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| Brand: Archos
Category: CE
List Price: $599.99
Buy Used: $450.00
You Save: $149.99 (25%)
Used (2) from $450.00
Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 24437
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Hard Drive Size: 100
Display Size: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 10.5 x 7.3 x 5
MPN: 500709
Model: 500709
UPC: 690590507104
EAN: 7612758234526
ASIN: B000AQDOKM
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 38
 The perfect media player February 24, 2006
S. Bradford (Arlington, VA USA)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I finally decided to get an MP3 player because I was getting tired of searching for and loading CDs in my car's changer. I wanted as much storage capacity as possible so I could keep my entire music library in my car, which is the only place I listen to music.
My research led me to the 60 GB Ipod and then I found the Archos. Not only does it have more space (100 GB), but a bigger screen (but it is also bigger and heavier than the Ipod.) However, now I could use the Archos to store my daughter's videos for trips and ditch the heavy DVD player and discs. Plus it has a built in speaker, which is necessary since my daughter refuses to use earphones.
Transfering files from Windows XP is easy. Video transfer is as simple as plugging the Archos into a DVD player and recording as the DVD is played. A more complicated approach is to rip the DVD on a PC and recode using MPEG-4. For car/travel the Archos is great. For those who need a player while jogging/biking, something smaller without all the video functions might be a better choice.
 Good Device February 23, 2006
Hesham Talat Hegazy (Egypt)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Update
The new firmware update solved all the previously mentioned problems , Since then , the device is great , I'm increasing my rate to excellent after more than a year of use
Really a very handy Device ,Great in play back all kind of Riped movies ,Especially after using the PC translator on the included CD.
In my opinion the DVR is the Future ,But of course Archos still need to do some work on it, I get a lot of Error messages during recording witch resulted in losing many chances to record things I want ,I contacted the Customer Support and they told me to run the window Scan disk & Defrag .
The Defrag takes a round 3 hours on the 100GB model if you are using 50% of the HD capacity.
I just had one right now & while I wright this review the AV500 is connected to the PC & Norton Scan disk is running on it & this is another 2 hours .
Matter of Fact Every time I get the Error Message from the recording module the HD Defrag & Scan disk solves it , I got it more 4 times till now , It's really annoying.
The MP3 is Fantastic Especially the Super Bass Slider , You can get a Real Great sound but not with the included Headphone , Get the Koss KTXPRO1 Titanium Portable Headphones with Volume Control .
Final Conclusion
This is a Great Device But with an Error that takes 5 hours of HD maintenance , BUT it works Every time ( Till Now).
Excellent player February 22, 2006
Rasyad (Kuwait)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've had this player for almost 1 month. I've tried all the functions except recording and here are my impressions.
Positive Points:
- Superb, and I really mean it, superb screen. I've compared it against friends with Ipod (too small screen) and creative Zen Vision (not so sharp and bright)
- Very good sound for this kind of device
- Enough space for all my music (50Gb), and also to carry plenty of movies and store my photos.
- Easy to use interface for basic functions.
- Very easy to transfer music and videos using Windows Media Player
- Easy connection to TV to view movies stored in the unit with excellent quality (of course depending of the compression used for the movie itself). Note that the docking station IS NOT required to connect it to the TV to watch movies(another reviewer wrongly complained about this)
- Absolute value for money
Not so positive points:
- Access to advanced functions (secondary menu) not very intuitive.
- The auto setting for screen size does not work very weel. It will always expand the picture to fill the viewing area this results in losing part of the picture with movies in wide-screen format. It can be solved by selecting "original format" but it is irritating, given that most of the movies today are in WS format.
- it has a "bookmark" function that can be used with any file to mark important points. Generally this is would be a great feature to go back to wherever you stopped playing, however since no name can be given to the bookmark, it is impossible to go back to it unless you remember the exact file you were listening to, and to go back to it you'll have to scroll through all files in the list. Imagine you set the bookmark and stop, lets say , on file number 250 of a list containing several hundred.. then you go and watch a movie or whatever (there's a resume function but only goes back to the item currently played, the movie in this case) and try after that to go back to the mp3 you were listening to... good luck.
