Finally, the TV recording function will allow you to record from your television to the 405, as well as output any video on your device to a TV. You'll need to buy the optional DVR dock (sensing the running theme?) in order to use this interesting feature, which we'll be reviewing separately.
Performance
With the screen's resolution being notably
low, our expectations of video and image performance weren't too high.
Alas, video playback is smooth and fast to load but the high quality of
video supported isn't conveyed well by the poor screen. This is also true for images, which, while beautifully preserved in high-quality
JPEG format, look pixellated and compressed on the 405. The display's
matte finish does its best to avoid glare, however.
It's important to keep in mind this is a player that costs little in excess of £100, and super-sharp screens come at a cost. With this as a consideration, the low-ish resolution of the 405's display is at least acceptable.
Music quality is superb and up to the usual high Archos standard, though this would be a bulky choice if you're mainly after a music player. Annoyingly, after setting a song or album to play, backing up through the menu will stop the song playing. To get back to an album list or into a different mode you'll need to select the Archos home screen from a context menu. Yes, this is counter-intuitive and yes, it's frustrating.
The 2GB of internal memory is expandable to as much as 32GB with high-capacity SD cards, meaning you needn't compromise on capacity too much
if you can't afford more expensive hard disk options.
Conclusion
For roughly the same price or even a little less than an 8GB Apple iPod nano (currently £129),
the Archos 405 offers a large colour screen, great sound quality,
support for high-resolution video and drag-and-drop management of
files. Sure, the screen's not the clearest and many features require
additional purchases, but for just over £100, you're getting
an affordable and expandable pocket media player.
Archos really owns this price range of portable devices. As an alternative to the 405, consider saving up a little more and opting for the Archos 605 -- it really is the king and the extra cost will reward you many times over.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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