Product Description

Store up to 30 movies, 300,000 photos, or 15,000 songs with the 30GB hard drive. Enjoy the high quality video on a 4.3" color screen. Easily to navigate menus. Turn your ARCHOS 604 into a DVR: Record TV from a TV, VCR, DVD Player and cable box or satellite reciever on your ARCHOS with the optional DVR Station

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31543 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Grey
• Brand: Archos
• Model: 500860
• Released on: 2006-09-01
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x 1.00" w x 4.00" l, 4.00 pounds
• Hard Disk: 30GB
• Display size: 4.3

Features

• Lightweight and portable digital video, movie, music player and photo viewer with easy-to-use, intuitive controls and a bright 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen
• 30 gigabyte hard disk lets you store up to 15,000 songs, 300,000 pictures, or 85 movies, or any combination thereof
• Compatible with MP3, WAV, WMA and protected WMA music files, JPEG, BMP, and PNG picture files, and MPEG-4 and WMV video files
• Uses high-speed USB 2.0 for both file transfers and charging, and includes a removable, rechargeable Lithium-Ion polymer battery with up to 16 hours of music and 5 hours of video life
• Lets you play music through a stereo or videos over your TV via an optional docking station, weighs only 9.05 ounces, and measures approximately 5.1 x 3 x 0.65 inches (W x H x D)

Amazon.com Product Description
With the Archos 500860 604 30GB Ultra-Slim Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder you have all the entertainment you need at your fingertips, in a package that approaches iPod size. The perfect companion for everything from long trips to short bus rides, from going to parties to just hanging out around the house, the Archos 604 lets you not only take your favorite music, movies, and moments with you, but helps you make new favorite moments wherever you happen to be.

With a screen size surface three times that of similar size PMPs (portable media players), the Archos 604 ensures you can thoroughly enjoy movies and videos. This unit uses a bright, 4.3-inch TFT LCD display with over 16 million colors to provide you a crystal-clear, sharp picture with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 480 x 272 pixels of resolution, as well as an intuitive GUI (graphic user interface) for easy-to-use navigation. The Archos 604 not only plays your videos and movies, but lets you store up to a whopping 85 movies on its hard drive in either MPEG-4 or WMV formats at up to DVD resolution. You can also purchase and download optional plug-ins from Archos' website that will allow you to play H.264 and MPEG-2 formats up to DVD resolutions as well.

Not only is the Archos 604 a portable video and movie player, but a high-resolution photo viewer as well, complete with features such as zoom, music, and transition effects. You can easily download photos from your PC, or transfer them directly to the 604 from your digital camera via the optional docking adapter. This unit is compatible with JPEG, BMP, and PNG file formats, and can hold up to 300,000 photos at a time, depending upon file size and what else you are storing at the same time. The Archos 604 can even read and display PDF documents for on-the-fly work situations, although it may not implement all PDF features.

For those times when you can't afford the distraction of watching high-quality videos, the Archos 604 can be your music player, storing and playing up to 15,000 songs so you can keep working, walking, or doing whatever you need with your own private soundtrack. This unit displays the track, artist, album, and album cover of whatever you are playing, and supports stereo MP3 decoding from 30 to 320 kbps CBR and VBR, as well as WMA, protected WMA, and WAV (PCM/ADPCM) formats. Furthermore, the Archos 604 can play AAC music files, and AC3 stereo sound files with the additional of optional software plug-ins that can be purchased and downloaded from Archos' web site. And just in case inspiration strikes or you want to make sure you don't forget something important, this handy media player lets you make voice recordings through its built-in microphone, or via the optional DVR travel adapter or DVR station through a stereo line-in jack in WAV format.

The Archos 604 is fully compatible with DVD-quality VOD (video on demand) and online music stores, allowing you to purchase and download new music and movies directly online rather than having to transfer everything from more traditional media sources. This media player can also record directly from TV in high-quality MPEG-4 with stereo sound via the optional DVR station, so you can take your favorite television shows with you wherever you go. And if you are at home, the Archos 604 can play back any of your movies or recorded TV programs on your television itself, also through the optional DVR station.

