New Toy; Gadget turns all your video into iPod/PSP/phone/lap

[GullyFoyle]

This should anger the procorporate crowd.

http://boingboing.net/
Gadget turns all your video into iPod/PSP/phone/laptop video
Neuros have shipped an amazing-sounding device that takes the video you've already paid for -- DVDs, TV shows, and so on -- and repackages it to play on your PSP, laptop, phone or any other device that can handle MPEG4 video and Memory Sticks or Compact Flash. It's small enough to use as a portable VCR, slipping it into your pocket and taking it on holiday or to meetings.

It's seems ridiculous that you can record a TV show to play back on your TV, but you have to buy it again if you want to watch it on your iPod, phone or PSP. Why do you need to buy a DVD and an iPod version? Why can't you "home-tape" your media to something more convenient, the way you could with your old LPs?

Thank (or curse) the entertainment companies: they have threatened to sue any company that makes a better digital VCR (they put one manufacturer, ReplayTV, out of business, by sucking up all their dough with legal fees). They've even proposed legislation to close the "analog hole" that makes this recording without permission possible. That's right, Hollywood's media-savvy technophobes really think that they'll be able to convince Congress to help them with something called the "A-Hole problem." Hey, if the shoe fits.

But Neuros's pocket-sized "Recorder 2" defects from the tacit agreement to withhold better technology from the market. Just in time for Christmas, Neuros is taking a stand, letting you home-record your stuff and watch it the way you want, the way the law allows. They've even written a stirring editorial explaining their commitment to their customers' freedom, with such choice quotes as "But who will stand up for you today if you are to continue to have the right to enjoy your legally obtained media content wherever and whenever you want?" and "these proposed laws are about Big Media using piracy as an excuse to take away your right to control your own legally obtained content and thereby open up new revenue streams by forcing you to pay multiple times for the same content."

* Record effortlessly from any video source (TV Cable box, Satellite Receiver Box, PVRs or DVRs Like TiVoTM, DVD players, VCR, Camcorders).

* Simple setup that works without a PC and operates like a VCR.

* MPEG-4 video format allows you to view content directly on your PSP(TM) or any other device that accepts standard Memory Stick or Compact Flash (CF) memory cards (not included).

* The MPEG-4 format is also compatible with most other portable media devices.

* A great way to digitize your home movies for archiving, emailing, or playback on portables and laptops.

* Can play back from Recorder 2 through TV's and home theatres. Pocket-sized device is small enough to use as a portable VCR.


Bravo, Neuros. I hope you sell a million of these things. I'm buying one right now.

http://www.neurosaudio.com/store/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=DigitalInnovationsCatalog&...ookie%5Ftest=1
Product Overview

The Neuros MPEG-4 Recorder is a digital VCR for the portable video age. Instead of buying proprietary UMD discs at $20 each from a limited catalog, now you can create open digital video files from all your content that you can use on all your devices anywhere you want. Your PSP™ now has access to the world’s full catalog of video titles.

The MPEG-4 Recorder is like an easy-to-use, free-standing VCR that records onto digital memory cards instead of VHS tapes so that the video is playable directly on the PSP™ or other handheld devices

Read more details about the Neuros MPEG4 Recorder here!

Features

• Record effortlessly from any video source (TV Cable box, Satellite Receiver Box, PVRs or DVRs Like TiVoTM, DVD players, VCR, Camcorders).
• Simple setup that works without a PC and operates like a VCR.
• MPEG-4 video format allows you to view content directly on your PSP™ or any other device that accepts standard Memory Stick or Compact Flash (CF) memory cards (not included).
• The MPEG-4 format is also compatible with most other portable media devices.
• A great way to digitize your home movies for archiving, emailing, or playback on portables and laptops.
• Can play back from Recorder 2 through TV’s and home theatres. Pocket-sized device is small enough to use as a portable VCR.
• 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 PSP™.
• Four recording quality settings: Superfine, Fine, Normal, and Economy.
• Uses Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) format for high-quality stereo sound.
• Upgradeable firmware from www.neurostechnology for future expanded functionality.
• Includes “The Core Pocket Media Player,” an open-source media player for Palm OS-based and Windows CE / Windows Mobile-based devices.
http://www.neurosaudio.com/press/freedom.asp

Your Digital Rights and Why They’re Important to You

Throughout the history of technology, Hollywood has fought innovation at every turn. Even technologies that benefit the studios, and that we take for granted, exist only because someone fought the studios for their very existence. Did you know that modern broadcast radio only exists today because congress forced the record labels to license their music to broadcasters? Similarly, VCRs and MP3 players only exist because they survived Hollywood’s lawsuits.

