Neuros launches standalone MPEG-4 recorder
By Marc Perton 
posted February 3rd 2005 1:56PM
posted February 3rd 2005 1:56PM
Neuros has announced a standalone MPEG-4 recorder that can be used to rip video from a TV,
cable box, DVD player or other sources without using a PC. While this sounds like a great way to get video into your
portable media player, the unit lacks a hard drive or the requisite USB or FireWire ports to connect one, relying
instead on SD and CF card slots for storage (it does have a USB port to connect to a PC, so maybe there's a
hack-in-waiting to hook up a hard drive). That could make it a real hassle to record anything longer than a sitcom, and
makes the recorder a lot more expensive than its $129 street price unless you have a lot of high-capacity cards lying
around.
[Thanks, a.sintic]
$129, WTF?!?! Its a basically a 2 card reader and some encoding stuff with a remote. That price is about twice as much as the max I'd pay. I love Neuros, but that is ridiculous.
Well the "encoding stuff" is expensive. Creating MPEG4 files takes a lot of horsepower. Just look at the prices of video capture cards (very few of which do MPEG4).
Future versions of the device can include storage, but the assumption is that folks either already own these or would want to purchase them separately since there's such a range to choose from and the prices are so volitile. We have talked about selling microdrive CF cards on the site, but of course they are readily available elsewhere.
We certainly could do a CF adapter that provides USB host functionality or IDE connectivity if that's what folks want. That would be easy enough.
The anticipated usage was really to encode an hour or two of video at a time and transfer it to the PC or PDA for viewing or archiving. For example, you've already got a TiVo box and you want to copy to the Sopranos to an SD card to watch on the train on your way to work. Or you want to convert some home video to MPEG4 to store on the PC.
in our research and conversations, that's what folks suggested they wanted it for. Obviously adding storage is not a tough technical challenge, but for those that don't want it, it's going to be a redundant expense.
Please chime in if you haven't already
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=24761734372
I think it's a great idea for Archos Gmini 400 users. They've got a built in CF slot, but no way to record video like their big brother (Av400).
-kd
I'd say an expansion bay for user-installed hard-drive would be a great option, but as it stands I think the product and the price are good.
Karl: isn't it possible that with a CF-to-CF cable you actually could record directly to the Gmini400? That'd be cool.
the mustek pvr-a1 does pretty much the same thing
(except output) for about the same price and has
a built-in screen. it also has timer record from
source.
It has a USB 2.0 port maybe it can dump directly to a pc.
This device might save me a lot of frustration: my digital camera shoots quicktime movies and converting formats can be a headache. With this box I could use the analog rca connectors from the camera and just convert it real time.
While there may be other gadgets that do the same thing, can you match the price?! $129 for realtime hardware mpeg4 encoding is a dream. USB HD support would be great, but I'd just as soon get a mega CF card...
You can pick one of these up at www.woot.com, right now. 4-6 weeks before release.
What about wireless connectivity ala S2 TiVo where users can add a wireless adapter if desired, map the Neuros as another drive, and transfer files? That would be sweet. I think that adding a HDD to the item is the wrong way to go, unless perhaps just offering USB external HD hookup.
so basically this unit comes with red yellow white rca jacks and u hook that into the tv and it has a record button....so if it put on like...Seinfeld and hit record it will fit abt a half hour show onto the CF card then i can put the CF card in my card reader to the pc? but will my pc support mpeg 4...i have xp and windows media player, dont know if that helps.after i create a file can i put it on dvd...or put stuff from my pc on the card then watch on tv?,,,,how do i know if my mpegs are mpeg4 and if i have a video downloaded know...like i have a music video downloaded and i wanna put it on the card can i do that...i ma htinking of getting one but hoping everyone can pitch in a bit and maybe tell me specifics of what i can and cant do..thanks all...
I think that the ability to set the recorder to start at X time would be the BEST single feature to be added. TVs can be set to turn to a channel at X time, but if you want to record something while your not there (and don't have TiVo), you're out of luck.
I got my Neuros from Woot! the other day, and have been absolutely thrilled with its performance. While having to buy a card would have been a hassle had I not already had an SD card, it also adds great flexibility to the unit. A bit more of my review is posted at http://senorpez.com/archives/2005/02/17/98
I'm also really interested to see what will happen with the firmware. Other Neuros products have established that they're committed to improving and expanding their devices' capabilities, and I'm sure this will be no exception!
Also, if anyone missed the Woot! deal, I've got two up on eBay if you're interested. You can see them at http://tinyurl.com/5ka2o
I got one of these gadgets - I guess I like it. The only thing I've done so far is hook it up and record a piece of the news and played it back. It would be cool if it had a bar at the bottom so you could scan through it faster or skip to a certain place. I tried playing a computer video that I took with my digital camera but it didn't find the file so it wasn't compatible. I think I will need to learn as much as possible about mpeg4 format. Also, it saves it as an ASF format, is that the same? I have so many questions and nobody to ask...
Too bad it can't give tv-quality video. I would love to take shows off my PVR, put them onto a Neuros, then onto the PC, maybe edit the video, then burn them to DVD and watch them on TV with full tv-quality picture. Alas, Neuros will only produce quality good enough for a tiny, low-res screen or a small Windows Media window. Sigh.