Archos 504 40GB Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder (500869)

Reviews of Archos 504 40GB Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder (500869)

1.) THE BEST PLAYER
Reviewed by: Joker Gotham City
Rating:

Wow. This is one of the best purchases I ever made. This baby can hold movies, songs, photos, and can allow you to record your voice, and also record your favorite television programs as well as DVDs and VHS. If you ever plan to purchase this amazing player make sure you download the firmware to fix some minor errors. I downloaded the software from Archos website and it fixed the aspect ratio of the movies. The picture looked kind of squashed-looking but once I updated the firmware everything was all good. The battery lasts about 17 hours when listening to music and 5 hours for watching movies. Of course you can purchase a battery that lasts much longer if you want to. I love this cool player.

2.) Archos 504 media player
Reviewed by: Harold Brooker
Rating:

Unbelievably happy with this product. Far far superior to vidio ipods. Larger, better screen for viewing. Biggest advantage is that it will play most media file types (avi, mov, mpeg), unlike the ipod where you have to convert any of these files to an mp-4 before it will even play. Easy to use and can double easily as an external/portable hard drive to transfer files. The 5 1/2 hour battery life for vidio play is accurate.
Buy and Archos......You'll love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

3.) A blessing for a quiet dinner
Reviewed by: Shadowdreamer31 Pinellas Park, FL United States
Rating:

My wife and I started using a portable DVD player to go out to dinner, but between battery issues and disk storage (we would have to buy duplicates of my daughters favorite DVD's). My daughter is 3 going on 4 this Dec. I'm able to record her favorite shows that are not on disk yet, THAT is the best feature of all. I am not using the device for commercial use...just to keep a little red head quiet while my wife and I enjoy some time together over dinner. The compatibility is also wonderful. My wife is able to place the player in her purse or I can place it on my belt; try doing that with a DVD player! The battery life is able to last through four dinners, two to three hours each. My wife is now using it in Missouri on a family trip and the other family members want to know where we got it; which is a common question out during dinner from other restaurant patrons. My wife was not crazy on the price, when you can buy a DVD player for less than $200, but I have shown her the light in compatibility, picture quality and ability to load shows not out yet on video. All and all; I give this product a 10/10!

4.) In many ways better than the iPod
Reviewed by: Jerry Saperstein Evanston, IL USA
Rating:

My primary desire was for a portable video player so I could enjoy documentaries, news shows and downloaded clips at a time and place of my choosing in a format that aging eyes could tolerate.

I've tried the iPod video and it works, but the screen is too small for my comfort and the transfer process from computer to iPod is cumbersome.

The Archos 504, on the other hand, offers an absolutely gorgeous 4.3" screen and the transfer process is no more difficult than any other copy process on a Windows-based computer.

The speaker audio is abysmal, which I understand is deliberate in order to comply with European Union (EU) laws. Headphone volume is adequate, though not anywhere good enough to satisfy an audiophile.

The beauty of this device, even in its smallest capacity, is that it can hold hour upon hour of video. For travel, it is a gem. On a trip yesterday, I was able to turn an otherwise boring flight (which is, of course, the way you want them - I don't want my boring flight interrupted with the pilot announcing imminent catastrophe), I was able to enjoy a science documentary. Noise-cancelling headphones and the Archos left me in my own happy little world.

The controls are very well designed. There are five dual-function rocker switches controlling all navigation functions for video, music and photos. The GUI is also well thought out and admirably simple. It takes all of a minute or two to thoroughly learn the operation of the unit.

Physically it is larger than an iPod, but will still fit in a shirt pocket, providing there's nothing else in the pocket. There is no built-in stand, which is a glaring design defect. Unless a stand alone case is used, the unit must be held in the hand or propped up with whatever you can cobble together.

The unit can also be used, out of the box, as a voice recorder. Video recording requires an adapter.

Battery life on video is about three hours. The battery is easily removable - another advantage over iPod - and extra batteries are relatively inexpensive and light. Pick up one or two extras if you anticipate long flights or long afternoons with a desire for portable video. (The unit can also be recharged and powered from the USB port of your laptop.)

Archos seems to have a desire to nickel-dime-and-dollar its customers. Plug ins to handle MPEG-2 and video Podcasr files are extra as are the adapters. The unit doesn't include an AC adapter. You have to buy one.

I haven't tried the music function extensively, so I can't compare it to the iPod. The photo viewing function is nice, but if you want to use it to directly download from a camera, you need a USB adapter - another expense, another piece of gear to carry.

