Archos Brings Wireless DVR and Gaming to the Living Room
January 7th, 2008 by Jeffrey L. Wilson
Archos is known for its killer wireless portable media players, but the company’s looking to bring some of that magic to the living room with Archos TV+, the first Wi-Fi DVR that doubles as a recording box and wireless receiver.
Available with 80GB ($249) and 250GB ($349) hard drives, the Archos TV+ lets users stream audio (MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC with plug-in), video (MPEG-4, WMV, H.264 with plug-in), and photos (JPG, BMP, PNG) from their notebooks to their televisions using their home Wi-Fi networks. In addition, multimedia mavens can wirelessly download content from CinemaNow via the Archos Content Portal, and record up to 700 hours of TV (in 640 x 480-pixel resolution) using the built-in TV Program Guide. Hooking up any of Archos’ Generation 3, 4, or 5 PMPs will let users transfer a two-hour movie in under two minutes when using a USB 2.0 connection. Archos includes a QWERY-styled remote (which you can check out after the jump) and the Opera web browser.
On the topic of Opera, Archos announced the availability of Opera Widgets, which brings seven mini-applications (including a weather forecaster, news reader, and unit converter) to Generation 5 players. In an unexpected swing, Archos is bringing Playin’ TV Games (which requires the Flash plug-in) to the Archos TV+, Archos 605 Wi-Fi, and Archos 705 Wi-Fi. Game packs, featuring titles such as Golf Practice, 3 Pointer Basketball, and Poker: Texas No Limit, will cost $9.99.We’re looking to get all hands-on with these hot products, so check back for more deets as they become available.