And who has traditionally led the fight to prevent big media from crushing exciting new media technologies? It may surprise you to know that it’s typically been consumer electronics manufactures. Perhaps the most famous example resulted in the landmark Supreme Court case “Sony Vs Universal Studios” in which Sony successfully fought back misguided attempts to make the VCR illegal. It’s safe to say that if Sony hadn’t gone to the mat against the Hollywood studios back in the mid-70’s and won a surprisingly narrow 5-4 decision, your ability to time shift TV shows or watch pre-recorded videos at home would have never come to be. And, ironically enough (but also typical), Hollywood would be several billion dollars lighter in the wallet if they had won the suit because they would have subsequently lost out on the movie rental bonanza.

But who will stand up for you today if you are to continue to have the right to enjoy your legally obtained media content wherever and whenever you want?

Sad to say, it probably won’t be Sony. While they continue to be a major consumer electronics manufacturer, their acquisition of some of the world’s most powerful movie studios and record labels has apparently made them willing to sacrifice the rights of their own consumers when it potentially conflicts with their own desire to profit from selling the same content over and over. The recent rootkit fiasco -- in which Sony was forced to recall more than 20 million CD’s it sold to the public after it was discovered they contained hidden and potentially malicious spyware-type software -- is testament to that (see this article for more information).

Meanwhile, through its iTunes Music Store, Apple has become the seventh-largest music retailer in the U.S. and is climbing rapidly (see this article). Now with the release of the new iPod with video capabilities, The iTunes Music Store has added a limited selection of low-resolution television shows available for download at $2 a pop, and Apple continues to seek deals with other major video content providers to broaden the selection. Taken by itself, this service is a good thing because it provides one more option for consumers to obtain video content for portable media and other players. The problem comes when Big Media tries to devise ways to make a few such services or technologies the only game in town.

As described in a recent article on boingboing.net, a new proposed "Analog Hole" bill which the RIAA has submitted to congress would make it, “illegal to make anything capable of digitizing video unless it either has all its outputs approved by the Hollywood studios, or is closed-source, proprietary and tamper-resistant. The idea is to make it impossible to create an MPEG from a video signal unless Hollywood approves it.” The article goes on to say that: “ If this had been around in 1976, the VCR would have been illegal. Today, it would ban Mythtv, every tuner-card in the market, and boxes like Elgato's eyeTV the Slingbox and the Orb and the vPod. This is a proposal to turn huge classes of technology into something that exists only at the sufferance of the studios.”

While such legislation is being pushed by the MPAA and the RIAA, companies like Apple and Sony would stand to benefit from it because consumers wishing to transfer legally owned television shows and other video content to handhelds would no longer have the option of recording it and would have little choice but to purchase it a second time from sites like iTunes Music Store. The more such legislation gets passed, the less innovation consumers will see, and the fewer options you will have for enjoying your content.

Make no mistake, stealing content is wrong, but, unfortunately, these new legislative initiatives aren’t about preventing piracy. Why would pirates care about laws that criminalize recordings from analog outputs when they’re already breaking laws that prohibit stealing higher quality digital content? Instead, these proposed laws are about Big Media using piracy as an excuse to take away your right to control your own legally obtained content and thereby open up new revenue streams by forcing you to pay multiple times for the same content.

So, what can you do to protect your digital rights? First, make your own voice heard and take every opportunity to educate others about the efforts underfoot to take away your rights. Get on the forums, write letters to the editor, etc. Second, let your elected officials know that you are a voter and that you support consumers’ rights to control their own legally obtained content. Third, vote twice: once at the polls and once with your pocketbook. Elect public officials that support digital rights preservation for consumers and purchase products that empower you to control your own content while avoiding those that don’t. Finally, support advocacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org) that are working to defend your digital rights.

There are two opposing forces at odds here. On the one hand, there are exciting new technologies that offer more and more choices for consumers to access and enjoy digital media when and where they want it. On the other, there is Big Media and a few of its powerful allies working behind the scenes to limit consumer choices to when and where they want it. How this all plays out will depend on how the rest of us respond in the coming days, weeks and months.

If we work together and make our voices heard, your right to choose will once again prevail. And, if the history of the VCR and radio broadcast is any judge, even Big Media will once again be glad it did.

[ROF]

Neat toy at a good price.

[gadgetguy]

And it has a decent price, only $150. Obviously, this will land in court, but I wonder how many will get sold before an injunction (is that what you call it?) is issued to stop the sale until the court case is decided. And IF they lose, how will it affect those that already purchased them. Should be an interesting item to follow.

[GullyFoyle]

I included their editorial as well. It proves that they intend to put up a fight. Obviously if they are taking such a chance they must have some great hope of winning in court.
And they must have some financial backing behind them.

[ROF]

I don't see where this toy violates the law. It can be used to do so, but so can every consumer device available today.

[celtic_druid]

Exactly. No different really than say a DVD recorder except this one has a hardware SP MPEG-4 encoder instead of MPEG-2 and presumably does lc aac instead of mp3 or AC3,

[GullyFoyle]

I don't see where this toy violates the law. It can be used to do so, but so can every consumer device available today.

