Originally created 11/19/2004

My AV300 Battery Life Sucks. What can I do?

Below I have tests that tell you what you should expect from your battery life. If you are getting only 50% to 80% of those numbers and have had your unit for a long time, you may need a replacement battery. If your battery life is much lower (say <40%), here's a trick that may solve your problems:

Likely your battery is not making a solid connection with its contacts. I recently had my batter life drop down to 30-60minutes after dropping it on the ground. By opening my unit, bending the battery contacts back in place, I was able to restore my unit to full, normal battery life! Here's what you do:

1. Go through Glenn's Hard Drive Upgrade Guide up the point where you've removed your hard-drive
2. Note where the battery contacts are - if you need to, re-insert the battery to see. The bottom of the battery (the side you insert) is where it makes the electrical contacts with the circuit board. Are you contacts bent out of whack? Mine were clearly bent back from vertical.
3. Bend the contacts to they are straight and parallel with each other. Optional: If you can figure out some way to brace those contacts (they have no support), you can avoid this problem in the future. I couldn't think of anything (contact me if you have a good idea!).
4. Re-assemble your unit as noted in Glenn's guide.

Where can I get a replacement battery for my AV300?

There are a few places now that will sell you a replacement battery for your AV300. Unfortunately you still can't get them directly from Archos. Check out these links:

• NewMP3Technology - Read my review of their replacement batteries!
• Laptops for Less - PDA internal battery for Archos AV320 series PN: 102511 - Archos Video AV320 Battery Installation Guide
• Datamind.co.uk - Internal Battery Li-Ion 4.2V 2800mAh Silver

How many hours of VIDEO can the AV300 play on one charge?

• The quick answer:
  • about 3h30m with LCD at full brightness (=2)
  • 4h45m to 5h45m with LCD at lowest brightness (=0)
• The detailed answer - a list of actual tests on 3 different AV300s. LCD brightness=2:
  • 3h30m (AV300#1) (All timeouts=Default, DSP Freq=Std)
  • (AV300#2)
    • Looping 1 vid:
    • (640x304@30fps 1200v+192a kbps, 1h17m, 675megs
  • 3h43m (AV300#5)
    • Looping short videos (approx 900v+160a kbps)
• The detailed answer - a list of actual tests on 3 different AV300s. LCD brightness=0:
  • 4h45m (AV300#1) (All timeouts=Lowest, DSP Freq=Std)
    • Looping 4 vids:
    • (352x240@30fps, 1318v+192a kbps, 2m16s, 25,264k)
    • (352x240@30fps, 1257v+192a kbps, 2m29s, 28,308k)
    • (560x304@31fps, 1504v+128a kbps, 1m02s, 12,440k)
    • (640x288@24fps, 1503v+160a kbps, 1m19s, 16,044k)
  • 4h58m (AV300#3) (All timeouts=shortest, DSP Freq=Std)
  • 5h20m (AV300#3) (All timeouts=shortest, DSP Freq=Std)
    • Looping 4 vids:
    • 10, 15, 20, and 35 minutes long
    • One was only 375kbps vid/128kbps aud, the rest were higher but not more than 1000kbps vid
    • Two were 320x240, Two were 352x224
  • 5h45m (AV300#1) (All timeouts=shortest, DSP Freq=Std)
    • Looping 1 vid:
    • (352x240@24fps 616v+128a kbps, 42m29s, 192megs)

How many hours of AUDIO can the AV300 play on one charge?

• The quick answer:
  • 8h30m to 9h30m
• The detailed answer - a list of actual tests:
  • 8h30m (AV300#1) (LCD=0,All timeouts=shortest, DSPFreq=std, avg bitrate=128kbps)
    • This wasn't a "clean" charge
  • 9h02m(AV300#4) (LCD=0,All timeouts=shortest, DSPFeq=std, CBR=192kbps)
  • 9h15m (AV300#1) (LCD=2, DSPFeq=std, left the LCD on constantly for the first 20 minutes - oops)
  • 9h19m (AV300#1) (LCD=0,All timeouts=shortest, DSPFreq=std, avg bitrate=200kbps)
  • 9h34m(AV300#5)

How many hours of VIDEO can the AV300 Record on one charge?

• Only one test so far:
  • 3h42m (AV300#3) (LCD=0, All timeouts-shortest, DSPFreq=MaxOverclock)
    • On for 4h5m total (3h42m actually recorded)
    • Source: VCR, NTSC. Two movies at 5:3 ratio, 3rd at 4:3
    • Quality: 1000kbps
    • FPS: High

How many hours of VIDEO can the AV300 play connected to a TV on one charge?

• Only one test so far:
  • 6h27m (AV300#5)
    • Looping short videos (approx 900v+160a kbps

How many hours of Audio can the AV300 record on one charge?

• The quick answer:
  • about 6 hours
• The detailed answer - a list of actual tests recording from internal mic with lowest MP3 quality.
  • 6h35m (AV300#1) (All timeouts=Default, DSP Freq=Std, LCD=2)
  • 5h51m (AV300#1) (All timeouts=Default, DSP Freq=Std, LCD=2)

How many Photos can I take with the Cam300 on one charge?

• Only one test so far:
  • 164 (AV300#1 12/18/2003 - 6 month old battery)
    • All in one day, turned unit on and off many times, zoomed in and out lots, left on for long periods between shots. All pictures where highest res/quality

How do I achieve maximum battery life?

First you need to start with a "clean" charge:

1. Drain the battery all the way (run video in a loop with the LCD at max brightness does this quickest)
2. Charge it for 5+ hours w/o unplugging it.
3. It will charge faster if you don't use it while it is charging.

This seems to give a good charge. Now to make sure you get the maximum time out of your "clean" charge:

• Use DSP Frequency:
• Use LCD Brightness = 0 (lowest)
• Set all time-outs to the shortest possible.
• Try not to turn the AV300 on and off too much.
• Minimize the amount of time you spend browsing so you maximize the amount of time playing or recording.
• Leave file renaming, moving, copying, and deleting until later when you have battery to spare.

Depending on what you are doing there are further ways to improve battery life:

• Listening to MP3s:
  • Try to not turn on the LCD too often - you'll get the longest playtime if you just let it play
• Watching Video:
  • Encode your videos at 320x240 resolution and at lower video bitrates (500-750kbps).
  • Try not to FF/RW too much.
  • Try not to start videos too often - just start them and let them play.
  • Watching a few, longer videos will get you more playtime than many short videos.

This article was originally posted on Shane Brinkman-Davis' Archos Website.