This box of tricks created quite a stir on the internet when early specs and photos were released.

The initial interest was partly fuelled by its ability to decode mpeg-4 video, with many people speculating that this could make it an ideal standalone player for DivX files - a popular compression format for swapping movie files on the internet.

Unfortunately that's not really the case, but more on this later.

So what exactly does the product do? Essentially, Archos has taken a 20GB portable hard disk MP3 player and pushed it to extremes. Like its competitors, the Archos can play back MP3 files, but it does much more than this.

The key to its extra functionality is the built-in 1.5in 320 x 240 colour LCD screen. This display can be used to show still pictures stored on the hard drive as well as to play movies recorded in mpeg-4 format.

You can also connect the device to your TV to watch the videos or view a slideshow of stored images. On top of all this it can act as a real-time MP3 encoder.

There's a built-in microphone so you can use the device much like a dictaphone, or alternatively just connect it to an external source, such as a CD player, to record music.

As if all this wasn't enough Archos has also equipped the Jukebox with an expansion connector. This can be used to connect either Compact Flash (CF) or Smart Media readers, a 1.3megapixel camera module or a video expansion unit that allows you to record mpeg-4 video from a composite input such as a DVD player.

Rather strangely, although the Jukebox can connect to a PC via either high-speed USB2 or Firewire, Archos has only included a cable for normal USB 1.1 connectivity in the box.

The company says there will be special proprietary cables available in the future that will connect to the expansion port and allow the unit to interface with a PC via either USB2 or Firewire.

Archos reckons the USB2 version will cost around £15 and the Firewire version around £25.

The device is quite easy to use although a quick scan of the manual is needed to initially get your bearings. The menus are navigated using the four directional buttons on the front of the unit, and there are three soft keys beneath the screen for additional control.

The quality of the MP3 playback is good but not the best we've heard. Along with the usual treble and bass controls there are also loudness and bass boost settings for adding a bit of extra oomph to the sound, but there's no stereo expansion effects such as those you'll find on Creative's DAP products.

You can also change the pitch of a song while it's playing but this is done simply by changing the speed of playback rather than using time stretching.

When it comes to video, the jukebox will only play back files that have been encoded at a maximum resolution of 352 x 288 using 30 frames per second (fps) and with an MP3 soundtrack. Anything else just won't be played at all.

That means it won't play the vast majority of DivX files. In fact you'd be lucky to find one it would play.

However, Archos does include the freeware Virtual Dub software for converting wrongly formatted avi files into the mpeg-4 format that the jukebox can handle.

This can take an extremely long time, though - many hours for a full-length movie. But when the files are encoded to the correct format the actual playback is extremely good and, even though the screen is small, the video still looks impressive.

Our jukebox came with the Smart Media and CF reader modules. These connected to the expansion connector at the bottom of the unit. Once you've connected them and inserted media you can browse the files and quickly copy them to the hard drive to free up expensive memory media.

This, and the ability to quickly run through a slideshow of shots already taken, is useful if you're a keen photographer.

SPECS

DETAILS
Price: £349.99 for the photo module package (£297.86 ex VAT)

Contact: Archos 01793 441 510
www.archos.com