Archos 404 - Should I? Shouldn't I?

dulpit

So i've been looking at various mp3/mp4 type player things... I think i've finally decided on the Archos 404. It's a decent size, not a giant brick in my pocket, but with a viewable screen... It's also not too expensive (€239 in Dixons)

Question is, does anybody have one? Anybody ever have problems? Anybody got any opinions on it or any alternatives?

dulpit

Also does anybody know of any offers? Like cheap or bundled with extras? I'm very interested in getting the DVR stand too...

Gran Hermano

Might be worth checking this site:
http://www.luzerntech.com/

They're based in Dublin and I believe an official service
centre. They often have good specials. I have't used them
myself but I've seen good feedback on several sites.

dulpit

Gran Hermano wrote:

Might be worth checking this site:
http://www.luzerntech.com/

They're based in Dublin and I believe an official service
centre. They often have good specials. I have't used them
myself but I've seen good feedback on several sites.

They're actually more expensive, quoting a refurbished 404 @ £179.99 which is over €260...

Gran Hermano

Odd, as the higher spec Archos don't seem much more expensive
than the lower spec:

Archos AV700TV DVR Digital Portable Video Recorder MP3 Player 40GB (Refurbished)
£199.99 (compared to GBP 383 on Amazon UK)



http://www.luzerntech.com/Store/Category.aspx?&Page=1&sort=3&catid=21710 Bigger savings on the higher spec Archos models

dulpit

The higher spec ones are a bit too bulky for my liking though... Anybody any thoughts on the 404 though?

pleasant Co.

dulpit wrote:

The higher spec ones are a bit too bulky for my liking though... Anybody any thoughts on the 404 though?

I owned one but sold it. Excellent device, beautiful screen. You can ask me any Q's you like and I'll try my best to recall my opinion at the time I sold it 3 or 4 months ago you see.

dulpit

Mactard wrote:

I owned one but sold it. Excellent device, beautiful screen. You can ask me any Q's you like and I'll try my best to recall my opinion at the time I sold it 3 or 4 months ago you see.

Righteo, here we go:

1. Is battery life good? (for both video & music)

2. Did you get the DVR dock station thing? Is it worth the €100 or so?

3. Can it play all sorts of video? (i've mainly divx i think)

4. Can it play all sorts of music (i've mainly wma and mp3)

5. How do you sync with PC? (is it drag and drop or do you have to use WMP or something)

6. Is it easy to use? (intuitive gui etc.)

7. Why did you sell yours? (i.e. was there any problems)


Cheers..

pleasant Co.

dulpit wrote:

Hey, I'm the guy thinking of getting an Archos, you said to ask any questions i might have... I've poseted this in the forum as well, but said i'd pm you to, just in case you don't see the forum...

Anyway, here we go:

1. Is battery life good? (for both video & music)
Its quite poor, not terrible but was the main reason I got rid of mine.roughly the quoted time for music, and about 2 - 3 hrs for video

2. Did you get the DVR dock station thing? Is it worth the €100 or so?
No I didn't get it but did get the opportunity to use it extensively, If you intend on recording alot of tv its a great buy (and if you look hard enough i'm sure you'll find it cheaper)

3. Can it play all sorts of video? (i've mainly divx i think)
It played just about every video i through at it, these were all a mixture of divx and xvid (.avi's)

4. Can it play all sorts of music (i've mainly wma and mp3)
I had no issues with music and I tested its supported formats, mostly wma and MP3, it worked a charm

5. How do you sync with PC? (is it drag and drop or do you have to use WMP or something)
As a mac user I can't answer that, but it does have an MTP option meaning it should sync with WMP

6. Is it easy to use? (intuitive gui etc.)
I loved both the UI and GUI, the GUI could have done with a bit of refinement but I found it a joy to use

7. Why did you sell yours? (i.e. was there any problems)
Two reasons, one was battery life (compared to my D2 52hrs baby!!!) the other reason was that I bought it on a whim as a review unit, sadly I lost the review in a horrific EXT HDD failure

Answers in bold


---Dom---

hopeful

I bought the 404 off Mactard...a fine deal too

It is a great music and video player. I also invested in the DVR station, both software plugins and a better case.

I like it so much I'm in the process of buying a 604wifi

My 404 plus all accessories will be for sale in about two days once I get my new unit.
If you are interested I can certainly do you a deal far better than you will get in any shop. It is all in perfect condition and has the boxes, manuals etc.
PM me if you are interested...we can haggle over price as I've not even thought that far yet.

Sorry if this hijacking your thread!

pleasant Co.