- When charging the unit there's no indicator to show how much has already been charged.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with this device.
Worth the money February 12, 2006
Hog Heaven (Carson, CA USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
If you are in the market for a mobile digital video record that plays mp3 songs, works as a storage divice for all your digital photos, and plays back videos recorded from your TV, DVD, VCR or Satellite, this it the one to buy. And when connected to a VCR, you can record your old tape videos to the Archos AV500 and then transfer to your computer to burn to DVD. Everyone I've showen the Archos AV500 to has asked where they can get one. It blows everyones mind that a divice this small can do so many things.
I was amazed with the video quality when recording from my TV. The sound quality of my mp3 songs sound better than my mini ipod and it was so easy to upload and backup my photo library.
I highly recommend this product with only a few minor drawbacks. First, the built-in speaker is mediocre but I do not rely on it when view videos, I plug in my head-set. Second, since it records in avi format, it will only play in avi format. I tried uploading other video formats and Archos would not recognize them. I solved this problem by using a software program called "Video Vault". This software will convert any video format to avi which than I can transfer to my Archos AV500.
I hope this review was informative and helpful.
Honest Review From An ARCHOS AV500 Retailman and Owner February 1, 2006
Christopher Majewski (Cincinnati, Ohio)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Hi, everyone! I work at The Sharper Image here in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I'm intimately familiar with the AV500. I should be! I own one and sell them. So i'm off the clock and comission isn't an issue...
I'm going to touch base first on some aspects of the Archos that haven't probably been discussed, and comparing it to the OTHER pretty cool portable tech item you're all probably familiar with, the current-gen iPod Video.
Basically, this is THE choice for you if you want portable video on the go, with a bigger screen than the iPod Video, and better battery life to boot.
SOUND:
The AV500 (and AV700) offer user-manageable Bass, Bass Boost, Treble and Balance options, most of which the iPod does not, and otherwise opts for preset EQ settings. The Archos DVR units (AV500, AV700) offer built-in speakers, too. While not terribly loud, you'll be pleased as punch with them in a quiet room. As with the iPod, I chucked the offered earbuds as my ears are way, waay too small to wear them comfortably, and besides, pack-in earbuds are almost always pieces of junk with electronics. I opt rather for my Shure E3c earbuds of which you can peruse at your own time later on Amazon. (I reccomend it HIGHLY.)
Lastly, yes..the Archos can be used as an .MP3 player, with what I personally feel is better bass than the iPod, even on it's default setting. It IS compatible with iTunes! (Meaning it can copy playlists, but the interface of the Archos is NOT similar to the iTunes interface. Rather, it uses a ROOT form, much like, I assume Windows computers do..(I'm a Mac user myself.)
VIDEO
Of course, here is where the AV500 (and AV700) truly shine, and with good reason. You get about 4 1/2, 5 straight hours of playback of whatever movies you'd like! It works with the .AVI file system, and records as such. You can convert internet video files to Divx-ready .AVI with Quicktime Pro if you so wish. Instead, I opt most often than not to really use my Archos for a DVR...(oh, and to clarify, the iPod Video works natively with Quicktime .MOV. To me yes..the Ipod has a leg up here, but the pluses outweigh the minuses for me with the Archos. Why is that?.....
The pack-in bypass cradle that comes with your Archos is a self-powered (AC pack) unit that you use to bypass existing video feeds. For example; you run your cable to your VCR, then 'OUT' with AV jacks to your television set. You'd connect your Archos cradle to the 'OUT' AV jack on your VCR, then 'IN' from the cradle to the TV. This then allows for normal TV/DVD viewing, and acts as I call it, a 'passive reciever' for the Archos. In other words, the Archos is a leech on whatever device you connect it to..wether it be a VCR, cable box, or DVD player. As long as your unit uses standard yellow (Video), red and white (left and right stereo ) AV jacks, you're in like Flynn here.
What does this allow? Well, absolutely any DVD you own (AND may I add, the upcoming Blu-ray players too, as long as they have those afformentioned AV jacks, natch) is recordable onto your Archos for use and playback any time you want. I record old family videos to the unit for later archiving to my computer, and also..well, older VHS tapes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Hope you guys benifitted from this review!
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