Doghouse's Rover TV portable recorder/player
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 22nd 2006 5:45PM
posted June 22nd 2006 5:45PM
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]
looks like an ipod-next gen lookalike...very sexy loooking
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
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This is how the real ipod video could look :p
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.
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.
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...
wait. how do you record tv onto it. it says it doesnt come with anything except like earbuds and charger and stuff.
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.
You don't record off the TV itself. You'd have to plug into the source. The TV has nothing to do with recording.
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
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.
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...
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
You can always find out more information by doing a search on http://girgle.com
isn't this the exact same things as...
http://www.long-horn.com/eng/lh_product/new.asp?ModuleNo=240101
?
St3.
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?
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
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.
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
Can you view photos like an album on the rover tv?
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