THIS, THIS, THIS.

My Wife's Archos 504 died 5months in use. The problem, the circuit board used in the hard drive based versions was not compatible with the flash memory that was used in my wife's model.

Archos response: Sorry, you are out of warranty and that will be 170.00 US to replace the board that we f"ed up on in design.

They make cool, open devices. (i.e. no Itunes or Zune to interface with) But their quality suxs a$$.

Looks like the tagging is still the same; i.e. you can't add artwork to the video files.

I think that MS is really going after Apple in the whole Software to Hardware intergration. Like there is an Itunes to Apple TV to Ipod, I think that they maybe try to do a Zune Market / XBOX / Zune Player.

If the videos are 1080p in Zune Market? I wonder if they will sync to the new Zune HD or transcode down to 720P for ZuneHD playback?

(Or the ZuneHD can really play 1080P; the new tegra chips can do 1080p)

My wife's 605 4GB wifi died after 6 months of use. Was told that it would be 170.00 to fix. (No Thanks)

I'll wait and see what the new ZuneHD or new Ipod Touch has in store to replace her's.

/still loving my PSP2000 as a PMP!

Neil,

If this player is really DivX HD 1080p, then it can play MKV. But, its DivX' flavored MKV. (H.264 with AAC audio)

Now, if it can play DivX HD off a BD-R or DVD-R I would buy. Trying to stream HD is not that great.

To me, this only helps if you want to watch your blu-ray movie in your car AND you don't have the same movie on a different, cheaper format. Many people in the market do not know how nor have the PC gear to make a Blu-Ray to DVD / mobile format.

Many of the studios are releasing Blu-Ray with DVD and/or Digital Copy editions. It would be much cheaper to buy an in-dash unit with DVD playback with an ipod / video-in feature.

Everytime MS execs get in a meeting room, they need to ask themselves:

"What would Apple do"

1. They need to integrate Zune Market and XBOX Live to subscribe, rent and buy Media. (Much like Apple)

2. Better integrate the software / hardware such as ZUNE Media to ZUNE Player to XBOX 360. (Much Like Apple)

3. Allow Zunes on MACS. (Much Like Apple)

Till then it will be a "Swing and a Miss"

/not a Apple FAN BOY
//Love my XBOX360

You are thinking logically to provide a business service for both consumers and advertisers alike. Media Content companies can't. And they wonder why people turn to torrents or turn off all together.

What does Block Buster's in-Store Blu-Ray selection like? Given this rate increase and the amout of time to get a Blu-Ray disk in the mail, it maybe time to switch. I can always swing by 2 of them on the way home. If they have the BD, great! If not, I'll try tomorrow or maybe settle on the DVD.

Could be fun!