Digital Trends

Archos 705 WiFi 160GB

May 5th, 2008 | by Mike Kobrin

Loading the 705

There are several ways to get content onto the 705. It supports both the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) and USB Mass Storage Class, so you can use Windows Media Player (or other MTP software like Rhapsody) to sync up, or simpy drag and drop files in Mac OS's Finder or Windows Explorer. You can also stream content from a Windows computer connected to the same wireless network via UPnP apps like WMP. The Archos Content Portal further lets you wirelessly purchase and rent videos from a (slowly) growing list of content partners like CinemaNow and Vodeo, as well as Dish Network. And finally, there's the DVR feature, which lets you record video from any analog source, though you'll have to shell out extra for the DVR Station.

Format Support

Out of the box, the 705 can handle AVI (MPEG-4) and WMV (including protected files) video formats. Also, it's important to note that the maximum resolution in terms of video files that the 705 can read is 720x480 – 800x480 content won't play. As for audio, you get MP3, WAV, WMA, and protected WMA compatibility, which should satisfy most users. For an extra $19.99 USD, you can also add support for H.264 video and unprotected AAC audio; another $19.99 USD will further get you VOB, MPEG-2 (what many of those illegally downloaded files you have are) and AC-3 audio. 

Mind you, we're not crazy about the idea of paying extra for codecs, though it does help keep the device's initial cost down (avoiding licensing fees) for those who don't need the extra format support. This is an example of the complexity added when licensing costs aren't built into a device's price – much the opposite of what’s happening with products like the Amazon Kindle and Nokia's "Comes With Music" initiative.

Moving along, recordings made via the optional DVR Station are done in AVI format (MPEG-4 Simple Profile) with ADPCM stereo sound, but you're limited to 640x480 video resolution, which sucks for widescreen content. You can also line in audio in WAV format. As for photos, shutterbugs will dig the USB host for direct image transfers from compatible digital cameras, but those files have to be in JPEG, BMP, or PNG format – sadly, it’s a no-go on TIFF or RAW images.

AV Quality

We tested our review unit's audio and video capabilities using a handful of popular movie clips in MP4 format at 720x480 resolution as well as some 320Kbps MP3 files. Although music and video playback are the 705's primary functions, some bad news here: We were disappointed with both. 

The stock earbuds prove fine for what they are, but since this is primarily a traveler's device, most people will want headphones that don't let in lots of ambient sound from planes and cars. We plugged in our Shure SE530 headphones and could clearly hear system noise including hard drive whine and hiss as we browsed the menus.

In addition, when we watched clips from The Lord of the Rings and 2 Fast 2 Furious, fine details got lost and dark scenes looked muddy. Colors weren't too far off, though. We tried jacking up the screen brightness, but that didn't help much. The videos were certainly viewable at arm's length, but graininess was apparent with the device sitting on an airline tray table in front of us. When we output videos to our 40-inch Samsung HDTV however, the image looked more like we expected, with better clarity and color.