your Archos 704 WiFi into a Digital Video Recorder with the optional DVR station. Record TV or most video sources such as satellite/cable box, VCR, DVD player or camcorder in MPEG-4 format. Set up the DVR station by connecting it to the external video source; simply slot in your ARCHOS and record instantaneously or make scheduled recordings with the included infrared receiver that controls the external video sources.
Turn your ARCHOS into a camcorder ARCHOS allows you to transform your device into a camcorder by connecting most digital cameras to your Archos 704 WiFi, or by connecting the optional high resolution helmet camcorder. The Archos 704 WiFi records video directly on its 40 GB hard drive in MPEG-4 format, up to VGA resolution (640 x 480).
Photo wallet Transfer your photos directly from a digital camera with the USB 2.0 Host interface. Store and view up to 800,000 photos (JPEG, PNG and BMP formats) and display slideshows with music and transition effect. Manage your files and folders directly on the device for a better mobility. Enjoy the large size of the screen and the cool sleek design of the product to display the Archos 704 WiFi in your living room and use as digital photo frame.
Music Player Store up to 40,000 songs on the hard drive and play most popular music files such as MP3, WAV, WMA and protected WMA files. Easily organize songs with the enhanced ARCLibrary and customize your view by artist, album, type of music, title, year, and create your playlists without having to use a computer. Use the voice recorder to store notes quickly for a later use.
Charge and sync Charge your Archos 704 WiFi with the included power adapter. Purchase, download, subscribe to or rent protected video and music content from online stores on your PC, and, using the high-speed USB 2.0 interface, the Archos 704 WiFi will easily auto-synchronize this content with Windows Media Player 11 each time you connect it to your PC, or convert your Windows Media Player 11 library content to one of the many compatible formats (MP3, WMA, WAV, protected WMA, MPEG-4, WMV and protected Windows Media Video).
What's in the Box Archos 704 WiFi, headphones, USB 2.0 cable, USB 2.0 host adapter, DVR Station saddle, 2 styli, remote control, power adapter/charger, protective pouch, QSG, legal and safety notice

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Archos AV 700 40 GB Mobile Digital Video Recorder Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Yes, it is a fine bit of engineering, with smart feel and very fast to write and transfer, and fairly intuitive.
My intention was to have it a storage space for all my digital photos so I can drag them around and show to family and friends. Well, it is good ONLY if your digital photos are of the quality produced by a cell-phone in 2003. The problem is the screen: pixellated, cheap-looking, and while it is OK for moving pictures (esp. high-contrast ones that they have running on it in shops as a demo), any photo upwards from 50k in size will look cheapened. You can plug it into TV and the impression is better then, but who wants to do that?
If you think it will be anywhere approaching a portable DVD player or a laptop screen, forget about it.
The upside of photo-viewing is that you can zoom in again and again and the quality will not suffer on the screen, because it is the reproduction, not the actual resolution that is letting you down.
I will also use it as an MP3 player for my travels.
Battery life is poor unless you are not using that screen, which is not surprising: 7 inches will eat any battery pretty quick.
I would not recommend it for any other use apart from the intended one: viewing films.

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Your movies, your games, your music, your photos -- all in one little device. That's the Archos 500715 AV700 40 GB Mobile Digital Media Player. This exciting media companion offers direct TV recording and the best of home cinema, gaming, digital music and more. Now you can bring all your entertainment with you wherever you roam. The 40 GB model, which is less than an inch thick, lets you store up to 160 hours of video, 100 movies, 20,000 songs or 400,000 photos. Using the AV 700's rechargeable, removable battery, you'll get up to 30 hours of life for music and up to 4 hours for video playback on the built-in LCD.
Record directly from TV, Watch at Your Leisure Used in conjunction with the included TV docking pod, you can record television programs, movies and home videos directly from your TV, VCR, DVD player, cable box or satellite receiver. Then watch them on the go whenever the notion strikes you. Plus, with the integrated scheduler you can program your recording schedule a week to a month ahead of time. Play back your favorite program on the 7-inch widescreen or on any external screen in near-DVD quality. The unit plays DivX, Windows Media, protected Windows Media and MPEG-4 video files. You'll also have excellent control over your viewing experience with features such as slow motion, adjustable screen size, video editing, and a video bookmarking function.
Get the Picture Want to take your snapshots with you? The AV 700 is a great digital photo companion. Transfer thousands of photos directly from your digital camera, or another mass storage device using the built-in USB connection. You can also transfer from a computer using the AV 700's high-speed USB 2.0 interface. Then, organize your photos and watch them in slide shows on the unit's screen or on any external display.
Play Anywhere Because the AV 700 supports the popular Mophun gaming engine, it's designed to integrate with the Archos Web site for purchasing and downloading games. You can also connect an optional mini game pad to kick your games up a notch.
Listen Up The AV 700 features Archos' newly-designed music player application. Now you can easily organize your songs and customize your view by artist, album, type of music, title, year, and play lists without having to use a computer. The AV 700 also offers an audio recording application that records in high-quality WAV format from almost all analog stereo sources. You can also use the stereo microphone if you want to record notes, presentations and lectures.
Connect It The AV 700 has a USB 2.0 port that enables you to copy, share, connect and transfer files directly from other powered mass storage devices. The unit is also recognized as a mass storage drive on your PC or Mac, giving you the ability to transfer any computer file using the high-speed USB 2.0 interface.
PC Auto-sync The AV 700 lets you purchase, download, subscribe to or rent protected video and music content from Microsoft PlaysForSure websites. Using the USB 2.0 interface, the AV 700 will easily auto-synchronize this content with Windows Media Player 10 each time you connect it to your PC, or convert your Windows Media Player 10 library content to one of many compatible formats (MP3, WMA, WAV, protected WMA, MPEG-4, WMV and protected Windows Media Video).
What's in the Box AV 700, TV docking pod, remote control (with batteries), audio/video cables, USB 2.0 cable, USB host adapter, AC adapter and charger, stereo headphones, protective case, user guide.

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