Surfs, streams, downloads and records most anything and transmits it to most any TV or PC

By Jeffrey Jolson

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/4/07 — With the cornucopia of new entertainment from both Internet and TV, there hasn’t been a killer device that can capture everything from any source and play it back on any screen. Now Archos is bowing the next gen of portable DVR/video players that are WiFi-connected computers in their own right and store and send content to other computers or TVs.

The Archos 705WiFi, with up to 160GBs, is way beyond the video iPods that have been getting so much attention, and unlike those, don’t beep at you when you pass a Starbucks and the chance to buy pricey content. Instead you can tap your own cable or satellite programming that you are paying for anyways, plus any free or paid downloaded movies, music, etc. on the Internet.

The 7-inch screen 705 was introduced at the Digital Hollywood meet, and it amounted to the device that made all the content choices outlined for consumers during the convention easy to record and manageable, like TiVos did for the home. The unit surfs, streams, downloads and records everything the Internet or TV can serve up and plays them back on its own screen, the big screen in the living room or hotel, or a computer.

The fifth generation machines feature touch screens and can stream content from a PC to TV — very important for the content revolution wherein copy-protection will allow most downloaded movies and TV shows to exist only on a computer, not on a disk.

With its docking station, it acts as a regular DVR, recording or streaming or playing back shows on a TV. Unlike a TV DVR, it will also stream and view Internet fare.

Archos COO of North America Larry Smith said the 750Wifi units would join their Generation 5 line at stores this month for the holidays. He noted the 160GB unit could hold 200 movies as well as thousands of songs, photos or flash videos like those from YouTube.