Archos AV420: Accessories

Being one of the most expensive 20GB units around, the AV420 doesn't come without any useful accessories. In fact, almost everything revolves around one specific accessory: the docking station. This half-spherical apparatus will distribute all necessary in and output signals through its' extensive wirings. Those same cables are one of the dock's main disadvantages: they are non-detachable, rendering the docking station almost completely static. This wouldn't be much of a problem as long as Archos had supplied some separate A/V-cables. In its current package, the Archos AV420 requires the docking station for any input or output purposes. The whole concept behind the docking station is based on not having to drag it along all day. It gets a nice place on top of one's TV set or in some nearby cupboard. We don't want to be bothered with detaching all those cables every time we want to take the AV420 along to some friends. In a way, the optional mobile A/V-kit should have been fit into the accessory set.

Luckily enough, the rest of the docking station works like a gem. The wires are long and sturdy enough, they come with detachable scart-adapters (so you've got a choice between regular composite or scart) and there's even a s-video jack, should we be required to use that. Furthermore, the basic build quality and looks of the cradle are good and it's got a slightly adjustable post for the unit to fit into. Another downside would be the combined A/V & recharge plug the dock is depending on. It uses a very short cable plus it's a rather strange type off jack altogether. Don't think you can simply plug in a standard video cable into the AV420 - it requires that particular A/V & recharge plug to produce useful output on external displays. There, we're once more bound to using the dock on most occasions. Anyway, it's pretty easy to install and use the cradle. Find a nice place for it and order that mobile A/V-kit or some separate Archos-compliant cables.


Well, let's see what else is inside of that nice little box (a see-through sealed window shows the potential customers what the main unit looks like, while the accessories are nicely gathered into separate compartments). Ah good: a leather pouch for safe-keeping. If there's one unit in my collection I don't want to ruin, it would have to be the AV420. First of all it's very expensive equipment; secondly it has this humongous screen that seems quite vulnerable to sloppy treatment and finally, it's just a sign of the company's goodwill to supply as many useful accessories as possible. Unfortunately, the puch isn't very useful. It's a top-sliding CEO-agenda-like object, which doesn't even have a window for the TFT-screen. In fact, 90% of the entire unit will be rendered useless when this unit is cased. The I/O-jacks are still accessible but that's pretty much it. One cannot use the Compact Flash slot, the controller or even the huge screen. As well-protecting as this case might be, it's of little use for busy users.

Of course, the bundled earphones fail to impress anyone of us - although it's nice that they do come with a separate (analog) volume controller. Just use a set of your own; the AV420 deserves some decent cans. Archos realized their device could use some reference manuals, so they supplied three different booklets for us to read. There's one for the TV-cradle, a pretty elaborate one for the unit it self and a quick setup fold-out. All of these manuals are easy to understand and filled with useful information. The more impatient or experienced folks will probably ignore all of this, but for the entry-level buyer, the manuals will prove their use soon enough.

Then there's the remote control. Wow, how cool is that: a full-sized operating device used to control an electrical device from a distance. And yes: we're very likely to use this thing pretty often. Archos' AV420 will be used by both dynamical youngsters and couch potatoes, and for the latter category, the remote control is indispensable. Although the button layout is far from consistent (when looking at the unit's own navigational section) and you will find yourself searching for buttons repeatedly, all is forgotten once you lay comfortably on your couch, fully-armed with the power of infra-red in your hand. Some TV sets seem to be less-responsive to the clicker, and that's why Archos has also put an additional IR-receiver in AV420's package.


Finally, there are the scart-adapters (output is nicely labeled "out"), power adapter with iPod-like detachable pin-block (so we can use it in Europe, America and so on) and a very short USB2.0 cable. The latter accessory, by the way, refused to work at the reviewer's place. Another $0.32 wasted- oh cruel world. While we're at it: the power adapter can be connected directly to the unit itself or to the docking station.

Altogether, it's fairly obvious that Archos did its best to cram in a lot of style and class into the accessory compartment. Unmistakably, the presence of a fully functional cradle, remote control and a very protective case strengthens this impression. However, the implementation of it all lacks on several points. The pouch is downright useless for using the AV420 on-the-go. Then there's that matter of the cradle - it should either have come with detachable cables *or* some spare wires should have been included. If we want to use the AV420 for viewing all three LOTR movies on our rich friend's big-ass plasma screen, we shouldn't be bothered with having to detach all cables from our own TV-set. Apart from that, and some minor details like the bundled set of earphones or the weird button layout on the remote control, the whole accessory set reflects Archos' very professional approach towards A/V-entertainment.

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