Mustek PVRA1 Personal Media Center

by Mustek

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 96 x 77 x 20 inches ; 1.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002MGZPA
• Item model number: PVRA1
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,281 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 23, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Features include

• 7-in-1 personal multi-functional portable device for easy sharing (Digital Video Player, Digital Video Recorder, Digital Photo Player, Digital Voice Recorder, MP3 Player, Mass Storage, SD/MMC Card Reader)
• Digital video and audio recording (MPEG4 compatible file format) through AV in
• Enjoy MP3 music with different audio effects (Pop, Jazz, Classic, Bass, Rock)
• Playback photos and videos on 2.5" color TFT LCD display anytime and anywhere
• Personalized alarm sound available in either music or voice options
• Palm-sized design for easy carrying and viewing
• User-friendly G.U.I.Control: Surprisingly Intuitive Graphical User Interface enables User to operate with ease
• AV Recording (MPEG4 compatible format): You can record your favorite TV show directly and even set the timer record
• Multimedia Converter Program: Easy-to-use file conversion program. It helps to convert all the files (ASF/JPG/MP3/WAV) to be played on the PVR fast and smoothly
• Direct Print provides a direct connect solution for this PVR to communicate with PictBridge supported the printers

Software Included

• VideoStudio SE
• Photo Express SE
• Photo Explorer
• Acrobat Reader

What's in the box:
PVR-A1, earphone, user manual, getting started, quick guide, installation CD, software application CD, AV cable, USB cable, power adapter, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, protection bag.

Product Description

DIGITAL VIDEO/RECORDER PLAYBACK, DIGITAL PHOTO, VOICE RECORDER,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

271 of 274 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good value with some drwabacks, December 11, 2004

By 

W. Lukes "blchicago" (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mustek PVRA1 Personal Media Center (Electronics)

I was toying with buying a "Video Now" or "Juice Box" like device for my mature and soon to be twelve year old girl, but was unhappy with their proprietary media and associated high cost. I was looking for other options and happened across the Mustek PVR-A1. The price varies significantly from seller to seller, and I located it for $129. It seemed like an inexpensive alternative, so I opened the box and played with it to be sure it met my expectations before giving it to her.

Before I get critical, I want to summarize that I am overall impressed by this compact piece of technology. It does everything it says in the ads, and the 2.5 inch screen is adequate. Its capability to expand its memory with cheap SD/MMC cards is a great feature. I located a 512M card for the device for around $25 (with rebate) and according to the directions my daughter will be able to record over four hours of video. Better yet, she'll be able to delete them or transfer them to computer, making room for new ones. Try that with a "Video Now!"

The PVR-A1 appears very close in features and form factor to the Audiovox PVR1000. Perhaps the same unit? I bring this up because Audiovox says their unit will take a 1 Gig. (twice the size of 512M) memory card. Mustek says the unit is "only tested to 512M." So, perhaps some larger 1 Gig. cards will work.

So, the first thing you need to know about recording programs, etc., is that you need "VIDEO OUT" jacks to do so. Easy access to "VIDEO OUT" jacks will make your life easier. The three little hook ups on the front of your TV or VCR are usually "VIDEO IN" and won't work. If you have a portable DVD player or laptop DVD with "VIDEO OUT", then your job will be much easier. In summary, if you've never hooked up a VCR or DVD player and don't understand the basics, this unit may not be for you.

One of the easier solutions is to run cables from Video Out jacks on back of a VCR, then the PVR-A1 unit will be able to record both TV from the VCR tuner and video cassette tapes. If the jacks are already occupied, you can get "two into one" adapters at RAdio Shack.

I first experimented with recording a DVD. As mentioned above, I crawled to the back of my stereo cabinet and plugged in the PVR-A1 jacks. The PVR was set up to record in LP mode, which conserves memory by recording lower quality video. Barely adequate, as the image was frequently pixelized (visual blocks of color). But after going into the unit's set-up and changing it to SP, the image was clear - just some of the text in the credits had rough edges. The image I recorded was wide screen, and I noticed some of the screen pixels in the first line at the top and unused by the video, were white, not black. Minorly annoying imperfection, and not there when something is recorded in full screen.

The buttons take some getting used to but function OK. The On-Off button is small - so small I can't use my thumb to turn it on. And it seems I have to hold some buttons down a second or two longer than I anticipate to get the function to work - as though there's a slight delay.

