Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2

Record your favorite shows and watch them on the go!

Do you carry your PlayStation Portable everywhere you go? Do you like to watch TV, but find yourself at home less and less to watch the things that you have recorded? Well Neuros has a solution for your problems, and it is called The Neuros MPEG-4 Recorder 2. Hot off the heals of their first recorder, Neuros has adapted its technology to allow people to record their favorite TV shows on a memory card and it then can be read on various devices that accept memory cards which includes your precious PlayStation Portable. Read on to find out if it is worth the cost of admission.

The first thing that I noticed about this device that it is small, I mean real small. To give you an idea of its overall size, it is just a little bit bigger then the size of a fourth generation iPod. Setting up the device to your TV is simple enough. If you have ever put in a VCR, DVD player, or anything else up to your TV you will know exactly what to do. After everything is all plugged up and ready to go you have to choose which storage media you want to use, compact flash or memory stick duo cards. After you insert your media of choice all you have to do is turn the device on with the remote controls.

When you first turn the device on and you see the setup screen, you will be flabbergasted, think of Windows 3.1 meets DOS, and you will understand what I am referring to. I consider myself to be pretty adapt at learning new technologies and devices, and have fun while doing this as I learn the ins and outs of it. Well after turning the device on I was at a loss on exactly how to work it. The screens were simple enough to know which was what section: music, photos, music, record, and settings, but after that how do you actually record something? Well I went into the record section and hit record, and it was recording, errr ok that’s nice, but how do you actually record something you want to record? Well after messing with the controls a little bit, I finally stumbled upon the record setup screen.

Setting up to record is pretty straight forward, you can choose a variety of settings, but I think it is important to mention these. When you record shows you can choose between three resolution settings: VGA (640 x 480) for near-DVD quality playback on TV; QVGA (320 x 240) for high-compression playback on most handhelds; and WQVGA (368 x 208) optimized for playback on the PlayStation Portable. One thing that was interesting about this device is that you can set it up to record shows at specific times. The problem is that this was not fully explored as you can set up the time of the shows, but not the channel. This means that before you leave you have to make sure that the input device is set at the channel that you want to record. That is like giving someone a bicycle with out the handlebars, sure you can use it but it isn’t that convenient for you to do so.

After you figure out how to work it, the resolution you want it set up, and the video quality, let's talk about how the device works. After you finally come to grips with how the device works it gets easier from here. Once you record something I bet you are itching to know how it looks on your beautiful PlayStation Portable screen. After you put your memory card back in your PSP, all you have to do is find the video and then BAM, the show that you recorded is there, in its full glory on your screen. This is really nifty and you will have a lot of fun watching your shows on the road or when stuck somewhere with nothing to do, and not in the mood to play a game.

A really good thing about this device that it allows for future upgrades to the firmware of the device. If you have a PlayStation Portable then you should be familiar with how this works. This means that later on in the future that the company can release various upgrades, and they might fix some of the problems that the device has, as well as make it easier to use, and add in new features. 

You can order the Neuros MPEG-4 Recorder 2 directly from Neuros website for the price of $149.99

Pros:
Getting to record various TV shows and play then on your PlayStation Portable is really a good idea. The device is also really small, which makes it compact and really easy to fit in your home theater setup.

Cons:
What is up with the interface? I mean seriously it is not the smartest designed thing that I have seen in the world. The interface really makes or breaks devices like this, especially if you are not tech savvy. Also being able to program things to record is nice, but when you cannot select a channel that really ruins things. Lastly the high price of $150 will turn many of you away

Verdict: 7.5
When I heard I was going to review this device I was pretty excited. I have a HDD/DVD recorder at home, and I really could use a spare video recorder, plus getting to watch the things I recorded on my PSP was also a really nice draw to this device. With its steep learning cure, not able to truly set up a timer recording, and high price point it will be a turn off for many people. Hopefully some of these things can be corrected if the company comes up with more firmware updates. Even though this device has some advantages, at this time the cons really outweigh the pros, especially for the market it is aimed at.