Browsing for and finding a file is now a very straightforward process. It's not quite as simple as, say, selecting a track on an iPod, but anyone with a hint of common sense will have few problems navigating the various menus. You can even turn the display into a simple file browser should you wish to open a particular folder.
Getting your files on to the device is easy. You simply connect it to your PC or Mac with the supplied USB cable and then drag and drop files, creating extra folders if you wish. On a PC, you can also transfer media files over using Windows Media Player 10's sync function. The 604 is a 'Plays For Sure' device, so protected movies and audio tracks are fully compatible.
The only out of the box recording you can do here is with the built-in microphone. As mentioned above, anything else will require additional gear. We managed to get our hands on the DVR Station, and found it to be a decent, well-made add-on (as you'd expect for £70). You can record from an AV device via S-Video, composite video and analogue stereo in good quality, as well as play back material from the Archos' hard drive on a larger display or better quality sound system.
Performance
Like its predecessor, the 604 provides excellent video quality if you give it a good source video. We loaded some XviD episodes of Lost on and were disappointed to see them juddering slightly due to the frame rate not 'agreeing' with the Archos' codecs. Still, an XviD version of Napoleon Dynamite ran more smoothly and looked excellent, boasting bright, strong colours and some of the best detail we've seen on a portable video player.
Audio quality is also a plus point. You can adjust settings to your own preference, but even in its default mode the device certainly acquits itself well against dedicated MP3 players, including the iPod. All things considered, it's an improvement over the AV 500.
The external speaker is mono and very much on the quiet side, so we'd certainly recommend investing in a good quality pair of headphones, as you're going to be using them a lot with this device.
Battery life is rated at four hours when watching video and around 15 hours for audio playback only (with the TFT display switched off). This is about the same as the AV 500.
Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
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Anthony Johnson 21 October 2006
Good: Robustness. Linux compatiblity
Bad: Lack of comprehensive codec support
Comment: This device is packed with such potential. In fact it was released too early, hence its incomplete character in the way of codec support.
The build quality is excellent, as is the screen - which resembles an X-Black high contrast screen as encountered on many laptops. The sound quality is smooth though it could have been louder. After some initial learning, the navigation is quite straight forward. Video playback is great but could have been greater. The issue I have here is not with the quality, which is very good, but with codecs. Mpeg 2 is not supported out of the box. With audio playback AAC is not playable either without downloading a plug-in. I have been able to use the Archos 604 on a Mac using OS 10.4 and Redhat Linux 9 without any problems at all. It is surprising that Archos did not ship this Linux compatible device with the Ogg Vorbis codec.
The USB lead supplied is custom - a real worry should it be damaged. Lastly there is no line-in recording without the optional docking station which also allows for video recording and charging. The absence of a charger means that out of the box it can only be charged through the PC. Word of warning: some of us have discovered that the iPod charger does a pretty good job of charging an Archos 604!!! BUT SO HAVE ARCHOS! SO IF YOU DOWNLOAD ANY NEW FIRMWARE UPGRADE, THIS FEATURE WILL BE LOST!!! ( I.E. Firmware 1.4XX)
Despite the above deficiencies, it's a great Personal Media Player. Probably the best I have purchased so far.
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