Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
by Archos
List Price:
Our Price: $275.00
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Category: Network Media Player
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: ArchosBrand: Archos
Edition: Electronics
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD
Platform: Windows
Model: 500966
Color: grey
Publisher: Archos
Studio: Archos
Music Label: Archos
Product features:
- The 160 GB Archos 605 Wi-Fi bridges the gap between the PC and the TV; for the first time, you can stream content from the PC or the Internet to the TV or PMP--all through a wireless home network, the Archos 605, and the DVR Station
- Play all your digital entertainment: movies, TV shows, photos and music
- Record your favorite TV shows
- Stream and watch videos from your PC
- Download movies and music directly on your PMP using the Archos Content Portal
- Archos GPS In-Car Holder for 605 Wi-Fi (Holder Only)
- Monster iCable 800 MP3 Player to Auxiliary Input Cord (3 Feet)
- Archos Leather Stand Case for 80 & 160 GB Archos 605 (Red)
- Archos Battery Docking Adapter for 405, 605, and 705 Players
- Archos Mini Dock for 405, 605, and 705 Players
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
Customer Review: Archos is a winner in my book...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been mouth-watering after one of these for a while. I finally took the plunge and bought it. It did not take too much time to learn the new interface. I got the 160gb version so I have a lot of storage space for anything from music, music videos to movies and yeah not to forget pictures. Since I watch video podcasts I did have to get the podcast plug in for it so that was extra $20. Then I was wondering about the whole Opera browser so I bought that to for $30. And then since I own a good selection of music videos which are stored in mpeg-1 and mpeg-2 formats, I went for the final plug-in for additional $20. The additional charges aside, the player right out of the box doesn't have its own power supply. You will have to use supplied USB cable to charge it and it will take painfully long to do so. I would suggest getting either one of the docking stations (preferably the DVR one) or get a power supply from Archos website. After that's all and done, trust me, you won't be wondering why oh why didn't I get the Ipod Touch. I was pondering on this a while myself as to which player I want. First of all, Archos has more storage, second it reads more formats, third you can stream videos/music and view pictures from your own network (or somebody else's if you into this kind of thing) using the built-in wifi.
Using the DVR option you can record whatever you want from tv and carry it around with you. Comparing it to the fancy touch screen on the ipod touch, that's where the novelty ends with Apple for me. Archos has a bigger screen and it's also touch screen and it is very responsive.
The headphones that come with the Archos are ok, but getting something like Sennheiser PX100 headphones (which are rather inexpensive and available here on Amazon) will make your PMP sound a lot better. Speaking of sound, the player has a bass boost with several levels as well as preset equalizers to choose from or you can just set your own equalizer to your liking. I've only tried it with MP3 files and I had no problems since sound quality. I guess I am not that needy.
The video portion which I am sure you are most interested in, I did not have too many problems with. I've tried MP4, MOV (h.264 and normal quicktime/apple format), WMV, AVI (xvid/divx) but for now it will only play videos with resolutions up to 720x575. I've tried HD but the player refused to play these files. Archos however, is promising 720p support through either firmware update or a plug-in. It will not play Sorenson Squeeze codecs.
The touch screen will be a learning curve especially if you never used one before; example being the virtual keyboard and navigating the interface. This brings me to the Opera browser and WIFI. Before you can browse, you have to sign yourself into the network which is easy if you are a techie, but if you are not, the user's guide is accommodating and is in several languages :) Once that's all and done, I naturally went for the Google page since it always shows up. By double tapping in one spot (with new firmware update) you can zoom in, but providing you are not far sided sitting in front of it without glasses, you should be able to see the letters on the high resolution (for a PMP) screen. By default the whole page will fit on your screen. Various zoom options are available which show up whenever you are in the browser mode and tap on the screen. None of the Ajax stuff will work properly in the browser (it doesn't work in the desktop version either) so unfortunately Google maps are out of our reach for now. Instead you can use something like [...]. For me, that's where testing for internet browsing ended since the player crashed while browsing Google maps freezing the whole unit. Like most computers (no matter what size) a quick power down and power up will fix that. VP6 encoded flash videos are not supported by this player which is a shame because a lot of content on the net uses that codec. If there is a direct download of other file formats for download, the browser will present you with a choice to either play them (stream it) or download it to your player once you click on any. It would also be nice if the browser be faster because it gets painfully slow sometimes. The pages on websites do render correctly, but long. The browser has no problems with YouTube videos/website either.
Although you can play music in the background while in your PMP's menu interface, once you access the browser, PDF reader, or try to manipulate your files, the music stops and doesn't remember where it stopped. It would be nice if they fixed that with the next firmware update. But if they don't, you can however quickly go back into the song played and fast forward using the touch screen and scroll to the point where the music was playing before. Archos 605 does have up to 32 bookmarks available for position marking for both your music and videos so you can resume it at a later time, only one bookmark per file.
The PDF reader can only be accessed through the file manager discussed later in this review. There is a PDF reader which can be a cool addition for reading books, but loading pages takes what is seems like forever and you can only read pages in 5:3 mode (player's normal holding position) and can't be flipped. There are some zoom options but that's about it for PDF features. You can also view text files all with the help of the browser.
