Archos AV700 18cm Personal Video Recorder

Personal Video Recorders have not exactly set the world on fire at the rate everyone expected given the public’s acceptance and indeed embrace of the MP3 player. Indeed, one could be excused for wondering why PVR sales are sluggish. Is it the inability of the retailers and manufacturers to communicate the killer functionality, the high pricing of most PVRs or that the general public is having trouble wrapping its collective brain cells around the personal entertainment centre concept, time-shifting ad infinitum. Accordingly, it will be interesting to see how well Archos’ new AV700 fares with its release this week in the company’s home market of France, and availability over the coming fortnight in most foreign markets (United States, United Kingdom and Australia). The AV700’s biggest selling feature is the 18cm (7 inch) wide screen and the 100 Gigabyte drive capable of storing 400 hours of video and/or your entire MP3 collection.

The AV700 records directly from any device with standard video output (including TVs, VCRs, DVD players, set-top boxes and cable TV boxes), without the need for a computer or other intermediary hardware.

The new ARCHOS AV700 boasts an extensive range of features not normally found in a single personal entertainment unit, including:

• Direct recording from your TV, VCR, DVD player, cable box or satellite receiver.

• Schedule your recordings in advance or while you are away. • Watch on the go, on the huge 16/9 ratio 18cm (7”) Wide Screen. • Transfer photos from computers using USB 2.0 or from digital cameras directlyusing the USB host connection.

• Play MP3, WAV, WMA, and protected WMA (PlaysForSure™ downloaded) music files.

• Store up to 55,000 songs*. Record any audio file with built-in microphone.

• Transfer photos directly from your digital camera; store up to one million photos*.

• Auto-synchronize with Windows Media Player 10 to purchase downloaded and subscription content from such services as MSN Music, Napster and CinemaNow.

• Transfer data files directly from other powered mass storage devices. The AV700 is recognized as a mass storage drive on your PC or Mac giving you the possibility to store any computer file using the high-speed USB 2.0 interface.

• Play popular Mophun games.

Pricing and Availability

The ARCHOS Mobile DVR AV700 will be available from mid-July 2005 in most major markets – see the Archos US or Archos Australia web sites for details.

Pricing for the AV700 in Europe will be 850 euros or AUD $1,399.00 in Australia for the 100-gigabyte models.