Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (30 GB)
by Archos
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Our Price: $374.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $134.95 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (30 GB)
Customer Review: Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (30 GB)
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent product ,I use it in conjuction with Archos camera ,used for body camera and suv camera.
Lightweight and compact ,easy to conceal.
Customer Review: The Future in your Pocket
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned the Archos 605 unit for a couple of months now and there is just not enough I can say about this nifty device. You will be blown away by the amazing quality of the 800x480 resolution 4.3 inch screen. The unit is smaller than a PSP but holds so much more potential. First, I must discuss the problems with the Archos 605, though none are essentially important.
The Archos 605 has the ability to view PDFs using the file browser but my only complaint is that loading a PDF is rather slow and the fact that flipping pages requires several seconds to load is ridiculous.
The plugins are optional. I do not have many problems with this nuisance but I hate the fact that I have to pay for the web browser. The browser is Opera powered and works relatively well though it is still on the slow side (a firmwire update will surely fix this problem). This is where I run into most of my problems though. I can web surf on Amazon with the Archos 605 but sometimes the unit loses the connection and freezes or resets on its own. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is but hopefully Archos will fix this in a future firmwire update.
The other plugins are somewhat frivolous but I believe Archos is charging too much. $20 in order to watch MPEG-2, H.264, or MPEG-4 movie files is overpriced. My way around this hassle is converting my video files, which I have no problem with doing. I enjoy the fact that I rarely have to convert video because of the Archos 605's large codec support. The best feature is the fact that the Archos 605 can be connected to any computer and no hassling synchronization software is necessary.
Now that the minor issues are out of the way, I must explain a little bit about the Archos 605 unit. The best settings for converting High Definition content to high-quality standard definition video is a 720x406 resolution and 3072 kbit/s. Though the Archos 605 can support a higher bitrate, 3 mbps is very good quality and is viewable without any drop in framerate. Compared to the PSP settings of 2.5 mbps at 368x208, the Archos 605 clearly is the best portable media player for viewing video.
One thing to understand is that the Archos 605 runs on a harddrive using a linux operating system. This means that the unit takes a little while to startup. This is not really an issue but people should be aware of why the unit does not seem to be doing anything for about a half a minute when booted up.
The video feature is the main reason I use my Archos 605. Archos was generous enough to create movie clip thumbnails for each video in the video folder. If you need high definition content that you want to convert and watch on your Archos 605, you should look at the Apple Quicktime Gallery or on Stage6.
The music feature allows for the creation of playlists (takes a little bit of learning to get used to) and displays any album artwork. I would say that the music quality is okay on the Archos 605 (video is where the 605 really shines).
The photo feature has some touchscreen controls that aren't as gimmicky as an iPhone but are still nice to have. Pictures look very crisp on the high resolution screen.
The file browser is a great underrated feature that allows for moving, copying, and renaming files. The ability to organize is great. Also, you can access files from a Windows PC (using Windows Media Player 11 to turn on media sharing).
I tested the media streaming option and I am still stunned at the Archos 605's capabilities. I can watch a movie on an external hard drive attached to my computer by setting a folder's properties to allow sharing. The file opens quickly, never loses connection, allows for skipping around, and works as if the video were on the Archos 605's harddrive.
I am unable to go in-depth enough on every feature of the Archos 605 but this portable media player is unbelievable and a must-have for any HD addict or aspiring photographer/videographer. If you do buy the Archos 605, get the DVR station (eventually) to make full use of the Archos 605 but get the mini docking station immediately in order to charge the 605 quickly.
Customer Review: Well worth the purchase if you buy the DVR station as well:
Summary: 4 Stars
The Archos 605wifi is, for the most part, a great product. The interface is easy to work around in, and its out of the box capabilities are decent. Moving files to and from the hard drive, while not as easy as say an iPod, is a lot more of an open ended system that doesn't attempt to protect you from yourself in terms of locking the player to a certain computer. What you have here is a portable hard drive that lets you view your pdfs, movies and photos as well as listen to your music. It does each of these tasks efficiently and really begins to prove its worth when you take it on longer trips. Out of the box it also comes with a good file management system that allows you to delete files directly through the system menu, which allows you to make space while you are on the go and don't necessarily have a computer handy. This defiantly proves worthwhile when you access the expanding Content Portal and want to download a movie while you are on the move, but don't have enough hard drive space to support it. When you are around PC's networked wirelessly and have access to them, the 605 also allows you to stream audio and video directly from them, as well as download new files.
Now... to be honest, while those features are all nice, after I was done playing with them I never felt like they justified the price of the player as a package.
This is where the plugins come in. Most people will likely drop the $29.99 for the Opera browser, which is steep, but again is nice to have. The browser is quick and easy to use, and works better then most portable web browsers I have worked with. If you have used an iPhone, it is very comparable to how Safari works on it, which is defiantly a good thing.
