# Archos 605 WiFi



## dgrambo

Archos 605 users, post your impressions.


Features: 800x480 resolution, direct VOB/AC3 playback, full DVR, flash and MMS streaming support, full web browser (Opera), touchscreen interface, flash or HDD storage option... what else?*


Heres what Id like to know:


How does the screen look compared to the previous gen? Can it pixel map a VOB extraction? Can it playback hi-def rips via component (via docking station) Is VOB audio playback loud enough?


*Edit: Purportedly supports .ts files


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## Brown Radagast

Specs below per CNETs review:

About 3 Benjamins (stock msrp price)!

1/2" thick!

wifi content portal (youtube, etc.)!

160gb!

mpeg4/avi/wmv/h264/mpeg2/vob!

dvr station!


Sounds too good to be true as PVRs go!


I wonder what sort of EPG it uses for scheduling recordings, or is that all done manually...


All right early adopters, the floor is yours.


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## XBRSteve

I just recieved mine today. The video quality is top notch, better than the iPhone (or iTouch, same resolution). It's a little thick and heavy as it has a hard drive.


As of now I am having a problem playing my .wmv files on it. Will keep you posted as I go along.


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## rachurch

Anyone know if this will play .dvr-ms files recorded via MS Media Center Edition?


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## Brown Radagast

"As of now I am having a problem playing my .wmv files on it...."

Hey XBRSteve, are those WMV files recordings of SD, HD, or analog shows? Just curious if there are upper limits to file sizes, bit rates, or any other variables that might bog down the video decoding, etc.


Problems in what way? Not playing at all, or starts but freezes, or audio is out of sync with video?


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## XBRSteve




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Brown Radagast* /forum/post/11564298
> 
> 
> "As of now I am having a problem playing my .wmv files on it...."
> 
> Hey XBRSteve, are those WMV files recordings of SD, HD, or analog shows? Just curious if there are upper limits to file sizes, bit rates, or any other variables that might bog down the video decoding, etc.
> 
> 
> Problems in what way? Not playing at all, or starts but freezes, or audio is out of sync with video?




The issue I am having is with the Audio. They are HD video files that I re-encoded to a resolution that that the Archos can read. The audio on the other hand is 364kb/s rate WMA Pro and the Archos cannot read it. I am re-encoding it again to a lower rate (256kb/s) and see if it works.


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## pkscout

I'm thinking very seriously about getting this unit. I'm curious about how the A/V plugins work. Specifically, I have my DVDs encoded at h.264 files with AC3 audio. I see Archos has a plugin that does h.264 and aac and another that does MPEG2 and AC3. If I got both plugins does it mix and match (i.e. can I play h.264 video files with AC3 audio)? Also the AC3 audio plugin info leaves me with the impression that it'll work as AC3 passthough on the optical connector but maybe not as a downmix to stereo over the head phone jack.


Anyone have any experience with the plugins on the 605, or earlier Archos models?


At the end of the day I could just re-encode everything specifically for the Archos, but if it can play the files I already have, another $40 would be worth the time I would save not re-encode everything.


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## paradoxar




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *XBRSteve* /forum/post/11566402
> 
> 
> The issue I am having is with the Audio. They are HD video files that I re-encoded to a resolution that that the Archos can read. The audio on the other hand is 364kb/s rate WMA Pro and the Archos cannot read it. I am re-encoding it again to a lower rate (256kb/s) and see if it works.



I purchased the Archos 605 160GB. The problem that I am having is not with the sound or video.. I can Play my MP3s and M4As, my AVIs and PM4s videos.. Of course I had to buy the Video podcast plug-in for the audio coding on the MP4s (H.264 - AAC). In addition, I also have the DVR.. Great both for TV recording and/or viewing your pictures, movies/videos in the big screen TV..










My big issue is with the device Wi-Fi.. every time that I am doing something related to the wireless connection, the A605 devices freezes. It does not matter where I am or what I am doing.. Browsing the internet or browsing the Shares in the my network.. it just freezes and the device hast to be reset.


I visited the ARCHOS website and I downloaded / installed the latest Firmware - ARCHOS 605 Wi-Fi OS v 1.3.08 but It did not help at all .. I also talk to the tech support but they do not understand why the code is stopping.. They are saying that it could be hardware related.. I might have to get and RMA to get it repair or exchange but I seen in other forums, other folks having the same problem that I am having so I am not 100% sure that it is hardware related.. I will continue to so more research on this. I will post any updates regarding this problem


If any body has some feed back regarding this issues please let me know, it will be truly appreciated


Prdx


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## Brown Radagast

Hey paradoxar,


Are there settings for the browser that you can tweak? I wonder if you can turn off javascript and/or other settings. Also, try clearing the cache/temp folder (if that's possible).


