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Archos forum / Questions About The Archos Av500 100gb Player
« on: July 05, 2006, 02:48:41 pm »
1. are there any major problems with this player that i am overlooking, or any big flaws with it?
Have not experienced any major issues. i have noticed some delayed responses with the buttons, but not major. I would like to see some firmware upgrades such as the ability to play music while viewing slideshows.
2. is the software easy to use, or do you have to go through a huge process for video conversions? (like with the x5)
I went through a big learning curve, but have the process down. See other post from me.
3. is the picture quality really as sharp and good as they say, and is the contrast good, even at a slight angle?
I am very happy with quality of the screen. Very nice!
4. is the backlight sufficient with lots of ambient light?
Does not do well on a sunny day, but don't think that is it's intention. Works great in most well lit rooms.
5. Should i buy an extra battery, or is there some sort of charger that can hold regulr AA batteries?
Depends. Video playback is 3 hours and music 10 hours. If your doing longer flights for example, then yes. I saw a battery back gizmo at http://www.newmp3technology.com/products.php?cat=42
6. How is the battery life for music/movies
Spec says 10/3 respectively. Have yet to challenge it as I normally have AC available.
7. is the tv recording quality good? i have heard about it cutting off the heads of people, is there anyway around that? and does it do that for movies as well?
It is good. You have different settings you can change that will cause issues as you indicate.
8. can movies play subtitles?
Never tried it. I could experiment. Tu parles francais?
9. are there dead pixel problems out of the box, like with psps?
NBot that I have heard or experienced.
10. what is the best case to get?
I use the case that came with it. I saw another at the link I provided earlier that i may get, but the one provided is sufficient.
11. are there any similar players that you would recommend over this one, or any that are coming out soon that i should wait for?
Apple is coming out with a new iPod this Fall (I hear) that is similar in size to the AV500 with a touch screen. Will probably be more expensive.
12. how much room does the average 2 hour movie take up, after conversions?
Walk The Line is 2 hrs 15 minutes 47 seconds. I ripped this in two files that are 1.75 gb combined. This is the highest quality setting for my software - Mobile Clone DVD. Why two files? - Read the other posts.
Saw - 1 hr 43 minutes 9 seconds - 865 mb - this was ripped in one file using the same software at medium quality and then required translation with Archos software due to the length (long story). Bottom line is you can get very high quality if you sacrfice the HD space. At 100 gb there is plenty of space.
*Edit:
I almost forgot, is there gapless playback? for playing a whole cd, does it pause between songs, or if a movie is too big for one file, does it pause while loading the next video file, or does it play smooth like a normal movie?
I haven't figured out gapless playback - that would be nice. It is a complaint I have with my nano as well. I generally shuffle anyway.
Movies play smooth - it's not like they are downloading from the web. For the movies I split into 2 or more files I create folders and place all the parts in the folder. You can select an option to play videos sequentially within a folder. This way part 2 opens immediately after part 1 finishes.
PM me if you have more specific questions. My advice - Get one!
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Have not experienced any major issues. i have noticed some delayed responses with the buttons, but not major. I would like to see some firmware upgrades such as the ability to play music while viewing slideshows.
2. is the software easy to use, or do you have to go through a huge process for video conversions? (like with the x5)
I went through a big learning curve, but have the process down. See other post from me.
3. is the picture quality really as sharp and good as they say, and is the contrast good, even at a slight angle?
I am very happy with quality of the screen. Very nice!
4. is the backlight sufficient with lots of ambient light?
Does not do well on a sunny day, but don't think that is it's intention. Works great in most well lit rooms.
5. Should i buy an extra battery, or is there some sort of charger that can hold regulr AA batteries?
Depends. Video playback is 3 hours and music 10 hours. If your doing longer flights for example, then yes. I saw a battery back gizmo at http://www.newmp3technology.com/products.php?cat=42
6. How is the battery life for music/movies
Spec says 10/3 respectively. Have yet to challenge it as I normally have AC available.
7. is the tv recording quality good? i have heard about it cutting off the heads of people, is there anyway around that? and does it do that for movies as well?
It is good. You have different settings you can change that will cause issues as you indicate.
8. can movies play subtitles?
Never tried it. I could experiment. Tu parles francais?
9. are there dead pixel problems out of the box, like with psps?
NBot that I have heard or experienced.
10. what is the best case to get?
I use the case that came with it. I saw another at the link I provided earlier that i may get, but the one provided is sufficient.
11. are there any similar players that you would recommend over this one, or any that are coming out soon that i should wait for?
Apple is coming out with a new iPod this Fall (I hear) that is similar in size to the AV500 with a touch screen. Will probably be more expensive.
12. how much room does the average 2 hour movie take up, after conversions?
Walk The Line is 2 hrs 15 minutes 47 seconds. I ripped this in two files that are 1.75 gb combined. This is the highest quality setting for my software - Mobile Clone DVD. Why two files? - Read the other posts.
Saw - 1 hr 43 minutes 9 seconds - 865 mb - this was ripped in one file using the same software at medium quality and then required translation with Archos software due to the length (long story). Bottom line is you can get very high quality if you sacrfice the HD space. At 100 gb there is plenty of space.
*Edit:
I almost forgot, is there gapless playback? for playing a whole cd, does it pause between songs, or if a movie is too big for one file, does it pause while loading the next video file, or does it play smooth like a normal movie?
I haven't figured out gapless playback - that would be nice. It is a complaint I have with my nano as well. I generally shuffle anyway.
Movies play smooth - it's not like they are downloading from the web. For the movies I split into 2 or more files I create folders and place all the parts in the folder. You can select an option to play videos sequentially within a folder. This way part 2 opens immediately after part 1 finishes.
PM me if you have more specific questions. My advice - Get one!
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=133956\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
[/quote]