Amazon pricing Archos 604 WiFi at $399.00
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From what I have read
From what information I have gathered Archos will no longer create "partner devices", but will create plugins.
So, while the hardware will be the same for the PocketDish, I am unsure if Archos will do the following:
Sell the plugin for E^ for extra $$$. Archos has stated they can create plugins for many DRM based solutions.
and E*
E* provide plugin for free when you buy the device from them.
I will not be waiting for PocketDish so I will get the wifi when it comes out.
From what information I have gathered Archos will no longer create "partner devices", but will create plugins.
So, while the hardware will be the same for the PocketDish, I am unsure if Archos will do the following:
Sell the plugin for E^ for extra $$$. Archos has stated they can create plugins for many DRM based solutions.
and E*
E* provide plugin for free when you buy the device from them.
I will not be waiting for PocketDish so I will get the wifi when it comes out.
Scott, you mean Dish bought right from Archos to manufacturing PD and partnership with some Taiwaneese Co for build "own" PD ?
What happened to the talked about software upgrades that would allow non-Pocketdish units to work with Dish receivers?
Good question, but where there is a laptop and a will ... there is a way and I'll be looking for it!
Plugins
There are only two plugins so far coming:
Cinema plug-in
MPEG-2/VOB – 5.1 sound
Play back videos on and from your ARCHOS in DVD quality: MPEG-2 format (.vob, .mpg and .ps extensions).Multi-language supported.
Listen to 5.1 sound on your home cinema system through the SPDIF output (through the DVR station).
Coming soon
Video podcast plug-in
H.264 – AAC sound
Play back free video files downloaded from the internet with .mp4, .m4v or .mov extensions, encoded with H264 video codec and sound track in MP3 or AAC format.
Listen to audio podcasts, free audio files downloaded from the internet in AAC or M4A format.
Available October, 16th
As far as the E* plugin it wont be available until E* says so (next year when DishPlayer) comes out. Either it will sell at same time or only with E* DishPlayer.
If you really want E* then wait for the branded one. I will not
There are only two plugins so far coming:
Cinema plug-in
MPEG-2/VOB – 5.1 sound
Play back videos on and from your ARCHOS in DVD quality: MPEG-2 format (.vob, .mpg and .ps extensions).Multi-language supported.
Listen to 5.1 sound on your home cinema system through the SPDIF output (through the DVR station).
Coming soon
Video podcast plug-in
H.264 – AAC sound
Play back free video files downloaded from the internet with .mp4, .m4v or .mov extensions, encoded with H264 video codec and sound track in MP3 or AAC format.
Listen to audio podcasts, free audio files downloaded from the internet in AAC or M4A format.
Available October, 16th
As far as the E* plugin it wont be available until E* says so (next year when DishPlayer) comes out. Either it will sell at same time or only with E* DishPlayer.
If you really want E* then wait for the branded one. I will not
Archos WiFi listed at Amazon with no price.
Amazon has re-listed the 604 WiFi with no price. Previously I saw a "partner site" have 1 for sale for 449.00 then it disappeared. One can deduce the price range will be from 399.00-449.00.
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Ultra-...1_4/002-2093606-8633657?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Amazon has re-listed the 604 WiFi with no price. Previously I saw a "partner site" have 1 for sale for 449.00 then it disappeared. One can deduce the price range will be from 399.00-449.00.
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Ultra-...1_4/002-2093606-8633657?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Its official
The NY Times has reported on the next generation of PMP's. Specifically they discuss the Archos products and E*. The price of the 604 WiFi will be $450.00
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/technology/19basics.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin
NY Times
Portable Media Players Aim for the Masses
By MICHEL MARRIOTT
Published: October 19, 2006
EchoStar Communications, the parent company of the satellite television service Dish Network, has done more than take notice. This fall, Dish Network is promoting a line of media players that customers can use to record or transfer television programs and movies for portable viewing. The devices, which the company is calling PocketDish players, are priced from $150 to $400.
“The key to this is the on-the-go lifestyle, people on trains, commuting, on planes, families with a digital video recorder but no time to sit and watch the programs on television,” said Cory Jo Vasquez, an EchoStar spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, broadening lines of media players are available at national outlets like Wal-Mart and RadioShack. Executives at Archos, the French company widely credited with creating the category in 2002, said that the number of retail outlets for its products in the United States had increased to 7,000 this fall, from 1,600 in July.
Part of the allure, consumers and retailers say, is that the category is maturing, offering more features at lower prices. Media players start as low as $100 and generally cost no more than $500 for full-featured models with large, bright screens, high storage capacity and recording options.
“The notion of viewing video on portable devices started to be a lot more popular after Apple introduced that functionality on the iPod,” said Ross Rubin, a consumer electronics analyst, referring to the fifth-generation iPod introduced last fall.
But Mr. Rubin, the director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, noted that the video-enabled iPod uses a smallish liquid-crystal-display screen (2.5 inches) for playback, as do other music players that also play video, including the Microsoft Zune, scheduled for release next month.
Dedicated media players with larger screens have tended to be bulky and overly complicated, critics have noted. They also have generally cost much more than music players that double as video players, Mr. Rubin said. For example, an entry-level iPod that plays video costs about $250. Last year, large-screen video players could easily cost twice that; now they are typically priced at $300 to $400.
“Those are still not high-volume products within the portable media player category,” Mr. Rubin said of the larger, feature-laden video players. “They are not a mainstream phenomenon yet.”
