Archos AV500 100 GB Multimedia Player and DVR Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Note: I have only had the player for a week. This is a first impressions report.
Overall: the Archos AV500 100 gb player is pretty impressive. It is a good size, the screen is bright, and the built-in interface is easy to navigate. It feels small and heavy at first. Built-in speaker is tinny but adequate for its size. 100 gb is a lot of space! It is a little heavier than the AV500 30 gb model, but I don't have one for direct comparison.
Functions tried:
(1) Links to Windows XP computer via USB 2.0 without a problem, can use as Device Player with Windows Media Player 10 (auto-sync libraries, etc), or can set to Hard Drive Mode and drag and drop files. USB 2.0 is fast.
(2) Transfer DVDs: Lots of stuff on the internet about doing this for Archos devices, but this is still complicated and some technical savvy is required. There is some built-in software that I didn't bother with.
The easiest (and legal) way is to just record direct from your DVD player; however, not the best quality by report and any Macrovision protection is preserved (can only view on LCD screen, not video out). I actually have not tried this yet, though.
If you have DVD's without copyright protection, one of the better (and free) programs (in my opinion) at this point is Auto Gordion Knot (or AutoGK for short) to convert these to the DIVX format. This works well; however, conversion is processor-intensive (5 hours on my 3000+ Athlon XP for 2 hour video). The picture is pretty good, some minor compression artifacting. There is a large community working on DIVX codecs. I used the XVID codec, which the AV500 is compatible with (even the Windows Media Player 10 didn't think so and refused to transfer without conversion).
(3) Listening to music was easy. Dragged and dropped a bunch of MP3's, worked well. Nice loud volume.
(4) Slideshow for pictures work well. JPEG and BMP only. Can't listen to music while looking at pictures, though.
Functions haven't tried yet:
(1) Camera record - can hook up lipstick camera (separate accessory) directly to AV500 and record.
(2) Direct file transfer from camera. (Has separate mini USB port and cable to hook into camera)
Drawbacks:
(1) Probably a little fragile - handle with care. Lots of people have reported issues with the previous AV400 models. Basically, this is a very fancy hard drive with a screen. In fact, if you take the battery off, you can see the hard drive sitting in there.
Running with it, or any activity with lots of vibration/shaking will likely cause early hard drive failure. It would be like running with your laptop. You might get away with it for a while, but those hard drives can't take a lot of jolting.
I can see mashing the small buttons could result in problems. This is not a ruggedized portable by any means. Even thought the case feels solid, the buttons are cheap-feeling and flimsy. My bet is that the buttons would be the first component to break on this device.
(2) Video transfer is still complicated. Could try Windows Media Player 10 for automagic conversion, but I like to have more control over settings. Video must be DIVX in specific format. This is not a Video Ipod. It takes some savvy.
(3) Note before you buy the file types it supports. Won't do AAC, Ogg or other music formats.
(4) Comes with a disc shaped connector hub for AV in/out connections, but no travel AV in/out. That is a separate accessory. So, if you want to see your video on a separate TV, bring the big hub, or spring for a separate set of travel connectors.
(5) Inadequate carrying case provided. I am already looking for a better carrying case.

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Your movies, your games, your music, your photos -- all in one little device. That's the Archos AV500 100 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. This 100 GB model, which is less than an inch thick, lets you store up to 400 hours of video, 250 movies, 55,000 songs or 1,000,000 photos. Using the AV500's rechargeable, removable battery, you'll get up to 15 hours of life for music and up to 4.5 hours forvideo playback on the built-in LCD.
Personal Video Player 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 themon 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 4-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.
Photo Viewer The AV500 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 500'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.
Music Player The AV500 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 AV500 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.
ConnectivityThe player 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.
PlaysForSureThe AV500 lets you purchase, download, subscribe to or rent protected video and music content from Microsoft PlaysForSure websites. The Archos AV500 works with many online subscription and pay-per-download music services such as Yahoo! Music Unlimited and Napster To Go. The PlaysForSure designation ensures compatibility with Windows Media Player 10 and Windows XP. Using the USB 2.0 interface, the AV500 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).
Play Games AnywhereBecause the AV500 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 padto kick your games up a notch.
What's in the BoxAV500, TV docking pod, remote control (with batteries), audio/video cables, USB 2.0 cable, USB hostadapter, AC adapter and charger, stereo headphones, protective case, user guide.

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