Digital AV recorder Portable Video Players (PVPs)

The Bottom Line: Archos 705 WiFi is the biggest, baddest PVP on the market. What you get in screen size, however, you pay for in portability and picture quality.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 7.2 in x 0.8 in x 5 in, TFT 7 in - Color, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, ADPCM, Protected WMA (DRM), WMV, MPEG-4, 1.4 lbs

The Bottom Line: Archos 705 WiFi is the biggest, baddest PVP on the market. What you get in screen size, however, you pay for in portability and picture quality.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 7.2 in x 0.8 in x 5 in, TFT 7 in - Color, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, ADPCM, Protected WMA (DRM), WMV, MPEG-4, 1.4 lbs

The Bottom Line: The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 5.2 in x 0.9 in x 3.1 in, TFT 4 in - Color, AAC, ASF, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, AC-3, FLAC, G.726, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, Apple Lossless, APE (Monkey's Audio), ASF, AVI, VOB, WMV, MPEG, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, DivX 4.0, DivX 5.0, DivX 6.0, DivX 3.11, MPEG-4 SP, Motion JPEG, OGM (Ogg Media), 10.5 oz

The Bottom Line: The Cowon A3 portable video player is a fantastic value when judged on the merits of its file support and integrated video-recording capabilities. If you've got nimble fingers and an eclectic assortment of audio and video formats, the Cowon A3 should be at the top of your list.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 5.2 in x 0.9 in x 3.1 in, TFT 4 in - Color, AAC, ASF, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, AC-3, FLAC, G.726, Ogg Vorbis, MPEG 1 Audio, MPEG 2 Audio, Apple Lossless, APE (Monkey's Audio), ASF, AVI, VOB, WMV, MPEG, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, DivX 4.0, DivX 5.0, DivX 6.0, DivX 3.11, MPEG-4 SP, Motion JPEG, OGM (Ogg Media), 9.9 oz

The Bottom Line: Blue Raven's MediaMate is a Texas-size product with a down-to-earth price. Just remember, bigger isn't always better.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 8 in x 1.1 in x 4.6 in, TFT 7 in - Color, MP3, PCM, WMA, AC-3, ADPCM, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, VOB, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, 1.3 lbs

The Bottom Line: Blue Raven's MediaMate is a Texas-size product with a down-to-earth price. Just remember, bigger isn't always better.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 8 in x 1.1 in x 4.6 in, TFT 7 in - Color, MP3, PCM, WMA, AC-3, ADPCM, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, VOB, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, 1.3 lbs

The Bottom Line: The iSee 360 is a really cool concept, but it needs to work out some performance kinks and refine its design a bit in order to become a must-have accessory. Still, owners of older iPods should give it some serious consideration.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, LCD 3.6 in - Color, MP3, MPEG-2, MPEG-4

The Bottom Line: The Coby PMP-4330 made many compromises to meet its attractive price tag. Still, this PVP's built-in ability to record video is unprecedented for a wide-screen player in this price range.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 5.2 in x 0.9 in x 2.9 in, TFT 4.3 in - Color, MP3, WMA, ASF, AVI, WMV, XviD, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG

The Bottom Line: The Coby PMP-4320 made many compromises to meet its attractive price tag. Still, this PVP's built-in ability to record video is unprecedented for a wide-screen player in this price range.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 5.2 in x 0.9 in x 2.9 in, TFT 4.3 in - Color, MP3, WMA, ASF, AVI, WMV, XviD, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG

The Bottom Line: The Archos 704 WiFi multimedia player looks amazing on paper, but the Web browsing isn't quite smooth enough. Still, as a video player it succeeds: the large screen size makes it ideal for planes, trains, and automobiles, though it's too big to be an everyday music player.

Specs: Digital AV recorder, 7.2 in x 0.8 in x 5 in, TFT 7 in - Color, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, ADPCM, Protected WMA (DRM), WMV, MPEG-4, 1.3 lbs