Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for recording and editing on PC, December 22, 2005
I really have a single use for this little beauty: my digital DVD/Hard Drive unit will NOT record my premium cable channels. My cable provider (or the channels, themselves) clearly sends some sort of proprietary signal that disables recording of STARZ, HBO, CinemMax, etc. Yes, I could record to plain VCR (yes, I still have one) and I am sure there are more elegant solutions *but* I wanted to generate DVDs and NOT more VHS tapes. SO, solution: the Mustek. It records ANYTHING that comes across your TV. If you hit your TV's MENU button while you are recording to the Mustek, it will record that. It runs off you TV - not the cable; anything and everything. I have also managed to convert some of my 6 hour VHS tape archives to digital video using this method.
Now, its a simpler - if not a perfect - system. I record video (in HQ mode) to my Mustek, USB the file(s) to my PC, and burn them to DVD on my PC's drive. The quality is excellent, at least for my eyes and preferences. I am quite sure the inventors at Mustek wanted their gem used in such a simple system but it certainly does what I expected and needed.
And, though I seldom use them, the other functions (playing and viewing the video or JPEG photos from the Mustek LED, MP3 player, and even storing backup PC files to the hard drive or external - optional - SD card) are quite acceptable as well. For my purposes, as outlined previously, this has been a very useful and cost-effective device. Construction quality is GOOD, the LED screen is quite bright enough and the PC interface is seamless.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very cool device but watch out for all the undocumented items!, March 5, 2006
I have such mixed feeling about this device.... once you get past all the weird behavior, the device is really cool and is fun to use, but the hurdles one goes through to get to this point are many....
When I first received my device, I turned it on, it came up, and I played some of the sample movies and pics. There is a movie of a Chinese family playing in the backyard and blowing bubbles.... There were also many images of similar people. I then deleted all the sample images I found - BIG MISTAKE....
Mustek made a poor decision in making all "required" files accessible to the user - and it mixes them with the sample files - bottom line, is that after deleting what I thought were all the "sample files," the main menu was distorted.....like you were looking at a monitor in a resolution it doesn't support. On top of that, the fonts weren't working, so I could see any of the settings I was trying to change. Mustek should have put these required files into firmware and not where someone can delete them. After visiting their Mustek's web site, I see this is something addressed in their FAQs. It's evidently a common issue and there is no warning at all about watching out for this. I downloaded the restore file and restored my files...
The next thing that is weird is how slowly the device scrolls between MP3 files.... while you can skip a screen at a time, even this is slow. The sound quality is OK..... Due to the slow scrolling, I would be hesitant to carry this everywhere with me. I would like to be able to do this.
Another thing that bugged me is that on some screens, paths are expressed in 8.3 format only, so you see paths like C:\basica~1\xxxx etc.... it just seems like someone took a shortcut here instead of taking the time to display the path in a long format.
The thing I had the biggest problem with was the video recording.... First of all, the software was slightly different than the manual - very confusing.... and all the manual pictures were so dark you could not see them. but the biggest thing that drove me nuts was using the timer. Basically, to record, you have to set a recording quality, start time, and end time.... to help you, the machine sets the start time to the current time, leaving you to set the end time. What the manual doesn't tell you is that if you accept the current time as the Start time and if you save these settings a minute after the start time, the recording never starts! I learned the hard way that you have to set the time to 1 or 2 minutes after the current time so that the change to that minute will trigger the time - very aggravating!
Oh yes, how to set the time?! There is a setup area where you can set everything except the time and date....so weird..... instead, you have to go through another area in the calendar to set the current time.... the interface is just not consistent and not intuitive....
I really had the feeling that this device had its software made quickly, in a foreign country, without any input from real users. The device should certainly not place its most important files in a place a person might delete them, especially when there is no warning about this....
Lastly, the belt clip is a joke..... It attaches in a weird way and its design gives the impression it was an afterthought....
Anyway, once you get past all these idiosyncrasies, the device is pretty cool and being able to record your DVDs into the device and then take them on a trip is very nice.... the device does work well once you understand what areas to remain away from..... The software really needs to be redesigned by a US company, where users are given input.
Enjoy!
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
So far so good., January 27, 2006
I am a college professor and was looking for a portable media center to transsport a semesters work of class files and to have a device that could record programs/documentaries,news that may be pertinent to class discussions. I narrowed my search did extensive research on the Mustek PVR-H140, The RCA Lyra model, and the Archos AV400 series. I compared tech specs and read other reader reviews, but realistically my purchase came down to price in the end being that all models recieved good to excellent average ratings/reviews. I purchased the PVR-H140 for $210 from the Home Shopping Newtork website after holiday discounts, a coupon code and a $20 rebate from Mustek.
It came down between the Mustek and the RCA since Sears had it on special for $199. The determining factor which really steered me from the RCA was that Sears was out of stock would not honor the sale price even though the product was miraculously back in stock the day after the sale ended. Something fishy there and has soured my view of the store. Between the Mustek and RCA, they both had comparable capabilities that made those a wash on paper. I did like that the RCA had a narrower profile, but the aspect that would have pulled me towardes the Mustek is that it had double the capcity (40gb compared to 20gb) and accepted SD cards, which my current digital camera also uses.
My only real problem with the device is the poor mp3 interface. Complicating this and possible other future issues is that Mustek, after my inquiry, informed me that there will be no future software upgrades for the device...this was made perfectly clear. RCA and Archos do upgrade thier device software; I thought this was standard, but evidentially not.
If price was not an issue for me, I probably would have gone for the Archos especially since they offer a new 80gb model in the AV400 series. Needless to say, the Archos is much more costly, even without the discounts I received. Another small issue was the carrying case provided as an accessory; it is just a cheap velvety pouch with a drawstring...no protection at all.
Overall, this device has performed very well in this first month and there are no indications of any problems with the device. It seems of sturdy construction, so I wonder what the earlier reviewer who complained about the buttons was talking about. Of course this is not the best personal media device in the world, but a great little device for the money paid. I only wish Mustek would show more dedication to this product by issuing software upgrades to improve its capabilities (eg. the ability to read pdf files and a better mp3 interface). Maybe if enough owners/customers made this suggestion, they would see the value...I have already done this.
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