Gamma Group first impressions

[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

[sodakar]

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

[kalahari]

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.

[Atreyurock]

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.

[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

[FJ]

quote: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

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

[JEFFH]

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

[JoeBorn]

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: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

[jndizy]

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.

[JEFFH]

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.

[deeredr]

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

[Bosco]

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.

[dsummerlin(at)gmail.com]

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.

[game_writer]

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!"

[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