Archos, makers of very fine portable media players like the 605 Wi-Fi, have entered the living room entertainment market with Archos TV+, a Wi-Fi digital video recorder (DVR).
The device hopes to take a slice of the small, but growing market, for multimedia streaming devices like the revamped Apple TV offering.
The set-top box look-alike comes in 80GB and 250GB flavours and is designed to let you to record content off your TV as well as stream content wirelessly from your PC to your telly. For an extra £20, you can get the optional Opera browser which will let you surf the Internet via your TV too. The unusual square remote control also boasts a small keyboard and mouse wheel for navigating the Web and entering Web site addresses.
There are a wide range of video connection options, including composite, S-video, RGB, component and HDMI, as well as USB and Ethernet. Lots of formats are supported although you will have to shell out a little more for a codec plug-in to support MPEG-2 and H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC sound support.
Shipping now from Play.com and Amazon, the 80GB and 250GB Archos TV+ devices cost £180 and £250, respectively. Jump now for the full specs.-Martin Lynch
Archos TV+ Specs
Capacity: 80GB* hard drive stores up to 100 Movies1 , 800,000 photos1 or 45,000 songs1
250GB* hard drive stores up to 310 Movies1, 2,500,000 photos1 or 145,000 songs1
Video playback**: MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution)
With optional software plug-ins (available for purchase on www.archos.com):
- Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC sound.
- Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound.
Audio playback**: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM).
With optional software plug-ins (available on www.archos.com):
- AAC stereo audio files
- AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files
Photo viewer***: JPEG, BMP, PNG
PDF viewer: Reads PDF documents (may not implement all PDF features)
Video recording2: Records NTSC/PAL/SECAM to MPEG-4 SP files with ADPCM stereo sound, VGA resolution (640 x 480)@ 30 or 25 f/s, in AVI format.
Audio recording: In WAV (IMA ADPCM or PCM) format.
Interfaces: USB 2.0 High-Speed Device (compatible USB 1.1): Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport
USB 2.0 High-Speed Device, Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Media Transport Protocol (MTP).
USB 2.0 Host : Mass Storage Class (MSC) and Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP)
Connections: WiFi (802.11g) connection. Optional Web Browser plug-ins for web browsing (available on www.archos.com)
INPUTS :
Audio: stereo analog
Video: composite, S-video, RGB, YPbPr (component)
Miscellaneous: Ethernet, USB slave (USB B), USB host ( USB A), infrared receptor for remote control, and DC-in
OUTPUTS:
Audio: stereo analog, SPDIF (RCA type)
Video: composite, S-video, RGB, YPbPr, and HDMI
Miscellaneous: infrared emitter, AV Switch
Power source: External: Power supply
Scalability: Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates
Dimensions & weight: 250x164x37mm, 1294 g
Package includes: For Europe version: remote control, power supply (EU/UK plugs), 6 RCA/SCART Out cable, 6 RCA + jack/SCART In cable, User guide, Connection sheet, Legal and safety notice, warranty sheet
For US version: remote control, power supply (US plug), 2 audio RCA/RCA cables, 2 x S-Video cables, User guide, Connection sheet, Legal and safety notice, warranty sheet
For Chinese version: remote control, power supply (CH plug), 6 RCA/SCART Out cable, 6 RCA + jack/SCART In cable, User guide, Connection sheet, Legal and safety notice, warranty sheet
DVR TV wifi apple TV
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
Comments
Just don't get it if you need it to work with a Mac. The streaming is based around WMP.
Also the scheduler doesnt work with an integrated Freeview Tuner.