Neuros Technology Forums

I received my gamma 442 today and thought it would be helpful for me to post my initial thoughts of the 442.  After all, this is supposed to be a feedback dealie, right.  I'm surprised no one else has started this thread.  If it's not helpful... well too bad 'cause I'm gonna rant anyhow:

 

• Package first arrives - Gasp! Upon opening the player has shifted in transport making the box seem like it can't do it's job.  First impressions are key!  


• I really wish I had not even looked at the pitiful quick start guide that was included.  It really hurts the perceived value of the recorder!  You guys better ditch that doc quick, and I would eliminate every trace of it from your support website because it's a joke.  I'd be embarrassed to print that thing.  Enough on that...


• Now for some positive.  I was struck at the silver color of the housing.  The pictures I've seen make the 442 look more gray. I really like the color. I do wish the whole unit could be smaller (or build in an FM transmitter or other reatures to justify the pocket space. (Don't get me wrong, this thing does have features, but with the intro of these crazy small cell phones and now the Ipod nano, the 442 will look bigger and bigger with time! The 442 is quiet and I think the screen is very nice even though the UI doesn't do it justice. More on that below.  


• As for the included case, I like the design where you can get to the important functions.  I'm not quite sure though what the case does for the 442.  It doesn't protect well from the elements, I dropped it once and the corners are not well protected, either.  And I sure as hell am never gonna wear this thing on my belt!


•  I like the thought of the rubber connector cover, but I think I'm going to rip it off soon because it's always in my way.


• I'm big on first impressions.  The UI at first seems rather simple, I can tell this is where most of the work will be done in the Gamma stage (or I can hope!) Beyond the main menu the UI seems abandoned, with very little interface for audio or video playback or video recording.  I hope others agree and can expand my thought here with their own improvements.  A killer interface would go a long way to making this thing a hit with the masses.


• I absolutely hate the four way button. It's difficult in every aspect to operate.  It's very stiff and my medium sized fingers slap both an arrow button and the play/pause button at the same time.


• As I mentioned in the support forum I tried to jump the gun and convert some video to load when the 442 arrived.  The results were that not a single one of my videos worked!  I hope to have that resolved soon.  I did find a copy of Finding Neverland that would play and intially I'm impressed with the playback.  I need more time to explore this, though, as I only have the one file to play.


• I think this is a technical defect, but when I tried to record a show off TV I plugged the cable in and I didn't get video.  I pulled the plug out a bit and video flickered then came in fine.  I tried this a few times with the same result each time.  Please respond if anyone else has this issue in case it really is a bigger problem.

Well, those are some fresh thoughts just after using the 442 for a few hours.  I hope this is helpful and I'll post more random thoughts as time marches on.

P

Pete-

Thanks for the feedback. I posted answers in other threads where you will find info you might find useful (with the pseudo FJ). You actually use a keyword search (my pseudo or any keyword for that matter)to figure out if some questions or issues have already been discussed.
As for the files you converted, gasp! Uncool. But you will find a software (Ulead) on the CD to convert your files into DivX (yeah again, sorry man, but it should work out fine).

Keep the feedback coming, we are listening and will make sure we address the flaws that are reported.

Johan

Neuros

FJ

I just got mine yesterday too, and I had the same box shifting issue that pete7919 had.  The player was shifted up and to the left from the slot where it should have been positioned.  I think the pad below the player that holds it up needs to be thicker to keep it more pressed to the box top.

I also have to agree with the quick start guide.  It is not at all clear (or properly worded) on how to set up the 442.  If you're wanting this to be something that appeals to the masses, and not just the technophiles, that really needs to have some serious work done to it.

The device itself, though, is phemomenal.  I threw some AVI files in DivX and in WMV9 format, and it took most of them.  I have had some problems with audio seeming to skip on some video files, but those turned out to be problems with the files I had converted.
*EDIT* WMV9 files don't work

One thing I noticed, after finding out on the forums that WMV was not supported, was that though the files are not supported, the 442 still attempts to play them.  It shows what codec they use, and appears to try and load the file, but will never actually start playing.  I have tried files that I knew were unsupported, and they show up as unsupported.  I just thought it odd that WMV attempts to play, even though it is not currently a supported format.

I got mine yesterday, and it also had shifted in the box.  It seems fine, but since everyone is mentioning it, I can confirm it was a problem here as well.  Same thing, up and left from where it seems like it should have been.

Didn't have a problem with mine shifting, and (speaking as the tech-type here) didn't have a problem with the manual, which held about as much information as the Roomba manual did.

The only two negatives I have so far is that the on/off switch isn't as quick to respond as I'd like (this might be addressed by allowing the button to sink in a bit further when it's on.  Yes, I do see the power light, but haven't learned to trust it yet.  This is a piddly little detail, however.)  The buttons and menus, while intuitive to me may not be as intuitive to others.

I'm currently playing with mine, and I can see that it's going to get a LOT of use in the future!

I had the same shifting

first impression is a good one so far... I've only played with it about half a day

I too had the shifting.

There is a lot left to be desired with this piece.

- I had trouble with the audio staying locked in with the movie while fast forwarding. After I reached the spot that I was fast forwarding to, the audio was minutes behind.

- I think when you go into the audio folder, you should have a menu option to see the properties of the song instead of taking up the whole right side of the screen for it. I would rather see the title of the song across the screen.

- I wish there was a shuffle option as I hate to hear the songs in the same order all the time.

- I think the SD slot should have a door to prevent dust.

- I also wish that the size was a little slimmer, but its not that big of a deal.

- My headphones or jack seems a little shaky as i get static when i bump it sometimes, but that might be natual.

- The graphics on the initial startup are awesome, I love them. I just hope something is done with the rest of the screens.

- I also had a little trouble with the speed of the video (a converted MP4 via PSPVideo9)after fast forwarding. I couldnt get it to go back to normal speed. It was slower than the 2x fast forward but still very quick.

I have only played with it for about an hour and these are some things that I have noticed. I will post back with anymore things that I find that might need a look.

Heres what I've noticed after an hour or so playing with it:


* First impression was this thing is big. Any size reduction would be awesome. Even an all black unit might be nice.
* Microphone jack - a little tempermental
* Interface is a ugly, this would probably change with software/firmware upgrade. I'm looking forward to having/making custom skins.
* Long filenames get truncated. Maybe have the filename scroll across or something.
* MP3 Player is bland. No visuals, no skins, no nada. Just a barebones MP3 player. More options would be welcomed.
* Video Player needs support for subtitles. I could not select my .SSA file or anything. Automatic selection if it exists would be nice.
* Aspect ratio, some of my movies are stretched weirdly. Maybe its just the movie.
* Allow shuffle play, album art, etc etc.
* Not a big fan of the 4-way controller. Its even worst when you put it in the case.

Overall its a decent machine.

Will play with it more.

