Archos AV320 Video and MP3 Jukebox Recorder

by Archos

Product Details

Product Manual [2.68mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009XFVT
• Item model number: 500542
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Archos AV320 Video Recorder is the first handheld personal entertainment center. The AV320 combines a modular MP4 video player and recorder with an MP3 music player and recorder. The AV320 also functions as digital photo wallet or a data storage device that fits in the palm of your hand. As an MP4 video player, you can now enjoy up to 40 hours of near-DVD quality video with MP3 sound, approximately 25 full-length movies.

The AV320 comes bundled with the Archos DVR 100 Digital Video Recorder module which lets you record directly from your VCR, DVD or camcorder (records TV thru VCR or DVD connection) into MP4. Sporting the industry's only high-resolution 3.8" color screen, the Video AV320 offers the most enjoyable video play back experience in any portable device. As an MP3 Music Player and Recorder, you can record and play up to 300 hours of MP3 music from CDs or any other music source. As an MP3 Voice Recorder, you can record and play back up to 700 hours of voice recordings. The AV320 is a digital photo wallet. You can store up to 200,000 photos for easy viewing by your family, friends, customers or colleagues.

	Cinema to Go It's never been easier to watch movies on the go. You can store up to 160 of your favorite movies and view them on the high resolution 3.8" color LCD or on a TV. Record and store up to 320 hours of video (average with a AV380 80GB hard disk) from any standard video source, TV or VCR using the Digital Video Recorder plug. Simply record into MPEG-4, the new standard of compressed digital video. It is as easy as using a VCR and you don't need a PC. You can also download video content from a PC and watch your video anywhere you go.		Photos and Video to Go Take up to 800,000 digital photos with you and show them to your family, friends, or colleagues. Instantly transfer photos from your digital camera to the AV300 using the Memory Card Reader optional add-on. For the photo and video buff, the AVCam 300 add-on provides a top-quality Ricohä zoom lens. You can use the combined 3.3 megapixel camera and MPEG-4 camcorder to make your own movies and shoot high-resolution photos at school, parties, or other social gatherings.
	MusicMatch All of Archos AV products are bundled with the award winning MusicMatch software. You can use it to transform your CDs into MP3 files for playing on your AV. It can also help you tag your music or create a music library.		View on TV It has never been easier to show your best photos and video selections to your friends directly on the TV. The AV300 series is delivered with a standard audio and video cable that fits on any type of TV (PAL or NTSC). Impress your friends and family with a photo slideshow with background music. They will also be wowed by the near-DVD quality resolution of your videos. (TV not included!)
	Data to Go Use the AV300's 20, 40 or 80 GB hard disk to do easy back-ups to transport all your data with you wherever you go. The high-speed USB 2.0 interface allows you to quickly transfer your files from your computer. (PC not included!)

AV320 Video Recorder Features Summarized:

• Capacity: 20 GB Hard Disk
• Interface: USB 2.0, extra fast, compatible USB 1.1, PC & Mac . Optional FireWire cable.
• Video playback: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 stereo sound, near-DVD quality. Resolutions 352x288@30f/s, or 640x272@25f /s, up to 640x368@20f/s. AVI file format, reads XviD and DivX" 4.0 & 5.0
• Music playback: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kb/s CBR & VBR, WMA @ 160 kb/s
• Music recording: Stereo MP3 encoding @ 30-160 kb/s VBR
• Photo viewer: JPEG (except progressives) or BMP of any size
• Display: 3.8" color LCD (QVGA) 320xRGBx240 pixels or TV
• AV Connections: Stereo analog Line In & digital SPDIF Line In/Out; Composite Video Earphone Line Out jack; built-in microphone
• Playback Autonomy: Up to 10 hours of MP3 or 3 1/2 hours for video on built-in LCD
• Scalability: Downloadable firmware updates from www.archos.com
• Power Source: Internal: Rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries; External: AC charger adapter
• Dimensions & Weight: 112 x 82 x 31 mm (4.4" x 3.2" x 1.2"); 350g (12.5 oz)

JBM DVR Features:

