Archos Portable Media Players
AV420 was fine, AV500 fills out needed extras but AV700 might be too much of a good thing
The Archos AV are a line of media players or Personal Video Players. These devices are capable of playing back video files encoded in Mpeg4, as well as all your music MP3s. These devices can record video from a source like a VCR or cable box into Mpeg4 format and record live audio.
The AV420/500/700 can play back video and audio in the form of MP3, WMA without stuttering. Each of these models uses the distinctive design and user operation that Archos has established with the most recent offerings in their line of media players. With Archos portable video players, you can record your favorite shows in Mpeg4 and take them on the road (or transfer them to other media players, including Sony's PSP). Viewing through their small high-resolution screens and working with your media collection is a snap with Windows Media Player.
We were first introduced to Archos line with the AV420, which established itself as a personal media player. Today, the AV420 has been replaced by the AV500 with a much needed facelift. The AV500 adds a gorgeous 4 inch LCD display at 480x272 widescreen resolution. It bumps up the 420s 20Gig capacity to 30Gig or 100Gigs, depending on which model of AV500 you buy. What could be the best new feature is its compatibility with Windows new DRM.
Compatibility with protected audio and video means freedom to take your subscriber media on the go. Some say the subscription music services are the way of the future, and using a PlaysForSure (also called Janus or Microsoft DRM 10) compatible device, like the AV500, is the way to take advantage of the music-to-go features of the online subscription services. The removable battery with a charge lasting 5 hours if you play nothing but video (up to 15 hours of audio playback) is a real break from media players that all too often give us built-in lith-io batteries. A dead battery in a portable you paid hundreds of dollars for will make you appreciate the removable battery feature.
Step up the AV700
The idea was to step up the AV500 to a huge 7inch widescreen LCD. Available in 40Gig and 100Gig models, the AV700 brings a host of video playback and record options: Mpeg-4, Divx 4/5 and AVI. It'll also playback Windows Media files and is Microsoft DRM 10 compatible for your music subscriber services. The recording options of all the Archos models are a real gizmo freak's delight. Recording from a source is just what you need to ensure unlimited media. The AV700 even adds a scheduling option so you can record from your cable or satellite receiver while you're away. This feature is great if you don't have a PVR, but anyone likely to spend the kind of money an AV700 will cost probably already has a PVR.
The AV700 allows you to take those recordings on the road. The size of the AV700's screen is at once an attractive feature and a downfall to the device. The widescreen format is difficult to work with and makes your media properly cover it. The size of the screen is impressive at 7". The resolution it offers--720x480-- should be excellent, but this too goes to waste because you're only able to record at 640x480. Therefore, the video quality suffers and is not on par with the relative image quality of the AV500.
The audio quality of each of these devices is excellent if you upgrade to a decent pair of headphones like Grado's SR60s. Built in speakers on portable devices like Archos media players sound like listening to a headache. The supplied ear-buds are a painful invasion of personal space, which appear to have been inspired by the designers' experiences at their local penitentiary. Do yourself a favor and upgrade your headphones.
Overall, the Archos digital video recorder/media players are a solid line of Mpeg4 players. The prices are in constant decline, so you can find them for a surprisingly reasonable cost. It seems the product line might have peaked with the AV500 offering. However, if you're willing to spend a little extra on the larger screen size, the AV700 might be a good investment if you are prepared to sacrifice a bit of the tight resolution offered in smaller models.