Archos Gmini402 20 GB Camcorder and Multimedia Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this unit to use mainly as a camcorder. I've been looking for one that has a good size hard drive and this one meets that criteria with 20gb. The unit is very small and lightweight. The color is nice and attractive. But it seems that that design is driven by being snazzy rather than functional. While the LCD is located in the center of the unit, the lens on the other side is placed off to the left. It's hard to keep from blocking the lens while recording. I hope this problem will go away once I get used to holding it with my right hand only. The lens is covered by a cheap built-in piece of plastic which I think will suffer a lot of scratches over time. The buttons could have been bigger. There's no place to hook up a strap. I'd like to use one when I'm recording because with its size it's very likely to fall out of your hands.

The video quality is acceptable. Under the VGA setting, the pictures are sharper, but appear to be kind of grainy. It seems especially important to concentrate on holding the camera steady while shooting. Otherwise, the video looks a bit jumpy. Some of the buttons are not particularly intuitive. For example, there is no obvious "pause" button.

The drawstring pouch included in the package is thin with no padding, and doesn't provide protection for the camcorder. I got one from somewhere else and use the pouch for the cables.

The manual is not thorough. Some of the options and even some of the hardware aren't mentioned or explained. There's one adapter that plugs in the top of the unit with line-in on the one side and AV out on the other. It doesn't have any problem plugging into the TV to play the content, but doesn't record TV; I can only guess it's for recording audio.There's hardly any mention of this either. Also I still don't know what kind of rechargeable battery is used in this unit. It wasn't said anywhere in the manual. It just says the battery is designed to last for the life of the camcorder (whatever that means).

As a multi-media player it doesn't have a built-in speaker, which is a major omission.

If your computer has Windows XP, you can plug it in using the provided USB cable. Copying the the clips to the computer is basically drag-and-drop. I don't know with other computers, but with mine, if the file is lager than 500mb it doesn't let you transfer it to the computer; it says the file is too big. When I change the setting in the camcorder for it to be recognized asa removable hard drive, the transfer works fine. Maybe I need to update the firmware. On the Archos website, there's a couple of new updates, but I can't access them because I have to update to version 1.2 before I can use them. Version 1.2 was nowhere to be found. I haven't tried calling tech support yet. They do have the 800 number listed on the website.

Overall, I'd say the Archos 402 camcorder has a lot of room for improvement, but is nevertheless worthwhile in that you can record and store a large amount of video in very small package.

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Product Description:
Take your favorite music and video with you wherever you roam with the Archos Gmini 402 Pocket Camcorder and Multimedia Player, and capture personal videos and photos with the integrated video camcorder. It features an internal 20 GB hard drive--which stores up to 80 hours of video, 200,000 still photos, and up to 10,000 songs--2.2-inch TFT LCD screen, and a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides up to 10 hours of battery life when listening to music, 4 hours when watching video, or 2 hours when recording video. Ultra-slim and sleekly designed, the Gmini 402 measures just 0.7 inches thick and 4.1 inches wide and it weighs just 6.65 ounces. It's compatible with a wide variety of digital audio, image, and video files, including protected Windows Media content downloaded from multiple PlaysForSure online music services and stores.
Record your personal videos in MPEG 4 format directly to your Gmini 402 Camcorder. Five different modes of resolution are available to suit your needs. In low mode, you may capture up to 50 hours of your personal videos and 13 hours of your personal videos and 13 hours in high resolution (VGA). The Gmini 402 Camcorder also features a digital zoom 2x. With DSC function, your Gmini 402 Camcorder can be used as a still camera, allowing you to take photos with maximum resolution of 1.2 mega pixels.
The Gmini 402 offers audio compatibility with MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV files and still image compatibility with JPEG and BMP files. For video files, the Gmini 402 can play MPEG-4 SP files with B-Frames (compatible with DivX and XviD 4.0 or higher) and stereo sound. You'll get near DVD quality, with up to 720 x 480 pixels at 30 fps (frames per second) in the NTSC format (U.S. video standard), or 720 x 576 pixels at 25 fps in the PAL format. In addition to watching video from the player's LCD, you can also connect the Gmini 402 to a TV with standard RCA A/V output. It also has a standard mini headphone jack. Record from any standard audio source with high-quality stereo sound via the stereo analog line-in connection or record voice or live music with the built-in microphone. Files will be saved on the Gmini 402 in WAV format.
The Gmini 402 Camcorder has a USB Host Port that lets you to copy, share, connect and transfer files directly from other powered mass storage devices such as digital cameras, card readers, USB keys, and powered portable hard drives. Play back directly any compatible contents on the external hard drive connected to your Gmini 402 Camcorder (no data transfer needed). The Gmini 402 Camcorder also features a high-speed USB 2.0 interface to connect your device to your PC or Mac and easily transfer contents.
Transfer photos directly from your digital camera or from another mass storage device using the built-in USB host connection, or from a computer using the high-speed USB 2.0 interface. Store up to up to 200,000 photos. Organize photos in easy thumbnail or slideshow views, and view them on the Gmini 402 Camcorder screen or any external display.
The 2.2-inch TFT LCD screen has a 220 x 176-pixel resolution with 262,000 colors. It connects to Windows-based PCs and Macs via super-fast USB 2.0 (which is also backwards compatible with USB 1.1)
What's in the Box
Gmini 402 Camcorder and Multimedia Player, earphones, USB cable, USB Host adaptor, AC power charger, Quick Start Guide (full user guide in Gmini 402 Hard Drive), protective pouch