Picture viewer does have a few nice features that do allow you to browse through your pictures using the touch screen by swiping your finger from left to right going forward or right to left going backwards. Bottom to left and vice-versa will rotate the picture 90 degrees. Zooming in and out is better navigated using the buttons on the side however. There seems to be also a limitation on how big the pictures have to be, to be viewed. My own experience taught me that you may have problems with some Jpegs over 7 mega pixels but I haven't tested that further.
File Manager will be useful to copy, delete, and rename files stored on your Archos. From there however you can access much more like your networked files stored on other computers/devices which are sharing allowing you to stream them. If you get one of the docking stations, and connect a flash drive or a hard drive, it will also show up there.
Little tabs on the top of your screen allow you to choose which of the two columns you are navigating enabling you to say copy a file from one location to another by opening folders in each.
When you go into the WIFI settings, you can turn on the server option making the Archos a wireless server which can be password protected if you wish and accessible from anywhere on your network.
My overall experience with the player is very positive, I think mostly from excitement, so I can't think objectively, but I think you'll be happy if you get one of these. If you travel a lot for long trips across Atlantic, on a train, or are passenger in a car, you will appreciate lack of boredom :) and you just can't beat the portability of this little gem.
Description of Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
The Archos 605 generation 5 portable media player comes with a convenient Wi-Fi feature, an attribute that offers the fastest and easiest way to access digital entertainment. You can use the built-WiFi capabilities of the Archos to download online media content from the Archos content portal: All you need is a usable Wi-Fi connection, and you're good to start downloading (fees may apply). With the Archos in hand, for the first time you can download favorite movies, TV shows, and music wherever you are, without being tied to the PC or Mac. Other great features include a full-color 4.3-inch touchscreen that crams in an amazing 800 x 480 picture resolution for superior picture quality and 160 GB of built-in memory.The Archos 605 generation 5 portable media player comes with a convenient Wi-Fi feature, an attribute that offers the fastest and easiest way to access digital entertainment. You can use the built-WiFi capabilities of the Archos to download online media content from the Archos content portal: All you need is a usable Wi-Fi connection, and you're good to start downloading (fees may apply). With the Archos in hand, for the first time you can download favorite movies, TV shows, and music wherever you are, without being tied to the PC or Mac. Other great features include a full-color 4.3-inch touchscreen that crams in an amazing 800 x 480 picture resolution for superior picture quality and 160 GB of built-in memory.
 The Archos 605 features a touch screen, high quality screen resolution, and Wi-Fi capabilities. View larger View bottom - View side. |
 Download your favorite movies, TV shows, and music, and bring it with you. |
With full Internet access, the player's Opera browser plug-in offers Adobe Flash support, which lets you access and enjoy YouTube and other Web video sites on your Archos device. By using the player, you can view and post YouTube videos wherever you are with an active wireless connection. In addition to downloading media straight from the Archos content portal, you can stream and watch videos from your home PC or laptop. For added video playback versatility, the player is compatible with MPEG4, AVI, and WMV video files. The player features robust music playback features, too. On-board music file playback capabilities support MP3, CBR, VBR, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files.
To help round out the player's multimedia superiority, the Archos even comes with photo viewing capabilities. JPEG, BMP, and PNG files are 100 percent compatible with the player, and the player can pull up PDFs for portable review -- an ideal means to take bigger documents or e-books in PDF format on the road with you. Because of the Archos's USB 2.0 compatibility, files can be quickly transferred to the device in the absence of a Wi-Fi network connection. Charging the device can also be accomplished with an active USB connection. An AC adapter is sold separately for additional charging options. Other great features include mass storage capabilities, automatic firmware downloads, and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. With an advanced Li-Poly battery, the player supports up to 17 hours of continuous music playback and 5.5 hours of continuous video playback. Weighing in at a scant 9.17 ounces, the Archos generation 5 605 measures 4.8 by 3.2 by 0.6 inches.
 New widgets for the Archos 605 include a calculator, currency converter, unit converter, news, and weather (above) as well as a note writer and data vault (below). |
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New Free Widget Pack
Archos has launched a new widget pack that is free for the 605. A widget is a piece of software that adds new features to your player. It gives you fun, quick, and easy access to hundreds of tools, right on the device. The package contains seven widgets, including a calculator, a currency converter, a unit converter, news, weather, a note writer, and a data vault.
To be able to use the widgets, you need to purchase the Web Browser plug-in (about $30). Then, you can download the free widget pack via Archos.com.
 New Dish Network plug-in for the Archos 605. |
New Dish Network Plug-in
With a new plug-in, you can transfer recorded movies and TV shows from your Dish Network set-top box directly to your Archos 605. Play back Dish Network-recorded movies and TV shows on the go or on TV--in DVD quality.
Multi-language is supported. The plug-in is compatible only with Dish Network STB models 622 and 722.
What's in the Box
Archos 605 Wi-Fi portable media player, headphones, USB cable, DVR Station Gen 5 adapter, protective pouch, quick start guide, and legal/safety notice.
 The device comes with photo viewing capabilities, supporting JPEG, BMP, and PNG files. |  Play any content that resides in the Windows Media Player library of your home PC or laptop. |
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(1)On average; based on 3.5 mins/song & 64 kbits/s WMA, on 1000 kbits/s MPEG-4 audio/video encoding and 1h30/movie (for near DVD Quality), on JPEG, VGA | ||||
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