• Connection: Plugs into AV320 expansion port; RCA jack for composite video or MiniDIN socket for S-video (NTS C or PAL)
• Capture rate: PAL: 320x240 @ 25 f/s; NTSC: 304 X 224 @30 f/s
• Video Input: Analog Composite Video or S-video
• Audio input: Analog stereo audio Mini-jack - RCA
• Video compression: Mpeg-4 SP with MP3 stereo sound in AVI format (can be read by XviD or DivX players)
• Audio compression: Stereo MP3 96-192 kb/s CBR (Constant Bit Rate)
• Dimensions & weight: 60 x 54 x 30mm (2.3: x 2.1" x 1.2"); 45g (1.5 oz)
• Systems Requirements: PC: Pentium ii 266 MHz. Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, 64 MB RAM; MAC: 9.2 or 10.2.4 iMac , G3 or higher
• Package Includes: AV320 Video Recorder, USB 2.0 cable, AC adapter, Li-Ion batteries (already installed), ste reo headphones, AV cinch cable (SCART adapter in Europe), CD with MusicMatch, drivers and 6-language manual, Digital Vi deo Recorder, audio & video cables, remote control, and 6 langage installation sheet.

Product Description

Music, photos, video and data on the go! The ARCHOS Cinema to Go is an amazing handheld personal entertainment center. It combines a modular MP4 video player and recorder, MP3 music player and recorder, digital photo wallet and data storage in a compact device that fits in the palm of your hand. With the enclosed DVR attachment, you can record off your television, VCR or camcorder directly into MP4. What you will playback is an AVI format file with MPEG4-SP VHS quality video and MP3 stereo sound. It's like having a handheld TiVo! With hard drive capacities up to 80GB, you'll have more than enough room to enjoy your favorite movies while you're on the move. Complete MP3 functionality is also included: record directly into MP3 from any audio source! Listen to your MP3 tracks while the unit is connected to your home stereo, or take your tunes with you. You never need be without your favorite music as your entire CD collection fits on the Jukebox' hard disk, in the palm of your hand! The built-in microphone also enables you to use the unit as a voice recorder, so you'll never lose track of important thoughts when you're on the go. With their sizeable storage capacity and large LCD display, these units are ideal for your digital photography needs. Store thousands of photos for easy viewing by your family, friends, customers or colleagues. Connect your Jukebox to a TV and view videos and photos at full screen size.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!, July 11, 2003

By 

Prasad Upasani (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Archos AV320 Video and MP3 Jukebox Recorder (Electronics)

Finally, Archos gets it!! With this model, Archos has addressed most of the drawbacks of previous models. This product is actually in a class of its own! It does everything it claims to do, and does it well! The interface has also been drastically improved, though it is not obvious how to use the 3 "soft" buttons at first since the buttons are aligned vertcally at the right while the functions are listed horizontally at the bottom of the screen. However, a quick glance at the button descriptions in the quick-start guide is all you need to understand how everything works. Yes there is actually a quick start guide in addition to the well-written manual. The interface is much improved by the addition of a joystick. Also, the Operating System now allows file-handling functions such as rename, delete, etc to be done right on the jukebox, whereas a PC was required before. Also as with previous models, the jukebox looks like a hard-disk when connected to the PC which means transferring files back and forth is as easy as drag-and-drop (as opposed to using proprietary programs). The USB 2.0 connection is extremely fast and definitely a plus.

AUDIO: My biggest problem with previous models from Archos (as well as most competing products) was that they needed pre-amplified mics to make live recordings since the only audio input was line-in. Also live recordings in previous models tended to pick up hard-disk noise when using the internal mic, and some hum while using the line-in input. This model finally adds support for non-amplified mics. The audio input jack doubles as line-in and mic-in. Live recording is now very clean with no hard-disk noise, even when using the internal mic. I recently recorded a live concert with fantastic results. This model adds official support for playing WMA files. UPDATED: The latest OS update (free on their website) adds support for playing AND recording in WAV format (in addition to the MP3 format), which took care of the only major complaint I had with this model. You now have a full blown DAT recorder in your pocket! This update also allows you to do some basic audio and video editing on the unit itself. Way to go Archos!!

VIDEO: Video looks very good indeed on the large 3.8" LCD screen. May not exactly be DVD-quality as they claim, but its darn close! The included DVR module allows you to record MP4 video on the fly or you can convert videos to MP4 on your PC and transfer them to the unit. You can also use an optional camera accessory (AVCam 300) to capture live MP4 video to the hard-disk, in effect converting the jukebox to a VHS-quality camcorder.