Video Player    Composite video output to TV: NTSC/PAL
Playback of MPEG4/DivX 3.11/4.0/5.0/WMV v9

The specification clearly says WMV 9 is supported.
But 442 won't play it?
It is very important for me that it plays WMV files.
I haven't received the 442 yet, should I just not accept it from Fedex and get my money back?

I too had some shifting in the box. Not a big issue in my mind.

Got mine this afternoon.  Had no problem downloading pictures or audio ( even did a transfer directly from an SD card).  The unit would NOT play songs that I downloaded off of MSN. Have not been able to get WIndows Media to recognize player as anything other than an external hdd.

Sound quality has very good.  Need to make the UI much more user friendly. Everyone covered the obvious flaws.

All of the file mangement UI needs to be improved. Needs to be much more robust in features and dummy'd down in format.

Liked the case, but it should have a zipper and they need to lose the belt clip.

I would like to have a USB cable that can charge the unit as well as tranfer files. I'm on the road too much and carrying an additional charger (or remembering to take) is a pain.

Other than those..think this baby is a winner.

Glad to be part of the gamma test team.[8D]

quote:

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Originally posted by miglo
* First impression was this thing is big. Any size reduction would be awesome. Even an all black unit might be nice.

---

Black cases are a nightmare! They show smudges, fingerprints, everything. I have a black cell phone, and cannot wait for my contract to expire so I can go back to silver on my next phone. Funny, people with black media devices complain and wish they had silver. I guess the real winner hasn't been found yet.

-mvaughn

quote:

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Originally posted by djmv(at)yahoo.com


Black cases are a nightmare! They show smudges, fingerprints, everything. I have a black cell phone, and cannot wait for my contract to expire so I can go back to silver on my next phone. Funny, people with black media devices complain and wish they had silver. I guess the real winner hasn't been found yet.

-mvaughn

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Grass is always greener syndrome :)

Well, it was seated in the center of its box when i first opened the box.  Upon lifting it up, it is nice to the touch and has a feel of quality.  It looks good despite what others have said about it's design being out of style.  The screen was bigger than i thought it would be.  The protective case provided is also good, however, there should be something to protect it from sliding out on the right.  Good usb2 interface, comp detects it like it would an external hd, complete plug and play.                                      

When viewing, you should hold it about 6inches away or else you will notice the pixels.  The colors are good.  No srt subtitle support, mabye support other formats?  One file I put on does not play, wish the thing would give me feedback on why.  There's no built in speaker so you have to use headphones.  It doesn't have a resume where you left off, but it does ff up to 16x.                                                  

As for pictures, there should be more user control.  It works like a slideshow.  one should be able to turn that option off and go at their own pace.  Loads up pics relatively fast - i tested it out with 1mb+ pics.                                                      

finally as everyone has said, the directional pad is kinda lame.  it would be nice if it was a flat surface instead of a raised box.  i hope the top rubber thing doesn't come off like the other guy's.  From what i did try, it charged pretty fast and has a simple main menu.  A lot of the stuff that i've said can be updated with firmware.  More as i test other things.

current firmware - 1.2.2, hopefully upgrading is easy  :)

Got my Neuros 442 today. Very cool little machine. Image quality on the unit is very good. Image quality on the TV from the machine is not DVD quality, but is acceptable. It took me a little bit to figure out a few things, as the one-page instruction manual didn't tell me much but the specifications.

First of all, I guess I didn't get the shipping shifting. Mine seemed okay, but the thickness of the Neuros packaging seemed think.

The following are my gripes, after playing with it for awhile (and I have NOT yet hooked it up or installed the software):

1. I can't seem to change the filenames of movies I have recorded. But I haven't hooked it up to the computer yet, so I imagine that I will be able to do it that way.

2. Bookmarks are not saved while watching movies. If I pause a movie, exit it, and go back into it, it starts over. Movies should keep a record of their last point, like my dish network DVR.

3. I didn't understand why my player wasn't displaying on a television. I thot maybe I had a defective unit. It took awhile for me to discover that you press the TV/Lock button to swap between the line out and the built-in display.

4. The little black rubber plug cover on mine ripped off almost immediately after I started using it. Oh well. I don't know if I like it anyway.

5. I didn't know when my player was charged. The light was flashing with the A/C plug so I assumed that meant it was charging. After awhile, it stopped. I wished I had a better manual.

6. You can't pause a recording by pressing the pause button while recording a movie. This would be great for removing commercials. You can only exit the movie, not pause it.


Now for my LIKES!

1. The case is pretty cool. Usually I have to buy a case for all of my electronics, but this one will probably do. It even has a belt clip. Cool. Or you can use the belt loops. Double cool.

2. The operation of the menu system and recording is rather simple. Simple is good.

3. I got TWO sets of video cords so that I can have record and playback cable connected at the same time.

4. Playback in high resolution and low resolution looked pretty good on my 32" television, even tho it wasn't as good as the original. The 640x240 resolution was a little choppy and didn't improve the quality that much--I assume this is for computer replay, not television replay.

5. The display looks GREAT! Even movies that showed image degradation on my 32" television looked great on the built-in screen. Nice. I also like how you can display EVERYTHING on the television display, like it was showing on the built-in display (like battery, menu system, etc., all on the TV)

That's a very quick review. Overall I'm very pleased, but give me time to come up with more grips and likes!



New 442 owner

Now, the biggest question I have is: How do I get my Digital Video Recorder (instead of the cash rebate)?

Nothing in the package that I could see told me anything about how to get the recorder. Granted, I haven't had time to look at the CD yet, but I haven't seen any survey that I was expecting to see and I didn't notice any warranty card. I very much want the recorder now that I've seen the player!





New 442 owner

just got mine from woot this afternoon

my quick impresions:

size and weight were about what i expected. feels pretty solid.

recorded about 20min of a U2 DVD just to watch it go and the quality is great. I think it defaulted to the highest quality - didn't see how to adjust that until after i started - but but it looks wonderful. Who needs a PSP and those $$$ discs? ;)

the navigation key feels awkward to use. i have fat thumbs, what can i say? :)

this thing apparently doesn't like DRMed WMVs... I tried to play one i downloaded and it pixellated and froze after just a few seconds. Hello reset button.

how about some guidance on recharging? will it cut off when it's done?

Received mine late Wed.
The 442 box was not shrinked sealed and looked like it had been opened a few times.
Unit was centered in box properly.
Everything is in the box as expected except the stand that has already been explained.
The unit itself had alot of smudges and finger prints on it so I know it had been handled alot.
The battery was dead and would not turn on.
Im not impressed with the Case fit and finish. The ends show signs of rough grinding where they did not fit together properly when first put together at the Manufacture.
At this point im thinking I received a used unit.

I didn't get to try it out yet as the battery is charging and I had to leave for work.

