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General
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Do I have to buy Archos' USB2.0 or Firewire adapter or can I use a
std cable?
- You must buy Archos' adapter. It connects to their proprietary module
port.
What are the batteries like?
- Archos' Claim: 5 hours of video, 8 hours of audio
- 7 hours tested by this
review.
- They are Li-Ion rechargeable batteries.
Any chance of using off-the-shelf AAs (or any std size)?
What is the Screen like?
- Small but good quality
- Has backlight - backlight must be on to see anything on the screen
Does it come up as a standard HD in Windows (or whatever OS), or do
we have to use proprietary software?
How solid is the unit's construction? How much abuse can this thing
take?
Does it work as advertised?
That file formats does the JBMM support?
- JPG
- BMP - 4bit, 8bit, and 24bit all work, but this
one 24bit image doesn't work.
- AVI - mpeg4-simple-profile video and MP3 audio only
- MP3 - all bitrates, CBR and VBR
- M3U - Playlists
- WAV
What image viewing options are there?
- Zoom (one level)
- Pan
- Rotate by 90deg left or Right (with image squashing)
- 4-up (4 on screen at the same time)
- Slide show via playlists
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The Package
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What was in the package?
- Headphones (same cheap ones that come with the recorder)
- A cable to connect to a TV
- A usb 1.x cable
- photo express software
- driver disc with musicmatch software
- a gray carrying case just like the blue one that comes with the recorder
- an instruction manual.
What software came with it?
- MusicMatch
- Photo Express
- VirtualDub
Does it come with a case?
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Video
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What DivX formats does it support?
- Mpeg3 Simple Profile at up to 352x288x30fps.
- Full Archos quote: "The Jukebox Multimedia can play AVI audio/video
files that comply with MPEG4 Simple Profile; the maximum display resolution
supported is CIF, i.e. 352 x 288 pixels @ 30 frames/sec. There
exists various compression schemes used in AVI files on PC’s, such
as Microsoft Windows Media™, Divx™, XVID™…, which
more or less comply with the MPEG4 standard. In order to be played
on the Jukebox, these files need be converted into regular MPEG4 Simple
Profile. You may use VirtualDub™, a well-known GNU freeware video
translator to this end. A front end to VirtualDub, called MP4SP, is
provided on the CD supplied with the Jukebox to facilitate the task
of entering suitable translation parameters into VirtualDub."
Is the video out fixed at PAL or NTSC, or is it switchable?
Can it play Lower-or-Higher-resolution Video files?
- Lower res Yes.
- Higher res: No. (promised to change with September Firmware release.)
Are there any video adjustments?
- LCD Brightness
- Video position
Does it support MPEG or any OTHER formats?
How is the video?
- Basically about VHS quality - as claimed.
- There is some doubt about its ability to do full 30fps.
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Audio
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What audio-adjustments are available?
- Volume
- Bass
- Treble
- Loudness
- Balance
- Bass Boost
- No equalizer, EQ settings (Hall, Studio, Jazz, etc...) or any other
sound SFX
Is there a start-resume feature?
Can it play WAV files?
Can it play WMA files?
Access time for songs - is it noticeable, especially in random play?
- Once a playlist is playing, it is (almost) gapless between songs.
Is the internal Mic Mono or Stereo?
What is the MP3 playback quality for: Headphone/Analog Line Out and
Digital Out?
- Excellent Analog
- Digital out works flawlessly
What is the MP3 recording quality for: Built in Mic, Analog Line In
and Digital In?
- Mic: Can clearly hear the HD, but other than that, pretty good.
- Analog: Compression OK, Noise-Level: .2% (what in DB I don't know)
- Digital: Broken in Firmware 1.1.3
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User Interface / Operating System
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What is the Playlist/PlayOrder support - Audio and Video?
- Can mix audio, pictures and video in playlists
- Can add files or directories (And all subdirs) anytime while browsing
by pressing and holding Play.
- Play options:
- One Directory: In this mode the JBMM plays all songs in current
folder. Does this include sub directories?
- All Tracks: In this mode the JBMM plays all tracks in all folders
of hard disk.
- Single: In this mode the JBMM plays one track only and stop.
- Queue: In this mode the JBMM allows the user to choose next song
(or Queue) to play while listening to current song.
