Archos AV series
Encyclopedia
The Archos AV series is a line of portable media player
s from the company called Archos
that was released through 2003 to 2005. This series introduced the digital video recorder
for the AV500, an optional feature that would be compatible in subsequent players. Although the AV series did not have standalone digital audio players, Archos did release them under the concurrently released Gmini series
.
The AV100 series were similar to the Jukebox Multimedia with some updates including recording capability and faster performance. Also came in a 40 GB model.
The unit also features a line in source for audio and video, enabling users to record video from external sources, as well as recording audio from the combined line / S/PDIF
/ ExtMic input or through its built in microphone
.
The player was criticized for its low battery performance and lack of DRM
playback facilities. The battery playback on the device is stated at 3 and a half hours when watching video or 10 hours when listening to music.
This device was released in 2003, and weighs 350 g.
The optional AVCam 300 turns the device into a digital camera and camcorder, with other selective addons available such as an FM radio remote control (which also enables radio recording) and a memory card reader.
The 2004 edition Guinness World Records would state the 80GB AV380 to be the multimedia jukebox with the largest capacity.
card slot has been built into the product directly. Image preview slides and DRM
WMA support, as well as WMV
access are also included.
The unit is sold in many hard drive sizes, 20, 40, 60, & 80 GB and the AV4100 which is 100 GB in size. The actual size of the unit depends on the capacity, the AV420 (20 GB) was smaller than all of the other models and also has a smaller screen size.
The cradle enables users to connect their device to their television, DVD players and stereos with ease without having loose wires or problems locating the right sockets.
Archos built a copy protection system into the video recording software to make sure that while protected videos can be recorded on the device, they can't be transferred onto computers or the Internet. One feature of the AV300 was its lack of security and ability to rip movies but this was disabled for the AV400. If one records a protected DVD, then one can only play it back on the device.
An included remote control enables one to control the entire device.
The device plays all the standard formats as the AV300 with the addition of DRM
protected WMA
files and standard WMV
files. The device also supports Windows Media
's PlaysForSure platform. A limitation of the device at its release was that it wasn't specifically designed to play back ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) MP4 files, creating compatibility problems with several files encoded with the popular XviD and DivX compression techniques.
This device was released Wednesday June 30, 2004, and weighs 290 g (20 GB model) or 320 g (higher capacity models)
Just before the PMA 400 was released, there was a name conflict within the models. The PMA400 was scheduled to be released as the AV500. Ultimately, the name went to a new model of Digital Video Recorder
(DVR). The Archos AV500 is similar to the GMini 500, but it has extra facilities (video recording and the new AV Pod).
The Archos AV500 series plays Divx
/Xvid
and WMV9 format video; MP3
and WAV
audio files; and displays JPEG
and BMP graphic files. It records video in the Divx format, either through its DVR function or through its minicam accessory, and it records sound either through its built-in microphone or through its analog input. It can play and record audio and video to or from external sources via the mini-RCA jacks of its AV Pod. The AV500 case is made of brushed aluminum and forms a solid, rugged, dense box with a built-in LCD screen.
Three formats of the AV500 were manufactured, containing either 40, 60, or 100 GB hard disk drives, each format using a different size and shape of battery. Sometimes the specific format is referenced by combining the model name with the hard disk drive format, e.g., the AV5100 to designate the AV500 with a 100 GB hard drive. The AV5100 has an optional triple-life battery pack.
Data transfer for the AV500 is provided through its USB ports. The AV500 can act as either a USB controller or a USB device, using its USB A and USB B ports respectively. A memory card reader would be read through the USB A port, for example, but a home computer would access the AV500 through the USB B port.
An optional camera attachment (digital minicam) was available for the AV500 from late December 2005 to mid-2006, when Archos discontinued its production. The minicam records video directly to the Archos' hard disk drive in Divx format. The camera is powered from the AV500 unit via its single video cable. A control unit in the middle of the cable contains a high-quality microphone and a begin/end recording control button.
