Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2 Review

The MPEG4 Recorder 2 from Neuros keeps the same very small form factor than the previous one, while improving on the ease of use and video quality. A Memory Stick card slot replaces the Secure Digital (SD) slot present on the original MPEG4 Recorder. Owners of the Sony PSP portable game console will appreciate this decision. A Compact Flash (CF) slot is still present to use the superior capacity of micro-drives. This video recorder is probably the easiest way to convert analog video to an MPEG4 file, ready to use in a mobile device (or a desktop computer). The full review starts below.

What’s in the box?
• The Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2
• Power Adapter
• Remote Control
• 2 sets of Audio/Video cables
• User Manual

Physical Description
The Recorder 2 looks very similar to the first version. It is very small, light (4.6 inches x 3.42 x .71 inches. 4.9 oz.) and has a shiny black finish on the top. The front hosts the Memory Stick and Compact flash slots, while the power and video in/out are located in the back.

Usage
This gadget is very simple to use: - Connect an video to the video IN (analog source) - Connect the video OUT to the TV - Insert a storage card - And voila, you’re ready to record!

Neuros has improved the user interface quite a bit. The video preview works much better and it is a breeze to start recording. It took us less than 5 minutes before recording our first video. The menus are somewhat intuitive, we did not have to read the manual to setup the video quality or choose the file directory in which the video was going to be recorded.

Videos
Once recorded, the videos can immediately be replayed on the TV or on the mobile device of your choice (provided that such a device can play MPEG4 files). We previously used a Treo 650 for our tests, but this time, the Sony PSP will be the platform of choice.

After recording a movie clip, we moved the Memory Stick from the Neuros Recorder to the Sony PSP and played it. The video was playing smoothly at 30fps, just as expected. Overall, the video is good, at least as good as all the clips that we’ve downloaded from Sony or other game makers. We used the following settings to test the PSP video: 368x208 Super Fine.

It is unfortunate that the PSP console can only replay 368x208 pixels video files from a Memory Stick. Our contact at Neuros confirmed this to us: it’s a PSP limitation. The console can play higher resolution videos (480x272) from a UMD drive.

As a quick note, I would like to recommend to Neuros to bump the resolution of the User Interface a bit, it looks very blocky on the TV. Also, I think that a slightly better remote would make the experience better.

Other improvements
Neuros has added the support for many media formats such as MP3, WMA, JPG, ASF or DivX (play mode). The player now has a programmable schedule, which was lacking previously. The recorder is upgradeable so stay tuned for additional updates from Neuros.

Final words
If you want to convert analog video to MPEG4, this Neuros Recorder 2 is a very good option, especially for low-resolution videos. Users who need a higher resolution video might be attracted by solutions that hook-up on the desktop PC, for storage reasons. However, another solution might not be as simple, small or cute.

Product home page
Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 1 Review

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