More gripes and suggestions:

*MP3/Video player needs to REMEMBER what and where the last song/movie played.  Without this, long audio books (the reason I bought this machine) is pretty annoying to get back to where I left off.
*Not being able to turn off the machine on the fly is minor, but quite annoying.  As it is right now, I have to return to the main menu to exit.  It would be nice to just exit right in the middle of a movie/song/book and be able to return to that exact position when I turn it back on.
*Inability to display long filenames is going to be a problem, for me anyway.  Once again I use this for audiobooks and rather NOT have to rename 500+ files.
*More DIVX files are not playing on the machine even though it plays fine on windows media.  Don't know why.

Have you guys looked at the XBOX Media Player?  It is a really nice piece of software and compatible with pretty much everything I've thrown at it.  Best part is its OPEN SOURCE.

I would like to see a built in speaker...it doesnt have to be much, just something that will allow me to show someone (or a group) a quick clip without making them put on the headphones.

The multi-square direction thingy doesnt really bother me.  I guess I have the correct sized fingers :)

Ability to handle long filenames is a must

Continuing where you left off is also a must...one interruption and you have to fast foward through the entire movie to find out where you left off.  Maybe an option like my dvd player software I have on my computer, it asks you if you want to continue where you left off, or start from the beginning.

It would be nice to be able to plug a usb thumbdrive in and transfer files back and forth.  Just a thought.

I also would much rather prefer a CF slot over a SD slot.

I used the ULEAD Toolbox to convert a dvd to divx and it worked perfectly.  Simple and played fine on my 442.  Looked great and sounded great.  Very nice!

I just need to chime in here again and say that I prefer a SD slot over compactflash.  Both would be fun, too!

also...have the unit be usb powered when usb is plugged in

yeah i guess the memory type is a toss up seeing how different people use different memory types (sd, cf...)

the black rubber cover ripped-off first time I removed it.
I recorded video from the TV and could find no way to pause it during recording mode.
poor quality ear phones that came with it caused audio to cut in and out so I had to find another pair right away.
Audio sounded good with the new ear buds.
Playback on the 442 looked good except for the very top edge of the screen where there was always a  white dash line jittering.
Playback on a 26 inch TV looked poor but there was no white dash line jitter at the top of the display.
Playback on my computer using windows media player looked good but also had the white dash line jitter. full screen mode the jitter goes away and the video still looks good.
No way to bookmark your playback is a big negative.
Interfaced with my PC with no problems, easy to move files,rename or delete.
I loaded some video files I had and could not get any of them to work.
When I tried to delete these using the 442 it deleted 1 file but would not delete the others. No errors and it did not hang just would not delete the files for some reason.
I attempted to use The Video Toolbox to convert a dvd video but it kept getting errors and shutting down the program so I gave up on that for now.
I don't care for the protective case. the clear plastic has too much meterial and bubbles out and crinkles distorting the image when trying to view. Its also hard to use the controls when in the case.

I found out about the rebate. You have to play with your new toy for two weeks and then the feedback survey will be posted at:

http://www.neurosaudio.com/store/442woot.asp

I guess they didn't want premature feedback. Two weeks, I guess, is a good evaluation time. I would like to get the recorder sooner, tho! I'm excited about getting it, too!

Someone mentioned no shrinkwrap. I was surprised to hear that somebody expected it. I didn't even think about it. I did think the thickness of the box made it feel flimpsy, but other than that, the packaging seemed good to me.



New 442 owner

quote:

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Originally posted by game_writer


Someone mentioned no shrinkwrap. I was surprised to hear that somebody expected it. I didn't even think about it. I did think the thickness of the box made it feel flimpsy, but other than that, the packaging seemed good to me.
New 442 owner

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Normally when I purchase electronics the product boxes are sealed in plastic wrap.
I mentioned it because the 442 I received had finger prints and smudges all over it so I know it was handled.
The back of the case has a couple minor scratches as well.
The course grinding or filing on the top and bottom edges of the back case plate really lowered my first impression.

I followed the How To:442 instructions from the Neuros website and converted some DVD files to Xvid using autogk a few days ago and none of them will play on the 442. I just get the hour glass.

I hope others are having better luck actually using the 442 than I am.

Well, i had to wait around all day for the Fed Ex guy yesterday (didnt show up till 6pm), then i went to a concert so i only got to play with it for about an hour last night.  The 442 came about half way charged.  Mine also shifted during shipping (not a big deal though).  I opened it up and immediately transfered 5 XVid movies i had waiting on my comp.  The player said that none of the file types were supported.  I transfered a few songs on plugged in the headphones and sounded good.  Only problem was that if i didnt have them plugged in exactly right one of the ear buds was not working.  Didnt have a chance to try another headset last night, but i will today.  Id there a firmware upgrade for the 442?  I cant seem to find info on it.

Now for the good, i opened it up and i loved the color, size of the screen and the nifty case.  Started it up and i was wow'ed by the size of the screen (i expected it to be much smaller).  The hum of the drive put an instant smile on my face.  Showed some of my buds online over the webcam and they also thought it looked great. (They were jealous i bought one i think [:D].  Anyways other than not getting the movies to play, and the issue with the headphones, the 442 looks awesome.  Maybe once i update the firmware my existing XVid movies will play?

Ben

Thanks for all the feedback. I am not able to answer all the questions, but I can assure you that someone will. As for problems with Xvid, you can take a look at the beta tester thread: http://neurostechnology.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6399

There is also another more recent thread under feedback and discussion.

As for the unit that had prints ?!?! what the hell! I really don't know what happen there but we will look into it.

Thanks again for the feedback and remember to edit the wiki as well. I am sure your feedback will help others greatly.

Johan
Neuros

FJ

I got a chance to play with the video out feature of the 442 today.  I played a divx file made from a dvd.  I played it on my 42" Panasonic plasma and it looked great :)  I did notice some pixelation on some fast action scenes, but on slower-normal paced scenes, it was near dvd quality.  It looked much better than I expected from a 600mb file.

i also had the box shifting problem, in addition to the smudged back plate.
i thought the color was strange, almost a titanium color, but the pictures make it look more gray or silver.

the power adapter seemed cheap for some reason, and so did the earbuds.

so far, i've tried many of my movie files, and they simply won't play!
wmv
divx 5, ac3
div3

the unit is quite hefty, so any size reduction wuold be greatly appreciated. im' guessing you guys are using a stock 2.5" notebook hd?

the interface for music, especially, is very clutzy. i'd like to be able to listen to music or whatever while navigating the menus. the silence is disturbing while i am selecting tracks! <- bad! bad! bad!  i also found the headphone jack to be tempramental. if you jack in and turn connector, the audio will start to crackle...not a good first impression, especially for a $400 device.

i have big fingers and hands, and i'm finding the 4 day d switch to be a little clutzy at well, since sometimes i hit up/down when i want to go left/right, or vice versa. also, a few more buttons wouldn't hurt!

the placement of the rubber cover is indeed a consern, since it is propped up at a 90 degree angle when the charger is in place.

the changing color of the neuros logo is cool, but it's also kind of distracting, as if it can't make up its mind on what color it really wants to be.

maybe supply some RCA gender changers? i wanted to hook my digital camera's video out to this thing, and even my laptop, but since they also have male RCA, i'll need to buy some female-female connectors to make this work.

if a movie doesn't play, i think the player should say why instead of
1) doing nothing
2) playing the next clip w/o notification

maybe visualizations for mp3s?

also i found the image browser to be very clutzy as well. load times for 2mb images is pretty bad..also i'm missing the zoom feature for digital images. i heard you can play music with your slideshow, but i'm having difficulty doing that as well.

i've only had it for a couple of hours. we'll see how it goes. i'm very particular about my hardware. [;)]

one thing that I noticed right off the bat is that if your folder names are 8 letters or less, they're repesented in all caps . . . big MINUS for me - i'm big on lowercase!  i had the same problem with my iAudio x5 . . .