The Archos 604 has a built-in 30 gigabyte hard disk so you have plenty of space for anything you need, and includes a high-speed USB 2.0 connection for transferring files. This unit features a 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack mini-jack and TV output, dedicated connectors for hooking up optional adapters or the DVR station, and a built-in kick stand for convenient table-top viewing. The 604 also features a music playback time of up to 16 hours, and a video playback time of up to five hours on its built-in LCD display, all with its internal, removable lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery that charges via computer through its USB port, or more quickly with the optional docking adapter or DVR station. The Archos 604 is compatible with both PCs and Macs with a USB port and Linux, Windows ME or higher, or OS X or higher, and requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher and Windows Media Player 10 or higher for use with PlayForSure video and subscription services. This media player allows firmware updates to be downloaded via www.archos.com, weighs approximately 9.05 ounces, and measures approximately 5.1 x 3 x 0.65 inches (W x H x D).

What's in the Box
Archos 604 portable media player and recorder, headphones, dedicated USB 2.0 cable, DVR station adapter, pouch, quick-start guide, and legal and safety notices.

Customer Reviews

A home run.
The Archos 604 Video player is wonderful piece of electronics. It is a great update of the venerable AV500 and takes care of all of the problems of its predecessors.

Package Contained
Archos 604, 1 battery, nice ear bud headphones, 1 proprietary USB 2.0 cable used to charge the device and transfer content from your computer, setup guide and legal stuff, DVR station adapter and a storage sack.

The Great
The screen is totally amazing: Big, Bright and Beautiful in a 16:9 layout. It has a 30 Gig HD which many people will think is probably on the small size, but I find it more that enough to store 8-10 movies and 8-10 TV shows leaving more than 20 gigs for music. And how much do you really need for movies and TV. These are not like music files: once you view a TV or movie a few times you will want to delete it and put newer movies and TV shows on the unit. More space would be nice, but the 30 here is more than enough for what this unit will be used for, ie watching on the go.

Viewing angle is very wide. The unit itself is well constructed and is made up of a high density plastic and metal - a nice surprise when most people are using only plastic to save money and lessen weight. Here too the 604 has really improved the surface of the metal with a very nice brushed surface that always looks clean: no fingerprints show.

Included are a few sample files to show off the 604 abilities in the video and music areas. The manual is right in the unit in a pdf file which is a very nice feature. The 604 can view most pdf files and the screen is so nice reading and viewing them is a pleasure. I bought my 604 to watch stuff on the go, and this unit is PERFECT for that.

Archos technical support is easy to call and they pickup and give advice without putting you through the ringer or automated FAQ system - another nice surprise.

The 604 has a Replaceable battery! Don't by any product where you can't replace the battery.

Battery life is wonderful for music at over 14 hours when listening to music only. When using it to play videos, I am getting 4+ hours of use before the battery is exhausted. Looking at pictures and listening to music falls somewhere between 7 and 10+ hours.

The interface looks really cool with lots of interactive items. When connected to your computer it asks you what you want to do: charge only, sync (via Windows Media 10) or mount as a hard drive. No installation discs come with the unit as they are not needed. Only thing you need to do is make sure Windows Media 10 (a free download from Microsoft) is installed if you want to use the it for syncing files, but it is not required as you can drag and drop files on the the 604 in HD mode just like any regular hard drive.

The speaker is small but actually sounds good considering its size - perfect for office or desk listening or to share video clips with friends gathered around. The built in Kickstand is extremely cool here and makes playing videos and watching them at your desk very slick.

The built in microphone works exceptionally well and picks up even the softest sounds clearly.

The photo viewer is great and and is fun to use (slide show, rotate, etc.). You can even listen to music while you view pictures which is a wonderful feature: just start listening to music before you switch over to viewing photos.

