Review: Archos 705 WiFi Portable Video Player (160GB)

Overview:

"The Gen 5 line from ARCHOS features the most advanced portable media players in the industry, with easy access to content and personalization options to fit individual lifestyles", says Archos.

Personally, I've always been a huge admirer of portable media players. I travel frequently and having all of my favourite movies and music with me is an absolute god-send. I have a lot (and I mean a lot!) of beloved media, so I was keen to look for a portable media player with a large capacity and the finest qualities.

Enter the Archos 705 WiFi Portable Video Player (160GB). It is promised to be packed full of the best multi-media features and can be personalised to suit one's lifestyle.

So let’s see exactly what it can do in the following review based on journalistic research.

Review

For the ultimate movie buff, you can store up to 200 movies that would leave you undoubtedly spoiled for choice. With the 705's 7-inch, high quality display, movies will be a pleasure to watch.

The 705 can store the most popular video formats such as MPEG-4 and WMV. Plus, with optional software plug-ins, it is also capable of storing MPEG-2, VOB and H.264.

A perfect feature for the biggest music lover (like me!) is the 705's capacity to store up to an outrageous 95,000 songs. Somehow, I don't even think that I could fill that!

Music tracks can be viewed by artist, album, title or genre. You can create your own playlist and easily organise your songs with the enhanced ARC library.

Formats include MP3, WMA, WAV and with optional software plug-ins, it can also store AAC stereo audio files and AC3 stereo sound files.

For those who love their photos (me again!), the 705 will store up to 1.6 million (yes million!) photos, in popular formats such as JPEG, PNG and BMP. Transfer photos directly to the 705 from your PC, digital camera or most mass storage devices via high speed USB 2.0 with the cable provided. Easily organise files and folders without the use of a computer. And if you love to be creative, you can produce a photo slideshow with transition effects and music.

Now we get to the exciting part. The Archos 705's WiFi capability allows you to connect effortlessly to the internet and download or stream music, movies and TV shows direct to your 705 via the Archos Content Portal (ACP). As quoted by Archos, "The ACP is a partnership with top-tier content companies to bring movies, TV shows and music downloads directly to the ARCHOS PMP or TV – without a PC."

With the ACP, you can easily purchase and download your choice of music, movies or TV shows from a variety of content providers. Should the WiFi connection be interrupted (god forbid!), the content that you've been downloading will be resumed from the point of connection. So the 99.9% you've already downloaded, thankfully, will not be lost!

If you choose to purchase the optional Web Browser plug-in, you can explore the internet and watch videos from sites such as YouTube or DailyMotion.

Now when I read the initial overview of this media player, I was fascinated by the fact that you could watch your favourite TV shows on the player and even schedule and record them. Could this be too good to be true? Well, to some extent, yes. Because to take advantage of this option, you need to purchase the additional DVR Station (Gen 5) and the TVportation plug-in.

Benefits of purchasing these additional features include easy programming with the TV programme guide. And get this; say you're at work, on your lunch break and you perhaps want to see the news, or catch up on the latest Big Brother gossip, you simply click on the TVportation option and your Archos TV+ will transmit your home TV over the internet to your media player. Too cool!

Before I forget, the 705 also features a PDF viewer to allow you to view your PDF documents; a little boring in comparison to the rest of the features. But it's useful nevertheless.

Available optional Plug-ins for Archos 705:

TVportation Plug-in:
Broadcast your home TV signal to your Archos and watch TV wherever you are.

WebTV & Radio Plug-in:
Play TV, surf the web and listen to international, national and local radio on your Archos.

Web browser plug-in:
Surf the Web with your Archos from any WiFi hotspot, download movies and music, watch videos from YouTube and similar sites. Also, enjoy free widgets such as; weather forecast, currency converter, note writer and calculator.

Cinema plug-in:
Play movies and videos on your Archos in DVD quality and listen to 5.1 sound on your home cinema system through the SPDIF output (through the DVR station).

Video podcast plug-in:
Play free video files downloaded from the internet and listen to audio podcasts and free audio files downloaded from the internet.

Design:

Some have complained that this media player is enormous. It has a 7inch screen for crying out loud! What do they expect? Wouldn't you rather enjoy movies on this decent sized screen compared to tiny screened competitors? The 705 measures 2cm thick, which to be fair, I think is pretty good for such a large media player. The 7inch (800 x 480) LCD screen delivers a high quality, vibrant image.

The full touch screen makes it easy to operate with either your fingertips or stylus. The front of the player is sleek, with no buttons at all. On the left edge of the player you will find TV output and the bottom of the player is home to a variety of ports for USB transfer, USB hosting and Archos' own jack for use with accessories like the DVR Station, FM Receiver and battery extender. At the back of the player is a fold-out stand for hands-free use.

Essential Info:

Capability:

As stated, the 160GB media player allows you to store up to 200 movies, 1.6 million photos (I'm still amazed at this!) or 95,000 music tracks.

Interfaces:

USB 2.0 High Speed Device: Mass Storage Class and Media Transport Protocol.
USB 2.0 Host: Mass Storage Class and Picture Transfer Protocol.

Connections:

WiFi connection.
Optional Internet plug-in (Opera® Web Browser and Adobe® Flash Player) for web browsing.
3.5mm mini jack for headphones or TV output (PAL and NTSC)
DC-in to connect power adapter/charger.
Mini B for USB 2.0 computer connection.
Mini A for USB 2.0 host connection.
Docking connectors to connect DVR Station Gen 5 and other Archos accessories.

Battery Life:

Music playback time: up to 25 hours.
Video playback time: up to 5.5 hours on built-in LCD.

Power Source:

Internal: Removable Lithium-Ion Polymer battery.
External: Power adapter/charger.

The Gaj-it Verdict:

Design: 9/10
Usability: 7/10
Value: 5/10
Price: The 160GB player costs £379.998 and can be purchased at several retail outlets like Amazon* and the Archos Online Store.
* This price doesn't include all of the optional additional extras. More details can be found at the Archos Online Store.

We Say:

The 160GB Archos 705 is undoubtedly a fantastic media player, capable of storing stupidly large amounts of media and packed with amazing features. So believe me, I'm not trying to contradict myself when I've given the usability and value a lower rating. This is simply because to utilise the Archos 705 to its best ability, you need to purchase several plug-ins and packages, which inevitably are going to cost you more money. It would be nice to have all the features and add-ons included, however I think for such a desire, you would be looking at a significantly higher price.

The size seems to be a put-off for some people and I have read criticisms that this makes the 705 not very portable. So without slating those who aren't a fan of its size, let's just say that there are plenty of other models on the market if you are looking for something smaller. But the 705 is a video player first and foremost (hence it's name!) and its large screen will make movies a pleasure to watch.

Finally, if you're not up for the challenge of filling up the Archos 705's 160GB, you can opt for the 80GB or 30GB versions. More information can be found at the Archos Online Store.