A short comment.

I have been using the PVR function heavily and when I am waiting to press start at the correct moment for the beginning of the movie......the film strip bar across the center of the screen with "press to start" is blocking my view. Maybe make the filmstrip part slightly translucent (the words could remain opaque....or make the filmstrip smaller (not covering so much of the screen.



lmgaines

Build/Case/Size/Weight
- Ends should not be smooth and curved; too slippery
- I'd pay another $100 to make the device slimmer/lighter

Design/UI/Keys
- Keys are hard to press; finger fatigue
- small speaker/mic on this device would be convenient
- There should be a "Charging" icon when AC power is applied
- The volume bar on top is difficult to reach, press, etc...
  Perhaps a rocker button would have been better
- I prefer card slots on the side, where dust doesn't pile up
- A USB port to connect *any* card/device would be preferred over an SD slot
- Background image customization would be nice

General Comments
- USB cable-based charging is mandatory (for me)
- dock/cradle and sync software would be helpful for those of us who PVR to our PC's

Photo Viewer Mode
- on/off control for slideshow mode
- slideshow duration is not adjustable
- Right/Left should be valid entries as well as Up/Down when browsing
- Multi-view/thumbnail navigation (up to 9 images) would be nice

mp3 Player Mode
- Visualization mode would be wasteful, but appreciated
- Album art support would be great
- When navigating away from current song, it would be nice
  if the current sond would continue playing -- the next
  song should only be played if "play" is clicked on.
- Resume play
- Audio while cue

Video Player Mode
- I question how useful it is to know things like encoding
  method, fps, and resolution ALL THE TIME.  I'd much rather
  see the full file name, and optionally see all the vital
  stats when I ask for it.

General Player UI Comments
- Doesn't seem to support East Asian fonts
- Filenames on the lefthand column are truncated
- ID3 tags/Video description on the right-hand column are truncated
- Instead of two columns, perhaps two *rows* with
  scrolling text would have been better
- Sort by such things as Artist Name, Genre, Filename, Length, etc.
- Cannot find random play mode

To summarize:
- As a video player, it's pretty good; I'd prefer something smaller with less features
- As a video recorder, it's pretty good; honestly, I don't see myself ever using this feature
- As an audio player, it's nearly useless without resume or shuffle

I love the screen, it's huge! I can't wait to get my hands dirty and write some software for this thing.

I like the case, very comfortable to hold and watch. No problems with the controls here. The software does look a little crude, but I expect that with a pre-release gizmo.

It seems that unless I have the top tilted slightly away from me, the picture washes out. Curious. I changed the brighness in the settings menu, but there was little visible effect.

First things off i love the player i guess im more accepting than others but oh well, i use the thing mostly for video since i already have a mp3 player so i havent even tested that yet.  As for the video player i would love to see folder icons present like haveing a movie poster of the movie in the fold along with the videos so you can see the poster knowing right away what movie it is, also i tried 27 divx/Xvid movies i had already coded and only 10 worked, this is horrible, i tried recoding with ulead and it only recoded like 4, the rest had errors, if there is an update around id love to know about it because re-doing all of my videos i have already done once is going to take forever.  ill play with it some more before i decide to keep it or not i guesss.

So ive uploaded about 40 XVid movies up, but only 12 play...the others say unsupported or just go to the screen like its going to play and just see the hour glass...Im pretty disappointed i had joped to just be able to upload all my movies and not have to go through the process of converting 75% of my movies.  Also i have full seasons of a few shows ive tried and none of them work, they are also in XVid form.  Im pretty disappointed in the video aspect of the 442 so far.  Also for music i cant even seem to scroll through a folder, when i hit down it just automatically begins to play the next song.  Anyways if these problems are unfixable ill probably be returning mine within the 6 months.
Ben

quote:

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Originally posted by Gamma442Tester

So ive uploaded about 40 XVid movies up, but only 12 play...the others say unsupported or just go to the screen like its going to play and just see the hour glass...Im pretty disappointed i had joped to just be able to upload all my movies and not have to go through the process of converting 75% of my movies.  Also i have full seasons of a few shows ive tried and none of them work, they are also in XVid form.  Im pretty disappointed in the video aspect of the 442 so far.  Also for music i cant even seem to scroll through a folder, when i hit down it just automatically begins to play the next song.  Anyways if these problems are unfixable ill probably be returning mine within the 6 months.
Ben

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Ben-

You might have seen this already but it is really worth saying it again. Check out this link on our wiki. One of our beta tester wrote it a few weeks ago: http://www.theneuros.com/index.php/HOWTO:442

We all wish there was a well defined video standard, especially us, it would make our job much easier. Being able to play most popular video formats is a challenge since many videos can be encoded several times, and there are many different codecs available. We really feel like we have the right community and the right player to figure that out though. This is why the 442 has a dual core CPU. With that type of power this baby is ideal to get the job done.

I also asked a few of our members to add section to this HOW TO page. Please feel free to add anything you deem worth sharing.

Johan
Neuros




FJ

quote:

---

Originally posted by FJ

[quote
You might have seen this already but it is really worth saying it again. Check out this link on our wiki. One of our beta tester wrote it a few weeks ago: http://www.theneuros.com/index.php/HOWTO:442
FJ

---

I and a few others have recently followed the Howto:442
The xvid files created would play on the PC fine but not on the 442

Here is the thread about it in the support forum:
http://www.neurosaudio.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6452

Atreyurock has posted some suggestion that might help here:
http://www.neurosaudio.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6480

I don't think you got a used unit per se (as they don't exist) but based on your description, your unit was obviously handled and you should talk to customer service.  I really appoligize, did anyone else  have this issue on their unit?

quote:

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Originally posted by JEFFH

Received mine late Wed.
The 442 box was not shrinked sealed and looked like it had been opened a few times.
Unit was centered in box properly.
Everything is in the box as expected except the stand that has already been explained.
The unit itself had alot of smudges and finger prints on it so I know it had been handled alot.
The battery was dead and would not turn on.
Im not impressed with the Case fit and finish. The ends show signs of rough grinding where they did not fit together properly when first put together at the Manufacture.
At this point im thinking I received a used unit.

