General Archos MultiMedia 20, AV120 and AV140 Notes and Review

This range of MP3 players has been superceded by players such as the Archos AV700 and the Archos AV500 Pocket Video Recorder.

Archos have been making small Hard Drive and other storage and peripheral devices for years. They have taken the technologies behind some of the smallest hard drives (used in laptop computers) and applied them to portable personal Music and Video to make the Archos Jukebox range.

The first time you see the MMJB's colour LCD you may expect to see the words "Don't Panic" emblazoned across the face, á-la Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The words are not there. Don't worry, there is still no cause for panic.

This Multimedia Jukebox range is a technological Quantum Leap, in concept and in fact. Portable storage; creation, and enjoyment of Music; Video and Digital Pictures depending on which modules you add to the base unit.

What is different about this Jukebox range? They can play music, like the other Jukeboxes can. They can also record audio from digital and analogue sources, like some of the other Jukeboxes can. The thing that is most unusual about this Jukebox range is that it's geared up for video as well as audio.

Here are the main things that you can do with them:

1. Vast storage space: 20GB or 40GB available
2. The ability to play and record MP3s
3. The ability to play back videos, either on the LCD viewer, or through a cable to a TV, just like a video player - no extra module required. The base units can do this!
4. The ability to make digital videos just like a camcorder, using the camera module.
5. The ability to take digital photographs, using the camera module.
6. The ability to transfer all of the images and sounds that the Multimedia Jukebox can either make or store to and from a computer.
7. The ability to record about 40 hours of 'live' video off your TV, or other video source - with DVR 020/ 100 modules.
8. Fit in your pocket. They are heavy, but small.

Even WITHOUT the optional accessory Modules (all of which enhance the unit's video/ imaging capabilities) this Jukebox range is capable of storing and displaying video.

This is a pockets sized Music and Video Jukebox. Watch your movies on the LCD or on a TV through the included adapter cable. What kind of movies? Your own home made movies that you can make with your Jukebox + the Camera Module; recordings off your TV, internet download movies, whatever.

Video

There are 2 ways in which you can make video recordings for your Multi media Jukebox:. The first method is to capture (record) the video to your computer. You need to have some kind of Video Capture capability on your computer to do this. If you have a video capture card you can plug your TV, or your VCR into your computer and save the films as files in a similar way to the way that sound files are made (i.e. digitised and compressed).

Once the video is captured you can edit it and compress it for use on your Video Jukebox.

The alternative is to record video directly to your Jukebox. For this you need a module. The type of module is different for the original (MMJB20) multimedia and the other multimedia jukeboxes.

DVR 100 / DVR 020

The other modules are good value and practical, but the ones that really make the big difference between what could have been a novelty gadget for the start of the 21st century and 'the real deal in portable audio and video jukebox' are the DVR modules. A separate one is available for both MMJB20 (DVR 020 and the 100 series+ ).

A survey in the 1990s asked American consumers what they considered their favourite piece of consumer electronics was. Most people expected the answer to be CD player. Some people were adamant that the correct answer was TV, even after the results were published. The survey result was VCR

The DVR modules turn your MMJB or AV100 series jukebox into a portable 'VCR' with 40+ hours recording space (as minimum). Record your friends' cable channels, record your relatives' DVDs, record anything that you would record if you had a pocket portable VCR.

Of course without the DVR to record you can still use the MMJB20 and AV100 series to play-back video, but being able to record, playback and it fits in to your pocket ... that's just obscene.

MMJB20

Transferring Video or Music to and from the original Multimedia Jukebox can be a slow process as the MMJB20 comes with USB 1.1 as standard. You can upgrade the MMJB20's connection to USB 2.0 with this kit, which we recommend.

AV120/ AV140

USB 2.0 as standard on these.

These Jukeboxes can record direct from a video source using the DVR100, but sometimes it's still nice to capture the video via your Computer first using a capture device. It's a lot easier to manipulate the files using your PC e.g. edit out the adverts! Do whatever processing you want on your PC and just keep the polished and refined end product on your Jukebox.

All Archos Video Jukeboxes

Once you have captured the video from a source (e.g. your favourite Video) you need to encode it in a way that this range understands. That's MPEG 4, from www.divx.com. Editing and converting video files can take a while, but once it's done you can carry the video with you everywhere. In your pocket.

If you want to watch that video with your friends the easiest way is by hooking the Video Jukebox up to a TV using the connectors that come with every Jukebox. The LCD screen on the front of the MMJB range is OK for one person viewing with their face as parallel to the LCD as possible (i.e. flat in front; not necessarily close-to).

Video output quality on TV screens is comparable to normal VHS quality - without the occasional edge-snow and ghosting that you can get from analogue. These analogue problems have been replaced by occasional mild pixelisation, aliasing and other digital quirks (see below for more).

All Archos Jukeboxes can be used by computers as external drives to carry normal data files. The video jukebox range can be used to store, keep and display your digital pictures too. If you have the camera module you can take digital photographs. If you have one of the card reader modules you can take pictures with a normal digital camera and transfer your photos onto the Jukebox - then you can re-use that card if you like. Very handy for holidays. Even if you have a laptop the chances are that you don't bring it with you everywhere.

