Neuros Technology Forums

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

quote: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

With the size, it would be very convenient to carry. Kinda like the cheap pen cameras given away at conferences. Not the best way to preserve your kids first steps, but convenient enough to keep handy just in case. Not sure that I would spend much for this, but it would be a cool add-on.

If I want quality, I would just plug in my digital rebel or miniDV and get a good image to the 442. But both of those are bulky and too expensive to just throw in a bag and carry around all the time.

-mvaughn

What are the chances of getting something like this to work on the 442? It could allow taking pics directly to the 442, and maybe even video.
http://www.veo.com/Traveler_130S/default.asp

I know I could plug my MiniDV camera directly into the 442, using composite cables. That would be a better signal, but kinda bulky.

Any thoughts or interest in this?

-mvaughn

To make this a really convenient "portable PVR" type of product, a docking cradle would be nice. A unit with USB, A/V in, A/V out and power would allow the 442 to be docked and used as a PVR. The wires and power stay plugged in, and you simply pick up your PVR and take it with you. One competitor has a setup like this that also has an IR remote that works with the docking station, for ease of use and control when docked. They will also use a network connection (802.11b) to check Yahoo Calendar for saved TV shows and add them to a schedule of shows to record. That would make my Tivo obsolete and give me one device for everything.

-NOTE: I opened ticket 467 in Bugzilla for this wishlist request.

-mvaughn