I didn't get to try it out yet as the battery is charging and I had to leave for work.

---

jborn (at) neurosaudio.com

quote:

---

Originally posted by pete7919

• I think this is a technical defect, but when I tried to record a show off TV I plugged the cable in and I didn't get video.  I pulled the plug out a bit and video flickered then came in fine.  I tried this a few times with the same result each time.  Please respond if anyone else has this issue in case it really is a bigger problem.

---

I had the same problem trying to record via the PVR feature. The first 5 minutes or so seemed to record fine. I was watching the TV while monitoring the 442's LCD display during recording when the 442's display started getting jumpy and then blacked out. When I touched the cable the display flicked back on. By the time I got the picture back I missed a good piece of what was being recorded and had to start over. I don't think your's is the only unit with this problem.

Yesterday I brought the 442 with me to work to show an interested co-worker. I showed him some of the features and turned it back off. When I returned several hours to show someone else the unit, it would not turn back on. As I didn't have time to figure out the problem I put the unit away and returned to work. At lunchtime I pulled the 442 out to try to turn it on again and I nearly burned my fingers on the metal case. Luckily the unit did not melt the rubber cover. Neuros Tech Support advised me to reset the unit using the button on the bottom of the unit and it worked. He had no explanation what would cause this other than it doesn't shut down properly sometimes. Apparently the unit had been running silently in my closed briefcase for several hours, getting hotter and hotter and draining its battery.

Other than that I do like the unit. I find it very simple to use. I expect that additional features will be added with firmware upgrades  that could make this unit a real winner.

quote:

---

Originally posted by jndizy
[Yesterday I brought the 442 with me to work to show an interested co-worker. I showed him some of the features and turned it back off. When I returned several hours to show someone else the unit, it would not turn back on. As I didn't have time to figure out the problem I put the unit away and returned to work. At lunchtime I pulled the 442 out to try to turn it on again and I nearly burned my fingers on the metal case. Luckily the unit did not melt the rubber cover. Neuros Tech Support advised me to reset the unit using the button on the bottom of the unit and it worked. He had no explanation what would cause this other than it doesn't shut down properly sometimes. Apparently the unit had been running silently in my closed briefcase for several hours, getting hotter and hotter and draining its battery.
Other than that I do like the unit. I find it very simple to use. I expect that additional features will be added with firmware upgrades  that could make this unit a real winner.

---

sounds like the 442 hungup and left the harddrive spun up.
In this mode its going to generate alot of heat and drain the battery.
I have seen this kinda thing happen with other hard drive based players in the past and you need to use the reset pin hole to clear it.

The video/Audio cable connection does seem to be touchy. It seems to improve after being broken in.
I think it has to do with the mini plug connection point on the 442 not making a solid connection.

JOE-re:Smudgy/fingerprint saturation-lol

Ok, I first posted earlier under "Today was the Day" as I received my 442. Not much time to play with it yet and although an avid enthusiast I am NOT a techie so we'll see how long it takes me to hack and slash my way through this thing.

But here's MY first impression. My unit was shifted in the box, no big deal. Upon removing it I immediately liked the smooth, hefty feel to it, it felt solid. My immediate second impression was HEY! Who changed oil on their car and then handled my new 442??!!??
I mean it was covered ALL over with greasy fingerprints. I have sent the prints off to have ID'd at the crime bureau so we'll soon know just exactly who is responsible for this!!

Seriously, that was a letdown, for me at least, to have a new tech toy arrive covered with fingerprints.
Joe, I think you guys should check this out

Also don't feel the quickstart is of much use either.

More later, I have to go clean the fingerprints off the 442! Man, just like a real 442 I guess, gonna have to keep it waxed! Guess I should put one of those "Keepa yer fingers off" bumper stickers on it somewhere too.

Greg

Lost and wandering alone in the forest of technology

I just received my Neuros 442 in the mail yesterday and thought I might add my two cents about my initial imrpessions of the unit. First of all, like other reports, my player had also slipped from its moorings inside the packaging, and slid a bit to one side. However, the player was not damaged in any way, and I think the packaging was adequate, if not pretty. I also received an extra set of AV cables, which seems to be standard with all the woot units shipped.
The player itself is pretty neat looking (*Note: I have a penchant for industrial design, so the chrome and simplicity of design may not appeal to others as much.) The screen is very bright and there are no dead pixels. It has a little weight (3/4 of a pound) but the heft just makes it feel solidly constructed to me. The main gripe I have about the design is the rubber doo-hicky on top that covers the power/usb/av connectors. It is difficult to remove and feels like it will be the first thing to break. I'm not in love with the volume buttons or the direction pad either, as the volume buttons are hard to find without looking at them, and the direction pad is almost flush with the surface of the player, and difficult to manipulate with my thumb. The case and earbuds aren't pretty, but they seem to also be solidly constructed, and function appropriately.
Without reading the enclosed paper or CD documentation I was able to hook the (already partially charged) player up to my Mac Mini, which recognized it and showed up on screen as a removable hard drive. (*Note: Subsequent connections to my computer did not always recognize the player. Occasionally I have to unplug the unit and try a second time before it shows up on screen. This has happened both with the unit powered on and off.) I heard some people had problems transferring files while connected to a USB hub, but I haven't experienced any yet.
I tried a slew of different video file types and initially the player only recognized a few of them. Since I am running a mac I couldn't use the included conversion software, but the free program ffmpegx works just fine for this. All of the files that didn't work initially were fine after converting to divx format. I would like to see more file types supported in the future, but for now I can deal with converting them, especially since in the conversion process I can also reduce the file size and fit more movies on this thing at one time.
As for sound files, it seems to work well with any file type I've loaded so far, but the software isn't really well suited for browsing through songs quickly. The titles get cut off and sometimes it's hard to figure out which song is which, since there isn't an information screen like there is for movie files. Also, I loaded files to the player from my itunes library, and so the file system goes Music->Artist->Album->Song which is a lot of clicks just to get to one song. The direction pad won't scroll through songs very fast either, so if you have many folders or files it can take a while to get to what you are looking for. Also, it seems as though every song I've loaded shows up twice in the album folder, but only one of those entries is an actual song file. I like the adjustable five band EQ, though, and think there should be even more user-definable settings like this.
As for those people complaining about the default slide show/repeat feature, you can just hit the menu button while in the picture menu, and options for "slide show" or "repeat" on/off comes right up.
One question I have for video files: are subtitles supported, or not? When I use the "menu" function during a movie there are options for "sound track" and "subtitle track" but these don't seem to do anything when they are selected.
These are all my comments for now. I know this player is a product-in-progress, so I'm giving them more leeway than I normally would. If Neuros can come up with a firmware upgrade quickly to address some of these issues, I would be very pleased, and very impressed with the company. Overall a good deal for $330 after rebate, and especially for free for six months only. Try returning your car, or your pants after using them for six months.

