A Bundle of Joy
Written: Jan 06 '03 (Updated Jul 31 '03)
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Pros: video, music, camera, camcorder, 20 gigs, video out, audio out, audio in
Cons: straight video capture pending, a bit heavy, tech support USB2 cable quality
The Bottom Line: This is the device to get. All your media needs in one, portable unit - get rid of 3 or 4 separate gadgets (or more). Tech support is horrible.
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| rcr2's Full Review: Archos Jukebox Multimedia (20 GB) Digital Media Pl... |
-----updated July 31, 2003----
The unit is still plugging away, and Archos actually have been coming out with software and firmware updates. If you can't afford the newer AV340, and it's 3 1/2 inch screen and 3 megapixel camera(with flash), then the Multimedia 020/120/140 is still a good buy.
However, do not upgrade to the 1.3.x firmware. The battery life on that firmware is horrible. Archos has made the shut-off trigger to turn off with more of a charge in the batteries than before (so, say before, it would shut off with 5% of battery life.. now it shuts off with 20% of the battery left)
Still no complaints. I brought it with me to London and used the video camera option a lot. It was very convenient to carry around, and when I saw something interesting, I could just bring it out and record. I got some strange looks, mostly 'that's a small/odd looking videocamera' kind of looks. One note - you need the 'glare shield' provided, or you can't see the screen at all in the bright light.
My latest USB 2.0 cable hasn't broken yet, but I haven't toted it around with me like I would any other cable. I carry my Belkin 1.1 around everywhere and haven't had any problems.
-----updated January 21-----
I actually received a phone call yesterday, at home, from Archos. The RMA department was contacted by sales about my multiple e-mailed complaints. (meanwhile, note that tech support has not responded at all).
But, the RMA guy was very nice and concerned. Since I never sent my unit in, he was wondering why not. I told him I troubleshot it myself and determined the cable was bad. He apologized and said a new cable would go in the mail today and he would trust me to send him back the bad one. (which I am doing)
I informed him I've heard a lot of complaints about the USB 2 cable and he thanked me for the information. I'll be happy to get back up to the USB 2 speeds.
I'm a bit more encouraged by Archos' response to my problem, and I still have to include that the player is excellent - battery time, capturing audio, and the camera module are working great. They may be in that transition period Handspring experienced when they first came out and were swamped by unexpected demand, resulting in less than desireable support. I would but this player again. But if you can wait 8 months, the 3 1/2 inch screen models may be more to your fancy.
------updated Jan 16---------
Functionality-wise, I still have nothing but praise for the Multimedia. Although, RCA Lyra and Archos both have plans to come out with 3 1/2 inch screen models this year that support full DivX resolution.
My problem, though is that it seems the USB 2.0 (proprietary) cable that comes with the player is defective. A lot of people have had problems with the cable not working - hence you can't connect to your computer.
Now, I've had cable issues before - Handspring's USB Visor (returned 2), Nomad's USB cable out of the box, and so forth, but they had always known they had some bad hardware and just sent me new ones.
Archos tech support has not answer two e-mails I've sent. The sales department didn't respond. The RMA department sent me an RMA number and wanted me to return everything for replacement.
I went and bought my own USB cable to test it on the mini-port (you need a USB 2 cable with 5 pin mini-B plug) and it works, but I'm not at USB 1.1 speeds.
All and all, not happy with the company, but happy with the hardware.
Note on capturing albums from line-in - you can use something like Roxio to break the MP3 tracks after you record the album instead of listening to the whole thing and hitting 'Next' each time. I'm still waiting for them to get some better software on the actual Archos unit to do this automatically.
------old review section-------
This review includes the 20 gig Multimedia Jukebox, the Camera module, USB 2.0 connector and photo modules.
I've had a Nomad II MG for over a year (see my review).. 64 mb onboard, 128 Smartcard in the slot, and I've been extremely happy with it. When I shopped for it, all the hard drive units were at least $150 more expensive than flash media, and didn't offer anything but more storage.
Besides, the units starting at $350 were 5 gig, and the iPod was running over $500. The Nomad was only $170. I figured I could get more storage as flash technology increased, anyway.
But when the Multimedia was announced, I was hooked - alot of things put together don't make sense - like phones and mp3 players.. and I still don't get the whole phone and camera combos. I'm still waiting for the next generation of PDA phone - now that's something I can get behind.
But the Multimedia merges all 'like' functions together - all your media functions for video and audio, and is a plug-n-play 20 gig drive to boot.
When my Smartmedia card got corrupted, I looked online and saw that the multimedia was bundled with the camera module for the same price it was selling without it a month before, so I bought it.
Tech Depot delivered next day, free ground shipping, all packaged in one box.
The unit:
Started up right away with no problems. Plug and play into Windows XP Athlon desktop with no issues, and also into my Windows 2000 IBM laptop. Both instantly recognized.
The screen is well-lit and has brightness controls. I've found the screen crisp and easy to read.
Without looking at the documentation (which is, actually, not very good to begin with), I was able to easily navigate the interface. Three buttons along the screen change functionality according to menu-like names displayed in the screen above them. Some options aren't as intuitive as I'd like, but it's easy enough.
The on and off buttons I wish were more clearly labelled.. it took me a few moments to figure out how to turn on the unit. Also, you have to hold down the on button for a couple seconds, or else it will seem like it's starting up, but then stop.
