Customer Reviews

Archos 504 80GB Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder (500870)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Received my Archos 504 a couple days ago and I've been putting it through it's paces. The player is very solid and well made. The rocker buttons are easy to push with a tactile feel, but navigating the archos is anything but intuitive. Having to use 3 rocker buttons to navigate up, down, left, and right does not work nearly as well as a directional pad. The screen is very bright and crisp. Unfortunately, out of the box, the Archos doesn't play certain video codecs. MPG4 with AC3 and H264 with AAC both require codec plugins which are going to cost $15 per plug-in. So if you want full video support, add $30 to the price of the 504. The kicker, though, is that these codecs are not yet available and tech support has no idea when they will be available. Also the internal speaker volume is not very loud. Even at full volume, you have to listen closely to video dialog in a quiet room. If there is background noise, forget about it, plug in the headphones.

I really want to like the 504. The price is good for an 80 gig player, but be aware that Archos will nickel and dime you for accessories like an AC adapter (which is only available with the dock or dvr adapter), and the codecs.

If Amazon begins shipping the Zen Vision W 60 GB model soon, I may return the 504.

I've had the good fortune of owning 3 generations of this device. Starting w/the AV320, then the AV500, now the 504.
In my opinnion, this device is not a 100 out of 100, but pretty darn close.
I got the 80g version from Amazon for the great price of $359.00 - a real bargain.
I've converted a bunch of DVD's on my computer using iriverter, and just dragged and dropped them onto the player. Done the same with my music and photo files. All transfers were speedy and easy.
The device works great for all 3 functions. The video is bright, sharp and seamless on the 4.3 in screen. Audio sharp and clear. Pictures brilliant. You can watch a slide show w/effects while palying tunes.
Only minor drawbacks: Totally worthless carrying sack, lack of video codecs native to machine.
Navigational buttons take a little getting used to, but not bad at all once you get the hang of it.
I can't wait till the dock becomes available and I personally am not bothered by having to spend a few extra bucks to get it.
$359.00 for a player of this caliber is more than worth it.
I could go on and on, but I'll just say - I love this player.

I love the Archos 504 player for many reasons, and the removable battery is certainly one of them. Unlike iPod, Zune, etc., the Archos has a truly removable battery that can be quickly and easily replaced with a charged one. Not only does this extend the life of the product -- it doesn't need to be shipped to Archos, Inc. once the battery has died -- but also extends your viewing time as much as you want! Transcontinental flight? No problem! Just buy a couple of extra batteries to swap out on the plane. Removal takes literally 2 seconds!

Ok, so now that you know the value of the interchangeable batteries, let's go over the actually battery itself. I believe that Archos claims a 5 hour charge for these products, and while that's a bit generous, I regularly get at least 4 hours of continuous video playback. And let's face it -- we bought the Archos 504 to watch video, not listen to MP3's.

That's my cue to talk about this unit's video playback. The only thing keeping me from giving this player 5 stars is the lack of supported video codecs. Sure, it'll play .h264 or .vob (MPEG 2) files if you buy the extra software plug-ins from Archos, but come on! Why nickel and dime us for these plug-in's when we're already forking over a chunk of change for the player?!?! Clearly, you've already developed the software, just include it for cripes sake! And what about Real Media? I realize that it's not the greatest of formats, but I have a TON of South Park episodes in RM that I had to convert to AVI's. It'd just be nice if there were more supported video codecs. That's my lone diatribe regarding the video codecs, I promise. It does play MPEG 4 .avi files encoded with DivX and XviD as long as you encode the audio with WMA v2 or MP3. Basically, any movies that you've downloaded should play fine.

And the screen is pretty fantastic. Not only is it bigger than any other portable player on the market, except for the Archos 700 series, but it also looks crisper than most. I don't recall the resolution, but movies look great on it. Obviously, you have to give it a good file to get a good picture, and I haven't viewed any MPEG 2 material on it, but AVI's look great -- good resolution and color.