The AV500 was released on Friday June 10, 2005. It weighs 255 g for the 30 GB Model and 315 g for the 100 GB Model. Archos has replaced the AV product line with its Generation 4 series
.
, "Think Smaller" was seen as inappropriate for the purpose, so they then changed it to "On The Go".
The AV700 comes in 40, 80 or 100 gigabyte models. The built-in screen resolution is 420 by 234. It is a digital video recorder and it is possible to record video from an external source, too. Like the Gmini 400 series, the AV700 also has a built-in Mophun gaming engine.
This device was released Monday May 23, 2005, and weighs 590 g.
In 2006, Archos developed the TV-Edition from the AV700, the AV700TV.
, though the original Archos logos remained. They were named the AV700E, AV500E, and AV402E respectively. While the AV700E and AV402E are listed as sold out, the AV500E is still listed as available even though the standard AV500 has been discontinued.
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...
s from the company called Archos
Archos
Archos is a French consumer electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name, and it is also Greek for 'master'...
that was released through 2003 to 2005. This series introduced the digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
for the AV500, an optional feature that would be compatible in subsequent players. Although the AV series did not have standalone digital audio players, Archos did release them under the concurrently released Gmini series
Archos Gmini series
The Gmini is a series of portable audio and video players released by Archos in 2004 and 2005.-Gmini 400:The first audio device to hold a color LCD screen as well as photo, audio and video playback capacities, the Gmini 400 was introduced October 2004....
.
| AV500 | |
 |
|
| Storage : | 30GB, 60GB, 80GB, 100GB |
|---|---|
| Display: | 4" LCD, WQVGA resolution, 18-bit color palette and TV output |
| Video: | MPEG-4 SP with B-Frames, AVI file format up to 480P (NTSC)/576P (PAL), WMV9 up to 352x288 |
| Audio: | Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kbit/s CBR & VBR, WMA (including protected WMA files), WAV (PCM & ADPCM) |
| Photo viewer: | JPEG (except progressives) or BMP, Digital Camera through USB Host |
| Video recording: | MPEG-4 SP, up to VGA resolution, in AVI format |
| Audio recording: | Stereo sound for WAV (PCM & ADPCM) format |
| Interfaces: | USB 2.0 in MSC or MTP, USB Host for MSC devices |
| Connections: | Earphones / Audio & Video line out, TV pod with video pass through, AV in & out cables and IR emitter cable for tuner control |
| Battery life: | 15 hours for music, 4.5 hours for video on built-in LCD, Removable battery |
| Dimensions & weight: | 7.6 x 12.4 x 1.8 cm - 255 g |
AV100
AV300
The device plays the standard formats (AVI, MP3, WMA, AVI, JPG, PNG, and BMP) and also comes in three sizes (20, 40, & 80 GB).The unit also features a line in source for audio and video, enabling users to record video from external sources, as well as recording audio from the combined line / S/PDIF
S/PDIF
S/PDIF is a digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in home theaters and other digital high...
/ ExtMic input or through its built in microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
.
The player was criticized for its low battery performance and lack of DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
playback facilities. The battery playback on the device is stated at 3 and a half hours when watching video or 10 hours when listening to music.
This device was released in 2003, and weighs 350 g.
The optional AVCam 300 turns the device into a digital camera and camcorder, with other selective addons available such as an FM radio remote control (which also enables radio recording) and a memory card reader.
The 2004 edition Guinness World Records would state the 80GB AV380 to be the multimedia jukebox with the largest capacity.
AV400
Running the same software as AV300, the camera has been removed and a CompactFlashCompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...
card slot has been built into the product directly. Image preview slides and DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
WMA support, as well as WMV
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
access are also included.
The unit is sold in many hard drive sizes, 20, 40, 60, & 80 GB and the AV4100 which is 100 GB in size. The actual size of the unit depends on the capacity, the AV420 (20 GB) was smaller than all of the other models and also has a smaller screen size.
The cradle enables users to connect their device to their television, DVD players and stereos with ease without having loose wires or problems locating the right sockets.
