| PRODUCT DETAILS | | Archos 705 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB) |  | |
Archos 705 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
Plays all your digital entertainment movies, TV shows, photos and music / 7" Touch Screen / Store up to 200 movies, 1.6 million photos or 95,000 songs View, zoom photos and make slide shows with music and transition effects, for viewing on the PMP or on TV Listen to all your favorite music in more formats than in any other player Transfer photos directly from your digital camera onto your ARCHOS, using the USB 2.0 host port Capacity on average based on 3.5 mins/song & 64 kbits/s WMA, on 1000 kbits/s MPEG-4 audio/video encoding and 1h30/movie (for near DVD Quality), on JPEG, VGA
Manufacturer: Archos
Price Range: $389.99 - $499.99
 Archos 705 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
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| User Reviews |  | Test results and why I was disappointed
rating: 2
I bought this device based on my good experience with the 605. The 705 had on paper looked like a great little device.
The test files I used are made from DVDs 720x400 at 257kbps 29 frames per second. I did my tests based on my typical usage... riding the subway. This required volume to be cranked to 99 and the Backlight to be turned all the way up. I used AVI files because that is what you can use without wasting money on the plugins
THE GOOD
-They use non-proprietary USB ports - a change from previous models
-This battery is user replacable... important since recharging eventually beats up a battery and because as shown below the battery life is not great.
-Hard drive is a respectable 160G.
-Case has a place to hold your stylus so you might take longer to lose it.
-There is a direct AC charger instead of trickle charging via USB as on previous models.
THE BAD AND UGLY.
-Nowhere to store the stylus on the unit itself.
-Even at volume 99 it was hard to hear on a subway. I imagine you would have similar problems on a plane.
-Even around the house you have to have the volume between 60-80.
-Battery life is horrible. They claim 5.5 hours in the specs. Using the settings above (necessary due to the VERY low output of the amplifier and the drakness of the screen) I got 2:02 and 1:59 on two tries after a full charge.
-The earphones leak sound, are mediocre, and fall off when you move around.
-It is a Wifi device with no browser unless you pay $29 for a plug in
-It is a video player that does not have much in the way of format support without another $38 for two more plug ins (no .mpeg-2, .vob, .mpg, .ps, .mp4, .m4v, or .mov)
All in all... as much as I liked their other products (in spite of the plug-in scheme) I would look for alternatives to this unit were I you.
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Very poor music playback
rating: 1
The quality of music played back from Archos players is terrible. This should not be advertised as an mp3 player, it's that bad at music playback.
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Movies Suffer On This Unit
rating: 2
Thanks to my purchase from Anazon I was able to get a full refund. I also purchased the Gen 5 Station to go along with the 705 and obviously. it too was returned. I purchased the 160GB Model. First things first...I absolutely loved it for its size, picture, wifi, and touch screen. BUT my main reason for it's purchase was to record DVD movies. It does by-pass the copy guard on new releases. Here is my reason for the return . . its "stutters" during playback meaning the picture freezes up, only for a minute split second as each segment is loaded for playback from the hard drive. As you watch a movies the picture "jerks/jumps" and that is very annoying. You may watch several minutes then all of a sudden th scene will stutter/skip several times!!! This is not a problem with the unit I purchased but with all 705's. I lter found this out after seeing what mine was doing and doing furthur investigation online I read allm about it from someone else. I have an older Archos Model 500 w/100GB and it is simular to the 605 and have OVER 100 movies on it and no problem. I bougt the 705 due to it's screen size being larger. With over 100 movies on my 3 year old 500 I know how to hook them up, record, etc. I gave it 2 stars: 1 for recording pictures and the other for music. I never tried the wireless or any other feature as I wanted to return it/refund within the 30 day requiremnt. So if you plan on recording movies and the jumping/flickering/sticky picture during playback is going to bother you take this into consideration.
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The worst media player I ever bought
rating: 1
I used this player for 2 weeks and it is dead. I paid $70 just for the Plug-ins. Called customer service and they put me on hold for 40 mins at the end they told me to return it to Amazon. This is the second product I bought from Archos and both died within 3 weeks. Stay away from Archos.
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Best portable player on the market!!
rating: 5
Archos knows portable media. They are the Gold Standard by which all others should be measured. This device plays DVD movies ripped in the raw .VOB format. Amazing. You have to buy the plug-in to perform this, but it's wonderful they even offer the option. Videos, photos, music, GPS or streaming media from your computer to the TV. Outstanding. I also have the Archos 605 and it has all the same functionality as the Archos 705, but the 605 is more portable. Either way, you can't go wrong. It beats the pants off of the iPod.
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Archos 705 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player (160 GB)
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