PHOTOS: Pictures look great! The unit supports both JPEG (non-progrssive) and BMP. You can use the optional memory card readers to upload directly into the jukebox bypassing your PC, or you can download pictures from your PC. Or use the optional camera accessory (AVCam 300) to take live photos to the hard-disk at a 3.3 Megapixel resolution.

DRAWBACKS: The main problem is that battery life is less than 4 hours when watching videos. And since the battery is a proprietary non-removable Li-Ion battery, you can't just pop out the old battery and put in a new one. Of course, if you (like me) use it mostly for music, then the battery life is a healthy 8-9 hours especially if you allow the LCD to stay off (it goes off automatically after a few seconds). Also for the hefty price tag, Archos should have included the optional wired remote that adds FM Radio support. The lack of an included carrying case is puzzling especially since the cheaper Archos models all came with cases. Go out and buy a case right away to protect that huge LCD screen. A final (minor) complaint is the increased size as compared to the older models and the much smaller iPod. In an effort to save some money Archos uses standard 2.5" notebook drives instead of the 1.8" hard disks used in the Apple iPods. However the upside to this is that if you fill up the hard-disk, upgrading to 40, 60 or even 80GB using a standard notebook hard disk is not too difficult or expensive. There are many sites online that give you detailed instructions on how to do this. Of course, opening the jukebox will void your Archos warranty ..

VERDICT: Overall, the ease of use, the features, as well as the quality is miles ahead of any other competing product as well as older Archos models. Despite the minor drawbacks, Archos has done an outstanding job. This jukebox is well worth the hefty price tag, especially considering the new 30GB Apple iPod costs just a little less than this and plays MP3 files only with no recording ability whatsoever.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Setting the standard for all portable players!, July 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Archos AV320 Video and MP3 Jukebox Recorder (Electronics)

At last I have received my av320 after a 1 month waiting line. This baby does everything previous archos players did...only better. Video is very clean and smooth and the demo movie included in the player showed no pixelation and was very sharp. With its 3.8" lcd screen no longer do you have to squint or strain your eyes to see video or pictures. Picture zooming has been greatly improved over the previous archos multimedia players as now you can zoom to a huge 3x times over instead of the small 2x zoom from previous JBM models. Sound is excellent but could use a little bit of more fine tuning options which can be fixed with future firmware. The bundled DVR100 is able to record from any video source with a composite or s-video connection be it a DVD player, VCR, camcorder or TV. With the DVR100 you can record video on the fly. No longer do you have to rip and encode dvd movies to your computer, just simply plug the video cables to the DVR100 and to your dvd player, press play on your dvd player and then hit record on your archos, recording in real time. Its that easy. It encodes video using the divx codec. Overall I was very impressed with its quality in design and excellent interface navigation menus. Although I gave it 5 stars (no regrets!) I will list the "cons": First, the player can become pretty hot like a hot cofee mug, especially when viewing video for an extended amount of time. Second, its thick 1.25", and heavy. Third, and no surprise like the previous archos players, the bundled headphones [are bad], so I suggest you buy some good headphones. Fourth, the navigation joystick can easily be accidently moved, changing the song you were listening to to the next track as I found out. Fifth and last, I don't like the placement of 'headphone jack in' which sits upright of the player. I would have preffered it be placed on the side so as to cause less obstruction of the screen. But overall THIS is what all mp3/mp4 players should be (Apple take note). It may seem pricey for a lot of people but it is worth every penny.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Simple, January 1, 2004

By 

Joseph Mccullough - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Archos AV320 Video and MP3 Jukebox Recorder (Electronics)

Like many, I was deciding between Archos and RCA. I'm sure RCA has released I good product but...after doing research I had my doubts about the RCA(bad software, delays, side by side reviews,etc).
I'll try to keep this short. Overall this is a good device, it does what it claims to do very easily.
PROS:
+Nice screen
+Easy Navigation
+Easy to Record Audio/Video
+Easy to transfer files
+Sound and Video quality is great
+Clean design
+Controls are good(except when the middle joystick button option is on)
+The ablity to have ad-ons(My deciding factor)

CONS:

-The weight...its not a brick but its heavier then Iexpected(this weighs 12.5oz/RCA weighs 12.8oz...according to official specs)
-The price..but its a new product from a small company

I have only had it for a week(I ran though most of the functions) so I might find more nagging things. But so far, so good

My real rating is 4.5(The price should be lower)