The great advantage of the 404 (or 504/604) with the bullet cam is that you don't have to re-encode the video for web use or to drop it onto the PC. Even with the firewire option on a DV camcorder, you will still have to drop your footage into the PC in real time for editing. The Archos players simply connect with USB2.0 and you drag the file across.
As a
dedicated camcorder, there are better than the *04 range, that's not it's main purpose: they are media players, and really, the best on the market. The bullet cam is a really high quality add-on though, and really extends the use of the player.
From the POV of a family gadget - well, firstly, you can throw away the wee DVD player for the car. A 30GB player will store 85 full length movies. You can also (with a wee FM transmitter) use it as a jukebox for the car (~15000 songs). You can even (with the travel dock) use it as a portable storage device for holiday snaps (300000 photos, you can download your stills cam into it) I've not even gone into the DVR station you can buy, to let you record from any video source (digibox, DVD player, anything with a composite output or a scart)
There's a lot of stuff you can do with the Archos kit - best thing is that they now have a user interface that lets you do everything you want, without giving you brain-ache. Great products