Hey hopeful how have you been?
I'm glad you like the 404, the 604wifi is an equally excellent unit and its touchscreen is niiiice.
Best of luck selling on the 404 dude

---Dominic---

hopeful

Howdy Mactard..all good here

Moonbeam

luzerntech also sell on ebay and are based in Blanch.


I bought my gmini 402 from them
http://www.archos.com/products/video/gmini_402_cam/index.html?country=global&lang=en

and it had a mark on the screen so got an rma for it and returned it and there was no fuss etc:)

Slutmonkey57b

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/archos-video-player/cmr5_cmp218_cm.html

The 404 is going for €195, and the 40gig widescreen 504 is going for €250.

hopeful

:::whisper:::: mine would be cheaper ::::::::::

thebman

Just a note to avoid Argo's if buying the Archo's 404. They are charging 400 Euro in the catalogue we have at home (Maybe its out of date but its still a rip off).

Aquos76

I have the AV504 80g and its excellent. I bought the 504 and the docking station for €410 in pc world last december, a fantastic deal at the time.

dulpit

OK, so i've been looking and i might splash out on the 604 instead... Good idea? Also, cos i haven't seen it in any shops anywhere, what sort of size is it? In comparison to other players? Is it bulky? Or can you throw it into your pocket and away with ya?

Ah! Don't know what to do!!

thebman

I just bought the 640 yesterday. You have to buy some of the codecs separtely (same as 404, see archos website).

You can get it in Argo's for 300.50 Euro although it says 380 Euro in the catalogue for it.

Its a great little machine. Feels solid. Don't know about battery life yet. Works in Linux as mass transfer device. So far the codec thing is my only real complaint.

That and for some reason, it isn't reading MP3 tags properly but I can browse by file browser and play them that way but its still rather odd.

dulpit

brim4brim wrote:

I just bought the 640 yesterday. You have to buy some of the codecs separtely (same as 404, see archos website).

You can get it in Argo's for 300.50 Euro although it says 380 Euro in the catalogue for it.

Its a great little machine. Feels solid. Don't know about battery life yet. Works in Linux as mass transfer device. So far the codec thing is my only real complaint.

That and for some reason, it isn't reading MP3 tags properly but I can browse by file browser and play them that way but its still rather odd.

What about size of the player and stuff? Is it big and bulky in your pocket? Or does it fit no hassle?

thebman

Its a little bigger than the iPod Video I used to have but I don't see any problems carrying it around. I'll be using it in my jacket pockt though so loads of space. Bit big for jeans pocket.

It comes with a little bag thing but that seems pretty crappy TBH and you can only charge it over USB.

dulpit

So i'm gonna get the thing saturday, can anybody give me any reason why i shouldn't or offer some sort of alternative???

hopeful

Are you getting the 604 or 404?

If you are getting the 604 then go a few extra bucks and get the 604wifi..makes much more sense.
Bear in mind that for either one you will need the DVR Station in order to get the most out of it. You will also need the codec plugins from Archos (19.99 each).
Lots of useful info on all the Archos stuff on Archos Fans Forums.

::: pimp mode :::If you are getting the 404 then come and buy mine I will do a serious deal on the whole kit.::: pimp mode off :::

dulpit

ya i think i'll just suck it up and get the 404... And thanks for the offer but i'll go for the new one...


mmm new...

dulpit

OK, so i went out & bought the 404 friday evening. My first impressions were wow, pretty... Didn't get to do much with it until saturday evening, stuck some videos and a ton of music onto it. I'm well impressed with it, very quick moving stuff over, i used WMP for the music (easiest) and just simple drag&drop for the video...

What i must say about the video playback is that the screen is just amazing, fantastic quality, kicks the ipods/zens to touch... Watched a full episode of Prison Break, fantastic! Listening to music is great too, its got gapless playback which is the job, have a few live albums, only realised how annoying the tiny gap that some older mp3 players stick in is now...

All in all i'm well chuffed with the player... Only problems is that it is a tad big when in the case. Not too big to put in your pocket but you're well aware that its there. Also you can only charge it through the usb, no plug came with it. This is quite slow but i'm not too worried cos i work on a computer all day so i can just charge it at work....

All i need now is to buy the DVR Station and i'll be happier even more... But i'll wait a while, don't want to spend the month in the soup kitchens...:D

parsi

I bought a 404 at the weekend and find it good. The screen is picky about the vertical angle but it plays well. I bought an external battery pack on eBay.de (seller was system-s) which takes AAs and will probably be a handy way of extending battery life.