- Scan: plays first 5 seconds of each song in current folder."
- Repeat options:
- Normal: Stops at the end of the current track, folder or whole
hard disk, depending on the Play Mode selected.
- Repeat: Repeats in the same order, the current track, or all the
tracks in current folder or whole hard disk, depending on Play Mode.
- Reshuffle: Repeats in a different order, the current track, or
all the tracks in current folder or whole hard disk, depending on
Play Mode.
What kind of File (Move/Rename/Delete) abilities does it have?
- Create Dir
- Rename/Remove Dir/File
- Remove All Files (presumable in current dir)
- Cannot do during mp3 playback.
- Move and Copy ARE NOT SUPPORTED w/o a computer
What information is displayed during MP3 playback?
- ID3: Artist+Album+Song or ParentDir+CurrentDir+Filename
- bit rate
- frequency
What can you do, what can't you do, during MP3 playback?
- Can browse folders while listening.
- Can't view images.
Can you set the ID3 tags for recording MP3s?
Does it have a lock to prevent accidental button pushing?
- Yes, as of 1.1.4. Press and hold F1 to lock or unlock.
Can you change the font size?
Can you change UI colors?
- Yes - you can choose from 5preset schemes:
- Normal - Yellow and White
- Terminal - Greens (Matrix colors)
- Ocean - Blues
- Black and White
- Weird - random colors
Can you create CUSTOM Color Schemes?
Can File management be done while looking at images on the LCD and
TV-screen?
What version of ID3 tag support?
How FAST is the UI?
- Ok / Terrible. Ok when it doesn't need the harddrive to get info,
but when you press a button and it needs to read the hardrive there
is no feedback for a few seconds.
- This got better with Firmware 1.2.1 - it isn't too bad now
Can files be encrypted in case the recorder is stolen?
When you record a MP3 file, do you have to create a filename before
hand?
- FIlenames are automatically generated when you record MP3s
Does if have a clock?
Is there a maximum number of files per directory?
- 4999max files in a playlist
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Photo Module
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Does the Photo Module come with BOTH Modules?
- Yes, both: compact flash and smart media modules
Is it possible to delete everything on a card through the photo module?
Is it possible to copy the contents of a playlist, folder, single
files or even selections of files TO the media in the photo module?
What viewing options does it have?
- 1 or 4 Picts on screen - auto sized
- Pan and Zoom
Does it work with the Microdrive?
- Yes, but if the MicroDrive has too many files (>500ish) it won't
work.
Will a SD->CF adapter work?
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Camera Module (awaiting its release)
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What is the still-capture resolution?
What is the video resolution?
Can I see some pictures/videos taken with the Camera?
How good is the Zoom?
- 2xdigital zoom, on still photos and video
How good is the Camera's mic?
- Uses JBMM's internal microphone, which faces the person holding the
camera, not what is being videoed.
How good is the Camera's flash?
- There is no flash - the camera will not be able to cope with low light
conditions. There are settings, though, to take account of different
sorts of internal lighting, so you should be able to take pictures inside.
Not yet tested.
Will you get hard disc noise recorded on the soundtrack when you're
videoing something?
- Uses JBMM's internal microphone - so, yes.
- More importantly the Mic faces away from the Camera so it records
you instead of what you are videoing
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Video Module (awaiting its release)
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- Does it have an IR remote?
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Hard Drive Upgrades
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What Hard Drive comes in the JBMM?
- Early models: Hitachi DK23CA-20
- Some come with: Hitachi DK23DA-20
- Later models: Fujitsu MHR2020AT
Does Archos Support Hard Drive Upgrades?
- No. You have to do it yourself and it will void the warranty.
What kinds of hard drives can I use?
- 9.5mm laptop harddrives
- Toshiba has announced a 9.5mm 60gb laptop drive
- IBM 40 gb travelstar worked very well in a AJBR 20
How do I upgrade the Hard Drive?
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Video (AVI, MOV, DVD) (re)Encoding
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See my VirtualDub Tutorial
What software can I use for video re-encoding?
- VirtualDub is the main software
for converting from all AVIs to Divx AVIs. It works well, though it
is complicated for the novice.
- Divx 5 For all the programs here,
you need the Divx 5 codec.