The Not So Great
Many might be disappointed that it comes with no cables to play back video on television, but again what this unit is really useful for is watching video ON THE GO. If you want a DVR for your house, get a Tivo or something similar or get the additional add-on that make the 604 a full featured DVR, but if you go this route, I would suggest getting the 504 with the bigger HD. Although there to you will pay more for the additional storage size, and you will also have to buy the cables to enable it to record live shows.

The navigation buttons take a bit of getting used to of course, but the design is really quite simple and straight forward.

Things to do when you get your unit.
Be sure to go to the archos website and get the firmware update from the download section for the Archos 604 and update it right away. It adds functionality.

The very bad
The storage bag is useless: provides no more protection than a zip-lock bag. Don't worry, there will be many people selling skins for this unit soon.

Update on 9-20-06:
I wanted to pass along a few more things since my review. I have used the Archos 604 for the past 3 weeks now and I am even more impressed then when I first wrote my review. The unit is just so light and compact for what it offers. This is not like an iPod of course, but with that you gain such a beautiful screen for doing all the things an iPod or similar just can't do. I use the Archos to workout (cardio), currently watching LOST, and the time just flies by.

I have not had any problem connecting or transferring files to the Archos 604: it just works well.

Update on October 4th, 2006:
I have played around with the display setting for brightness and have discovered that if you reduce the brightness to the minimum level (still super acceptable for viewing IMO) you can get about an extra 1 hour of viewing of videos.

Update on October 27th 2006:
The H.264 - AAC sound plug-in was released a few days ago. I downloaded it and installed it easily. The plug-in is tied to your unit so no sharing the codex. Now there is no reason to convert iPod videos for the Archos, they play perfectly with this new plug-in. The plug in was $19.99. The DVD video plug-in also works perfectly and I installed it also without problems and have watched some wonderful DVD movies without having to convert them to a different format. This plug-in was also 19.99. I wish Archos had included these in the original price.

Update on December 5th, 2006:
The Archos 604 as of this date supports the following files types (some may require a plugin: see the Archos website for details).
.divx
.xvid
.wmv
.wma
.m4v
mpeg-4
mpeg-2
.vob
.mpg
.ps
.mp4
.ac3
.acc
.mov (H264)

Summary
This is a very cool device and is certainly easy on the eyes. This blows away any other portable video player (PMP) on the market and the price is incredibly low for what it offers. The very low price will make this a must have item for watching video on the go if you can find it for sale. My 604 is just such a joy to use. I am never without high quality TV shows or DVD movies now no matter where I find myself. The size is just perfect, any larger and it would be cumbersome, and smaller and it would produce eye strain like I had with the video iPod.

Overall, I continue to be very, very happy that I bought the Archos 604.

Glad I finally pulled the trigger
My co-worker and I have been considering buying an Archos for quite some time now. We considered the AV500, AV700, and whichever model was before the AV500. Until now, the prices were too high for us, but now the prices are in iPod and Creative territory, which made the decision a no-brainer. The toughest decision was whether I should get the 404, 504, or 604.

What I like:
- One reason I chose the 604 over the 504 was the size. The 504 is a little thicker, and I thought the 604 would also be too bulky, but I'm very pleased at how sleek the unit is.
- The reason i chose the 604 over the smaller 404 is the 16:9 ratio. If you're getting an Archos, it probably means you watch a lot of video, so this is a must.
- The screen is pretty nice, picture is vivid and colors bright. Decent in indirect sunlight, not really tested in direct sunlight.
- The buttons were a little on the tough side to figure out (I don't read manuals) but once I learned the features, I really like the interface.
- Fairly straightforward to get content onto the unit. Similar to the Creative players, in that you can open up the Archos as a folder and drag/drop, copy/paste, etc.
- The DVR dock (sold separately) has several output choices - component, S-video, RCA. The new, "modular" aspect of the Archos allows this increase in features, and also the ability to buy the Archos at a lower price if you are not seeking DVR capability.
- Overall, a stylish unit, and looks much better in person than in pictures.