The menus for each individual feature (video player, MP3 player, etc) are a little difficult to access and master the interface. The up side is these are probably items you won't have to access often - for example, changing SP speed to LP in the video set-up or the equalizer settings in the MP3 player. The volume and fast forward-rewind are the same lever, and you need to toggle the two functions by pushing another button. I sometimes found myself fast-forwarding an MP3 when I really wanted to adjust the volume.

The MP3 player sounds OK. The games are probably useless to most. The clock and calendar have little functionality, and are probably onboard only for scheduling recording times. Yes, you can set up the PVR to record at a certain time.

So, consider the price! I think it's a great trade-off for some of its shortcomings. And if you have a way to easily hook up a video source for recording, you'll definitely make good use of the device.

I looked the Internet over for a review before purchasing the device and couldn't find any. I hope you find this useful.

Bill L.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Price all portable PVR's should strive for!, January 29, 2005

By 

M. Zietlow (SD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mustek PVRA1 Personal Media Center (Electronics)

This is an excellent Multimedia device. If your looking for a GENERAL Video/Audio player/recorder you just cant beat the price! I purchased it with a Lexar 1GB card and it works great. There are only two complaints that I have to this otherwise great device.

1. PVRA1 Only displays 8 character format names(ABCDEF~1.MP3) and auto sorts them?! :(
2. PVRA1 Doesnt handle PlayLists!
3. PVRA1 requires supplied video encoding software. (Cant use DrDiVX and just copy it over.)

These are simple fixes that will require some MAJOR complaining to the VP's over at mustek to get it addressed!

The player does what it advertises. The Video & Sound quality is great, the supplied case was a nice pluss, and being a SOLID STATE device unlike most other (portable MP4/DiVX) players you wont have to worry about the hard disk failing down the road bad sectors. 4/5!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More fun than a barrel of monkeys, March 9, 2005

By 

some guy... (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mustek PVRA1 Personal Media Center (Electronics)

[...] PROS: First this is a very small light player. Construction and finish are excellent. The blue front and back are metal. The "Mustek" logo is brushed metal. Conrtrolls are very fast and easy. Just plug it into your TV, VCR, DVD player, and record. You can't do that with the PSP and I don't believe you can do that with the Archos Gemini. Picture is sharp and clear. MP3 sound is clean. Sound recorder- distance from subject is critical, but, I recorded my friend playing classical guitar with the on-board mike and the sound was very good (more so with better earbuds). Very nice case, with 2 pockets for SD cards. (I got a 1G card for $60 after rebates at Office Max. Just watch for sales.) For your photos, the slide show option is very nice with each of your pictures materializing in a different way. I like the callendar...what can I say? CONS: A movie in full screen looks fine. A movie in wide screen is only 7/8 inch tall, but is still clear. Here's the big problem with this thing. When you directly record from a DVD, a TV show or a VHS tape that came with a movie on it, there is a static sound in the video's audio- not enough to ruin the movie, just enough to be anoying. I tried recording from different sources, even new electronics in stores, but the noise was always there. I'm certain that if you ripped a DVD to hard drive, and converted it, the sound would be perfect... but I don't even want to mess with that. I suspect a $500 Archos that can record directly like the PVR1 would have the same problem, I don't know..) Here's the good news. If you record a TV show onto VHS and record that with your PVR, the playback sound will be acceptable. The menu icon on the PVR for video record is a VHS tape- maybe they are trying to tell us something? I recorded Raiders of the Lost Ark off TV a few years ago- not only is the sound ok, it's naturaly in FULL screen, which is what you want with this player. ..But "I want to watch my "Hidalgo" DVD, and AMC isn't going to show it for a few years yet". What you can do is record it off your TV with a camcorder. You can pan, zoom and have full screen or not, or even close ups! Then run the camcorder into the front of your vcr, and record to the PVR out the back. Picture will be degraded, (in some ways, enhanced) but bigger and -It's like a movie you shot...kinda. It's fun! Don't even think about playing the two dumb games the PVRA1 has. MP3 sound is good, but you can't get the volume WAY loud. There is no mega-bass eq setting. There is a "bass" option, but it just lowers the highs. TIPS- When the red LED light goes out, the battery is not fully charged. Charge it overnight. Fully charged this way, I got 2 hours and 15 minutes of continuous video play. When the screen gets greasy, put a little water (not spit) on a clean finger and wipe it on the screen. Dry your finger on clean clothes, then wipe more water off the screen, dry finger and repeat. I wouldn't use any kind of paper or cloth. Clean FLESH won't scratch anything. Record movies in sections. They flow together seamlessly and you'll get thumbnails so you can go to any number of scenes, like a chapter menu.