The Multi-standard Adapter is not an accessory for the Archos Multimedia Jukebox because they have managed to build Multi-standard Adaptability into the range. The jukebox's AC-in (power in) can take 110 - 240 Volts. All you need is an adapter to plug into the wall and it should work in most countries. Most countries that have a fairly consistent electricity supply at least.

Boot-up time for the base unit is just over 5 seconds. This is a marked improvement on earlier model Jukeboxes (the older Creative DAP models took about 35 seconds).

It sounds too good to be true. Well the Multimedia Jukebox Range is not perfect.

Potential problems include:

Why was this Jukebox originally made with the slower USB 1.1 connection? It seems out of place with all the modern gadgetry involved with the MMJB20. The incredible truth is that the MMJB20 was made for market and released way back in 2001. People were adjudged to not be ready for it - it was a product ahead of its time, if you like. Anyway, it was originally put together when USB 1.1 was the standard, which is why the original MMJB20 still comes with USB1.1. Ironically a user will probably need the USB 2.0 connection more on this type of Jukebox than Archos' standard Jukebox range.

Unless you're travelling with a small child, where having the same film to watch over and over again is a blessing, then you're going to swap the large video-file contents on and off the MMJB quite a bit. Regular file transfer is a feature of digital photography as well. For this a USB 2.0 style connection would be much faster than the standard 1.1. You can upgrade the original MultiMedia Jukebox to USB 2.0 with the Archos USB 2.0 kit.

Is it worth upgrading to USB 2.0? Well it's a lot faster than USB 1.1. It would be down to the user's own preference though. The AV120 and AV140 do not need this upgrade as they come with USB2.0 as standard.

The best part about having a Jukebox that can store hundreds of hours of music is that you can take all the music with you wherever you go. You cannot take hundreds of hours of Video with you though - the Range's capacity limits us to about 40ish hours for the 20GB models. That's still the length of about 22 feature films though. 80ish hours for the AV140.

We would guess that 'normal use' individuals would (on a 20GB model) perhaps have a mix of about 100 hours of their favourite music, clips from videos, family holidays etc. a couple of feature film length items and some leftover space.

Other potential problem areas include video synchronisation. This is not a problem that we have experienced with the Audio Video Jukebox range, but it is a problem known to surface from time to time with digital video playback. The sound track and images of digital movies occasionally step out of sync. This is an intermittent problem that occasionally effects digital movies decompressed with either hardware or software.

On a standard film, for example, the movie images and the sound associated with those images are physically stored in the same place, side by side. The same is not always true of digital video and that can make things step-out sometimes.

The Jukebox Multimedia will only support 352 x 288 pixel maximum screen size. Any video you convert for viewing must be less than or equal to this size. Video output on a TV screen is comparable to VHS.

The quality of still photographs that can be taken with the Camera Module is not very high, at least not compared to expensive Digital Cameras. The image quality is OK for the 21st Century equivalent of Polaroids (the real difference being you don't have to spend 10 for a film of 10 shots). Funnily enough this doesn't seem to detract from the overall quality of the Video recordings using the same Camera Module. Once again it's not exactly high-end stuff, but definitely serviceable.

Using any of the modules (you cannot use more than one at the same time) prevents you using the Jukebox as a Jukebox player until you are finished. e.g. you cannot listen to your fav playlist while shooting a video with the camera module.

Here is some very important information that is not really focused on in other reviews:

If you want to use the Video component (!?) you need to get the DIVX codec - it does not come with the jukebox. There are currently 3 versions of the software available:

Free, with lots missing. Not particularly useful as the bulk of all features are disabled. In fact it's frustrating to use after a while because you are so limited in what you can do.

Free pro: it is full featured, but it also comes with 'Adware' - or spy/ scumware, depending on your perspective. Not recommended for anyone who does not want their every internet move tracked and Everest-sized mountains of junk e-mail. We could not in all conscience recommend a product loaded with Adware to anyone.

Not free, (cost at time of writing about $35) but full featured and minus the pesky Adware. This is the one that will give people the most freedom and least hassle.

Just to reinforce a slightly incongruous bit of information: this codec is vital to the use of the Jukebox, but it does not come with the jukebox. You have to download it yourself independently.

More and more online movies are being released in DivX MPEG4, but at the time of writing most movies that you can find online are generally MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 (they have the file extensions .mpg or .mpeg). This Jukebox cannot play them as they are - you need to convert them first to .avi and then to MPEG4 DivX. If you are thinking about buying an Archos video Jukebox or would like more information about DivX then go to www.divx.com.

Another potential problem is the crazy naming convention that Archos originally dreamed-up. They have now relented and the Photo Module has been renamed the Card Reader Module and the Camera Module remains as is.

Battery News:

For all the Archos AV range we recommend batteries are only used for music play back. All the other features and activities require a lot of power, so you could easily find yourself disappointed if you depend on batteries alone for filming or video recording.

The Range

Overall we would have to say that the good features win through for this range. The Archos Video Jukebox is exciting, fun, useful, flexible; practical. All the joy of a portable personal music jukebox, with built-in video capabilities as a bonus.

It has some other great features too: the ability to restart exactly where you left off, for example. If you have to stop watching or listening to something on the Jukebox then finding exactly where you were could prove difficult, particularly during a feature length film or an audio book or the like. With this range of Archos Audio/Video Jukebox you can press pause and then press off. The Jukebox will switch off as normal, but when you restart it will be ready to go from the same place you left.

This range is the future of multimedia and it is available, right here, right now.