Archos AV700 Mobile Digital Video Recorder 100 GB

...decided to purchase a 80GB Archos AV 700 machine which not only plays music but plays video, lets you view photos and lets you record onto it from the tv! All of this for just £50 more! Thats what i call a bargain.

The Archos AV 700 is described as an MP4 player meaning that as well as playing music it can also play video, meaning in my opinion it is like an elite MP3 player. It can also be used as a photo browser. The screen size ...
...cannot be played via the Archos AV 700 so it must be transferred to AVI or WMV format first which these programs do. Thus you can put a DVD from your collection on your computer to put onto the machine or download a film or TV episode from the internet then, after using the software, put it on the player to watch whenever you like. I found using the software difficult at first to understand what was happening and to install the correct codec’s needed ... more

I want to start by putting MP3 players into perspective, i bought my first one two and a half years ago which was a 40GB Creative Zen Xtra, this has lasted me all that time and i only managed to put around 2000 songs on it but it had space for around 10,000 at a cost of around £230. Recently i decided to purchase a 80GB Archos AV 700 machine which not only plays music but plays video, lets you view photos and lets you record onto it from the tv! All of this for just £50 more! Thats what i call a bargain.

The Archos AV 700 is described as an MP4 player meaning that as well as playing music it can also play video, meaning in my opinion it is like an elite MP3 player. It can also be used as a photo browser. The screen size is 7 inches, bigger than an average portable TV screen and unlike a majority of similar products it has a built-in speakers so you can share music and audio in general with others. There are many different products that can be bought alongside this player, for example, a device to fix it onto the headrest in a car, a new carry case and others that also helps it stand out from the crowd.

I want to go into more detail about the video side of the machine because this was my main reason for purchase. There are many different ways to put video onto the machine, the most common one will be via the computer, this can either be done via Windows Media Player which takes a while or by using the internal software included with the player then transfer the media onto it through My Computer. The reason this is required is because MPEG or MPG video cannot be played via the Archos AV 700 so it must be transferred to AVI or WMV format first which these programs do. Thus you can put a DVD from your collection on your computer to put onto the machine or download a film or TV episode from the internet then, after using the software, put it on the player to watch whenever you like. I found using the software difficult at first to understand what was happening and to install the correct codec’s needed for the process to work but that is mainly because i don't understand computers so it should be easy for anyone knowledgeable on the subject. The other way to put video on the Archos AV 700 was the main reason why i purchased this player and that is via taping from the TV. After setting up your TV recorder (supplied with the player) to the TV you can plug in the Archos AV 700 and record whatever is on the TV it saves it in AVI format and is ready to be played instantly. Also by using the TV recorder you can hook up the Archos AV 700 to the TV and watch whatever is on the player on the TV!

The quality of video it produces is outstanding. When using the software to convert the files onto the player you are able to choose the quality you want but even when using a quality below DVD quality the only time you notice the difference is when there are many different objects/people in the shot, because these appear blocky, however, close-up camera work is OK. The video quality of things recorded from the TV is the same as TV quality, as long as the ariel produces a good picture, i thought this aspect was very good. The sound quality is also fine both with the earphones in and when using the built-in speaker. When recording from the TV there is a setting which can be adjusted up and down which adjusts the volume, i always found that if it was set to maximum the sound quality was always at an adequate level.

For me the ease of use was, at first anyway, difficult to grasp. I think this was because i was used with my Creative player which was a lot easier to use, then again the range of features included was vastly inferior. I kept on getting mixed up with what buttons to press to do certain actions and there are three buttons on the side which bring up another menu which i kept on forgetting about at the start and it wasn't until i got familiar with this configuration that i finally managed to discover the players full range of features. The same situation was apparent when setting up the internal software to work, i had to install codec’s and do different things that the instructions did not help me with, however once i learned how to work both of these things i would say that the ease of use is satisfactory.

I would not say that the Archos AV 700 looks like the best player on the market it is a little bulky and can't be put in your pocket because it is too big and heavy, however, it must be put into perspective what you prefer, for me i would prefer a bulky machine with a massive screen to be able to see more of the action than a player with a reduced screen size, being more portable and looking better. For me the Archos AV 700 looks as good as it could, the buttons are spaced out on both sides beside the speakers, the white finish on the front and the metal looking finish on the back looks expensive and it is able to fit snugly into your palms when viewing it, for me that is enough.

Like more and more products nowadays, to save paper costs, the Archos AV 700 came with a small set of instructions to help you get started with the product then to access the full instructions you had to hook the machine up to the computer to find them. The small book gave you just enough information to get you started by telling you what all the buttons did, how to charge it and put music on it, but for the harder things like setting up the software the other instructions had to be consulted and even these did not give you all the answers needed the best help was searching through Google. Overall most of the time the instructions did give the answers and the video tutorials included on the AV 700 to show you step-by-step how to connect the TV recorder to the TV along with the infra red emitter were very helpful.

The Archos AV 700, as mentioned above has a massive range of features at its disposal. New players coming on to the market allow you to be able to watch the TV and connect to the internet. Although this player is not able to do these things i feel the features available are wide enough for the average person.

There are a few minor niggles that i had with the Archos AV 700 that i feel i need to state before the conclusion of this review. Firstly the big screen has its disadvantages in the sense that the player is too bulky to carry around in your pocket and use it like a small compact MP3 player, however most people will be buying it to watch films on so this may not be an issue. As already stated above the controls take a little while to get used to and are at times a little difficult to master. I have still never really found out how to choose songs at random and stack them up to play one after the other. The only other complaint would be that the case provided is not ample for carrying the player around with you as i feel it would not protect it very well.

I have never seen the 80GB model on the high street, but the 100GB one was priced at a whopping £550 in Curry’s. On the internet it is a very different story, the 80GB Archos AV 700 was only £280 on Amazon at Christmas time when i purchased the player. This is very similar to Apple and Creative MP3 players which can only play songs thus for me the price was very reasonable and great value for money when you consider all the features available.

Overall this player is now slightly out of date in the fact you can not browse the internet or view TV on it, however it still has the biggest portable screen size on the market that i am aware of. The features it has are plentiful and costs the similar price to a new Apple or Creative machine which has got very few features included. It is slightly bulky but overall i would easily give this player 5 stars because of its features and excellent price. 

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