Archos 705 Review:

With 160 GB of built-in memory, the Archos 705 Wi-Fi portable media player lets you surf, stream, download, and record movies for easy playback on its crystal clear 800 x 480 7-inch full-color touchscreen. With its Wi-Fi capabilities, the Archos 705 Wi-Fi connects to the Internet for surfing the Web, accessing e-mail, and watching Web-based videos wherever you go. Archos 705’s Opera Browser plug-in puts Adobe Flash support on your Archos, which enables access to and use of Dailymotion and other Web video sites on your Archos device. You can even view and post YouTube videos wherever you have a wireless connection and your Archos.

To assist in finding new and exciting media, the Archos 705 Wi-Fi comes with integrated access to Archos’ content portal, a service that features thousands of movies, TV shows, and songs for downloading wirelessly to the player. The player also sports an integrated TV program guide you can use to record your favorite TV shows for later playback. And because the device supports PDF files, you can kick back with an e-book in PDF format while on the road or review important PDF documents while away from the office. The Archos 705 Wi-Fi supports MPEG4, AVI, and WMV video files and audio files in MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, and WAV file formats. Bridging the gap between the PC and the TV, the Archos 705 Wi-Fi allows you to stream content from a PC or the Internet directly to a TV or the Archos 705–all through a wireless home network and an optional DVR station. It also features a sophisticated touchscreen, no-button design to ensure simple navigation with your fingertips or stylus. In the absence of a Wi-Fi network, content can be transferred to the device via USB 2.0. The player supports Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. The Archos 705 Wi-Fi measures 7.05 x 4.96 x 7.75 inches, weighs only 22 ounces, and features a music playback battery life of up to 25 hours and a video playback life of up to 5.5 hours.

Archos 705 User Said:

I got Archos 705 for Christmas (after a number of hints to my wife!) and was playing with it as soon as I got it, and the DVR attachment. I wanted it mostly for travel but also wanted the DVR functionality and the ability to watch movies or view pictures on my TV screen.

I like this model over the 605 because when I watch a video or movie, I don’t want to have to peer at a 4.5″ screen. The seven inch screen makes all the difference.

I have to say Archos 705 lives up to my expectations 100%! (Even my wife’s impressed!) I put four or five DVD’s on it, in both the DVD native format and condensed MP4 formats and they all look good, although the native DVD formats have slightly better resolution when viewed on the TV screen. I got the 160GB version because DVD’s typically use up 3-4GB in their native format. I have over 50GB of movies on it at this point so it looks like a good decision.

I bought the plug-in’s I needed and they downloaded flawlessly and I had no problems at all with them. One plug-in I bought was the browser and I haven’t used it that much but it does work and will be useful when traveling if I don’t have my laptop with me.

The Archos 705’s DVR functionality works fine, although you have to make sure that the IR port on your cable box can “see” the IR port on the DVR adapter. This might be a problem if you have your equipment stacked vertically on a shelf. I haven’t found a decent way to reflect the light from one IR port to the other but I’m still working on it.

Streaming from my home PC seems to work fine - I’ve watched a few movies that way. Occasionally it will act jerky but I assume that it’s something to do with my wireless network because I’ve fixed it by rebooting the computer the video was streaming from. Viewing pictures works fine and doesn’t have any problems.

I like the case that comes with Archos 705. It’s not leather like some of the aftermarket cases, but it protects the unit and stores the stylus and that’s all I really need. I also like the remote control, which works well and does exactly what you’d expect. (If you buy the DVR accessory, you’ll find that it comes with a remote as well so now I have a spare!)

Archos 705 Cons:
1. The touchscreen works as advertised but needs a firmer press than most.
2. The menu system is conteXt sensitive and so you have to learn where things are to take best advantage of it.
3. The manual could use some improvement in organization and readability. There are menu items that aren’t mentioned and the organization leaves you looking through page after page until you find what you want.
4. Paying extra for the plug-ins sort of rubs me the wrong way but not enough to matter.
5. It’s NOT an iPod …. but who cares. I like it better!

By Robin B. Moore

Archos 705 Features

• Robust and portable 160 GB multimedia device with Wi-Fi
• Download movies, TV shows, and songs via the integrated Archos content portal
• Surf the Web; share content; and view and post videos to Web video sites, such as YouTube
• Stream and watch videos from your PC
• Record your favorite TV shows

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