I recently read on Gizmodo that Sony plans on releasing a "Memory Stick Video recorder" which is device that records video from a TV or DVD player via composite or S-video and analog audio inputs, recording the signal directly onto a Memory Stick Pro Duo for playback on the Playstation Portable (PSP). They are going to be asking $215 for this device, and it wont be available for a few months. My first thought... *GASP* Sorry Sony, but it is a little to late. I have been testing a device for the last couple weeks that can already do this, the Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2.

The PSP will accept MPEG4 video files with a bitrate up to 768kbs, and the PSP's Native screen resolution is 480x272. Couple that with the fact that in order to even play the videos, they have to be located in the \MP_ROOT\100MNV01\ folder and it seems like Sony went out of their way to make it difficult. Now that I see they are releasing a hardware device to do just that for me... It is all starting to make sense.

Lucky for us Neuros has already released their device, and even though you can tell it is not quite a "mature product" at this point, I can say that it does exactly what it was built to do, Transfer video onto your PSP.

Size Comparison: Neuros & Remote vs. PSP & MS Stick PRO DUO

Neuros Price: $149.99 Box Contents: Neuros MPEG4 Video Recorder 2 Power Adapter Remote Control 2 component cables 2 Scart adapters (AV OUT and AV OUT) CD Containing: User manual and Media player software for Palm and Windows Mobile Devices Printed User Manual

The best way to describe the Neuros is a DVR for your PSP. The setup is similar to that of a VCR, as it resides in between your video source, and your television. The Memory Stick Pro DUO (or compact flash) is removed from your PSP and inserted into the Neuros Recorder.

AV IN and OUT connections (rear view of device)

CF and MS Stick PRO DUO slots (front view of device)

Using an onscreen display, you are navigate the different Neuros Recorder 2 features. You are able to access and display media on your television (that you may have previously stored on your memory card) such as Photos (JPG, GIF, & BMP), Music (MP3 play without any visualizations), or videos. But what we are really after is the record function.

OSD of the Neuros MPEG4 Recorder2

Recording using this device is relatively simple, since we set it up inline with the source that we want to record, all we have to do is hit play on the DVD (if we want to record from a DVD) and then Record on the Neuros device. But before we get going on that, it is worth it to mention that the Neuros has the ability to record in three different resolutions: TV VGA, WQVGA and QVGA. Notice that for the PSP only WQVGA and QVGA are compatible, and then only normal and economic quality settings are available.

Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2 Resolution settings

It is worth it to mention that Neuros has included some interesting features that could be used to almost make your PSP "Tivo" like. You will notice in the above screenshot that you have the ability to Timer Record and Auto Record. The timer record function gives us the ability to record at a certain time for a certain amount of time, where the auto record feature allows us to record for an allotted amount of time.

The Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2 is ready to record. You can see the DVD video "Passing through"

I put in a test DVD of "EuroTrip" and tried out both the QVGA and WVGA in "Normal Quality" mode to see how they stacked up on my PSP.

QVA in Normal mode

WQVGA in Normal mode

As you can see WQVGA is 16x9 standard (which translates to a full screen movie) and is a LOT clearer. The interesting thing to note is that both file sizes are very similar. So if you are going to record for your PSP, make sure to use the WQVGA setting. **See the end of the article for more movie shots**

Conclusion: The Neuros MPEG4 Recorder 2 is a great device that makes it easy to get videos on your PSP.

The Goods:

• Easy to setup. If you can setup a VCR you can set up the Neuros Recorder 2
• EXCELLENT VIDEO Quality vs. File size. I was blown away by the quality of the WQVGA video that this hardware device produced. I was able to get an entire movie plus several homebrew games on 1GB stick.
• Extra timing features could be useful for recording your favorite TV show

The Needs Improvements:

• The GUI. It isn't written very user friendly nor graphically appealing. Unfortunately that will be the first thing that non technical people will notice. I am sure when the Sony device is released that it will have a slick user interface that will have a wow factor...
• When recording a movie, I did find that in order to get the entire movie (and only the movie) recorded you either have to:
  • Watch the entire movie, and then stop it when finished or
  • Set the timer to record the exact time of the movie (+/- a minute or so).
  This is not a problem with the player at all, just an inherent problem with the pass through recording model. I started my DVD recording and forgot about it for 4 hours.. I came back to the movie and a lot of the title screen.  Maybe they should include some sort of video editing software that allows for simple "on the fly" cuts or something.. I don't know.
• Documentation.  It was a little light, and written to "technical".  I need to be able to give this to my wife and have her be able to understand it.
  

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Now.. As most of you know, a device doesn't make it very long in my house till it is taken apart. Here are some naked pics of it. (do I see a missing FW connector?)

--Addl photos