How does the DVR work? Does it come with an updateable EPG, or is it all manual (i.e., you see something that you want to record, and you press the record button...).


BTW, welcome to the forums!


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## timorich

paradoxar, I read in another forum (I don't have the thing myself yet) that folks were having the same problem with 802.11b but once they upgraded to g, no worries. An idea, at least. timo


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## spoooon

Those of you with problems, try checking out forum.archosfans.com.


Mine should be here pretty soon (30GB model). One exciting thing (though I know nothing about the details) that's supposed to be coming out is a plugin to allow 720p playback (I assume on the TV).


Anyone get the DVR station? How's the resolution when surfing the web on the TV?


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## XBRSteve

I am having all kinds of problems getting video to work on this damn thing! I have tried converting them to .wmv (audio doesn't work), .avi (doesn't play the movie to the end), .mpg (no audio either). Does anyone know of a good conversion program that is freeware? I am using Any Video Converter and it isn't doing the trick.


The .avi issue is strange. I start the movie and it says it's 1:45 minutes long which is correct. Once I fast forward the total time decreases to about 45 minutes and simply stops at the end. It's not movie specific as it has done it on 3 straight movies. I new I should have purchased the Creative player!


I am also unable to transfer these movie files through the USB connection but I can do it through the Wifi!!!.....WTF!?


Sorry for venting.


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## Brown Radagast

XBRSteve, are these movies that you ripped from dvds? Reply with what format the original vids are in - maybe others can chime in a little better.


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## XBRSteve




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Brown Radagast* /forum/post/11589821
> 
> 
> XBRSteve, are these movies that you ripped from dvds? Reply with what format the original vids are in - maybe others can chime in a little better.



Some are ripped from DVD's so they are in .vob format. I convert them into one large .vob then try to convert them to .mpg, avi, etc to make the file size smaller. The other files are in .WMV HD format.


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## Trace II

I want to get one, but I have three questions about the web browser:

1) Can you download files?

2) Can you upload files?

3) Does it include the t.orrent support like Opera 9 (for legal t.orrents)?


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## spoooon

Well, got mine today. Was an early birthday/anniversary gift from my wife.


I was pretty excited for about 5 minutes. I ended up with a brick.










So, back to amazon it goes.


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## XBRSteve




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *spoooon* /forum/post/11594637
> 
> 
> Well, got mine today. Was an early birthday/anniversary gift from my wife.
> 
> 
> I was pretty excited for about 5 minutes. I ended up with a brick.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So, back to amazon it goes.



What happened? I thought mine was a brick but then I read that for some you have to charge it for 24hrs. After that it powered right up.


I finally got the video working correctly. If anyone has the same issue I had playing back video I used a program called Any Video Converter (Freeware) to convert .vob and .WMHD. I used these settings.


Output Profile: DVD Video NTSC Movie (*.mpg)

Video Aspect 16/9 (depending on your movie of course)

Video Bitrate: 5000

Audio Bitrate 192

The rest is at default or is easy figure out yourself.


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## spoooon

Basically, when I first got it, I plugged in the USB cable into the Archos, then plugged it into the computer. The Archos turned on by itself (like it's supposed to), the initial Archos screen was on the display, then it blacked out. I thought that was normal for the first hour or so.


While I was reading the instructions, it said that the display is supposed to be on when charging, and that the battery meter would indicate that it was charging. That wasn't happening. The screen was just dead. Also, I couldn't hear any hard drive spinning up or any audio or anything. I've been charging it (just in case) and it's been on for about 25 hours now (both through USB and AC adaptor) and no response from the unit. From the things I've tried and suggestions given by individuals at the unofficial archos forum, it seems the unit is a brick. Just bad luck probably. So, hopefully things will be better when I get the replacement.


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## XBRSteve




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *spoooon* /forum/post/11601375
> 
> 
> Basically, when I first got it, I plugged in the USB cable into the Archos, then plugged it into the computer. The Archos turned on by itself (like it's supposed to), the initial Archos screen was on the display, then it blacked out. I thought that was normal for the first hour or so.
> 
> 
> While I was reading the instructions, it said that the display is supposed to be on when charging, and that the battery meter would indicate that it was charging. That wasn't happening. The screen was just dead. Also, I couldn't hear any hard drive spinning up or any audio or anything. I've been charging it (just in case) and it's been on for about 25 hours now (both through USB and AC adaptor) and no response from the unit. From the things I've tried and suggestions given by individuals at the unofficial archos forum, it seems the unit is a brick. Just bad luck probably. So, hopefully things will be better when I get the replacement.




