AV4100 - The worlds first100GB handheld media player. The AV4100 experience starts in the livingroom! With the AV4100 you can record and watch videos on the largecolor LCD screen listen to your favorite music and view your entiredigital photo album all on one device. MODEL- 500698 VENDOR- ARCHOS INC FEATURES- Pocket Video Recorder AV420- 100GB Portable Entertainment. Anytime Anywhere The ARCHOS Pocket Video Recorder AV400 Series is the ultimate handheld digital video recorder that offers TV recording and a portable home entertainment center in one pocket-sized device. The AV400 experience starts in the living room where you can record TV shows and movies directly from a TV VCR or cable/satellite receiver with a convenient one-time set-up TV Cradle. But entertainment enjoyment goes far beyond the living room. When on the go you can watch videos and view photos on the large color LCD screen listen to and record music transfer photos from your digital camera and data files from your PC. Includes AV4100 TV Cradle with audio/video connections & SCART adapters for European version Remote Control with 2 AA batteries Protective case USB 2.0 cable Stereo headphone Manual AC adapter/charger with US/UK/EU plug.* Record up to 400 hours of TV programs and video content from a TV VCR or cable/satellite receiver using the TV cradle.* Program recordings using the Recording Scheduler which directly controls the VCR or set-top box tuner.* Store and watch up to 200 full-length movies.* Enjoy up to 4 1/2 hours of video playback on the color LCD while on the go.* Download/transfer/record up to 1500 hours of music.* Store and view up to 1000000 JPEG photos.* Play MP3 WMA (including protected files) and WAV music files.* Listen to and record off the radio (with optional FM Radio & Remote Control).* Download and store files from a PC. -- SPECIFICATIONs -------------------------------------INTERFACE - USB 2.0 high-speed compatible USB 1.1 PC & Mac. Built-in CompactFlash Type ...
1 Not bad.
First off, let me start by stating that I am not rich. This was a major purchase for me. As a college student, I really had serious reservations about spending so much on an mp3 player and video recorder. But after having spent money on an ipod (which ended up flaking out on me after a few months) and an iriver h320 (which I do love, but I can't get its data file to update with my ibook and have a "tremendously" difficult time getting my ibook to recognize the iriver h320 as so many others have and not being successsful to get linux to recognize it without a lot of late nights), I decided to purchase the av4100. I didn't get the av420, since I have about 15G of music on my ibook. I didn't get the av480, since there are concerns in the reviews about the hard drive itself. I must say that the av4100 has been worth the price. I do have issues with navigating through the folders and files, but I think those issues will go away once I'm comfortable with the buttons. The av4100 is easily recognized by my ibook. I haven't tried it on a linux box yet. I have used the video recorder. It's awesome. I think the av4100 is well-built and well-designed. The only drawback is that it does not play mpeg4 files. I had to convert all my music files to mp3s. Very annoying. But overall, I'm happy with my very pricy purchase. I can see that this device will bring me lots of happiness.
2 Everything I had expected it to be...
I have had my Archos AV4100 (100 GB version) for about a week now, and I must say, it is wonderful! Before purchasing it, I read many many reviews both on Amazon and on the WWW. Some of the reviews were really good and others reported problems such as frequent freezing, bad sound quality, etc, etc. However, I must say, I am very pleased with my purchase; and believe me, I put a lot of thought into it (5 monthes of thinking to be exact). It is a rather large investment, but I must say, it is worth it. And here is why:
- The setup was a no brainer. You plug it into your computer with the USB and the computer will automatically detect your new hardware and install all the needed software and drivers (since they're all in the ARCHOS device).
- The TV/VCR/DVD recording setup and usage is really simple. However, if your DVD is copyright protected, you'll only be able to play it back on the LCD (it won't play on your TV or on your computer).
- The sound quality is fine. The speaker can become really squeaky and coarse if you put it up really loud, but in general, the sound is not bad at all.
- I haven't really used the photo-viewing ability, but so far, with the sample pictures that comes with the device, the photoviewer works fine.
- The music player is really cool. The interface is exceptional and if you play on shuffle, it'll display what the next song in queue is. The only disappointment that I have with the music player is the playlist. It was a little confusing at first to set up a playlist and even after I made one, it didn't show up when I wanted it to. But after a little playing around, I figured everything out.
- Lastly, I did have a freezing problem the 2nd day I had the device, but the manual (you can find it online) explained how to troubleshoot the problem, and after updating the OS (all new firmware can be downloaded through the Archos website for free), I didn't have that problem again.
Thus, the Archos AV4100 is a great device and I definitely recommend it to anyone; it is well worth the price. Plus, I would get the 100GB version, because 20GB is just not enough when you're talking about videos that take up about 4GB each, and I wouldn't get the 80GB one because apparently it has some more flaws than it should. Also, is you want this for entertainment purposes, the 100GB model is the one for you.
The Archos PMA430 (the palm pilot-ish/video/mp3/picture player/viewer thing) is a great innovation but it is really slow and there are still a lot of bugs with the software and stuff. I was gonna buy the PMA430, but after seeing the video on this site (http://www.archosfans.com), I realized that the palm functions of the PMA430 weren't that great at all. So if you really really want a palm pilot and an PMP/PVP all in one device, wait a while and see what else comes onto the market later on in the year. But if you want a stellar PVP NOW, Archos AV4100 is the one for you.
Oh and the PSP is a mere TOY compared to the AV4100. Don't even try to put these two devices on the same spectrum! The PSP only comes with a 32MB internal memory, which means you can't put anything on it and to view movies on it, you have to buy those little disks that the player reads, which is costly and such a hassle to carry around if you're travelling. The Archos is so much better. That is unless you're a serious gamer.
3 Excellent product!
I agree! Fast USB, video support for AVI's (I've already ripped several of my as yet unwatched DVDs to it for watching on the subway), records my favorite shows (Medium, American Idol, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica) directly to hard drive for later viewing, great video quality, great picture support (jpg, gif, etc.), wonderful full sound for movies and MP3s (not tinny or tiny like my other MP3 player), 100G allows to be used as a portable hard drive for my work files. Screen brightness is great. Was also worried about the quality probs I read about earlier but no such problem now it appears. I've ordered an additional power supply for the office, special standup carrying case, and remote/FM recorder. Definitely highly recommended -- it's my new travelling companion! (BTW, just picked up sony noise cancelling headphones for that theater feel on the noisy trains.) Terence
4 Archos AV4100 - Excellent Product
Wow is what I say! I got my unit about a week ago, and have been having a blast with it! It beats the socks off my Creative 60G MP3 player in many ways:
- It plays video!
- It's 100G instead of 60G
- Its USB 2.0 connection is MUCH faster than the Creative (I can send over a whole album in a few seconds)
- The unit's interface is easy to use and navigate
- It plays video!
- The audio and video sound is much better, richer (there's a bass boost that's really good)
- Its video is GREAT (I've ripped and loaded several of my DVDs to it and they play really well with good color and sound)
- The screen is bright (even in the middle setting it's bright enough for everyday use)
- It records my fave TV shows to take with me on my subway ride
- Did I mention that it plays video!
- The resume function works great (I can stop a video or song in mid-stream when, say, lunch is over, and then pick back up on my way home; I can even set up bookmarks in different files to jump to that part of the file)
- It acts like a hard drive so I can use SecondCopy to autosync my music and videos without having to launch WMP, MMJB, etc. (except for a few DRM files I have, then I have to use WMP)
- All the previous quality issues I've read about with the Archos products seem to have been fixed
Highly, HIGHLY recommended!