I bought the 442 to use mostly as an mp3 player and photowallet, but at the price I couldn't beat the features, seemingly.  I have to say, I am disappointed in a few things:
1.  The interface, as mentioned by so many, is terrible.  The first screen looks really nice, but beyond that is too plain, too ugly, and
2.  Too slow.  Every function feels like it takes forever (i.e. a second) to work.  Previewing pictures is a nightmare.  Mp3 playing is difficult: it takes to long from power-on to playing to use for anything but long car trips.  Loading files takes time, and I get skips if I try to play or record in HVGA, which leads to point
3.  Where is VGA?  The video side of the 442 is a problem.  The quality of the recording is ok, but I honestly expected better from a dedicated machine.  And I wish there was more even file support - even using the included software, it took me an hour+ worth of clicking to go from and mpg to a workable avi.  I would get ones that played out of sync, video or audio only, and ones that flat wouldn't play.  And if they could add a few more formats, that would be cool too.
4.  For something so complex as the 442, I was hoping there would be a text reader.  Not that I recall reading that it had one, it would just be nice and not too difficult to employ.
5.  The Deal Breaker:  There is no way I can use this as a photowallet.  Right now, to copy files, I have to mark each one.  On a 512 card, that is over 300 pictures, and no way am I clicking play, down, play, down, play, down for three hundred pics.  There needs to be a mass copy function, and if there is and I am dumb, it needs to be more clearly labeled.
6.  A builtin speaker would be nice, but that is more of a request than a disappointment.
   Beyond that, it is pretty good.  I would ask for a few more buttons and a slightly rearranged layout, because with Linux coming, I can see a great handheld console emulator (a little SNES to go anyone?), but again, that would just be nice, not necessary.

Six months guys: prove to me the 442 is worth keeping, and thanks for the work so far.

quote:

---

Originally posted by lmgaines

A short comment.

I have been using the PVR function heavily and when I am waiting to press start at the correct moment for the beginning of the movie......the film strip bar across the center of the screen with "press to start" is blocking my view. Maybe make the filmstrip part slightly translucent (the words could remain opaque....or make the filmstrip smaller (not covering so much of the screen.

lmgaines

---

Yes, I agree! I HATE that bar. I have been recording some shows from my DishNetwork DVR and that bar covers the show selection screen such that I have to watch the TV screen, not the 442 display, to select my program. Make that film-strip bar mostly transparent, please, it's VERY ANNOYING! In fact, I wouldn't mind simple text overlaying the image and completely doing away with the ugly bar.

Thanks. ;)

"Still a pleased 442 owner!"

Once you feel like you have played with the 442 for long enough (In a week or two), feel free to post a review on our Wiki. You can always edit your comments (we won't). We created a section for quotes and reviews from our gamma testers. (once you full name whenever you can, if you prefer not to, firstname and first initial of your lastname will do).

Johan
Neuros

FJ

quote:

---

Originally posted by FJ

Once you feel like you have played with the 442 for long enough (In a week or two), feel free to post a review on our Wiki. You can always edit your comments (we won't). We created a section for quotes and reviews from our gamma testers. (once you full name whenever you can, if you prefer not to, firstname and first initial of your lastname will do).

Johan
Neuros

FJ

---

The link would help http://www.theneuros.com/index.php/Reviews_and_Quotes:442

FJ

FJ

Got my 442 last week, but spent all of my time re-encoding my XVid files to Divx before attending a tech conference this week. The upside, now I have more experience with the 442 before posting my opinions.

Here are my observations:
-Following the original Wiki encoding How-To didn't work, but simply substituting Divx for Xvid solved my problems.

-The bar on the input screen keeps me from using this as a display for my XBox or even those retro games built into the joysticks (old atari and arcade game remakes). I don't want to record my game just to be able to play on the road.

-The Ulead software is nice, but all files in a batch upgrade have to use the same settings. AutoGK was a little slower, but allowed for more variety in the files being queued up. I will likely use Ulead for individual encoding and AutoGK for batches.

-The nav buttons are hard to use, I would prefer one more like the nav-button on the XBox controller. A concave would be very helpful.

-More Cowbell, or at least more volume. In a crowded airport or conference center, I had a very hard time getting the volume loud enough in my headphones. Unlike some other, I actually do like the headphones included.

-Cover from the top broke on the second day, but I found that making that removing the "stopper" meant to hold it in place fixed everything. The tension of placing all of the posts in the respective holes holds it in place very well.

-Case is alright for transport and acceptable for viewing, but not great for either.

-Picture quality is great, and the screen is amazing. I bought a splitter for the headphones jack and shared with a colleague on a flight from Dallas to San Jose. We watched Blue Collar Comedy Tour (Ron Whites flying routine is a must for any in-flight entertainment) and Rat Race. We never had to worry about fighting with the angle for us both to have a good view.

-Up to 4 hours of video play and barely at half of battery life. This may go over 5 hours playback on a charge...GREAT!

-Better MP3 UI is a must. I need playlists!

-Had to stop movies several times, and always had to search to find where I left off. You really need to be able to turn the unit off while playing a movie, and have it remember where you left off.

-Could use a very simply editing platform for AV files. I have seen PVR's with simple "delete before this point", "delete after this point", "split file", "join file" options that would be great here. When setting a record timer, I always start early and end late to make sure I don't miss anything, would be nice to be able to trim the extras out, and maybe even split and rejoin to eliminate commercials.

-Like on a Tivo, when you fastforward a video, you should actually jump back a few seconds to accomodate reaction time. By the time you see a program start after forwarding past commercials, you need to accomodate for the fact that you are 5-10 seconds into the show before you can react and hit play.

-When fast-forwarding at +8, if you hit the reverse button you should slow the progress to FF at +4, not jump directly into reverse at -2. You should be able to increment the speed forwards and backwards.

I am sure I will update this in the coming days,
-Mark

-mvaughn

Here is everything that I've noted so far(rather large)... most comments are from about a week ago, i've edited where applicable.

(my personal scale from 1 - 10, 1=not important & 10= the utmost importance)
1.  No timed recording : 10
   The inability to make a timed recording means that I have to be awake and aware to record something.  It's better if you can time this.

2.  Reliance on an external TV tuner : 8
   Simplicity : yes.  But no way to change channels or record more than one channel makes this somewhat less useful.

3.  flimsy rubber cover at the top of the unit : 5
      Mine is now off the unit :(.. this is way too flimsy.

