I just got my Archos AV340 and couldnt be happier. It really is like the Swiss army knife of Mp3 gadgets. It is so easy to use as a portable drive and to record both audio and video from any source that Im sometimes amazed that its that easy. I use it to record my live concert DVDs to hear and see at work deskside. The sound quality is absolutely amazing and it maintains that concert sound that I love so much. The image quality from the capture is also very good especially if youre viewing from the AV340. My plan is to capture all my favorite music videos and concerts on to it and then play them as playlists or random to have my very own custom MTV style channel while on the go. My channel will actually play videos though!!

Now all my Ipod friends are jealious and want to trade theirs in for Archos AVs! Ipods look nice but this product is a solid and powerful piece of hardware that just does so much more.

First, the good stuff. The quality of the video is great! Solid colors will show some artifacts, but nothing too horrible. Dont expect DVD quality here, but its quite reasonable for the type of device and amount of compression being done.

The included recording device works great. A little tricky to figure out the interface for recording, but once I did, had no problems recording off my TV.

Sound quality of MP3s is fine. Nothing to write home about, but okay. Theres a decent playlist feature and the usual play modes. I tend to get lost in the menus though.

So, some negatives. Ill try to include stuff other people havent mentioned. A big one for me is that you cant bookmark a video! That means if you dont finish watching it, you have to remember where you were and forward to get to that spot! Absolutely horrendous. Even my little Palm device can bookmark a video. At least the new upgrade has fast forward feature that will get there quickly.

I also find battery life to be much worse than reported. My first one was so bad, I returned it thinking the battery was bad. The new one is just as bad, I get maybe 1-1/2 hour of video playback. Not even enough to watch most movies. Even most DVD players (known battery hogs) are better than this. MP3 playing is certainly better, with the screen off, but I definitely dont get anywhere near 10 hours (or even the 8 that some report). Worse, the new model has a button that does not seem to work well, I have to press extra hard to activate its functions. So theres a good chance this one will go back as well. Just wish there was a reasonably decent alternative!

The music functions are pretty inadequate. It doesnt seem to sort my records in proper track order (alphabetical instead), which is really frustrating, not sure if there is a setting for this, but any decent MP3 player should do it by default. As mentioned before, the menuing is really counter intuitive at times and I often find myself unable to find the playback screen to forward to the next song. No quick mute feature that I could find either.

Overall, its main plus is that there just arent many great PVPs out yet. It wouldnt take much to improve this one, but right now, its a tough sell for me.

The AV340 is to the older Archos models as a kitchen knife is to a Swiss Army Knife. Sitting on mine right now are several hundred jazz recordings, hundreds of family photos, some family videos, the extended dvd versions of both Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, the complete stage works of Samuel Beckett (3 dvds)...well, get the picture? And yes, the video recorder does over-ride any copy protection, both vhs and DVD. The user interface is quite simple, though as with previous Archos models it does take several clicks to get to specific items much like a PC. But this is essentially a PC, so manuevering through screens seems quite natural. Loading tons of recordings onto the hd is painless, simply drag and drop. The hd shows up in XP just like any other drive.

I also purchased the camera attachment which is, again, quite simple to use. It snaps onto the side of the base unit and shows up immediately on the interface screen. The still and video quality is quite good with the proper lighting. Commercial videos copied to the hd look perfect on the small screen. Blowing up to a large screen is not the way to go. When viewed on my Toshiba 50+ inch screen the picture quality greatly diminished. Still photos looked okay, but you wouldnt want to watch a film that way. But why do this anyway?

The unit itself is a bit bulkier than the previous versions of the already bulky Jukebox series. This baby will not fit in your shirt pocket. I was rather disappointed that Archos did not include a carrying case, though curiously the camera attachment did come with a case for the whole shebang. I use the case from my Jukebox, which works quite well with the AV340.

Be sure to purchase a PDA screen protector. The unit itself is very solid but offers no protection for the screen. A case and protector are a must.

