Doghouse's Rover TV portable recorder/player

Doghouse Electronics have joined the PMP fray with the Rover TV, a portable media player and recorder that keeps things small by eschewing the more common hard drive-based storage in favor of smaller (in more ways than one) SD cards. The Rover's available in two models that are virtually identical except for the screen: the $299 "Big Screen" model packs a 3.5-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 320 x 240, while the $349 Rover TV Wide Screen has a 4-inch TFT with a 480 x 272 resolution. Both models will let you record directly from a television or any other video source (encoded to MPEG-4) and support TiVoToGo for viewing TiVo-recorded content. Naturally, you can also use it as an MP3/WMA player, as well as a radio thanks to the built-in FM tuner (which you can also record from). Doghouse was also considerate enough to include not one but two SD cards with the device (a 1GB and a 2GB), which should give you about 11 hours of video recording time all together.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

[sling blade @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:50PM]

looks like an ipod-next gen lookalike...very sexy loooking

[Nukes and Candy @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:41PM]

I've never been a fan of there porta-stare-at-me-devices. People dont stop and fantasise on how there arms will become miserable holding this device a foot infront of your face for long hours. I mean, shure you can put it on you lap, but then you'll have you neck twiching for the next couple of weeks. Make ya' look like an epileptic.

Alexander Wunderlich
.

[ninja @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:49PM]

This is how the real ipod video could look :p

[iEnigma @ Jun 22nd 2006 8:09PM]

Shopper.com shows a 4 gig SD card for around $80. Get a couple of those and you've got yourself a great way to watch TV on the go without having to get iTunes' DRM-ed videos. Plus, the RATED battery life is at 6 hours. If the quality of the build and the video playback don't suck, I may just have to pick one up with my Zen Vision:M.

[navamske @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:04PM]

That's pretty cool, but on their site they have images of the SD cards that come with the device -- and they don't look right. The proportions seem wrong for an SD card. That worries me.

[cuby @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:50PM]

holy cow man this little hottie just came right out of nowhere. and it comes with 3 gigs? that's plenty. i am totally having a portable mediagasm.

i'm fantasizing about my morning commute watching daily show, colbert report, then some mst3k and boom i'm at work with a big old grin on my sleazy face. perfecto, order me up wunna dem dee-vices, boys...

[harrison @ Jun 23rd 2006 1:07AM]

wait. how do you record tv onto it. it says it doesnt come with anything except like earbuds and charger and stuff.

[Rick @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:17PM]

The best single purchases I made last year were my XBOX (running XBMC) and my Creative Zen Portable Media Center. This device sounds great, if the price is right. I use my Zen PMC every day, sometimes at lunch during breaks and sometimes at home in bed when my partner is asleep. This is a great idea, yet not really new.

Key to me is how long its battery lasts. My Zen PMC lasts forever...6+ hours.

[Dan @ Jun 23rd 2006 4:53PM]

You don't record off the TV itself. You'd have to plug into the source. The TV has nothing to do with recording.

[Andrew H @ Jun 24th 2006 8:13PM]

Uh, Guys, i think (from the way it's put on the accessories page) that the Rover TV Big Screen comes with a 1Gig card and the Rover TV Wide Screen comes with a 2 gig card......

--Andrew

[Matt @ Jun 25th 2006 9:46AM]

No both come with ONE 1gig card and ONE 2gig card. That's $150 worth of SD memory chips included. I am looking forward to this thing.

[roverTv insider @ Jun 25th 2006 11:32AM]

You just plug RoverTv directly into your own TV with the AV cables included . Record straight from TV. No fees or subscriptions. Just like plugging in a dvd recorder, vcr,,,etc.... RoverTv converts the TV to mp4 and you're good to go with your programs on board.
Cards included: big sreen and wide screen are both equipped with one 1gig and one 2 gig SD cards. Also, you have the option of downloading via PC...RoverTv is windows and MAC compatible...

[angie @ Dec 28th 2006 6:08PM]

once you record a show off of your tv, can it then be connected to another tv and playback on the tv? i need to know this before i purchase one. can anyone answer that for me? thanks

[Javier Tadefa @ Jun 26th 2006 2:50PM]

You can always find out more information by doing a search on http://girgle.com

[S.McArdle @ Jun 27th 2006 12:21AM]

isn't this the exact same things as...
http://www.long-horn.com/eng/lh_product/new.asp?ModuleNo=240101

?

St3.

[Shahid @ Jun 28th 2006 1:44PM]

Does anyone have this yet? How is the screen quality?

One thing I am not yet clear on: will it play avi files, such as those encoded in divx or xvid?

[hyperactive @ Jul 15th 2006 12:04PM]

I think this is bogus. I ordered one over a month ago and never got my order. I emailed them atleast 5 times and no one over emailed me back, there is no phone number to call. Poor customer service.

Unhappy Shopper

[Doug Hitchcock @ Sep 18th 2006 9:47PM]

To "unhappy shopper",
I too ordered a RoverTV and begged them to expidite the unit. It did come and I love it; much better than a video IPod viewing experience. hang in there; they're swamped with orders according to the woman on the phone.

I've been asking for some technical support and also know they're busy from that end as well

[Wendy @ Nov 21st 2006 8:52AM]

Can you view photos like an album on the rover tv?

[dl @ Jan 24th 2009 11:14AM]

yes you can. its really cool because it comes with an rca cord and you can record from anything with rca jacks and usb- sweet

[E C @ Mar 13th 2009 11:43PM]

Where can I find a replacement A/V cable for the RoverTV. I can't find mine and am haveing a hard time replacing it.