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Detailed Review of the Archos AV420 PVR
ilovealpacas writes "The Globe and Mail has posted a step by step look at the Archos AV420. For about $1000 Canadian (I think that's $800 US), you get an 80GB portable video player and recorder that also plays MP3's and has a CF slot for pictures. Hmmm.....laptop?"
Yes, but does it run linux?
Aren't laptops cheaper than that, though?
I mean, even an iBook works out less.
"She's furniture with a pulse"
This definitely brings up the question of what overkill is. I think I may enjoy something like this, but at the same time, how much would I really use it for anything other than audio and maybe a little video.
For me it would probably end up as little more than an 80 GB mp3 player with a lot of extra hard drive storage space.
Does anybody out there think this would be better than a laptop? The only place I can see using this for movies or pictures would be on vacation or business trips where a laptop would be more practical.
what?
[curmudgeonly sneer] You bums need to read books instead of wasting yer money on these fancy schmantzy doo-dads. What? Too afraid to talk to the guy sitting next to you on the airplane?
Why, when I was a youngster...cough cough KACCCCCHHH...phtt.
Yeah? Well I think you're overrated too.
Personally, I will never buy another piece of equipment made by Archos. I had to take apart one of their Jukebox Recorders to try and get it to function at all. I discovered that the 4 circuit boards inside (which pretty much make up the entirety of the interior, and what the outer casing attaches to) are all held together with solder joints. As in they have attached the circuit boards to each other using solder. In addition, the battery contacts are on circuit boards at either end of the main boards. So when you put the batteries in, the pressure of the springs puts stress on the solder joints that hold the thing together.
Needless to say, I was not able to revive this piece of crap.
-Todd
"The details of my life are quite inconsequential..."
It couldn't have been that much of a stretch to add a DVD player could it? I'm sure all the other features are great, but when I think of mobile entertainment, DVD is 1st on the list. Ahh well I can't afford it anyway, so it's back to work.
I have an AV320 that I got from some consulting I did a while back (because he couldn't pay me in cash, har har har) and I absolutely love mine.
;-)
It's powered by embedded Linux (which I love) and it works like a dream. There have been many an airplane ride that was made easier because of my AV320
My biggest problem with mine (could not apply to this version) was that the screen wasn't well protected. A simple $8 camera carrying case and a pack of Palm screen protectors and this problem was solved.
If one can get a 2.4 Ghz laptop for $889, then is this thing overpriced?
The article description might be a little deceptive.
The Archos AV420 is only 20GB and it retails for about $470 on Amazon.com.
The AV480 is 80GB and is about $715 also from Amazon.com
Check out more information on the devices on Archo's own page located here.
"We'll need 2000 crickets, 4 cans of Easy Cheese, and the fluid from 18 glowsticks for this plan to work...." - ph0n1c
Hmmm.....laptop?
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I have an iRiver IHP-120 which I love, and have with me virtually everywhere, and beat the hell out of just by daily use. The cost of this Archos would make me leave it inside rather that drop it in my pocket and hop on the tractor (yes there are some of us rural type geeks :) I'd be too afraid to crack the screen, or otherwise break it.
So you're left with a movie player. An $800 portable movie player. WHY? As others have said you can grab a decent laptop for less than that, or even a $200, 3 year old laptop off of ebay will do everything device does. Sure it's not as cute or pretty, but seriously...
Introducing Microsoft Vacuum 1.0 The first Microsoft product that doesn't suck.
If you have to carry a notebook anyway with sufficient battery life, by all means - take that instead, but given a choice, i'd rather carry a 10oz device that works vs a 8 lbs device that runs microsoft.
-Em
RelevantElephants: A Somatic WebComic...
Lastly, the folks at Archos saw it fit to just let the AV420 be recognized as a hard drive. As in all other functions, files can be moved, renamed or deleted right on the device. Just plug it in via USB 2.0 and just drag and drop any files to your heart's content. If you prefer to synchronize your tunes, you can always use the included Musicmatch software.
This is where they got it right, whether a PVR is in the stars for you or not everyone should adopt this practice (that means you apple!). There is nothing more upsetting than getting a device that only wants to talk to its software for importing files. My old iPaq PocketPC would annoy the hell out of me because I couldn't just plug it in to any USB port on any computer and get files to/from it. At least the iPod lets you get at the "other" files stored on the HDD without iTunes or other synch software.
Or am I just crazy? Should we all just install Music Match and Real One so we can get files off our USB flashpenthumb drives with stickers on them?
Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the
This is not a laptop any more than an iPod is a PDA.
It's all about the UI. You turn it on and it plays movies. You don't log in or wait for stuff to boot, etc.
Also, most laptops don't have 80 gig drives, and are quite frankly not designed to watch movies or listen to music. The speakers and displays suck for such tasks. I have a little portable DVD player, and it's 7 inch screen is easier to see from a distance or angle than my laptop's.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
It will run Qtopia to be exact. . . They say it will be out before christmas and will have all PDA functions in addition to a hard drive and audio/video functions. It should be a nifty gadget if it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Plusses:
- Use it to time-shift your TV shows
- Can edit out commercials
- Can alter the screen ratio to normal, full, 4:3, or 16:9 (letterboxing)
- Boots up in seconds (as opposed to laptops)
- Shows recorded on the unit can be played on your PC (or is that a minus?)
- Can import TV listings from Yahoo! for programming
- Create playlists on the fly with s split screen and allows you to sort music files by artist, album, title, genre, year or playlist
- Built in microphone for live recording in addition to in-line recording
Minuses:
- For the best video playback at 2,500 Kbps (near television quality), using about 2GB per hour of recording; so 20GB model holds about 10 hours (80 GB model holds about 40 hours)
- Device will record files up to 2GB in size before closing that file and starting another
- By default, external speakers stay on, even when you plug in the headphones (potentially embarassing and annoying)
- Freezes on last image when fast-forwarding or rewinding so that you can't observe your progress
- Can't program for repeat events (such as weekly episodes), each episode has to be programmed seperately
- Gapless playback of songs is not supported
- Navigation buttons are not backlit, making use in very low-light situations difficult
- Records in WAV format only
Sig cancelled due to lack of interest