AAC Portable Video Players (PVPs)

The Bottom Line: The Archos 5 is a great video player, but it disappoints as a premium Android Internet tablet and GPS unit.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.6 in x 0.4 in x 3.1 in, LCD 4.8 in, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, PCM, AAC, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-4, MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, Motion JPEG, 6.4 oz

The Bottom Line: The Archos 5 is a great video player, but it disappoints as a premium Android Internet tablet and GPS unit.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.6 in x 0.8 in x 3.1 in, LCD 4.8 in, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, PCM, AAC, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-4, MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, Motion JPEG, 10.1 oz

The Bottom Line: The Archos 5 is a great video player, but it disappoints as a premium Android Internet tablet and GPS unit.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.6 in x 0.4 in x 3.1 in, LCD 4.8 in, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, PCM, AAC, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-4, MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, Motion JPEG, 6.4 oz

The Bottom Line: The Archos 5 is a great video player, but it disappoints as a premium Android Internet tablet and GPS unit.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.6 in x 0.4 in x 3.1 in, LCD 4.8 in, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, PCM, AAC, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-4, MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, Motion JPEG, 6.4 oz

The Bottom Line: The Archos 5 is a great video player, but it disappoints as a premium Android Internet tablet and GPS unit.

Specs: Portable media center, 5.6 in x 0.8 in x 3.1 in, LCD 4.8 in, MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, PCM, AAC, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-4, MPEG-48, H.264, WMV, MKV, Motion JPEG, 10.1 oz

The Bottom Line: While it isn't infallible, the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player plays back a wide array of audio, video, and image files on your TV without the need for a computer.

Specs: Digital AV player, 5 in x 3.9 in x 1.6 in, AAC, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, AC-3, AIFF, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, MKV, MOV, WMV, XviD, H.264, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, 10.7 oz

The Bottom Line: Although a cumbersome interface hampers the LaCie LaCinema Premier's usability as a music and photo server, its ability to play back files ripped from DVDs is pretty appealing.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.7 in x 6.7 in x 4.9 in, AAC, MP3, WMA, AC-3, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, ISO, VOB, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX 4.0, DivX 5.0, DivX 3.11, 2.4 lbs

The Bottom Line: Although a cumbersome interface hampers the LaCie LaCinema Premier's usability as a music and photo server, its ability to play back files ripped from DVDs is pretty appealing.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.7 in x 6.7 in x 4.9 in, AAC, MP3, WMA, AC-3, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, ISO, VOB, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX 4.0, DivX 5.0, DivX 3.11, 2.4 lbs

The Bottom Line: Although a cumbersome interface hampers the LaCie LaCinema Premier's usability as a music and photo server, its ability to play back files ripped from DVDs is pretty appealing.

Specs: Digital AV player, 2.7 in x 6.7 in x 4.9 in, AAC, MP3, WMA, AC-3, Ogg Vorbis, AVI, ISO, VOB, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX 4.0, DivX 5.0, DivX 3.11, 2.4 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