Neuros Technology Forums

Joe,

This thread was started in 2005, do you still stand by the statement :

"We currently have the ability to make some fixes/enhancements to the R2 firmware, and we want your input"

Just interested as to how much effort, if any, Neuros will put into new suggestions.....

Cheers

The operating frequency of the psu could well be interfering with the R2 through the dc leads, via RFI or EMI. However it could be radiating as well. The R2 is not contained in a screened case and I doubt the BEC is  so it is unlikely that using screened cables will help but it may !.

To determine the actual problem you really need to hook it up to a scope and see what is happening. You can put a filter in line with the power lead but it would help to know what frequencies you are dealing with. To be honest I would ditch the BEC as you have proved that is is the cause of your troubles.

I am sure you realise that a 5V battery does not exist so you will have to regulate a higher supply voltage. Power consumption is probably not an issue so you can use a linear regulator (LM7805 or similar) bolted to a small heatsink. This is not complicated and it sounds as if you have the basic knowledge to do this already. Whichever regulator you use make sure that decoupling capacitor(s) are used if the data sheet says so. Generally 0.1uF will do the job. Also keep the input and output leads as short as possible to limit the possibility of EMI/RFI pickup which could be rife in the car environment.

A linear regulator works in a different way to the BEC/switched mode type and essentially regulates by dumping excess voltage as heat. This makes them quite inefficient compared to switched mode supplies but as you see they still have their place.

The problem of earth loops can be substantially reduced, if not eliminated, by connecting the video camera ground to the same point as the R2 psu ground and keeping the leads short. However this may be a problem in the car so just make sure you do not use the chassis as the power ground for each unit. Any "distance" between the two earths will cause a problem.

One final suggestion is to purchase a fully screened switch mode supply from RS, Farnell etc. They are substantially more expensive at around £30 (ish) but are a ready made solution.

Let us know how things progress.

Pinpoint are not a dealer in the true sense of the word as you cannot purchase fr0m their site. However they do list a number of uk based suppliers that sell Neuros products. You will have to wade through each of the sites in the hope of finding an R2+ and then you can only tell what version it is if they mention the SD card capability. It is far simpler to use the American Tech dealer and hope you do not get stung for vat when the goods come through customs.

If you do find a UK source let us know.

The bin file has to go in the root folder.

Check your current version against the version you are trying to install. The latest version is not a cumulative patch so you have to add each upgrade in turn until you end up with ver .22.

This has been covered in earlier posts so do a quick search for more details.

Buy one....

mediadiva,

Your original post mentioned that you have more than one source, DVD & VCR, that you wish to record from so I guess the main problem is changing connections each time. This has been covered in earlier posts but essentially you need a switch unit with at least two sets of RCA inputs (Video + Audio) and the output connected to the R2. You can connect the R2 permanently to the TV but, as akts pointed out, the R2 will have to be on all the time as the video does not pass through when the R2 is off.

Working on the assumption that if something is not switched on it wont break I would suggest that you get a second switch box with 3 inputs to route the DVD,VCR or R2 to the TV. This way you have complete control over everything and can switch off things not being used.

Sounds complicated but just sketch out the system on a bit of paper and it should be fairly obvious.

I am assuming that you are in the US and only have RCA connectors for composite video. If your DVD player and TV have component video connections then use these as the quality will be far higher than conposite. In the UK we generally use SCART connections that carry high quality RGB signals, most tv's have at least one RGB input.

From what I can see Prem Pro 7 was introduced a while back and probably pre-dates Pro v1.5. I upgraded to Pro V2 this year and really like the enhancements such as the project manager that allows you to gather up all your files and move to another location. You can also move and trim at the same time to reduce the storage needed and this is great when a project is nearly complete.  Also it is the little things such as resizing a window, such as the time line, automatically resizes the other windows to avoid overlapping. A copy from ebay may not cost too much...

vilmosz,

Have you solved your problem yet ??

Just had another look at American Techpushers and they do not (as far as I can see) offer the remote as a seperate device.

I think I have been down this road before...

Pinpoint do not sell direct but supply a list of dealers in the UK that sell Neuros products. All well and good but I did not find a single dealer that offered spare remotes. I last checked in August (I think) so the situation may have changed. However it would be far easier for Neuros to specify which UK suppliers sell the remote without having to wade through each website.

I have just tried an mp4 file in Prem Pro 1.5 ( I presume that is what you  mean by Prem Pro 7) and have the same problem even with the codec pack installed. I normally use Prem Pro 2 which does do the job but that is an expensive upgrade to solve the problem.

A quick trip round the Adobe PP forums shows that many people are having difficulties. Some even convert to Quicktime and reconvert after editing. MP4 is not great quality to start with so adding even more conversions is not good practice.

However Main Concept are reported to be releasing an upgrade for Prem Pro x.x some time next year so hopefully the issue will be solved and we can import mp4 files direct without conversion. This does not help you in the short term but in this instance it may be wise to consider a cheapo editor such as Vegas or one of several others on the market. Vegas retails for about £60 in the uk.

Another alternative is to search for another mp4 to avi converter and try them out. I used mp4camtoavi because it was the first one I tried and it worked for PP v2. If you find something else please post details.

TeeJay,

I had a similar problem with Prem Pro 2 a while back which is why I posted the link to mp4cam. However I tried it again yesterday after reading your message and the file would not load. It is a codec problem, install the K-Lite pack. This has solved the problem but it is possible that something may get overwritten or changed again in the future so worth remembering.

You already have the best video editing package so no point in wasting money on anything else.

This is a link to the Neuros product video. About 3/4 of the way through it shows an SD card being transferred from the R2 to a PSP (I think). Note the contacts face up and the card protrudes from the R2.

http://www.neurosaudio.com/press/files/neuros.mpg

You need the R2+, the R2 is just Pro duo & cf.

Where did you get the unit from ?

VLC player will handle just about anything you care to throw at it - and it is free.

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/