What software can I use for encoding DVDs for my JBMM?
- cladDVD
to get the VOB files off a DVD (what I use)
- FlaskMPEG
to convert VOB files to AVI (what I use)
- XMPEG 4.5
a variant of FlaskMPEG. Faster, but lacking support for multiple VOB
files.
- DVDx
should do the whole thing (untested by me)
- EasyDivx another all-in-one
solution (seemed slow, but easy and functional)
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Howtos
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What Are the Requirements for JBMM Video?
- Video must be encoded with Mpeg4, simple profile.
- Audio must be encoded with MP3 - you might have Audio Sync problems
if you encode in VBR or higher than 160k CBR..
- Max Resolution: Width: 352 Height: 288
- Width MUST be multiple of 4
- Height MUST be multiple of 2
- (Width * Height) MUST be multiple of 16
How do I connect Digital IN and OUT?
- Connect the included AV cable to the LINE-IN jack.
- Connect the Yellow (video) cable on the other end to your digital
source or destination. (yes it is IN and OUT)
- Digital-Out is always on (except maybe when you are recording digital)
- Digital-In needs to be selected from the input options.
- Beware: Do not connect the AV cable to the JBMM's line-out and
the yellow connector to a digital destination (probably source, too).
This can make your JBMM never boot again!
When I try to record from a Digital Source it says "Copy Protected".
Is there any way around this?
- Yes! (I can't believe archos put in Digital-In support and disabled
it in software)
- Anyway!
- Goto the record screen.
- Set your input to digital
- Set the title to HFSCMSOFF.
- When you press enter it should say SCMS disabled.
- That's it. Now you can change the title to whatever you want.
- You can use HFSCMSON to turn SCMS back on... if you want.
My Screen is Misaligned. How do I fix it?
How do I upgrade the Hard Drive?
How Can I See The Color Bars?
- With your JBMM Off.
- Press and hold Left and Right (or Up and Down).
- Press and hold ON while still holding Left and Right.
- Color Bars!
- Press and hold Off to turn the unit back off.
How Can I Reset the JBMM w/o Removing the Battery?
- Press ON and OFF together - I can't get this to work with 1.1.4
How Can I Extend My Battery Life? (posted by tranzcoder <tranzcoder@yahoo.com>)
- This has work for me and for others to increase battery life on the
JBMM.
- Charge your unit overnight, play the unit until dead. Start up unit
and play a vid until it turns off, repeat this until the unit will not
do anything (batteries completely discharged).
- Repeat the above procedure 3 times, you should notice a battery life
increase. I get better than 4 hours of video play back and 7 of 8 hours
of mp3 playback.
- Archos is aware of battery life issues and is working to improve the
firmware in the area.
DVD Ripping:
Using a Non-Archos AC/Car Adapter
- Don't use an an adapter that puts out more than 5.25v!
- Make sure your TIP is positive!
I use a 4.5 volt, 2amp car adapter - works great! It powers my JBMM just
fine and it actually charged it, too. I did some research online trying
to find out what was safe to try. Here is the skinny: Most (digital/solid-state)
electronics are rated to run +/- 5% of their specified voltage. For us,
that means 4.75v to 5.25v. I also ran across a post talking about using
4.5v vs 6v for a 5v minidisc player. It suggested: trying a lesser voltage
is okay - it might not work but it shouldn't damage anything. Trying a
higher voltage could be dangerous. Well, I took out my multimeter and
checked my adapter - it said my voltage was 4.67. That is pretty close
to 4.75, so I decided to give it a try. I have another adapter for my
minidisc player that says it is 4.5 volts but the multimeter shows it
runs at 5v. It even fits my JBMM (it is a little large, but the JBMM plug
is forgiving) - positive tip, too. However, it is only 1 amp, so I decided
not to use it.
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Rumors 3/14/2003
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What Rumored Hardware Expansions are in the works?
- a wired remote & FM module
- an infrared remote with the DVR module
- AV120/AV140 (the JBM20 with a faster processor)
- AV320/AV340 (the JBM120/140 with a big screen)
- 3.0 mega pixel camera for the AV3x0s
What Rumored Firmware updates are in the works?
- Full DivX support WILL not be possible no the JBM20
- ID3 based browsing is expected at some point
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