- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 94 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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16 out of 16 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Almost perfect PVR. A gadget lover's dream."
Pros: Beautiful screen. Nice UI. TV recording capabilities.
Cons: Case could be better. A few other minor gripes.
Summary: To preface, I've loved my 2G iPod since I bought it in 2002. I bought the AV500 after deliberating on whether or not to buy the 5G iPod. After a week of playing with the AV500, I'm more than happy with my decision. Here's the rundown:
Positives:
- The screen is absolutely gorgeous. Viewing angles are great and the screen is bright enough for daylight viewing. The widescreen aspect is great for watching ripped DVD's. Other devices offer higher screen resolution and color depth, but in my opinion the AV500's specs are perfect for it's screen size. As a result, videos are sharp with good color saturation.
- The AV500's UI is remarkably intuitive considering the robust functionality that the device offers. Menus are easy to navigate and everything is where you would expect it to be in the menu structure. I like the fact that it only takes two button presses to get to the system settings from the main menu. Navigating through music and video is pretty easy, though not quite as easy as with the iPod. If the AV500 had a Sony-esque Jog dial, it would be every bit as easy to navigate as an iPod.
- Bookmarking and on-the-fly playlists. The bookmarking function is great. You can set a bookmark in any audio or video file so that you can return to that point in the file the next time you play it. For some reason, you can only have bookmarks in 16 files at a time, but I really only use 1 or 2 at a time. On-the-fly playlists are great and you can save as many as you like by renaming them right on the player.
- TV recording. This is the calling card of the Archos AV line. I really don't understand why other companies haven't caught up yet. Programming recordings is identical to the process on a VCR. The IR blaster works well. While I can sympathize with people who would like to see this thing work like a Tivo, you have to be realistic. Without a network connection, Tivo-style scheduled recording is next to impossible.
- The battery. So far, great battery life. I haven't thoroughly tested it, but I have watched 2 ripped DVD's and the battery meter still showed 2 of three bars. Music is even better. I've listened to it for 8 straight hours at work, and the battery is still strong enough to watch a video on the way home. The fact that the battery is replacable is a huge positive.
Neutrals:
- The integrated speaker is a nice-to-have feature, but it's on the tinny side, and you have to crank the volume up pretty high even to use it in a room by yourself. Sound quality through headphones is excellent and the AV500 offers individual controls for Bass, Treble and Bass Boost as opposed to iPod's presets.
- Having used iTunes for a few years now, I'm not particularly fond of having to use Windows Media Player to sync this thing. Archos includes an iTunes plugin for Apple users, but so far there's not one for Windows. I suppose this is more of a gripe that I have with WMP and not with Archos.
Negatives:
- The few negatives that I have are really, really minor gripes. The first is the case. The case does a decent job of protecting the player, but it's just too small. I can't fit both of the AV500's bottom corners into the case. The headphones sound good and have an inline volume control, but they're awfully uncomfortable compared to my EX71's (still, the AV500 phones are a bit more comfortable than Apple's headphones). Really though, who uses the included headphones for any product these days?
- You can't hear the audio while you fast-forward through a song/audio recording. Although, I rarely need this, it would be nice for audiobooks or podcasts. Seems like Archos could (and should) integrate this into a future firmware update. The bookmarking feature makes it for this in some respects.
- Sometimes the AV500 chooses the wrong display size for my videos. For example, it will sometimes stretch 4:3 TV rips to something like 5:3. This is easily fixed by a menu selection, but preferences aren't saved. The ability to save preferences for each video file would be nice.
- No way that I've found to control my DVD recorder's tuner with the IR blaster. The AV500 includes codes for VCR's, cable boxes, and satellite receivers, but not for DVD recorders. This seems a little odd, considering that most techy types that buy the AV500 are more likely to use a DVD recorder than a VCR.
Summary:
All in all, for those that want audio AND video functionality, this is an iPod-beater in my book. The only "advantages" the iPod has over the AV500 are a smaller form-factor and the ease of use of a scrollwheel. As for size, the AV500 is awfully small for a video player with a 4" screen. If fits in my jacket pocket and is as portable as anyone could expect from a device that is dedicated to video, and it's screen kills the iPod as far as viewing videos goes. I have to admit that I was just slighly afraid of experiencing "buyer's remorse" with the purchase of an AV500, but now that I have it, there is no way that I would ever think of returning it (or trading it for a 5G iPod).
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