What I don't like:
- The Archos seems to be much more limited in playable content than its close competitor, the Cowon A2. It turns out I have quite a few videos encoded with AC3 audio, and the Archos will not play this content (and apparently MP4 as well) without the purchase of their plug-in ($19.99)
- No subtitle support. I watch a lot of Asian movies w/ subtitle files, and was not considering this when I purchased the Archos. Another advantage of the Cowon A2 is that it apparently has subtitle support.
- Need to buy add-ons to use DVR functionality, as well as being able to charge through an AC outlet, but this could also be a plus for certain people who want to trim the extras and keep the price low.
- Speakers are adequate at lower volumes, but lacking at high volume.
- Picture can get a little blurry in fast action sequences.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Archos 604 and my purchase was worth the wait. If my dislikes sound like I would rather have a Cowon A2, yes, I would, to be completely honest. But this is for specific reasons and does not diminish my impression of the Archos in any way. Another testimonial in favor of the Archos is the fact that my gf, who usually ignores me when I talk about my gadgets, told she might want to use the Archos if I end up getting the Cowon, and not to get rid of it yet.

If you've been considering getting this, I would recommend the Archos, but also qualify the recommendation and strongly consider what your needs are first. If you are looking for DVR capability and playback to TV, I would go with the Archos. However, if you have are looking for a pure video player, consider the Cowon.

As a last comment, I just noticed that someone tagged the Archos with "iPod". I'm not sure who would do this, but if you're even remotely considering the iPod video as an option against the Archos, I would say you don't belong here. Blunt, yes, but this is a product some would call an "iPod killer".

UPDATE 12/20/06
So I gave the Archos to my gf and got the Cowon A2 for myself and did a side-by-side comparison. Just going to list a few areas where one is better than the other.

Archos - easier to use interface once you learn the buttons, loads videos quicker, scheduler for tv recording, a little slimmer but feels a little more solid, overall better for the typical user

Cowon - more flexibility in types of files playable and features, built in recording capability, built-in FM tuner and recorder, 'prettier' external design and menu, slightly more advanced menu interface

To confirm my earlier speculation, the Archos is probably a superior unit overall, but the Cowon might offer better features for users with particular needs and/or who are a little more technically and technologically savvy

I'm in love with it
I've had the 604 for about 3 months now and couldn't go through a complete day without it. Everynight I schedule recordings of late night ESPN SportsCenter while I sleep and watch them at my desk the next morning. I have movies, TV shows, video trailers of movies and games and also PDF manuals of my cell phone and Treo for quick access. I'm still finding new uses for it.

To clear up bad info that was written previously:
The 604 and 504 supports MPEG-2 format (.vob, .mpg and .ps extensions), MPEG-4, MP4, ac3, ACC, divx, xvid, wmv, wma and m4v & mov extensions (encoded with H264) and more to come as Archos releases new firmware and plugins.

Pros:
Portable DVR player
Record your own TV shows and movies and not have to pay for them.
Great LCD picture quality
Photo album
Kick stand
Music player
It's better than what you have. (Unless you have the av500 by Archos)
NO SOFTWARE IS NEEDED. Although it does sync with Windows Media Player, you can easily drag and drop or cut and paste files into Windows Explorer and delete them just like any other file from a PC.

Cons:
30GB for some may be small, but considering my video collection alone is well over 200gb, adding and deleting files is my best option. A larger HDD would be nice but I would eventually fill that up and wish for even a bigger one (see the stupid cycle Apple is taking thier consumers through).
It doesn't record out of the box. You must buy the DVR station to record your own shows
Archos is currently charging for additional codecs.
The battery can only be charged by USB unless you buy the adapter


All in all, Archos provided another great product for those who love portable video. If you're like me and already have a large video file collection of movies and TV shows (or what ever you watch...*wink-wink*), this is a must. If you dont have a large collection, buying the DVR station isn't a bad idea considering what networks charge to download thier shows from the internet.

oNe