Overall, the Archos 504 is nice. But be aware that Archos has announced the 605 model which may be a response to the increasingly crowded field. It has very impressive specs and the price is extemely competitive. But with the 605, the ultimate cost will be ultimately much higher with extras. The Archos 605 is expected to become available in the US in September.

Jerry

5.) Awesome
Reviewed by: Ben Boston, MA
Rating:

I'm never bored with this thing. Whenever I'm on the subway, traveling, or waiting I always have my favorite movies and songs with me. I don't mind waiting for the train to come at all now.

6.) Archos 504
Reviewed by: TMIED Harrisburg, Pa
Rating:

Purchased this item as a storage solution for digital photos. The item is easy to use, allows easy acces to all photos, and provides a large viewing area for the photos. It is large enough to view the pictures without a magnifying glass, yet small enough for a woman to carry in her purse. It raises the term "Brag Book" to the electronic age.

7.) I'm perfectly happy with my 504
Reviewed by: Cine Vender Grand Rapids, MI USA
Rating:

Ever since Walter Mossberg wrote a favorable review of an Archos PMP several years ago in the Wall Street Journal I have been interested in buying one of these players. I lucked out and bought a used one from a local fellow who owned three Archos PMPs, his model 504 being the oldest, which was why he was selling it. He obligingly powered it up and played samples of music and video and I was satisfied.

I use it to enjoy music and videos when I travel and also to record live performances of my wife's concert band, and also our neighborhood "garage band". I use the built in mic and the 504 allows me to record either in WAV or MP3 at my choice of sampling rates. I use 44Kbhtz/sec and I get very nice quality recordings. I download them to my laptop and edit the recordings there.

There are several ways to browse and select MP3 songs to play and I like the quality with the Archos ear buds which have a convenient volume control on the wire.

When my wife and I travel by plane, I will sometimes watch a favorite film on my 504. The screen has big, sharp and vibrant color and I can usually hear the audio above the sound of the jet engines...but the sound could stand to be about 10db louder.

Knowing it contains a delicate hard drive drive, I treat my 504 carefully and only once did it freeze up. The green indicator light told me the unit was on, but the screen was black and blank. A quick search on Google turned up the undocumented location of the reset button on the motherboard under the battery. I held down the little button for 30 seconds, and my 504 was restored to normal full operating condition.

Although I was tempted to replace the 40GB drive with a bigger one, I have decided to wait. I located an on line forum which outlined how to change hard drives, but it seemed slightly risky to me, so I will wait until the present 40GB drive fails and then, with nothing to lose, I will try to install a new bigger drive. The 40GB of storage space does, however, seem adequate to me. I have many feature movies and many albums of MP3 music stored on the 40GB drive with room to spare. I delete older files and just add new ones when I tire of the selection available.

My 504 does not feature wifi, but it can display PDF files and TXT files in case I would ever want to try reading an ebook on it.

If you are interested in the Archos PMPs, I would suggest you read as many of the reviews here and elsewhere, then shop around for a used one so you don't sink $300 or more into a product for which there is NO technical support. Again I will say that I am very pleased with mine.

8.) Everything I Need
Reviewed by: reader USA
Rating:

I just bought a refurbished 504 and love it. I was looking for more of a video player than music (I have a little ipod shuffle for that) and this fits the bill. Very easy to use, screen is fantastic, sound is good. I also bought the DVR station and recording off the t.v. is simple.

9.) Love it!
Reviewed by: Rocky in CA Orange County, CA
Rating:

The Archos 504 is everything I hoped it would be. It is necessary to order the adapter kit to tape TV shows, but the ease of use and picture quality is great. The sound is good, but could be a little louder.

10.) The right choice
Reviewed by: movies, movies.. Oneonta New York
Rating:

I was a bit skeptical regarding this purchase. It has turned out to be a winner. Easy to use, menu is easy to follow. I use it for video recording and playback. Quality is outstanding. Note, Invest in the optional docking station. It is critical for video use. The only reason I
did not give it a 5 is becaise nothing is perfect....

11.) Decent Value but Flawed
Reviewed by: T. Lake
Rating:

Decent Value for what you get. Glad I didnt shell out the 300-400 bucks for it when it first came out. Yes, as other reviewers mentioned, to get all of the functionality that is advertised, you'll have to shell out more money. Also, as mentioned by other reviewers, the case that comes with this unit isnt adequate. The design is poor and wont protect the unit if you drop it.

This unit is best used if completely stationary. It freezes when moving, so not great for MP3's when on the move (walking at a fast pace). Obviously, because of its size and weight, AND propensity to freeze, not good for jogging.

