Ever want to play your favorite TV shows on your PSP or iPod video in MP4 format?  Now you can with the Neuros Recorder 2.  This nifty little piece of hardware has all you’ll need to take your favorite television shows, movies, or pictures with you on the go.First, allow me to say this, to use the Neuros Recorder 2 in its full capacity, you will need a few other items depending on what you intend on using it for.  I purchased an MS duo card as well as a compact flash card and a card reader for the review.  Out of the box, it comes with the unit itself, a power supply, two mini-plug composite wires and a remote. The NR2 is very small, hardly bigger than a game case and can be easily concealed if need be.All that is needed to set it up is to plug it in and connect the mini-plug into the out on the NR2 and VGA cables into your TV, DVD, or cable box.  Once you arrive at the NR2's interface, the rest is pretty will be self-explanatory, and while I’m on the subject of the interface, my only complaint is that it is a little drab, other than that though, it’s very simple to get to where you want to go.   Still on the TV and DVD aspect, the NR2 works like a Tivo.  You’ll be able to record movies and shows at will, as long as the memory card has sufficient space.  It also has a timer, so you may set the NR2 to record your program when you’re away or asleep.  You can also set the resolution quality from economy to superfine.  Obviously, economy will not look as good as superfine, but it doesn’t take up as much space. To give you an idea, I recorded parts of a program on all four quality settings for a minute and 2 seconds. Each was recorded in TV VGA mode.  Economy: Very pixilated. Very high compression ratio allows for small size and very long recording time. 5.34 MBs for 1minute and 2 secondsNormal: Still pixilated, but still has a long recording time. 7.39 MBs for 1m and 2sFine:  Best bang for the buck, so to speak. Looks good and gives you more recording time than superfine.  8.7 MBs for 1m and 2sSuperfine: Sharper color than fine and you can see a little difference in picture quality, but almost double the file size of fine.  15.9 MBs to 1m and 2sAs stated above, the preceding was recorded in TV VGA mode, which I played back on the computer.  Now, there are other resolutions than just the aforementioned one, and they are WQVGA and QVGA.  Please note that these two modes can only be recorded in economic and normal mode.  This is due to the fact that they are made for the PSP and iPod video respectively. 

• WQVGA = 368 x 208. PSP
• QVGA = 320 x 240.  iPod video
• TV VGA = 640 x 480

As I’ve mentioned the iPod and PSP already, it seems like a good place to talk about what the NR2 does with them. Although, at the time of this review, I did not have access to an iPod,  I can tell you that because the iPod video does not have a flash card slot nor an ms duo slot, you will need to have the card reader hooked up to your computer to get the videos and then send them to your iPod.  Easy enough, so we will jump right to the PSP portion.PSP Compatibility PSP owners should be well aware of the fact that the .MP4 video file type is supported by all firmware versions, and luckily, this recorder works flawlessly with Sony’s cute little handheld. Just like you would normally, you can place a PSP memory card in the MS DUO slot, where it will instantly be recognized. All of the programming features, as before, will be intact, such as the timer function and quality settings.However, due to the PSP’s limited hardware capabilities, not all of the quality settings can be used. The problem is that it can only play video at a maximum bitrate of about 768kbps, which is equal to the recorder’s ‘normal’ quality setting. Due to this, the fine and superfine options are unavailable, so you won’t quite get that UMD video quality level that is so highly coveted. In Neuros’s defense though, this is actually a problem with the PSP and not their hardware, so we really can’t hold it against them.To combat this problem though, the ‘TV’ mode can be selected if you still want to record high quality video onto your PSP. By doing this, a new folder will be created on your memory stick that will prevent the video from showing up within the PSP’s menu. If you do try to play a video that is of too high quality it will make your PSP crash, so this is mostly a safety feature.The .MP4 file can easily be accessed via a USB cable and voila, your PSP can now record video straight off the television for your viewing pleasure on the PC. For those of you on the move a lot, you can use the timer feature to automatically record your favorite shows and then watch them anywhere if you don’t mind a minor loss in quality. The sound quality coming out of the PSP’s speaker isn’t too impressive, again because of the hardware limitations, but if you have a pair of headphones or a docking station, then the audible experience will be nothing short of satisfactory as well. Now, my guess is the NR2 was made for taking videos with you on your portable devices; however, it can do so much more.  “What?” You ask.  Well, I will tell you!  The NR2 can get videos, pictures, and music from almost any source you can hook it up to. It has a photo slideshow so you can show your vacation pictures, accompanied by music than you can store on there.  If you are a gamer like myself, you can hook it up to any console gaming system and take videos or screen shots.  Personally, this is just great and any game reviewer would love to have this little piece of hardware.As we come to the end of the review, I will take your through the pros and cons of the Neuros Recorder 2.  I shall start with cons.  The interface color is a little dull, to use it to its full potential, you might need to invest a little more money, albeit, if you already have the duo card, flash card, and reader, this is not a problem. Now, for the pros.  It is very small.  It’s so simple to use, I just can’t get that point across enough.  The NR2 will do more than the manual states, as long as you have the adapters to do so.  Recording game footage from a console or the PSP is just a great inclusion to its abilities.  The fact that it can be used as a Tivo should be a big plus for some people, as you don't have to pay for the actual Tivo service.On a side note, my brother and I spent the better part of a day playing with all of its options.  Both of us were impressed.  As of now, my brother has it set up in his house so it can be switched to record TV, DVD, or game clips with the flip of a switch.  It’s this reviewer’s opinion that this is a must have for any gamer or movie fan.  Nothing I have experimented with can do what this gem can and I could only imagine that the next incarnation of it will surpass it in every way.   6>Hardware Hell Recommended