I have a Hitachi drive in my unit, and it is performing ok. No problems (crossing fingers) - because I have heard of some drive crashes (which is expected - some percentage will be bad). I've heard some Fujitsu units had high rates of failure.
Start-up speed was comparable with the Nomad II MG, which surprised me, given that the unit has to spin the drive to get going. You can feel the drive spin, though it isn't distracting. It's also rather quiet.
The corners have rubberized stoppers on them, which is great for sitting at a desk and not having to worry about it sliding around. It adds to the 'bulk', but I like them more than not.
I've already lost the bottom plastic cover that sits over the module interface. I would have liked for them to either have a flip cover, or some way to attached the removeable cover.
sound:
This thing actually pumps out the sound. I thought my Nomad could get loud - this thing can keep going up in volume without distorting.
there are some leveling controls (standard bass/treble/loudness).. I haven't played around with them too much, as the sound is really good as is. Again, the documentation is pretty bad, so I'm not sure what effect some controls should have. I'm hoping they add some equalizers in later firmware updates.
You can use standard playlists. I attached my Archos to my PC, used Winamp to create a playlist (m3u) directly on the drive (don't worry about drive letters, etc.) I have an 'all' list with a couple thousand songs in it so far. the Archos takes about 10-20 seconds to catalogue all the files in the list (since it's so large), but then plays it fine. You can set the player to 'shuffle', repeat, or just play in order.
Note: it DOES NOT play wma, so all the files I had encoded for my Nomad (to conserve space) I had to re-covert to MP3. Actually, I just sat at home and ripped about 100 CD's over the weekend instead to get the better quality.
Video display:
For such a small screen it is surprisingly crisp and watchable. They include some trailers, and the sound and video are very good. I haven't transferred any DivX files over yet, though I have watched video I've taken with the camera/camcorder module.
There have been complaints elsewhere of the screen being off-center. I haven't experienced that yet, but the controls for the 'x' and 'y' positioning don't seem to do anything at all.
USB 2.0 Transfer rate:
I realized I had about 40 albums cued up and decided to move them over to the Multimedia. This took about 15-20 minutes while I continued to rip CD's. Excellent speed.
This will, of course, depend on your actual computer's disk speed and processor, as well.
Camera module:
Camera: 1.3 megapixel. No flash. Limited lighting/adjustment features. Digital zoom only (might as well use PC program to increase size).
That said, quality has been rather good. I have Fuji Finepix 2600 (2 Megapixel) and I took photos out in good lighting conditions from both. 4x6 came out similar quality - only getting up very close could you notice some artifacts in the Multimedia photo. 5x7 and 8x10, however, didn't fair as well. But for quick snaps on vacation, or just out and about, your 1.3 is good.
Lighting is important, though.. dim light introduces more graininess - if it's not well lit, the picture isn't going to be very good.
Camcorder: 640 VCR quality. While viewing through the screen as it recorded, the picture looks artifacted with green in low light, but on playback it was decent. In low light, there was some graininess, but was pretty comparable to my regular (non-digital) camcorder. Microphone is on the back, so unless you use a plug-in mic, the sound is a bit low.
Video/Picture Out:
This is where the features become extremely cool. After taking the video with the camcorder, I decided to really see the quality and attached the Archos to my TV via the standard cables (yellow video, red and white audio).
It came out just like any other recording, as if you plugged your camcorder into the TV. Sound and video were both good.
But, imagine the possibilities:
Save all your photos, create a photo album using playlists for when you are visiting family or friends (and even set it to music, if you want).
Save your digital camcorder (or any other video) to bring along to show people.
and so forth...
Audio Out:
Works the same as video out, but plug the Archos into your stereo receiver. Then, play whatever playlists your create. Keep it on your stereo rack as an audio component - no need to buy those expensive digital receivers and keep your PC on 24-7 so you can listen to your music library. Rip all your CD's to the Archos.
What, you just thought this was for portable music? Get rid of your 300 disk CD player, or even your 5 disk carousel.
Rumored to be in the works - IR remote control.
Photo modules
I don't like what these are called. 'Flash memory modules' would be better. I can see myself using them (although I haven't yet). Compactflash and Smartmedia. From what I have been told, for people who use Compactflash, Microdrive (and some other flash cards) are compatable if you use some adapter (non-Archos related.. standard Compactflash-other flash stuff).
Basically, fill up your 4 megapixel camera's flash memory, swap out, save to your Archos, wipe the card clean, and then take more pictures. No need to buy multiple cards, or wait until you get home to transfer your photos. View them on the unit, or on a tv at the hotel while still on vacation.
Audio In
One feature I was excited about was recording all my old tapes and records into mp3's. Sure, the quality wouldn't be CD, but some old bands don't have CD's out and never will. I haven't felt like lugging my computer up to my stereo (or the other way around) in order to do it, but the Archos made it easy. The recording went well. It was pretty easy.
The only complaint I have is that there are no advanced features (yet?) for copying a full album - namely create a new track when a 'space' of a few seconds is reached. I had to sit there, listen to the whole album, and click 'Next' each time a song ended.
that being said, I captured the entire album, and it sounds as good as it does coming out of my stereo. I edited the album info on the PC directly.
USB Hard Drive
No problem here. Of course, it has a bit of a delay compared to internal drives, but access time is fair with the 2.0 USB, and you can drag, drop, edit, and do whatever you want as a regular drive.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
rcr2
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Member: rich
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Born. Lived for a while. Wrote stuff. Probably will die eventually.
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