One of the other areas that players can frequently turn me off for good is in the file transfer mode. I hate iTunes with a passion, and it's one of many reasons why I'll never own an iPod. I do NOT want to have to load files into a program that'll screw around with them in the process of transferring them to my device. They're my files; leave them alone! Thankfully, Archos provides two methods for file transfer: as an external hard drive or as a Windows Media Player device. Personally, I go with the external hard drive choice because dragging and dropping files is quick, easy, and intuitive. If you're into synching your player and want to use WM, great, but I love the fact that you can just drag and drop files into the folders that you want without using proprietary software. Transfer occurs via USB 2.0, and the connection requires a special dongle that Archos provides with the obvious caveat that you can't go pick up a conventional USB cable to charge this sucker. I don't know exactly why Archos chose this connection except for the obvious financial benefit of specialized equipment (an unappreciated iPod immitation). Charging is very slow using this cable, but Archos claims that the docking bay or DVR station allow for much faster charging.

Like the file transfer system, the menu system is pretty intuitive as well. Directional buttons as well as an OK (select)/back and tab/menu buttons comprise the column of five buttons that reside to the right of the screen. These allow you to navigate through the icons on the home screen. There are 8 icons for video, music, photos, browser, resume, tv scheduler, video recorder, and audio recorder. Obviously, video, music, and photos will take you to their corresponding media. Browser allows you to browse all folders in a file folder format (say that 10 times fast!) while resume takes you back to where you last left off, and the finally three deal with recording media. I have yet to record any media on this player; so, unfortunately I can't review that aspect. But the ergonomics of this player are easily a 4 of 5. It's a little clunky, but for a player with an 80 GB HDD and a 4 inch screen, how can you complain?

The proprietary dongle that connects via USB is a bit disappointing as well as the lack of video codec support straight out of the box, but you are provided with the dongle (don't lose it!), and the AVI support will account for the majority of most viewers' videos. My rating would breakdown like this:

design - 5
ergonomics - 4
functionality - 5
ease of use/format support - 3
value - 5

This is an awesome player and a great deal. If you're a frequent flyer and are the slightest bit tech savvy, which you are if you're checking this out, I'd highly recommend this unit.

I purchased the 80GB 504 as an update to the Archos Gmini 400, which was a pretty awesome device itself. The 504 is great. Unlike certain other fine products (Ipod, Toshiba), the 504 is really a dedicated video device, with a huge screen that takes up most of the front real estate on the unit making the most of portable video.

The 504 handles video, audio, and photos wonderfully. The screen is beautiful and vibrant and the interface is simple and effective. I love the ability to customize the desktop appearance with personal photos and color settings. Playback of video is smooth and I've had no problems with sound/video sync or file compatibility. The operating system is pleasingly quick, especially when viewing photos. A nice improvement on the 504 from my Gmini is the ability to view photos while listening to music. The audio quality is very good. It is worth noting that the CNET review mentioned poor audio quality as a downside, but Archos has issued a firmward upgrade that made noticeable improvement of audio quality.

Archos has taken a new approach with their pricing and design of the 504, primarily through requiring additional accessories for full functionality (audio and video recording, USB host functions, etc). While some have complained about this, I like it. The base units are priced very attractively. The previous generation 100GB Archos AV500, for example, records video out of the box but sells for closer to $500. With the 504 I can spend $350 on a wonderful video/mp3 player with a big hard drive and spend another $100 later for the optional DVR station. I think Archos has taken the right step by offering consumers flexibility-a great base unit is now available for much less, but the full range of functionality is available to those who want to spend more.

I have only had the 504 for a few days but I am the kind of guy that likes to put a new electronic item through its paces early. I purchased it to take on our honeymoon to act as entertainment on the plane and to dump my camera and hopefully our camcorder( JVC hard disk based) to for backup.

First impressions are very good. I immediately upgraded the firmware and that went smoothly. I have also added some movies and PDFs and pics in as well. all worked very well.

Video: Looks incredible!!! I converted some DVDs using the Xvid codec and they play perfectly.. no stutter, great sound, GREAT picture and excellent loading times.