Archos built a copy protection system into the video recording software to make sure that while protected videos can be recorded on the device, they can't be transferred onto computers or the Internet. One feature of the AV300 was its lack of security and ability to rip movies but this was disabled for the AV400. If one records a protected DVD, then one can only play it back on the device.
An included remote control enables one to control the entire device.
The device plays all the standard formats as the AV300 with the addition of DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
protected WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
files and standard WMV
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
files. The device also supports Windows Media
Windows Media
Windows Media is a multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit with several application programming interfaces and a number of prebuilt technologies, and is the replacement of NetShow technologies.The Windows Media SDK...
's PlaysForSure platform. A limitation of the device at its release was that it wasn't specifically designed to play back ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) MP4 files, creating compatibility problems with several files encoded with the popular XviD and DivX compression techniques.
This device was released Wednesday June 30, 2004, and weighs 290 g (20 GB model) or 320 g (higher capacity models)
AV500
Variants - AV530, AV560, AV580, AV5100Just before the PMA 400 was released, there was a name conflict within the models. The PMA400 was scheduled to be released as the AV500. Ultimately, the name went to a new model of Digital Video Recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
(DVR). The Archos AV500 is similar to the GMini 500, but it has extra facilities (video recording and the new AV Pod).
The Archos AV500 series plays Divx
DivX
DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
/Xvid
XviD
Xvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile . It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices.Xvid is a...
and WMV9 format video; MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
audio files; and displays JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
and BMP graphic files. It records video in the Divx format, either through its DVR function or through its minicam accessory, and it records sound either through its built-in microphone or through its analog input. It can play and record audio and video to or from external sources via the mini-RCA jacks of its AV Pod. The AV500 case is made of brushed aluminum and forms a solid, rugged, dense box with a built-in LCD screen.
Three formats of the AV500 were manufactured, containing either 40, 60, or 100 GB hard disk drives, each format using a different size and shape of battery. Sometimes the specific format is referenced by combining the model name with the hard disk drive format, e.g., the AV5100 to designate the AV500 with a 100 GB hard drive. The AV5100 has an optional triple-life battery pack.
Data transfer for the AV500 is provided through its USB ports. The AV500 can act as either a USB controller or a USB device, using its USB A and USB B ports respectively. A memory card reader would be read through the USB A port, for example, but a home computer would access the AV500 through the USB B port.
An optional camera attachment (digital minicam) was available for the AV500 from late December 2005 to mid-2006, when Archos discontinued its production. The minicam records video directly to the Archos' hard disk drive in Divx format. The camera is powered from the AV500 unit via its single video cable. A control unit in the middle of the cable contains a high-quality microphone and a begin/end recording control button.
The AV500 was released on Friday June 10, 2005. It weighs 255 g for the 30 GB Model and 315 g for the 100 GB Model. Archos has replaced the AV product line with its Generation 4 series
Archos Generation 4
A series of Archos portable media players released from 2006 through 2007. The Generation 4 series is an upgrade to the previous AV and Gmini series, primarily the AV500s. There are 8 models in all...
.
AV700
The Archos AV700 was the turning point for Archos to change the way they sell these devices to the public. The previous sloganSlogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
, "Think Smaller" was seen as inappropriate for the purpose, so they then changed it to "On The Go".
The AV700 comes in 40, 80 or 100 gigabyte models. The built-in screen resolution is 420 by 234. It is a digital video recorder and it is possible to record video from an external source, too. Like the Gmini 400 series, the AV700 also has a built-in Mophun gaming engine.
This device was released Monday May 23, 2005, and weighs 590 g.
In 2006, Archos developed the TV-Edition from the AV700, the AV700TV.
PocketDish
The AV700 and AV500, along with the Gmini 402, were sold under the PocketDish brand of Dish NetworkDish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, though the original Archos logos remained. They were named the AV700E, AV500E, and AV402E respectively. While the AV700E and AV402E are listed as sold out, the AV500E is still listed as available even though the standard AV500 has been discontinued.