Archos AV340
Written: Jul 31 '03 (Updated Aug 02 '03)
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Pros: Exceptional MP3 playback. Large storage capacity. Acceptable video performance.
Cons: Battery life for Video. Still pictures can show pixelation.
The Bottom Line: Would I buy one again? - definitely.
Would I recommend it? - Whole heartedly.
How would I improve it? - the weight, thickness, and battery
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| davidltd's Full Review: Archos Jukebox AV340 (40 GB) Digital Media Player |
The archos AV340 is the most recent version of the now familiar Archos MP3 hard disk players.
This is the direct successor to the AV100 series.
I live in the UK, and at the time of purchase Dabs seemed to have the cheapest price at 550 (STG inclusive of VAT). The delivery time was stated as being 2 weeks, I received mine a day before the two weeks was up.
The packaging will be familiar to existing archos customers, no frills here, just the shrink wrapped hard transparent plastic within an open fronted card board box.
No surprises inside either, earphones, video capture attachment, all the relevant audio/video cables, an instruction booklet, Driver CD, power supply, a handy infra-red remote (for the video attachment) and of course the AV340. Notable by it's absence was a protective case, which seems to me to be a missing essential, given that the screen would otherwise be exposed at all times.
On first observation the device seemed a little thick and heavy. It has pretty much the same dimensions as the earlier Archos jukeboxes.
More a mobile brick than mobile entertainment centre. Small thick and functional - just like my wife;-)
It's not difficult to justify the purchase this ingenious device it just does so much for your cash (again, like my…ouch!!) it is a;
1) Photo wallet
2) Portable Video recorder/player
3) Large capacity MP3 player
4) External 40Gb hard disk (hot swappable when using ME or XP).
5) Voice recorder (records direct to MP3 encoding using build in Microphone).
6) Digital still camera (3.3Mb with the camera accessory).
7) Digital camcorder (with the same accessory).
I had the new 30Gb iPod before this. The only benefits the iPod offered was that it was a thinner device, and provided laughable PDA functions.
The iPod (rated as one of the best hard disk MP3 players) just can't compete with the AV340 features, capacity, or value for money.
Looking at each of the features in more detail.
1) Photo Wallet - I have seven CD's worth of pictures on the AV340. All easily accessible and viewable via the 3.8" LCD screen, or externally on a TV for instance.
Image quality on the LCD screen is acceptable, but sometimes jagged edges can show up and some pixilation does occur. My critical eye could spot this, but a casual user (my wife) was totally impressed by the ease of use and photo quality.
2) Portable Video recorder/player.
Recording quality sits somewhere between VHS and DVD quality. I sometimes noticed minor lip sync problems, but I think this is down to the MPEG4 compression rather than the device itself.
I recorded directly off of DVD ( with no macrovision protection problems). The first film I transferred was the Matrix. I put the headphones on to test the quality of the recording -the sound quality just blew me away. My own pocket cinema. Fantastic. The only real issue here is that the recording takes place in real time. Although the quality is easily acceptable, it can be improved by encoding the video on your PC, then transferring to the Archos. This process is a bit fiddly the first time, but once you understand the few simple steps, you've cracked it. It's stated that up to 80 hours of video can be stored in MPEG4 format. Typical film times I've stored are; 2 hours 20 min at 1.6Gb, 2 hours 15 at .1.1 Gb, and 2 hour 05 at 0.9Gb.
It's difficult to predict exactly how many hours you're likely to get. The larger film was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - lots of colour depth and not much commonality between frames. I guess this makes a difference. The Matrix (a particularly dark film) compressed very well. You can of course pump out the video to your TV.
3) MP3 Player. I have 20Gb of MP3's. My whole collection of CD's on this one device. The MP3 player shows as a skin on the screen. The album cover will show as well as the title and volume settings (If you've encoded that info of course). Sound quality (in my opinion) was every good as the iPod. I'm no audiophile, but it was plenty good enough to run through my stereo without anyone realising it wasn't CD's being played. Playlists can be created on the fly, and there are various options to configure random play. The only thing that let's the MP3 side down is the physical dimensions of the device. I really can't think of any other improvement here. Battery life is stated as being 10 hours with the screen off. I've got closer to 8 hours continuous play.
4) External hard drive. A firewire (optional cable required), or USB 2 (backward compatible with USB1.1) drive is always a welcome feature. Windows XP, 2000, or ME automatically recognises my Archos. If I have to explain the benefits of this great feature to you, you don't need them.
5) Voice recorder at 192bps MP3. Good little extra, although I've only used it to record my daughter singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Good quality reproduction, with low ambient noise.
6) Digital Still Camera. This is not yet available, but I'll review it as soon as I get one. Difficult to justify this one. There are so many good 3.3Mb cameras around. The dedicated camera would most likely benefit from; better lens, better zoom, better metering, better battery life, better portability. I guess storage capacity would be the real benefit.
7) Digital Camcorder. See my comments in point (6). But I suppose someone would find a use for this.
Other comments
The user interface takes a little getting used to. Only in the sense that it's not immediately intuitive. But that said, you'll get the hang of the functions with about 15 minutes playing around. I was concerned that the screen was LCD not TFT, but that didn't seem to hinder the quality of video playback. You could quite happily watch film after film on the miniature screen (assuming that you're near a power source).
Battery life is possibly the biggest drawback on this device. You could get about 3 hours continuous video, or 8-10 hours audio play from a single 4 hour charge. Personally, I'm never that far away from an electric supply to let it worry me.
Summary
A very capable device. Does exactly what is says on the tin. No real surprises. If you've used one of the older Archos models, you'll have no problem accepting the user interface. Definitely a head turner. Everyone that's seen it has been stunned that this technology is available. Best all round device out there. No awkward copyright protection features allows you to backup your DVD's and CD's without hindrance. Battery life, although acceptable is one of the three things I'd improve, the other two being the thickness and weight.
One final point looking at the older models on Ebay - you'll see that they hold their price quite well.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600
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Epinions.com ID:
davidltd
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Reviews written: 1
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