chiskip
11-26-2007, 02:02 PM
This Neuros is very cool. I took it out of the box Friday night to see what was required for hardware setup (simple) and reviewed the documentation. The compact size is really nice; you could put this thing almost anywhere.
I spent probably ˝ of Saturday messing around with it between chores and college football. I hooked it up to our Comcast cable box (non-DVR) and normal stereo TV (old tube one upstairs). Hardware setup is easier than the old VCR’s. Connect red/white/yellow a/v in from cable box, and same out to TV.
Once set up, I started toying around with the unit. The user manual is good, but not dummy proof. On p. 24 where it talks about TV recording to the Neuros, it never says how to access the “record” menu from step 1. I think it assumes that you have read the manual up to that point and know to use the double folder button (2nd button on the 2nd row) to access the main recording menu from the TV viewing screen. So, after going back to page 1 and reading through all of the photo viewing & music playing stuff, I figured out how to access the TV recording menu.
I tried an old CF card from my camera, I believe a SanDisk 1.0 GB, but after testing recording and putting it in the card slot at my PC, the card was not recognized. I then tried another 1.0GB CF card, this time a PNY, and it’s working well. I don’t know if it’s a brand/format issue, or just a bad card on my part (the SanDisk does still work with the camera). Anyway, I have a working card (I have a couple more that I want to try just so I have a backup or two.
My first recording test was the real-time recording. Just press “record” to start and again to stop. I checked the recording (a couple minutes of some football game) on my PC and it played back fine with the QuickTime player. I moved the file to my hard drive, imported to iTunes, then synced to my iPod. Great sound, but no video. Since the video played on QuickTime, I assumed (we all know the danger there) the issue was at the PC or resolution level, not the recorder. So, I tested a few different resolutions based on their guide and still got the same result. Hmmm . . . I finally performed a firmware upgrade following the instructions on their website and, voila, working video/audio!
Next I toyed around with acceptable resolution (you never want to waste memory/storage needlessly!). For iPod, I tested 320X240 30fps; superfine, fine, and normal. I may check “economic” mode sometime just for kicks, but haven’t yet. After testing the three resolutions, I settled on normal since I couldn’t tell much of a difference between the three. With normal, I still see subtitles, scores, etc. in good detail.
After getting the resolution issue nailed down, I started messing around with the timer recording. Once again, the user manual is not dummy proof. If you go to “timer record” on p. 25 and follow the steps all the way through “save” you think you’re done. However, you also must also set the “timer record” field to “on” from the previous menu (see illustration on p. 24). My first attempt (three Sarah Silverman episodes back to back to back, late-night Saturday) failed because I did not set the p. 25 timer to the “on” position. I tried Sunday a few times and finally figured out the p. 24 “on” button. Of the 6 available recording options, I am still only using 1. I will venture into multiple options after I know I’ve perfected the 1. I now have King Of The Hill, Family Guy, and Simpsons timer recorded from Sunday evening.
That’s it for now. I still plan to test the following:
Recording from DVR.
Economic resolution.
Multiple timer recordings.
Etc.
After minor hair pulling and getting hands-on understanding of the unit, it’s definitely two thumbs up!
I spent probably ˝ of Saturday messing around with it between chores and college football. I hooked it up to our Comcast cable box (non-DVR) and normal stereo TV (old tube one upstairs). Hardware setup is easier than the old VCR’s. Connect red/white/yellow a/v in from cable box, and same out to TV.
Once set up, I started toying around with the unit. The user manual is good, but not dummy proof. On p. 24 where it talks about TV recording to the Neuros, it never says how to access the “record” menu from step 1. I think it assumes that you have read the manual up to that point and know to use the double folder button (2nd button on the 2nd row) to access the main recording menu from the TV viewing screen. So, after going back to page 1 and reading through all of the photo viewing & music playing stuff, I figured out how to access the TV recording menu.
I tried an old CF card from my camera, I believe a SanDisk 1.0 GB, but after testing recording and putting it in the card slot at my PC, the card was not recognized. I then tried another 1.0GB CF card, this time a PNY, and it’s working well. I don’t know if it’s a brand/format issue, or just a bad card on my part (the SanDisk does still work with the camera). Anyway, I have a working card (I have a couple more that I want to try just so I have a backup or two.
My first recording test was the real-time recording. Just press “record” to start and again to stop. I checked the recording (a couple minutes of some football game) on my PC and it played back fine with the QuickTime player. I moved the file to my hard drive, imported to iTunes, then synced to my iPod. Great sound, but no video. Since the video played on QuickTime, I assumed (we all know the danger there) the issue was at the PC or resolution level, not the recorder. So, I tested a few different resolutions based on their guide and still got the same result. Hmmm . . . I finally performed a firmware upgrade following the instructions on their website and, voila, working video/audio!
Next I toyed around with acceptable resolution (you never want to waste memory/storage needlessly!). For iPod, I tested 320X240 30fps; superfine, fine, and normal. I may check “economic” mode sometime just for kicks, but haven’t yet. After testing the three resolutions, I settled on normal since I couldn’t tell much of a difference between the three. With normal, I still see subtitles, scores, etc. in good detail.
After getting the resolution issue nailed down, I started messing around with the timer recording. Once again, the user manual is not dummy proof. If you go to “timer record” on p. 25 and follow the steps all the way through “save” you think you’re done. However, you also must also set the “timer record” field to “on” from the previous menu (see illustration on p. 24). My first attempt (three Sarah Silverman episodes back to back to back, late-night Saturday) failed because I did not set the p. 25 timer to the “on” position. I tried Sunday a few times and finally figured out the p. 24 “on” button. Of the 6 available recording options, I am still only using 1. I will venture into multiple options after I know I’ve perfected the 1. I now have King Of The Hill, Family Guy, and Simpsons timer recorded from Sunday evening.
That’s it for now. I still plan to test the following:
Recording from DVR.
Economic resolution.
Multiple timer recordings.
Etc.
After minor hair pulling and getting hands-on understanding of the unit, it’s definitely two thumbs up!