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
Rating: - Too Cool
This is the best linux driven media player available today. The price is low, and the value is high. I love playing with thing. Internet, share computer files, hdtv, too much to list! Buy one!
Rating: - What a disappointment!
I hate to be negative but it's the only conclusion i can draw here.
I ordered the Archos 605 160GB unit on December 31st and by January 7th it was a paperweight.
I was very excited about the unit, the huge amount of storage and the packaged features made it look like a very attractive alternative to the iTouch. What i found though was a buggy unit with a hard to use interface. In the first day i was forced to reset the unit several times as it kept locking up and when i put it on the DVR recorder for any extended amount of time it would lock up and miss programs i had scheduled to record. I then took it on a cross country flight and struggled just to get it to show a single movie. it would lock up, skip and just be non-responsive. with a unit that needs to be reset so often you would think that process might be easier to handle...it isnt...the reset hole is too small for even a paperclip to access nevermind the cheap plastic stylus they provide. i ultimately had to resort to a single staple to reset the unit.
I assumed that i must have just received a buggy unit so i tried contacting support. the website was pretty unreliable when i finally did get through i was told i had to submit an RMA request to get them to look at the unit. this request took a couple of days to accomplish with Archos asking for the same infromation twice. Once I got the RMA established i went to the site to print the mailing label....guess who has to pay shipping? that's right. I was informed that Archos would cover the cost of mailing the "fixed" unit back to me but getting the unit to them would be on my own dime. this was the last straw for me. I decided that having to pay to get a unit that broke in less than two weeks fixed was too much of an insult. luckily i bought the unit through Amazon and their return policy is much easier to navigate and they PAY the shipping!
the unit had a lot of potential and i was severely disappointed not only with the quality of the unit but with the lack of accountability from Archos.
Rating: - Worst technology product on the market
This is the worst technology product I have ever purchased. I bought it so I don't have to carry a portable dvd player, but have found it is impossible to download dvd's on to the hard drive and make the play on the archos. I have tried several different programs to accomplish this and none work. I then have found that after waiting up to an hour on hold for tech support, they refuse to be help.
I strongly recommend NOT buying this product.
Rating: - Archos is a solid performer, and I like it
The Archos player is pretty cool. Not as cool as it could be, but cool enough. Here are my observations:
a. Awesome video quality. The fact that the screen is bigger really helps.
b. Multiple file formats supported. That by itself beats out the iPod and other players. You can drop divx, mpeg and a host of other formats onto the device and they will play just nicely.
c. It is really easy to use. Drag and drop is the way to go. The only thing that you will have to pay attention to is editing video that you record from TV. If you screw it up it could be painful.
d. Archos support has not been bad. It will take them about a day to answer your emails. If you are patient you can call the hotline. The folks there were really helpful. So I don't have a problem with them.
e. The battery sucks so bad it is sad. You can barley turn the damn thing on without it losing 2 bars on the energy indicator. So if you are doing a lot of traveling you will need to buy the battery pack (whichever one you want).
f. They nickel and dime you on the plugins and other stuff. That is really frustrating. I shelled out $70 for the internet, podcast and video plugin. These functions should be inherent to the device. If each player came with these features out of the box I am sure Archos would gain a greater market share.
g. The DVR station is a must. Correction...don't buy the DVR station buy the travel one. It is cheaper and does the same thing. Either way you are going to want that capability. It ain't cheap. The DVR station was another $80 or $90 bucks. I recorded a show the other day and edited out the commercials on the device. Worked like a charm and now I am hooked.
h. I bought the 80g version. I have loaded about 50 music videos, 10-15 movies and a bunch of music and I still have about/or more than 40 gigs left. If you are going to DVR a lot of stuff you will need to get the 160gig. You can basically put your whole collection of stuff on the 160gig player. You won't play much of it due to the battery life.
i. Don't buy the leather case from the archos website. It is the one with Archos stamped on it. If you are going to buy a case buy the one that has the stylus holder on it. I think it is about $50 from Amazon. It is a better leather case. A better buy is to pick up a $10 case logic case from best buy. They sell them for holding external hard drives.
j. You need to buy a screen protector. I have not but I will.
k. The wifi thing is kind of overrated. It works and works pretty well. But I don't use it very much. If it were like the iPhone it would be better. If you can't use the internet on the go, outside of the house, it does not do much for you.
l. Also, no one has really talked about any security issues either. I am not sure how much we are at risk when using this thing in public.
Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB) Reviews
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