nice woot deal even with gen5 releasing later this week. keep the flash video / widgets distractions supressed, if all you need is a decent pmp with dvr functionality. although i don't have the dvr station, i think you would not need the tv-output to record tv... only the tv input. if you want to watch your archos media on tv, then you would need the tv output cable.
Quote:
no ac3 audio codecs in video |
you might have already of known this, but ac3 audio playback is potentially possible if you purchase the ac3 plugin from archos -- I think it's $20 or something.
I have the younger sibling - archos 404 - and what I find irritating is that if you atttempt to play an ac3 audio encoded video, a nag screen pops up and doesn't let you view the video with no sound. I guess no one would wanna watch video with no sound anyway...
Here's my beloved archos:
I can output to tv with the video cable that came from my gmini 402. Supposively, the gen5's don't have built in tv-output chips.. so after this gen, no more quick $10 fix if you want tv output.
And some quick thoughts about the archos players.. since I've been quite satisfied with mine, I think it deserves a bit more recognition..
+ very well built
+ built in speaker, albeit it sucks but at least its there.. its fun to have actually
+ photo viewer is well implemented - i actually use it
- terrible controls.. impossible to navigate in pocket and dark
+/- screen is large but viewing angle sucks and bleeds in sunlight
AUDIO:
+ multiple otg playlists that you can actually append and save in standard m3u format
+ id3 / file tree nav - can explore while playing music
+ shows a wealth of info on now playing screen - next / prev track, large album art
+ ums or mtp -- it does that rio carbon automatic file update thing
- i have to charge everyday.. and no dedicated ac adapter
- headphone hiss is defintely there
VIDEO:
+ video selection screen is nice, if you highlight the video it actually plays in thumbnail
+ if its compatible, it will playback smoothly - i would say 80% of my video collection plays natively without transencoding
- no support for legacy wmv.. apprently it can play wmv9 but i've never seen one
- colors are a bit washed out.. blacks aren't blacks
- no .srt subtitle support but it is new feature in gen 5
feel free to ask some questions..
~ truffles