Yes, there might be a static issue that some people have claimed causes the unit to shut down- I haven't experienced this. But another reason the unit freezes is that you are carrying around a laptop-hard drive (you can see it when you remove the battery).

These drives are designed to stop working when too much movement occurs. This is done to make sure that your hard-drive doesnt crash and you lose all of your information. If you know anything about hard drives, you know that this was a big problem with early hard-drive designs.

Not sure why they didnt just design these with solid state memory (the kind you see in most mp3 players- maybe cost related). At any rate, just be prepared to remove the battery and snap it back in, if the unit freezes.

The only other issue I've experienced is the unit freezing when I was recording a presentation(obviously the unit was stationary). It froze sometime during the recording. When I reset the unit, the data from the recording was corrupted and therefore lost. Yes, not pleased to learn this the hard way!

BUT, it does well to serve as a great portable media unit to use when in a car, on a plane, or to switch info back and forth from your PC to have on the go. Also, if you get the travel DVR unit and the additional cable to play on your tv, you can both record dvd's, tv programs, AND play stuff on your TV (but again have to shell out additional money). You'll also have to invest more if you want the proper codecs that let you play additional formats. BUT I'm cool with just having .AVI and MP3's for now.

In re to powering this thing up: Not a big deal plugging into my laptop at home or work. It powers up just fine. Not sure how well the "very hard to get ac adater cable" is, but you'll be fine without it. I think you can get a 3rd party one for around 20 bucks, but again you don't really need it in my opinion.

The sound from the speakers aren't great, but most portable units dont have great sound- that is if they even have external speakers at all. Make sure to get your own set of headphones, dont use the ones that come with the unit. The sound that is played from my personal headphones is adequate. Not supurb, but not terrible.

Also, you can buy an additional battery for the unit, which is nice. I havent had to need a replacement, as you would only really need this for really long trips.

Overall, not a bad price for what it does. Definitely some flaws. I would not purchase any of the more expensive models until I was sure these flaws were addressed.

You can get this unit from Walmart with the mini-dvr adapter for the same price you see here. If you want the most from this unit however, for another 80 bucks, you can get the full-sized DVR unit. But, it's not really all that travel friendly. Think I covered everything. Hope this review is helpful!

12.) Now only if it actually works!
Reviewed by: C. Talwar
Rating:

I am now the proud owner of an Archos 404, after spending one traumatic month having owned, in my opinion, the far inferior Archos 504.

Inferior, you say? But the 504 has a larger 4.3" screen, better battery life, a removable battery, and much larger Hard drive capacities (even for the 40 GB). How then, can I say that it is a far inferior product? Well, primarily because the Archos 404 actually works, while the 504 (much to my dismay) does not.

You see, beneath that beautiful metallic exterior and beautiful screen of the Archos 504 lies a niggling problem that Archos doesnt want you to know about, especially if you live in a hot and dry location. This product is extremely, and I mean EXTREMELY, sensitive to Electro Static Discharge (ESD), and hangs almost instantaneously if you expose it to even the slightest amount of static. Using this player had become an absolute nightmare for me. Whenever I was listening to music, and would for example want to see which track is playing or skip to the next track etc., I would simply touch the player (whether in its case or outside), and not even press a button, and it would hang instantly. Soon after, I actually used to become nervous every time I needed to touch the player, and soon developed a habit of beforehand touching a metallic object (eg. doorknob) every time I needed to use the player. Needless to say, when one has to do such things just to touch a device, it kind of ruins the experience of owning that device. The 404 suffers from none of these problems, I have been using it for over a month now, and it has not even frozen once.

Having said that however, I still give this product two stars instead of just one, because a) the video playback is very good (much better than the 404, and not only because of the larger screen), b) the battery life is decent, and the battery is removable and c) it offers capacities larger than most other video players available today.

As for the sound, anyone interested in an Archos 04 series product should know that the volume on these players is significantly lower than the others, even with the latest firmware 1.6.20. I have made a direct comparison using the same pair of headphones with the 5G iPod, iPod Nano, Cowon A2, Cowon X5, and Creative Zen Vision M, either owned by me or by friends, and they are all louder than the Archos. Better, I cannot say, as that is subjective, but certainly and verifiably much louder.

