Mini review: Archos 404 Media Player

Ok, here is my first gadget-related review here on CFJ, so I apologize in advance if you were expecting more software today!

You may have read in my previous posts that I had a Microsoft Zune as my MP3 player of choice. Well, for my wife's birthday last month, I bought her an Archos 604 media player to watch downloaded movies and play music.

As soon as she opened the box, I was immediately jealous. Besides the device's massive screen, I liked the ability to connect the unit to a PC as a normal removable drive, and the ease of which we could move media to the device, not depending on any software for synchronization (although we are using Windows Media Player for the device sync.).

Zune...you were a good friend, but I bid ye farewell...
So, with a somewhat heavy heart, I sold my Zune and all accessories on eBay, and ordered an Archos 404 (same specs as the 604, only with a 4" screen). I got one for a paltry $140 - they are priced at well over $200 retail.

Comparison of both devices:

Features	Zune	Archos 404
Capacity	30Gb	30Gb
Battery	14hrs music	12hrs music
Screen	3" diag. 320x240	3.5" diag 320x240
FM Tuner	yes	no
Recording	no	yes (internal mic)
Line in	no	optional
Navigation	D-pad + 2 option buttons	Vertical arrangement of buttons (slightly clumsy)
Play music while browsing device	yes	yes (updated 08/10/07) - see commentary at end of the post
Management software	Zune proprietary	Non-proprietary (can appear as attached drive for manual drag & drop)
Video	Windows Media Video (.wmv): Main Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 1.5 Mbps peak video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec., with Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio; Simple Profile, CBR, up to 736 Kbps video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec.	MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution) WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) With optional software plug-ins: - H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC sound. - MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound.
Pictures	JPEG (.jpg): All resolutions (desktop software will automatically convert to 640x480 at sync time)	JPEG, BMP, PNG
Internal speaker	no	yes
Other nifty features	Zune sharing via WiFi (I never used this) Add songs to quicklist (playlist) on the fly.	Can read PDF Files, optional DVR accessory allows you to record TV on the device. Browse device folder structure directly from UI, manipulate files. Audio/video bookmarks.
Weight	5.6oz	6.7oz

Dislikes:

• Proprietary USB cable, although this seems to be par for the course with the big players in the digital media device market. (medium)
  
• No video playlists (Zune didn't support this either). (minor)
  
• No removable battery. (medium)
  
• Display is a bit hard to see in bright sunlight, but this is the case with many LCD screens. (medium).
• No 'kickstand'. (minor)
  
• Does not support playing music with the slideshow. (minor) - well, kinda - see my commentary at the end of this post. You still CANNOT assign a song to a slideshow - starting at the beginning of the slides, and ending at pre-determined point.
  

Likes:

• Sharp, vivid display in normal indoor ambient lighting. (major)
  
• DVD quality video. (major)
  
• Connect as a Windows Media device or standard removable hard drive. (major)
  
• Set bookmarks for audio and video (major)
  
• There are no software 'gotchas' that lock the device to a particular computer (like iTunes and Zune software), you can connect it to any computer and drag & drop media to the device without fear of some software deleting everything. (major)
  
• Ability to record audio (with internal mic - line in is available as an aftermarket option). (medium)
  
• Ability to record TV with optional DVR station. (medium)
  
• Picture thumbnail browsing. (medium)
• Folder/filesystem browsing via GUI, ability to delete files/folders. (medium)
  
• Internal clock - what about an alarm clock or sleep mode? (minor)
  
• PDF file support. This seems like a novelty, but remember, you can print any document to PDF format, so you might find an additional need for this. (minor)
• Capture snapshot of playing video (minor)
  

Playlist workaround
One problem I had to work around was the fact that the device uses .pla playlists. Windows Media Player supports .wpl and .m3u formats as a default, and both don't translate to the device (the .wpl files plain don't work, and the .m3u's come over, but no songs are contained in the playlist). I had to use WinAmp to create my playlists...this worked very well. Otherwise, WMP was able to handle everything else that I wanted to synchronize.

Comparison to the 604
Regarding my wife's 604 (the start of this whole obsession): The size difference between the 404 and 604 is substantial, but I've grown very accustomed to the 3.5" diagonal display. It easily fits in my pocket (but is a little wide), and I can take it anywhere. The screen on the 404 has a matte finish, whereas the 604 is a little glossier, but otherwise, both have a very comparable display quality.

Of course, the 604 is heavier, but both use the exact same DVR station (they both come with plastic bezels that you can use to keep them snug on the DVR dock) and USB cables.

* some enlightened anonymous commentator who started out his comment with "stupid moron!" said I could click the menu button during a song and browse the device, but neglected to say that you have to then click the 'home' option, and ONLY when you are in the song info screen, not when you are in song browser mode. In any case, shame on me for not seeing this. Note you will not see this comment below.

I will not hesitate to delete comments that are insulting to myself or other readers. This is a forum for intelligent and 'grown-up' commentary, not for immature name-calling. Don't like it? You can go somewhere else, we don't need any more negativity in this world, whether it is online or in real life.