Archos Announces 405, 605, And TV Plus
- June 14th, 2007
- 15 Comments
The boys at CG just returned from an Archos event to bring you the latest PMP goodness. The line-up starts with the 105, but today we are giving you a brief hands on with the Archos 405, 605, and the new Apple TV competitor… TV plus.
The 605 comes standard with all the nifty features you’d expect in a next gen Archos device…
- WiFi
- Capacities of 4 ($230) , 30 ($300) , and 160 ($400) gigs
- 800 x 480 resolution 4.3 inch touch screen
- PDF viewer
- Plugins (Opera browser, additional codecs)
- Video recording via included DVR station at VGA res (640×480)
- HD 720p video playback! (plugin - extra $20)
- Plays flash content like YouTube (plugin - extra $20)
After playing with the 605 for a while we learned that the interface was quite intuitive and very responsive. The usual tactile buttons replace the touchscreen should you ever decide to indulge in a bag of Cheetos. Its ability to play YouTube videos smoothly blew us away as this is a new feature to mobile devices.
The plugin system was an impressive addition which allows the playback of more video and audio formats, surfing the web, and even HD video. Plugins cost $20 each but the one time fee is definitely worth it.
Video playback was incredibly smooth.
The DVR dock is included and can be combined with an optional QWERTY remote which allows effortless web surfing and media viewing on your TV.
The little brother of the 605 has the same general features but omits the wifi, touch screen, a few pixels, and some storage to knock the price down to just under $170.
It comes in a 2gb capacity but has SD expansion of up to 16gb
And yes, we realize it is labeled as the 305.
The TV Plus, an obvious competitor for the Apple TV, also uses the QWERTY remote for
- DVR
- HDMI
- WiFi, Ethernet (streaming)
- External storage
Big thanks to John Biggs for volunteering to be our lovely hand model!
Ed (Who am I?)
1 year ago
God, I just don’t understand why they won’t add support for FLAC/Ogg. I’d buy the 160GB one and pay the $20 for the plugin if they’d just add FLAC.
Ugh.
Ilya Kochanov
1 year ago
I don’t see why they wouldn’t support it in the future.
Reply
Charbax (Who am I?)
1 year ago
The new Archos will automatically download the new firmware updates over the WiFi connection, this means whatever $ amount Archos invests in adding requested features like Flac and Ogg support, the much higher percentage than ever before the amount of users will actually know there are new features available and have the new firmware installed.
Basically what I am saying is that thanks to the automatic firmware upgrade over WiFi, I think this means less “popular” features like Flac and Ogg will probably be added.
Charbax (Who am I?)
1 year ago
By the way, thanks for providing the first pictures of the real Archos TV+ prototype. Is there a dock connector on top of the Archos TV+ to insert the Archos 605 WiFi or other model?
John Biggs (Who am I?)
1 year ago
There wasn’t a dock on that device but it was still a prototype.
Ilya Kochanov (Who am I?)
1 year ago
There probably won’t be a dock on top because the 405, 605, and 705 already come with one.
James Melton (Who am I?)
1 year ago
so the 605 will definately come with the dvr station in the box? Ive seen different reports saying otherwise, but it would be nice if they included it.
You also mentioned that the remote is optional.. any idea on price?
Charbax (Who am I?)
1 year ago
I don’t think that the DVR Station Gen5 is included, it’s only the DVR Station adapter which is, it’s like a plastic thing that makes the different sized Archos players fit in the DVR Station Gen5 if the user buys that one for 80$ retail price.
But I expect there could maybe be a simple 10$ plastic docking pod to just have the Archos 5G placed firmly into something when connecting to the usb-host connector of this TV+ product.
Ilya Kochanov (Who am I?)
1 year ago
The press release said that all of them will come with the DVR station. It did not list the remote as a standard feature but I’m guesstimating the price will be around 20-30$. We will keep you updated.
Krys G (Who am I?)
1 year ago
The ARCHOS 605 WiFi will not ship with the DVR Station or the DVR adaptor - both of those will be separate accessories. The DVR Station will run about $100 (same as Gen 4.) With each player however, is that little piece referred to as the “saddle,” which allows you to plug the player into the DVR Station for TV recording and charging. The new groovy Qwerty remote will come with the DVR Station, and it will also ship with the ARCHOS TV Plus.
Also, the ARCHOS TV Plus will not have a built-in docking station for an ARCHOS player. It will act mostly as a stand-alone DVR box.
Alchemist
1 year ago
I read that the new DVR station uses a program guide for selecting shows to record… im wondering if the station includes a tuner? or if you will have to use and external tuner/cable box line on the 4 series.
Anyone know?
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Joe (Who am I?)
1 year ago
The French version of Archos site mentions Mid-July for shipment. But does anyone know when U.S.A. will be getting some?
Krys G (Who am I?)
1 year ago
For Joe: First units to hit retail will be the 605 WiFis in the U.S., likely in late August/early September.
For Alchemist: The 605 and 705 WiFi units (when plugged into the Gen 5 DVR Station) will work with an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) that is downloaded either to your device or to the Archos TV Plus. It works seamlessly with your cable or satellite provider to allow you TiVo-like recording capabilities. The station doesn’t actually include a tuner, it works by IR blaster with your cable box to tell it to change the channel for recording, etc. Hope that helps.
Richard c parham (Who am I?)
8 months ago
need dvr download
FANTiM (Who am I?)
3 months ago
Is the DVR station the only way it lets you send stuff to your TV? The apple has an A/V cable. Can the archos use similar technology?