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+15 [17 votes]
I hate comparing one product to another, but the Archos set top box DVR is everything the Apple TV should have been and even has an equally slick appearance. Alright, lets start with the fact that it comes in your choice of 80 or 250 gigabyte capacities, and, since its made by Archos, I wouldn’t be surprised if some enterprising modders found a way to increase that.
Then tack on the DVR functionality with and onscreen recording guide and an IR output for controlling set-top boxes for satellite or cable services. Then there is a QWERTY remote that comes with the thing, oh, and WiFi and Ethernet are both built in, instead of just one.
You can also get on-demand video from CinemaNow, or if you enjoy the likes of YouTube, there is a fully functional Opera browser with flash video support so you can watch YouTube, DailyMotion, CNET TV, and more, and you can get Flash videogame downloads. Also, this box, it comes with cables, you don’t have to provide your own.
You don’t however get the iTunes support that the Apple TV offers, but you do get and equivalent amount of Windows format support be they DRM-ed or not. There is also a USB 2.0 host port so you can directly plug in various media player and digital cameras and transfer the files directly to this player. Plus, look at all those inputs which even have HD inputs and HDMI out, I want one so bad. Alas, there is no word on availability, but the price is based on HDD capacity with the 80 gig going for $249 and the 250 gig going for $100 more at $349.
Archos unveils TV+, Wi-Fi DVR [via crave]
Picture Credits: Archos and Donald Bell/CNET Networks
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Seem like Archos missed the point on this as badly as Apple with MacTV. With not even one analog or HD tuner built in, this isn’t a PVR.
It’s just a set-top browser with a truly impressive remote, not enough inputs to be useful for switching, apparently only support for WMA (really no MP3 or OgV?), and awful recording resolution, 640 x 480 max, which limits its use for timeshifting. What’s the point of HDMI connectors if you’re barely recording at NTSC quality? It’s also apparently useless for digicam users, since the standards there are for iLink/Firewire, NOT USB. A cool widget to suck down uTube content. and web surf on your TV.
I wanted to love this, I’m looking for a new PVR, but this ain’t it. I’ve got a six year old replayTV that can switch between and record from its built-in tuner, a cable box on vidA, and a security camera on vidB with more aplomb and less fuss.
taryn,
While it’s not suitable for you, it is way more useful than AppleTV. It can record at a resolution that exceeds current broadcast standards and is better than standard TV resolution (not everyone has HD TV’s or sources yet). It connects to more TV’s with less hassle. Way more storage. It supports way more formats. Yes of course it handles MP3. It will handle DivX and XVid and with plugins will handle H264, ACC, VOB, and AC3, among others. It will stream from your PC – wired or wireless. The HDMI connector is because you can acquire better content than you can record – downloaded or ripped.
I agree that the lack of a built in tuner reduces it’s appeal, but it also makes sense – it no doubt supports both PAL and NTSC sources (as other Archos devices do) so a single product can be marketed worldwide – adding a tuner would have made it more expensive and would have required separate models for each market. And after all – a tuner is not that hard to come by – a cheap VCR will do.
So no, not the perfect device (as few are) but a better first attempt by far (in my opinion of course) than the AppleTV.
The title hit this on the head. I am looking forward to getting my hands on this. The more and more i read about Archos the more of a fan i become. Keep it up and Apple may have to start chasing the french. Besides I can’t stand Jobs.