Archos is a manufacturer that may be best known for their portable digital media players and other portable entertainment devices. My first experience with Archos was about 10 years ago, with one of their portable media players (PMP) that was out well before most of today's competitors had considered developing a device with video capabilities.

This review is going to take a look at a newer product from Archos; the ARCHOS TV+ 80GB WiFi digital video recorder. The Archos TV+ is a digital video recorder that connects to your home network by either Ethernet or WiFi, and it allows you to stream audio and video, or store the files on the Archos TV+'s internal 80GB drive. It doesn't stop there though, because with plug-ins you can browse the web, play Flash games, and expand on the file types that the Archos TV+ can play.



Before checking out the refurbished Archos TV+ 80GB WiFi digital video recorder provided for review, let's take a look at some of the features and specifications as provided on the product page at Geeks.com.

This product is presently sold out, and the way things go it is hard to say if it will come back in to stock. But, Geeks.com has plenty of other discount electronics worth checking out, with a few other media players to consider.

Features and Specifications:

» 80 GB capacity stores up to 100 Movies, 800,000 photos or 45,000 songs!
» Record your favorite TV shows or series directly on your ARCHOS TV+
» Easy programming with the TV Program Guide
» Record from most any video sources (satellite/cable box, VCR, DVD player1) in MPEG-4 format
» Through your home WiFi connection, you can enjoy the entire shared digital media library of your
   home PC in your living room, not just in your office
» Easily navigate using the remote control with an integrated keyboard and mouse pointer
» Download content wirelessly and directly to your ARCHOS TV+ via the ARCHOS Content Portal
   and our online stores
» You can also stream movies, TV shows and music that are stored on your computer
» Store and view up to thousands of photos (JPEG, PNG and BMP formats)
» Transfer your photos from a PC or most mass storage devices via the USB 2.0 high speed interface
   (USB cable not included)
» Display slideshows with music and transition effect
» Manage your files and folders directly on the device
» Store and listen to 45,000 songs
» Your music is automatically organized with the enhanced ARCLibrary
» Reads PDF documents
» Records audio in WAV format
» Automatically downloads latest firmware updates

Supported Photo Formats:

» JPEG
» BMP
» PNG

Supported Video Formats:

» MPEG-4 (ASP @ L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
» WMV (MP @ ML, up to DVD resolution)
» With optional software plug-ins:
» Podcast plug-in: H.264 up to DVD resolution and AAC sound*
» Cinema Plug-in: MPEG-2 MP @ ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound*

Supported Audio Formats:

» Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV (PCM/ADPCM)
» With optional software plug-ins:
» AAC stereo audio files*
» AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files*

Connections:

» WiFi (802.11g) connection (Optional Web Browser plug-ins for web browsing)*
» Component Video (YPbPr) in
» Composite Video in
» RCA R/L audio in
» S-Video in
» Ethernet
» SPDIF (RCA type) audio out
» Composite video out
» S-video out
» RCA R/L audio out
» Component Video (YPbPr) out
» HDMI
» Infrared emitter (for remote control)
» USB 2.0 host (USB A)
» USB 2.0 slave (USB B)