The player only truly ever justifies its purchase though, when you connect it to the DVR station, which is bought separately. In any home theater system, this is a godsend of a budget component. The dock outputs to your TV and accepts inputs from many devices (in my case a cable box). What's nice about this is that you can use the combination as a more open ended Apple TV system that allows you to use all the wireless streaming video/audio/picture capabilities of the system, while having it connected to the TV. This saves a lot of hassle, say if you have a divx file you want to watch on your computer and do not want to go through the process of burning and converting it to something your DVD player would accept. With this system, you just connect to the network, navigate to the folder on your computer where the file is, and viola, it streams to your TV!
For those who don't own a DVR or want to make their recordings more mobile, the DVR station when connected to the Archos also accepts schedules of your cable programs from a list that is updated by Archos, and allows you to record from the TV either automatically or manually. You then have a mobile version of your favorite show that can either be moved to your computer, or watched like one would any DVR/Tivo program, with all the pause, forward and rewind features to get rid of those pesky adverts.
The Archos certainly has its faults though. Without the DVR station the battery takes forever (no joke) to fully charge. Furthermore, not all the features have been implemented yet, the content portal is slow to get the new suppliers, the widgets system is nonexistent as of writing this review, and current accessories are virtually barren aside from a helmet camera (that lets you record what you see while on the move), the DVR and some batteries. Even the official cases for the generation 5 line aren't released yet, leaving all current owners limited to using either the only supplier on the market (over priced and generally not a great case) or protecting their Archos with the factory supplied case which is quite possibly one of the most unpractical cases the company could have made. Finally it doesn't have the fun gimicky ease of use an iPod touch would have. It's bulky, thanks to the hard drive, and the buttons on the side (while very useful) don't do anything to help the 605's dire need for a little sex appeal.
Customer Review: Great for video, good for music, weak for internet
Summary: 4 Stars
The video playback on this player is excellent. The killer app for this device is the DVR attachment or if you have Dish Network you can transfer files directly from some models of the Dish DVR. It is better than paying i tunes. The sound quality is good but sometimes you get a click sound when the screen dims to save power. Player is compatible with lots of file types. You have to pay for extras like web browser. This device can be set up so when you plug in the USB, it can to be recognized as a media player, or as an external hard drive. I thought that was a very cool feature and I wish I had bought the 80 or 160 gig so I can use it as a external hard drive when traveling. I was disappointed with the user interface. It is awkward, doesn't make good use of the touch screen, uses weird symbols, and you have to work with multiple layers of windows to get to what you want. The widgets are weak and difficult to use. You cannot sync the contacts, calendar, or notes like a PDA so when you add in the limited text entering ability, the widgets are almost worthless. You can't customize the screen or interface. You have to read the manual to understand the device because it is not very intuitive. It is difficult to do things like delete files. The PDF reader works well but it would be better if you could change pages with the touch screen. The optional games are worth $10. The browser crashes occasionally and the wifi reception is weak. The ability to share media files wirelessly on a home network is very cool. The player has a solid build but you have to lock the buttons if you put it in a pocket because the sensitive buttons and touch screen will make the device go crazy. The button to lock the device is slow and difficult because it is supposed to have a different function when connected to a TV.
I bought this device to replace an old PDA that I used for media files, limited Wifi, eBook reading, and as a PIM. It is a poor choice for that because of weak user interface and inability to sync. I can read some eBooks as html or PDF files but turning pages is slow. The unexpected benefit is it is a GREAT video player and a versatile MP3 player. I am hoping for multiple software updates to improve the user interface. Overall it is GREAT for video, very good for music, Great for file storage, weak but usable for Internet browsing, and for weak PDA type functions
Customer Review: great product!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I did alot of research before buying this and after several weeks bought the 605 30gb. I am happy with my purchase, but I would like to say that there are a few things you will need to realize before you buy this #1 I was confused about if this thing had a SD slot and it doesn't which was my own fault I didn't read the description better (the smaller one I think its like a 10gb not sure is the only one that has the SD slot #2 I bought mine to take on tripos and watch movies on and it works great (excellent picture and quailty) and after buying all the extra plug-ins was able to surf the web (now let me say this aint no laptop so if your buying exspecting the same speed as a laptop better save your money and buy one but if you are just looking to check your mail do alittle surffing and be able to slide it into your pocket after you got the best) #3 I would like to say that the customer sewrvice really SUCKS, and for the money you have to spend on this it seems like they would treat the customer better. #4My only real complaint with my 605 is thatthe battery is awful and since it isnt replacable that makes it a major problem (mine only last maybe 4-6 hours) I have to say I thought I might have made a mistake buying a 30gb but I have alot of music on mine and keep maybe 4-5 movies on at alll times but could easly have 30 if I wanted I just erase them after I get through and load on a new onefrom my desktop which is really easy (and I aint the most computer friendly person in the world). Oh one more thing the speakers?!?!?! Weeelllll lets just say it aint no bose sound system it is what it is a personal player and with the includede earbuds it works great but if you are going to trey and use it as a sterio you wont be happy unless you get that thing archs has you can set the unit into and plug up to that has built in speakers, my next purchase is gonna be a DVR staion I am waiting a few months for the new to ware off so I can get a refurbished or atleast alittle better price.Good luck with your decission and I hope I helped you alittle ans sorry about the misspelled words.