Archos reverts back to their previous ways by attaching the interface connector cover with a piece of string. Come on guys, for this price couldnt you spare a metal clip?

Last, a previous review states that the batteries are not replaceable. According to Archos they are not. However, there is an online company that sells replacements and instructions on how to do this. I have not purchased one, but it looks quite simple, and would certainly extend movie viewing time.

So what you get here is an MP3, WAV, and WMA player and recorder, a vcr (with a built in timer), a great clear screen, an excellent user interface, and a 40GB hd for about $100-$150 more than an iPOD. Throw in about another $175 (got mine for $150)and you add a video camera and a 3.3 pixel digital still camera. Oh, and it will work on any tv in the world and over-rides dvd region codes. Just like my Swiss Army Knife, the Archos AV340 is big and bulky, but I wouldnt be without it.

AUDIO: My biggest problem with previous models from Archos (as well as most competing products) was that they needed pre-amplified mics to make live recordings since the only audio input was line-in. Also live recordings in previous models tended to pick up hard-disk noise when using the internal mic, and some hum while using the line-in input. This model finally adds support for non-amplified mics. The audio input jack doubles as line-in and mic-in. Live recording is now very clean with no hard-disk noise, even when using the internal mic. I recently recorded a live concert with fantastic results. This model adds official support for playing WMA files. UPDATED: The latest OS update (free on their website) adds support for playing AND recording in WAV format (in addition to the MP3 format), which took care of the only major complaint I had with this model. You now have a full blown DAT recorder in your pocket! This update also allows you to do some basic audio and video editing on the unit itself. Way to go Archos!!

VIDEO: Video looks very good indeed on the large 3.8" LCD screen. May not exactly be DVD-quality as they claim, but its darn close! The included DVR module allows you to record MP4 video on the fly or you can convert videos to MP4 on your PC and transfer them to the unit. You can also use an optional camera accessory (AVCam 300) to capture live MP4 video to the hard-disk, in effect converting the jukebox to a VHS-quality camcorder.

PHOTOS: Pictures look great! The unit supports both JPEG (non-progrssive) and BMP. You can use the optional memory card readers to upload directly into the jukebox bypassing your PC, or you can download pictures from your PC. Or use the optional camera accessory (AVCam 300) to take live photos to the hard-disk at a 3.3 Megapixel resolution.

DRAWBACKS: The main problem is that battery life is less than 4 hours when watching videos. And since the battery is a proprietary non-removable Li-Ion battery, you cant just pop out the old battery and put in a new one. Of course, if you (like me) use it mostly for music, then the battery life is a healthy 8-9 hours especially if you allow the LCD to stay off (it goes off automatically after a few seconds). Also for the hefty price tag, Archos should have included the optional wired remote that adds FM Radio support. The lack of an included carrying case is puzzling especially since the cheaper Archos models all came with cases. Go out and buy a case right away to protect that huge LCD screen. A final (minor) complaint is the increased size as compared to the older models and the much smaller iPod. In an effort to save some money Archos uses standard 2.5" notebook drives instead of the 1.8" hard disks used in the Apple iPods. However the upside to this is that if you fill up the hard-disk, upgrading to 60 or even 80GB using a standard notebook hard disk is not too difficult or expensive. There are many sites online that give you detailed instructions on how to do this. Of course, opening the jukebox will void your Archos warranty ..

VERDICT: Overall, the ease of use, the features, as well as the quality is miles ahead of any other competing product as well as older Archos models. Despite the minor drawbacks, Archos has done an outstanding job. This jukebox is well worth the hefty price tag, especially considering the new 40GB Apple iPod costs just a litle less than this and plays MP3 files only with no recording ability whatsoever.

I returned my item because I thought I could get used to the weight and shape of the thing. Because of its odd shape, it doesnt really look very well installed in my dash.

I will have to wait when they revised the shape to be more like the Lyra.