Archos 500507 Video AV140 with DVR100 Module

Rating:
Summary: Great product, great service
Review: I can't believe the folks at Archos aren't getting more press - they are fantastic! I have the AV140 w/DVR100 and Camera module, and the interface is great, music quality is fantastic, and video quality is stellar. You have full control of the sound (treble, bass, loudness, bass boost, balance, etc). Transferring music from CDs or downloads is really easy, drag and drop. Plus, you can use the Archos AV140 as an external hard drive! And best yet, the Archos doesn't convert music into some proprietary format (ahh...like the iPod). Tech support is fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about this company or their products.

Rating:
Summary: Great product, great service
Review: I can't believe the folks at Archos aren't getting more press - they are fantastic! I have the AV140 w/DVR100 and Camera module, and the interface is great, music quality is fantastic, and video quality is stellar. You have full control of the sound (treble, bass, loudness, bass boost, balance, etc). Transferring music from CDs or downloads is really easy, drag and drop. Plus, you can use the Archos AV140 as an external hard drive! And best yet, the Archos doesn't convert music into some proprietary format (ahh...like the iPod). Tech support is fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about this company or their products.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the iPod
Review: I'm a Mac-user and Apple-lover at heart. I really did want an iPod, but I ended up getting the Archos. I'm very happy. The reason the Archos is better is simple. No digital rights management to be a nuisance. It's your music. It's hour drive. Do what you want with it! What can I do with my Archos that iPod users cannot?
1) All my music is stored exclusive on the Archos. The iPod stores the music on your computer and puts a copy of it on the iPod. With the Archos my entire music collection exists on the Archos itself. My computer has 40 gigs extra free space because I don't have to store a copy of my music on it.
2) I don't have to use iTunes. As a Mac user, I mount the Archos as a hard drive and play music off it through iTunes. When I visit a friend who uses Winamp, she can also mount the Archos and play music without a problem.
3) No DRM. Once the Archos is mounted, friends can copy my music off it and they can copy their music onto it. It's called fair use.
4) I can share my music everywhere with iTunes. When I mount my Archos on my Mac at home, I can share its music through iTunes to everyone else. When I take it to work and mount my Archos on the PC there, I can also share the music through iTunes. The iPod doesn't let you share the Music that's on it.
5) MPEG Video. It is possible to download video from the internet and then use the included copy of VirtualDub to reformatted it to the Archos, but it isn't easy. I don't use it much, but I have recoded programs off my TV onto the Archos to watch later on it's little LCD screen.

So what does an iPod give the Archos doesn't?
1) iTunes Music Store! The number one complaint I have is that I cannot download and play music from the iTunes music store without jumping through hoops. I have to burn it to CD and then rip it back again. But Audiobooks have 90 minute long tracks and iTunes makes you burn it to two CDs and it's just a pain.
2) It's smaller, lighter and prettier. The Archos is light, but it's not as small as the iPod.
3) The iPod's user interface is wonderful. It's easy to play what you want. Using the Archos is like browsing around in Finder to play music. It's not bad, but it's not slick.
4) The iPod syncs playlists with iTunes. You have the same playlists anywhere. With the Archos, if you use a program that uses M3U playlists (Winamp or Musicmatch) you'll have no problem. If you use iTunes, it's not easy or automatic to make your iTunes playlists appear on your Archos. (Find a friend who knows AppleScript and XSL, and it can be done)



Rating:
Summary: would be five stars, but...................
Review: If you are crazy about MP3 music this one is the best you can buy. Although you can also look pictures on it and even films this is not the reason why I bought it. Nice to have, but need to be??? No, I bought it for the music, the 40GB is great and in price absolute better than the Apple Ipod.... The extra feature using it as a extra harddisk is great. The sound setup is good en easy. All together great but It looses 1 star because the batterylife is not that great. Only to use with a AC adapter will cost 1 star. 7 hours???, I doubt it, it charges fast so that is a good thing but if there would be a possibility to use normal batteries it would be a winner forever... Still great too bad for the batterylife.............

Rating:
Summary: A title for your review
Review: In brief:
Dont like it. dont recommend it. dont want it anymore.
At length:
Battery life:
Set to charge at 7:00am. unplugged at 9:00pm. Next day 9:00 am it was at half-charge. - never used it for the 12 hrs. still went down.

The "DVR100" module:
Remote stopped working on the 31st day. (just kidding - it actually worked for 2 months - and then stopped)

very satisfied with the video quality for my recording, just as the product review says.

audio quality of recording - poor. too much static noise.

Audio quality overall

Horrible. I always felt my ear wasnt THAT trained to be fazed by some noise. I know better now. After using my CD player, I cant hear the same song on this system!!!

Advice to potential buyers:
Please check the system to see if you are ok with the reduction in quality. otherwise go in for a piece with less features (if need be) but do not compromise on the audio quality!!!