PDFs: I converted some docs and some books in .RTF format with cutePDF and they look fine. I suggest that you copy everything you want to PDF into word and do page setup, making the page 5" wide and margins of .5" or less. This gives a nice look when reading. My only small gripe is that you have to zoom in a few times every time you open a PDF to get it to a size that is easy to read. I would prefer it saved my location and setting when I close a PDF

Photos: Like Videos these look great and are easy to view

Only two problem/issues so far are getting the504 to show up on a TV. Although I am not using their archos to TV cable so that may make a difference. I have a few more cables to try at home before I call this broken. And I thought it also had the stand built in like the 604 but it does not and the case is not available to purchase yet so I am trying to jury rig a stand for it.

Over all a great little travel device.

Update: I verified that I can transfer pics from my Canon SD300 and more importantly my JVC Everio-G Camcorder (GZ-MG77US) camcorder. Bumping it up to 5 stars just for that feature alone.

I purchased the 504 80 gig a week ago now and I think it was worth every penny to me. I like having a good amount of storage capacity to store video and music for my business trips. The 504 has everything I need.

Music playback is exceptional to me. I was able to transfer over my collection of music without a hitch. I love that I can hook this player as a mass storage device and not have to rely on windows media player to sync and transfer stuff.

Video playback is great. With a little conversion to a playable format everything works good. I have Tivo so I transfer alot of shows to my computer so that Windows media player can do the converison for you. There are other options for this if you look around a bit. I can't wait for them to release the mpeg 2 plugin for the 504 that will really cut the conversion time of files.

Pictures look exceptional as well. Not much needed to be said about this aspect of the player.

The two cons that really comes to mind in my week of use is that it should have come with an AC adapter supplied and the case that came with it is useless. The case can only be used for carrying the device. You can't do anything with the player in the case.

Overall this player is exceptional in my opinion.

I recently bought the Archos 504, the DVR station and the extended life battery. I also closely researched several other models and brands (604, Cowon A2, and Creative Zen). What won me over to this model was the removable battery, the large hard drive capacity and the ability to not only listen to music, watch videos, but also read PDFs. Although I will say I have not been successful with Adobe when attempting to register a new device for protected e-book files. I tried transferring a protected PDF but was not able to view it on the Archos. Hopefully, they will come out with a firmware upgrade or Adobe will wake up and recognize more devices soon.

While I love the Archos itself, I have had problems with using Windows Media Player (both 10 & 11) to transfer music and video files that I have bought online, despite the PlaysForSure deal. I stumbled upon one suggestion that the music files needed to be played at least once through on the computer I bought them on to get the DRM license acquired (music was bought on MusicMatch & Urge). I spent a few hours letting this music play through. Although sometimes the music (on the computer) would only play a few seconds and jump to the next song (as though it couldn't get the license), if I went back and restarted the song that stalled, it would be successful the secord or third time, and then play all the way through. I deleted all the music off my Archos from my problematic first sync and then started the process all over again. This time (after letting the music files play through), the music transferred over and played on the Archos without errors.

Also, with the DVR station, I haven't figured out how to use Yahoo TV to schedule shows to record yet (the directions are a bit sketchy). I have, however, been able to use my cable box DVR, from TimeWarner digital cable (a Boston Scientific model, I think) to record shows. Once I have recorded them, I can select the "Record to VCR" option, hit record on the Archos videocorder screen while its docked and it will retrieve the pre-recorded show. The transfer was slightly faster than the actual length of the show, but not by much. Also, you can manually schedule a recording on the Archos itself, which would avoid the extra step of transferring a pre-recorded show and just record in real time when the show is scheduled. I haven't done that yet, but will try it soon.

I have not tested the battery life (normal or extended) but fully expect it to be plenty sufficient (between both batteries) for my upcoming trans-Atlantic trip when I deploy.

I am thrilled with how easy it is to use in the hard-drive USB mode and transferred family pictures quickly and without any issues. I also like being able to select your own color scheme and wallpaper.

