Hello. I'm thinking of buying the 100gig version of this machine but I have read conflicting reports about its ability to play XVID files. Has anyone successfully played XVID files on the AV500? I don't want the hassle of converting to DIVX or MP4.
Thank you for any help...
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Originally Posted by dastott
My AV440 plays Xvids just fine.
As to why he replied like that, well probably like me, he uses AutoGK to convert video to play on the Archos - ie like DVDs that you own. -
Thanks Lester for clearing that up. I'm still choosing between Archos AV500, Creative Zen Vision and the PSP. It seems like the Archos AV500 suffers from a few problems judging by this forum and others...
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Originally Posted by dastott
And as to device choice, I'd say it rather depends on what you are going to use it most for.
Out of my list of portable devices, without doubt, the one I've had most value out of, is my Archos AV440 - I've been more than happy with it.
Were I faced with the same decision again, as to what to choose from, for portable video viewing? I'd probably just opt for a good portable DVD player (that plays DivX / Xvid).
My thoughts on my Archos being it has been an excellent little gadget - 40G has proved to be adequate (and no more than that!) for storage, it's functionality have been excellent, it's versatility outstanding (I've only used the recording features a couple of times, but it's been such a boon when I have). The audio quality for mp3 / music playback has been outstanding compared with other similar devices (before my Archos, I did briefly own a Goodmans GPDR40, and my current mp3 player is a Samsung YP-U1X).
When the Archos 500 series came out, I was highly tempted - slightly better quality possible for recordings, and the pod (compared to the 400 series cradle) seemed to be slightly better thought out (apart from not having anything to cradle the 500 in). Also the screen on the 500 series is well thought of, and is widescreen ratio as opposed to the 4:3 ratio in the 400 series. Given that most of the video I have on my Archos is widescreen, this would be quite an advantage for me.
However, there appears one major downside in the newer Archos (500 and 700 series) compared with the 400s and previous - they've (Archos) somehow managed to lock the 500 unit to the Archos shipped HD - so no more ability to upgrade the HD as of yet - and probably there won't be.
So now, I'm glad I'm stuck with my 400 series - at some point I'll buy a 100G or bigger HD and upgrade it.
As for the Creative device - I have no comment, I've no experience of them.
As for a PSP - well I've recently got a PSP (and got my wife a DS so best of both worlds with portable gaming!), and I think they are a great device. But they are quite different from say a HD based PMP like the Archos units. Sure, you can buy big memory cards, and funky HDs to plug in - but it's more of a funky portable games console, with - it has to be said - an excellent, widescreen ratio, screen.
It's all going to come down to how you plan to use a portable device like this - but that does tend to change once you've got one. And the 40G in my Archos is easily filled. I'd not be without my AV440, now - it's been the best gadget I've spent quite a chunk of money on. I think of my PSP as more of portable games, and portable WiFi web browsing - sure it can play movies and music, but capacity is always going to be a challenge.
Much the same is true of my Tapwave Zodiac2. I mainly use it as a PDA - plus being able to play Doom2 (*EXACTLY* like the PC version, but also with rumble effects) and other games (albeit the games aren't of the same advancement as on the PSP) is a boon - but storage / capacity is always a challenge. It's very picky over what WiFi SDIO cards it accepts (which is why I haven't bothered to buy one for it - easier just to bite the bullet and buy a PSP). Natively supports bluetooth. And runs TCPMP for it's media player duties. But again - like the PSP - capacity / storage is an issue. You're down to buying memory cards and playing catch-up, compared with HD based PMPs.
And after all that, the lowly portable DVD player? Well if it plays DivX / Xvid, I think is the optimum choice. Sure it's a bigger form factor, and not anything like as portable as say the norm for PMPs. But a bigger and better screen, ease of use with natively playing DVDs (Archos units won't play mpeg2, so video needs to be converted before it'll play anything).
It's all going to come down to how you best guess you're going to use one - which is why I bought my Archos, and haven't regretted that - but doesn't quite have the same convenience as a portable DVD player, because if I'm travelling, I have to plan ahead and convert anything I may want to watch - whereas with a portable DVD player, I could even pick up a new DVD en-route, and still play at my destination. -
Cheers for the long post - very interesting.
After researching the PSP I have ruled it out as I want a hd player, although the wi fi part is very attractive. Unfortunately, the Archos AV500 seems to be unavailable in Japan which means I might have to get the Creative. This seems like a nice player but I 30gigs is too small and I really fancied the Archos becuase of its 100gig storage.
Thanks again.
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