Sound like mine when I first got it. While the USB is plugged into the unit hold down the power button for 10-15 seconds till the power LED turns off. Leave in pluged into an active USB port for 12hrs. or more and then give it a shot. I could never get it charged up when the screen was on. It seemed that that the battery was so low that the display would drain the battery faster than the USB could charge it. Due to the low output of USB you would need a cradle with AC power to charge it like that.


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## XBRSteve

Found a better way to get DVD video onto my 605. Since the 605 can play .vob files I use DVD Shrink to rip the .vob files into one large .VOB file. If anyone else uses this method be sure to set the maximum file size to less than 4GB or you will not be able to transfer it.


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## Brown Radagast

DVD shrink will work well with most dvds, but not with those that have some of the newer encryption schemes (i.e., Disney, etc.).


That is, unless they have recently upgraded this SW, this has been my experience, as well as what I have seen others post.


DVDFab HD has given me clean rips, but again, there are times when the AV sync is off (Disney again). Then you have to use other methods to get them in sync.


Video Redo has a "quick fix" option which fixes this issue mostly, but sometimes I'll still get the issue.


The last thing I'll do is use PSP Vid 9 or Videora iPod, with the ffmpeg setting "-async 30" which I'll practically guarantee will give you a good result.


SageTV actually has some pretty good conversion settings that make this a KISS process, but I'm sort of a control freak and like a smaller file size (for my 4gb mem stick for PSP) - but still with good quality.


If you want a simple solution, I'd say try SageTV's trial d/l and convert some files.


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## dgrambo

Check www.slysoft.com for AnyDVD and CloneDVD Mobile. Theres a time limited fully functional demo for both. They work in tangent to take the headache out of converting commercial DVD's for use with portables.


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## spoooon

My other unit was a definite brick.


I got the replacement on Friday (awesome how you can still get stuff in 2 days or so even with the free shipping option). Works like a charm. For those interested, I'm using an ipod usb adaptor to charge it. Took me about 10 hours for a full charge out of the box (including playing with it).


Also, for those who haven't paid for the web plugin yet, go to dailymotion, channels, comedy, then search. Takes you to an "out of site" search engine. So you can do some web browsing for free. Kind of cumbersome, but it's free. I suggest just buying the web browser plug in.


Anyway, better sound quality than my 3G ipod. Awesome screen, great to browse the web without firing up the desktop or laptop, definitely worth the money. Haven't purchased the DVR station, so no personal experiences related to recording and what not.


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## janook1

Is it possible to view Hotmail messages.

What is the best way of converting DVDs to the Archos 605


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## rblews

DVDFab HD decrypter > AutoGK > Xvid/Mp3/700MB.


I just ordered the flash based 605 WiFi, and a SDHC 8GB class 6 card from NewEgg for $67, for a total 12GB. I never put more than 4-5 movies at one time on a PMP. I'm interested to see if the sound level, battery charge rate, etc. is the same or better than the hard drive models. The flash based 605 is a little slimmer, lighter, and should take a little more abuse from my kids. Has anyone had experience with the flash model 605 yet?


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## spoooon




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rblews* /forum/post/11644043
> 
> 
> DVDFab HD decrypter > AutoGK > Xvid/Mp3/700MB.
> 
> 
> I just ordered the flash based 605 WiFi, and a SDHC 8GB class 6 card from NewEgg for $67, for a total 12GB. I never put more than 4-5 movies at one time on a PMP. I'm interested to see if the sound level, battery charge rate, etc. is the same or better than the hard drive models. The flash based 605 is a little slimmer, lighter, and should take a little more abuse from my kids. Has anyone had experience with the flash model 605 yet?



Head on over to forum.archosfans.com. There is a thread there comparing battery life on the various models. Don't know what conclusions (if any) have been reached.


One cool thing is that you are able to stream media from your computer, so that sort of minimizes the liability that less storage space might represent (for some people).


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## Brown Radagast

"...I just ordered the flash based 605 WiFi..."


???Hey rblews, I'm not seeing that model at NewEgg. Can you post the model number? That is an Archos, right? Did you mean that you paid $67 total for both the PMP + memory card?


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## rblews

$67 for the 8GB SDHC memory. It is the Transcend brand, which received a lot of good reviews on NewEgg, including a few that are using it for video playback on PMPs. There are some class 4 SDHC cards for less; but for our purposes, I think we should be using the class 6 speed. I think we may be seeing 16GB SDHC cards at this price in a year from now. I like the concept of having movies, etc. on a small portable chip-- interchangeable with multiple devices.


