Ipod or Archos

feileacan

In the next few months i intend to replace my old ipod which ive had for years and love to bits - but i would like portable video.

I cant decide to purchase either the

ipod touch (16Gb)
ipod classic (160Gb)
archos 605 (160Gb)

ive heard many things about each but cant decide - the price is about teh same for all three

ipod touch is lush but way to small (HD) but conversely the archos is ugly (in comparison) and big (and ive read that you have to buy additional components and plug-ins)

any advice ?



Considering getting a new gadget but cant decide

Zimmerframe

There is no answer to that one m8, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
In my opinion ( I have both), the Ipod is too small for video, and the archos is too big for audio, but it's all down to what you want to carry about, if you don't mind the extra size of the archos and you want to watch video's mostly, then it's no contest at all get it. Otherwise it's the ipod for you.

kaisersose77

If you watch a lot of xvids/divx , then definitely get an archos 605 as it plays them out of the box without any additional plugins. The additional plugins are for mpeg2/vobs and h264/quicktime which most ppl dont need unless you want to rip dvds and play them without converting.

It comes down to whether you want to convert movies or not. If you have an ipod then you will have to, which means you'll probably spend more time converting stuff than actually watching it and sooner or later get sick of doing this. Or if you get the latest tv shows etc from america in xvid and have an xvid player, its just a matter of copying it on.

Or go for something like a 60gb creative m vision which will play xvid/divx. I have the 605 and a creative m previously, and I wouldnt recommend an ipod to any friend simply because they wont play xvids.

I have the 160gb 605 which I have filled up with all my music and loads and loads of films and tv shows. And I also have about 1.5tb of stuff on my pc, so with the wifi on the 605, I can stream all this to the 605 aslong as the pc is on.

It can also stream some internet tv channels and radio stations that are in mms format. At the moment I have fox las vegas (las vegas is 8hrs behind so not much use! but i think they have prison break on it when its first shown over there). Have some music video channels aswell and it can also stream what the rte site is showing. The mms streams dont work with the latest fw for some reason, luckliy i havent updated mine yet.

But the 160gb version is big (not huge) since it has a 2.5" harddrive in it. Have a look at youtube anyways as you'll see videos of all the media players.

BobbyFowler

Hi Kaiser

I have the same query as the OP. I've been looking at the 605 as well. I see there are a number of plug in's which may or may not need to be bought. The only plug in that stands out to me is the Web Browser Plug In. Is there a seperate plug in for playing radio stations? It also seems like the DVR Station is a must if I'm taking stuff off the TV. I'm new to all this - what size is a decent quality film or series episode going to take up on the player? The only other query is which set of portable speakers are worth going for? Cheers.

kaisersose77

One plugin is for playing mpeg2 /vob files (backed up dvds)
One plugin is for playing h264 / .mov videos
Supposedly theres a internet radio plugin coming out at some stage

I only really use avi's, which are supported out of the box, so the web browser plugin was all I really needed. I havent got the dvr station and have no plans to, so I wouldnt know what space a film etc would take up. Search or post here, and you'll definitely find out:

http://forum.archosfans.com/index.php

And wouldnt know about portable speakers either, as the built in speaker is fine for me. Probably whatever ppl get for their ipods etc will do fine. You may aswell post your questions on that forum i linked as you'll get your answers for sure.

Ekancone

I just ordered the 605, its been shipped out today, cant wait! I will keep ya posted.