The Archos DVR Docking Station comes ready to work with an Archos Portable Media Player 404, 504, or 604 right out of the box. Together, the two products along with your television can turn your living room into a complete leisure library of media, or it can integrate seamlessly with your home set-up--not to mention travel with you.
A Total "Hub" Solution for Your Digital Media
One of the truly useful aspects of this docking station is the way it works with all your media technology. Sure, it’s loaded with the cables, inputs, and outputs to work with the Archos player and your TV, but it’s also got a pair of USB ports: one Mass Storage Class (MSC) and one Picture Transport Protocol (PTP). Using these ports, you can hook up a separate camera or USB drive to share pictures, video clips, or audio files between your Archos player, your computer, and your television. That's right: it's not just a hub for your Archos player, but for nearly any USB-compatible portable electronics device. You will, however, always need to have the Archos player docked in order to use a separate camera or portable hard drive, as the player's navigation screen is what's used to access the other devices.
The DVR dock connects directly to your TV or other tuning device so you can record your favorite programs, movies, game shows and sporting events and then take them on the road. Or, if you prefer, you can do the reverse: download and import media from your PC to your player and watch it on your television. The DVR dock records and transmits near-DVD-quality content in 720x480 resolution, so although the picture looks good, be aware that it arrives in 4:3 format and not widescreen 16:9.
Records Video With Ease
To record live television, your TV has to have native video outputs--something that is mostly found only on recent flat-screen HDTVs such as Plasma or DLP. I'm still behind the times with my CRT TV so although I was easily able to schedule the device to turn on and record a program using the "TV Scheduler" function, I couldn't actually capture it without the outputs on my particular TV. However, connected as the station was between my DVD player and my TV, I had no trouble at all playing a DVD of home movies and capturing it to the Archos player. So even if you don't have the latest and greatest in HDTV technology, you can still find the Archos docking station to be quite useful if you want to create digital copies of your VHS tapes, say, or take your conventional media library on the road.
The Bottom Line
As an accessory to your Archos media player, the Archos DVR Docking Station adds an incredible amount of functionality to an already-compelling piece of convergence hardware. The Station is incredibly easy to use, takes up very little space, and is easy to integrate into simple or complicated home theater setups. Adding digital video recording as well as home theater playback of digital music and video files to a device that's already a camera, camcorder, voice recorder, and portable media player, and you've truly got a complete digital media solution for both at home and on the road.
What’s in the Box
The Archos DVR docking station, remote control, AC/DC power adapter, 2 x cables for RCA to RCA connection approximately 5 feet long, and a user's manual.
A Total "Hub" Solution for Your Digital Media
One of the truly useful aspects of this docking station is the way it works with all your media technology. Sure, it’s loaded with the cables, inputs, and outputs to work with the Archos player and your TV, but it’s also got a pair of USB ports: one Mass Storage Class (MSC) and one Picture Transport Protocol (PTP). Using these ports, you can hook up a separate camera or USB drive to share pictures, video clips, or audio files between your Archos player, your computer, and your television. That's right: it's not just a hub for your Archos player, but for nearly any USB-compatible portable electronics device. You will, however, always need to have the Archos player docked in order to use a separate camera or portable hard drive, as the player's navigation screen is what's used to access the other devices.
The DVR dock connects directly to your TV or other tuning device so you can record your favorite programs, movies, game shows and sporting events and then take them on the road. Or, if you prefer, you can do the reverse: download and import media from your PC to your player and watch it on your television. The DVR dock records and transmits near-DVD-quality content in 720x480 resolution, so although the picture looks good, be aware that it arrives in 4:3 format and not widescreen 16:9.
Records Video With Ease
To record live television, your TV has to have native video outputs--something that is mostly found only on recent flat-screen HDTVs such as Plasma or DLP. I'm still behind the times with my CRT TV so although I was easily able to schedule the device to turn on and record a program using the "TV Scheduler" function, I couldn't actually capture it without the outputs on my particular TV. However, connected as the station was between my DVD player and my TV, I had no trouble at all playing a DVD of home movies and capturing it to the Archos player. So even if you don't have the latest and greatest in HDTV technology, you can still find the Archos docking station to be quite useful if you want to create digital copies of your VHS tapes, say, or take your conventional media library on the road.
The Bottom Line
As an accessory to your Archos media player, the Archos DVR Docking Station adds an incredible amount of functionality to an already-compelling piece of convergence hardware. The Station is incredibly easy to use, takes up very little space, and is easy to integrate into simple or complicated home theater setups. Adding digital video recording as well as home theater playback of digital music and video files to a device that's already a camera, camcorder, voice recorder, and portable media player, and you've truly got a complete digital media solution for both at home and on the road.
What’s in the Box
The Archos DVR docking station, remote control, AC/DC power adapter, 2 x cables for RCA to RCA connection approximately 5 feet long, and a user's manual.