4.  White line at the top of the screen : 3
   This doesn't bother me, as this appears to be the one line of pixels that just so happens to be covered by the case.  This seems to only happen when I'm using the tv tuner (pre-divxd movies and tuning other things seem to be OK)

5.  Windows xp explorer hangs on my computer and on others after transfers : 5
   I can transfer files, and then have to kill explorer.exe and restart it afterwards.  I do not use a USB hub (I use this directly from the motherboard port)  in my eyes, this is not a big problem, but I've seen this on a couple of computers (win xp pro) so I wonder if others are having this problem.  Note : tried this on windows 2000 and I did not have the same problem.

6.  Washed out color : 1
   I'm not sure if this is my signal, or something related to my AV setup, but the picture almost seems a little too bright -- I have the brightness turned down all the way, and whereas files recorded from the unit are a little bright, the other movies I moved onto the device (divx) are just right.  Not a major issue at all.

7.  directional "pad"(?) : 3
   This thing is kind of clumsy to use.

8.  Audio output : 2
   On other files, the audio seems a little low.  On files recorded by the device itself, the sound is fine.
9.  File Format : 5
   .asf file format, although it may work fine, seems limiting.
10. MMC / SD card reader : 5
 -- doesn't work.  I put a MMC card in and it goes right in, i have to pull it out before it is 'eaten up' completely by the unit.
11.  Turns off by itself? : 4
   Sometimes I'm not sure why the unit turns off.  I think I may be running low on disk space, but once in awhile I see the power light flashing, and sometimes have to reboot the unit to get it back.. [[I think now that this could have been usage issues related to trying to capture more video when the hard drive is full.]]
12.  Lockups : 7
   Sometimes the unit just locks up, and I don't know why.  I have to keep a paperclip handy.  I have two public domain mp4 files that I have seen lock up : one example is bob hope's "my favorite brunette", 256kbps version from http://archive.org -- I tried to watch this and it locked up within the first ten minutes. I do not know if it's repeatable.  [[update: this hasn't happened that frequently the last week or so, but i have only been watching videos that were captured by the unit ]]
13.  Does not save current "watch point" : 4
   You have to remember where you were, and fast forward to the location.  I would expect that a video player would remember (at least) the last video file's last viewed location.
14.  Does not know where you were when moving around directions : 1
   When you traverse back up the directory structure (closer to the "root" directory, if you will), often I'm not sure where I came from.  very minor issue of course, but sometimes I don't remember where I came from.
15.  Cannot watch TV without viewing "PVR" screen without recording : 5
   The big black bar stops you from using the screen as a monitor without recording.  this seems unnecessary, although I haven't really needed to use it this way (it would come in handy)
16.  While fast forwarding / rewinding video - I have no idea where I am at in the movie : 2
   It would be helpful to know (by a location : end display or bar) where I am, sometimes I'm not sure where I am in watching the video and although not a necessity, I see this functionality elsewhere and am used to it.

Positive notes (These are just highlights, related to this unit in particular, not necessary all of the obvious good points about having a portable video recorder / player)  :
I like the "tv/lock button" being where it is -- because I like to have a quick way to turn the video off when I just want to listen.
I like the placement of the inputs.
I like the quality and sound of the video.  This looks much better than what I saw when I attempted to record via my computer and tv tuner.  And it takes up MUCH less space.
I like the screen.  Nice size.  
I like the speed, except when you are watching videos of higher quality.  It seems a bit jittery then.  In QVGA low quality this seems perfectly fine.  
Nice case.  Very good-looking unit.

Other ideas:
One thing that may be possible to implement and awesome for nerds like me would be to allow someone to drop a file through the usb interface on the hard drive (e.g. a file named recordings.txt) with a standard format, then the device can pick it up (hopefully automatic, but possibly by a ui selection) and read in the listings so that you have an easier method of programming the timed recordings.  that way you can just plug in something like
10/04/05 03:00 04:00 histories_mysteries.asf

and you could have the tuner 'semi-matically' record the show, picking a real name for the recording.  this would also let someone programmatically pick up shows and notify the device every couple of days of new tasks to record.

There is everything I have so far, this information was recorded a couple of days after I got the unit, but I've kept it because I wanted to give better information, so I've recently edited it and added or subtracted things as necessary.

I like the device, but I'm struggling with trying to get this to record what I want.  This is great for recording things that you see but don't have time to watch (ie you're watching 'dirty dozen' and company comes over) but the lack of a timed recording makes it tough to do what I want it to.

rastyk brought up a lot of points I've seen posted elsewhere that I'd like to comment on.

quote:

---

Originally posted by rastyk

3.  flimsy rubber cover at the top of the unit : 5
      Mine is now off the unit :(.. this is way too flimsy.

---

I'm amazed by how many negative comments there are about this.  Mine is perfectly fine, in no danger of breaking off, and easy to remove/replace.

quote:

---

5.  Windows xp explorer hangs on my computer and on others after transfers : 5
   I can transfer files, and then have to kill explorer.exe and restart it afterwards.  I do not use a USB hub (I use this directly from the motherboard port)  in my eyes, this is not a big problem, but I've seen this on a couple of computers (win xp pro) so I wonder if others are having this problem.  Note : tried this on windows 2000 and I did not have the same problem.

---

This has NEVER happened to me (using both XP Pro and Home).

quote:

---

7.  directional "pad"(?) : 3
   This thing is kind of clumsy to use.

---

A lot of complaints about this issue.  Perhaps I have dainty fingers, but this is a total non-issue for me.  Yes, it WOULD be if I were doing something more navigation-intensive (like playing games) as others have suggested.  But that isn't what I bought it for.

quote:

---

8.  Audio output : 2
   On other files, the audio seems a little low.  On files recorded by the device itself, the sound is fine.

---

I've seen this one quite a bit.  It seems to me that some are blaming the device for the quality of the video file.  Doesn't seem fair to me.  Sure, I've had a couple of vids that were on the quiet side, but most of what I've gotten as bitorrents play fine and within acceptable audio levels.

quote:

---

12.  Lockups : 7
   Sometimes the unit just locks up, and I don't know why.  I have to keep a paperclip handy...  [[update: this hasn't happened that frequently the last week or so, but i have only been watching videos that were captured by the unit ]]

---

This happens to me a lot too.  I've had days where I've had to use a paperclip to reset the device MULTIPLE times.  And thank the Maker I had one handy, cuz I'd have been pretty mad if I couldn't watch my Arrested Development on the train.

What's the cause of these lockups?  Sometimes it's from coming right off the charger.  Sometimes it's from tranferring files.  Sometimes a bad video will make the screen go green and display a grid of tiny little thumbnail images.  Either way, I shouldn't have to reset as much as I do.

quote:

---

Other ideas:
One thing that may be possible to implement and awesome for nerds like me would be to allow someone to drop a file through the usb interface on the hard drive (e.g. a file named recordings.txt) with a standard format, then the device can pick it up (hopefully automatic, but possibly by a ui selection) and read in the listings so that you have an easier method of programming the timed recordings.  that way you can just plug in something like
10/04/05 03:00 04:00 histories_mysteries.asf

and you could have the tuner 'semi-matically' record the show, picking a real name for the recording.  this would also let someone programmatically pick up shows and notify the device every couple of days of new tasks to record.

