AdzTechBlog

My first post for a while!

I recently decided I wanted to upgrade from my Ipod 60gb Video to something with more storage and was better for videos.  Having heard a lot of good things about the Archos players I decided to give one a go.

The 605 WiFi is part of the latest range of Archos portable video players, capable of playing most popular video and audio files, although you will probably need to pay an extra for “plugins” to be able to play some types of content. These plugins seem more like mini codec packs, and seeing as there a full library’s of codecs on the internet available for free, you’ll still have to part with £15 per plugin with this player. There are also other plugins including a web browser (Opera) etc.

Even without the plugins, the Archos video players still support alot of formats out of the box. Which are what I have been trialing.

The first obvious difference between the 605 and other video/music players is the screen, at 4.3 inches its the perfect size for watching while keeping the device pocketable. This is a key point, for the device to function as an MP3 player, it must be able to fit in a pocket. It is a bit on the weighty side,but does come with a little flip out stand for extended watching.

Video quality is top notch, as is to be expected from the 800 x 480 resolution screen, however, sound quality is well behind that of the iPod, but is still of a good enough quality for extended listening.

Now the best bit, as all iPod users know, your very restricted by how you use your iPod. Everything has to be in iTunes, no questions answered. While itunes is a pretty decent media manager, it can be a little deceiving to a newbie. You could have a ton of music and video in the iTunes that isn’t actually compatible with the iPod. Any tracks protected by DRM not bought from Apple are a no go, as well as any video not in a specific format. This is where the Archos takes a step ahead. They aren’t restricted any any specific peice of software, in fact there isn’t any software at all. Simply plug it into a PC/Mac and its detected. It can be automatically synced with Windows Media Player, or you can just copy what you want straight onto it via My Computer. The filing system is basic, just put your music in the Music folder, videos in Videos etc. As soon as you disconnect the USB cable, it searches for any new content automatically.

With so many of the popular video and audio types supported, you won’t have to worry about converting any of your files either. Simply rip a DVD or CD and copy straight to the 605. No more having to pay for specific video converters.

The Archos 605 WiFi comes with varying storage capacities. From the 4 gb flash model through to the 160gb model. The higher capacity models are slightly thicker and weigh a little more, but with 160 gb you can carry hundreds of DVD quality movies and a ton of music and photos. Plus take the USB cable with you and you also have a portable hard drive handy for copying things onto in a rush.

Lastly I will look at the other bit of the device that makes it stand out form the rest. The WiFi bit. With computers becoming a bigger part of our life, more and more people are keeping their photo’s, movies, music etc stored on them. With the 605 WiFi, you can now connect wirelessly to your PC and view your media from anywhere in your house. Which is great if you can’t fit everything on you Archos, however, I found this to be a little on the useless side as, of course, you have to be connected to your wireless network to access any pc’s or servers on it. Hopefully they will add support Slingbox etc. There is an optional web browser plugin available, which means the 605 can be used for browsing the web if your near a hot spot, but I really think there could be more done with this feature. EG, how about being able to copy to the device wirelessly? Not via USB or being able to connect to other devices with WiFi to share content?

There are also plenty of accessories available, including a PVR dock allowing you to record TV direct you your 605 and a camera.

My conclusion is, the 605 is the best portable device on the market for playing videos at the moment. However if its more music your interested in, there are more practical options, including the iPod. The need to download plugins is also a down point. So the Archos 605 WiFi gets an 8 out of 10.

Archos seems to be following suit with the other big tech suppliers at the moment, and just holding back a little. A lot of suppliers seem very reluctant to go out and put all the latest tech in their gadgets. The same is with Nokia and its Nseries, each release there’s something they seem to deliberately leave out. The only exception to this so far has been Qnap with their range of NAS servers!