I ordered the Archos 605 WiFi from Beach Audio (NewEgg does not have them in stock yet) for $220, plus $5 shipping. Expecting deliver tomorrow.


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## memnoch2

i have been contemplating between the archos 605 and the iPod Touch. i'm leaning heavily towards the archos due to the recording flexibility. having said that, i do not see an NTSC/ATSC RF input in the DVR station. i thought that this could be useful during vacations where you can pretty much bring the archos along as a portable DVR. however, most hotel rooms (and other countries) will only have a coax cable and no STB. any options on how to hook this up with the archos? thanks!


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## spoooon

From what I understand, there isn't a tuner, so you'll need to use composite os s video to record.


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## Xcalibur_255

Can I ask a quick question? Is anybody here playing back WMA Lossless files on their 605 WiFi? I've read in some places that it does support this format and in other places that it does not. My entire music library is in WMA Lossless and lack of this support would be a dealbreaker for me. Thanks for any feedback guys.


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## spoooon




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Xcalibur_255* /forum/post/11672322
> 
> 
> Can I ask a quick question? Is anybody here playing back WMA Lossless files on their 605 WiFi? I've read in some places that it does support this format and in other places that it does not. My entire music library is in WMA Lossless and lack of this support would be a dealbreaker for me. Thanks for any feedback guys.



I just encoded a WMA lossless file. Won't play. Sorry dude.


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## Xcalibur_255

Ouch. Well, thanks for letting me know.


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## rblews

There is a $19 plug in available on the Archos web site that will allow playback of lossess formats, including FLAC and WMA. Archos charges those who want the extra features rather than charging all, including those who have no need for them


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## spoooon




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rblews* /forum/post/11684874
> 
> 
> There is a $19 plug in available on the Archos web site that will allow playback of lossess formats, including FLAC and WMA. Archos charges those who want the extra features rather than charging all, including those who have no need for them



Which plug in? The only one I don't have is the video pod cast one. I didn't see any where it says it allows WMA lossless playback.


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## paradoxar

timorich - I do have a 802.11G wireless router. I have desisted to send the 605 device to ARCHOS for repair.. I expect to have it back sometime next week..


Brown Radagast - The only web browser setting I sow was the Flash Content and the unrequested popups configuration.. I did not see any other settings for the web browser

Regarding the DVR.. I did purchased one, but I have not being able to fully tested since I was having the issues with the Wi-Fi. As soon as I receive it, I will test it and post the results


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## Xcalibur_255




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rblews* /forum/post/11684874
> 
> 
> There is a $19 plug in available on the Archos web site that will allow playback of lossess formats, including FLAC and WMA. Archos charges those who want the extra features rather than charging all, including those who have no need for them



Link please? The three published plug-ins available on Archos.com are: the Opera web browser, the Podcast playback plugin (H.264 and limited AAC audio), and the DVD playback plugin (.mpeg, .vob (which is sweet), and limited ac3 audio support). There are no audio only plugins that I see, though if there were one like you describe it would solve my dilemma. Twenty dollars is nothing.


FYI, the Gen 4 plugins are the same minus Opera, so it's not an offering they dropped either. You seem to be mistaken, or the source you read it from is.


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## rblews

I'm sorrry, I thought I saw one for lossless audio formats. I will check very carefully for you as soon as I can and report back. I may have seen it in some review I was reading.


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## Xcalibur_255

I've read three reviews so far which claim it supports WMA lossless out of the box, which we've confirmed it does not. I take reviews with ever increasing grains of salt these days.


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## rblews

Yes, my bad! The Archos does not support, either alone or with a plug-in, FLAC or WMA lossless formats.


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## sethk

Does it support any lossless format? How about .WAV?


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## EM3

So let me get this right.


I can stream media from my home computer the the Portal to the Archos 605 WiFi? So if I wanted to put my dvd's on a hard drive then stream them when I am in a WiFi spot I can. Is there a cost to use the portal?


Also, is there any software that needs to be downloaded like Apple does for ITunes? I was thinking I have all my music on one computer as MP3's and have converted them to ITunes for the wife. So I could just drag and drop them into the Archos right?


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## Xcalibur_255




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *sethk* /forum/post/11744551
> 
> 
> Does it support any lossless format? How about .WAV?



It does support .WAV, but then again most things do even with the feature isn't appropriate to the capacity. WAV is a waste of disk space and omitting a lossless compression format from a 160GB device is awfully stupid when you consider that you can put apple lossless files on a Nano or FLAC files on Cowon devices as small as 1 GB.