13.) not user friendly
Reviewed by: C. Duggan
Rating:

I must say, the actual item is nice. The picture quality is great, sound is good, and so on...it performs well.
I will however WARN potential buyers it is not at all, in the least bit, user friendly to load. Out of the box, it supports mpeg4, low and behold most of what I have is not compatible. Archos offers an encoder, however it requires various codec downloads from various sites, of which I could not obtain the last. One can purchase software to support mpeg2 vids, but you should not need to. A better item would supply you with the proper software. This is a very poorly marketed item.
Yet another gripe, it uses windows media player, unless you can get a comparable program. It will, repeat will, take hours and hours to transfer music files. Another problem, you cannot organize playllists and send them through WMP. I tried to send them directly to the player, in hard drive mode, but it came up that the files were "corrupt".
I honestly expected a whole lot more. I will be reselling mine soon.

14.) Product Incomplete!
Reviewed by: Thomas M. Wright Burbank, CA
Rating:

I can't believe that no one else has complained about this but this product does not work completely without additional purchases (and expensive ones at that). It creates a situation where you have to buy extra plugins in order to play dvd files and even popular audio files. If you're thinking you can just copy your dvd or mp3 over and all is good, think again. The plugins are quite expensive too. On top of it all, if you buy the travel kit, you can't record full rez video without an additional (very expensive) product! Very disappointing.

It's a nice product for watching movies but it's pretty poor on the audio side. It won't play music by album and it can't see iTunes' images (probably some other plugin they will sell you). Kinda sad because I placed my entire music collection on this thing so I could listen to it at work and can only enjoy it in shuffle mode. :(

15.) Beware
Reviewed by: Lawrence NY
Rating:

Beware! Despite the high cost of Archos PMPs, there is virtually no technical and after-sales support in the United States. Calls to the Archos US service center, which they claim is always open, go unanswered for hours and hours. This callous behavior and contempt for customers is begging for a class action lawsuit from Archos US customers.

How can they honor their warranty if they cannot be contacted?

Getting an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) number from their US offices located in Colorado is a nightmare. I got one email from them to provide additional information; I did and they never responded. Their RMA site is buggy and would not give accurate information.

Their players are good, but pray that you don't have an after sale issue - then you are on your own.

16.) Not worth the hassle
Reviewed by: mcompton Knoxville, TN USA
Rating:

The first one that I received did not work out of the box. It would not even accept a firmware upgrade. The second unit required 3 phone calls to technical support and 2 hours to get it to accept a firmware upgrade. After it would finally accept new music, there was a staticky hiss so loud that it drowned out the music on low volumes. The third unit accepted the firmware upgrade immediately so I was hopeful. It also had the hiss that was so loud I couldn't listen to music on it. I'm giving up and will now try another brand.

17.) Crappy
Reviewed by: Ben Logan
Rating:

Well, I bought my Archos 504 3 months ago and I havent enjoyed it. Turns out the dealer who I bought from on this website sold it to me used when it said on the product its new. A full battery charge wont last, so much for 17 hours playing music. Overall the 3 months I had it, I spent over 35 hours waiting to talk to tech support and each time they give me a different answer on whats wrong with my unit and they keep saying they will replace my unit but they never do. I sent in my product 4 times and they still havent fixed the problem. Dealing with the tech support is a real headache especially the hold times. I wont be buying any products from Archos anytime soon.

18.) STATIC SENSITIVE
Reviewed by: Daniel A. Conescu
Rating:

I bought an Archos 504 from Target a few months back. Right out of the box it was having boot errors. Basically, when hitting the power button, the LCD backlight would turn on, but there would be no actual activity. No boot screen, nothing. Probably because I was wearing shoes and in my car when I opened it? lol. I digged and digged through the manual to find any sort of hard reset. Holding down the power button for 15 seconds works. GREAT! A WAY OUT! ... Not exactly, because regardless of whether you do that when it is on OR off, after 10 seconds of being on, it turns itself back off; defeating the purpose of any sort of reset.

The hard reset worked ONCE, and I had it set up, watching videos on my TV via the docking station for a grand total of about 25 minutes. I go to my girlfriend's house for about an hour, come back and try to watch a video in my bed, holding the screen [no shoes or static conductivity of any kind]. It stays black again. This time, as many hard resets as I make, nothing happens.

So to sum it up, within 25 minutes of actual usage, the unit was toast. How or why, I can only imagine was a micron of static electricity, since I have run into that problem on previous occasions. I had also been previously told that there is no grounding between the entirity of the electronics and the metal casing. Who does that?

In other words, don't buy this item if you have ever static shocked anyone or any THING in your entire life, lol. Oh, and wear a static wrist band while using it or you may regret it.

