[mythtv-users] Archos Video Formats ?????

[Brian Wood]

On Mar 17, 2008, at 5:17 PM, Chad wrote:

>
> As a proud Archos owner I would have to say this device is in a
> completely different market that where it shines.  I view it as a
> competitor to the Video IPOD.  I have a 40GB model and scored it for
> almost an even $100.  Here's my miniature review skewed for Myth:
>
> It's a small unit that seems slightly heavier but has aluminum instead
> of plastic housing, so feels stronger at the same time.  It's mostly
> screen without a bunch of plastic taking up precious video space, but
> my version is not touch.
>
> Pros:
> * Very simple to use
> * I read long ago it's "powered by linux" (but can't offhand find
> something to back that up)
> * Comes pre-loaded with plenty of "test" material
> * Has good battery life with real-world use (not best case scenario  
> garbage)
> * Looks fairly sharp and sounds very good
> * Price-for-given-features  By this I mean the cost of this device is
> well under anything comparable (especially the Video iPOD)
>
> Cons:
> * As has been noted, you do have to pay extra on some models to view
> certain types of files (h.264 encoded video, AAC encoded audio in
> video files, etc).  There are 2 "packs" for mine, each are $20 bucks
> that make it so I can encode video in a LOT of formats and watch it on
> my archos.  Otherwise I'm limited to (so far it seems) DivX/XViD
> encoded files.
> * Seems somewhat heavy
> * Proprietary connectors for charging/data transfer
> * No touch screen (on lower end models)
>
> That's about it.  Overall I really really really think that these
> devices are a bigger bang for the buck than anything similar.  Archos
> has been in business for a long time, at least 8 years ago I remember
> eyeballing one of their video players and really wanting it; but it
> had a high price tag and was out of my budget.
>
> Hope that helps!

Great, just after I'd decided against the unit. Now I have to re-think.

Being limited to DivX/XViD doesn't seem like too much of a limitation,  
and I guess $40 for the extra codecs isn't too bad.

Reports from actual users are of much more use than advertisements or  
other anecdotal info, so I thank you for that.

beww