Archos PMA400 video player debuts at CES'05

Colin Dunstan · 01-08-2005, 07:49 AM

As I promised you earlier, the fabled Archos Pocket Media Assistant PMA400 (official website, English manual) had its first debut at CES yesterday afternoon. It will be available at the end of January for $799; some accessories are already available now.

The complete specs:

Capacity: 30GB
Interfaces: High-speed USB 2.0, compatible USB 1.1, PC & Mac USB Host port compatible Mass Storage Device Built-in WiFi connection (802.11b technology) IRDA 115 kb/s port.
Operating system: Linux Qtopia™ with embedded ARCHOS multimedia applications.
Video playback: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 or ADPCM stereo sound, near SVCD quality up to 704x480 @ 30 f/s (MTSC), 720x576 @ 25 f/s (PAL), AVI file format.
Video recording: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 stereo sound, near SVCD quality (optimised resolution for standard TV through composite video line-in) with up to 512x384 @ 30 f/s, in AVI format.
Music playback: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kb/s CBR & VBR, WMA (including Microsoft® PD DRM protected files), WAV.
Music recording: From any analog source into MP3 or WAV (PCM) format. Voice recording with built-in microphone.
Photo viewer: JPEG, PNG, GIF or BMP.
PIM functionalities: Qtopia™ software to manage your address book, agenda, calendar, calculator.
Games: Qtopia™ embedded games and Mophun™ game engine to play games downloadable from Archos web-site.
Display: 3.5" TFT transflective touch screen (QVGA) 320x240 pixels, 262,000 colors and TV output.
AV Connections: Earphone/Line Out jack. Built-in microphone and speaker. TV cradle to connect to TV with analog audio/video In & Out to RCA jacks, S-video In, and IR receiver for remote and IR emitter for tuner control, SCART In & Out for European version. Travel audio-video kit in option to record audio and video analog source on the move.
Battery life: Up to 4 hours for video playback or 9.5 hours for music. Removable battery available as an option.
Scalability: Download firmware updates from www.archos.com
Power source: Internal: rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries. External: AC charger/adapter.
Dimensions: Approx. 125 x 78 x 20 mm (4.9" x 3.1" x 0.8").
Weight: 280 g (9.9 oz).
System requirements: PC: Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher, Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP. 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) with USB port and CD-ROM drive. Mac: 9.2 or X (10.2.4) USB Manager version 1.2 or higher with USB port and CD-ROM drive.

TadW · 01-08-2005, 01:03 PM

There are some great in this device. Seems like the folks at Archos are getting it right. Linux, YEAH! And Wifi, too!

My only gripe is the relative small display (3.5") and the relative small resolution (320x240).

Chaos · 01-08-2005, 04:00 PM

320x240 is too small, in many people's opinions. It's bragging about playing high resolution media... What's the point with a screen that size?

And the price, oh the PRICE! 800 American for this? You can buy a pretty decent laptop for that price! Seriously... How many people need to be able to watch videos on the go? Maybe on a bus, or a subway... But a lot of people drive, and this would make it more dangerous...

And while they're smart for using Linux, they have MS DRM stuff in it, meaning you have to agree to a MS EULA... And it won't even connect to Linux. Although since it has the USB mass storage device drivers, I assume it'll be able to connect to a Linux box with ease. Just why don't they advertise that fact? It could be a selling point...

Also, anything on the screen problems other Archos devices had?

01-08-2005, 07:49 AM	#1
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	Archos PMA400 video player debuts at CES'05 As I promised you earlier, the fabled Archos Pocket Media Assistant PMA400 (official website, English manual) had its first debut at CES yesterday afternoon. It will be available at the end of January for $799; some accessories are already available now. The complete specs: Capacity: 30GB Interfaces: High-speed USB 2.0, compatible USB 1.1, PC & Mac USB Host port compatible Mass Storage Device Built-in WiFi connection (802.11b technology) IRDA 115 kb/s port. Operating system: Linux Qtopia™ with embedded ARCHOS multimedia applications. Video playback: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 or ADPCM stereo sound, near SVCD quality up to 704x480 @ 30 f/s (MTSC), 720x576 @ 25 f/s (PAL), AVI file format. Video recording: MPEG-4 SP with MP3 stereo sound, near SVCD quality (optimised resolution for standard TV through composite video line-in) with up to 512x384 @ 30 f/s, in AVI format. Music playback: Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 kb/s CBR & VBR, WMA (including Microsoft® PD DRM protected files), WAV. Music recording: From any analog source into MP3 or WAV (PCM) format. Voice recording with built-in microphone. Photo viewer: JPEG, PNG, GIF or BMP. PIM functionalities: Qtopia™ software to manage your address book, agenda, calendar, calculator. Games: Qtopia™ embedded games and Mophun™ game engine to play games downloadable from Archos web-site. Display: 3.5" TFT transflective touch screen (QVGA) 320x240 pixels, 262,000 colors and TV output. AV Connections: Earphone/Line Out jack. Built-in microphone and speaker. TV cradle to connect to TV with analog audio/video In & Out to RCA jacks, S-video In, and IR receiver for remote and IR emitter for tuner control, SCART In & Out for European version. Travel audio-video kit in option to record audio and video analog source on the move. Battery life: Up to 4 hours for video playback or 9.5 hours for music. Removable battery available as an option. Scalability: Download firmware updates from www.archos.com Power source: Internal: rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries. External: AC charger/adapter. Dimensions: Approx. 125 x 78 x 20 mm (4.9" x 3.1" x 0.8"). Weight: 280 g (9.9 oz). System requirements: PC: Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher, Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP. 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) with USB port and CD-ROM drive. Mac: 9.2 or X (10.2.4) USB Manager version 1.2 or higher with USB port and CD-ROM drive.

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01-08-2005, 01:03 PM	#2
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	There are some great in this device. Seems like the folks at Archos are getting it right. Linux, YEAH! And Wifi, too! My only gripe is the relative small display (3.5") and the relative small resolution (320x240).

01-08-2005, 04:00 PM	#3
Chaos Evangelist Posts: 418 Karma: 281 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Device: Assorted older devices	320x240 is too small, in many people's opinions. It's bragging about playing high resolution media... What's the point with a screen that size? And the price, oh the PRICE! 800 American for this? You can buy a pretty decent laptop for that price! Seriously... How many people need to be able to watch videos on the go? Maybe on a bus, or a subway... But a lot of people drive, and this would make it more dangerous... And while they're smart for using Linux, they have MS DRM stuff in it, meaning you have to agree to a MS EULA... And it won't even connect to Linux. Although since it has the USB mass storage device drivers, I assume it'll be able to connect to a Linux box with ease. Just why don't they advertise that fact? It could be a selling point... Also, anything on the screen problems other Archos devices had?