Hopefully there are enough gadget freaks here for this to be of interest to.
Last weekend I took the plunge and bought the Archos 605 Wi-fi(160Gb) for 2 main reasons, the movie playing capability & the Wi-fi. However, having read some reviews I also plumped for the optional DVR station which allows playback through your TV and also the ability to record from satellite/DVD/TV etc. In total I spent £350 on this little lot.
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4.3" high-resolution TFT LCD touch screen
Resolution: 800 x 480 pixels
16 million colours
Supported file formatsVideo play:
MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD-quality resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD-quality resolution)
With optional plug-ins (available for purchase at www.archos.com):
Video Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD-quality resolution and AAC sound
Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD-quality resolution) and AC3 (5.1) stereo sound
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Why did I go for this rather than the iTouch? Mainly for the storage space(10x) and the screen resolution(~2x).
So far I have been very impressed, the screen is stunning, movies are crystal clear and touch sensitivity/accuracy is very good(although sometimes struggles with tiny links on websites). The sound through headphones is excellent and certainly on a par with my iPod.
I have managed to connect to several Wi-fi networks (WEP only so far, not tested WPa) and surfing is a resonably pleasant experience. You have the option to resize the rendering of the webpage to fit page/100%/enlarged to aid viewing & navigating. Please note that Archos charge you an extra £20 to activate the browser plug-in, which is cheeky to say the least(hackers are already trying to get around this). The big bonus with the Wi-fi for me though is the ability to access my PC and stream audio/video via the DVR station onto my TV. Obviously with 160Gb at my disposal I have plenty of space to host on the Archos itself, but transfer times even via USB 2.0 are not especially fast for ripped movies.
The DVR station is an expensive but invaluable piece of kit for getting the best out of your Archos, turning it effectively into a PVR(with some problems though). Playback through the TV is surprisingly good quality (on a 37" Toshiba LCD) although the audio seems to be damped and can suddenly go quiet in a loud explosion scene for example. Recording is via an EPG for scheduled TV or satellite or directly from the output of a DVD player. Using the satellite EPG there are gaping holes in the program listings which is very frustrating, and also the promised automatic channel changing via IR transmission doesn't appear to work with SKY+(although I haven't reasearched this yet). Recorded quality is very good, even on a meduim bitrate setting - I tried it with Top Gear on Sunday.
Can't think of anything else particularly right now, please feel free to ask if you want any further feedback.
Last weekend I took the plunge and bought the Archos 605 Wi-fi(160Gb) for 2 main reasons, the movie playing capability & the Wi-fi. However, having read some reviews I also plumped for the optional DVR station which allows playback through your TV and also the ability to record from satellite/DVD/TV etc. In total I spent £350 on this little lot.
*********************************
4.3" high-resolution TFT LCD touch screen
Resolution: 800 x 480 pixels
16 million colours
Supported file formatsVideo play:
MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD-quality resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD-quality resolution)
With optional plug-ins (available for purchase at www.archos.com):
Video Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD-quality resolution and AAC sound
Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD-quality resolution) and AC3 (5.1) stereo sound
***********************************
Why did I go for this rather than the iTouch? Mainly for the storage space(10x) and the screen resolution(~2x).
So far I have been very impressed, the screen is stunning, movies are crystal clear and touch sensitivity/accuracy is very good(although sometimes struggles with tiny links on websites). The sound through headphones is excellent and certainly on a par with my iPod.
I have managed to connect to several Wi-fi networks (WEP only so far, not tested WPa) and surfing is a resonably pleasant experience. You have the option to resize the rendering of the webpage to fit page/100%/enlarged to aid viewing & navigating. Please note that Archos charge you an extra £20 to activate the browser plug-in, which is cheeky to say the least(hackers are already trying to get around this). The big bonus with the Wi-fi for me though is the ability to access my PC and stream audio/video via the DVR station onto my TV. Obviously with 160Gb at my disposal I have plenty of space to host on the Archos itself, but transfer times even via USB 2.0 are not especially fast for ripped movies.
The DVR station is an expensive but invaluable piece of kit for getting the best out of your Archos, turning it effectively into a PVR(with some problems though). Playback through the TV is surprisingly good quality (on a 37" Toshiba LCD) although the audio seems to be damped and can suddenly go quiet in a loud explosion scene for example. Recording is via an EPG for scheduled TV or satellite or directly from the output of a DVD player. Using the satellite EPG there are gaping holes in the program listings which is very frustrating, and also the promised automatic channel changing via IR transmission doesn't appear to work with SKY+(although I haven't reasearched this yet). Recorded quality is very good, even on a meduim bitrate setting - I tried it with Top Gear on Sunday.
Can't think of anything else particularly right now, please feel free to ask if you want any further feedback.