But Larry Smith, chief operating officer for Archos, said consumers had made it clear this year that what they wanted were portable devices that could richly and easily deliver video entertainment. “We think that is a validation of what we have been developing over the last four to five years.”
Mr. Smith noted that not only had media player technologies greatly improved this year, so had the means for getting content for the players, whether recording it directly on the players, dragging and dropping video files from computers, or transferring video from digital recorders like TiVo and on-demand services like AOL Video.
Archos’s products include the new 404 ($300, or $350 for a model that records video in DVD quality) and the 504 (which comes in 40-, 80- and 160-gigabyte versions that cost $350, $400 and $600). At the top of the line is the Archos 604, a full-featured player that the company says is the thinnest wide-screen device on the market, at 0.6 inches.
The 604 ($350) has a bright, high-resolution 4.3-inch screen and a 30-gigabyte hard drive that Archos representatives say can store up to 85 movies, 300,000 pictures or 15,000 songs. The 604 can read all standard video formats with DVD resolution; the absence of that ability has hindered many other media players, analysts said.
A standout feature of the new Archos media players is the introduction of the DVR station. It is a separate dock that houses the players’ video recording capacity and a collection of audiovisual input, output and data ports. Mr. Smith said that moving the recording function to the accessory (which costs $100, or $80 when purchased with a player) allowed the players to be smaller and less expensive, yet have larger screens.
The docking station can schedule recording from most sources, including televisions, cable and satellite set-top boxes, DVD players and videocassette recorders, Mr. Smith said. The station can also play content on television at DVD quality and in 5.1 surround sound. Later this fall, Mr. Smith said, the 604 will come in a Wi-Fi version ($450) that can receive content wirelessly.
The NY Times has reported on the next generation of PMP's. Specifically they discuss the Archos products and E*. The price of the 604 WiFi will be $450.00
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/technology/19basics.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin
NY Times
Portable Media Players Aim for the Masses
By MICHEL MARRIOTT
Published: October 19, 2006
EchoStar Communications, the parent company of the satellite television service Dish Network, has done more than take notice. This fall, Dish Network is promoting a line of media players that customers can use to record or transfer television programs and movies for portable viewing. The devices, which the company is calling PocketDish players, are priced from $150 to $400.
“The key to this is the on-the-go lifestyle, people on trains, commuting, on planes, families with a digital video recorder but no time to sit and watch the programs on television,” said Cory Jo Vasquez, an EchoStar spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, broadening lines of media players are available at national outlets like Wal-Mart and RadioShack. Executives at Archos, the French company widely credited with creating the category in 2002, said that the number of retail outlets for its products in the United States had increased to 7,000 this fall, from 1,600 in July.
Part of the allure, consumers and retailers say, is that the category is maturing, offering more features at lower prices. Media players start as low as $100 and generally cost no more than $500 for full-featured models with large, bright screens, high storage capacity and recording options.
“The notion of viewing video on portable devices started to be a lot more popular after Apple introduced that functionality on the iPod,” said Ross Rubin, a consumer electronics analyst, referring to the fifth-generation iPod introduced last fall.
But Mr. Rubin, the director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, noted that the video-enabled iPod uses a smallish liquid-crystal-display screen (2.5 inches) for playback, as do other music players that also play video, including the Microsoft Zune, scheduled for release next month.
Dedicated media players with larger screens have tended to be bulky and overly complicated, critics have noted. They also have generally cost much more than music players that double as video players, Mr. Rubin said. For example, an entry-level iPod that plays video costs about $250. Last year, large-screen video players could easily cost twice that; now they are typically priced at $300 to $400.
“Those are still not high-volume products within the portable media player category,” Mr. Rubin said of the larger, feature-laden video players. “They are not a mainstream phenomenon yet.”
But Larry Smith, chief operating officer for Archos, said consumers had made it clear this year that what they wanted were portable devices that could richly and easily deliver video entertainment. “We think that is a validation of what we have been developing over the last four to five years.”
Mr. Smith noted that not only had media player technologies greatly improved this year, so had the means for getting content for the players, whether recording it directly on the players, dragging and dropping video files from computers, or transferring video from digital recorders like TiVo and on-demand services like AOL Video.
Archos’s products include the new 404 ($300, or $350 for a model that records video in DVD quality) and the 504 (which comes in 40-, 80- and 160-gigabyte versions that cost $350, $400 and $600). At the top of the line is the Archos 604, a full-featured player that the company says is the thinnest wide-screen device on the market, at 0.6 inches.
The 604 ($350) has a bright, high-resolution 4.3-inch screen and a 30-gigabyte hard drive that Archos representatives say can store up to 85 movies, 300,000 pictures or 15,000 songs. The 604 can read all standard video formats with DVD resolution; the absence of that ability has hindered many other media players, analysts said.
A standout feature of the new Archos media players is the introduction of the DVR station. It is a separate dock that houses the players’ video recording capacity and a collection of audiovisual input, output and data ports. Mr. Smith said that moving the recording function to the accessory (which costs $100, or $80 when purchased with a player) allowed the players to be smaller and less expensive, yet have larger screens.
The docking station can schedule recording from most sources, including televisions, cable and satellite set-top boxes, DVD players and videocassette recorders, Mr. Smith said. The station can also play content on television at DVD quality and in 5.1 surround sound. Later this fall, Mr. Smith said, the 604 will come in a Wi-Fi version ($450) that can receive content wirelessly.