While I have read some complaints about the screen's viewing angles, I think they're superb and easy to see from the side or tilted.

Also, one other thing to realize is that the USB cable is proprietary, so I'm not sure how you could accomplish using it as a USB host without involving the DVR docking station.

Overall a great, multi-functional product!!

I've upgraded from the preceding AV500 model. The new AV504 brings some improvements including a larger harddrive, dedicated on/off button, and an appropriately placed headphone jack. In order to stay competitively priced, the AV504 does not come with a docking station and sadly you cannot record directly from an A/V source without the docking station. No longer do the A/V out cables come bundled with the device for TV output viewing and charging is done either through the docking station or via USB. USB connection is now through a proprietary connection (previously it was a universal USB connector). The new buttons are much less intuitive than the directional buttons on the AV500 (The buttons on the AV504 are not directionally placed). The AV504 uses a larger capacity laptop harddrives rather than the microdrives used in previous models. This has lead to multiple issues, first issue is it has made the unit thicker and heavier. Secondly, harddrive interference can be heard through your headset everytime it spins up, not to mention a much more noticeable "jolt" every time it spins up. Finally, the AV504 does not come included with a protective leather case and must be purchased separately. Overall, the fact that they proprietarized connections and removed previously bundled parts forces me to give 3 stars to this unit.

I have been waiting so long for Apple to finally come up with a wide screen video iPod. I got tired of waiting and bought the Archos 504.
It is a beauty. The screen is wonderful. My wife and I shared it on a recent long flight and we were both able to view the screen at the same time. This was a bit of a concern.
The unit is heavy but feels solid.
I love Apple's and I have an iMac and two iPods, but they really are dragged down by some issues. For example, I was able to buy a 2nd battery for long flights (for the 504) for a very reasonable amount. Not only can you not do that with an Apple, if your battery dies, your iPod is a pretty paper weight. This unit is much more user friendly in that department. Now of course it isn't as user friendly menu wise. The set of buttons on the side get the job done, but it is no Apple product. And they need to have a back light. Hard to work it in the dark. The hard drive is easily accessed via the battery panel. It may or may not be user replaceable, I have heard it is.
It also works with both my PC and my Apple. Just shows up as a hard drive and I drag the movies over.
It has a speaker for times when you don't want to use a pair of headphones but it is tinny and not at all loud.
The unit doesn't include an AC charger. Just a USB cable that plugs into your computer. Having said that, you probably have an AC adapter with a USB input somewhere in your house. Your iPod, a Pocket PC, etc. If not you can buy one much cheaper than Archos wants.
It doesn't play MPEG2 files but can with a $20 plug in. For another $20 you can get the Podcast plug in and play non-protected Apple videocast. For example I download the NBC news on iTunes and transfer it to my 504 and it plays great. Also, I was able to buy both for $30, don't know if that bundle is still available.
If you are technically challenged and don't know how to get DVD's, TV shows, etc. onto this device, consider buying the DVR station. Basically you can capture anything you can play on your TV. Just plug the DVR station into your DVD player, play the DVD and it records it. Same for a TiVO, Cable on Demand, etc.
Basically I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone. If you are comfortable with gadgets and don't need your hand held it is great. I have filled mine up with DVD's and TiVO shows. If you are overwhelmed by gadgets then hold out for a new video iPod. You can pay Apple for a copy of a movie you already own and it will magically appear on your iPod.

The basic unit is pretty good, but after downloading the first movie to the unit I get an error message that it does not play MPEG-4 movies without the optional plug-in, even though it is stated through the ads it plays MPEG-4. Well the MPEG-4 plugin is a additional cost item, as is the AC power supply. These are items that come free with almost any other player. I called Archos about this and they replied " we did not say you wouldn't need an optional for cost plug-in". Questionable ethical attitudes like this and their nickel and dime philosphy is often what makes or sinks a company. Right now I would say Archos is a sinker, even if they have a descent product.