IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 2003--The ARCHOS handheld product line takes a major leap forward today with the announcement of the much anticipated Video AV300 Series Video Recorder / Player. Now available in all major retail outlets throughout North America, the ARCHOS Video AV300 is the industry's first true personal video player that can record and play back movies with stereo MP3 audio. ARCHOS, a world renowned innovator for handheld and mobile devices, has successfully raised the competitive bar in consumer electronics by establishing a new category in mobile media devices.

Sporting the industry's only high-resolution 3.8-inch color LCD screen, the Video AV300 series offers the most enjoyable video play back experience in any portable device. But the real power behind the Video AV300 is in its ease to record video from any video source. On the go enthusiasts are able to record their favorite video content direct from any video source, TV, or VCR. They can also quickly download and save large volumes of MPEG-4 video files acquired legally through the Internet. Once the video is saved to the Video AV300, users can play back the video either on the built-in color display or on any TV or PC in near-DVD-quality.

"At home people have TVs, stereos, DVD players and PCs for personal entertainment. Now consumers want to watch the latest release of a movie, a favorite TV show, or a music video while killing time, or additionally listen to MP3 music in the car or share videos and photos with friends, all while on the go," said Henri Crohas, President and Founder, ARCHOS. "People also want to record music from their stereos or video from a TV, but they do not want to have to go through a PC. ARCHOS has created the perfect solution with the Video AV300 series -- a single personal device that does it all."

With the capacity to hold up to 80 hours(1) of video with MP3 audio, the AV300 video recorder / player becomes a 'live' cinema player. Recording from the analog signal and playback in VHS resolution, the AV300 series allows for comfortable viewing of full-length movies, entire seasons of TV shows, complete collections of music videos, or simply a young producer's own personal home videos.

Cinema to Go -- Bringing Digital Media to Life

The Video AV300's out-of-box experience empowers mobile youths, young adults and gadget gurus to take all of their entertainment anywhere and everywhere they go.

Packing a powerful combination into a single consumer device, users are capable of recording, playing or storing a mix of up to 80 hours of near-DVD-quality video, 400,000 digital photos, 2,000 hours of MP3 music, 4,000 hours of voice recordings via the built-in microphone, and/or 40 gigabytes of data.

• Movies and more -- It's never been so easy to watch movies on the go. Record and store up to 50 full-length movies (80 hours of video), TV shows, music videos and more in MPEG-4 format from any video source such as a TV using the Video AV300's Digital Video Recorder (records from the analog signal) or just drag and drop video files direct from a PC or Mac onto the hard disk, and then play them anywhere via the built-in color display, or just as easily through any TV or PC in near-DVD quality.
• Music -- More than just a player, the Video AV300 becomes a road warrior DJ when not adding music to videos. Record songs direct from any audio source, such as a home stereo, into MP3 audio tracks with stereo sound. The Stereo Microphone provides added artistic capabilities to record singing to favorite songs. MusicMatch software is also bundled to convert entire personal CD collections into MP3 format.

Enhancing the Experience

ARCHOS has designed the Video AV300 in a modular approach to provide add-ons for enhancing the overall cinema experience. Available accessories include a 3.3 megapixel digital camcorder and camera with zoom lens, FM radio with remote control, and a selection of memory input card readers for importing photos directly into the Video AV300.

• Video -- Allow the movie producer inside you to come out. Video buffs can produce home movies and video clips with the optional AVCam 300, which combines a 3.3 megapixel zoom lens camera with an MPEG-4 camcorder which makes the VideosAV300 a perfect on-the-go mobile companion.
• Photos -- Show up to 400,000 digital photos to family and friends. Build your photo wallet collection with instant transfer of photos from any digital camera using optional Memory Card Readers (available for Compact Flash, SmartMedia, MultimediaCard and Memory Stick) or use the AVCam 300 still camera mode to take pictures with the Video AV 300.
• FM Radio & Remote -- Control the Video AV300 with a miniature remote or listen to the FM radio. Add the optional FM tuner and recorder to the Video AV300 to listen to favorite radio stations or to record favorite songs in MP3 format direct from the FM tuner. With a patented retro-record buffering system, always record entire songs even if the record button is pressed after a song has started.
• Data -- Back up and transport PC data anywhere, anytime. Use the high-speed USB 2.0 interface (or optional FireWire connection) to quickly transfer data, video, music or photo files to and from any desktop or notebook computer equipped with a high-speed connection.

A Configuration and Price for Everyone

The Video AV300's innovative modular design allows consumers to pick their price and feature needs. The 'out of box' experience comes fully ready for recording and playing video, music and voice, and transferring and storing data files. The Digital Video Recorder module, a USB 2.0 cable, AC adapter, batteries, stereo headphones, MusicMatch software and user's manual are included.

The ARCHOS Video AV320 (20 gigabytes) and Video AV340 (40 gigabytes) comes bundled with the Digital Video Recorder module and are currently available at leading retailers and Archos.com for suggested retail prices of $ 569.95 and $ 629.95, respectively. Optional accessories will be available at www.archos.com with the following suggested retail prices: AVCam 300 $199.95, FM Tuner $ 29.95; and Memory Card Readers, Compact Flash $ 29.95, Memory Stick & MultimediaCard-in-one $ 29.95, and SmartMedia $ 29.95.

Source: Yahoo.com