image: archos 604 pmp
The Archos 604 is one of the most feature-packed PMPs on the market

Review: Archos 604 digital music player

A multi-talented, multi-media player for the pouch

Written by Luke Peters, Computeractive

Larger Image

Verdict:

Good points

  • Big widescreen display
  • Record live TV and output video via component
  • Good battery life

Bad points

  • Control buttons aren't instinctive to use
  • Viewing angle on screen isn't great
  • Expensive compared to others

Overall The Archos 604 is one of the most feature-packed PMPs on the market, just expect to pay for all these treats.

Rating:

4

Price:

£340 (with dock)

There's no doubting that when it comes to portable media players (PMP), Archos is leading the way. The company has been around for years but its recent assortment of PMP's has left the likes of Apple and Creative in its wake.

Replacing the AV500 (and a few of its annoying foibles), the Archos 604 sports a bright, 4.3in widescreen display and a 30Gb hard disk; enough to store thousands of photo, music and video files. However, it retains the right-sided rack of control buttons, which isn't innate to get to grips with at all. On the other hand, everything needs a chance and in time you'll be whizzing through the crisp and colourful interface.

Browse photos and a nifty magnifying tool enlarges the thumbnails, start a slideshow and the transitions are smooth and quick. If fact everything (menus, files, features) are now much faster to respond than before. Picture quality is good but the viewing angle is picky; unless you're looking straight on, shadowing and colour displacement can occur.

Advertisement

The 604 is sold in component parts. In its purest form (just the player itself), it has a suggested selling price of £270 but we found it online for £225, which is £36 more expensive than the 30Gb iPod. However, the bigger screen, compatibility with most common file formats (including protected WMA files), removable battery pack is worth that extra few quid. The 604 will also playback MPEG-2, VOB, H.264 and AAC file formats, but only with paid-for plug-ins totalling £28. Quicktime isn't supported.

Add the optional DVR docking station (£70) and the 604 morphs into a PMP superhero capable of recording live TV into MPEG-4 format and playing back movies on a TV through a composite, s-video or component connection.

The DVR station also has an optical audio output for hooking up to 5.1 surround systems and an infrared sensor for controlling the 604 and any set-top box you've got connected via remote.
The dock will also charge the housed 604 and has two USB ports for connecting to a PC and hosting a USB storage device.

Sound quality is a little under-par when compared to Sony's portables, but battery life is impressive, lasting for about 12 hours with music and three and a half with full-screen video. And, as previously mentioned, this battery can be replaced with another. Another nice touch is the kickstand on the back, which props up the player – great when on a train or plane.

The 604 is almost the epitome of a PMP as we know it (bar a DAB radio feature). With the dock added, the price rises to £300, but it's not enough to knock it off its perch as the best PMP of its ilk. Look out for the Archos 604 Wifi-enabled version too, costing £320.

Also consider
Centrix MVP-120
A good all-round mp3 player, but no video recording facility

Apple iPod 80Gb
No TV recording but a bigger hard disk, better battery life and a brighter screen

Dream'eo Enza
One of the few remaining Microsoft Portable Media Centers

All digital media player reviews

Manufacturer: Archos

See more Multimedia Players

Tags:

Reader comments

More from Computeractive

News

The latest home computing news

Downloads

The best PC tools, applications and more

Reviews

Independent opinions on new hardware and software

Step-by-step guides

Easy-to-follow projects with pictures

PC Help

Solve PC problems with our Q&A

Videos

PC projects demonstrated and product reviews

Articles

An in-depth look at how to get the best from your PC

Magazine

What's coming up in Computeractive

Forums

Get help with your PC problems from our readers

Competitions

Your chance to win computing prizes

Shopping

Great deals on products, services and more

NEW! Computeractive CD Rom 11
All 26 issues of Computeractive from 2008 on one CD-Rom.

Ultimate Guide to Disc Burning
Everything you need to know about creating your own discs.

Create your own calendars softwareCreate your own Calendars
The fun and easy way to create your own calendars!

Computeractive - Issue 280Computeractive Back Issues
Missed an issue? Click here to find a back issue

Find the Best Prices

Save money on hardware and software with our price comparison service: Best Prices

Advertisement

Free email newsletters

Techno babble demystified...

[Display all definitions]

Or type in any computer-related word and click "Go"

Blogs

Windows Watch

Windows Watch

Keeping an eye on the latest XP and Vista news

Outlook 2007 email controversy

One of the major changes in Outlook 2007 had nothing to do with the Ribbon but that Word was used to display...

Download Junkie

Download Junkie

Your daily dose of download discussion

Backup important data with SyncBack SE

Keeping certain files backed up helps to keep items safe in case anything disastrous happens to your computer, but although most of...

The test bed

The test bed

The hottest products, news and gossip from PCW's Labs

Why we may never see a Core i7 Apple machine

With the recent crop of new Apple desktop hardware - The Mac Pro , iMac and Mac Mini (all of which we...

Primary Navigation

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009. Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503

Search computeractive.co.uk