Features of Archos 504 40GB Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder (500869)

CL) AA)ARCHOS 504 40GB MEDIA PLAYER

With the Archos 500869 504 40GB Portable Digital Media Player and Recorder you have all the entertainment you need at your fingertips, in a package that stays ultra portable. The perfect companion for everything from long trips to short bus rides, from going to parties to just hanging out around the house, the Archos 504 lets you not only take your favorite music, movies, and moments with you, but helps you create and have new favorite moments wherever you happen to be.

With a screen size surface three times that of similar size PMPs (portable media players), the Archos 504 ensures you can thoroughly enjoy movies and videos. This unit uses a bright, 4.3-inch TFT LCD display with over 16 million colors to provide you a crystal-clear, sharp picture with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 480 x 272 pixels of resolution, as well as an intuitive GUI (graphic user interface) for easy-to-use navigation. The Archos 504 not only plays your videos and movies, but lets you store over a whopping 113 regular movies or 29 DVD-quality movies on its hard drive in either MPEG-4 or WMV formats, at up to DVD resolution. You can also purchase and download optional plug-ins from Archos' website that will allow you to play H.264 and MPEG-2 formats up to DVD resolutions as well.

Not only is the Archos 504 a portable video and movie player, but a high-resolution photo viewer as well, complete with features such as zoom, music, and transition effects. You can easily download photos from your PC, or transfer them directly to the 504 from your digital camera via the optional docking adapter. This unit is compatible with JPEG, BMP, and PNG file formats, and can hold up to 400,000 photos at a time, depending upon file size and what else you are storing at the same time. The Archos 504 can even read and display PDF documents for on-the-fly work situations, although it may not implement all PDF features.

For those times when you can't afford the distraction of watching high-quality videos, the Archos 504 can be your music player, storing and playing up to 20,000 songs so you can keep working, walking, or doing whatever you need with your own private soundtrack. This unit displays the track, artist, album, and album cover of whatever you are playing, and supports stereo MP3 decoding from 30 to 320 kbps CBR and VBR, as well as WMA, protected WMA, and WAV (PCM/ADPCM) formats. Furthermore, the Archos 504 can play AAC music files, and AC3 stereo sound files with the additional of optional software plug-ins that can be purchased and downloaded from Archos' web site. And just in case inspiration strikes or you want to make sure you don't forget something important, this handy media player lets you make voice recordings through its built-in microphone, or via the optional DVR travel adapter or DVR station through a stereo line-in jack in WAV format.

The Archos 504 is fully compatible with DVD-quality VOD (video on demand) and online music stores, allowing you to purchase and download new music and movies directly online rather than having to transfer everything from more traditional media sources. This media player can also record directly from TV in high-quality MPEG-4 with stereo sound via the optional DVR station, so you can take your favorite television shows with you wherever you go. And if you are at home, the Archos 504 can play back any of your movies or recorded TV programs on your television itself, also through the optional DVR station.

The Archos 504 has a built-in 40 gigabyte hard disk so you have plenty of space for anything you need, and includes a high-speed USB 2.0 connection for transferring files. This unit features a 3.5-millimeter stereo headphone jack mini-jack and TV output, and dedicated connectors for hooking up optional adapters or the DVR station. The 504 also features a music playback time of up to 17 hours, and a video playback time of up to 5.5 hours on its built-in LCD display, all with its internal, removable lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery that charges via computer through its USB port, or more quickly with the optional docking adapter or DVR station, or a separate optional power charger. The Archos 504 is compatible with both PCs and Macs with a USB port and Linux, Windows ME or higher, or OS X or higher, and requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher and Windows Media Player 10 or higher for use with PlayForSure video and subscription services. This media player allows firmware updates to be downloaded via www.archos.com, weighs approximately 11.15 ounces, and measures approximately 5.1 x 3 x 0.9 inches (W x H x D).

What's in the Box
Archos 504 portable media player, headphones, dedicated USB 2.0 cable, DVR station adapter, protective case, quick-start guide, and legal and safety notices.

1.) Lightweight and portable digital video, movie, music player and photo viewer with easy-to-use, intuitive controls;
2.) 40 gigabyte hard disk lets you store up to 20,000 songs, 400,000 pictures, or 113 regular movies or 29 DVDs;
3.) Compatible with MP3, WAV, WMA and protected WMA music files, JPEG, BMP, MPEG Picture files;
4.) Uses high-speed USB 2.0 for both file transfers and charging;
5.) Lets you play music through a stereo or videos over your TV via an optional docking station, weighs only 11.15 ounces;

Package Height x Length x Width: 8.6 in. x 8.6 in. x 7.2 in.
Package Weight: 1.7 lbs.