I'm sure Adam will offer an opinion as to how big business will be upset.
Legally wouldn't there be problems with recording and converting say TV shows. That was the gist of the various legal interpretations on archiving.
Plus some of the shows are liscenced ( at least clips) for replay on devices like phones.

[ROF]

I'd be curious to hear Adams take on this as well. Of course big media will be upset by this but this device is not specifically for archiving nor is it specifically for violating copyright. Sure it can be used that way but so can the computer I'm typing this on.

[mbellot]

Of course big media will be upset by this but this device is not specifically for archiving nor is it specifically for violating copyright. Sure it can be used that way but so can the computer I'm typing this on.

No, but it sure does look like they are marketing it that way.

It would be nice if this company has the cojones to take the (inevitable) lawsuit to trial so that we can finally put media shifting into the fair use category once and for all.

Cool toy, and I can finally see a decent use for CF Microdrives. I'd hate to be chewing up a flash based CF card with this bad boy.

Full D1 resolution would have been a really nice bonus, but 640x480 is not too shabby.

[rumplestiltskin]

A new "rev 3" unit is in the works and set for release later this year.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/11/neuros_product_roadmap/

[devdev]

once say a video is converted - how does one transfer to say dvd? is it possible using a standard eiting programme?

[yoda313]

Well if you don't have a computer capture card or a settop dvd recorder I can see the value of this.

But if you have a settop dvd recorder you can record your shows and rip it to your computer. Then you can use the freeware or payware converter programs for ipod/psp/etc...

Or capture to avi on your capture card and make a mpeg4 out of that.

But for newbs it would be a good idea if the price is right.

[joepic]

A nice review of the Neuro's Recorder 2 can be found here:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/01/review_neuros_mpeg_recorder_2/

Verdict
Neuros' MPEG 4 Recorder was a great product for getting movies and TV shows onto a PDA, and the Recorder 2, with its more widely supported video and audio codecs, PSP-friendly encoding settings, and near-DVD quality TV recording, is a big step forward. It's still not the last word in PVRs, of course, but the new version does a better job than its predecessor.

It's a shame Neuros felt it necessary to drop the unit's USB 2.0 support, particularly since the unit's support for the iPod video format puts Mac and PC connectivity at a premium. Fortunately, USB-based card readers are very cheap these days, but it's still a disappointing omission.

PSP users will be less concerned about that than owners of other mobile devices, and for them the MPEG 4 Recorder 2 costs less than eight pre-recorded UMDs, always a galling purchase when you own the content in other forms, such as DVD. The same goes for anyone who has a fifth-generation iPod - users benefit too. And it also makes a pretty decent VCR replacement. ®

[joepic]

Neuros preps DVD-quality, HDD-enabled video recorders from this article:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/11/neuros_product_roadmap/

"Neuros is to update its MPEG-4 Video Recorder with a new industrial design and an integrated hard-disk drive. It is also preparing to revive its Digital Audio Computer (DAC) line of MP3 players, basing both systems on both a common hardware platform and open-source firmware.

Both the Recorder III and the Neuros III DAC will be based on a dual-core CPU from Texas Instruments and a Linux-derived operating system, CEO Joe Born revealed in a presentation given to The Register last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. So too will an upcoming upgrade to the company's hand-held media player, the 442.

So, the Recorder III and the 442 Version 2 will both support DVD-quality video recording, and all three devices will provide 96KHz, 24-bit "audiophile" sound quality. They are all likely to operate as USB hosts to enable them to connect directly to media sources such as digital cameras and camcorders.

The 442v2 and the Neuros III will offer NeurosCast, the company's patented FM transmission system. According to Born, the patent covers integrated FM transmission from a handheld device.

Final specifications have yet to be set in stone, but the Recorder III is expected to support Ethernet networking and, we'd guess, WLAN connectivity. The 442v2 will sport a 3.6in TFT display, Born said, plus a choice of 40GB or 100GB storage capacity.

Before the Recorder III ships - tentatively scheduled for Q3 2006 - Neuros will offer a hard drive-equipped version of its Recorder 2 product, offering 40-120GB of storage on which to encode video in iPod- and PlayStation Portable-compatible formats. The move addresses one of the limitations of the current Recorder 2 - the need to store recordings on memory cards. That's fine for a device designed to make it easy to get content onto mobile devices, but limits the unit's value as a set-top box. The addition of a hard drive should change that.

At this stage it's not clear to what extent Neuros will build in broader PVR functionality, but the fact it makes the machine's firmware available under an open-source licence means it's entirely possible its users will add any missing features themselves. Neuros specifically pitches its products at the more geeky end of the market.

The Recorder HD is timed to appear in Q2, Neuros said, ahead of the 442v2 in the Q2/Q3 timeframe. The Neuros III DAC is scheduled to launch Q1 2007, but Born stressed all these release windows are provision and may yet change. ®"