Portable Splash

As Apple refuses to tip its hand about the possibility of a so-called "true" video iPod with a larger, 16:9 screen, Archos has been filling in the gap with its ever-expanding line of portable digital video players. Although it hasn't been officially announced, the Archos 604 ($350, specs on CNET), part of what the company is calling its "Generation 4" devices, will be available shortly.

The main draw here is the great-looking screen. I've been testing the Archos 604 for a few days now, and can safely say that Archos's claims about the quality of the 604's screen are justified. Colors were clear, sharp, and deep, and the 4.3-inch (diagonally) screen was large enough to afford decent viewing of short format shows.

But the 604 suffers in the area of video compatibility. I transferred a random selection of 22 video files acquired from BitTorrent, and only one of them, an MPEG-4 AVI with an MP3 soundtrack, played on the device.

Out of the box, only WMV 9 and MPEG-4 files are supported by the 604, although you can add support for MPEG-2 and H.264 using $10 plug-ins from Archos that aren't yet available. I think Archos should have included a conversion utility that would have converted (or at least attempted to convert) a wide range of video formats into something the device can play. Instead, the manual advises you to use a soon-to-be-outdated version of Windows Media Player, or to find your own conversion software.

The other way to get video onto the 604 is to record it from your television, but the required accessory ($100) for that is not included. (Archos told me a camcorder attachment could be in the works as well.)

For the consummate early adopter, the Archos 604 offers a good way to import video onto YouTube or BitTorrent, share downloaded clips in the offline world, and watch video on the go (assuming anyone actually does that). It also has some DVR functionality, if you get the video recording accessory; its high-quality video output and rudimentary scheduling features make it a somewhat clumsy replacement for a TiVo.

But the lack of a simple conversion utility hampers the usefulness of this PVP (portable video player) for the one market segment that will truly embrace it: parents who spend a lot of time in the car with their kids. As things stand, those looking to fill every last minute of their child's non-academic day with video entertainment of some kind will have to look for something easier to use.
The gearhounds that Archos is trying to target with these things tend to listen to music players while on the go, and I don't think they're looking for a heavier device that can also play video. A laptop can do everything the 604 can do and more, and most early adopters have one by now.

To me, it doesn't really matter how good the 604 is, because I don't see any clear need for portable video, especially on an unconnected device. I could be wrong... portable video enthusiasts, feel free to add a comment explaining what you like about these devices. I'm want to believe!