---

This is a GREAT idea.

Just to add another note related to the kind of things I'm posting, related to the note above, and my posts on the other 442 forums.

Because of the gamma program, I'm trying to give all kinds of ideas and suggestion back, because I'd like to have Neuros see what our thoughts and suggestions are.  I think the unit is a cool device, and I show it off to all my friends.   However, there are some issues with the device, and rather than make excuses for them I want to report them so that Neuros can change or fix them, or at least be aware of them in future updates or changes they can make.

That's why in my list I ranked them.  Note the numbering system I used.  There are things I am totally not concerned about, but something like timed recording is absolutely critical.

actually, I'll admit the flimsy rubber cover I rated too high -- i don't care about the cover, only that it came off on my unit :(.  

In any case.  Please no one mistake information I'm giving as bashing the unit.  This is better than a lot out there.  I'm pushing for it to be one of the best.

quote:

---

Originally posted by rastyk

 Please no one mistake information I'm giving as bashing the unit.  This is better than a lot out there.  I'm pushing for it to be one of the best.

---

I don't think your posts are seen as bashing the 442.
Critical feedback of the unit is needed for future 442 improvements and Im pretty sure thats what Neuros is looking for from the Gamma Program.

I thought I'd share my thoughts, now that I've had a chance to play for a week (Thanks, Johan, for the support!).

There is one advantage to reading all of the forums before getting the unit.  I may be one of the few who have had no issues with any of the recording I did pre-delivery.  Thanks to all who posted the issues and tutorials.

The shipping box slippage did not happen.  With the way the cardboard was box was built, I do not believe slippage would have been possible (maybe the box design was changed?).  I am one who actually reads all of the documentation before playing with something, so there wasn't any surprises on the way to use it.

The cover hasn't broken off, and seems like a good fit.  The line-in is trouble-free, and no cables had to be played with.  The SD card (1 gig) works fine.  I have no problems with the scroll buttons (not hard to press, and very responsive).  All in all, a great product.

Now for the wishes.  
1. I do wish it had an external speaker that could be turned on/off.  I would use it more often without headphones if I could.

2. Timed recording would be great.  I also would like to see more options for the length of automatic recording (maybe 5 min increments?).

3.  Maybe I am doing something wrong, but the Ulead software PVR editing tool edits fine, but the saved quality is not what I would have expected.  I didn't see an option for high or low quality.

4.  A rename function would be helpful.  This comes in handy when recording voice while away from a computer.  Those files can add up pretty quickly in college classes.

5.  A built-in microphone for voice recording.  That feature is really handy on the Neuros MP3 player, and since the 442 is a voice recorder ...

6.  Playlist functionality like the Neuros, even if they should be built on the computer first, would be good.

7.  I would have traded the case for a stand.  Preferrably, a stand that could be 'hooked' to the 442, similar to my Garmin V GPS device.  The stand clamps onto the unit, and is completely adjustable.  This way, the 442 could be placed on the desktop (or other surface) at the approproate angle for viewing.

All in all, I am very impressed.  Nothing is perfect, but this comes awfully close.

Here goes for the first impression:

 The lack of a printed manual bothered me at first, but everything is so completely user friendly when you get into it that it turns out to be ok.  You can look up the manual on the included CD as well.

I had immediate problems with the battery stopping recording after only about 15 minutes saying low battery but the meter showed full and I had charged it completely before using.  Hopefully this will go away with a few charge cycles.  

The four way interface is a little difficult especially with the case. The good part is that it does not go off by accident.  

I could not find a way to program a time for recording so i could leave it plugged in and leave home knowing that a show would be recorded.  It may be in there, but I could not find it, a scheduler of some sort would be very handy.  

The quality of recorded video and audio is great when recorded from DVD.  I travel a lot so this will be my primary use and it works great.  When I get to the hotel I can even cue up my videos.

I do not know if there is much to do about the battery, but i worry about not being able to replace it.  Has there been any thought about a "power brick" similar to the sony PSP.  Both units have almost identical DC input requirments though the 442 charger supplies 2.5A while the PSP charger is 2.0A.  Maybe this is a stupid question, but would the power brick work with the 442?

Awesome so far!

zed

Have had my unit for about a week. Love love love it. The simple hardware interface is quite nice, and I find the directional button quite easy to use (though I've got big paws and a fairly heavy touch - some have said it's a bit stiff, maybe I'm just not noticing it). The power output with a pair of Shure e2c canal phones is more than adequate in noisy environments. To those who have mentioned volume is a problem, try a set of Shures - they're a bit spendy, but very well worth the investment.

One quick request: playlists. I cannot overemphasize how important playlists are to avid music listeners. I have 10 or 15 playlists on my computers that I use frequently, many of which share songs with other lists (eg: trance and goa, metal and death metal, jazz and piano), so I can't just put all the list songs in one directory (at least until the Linux port is out and I can use symlinks). Ideal would be just the ability to read standard .m3u format with relative paths.

That said, I'm a hacker, so I should quit whining and write the code. Is the dev kit out yet? I'll go look.

Great work guys! Keep it up!

First thought is that it looks cool, I like the sleek metal. It's very easy to use and does everything that's it's supposed to do. Video quality is as good as a expected which is impressive. Battery life is great, works as long as indicated.

 Now the things that I don't like, since this section should be for improving the machine.
-Button control sucks. It's functional but even sounds cheap when you press them. They should have some sort of touch sensitive buttons.

-No shuffle for your music and no ability to make multiple playlists - that I know of. I can't believe the no shuffle thing.

-The look of the menus get dull very fast. And when looking though music ect. you have to be on the file in order to read what it is. Since your already in the folder that you chose I think it should show the end path, so that you can scan through more quickly.

-The ability to to keep playing something while surfing though files and looking around. Could be solved with a seperate stop button of something along those lines.

-Of course a well mentioned thing is also no ability to bookmark where your at.

 Well that's my opinion. They are all very small things and I'm sure that their upgrades will remedy most of the problems. I would like to say that I'm getting very attached to this little device. I like to use it as a mass storage device. When going to a friend house I download all of their music and video, which by the way you don't have to install anything on their computer. Well I've only tried it twice but it worked without a hitch. The only thing that I've yet to do is record show from a TV - no RCA outputs.

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Originally posted by Gunderstorm

quote:

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Originally posted by rastyk
3.  flimsy rubber cover at the top of the unit : 5
      Mine is now off the unit :(.. this is way too flimsy.

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I'm amazed by how many negative comments there are about this.  Mine is perfectly fine, in no danger of breaking off, and easy to remove/replace.

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Okay.  It finally happened.

My rubber cover fell off.