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## skyblu5_9

anyone know if the archos 605 wifi can play .wmv files from internet sites. let's say a .wmv movie trailer, can it play this on its browser?


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## DavoMrMac

I was very impressed with the quality of the screen on the 605, very vivid colours.


I also wanted to let you know that pouches/cases are available at:
http://www.geekpouch.co.uk


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## AMDCHIPTROOPER

All- I purchased the H.264 plugin yesterday and found that my movies encoded in H264 is very choppy. I have no problems with sound. I wanted this plugin so I can play the video on my hdtv display and my 605 whenever I want. Any u guys have this problem? Im using Nero Recode. the video looks awesome but its jump frames.


thanks!


Amdchiptrooper


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## karenbz4




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rblews* /forum/post/11646281
> 
> 
> $67 for the 8GB SDHC memory. It is the Transcend brand, which received a lot of good reviews on NewEgg, including a few that are using it for video playback on PMPs. There are some class 4 SDHC cards for less; but for our purposes, I think we should be using the class 6 speed. I think we may be seeing 16GB SDHC cards at this price in a year from now. I like the concept of having movies, etc. on a small portable chip-- interchangeable with multiple devices.
> 
> 
> I ordered the Archos 605 WiFi from Beach Audio (NewEgg does not have them in stock yet) for $220, plus $5 shipping. Expecting deliver tomorrow.



hello rblews


I hope you're still a member? I've just purchased the Archos wifi 4gb and I am having difficulty getting assurance that I can but SDHC memory cards. I've noticed that there are SDHC and SDHC flash cards? I'm confused by all the jargon and just want the best for my player. Can you help me? Just for info, if you're interested, I paid £126 (Jan 2008) for my 605 player and £55 for the docking station. The cheapest, brand new, I could find in the UK. Hope you reply. Thanks.


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## kultus

Hello all, thanks for your contributions. an important question for me is: can i view Youtube videos with the browser plugin alone, or do i also need the plugin for mp4?


thanks in advance, kultus


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## onund




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *kultus* /forum/post/13069580
> 
> 
> Hello all, thanks for your contributions. an important question for me is: can i view Youtube videos with the browser plugin alone, or do i also need the plugin for mp4?
> 
> 
> thanks in advance, kultus



I've only got the browser plugin and I was showing off a youtube video to a co-worker who was interested in this model. Worked no problem.


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## revmike

I've been considering this unit instead of the ipod touch. I need more than 32gb. My question is that all my music is in aac format, will the plug-in work or is it just for audio playback with movies? I would hate to have to re-format 5000+ music files.

Thanks


Never mind I found the answer that it will, but I've discovered the Cowon Q5W and I like that better.


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## nancygene

got the replacement on Friday (awesome how you can still get stuff in 2 days or so even with the free shipping option). Works like a charm. For those interested, I'm using an ipod usb adaptor to charge it. Took me about 10 hours for a full charge out of the box (including playing with it).



I am glad you mentioned the iPod usb adaptor to charge. I had an iPod that took a dump and wound up getting the Archos 160GB after my son suggested it. So, I already had the junk from iPod.

My problem is that I have lost the saddle for my Archos and can not seem to find a place to order a new one. Could someone please direct me to a site to order?

thanks,


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## Dwellon

You can find the Archos saddles on sale on there website. They sell them for $5.

https://store.archos.com/store/categ...tegories_id=24


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## Scarpad

I just got the 605. What method do you guys suggest for transferring media WMP 11, Mediamonkey, or good ole fashion Drag and Drop....


Also I did'nt pick up the DVR because most of my media comes from My own personal library or the net, I'd like to hear if other 605 users think the DVR is worth it or not... BTW I'm on Direct TV..


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## Veers21

I received an Archos 605 30 gb model for christmas last year. A few months ago it suddenly would not connect to any computers. I can charge it but it is not recognized as a drive so I can't copy anything on or off of it. Had anyone had or heard of this problem?

Archos support was about as useless as can be. They told me 4 times to reboot it in it's safe mode and tell it to reinstall the firmware, but you have to copy the file from your computer onto the device. They couldn't understand that since it can't connect to my computers that I can't copy the firmware onto it.

I also don't have the original receipt so they won't fix it under the warranty.


Has anyone every formatted the drive? I don't want to brick the thing, but it's pretty much useless to me now as it is.


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## sbjjaps

How much?


Does anybody can pursude me to buy it?


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## crazyj10

anyone have any idea why movies keep freezing on my archo 605 wifi 160gb. i have all the plug ins and sometimes for some reason they just freeze on me until i hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn it off. thanks


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