The new version has a slightly bigger screen and different button layout, but it retains many of the features that made me love its predecessor. One big difference, though, is that you get a lot less in the box this time around, since many of the accessories are now optional extras—including the all-important docking station, which is required for recording video from analog sources. Even the USB Host feature, for connecting cameras and other USB devices, now requires an optional adapter. The 604 is available only in a 30GB hard drive configuration, whereas its predecessor came in 30GB and 100GB versions. There's also an Archos 604 Wi-Fi ($449.99), which adds a touch-screen and 802.11g wireless capabilities for Web browsing, e-mail, and content downloading.
The Archos 604 preview model I was able to get my hands on has a brushed-aluminum body that feels very solid, and there's a little kickstand that pops out if you want to watch video hands-free. It measures 5.1 by 0.6 by 3.1 inches and weighs 9.3 ounces. The 4.3-inch, 480- by 272-pixel LCD is brightly backlit and provides a comfortable viewing experience even at arm's length. All the buttons are aligned on the right side of the player's front, and each button operates as a two-way rocker. The new button layout is an improvement over the older AV 500's, but the two-way rocker buttons do take a little getting used to. There are two proprietary connectors on the bottom of the device; one for USB syncing/charging, one for the optional docking station. There's also a small built-in speaker on the front of the device to let you listen without headphones.
A headphone jack doubles as an A/V output, so you connect the 604 to a TV using a 3.5mm-to-RCA A/V (red, white, and yellow) cable, which is conspicuously missing from the package. You just press the TV/LCD button on top of the device to view menus and audiovisual content on an external monitor. The A/V output also supports 5.1-channel surround sound, allowing you to take full advantage of your home theater system. But if you record Macrovision-protected video content from an analog source on the 604 (say, a commercial DVD on a consumer DVD player), you will not be able to play that video back on a PC or an external monitor.
The Archos 604 ships with a proprietary USB cable for charging and syncing, earbuds with inline volume control, a nylon carrying pouch, and a docking cradle adapter (cradle not included). Optional accessories available include the DVR docking station ($99.99 direct), DVR travel adapter ($69.99), docking adapter kit with AC adapter and USB Host cable ($29.99), and a spare rechargeable battery ($29.99). A/V cables are included with the DVR docking station and DVR travel adapter.
The player is designed to sync with your PC via Windows Media Player, but you can also set the Archos 604 to PC Hard Drive mode, which lets you load files via drag and drop on both Macs and PCs. It works with MP3, WMA, WAV, and protected WMA audio tracks, including PlaysForSure content from online download and subscription services. You can play back video files in AVI (MPEG-4 ASP, up to 720-by-480 at 30 frames per second, up to 8Mbps), WMV, and protected WMV (including PlaysForSure video content from online subscription, download, and rental services). The 604 can also screen MPEG-2, H.264, and VOB files with optional codecs available free at www.archos.com. Photo support is limited to JPEG, BMP, and PNG files, but there's also a PDF viewer.
