Mustek PVR-A1 - Digital AV player - flash 32 MB - 2.5"

...Intro*

The Mustek PVR A1 caught my eye whilst I was browsing some mp3 players online. Not only did it have a very low price (about £70 at the time), but it also boasted a 3 inch colour screen, had the ability to play video's, store images and even more surprisingly it had the ability to record direct from a TV.
Obviously I was sceptical about the quality of such a product after seeing the price and the amount of features which ...
...not to say that the Mustek PVR is a bad product, but it just lacks the overall quality which its innovative features could have so easily delivered.

*The Package*

A colourful and picturesque box was responsible for containing the Mustek PVR, and it did a good job. Upon opening the box I discovered the following items:

Mustek PVR A1,
Wallet-case,
Headphones,
AV Cable,
Li-on ... more

*The Intro*

The Mustek PVR A1 caught my eye whilst I was browsing some mp3 players online. Not only did it have a very low price (about £70 at the time), but it also boasted a 3 inch colour screen, had the ability to play video's, store images and even more surprisingly it had the ability to record direct from a TV.
Obviously I was sceptical about the quality of such a product after seeing the price and the amount of features which it offered. In the end I took a risk, and to be honest I think I should have listened to the sceptical side of me. That's not to say that the Mustek PVR is a bad product, but it just lacks the overall quality which its innovative features could have so easily delivered.

*The Package*

A colourful and picturesque box was responsible for containing the Mustek PVR, and it did a good job. Upon opening the box I discovered the following items:

Mustek PVR A1,
Wallet-case,
Headphones,
AV Cable,
Li-on Battery,
Power Adapter,
USB Cable,
Installation CD,
Ulead VideoStudio 6

The Mustek PVR's appearance borders on the smart/tacky side. Though it is coated with a smart and colourful blue plastic, the metal buttons look a bit cheap. In all it looks a bit like a kid's fancy toy, with the bright blue and silver. The 2.5 inch TFT colour screen takes up most of the PVR helping to keep the size of the PVR to a minimum. The PVR measures 7.7 cm x 9.6 cm x 2 cm, which is an ideal size for something so portable. At a weight of only 110g, the Mustek PVR can go unnoticed whilst in your pocket.
All of the buttons are labelled with their function on the front side of the PVR - Power/Mode/Menu&Stop/Rec&Vol/Play&Pause/OK. I felt that it was quite weird printing the functions of each of the buttons directly on the PVR as the manual included was more than capable at instructing the user. After using the PVR though I am very glad they did - the menu's can be so confusing at times, which I will discuss later. A speaker is also present on the front side of the PVR, which is noticeable due to the raised plastic and the holes that are present to emit the sound.
On the left hand side of the PVR (from looking at it face on) you will find the compartment for the battery. Again this is labelled, with the positive and negative probes also marked onto the PVR. On the right hand side of the PVR you will find a slot for the DS/MMC Card, the port for USB, the headphones jack, the 5V power port and the AV in port. Again these are labelled as to avoid confusion (and damage). Also on this side of the PVR there is a button to lock and unlock the buttons. There is also a play/fast-forward/rewind scroll-button.
The back of the PVR just includes a manufacturer's label, and also has some raised bumps to prevent damage to the PVR when it is placed on a flat surface.

The wallet-case included with the Mustek PVR is a thoughtful touch. Thanks to this little piece of leather I have been able to keep my PVR in pristine condition. The wallet opens up, and contains an empty 'window' section which allows you to slot in your PVR. The wallet is then closed up and sealed with the Velcro strap, or is kept open so it can be used. Thanks to the design of this you are able to get at all of the buttons easily, and the PVR fits in very snugly.

The headphones included are the in-the-ear style, and they look abit cheap - just black plastic, with a touch of silver on the earpieces. These are quite uncomfortable to use, and I find that they often fall out unexpectedly.

The AV Cable is included to allow direct recording from the TV to the PVR. This includes a 3 way pin (red, white and yellow) for connection to the 3 outputs on the TV.

The Installation CD is simple to use, you just have to follow the on-screen prompts. This will then allow images/video's to be transferred between a PC and the PVR, an essential feature. Though you could just use a card-reader (as long as you have an extra card installed in the PVR), using the PC to play around with the contents of the PVR is a doddle.

Ulead VideoStudio is a useful piece of software to be included, though it is often bundled free now a days with many pieces of hardware. This can be used to edit the videos which may have been recorded from the TV, etc.

*Usability and Feelings*

On probably your first go with the PVR you will discover how tacky and awkward the buttons on the device feel to press. Powering the device on usually involves a lot of pressure from the finger, and if you can't reach the button this way you usually have to use your nail because of the way the button is protected to prevent accidental shut-downs. Another thing which will hit you almost straight away is the backward-layout of the menu system. Even now I find it confusing, how each of the buttons corresponds to its given task.
If you can get over little blemishes like these though, the PVR is an enjoyable little device. The screen is very colourful and bright, giving a crisp and clear picture which makes video and image viewing a very enjoyable task.

The internal speaker is of a surprisingly good quality, with music and video files easily audible. The PVR supports WAV, ASF, MP3 format audio files, which are probably the most common ones used at the moment (missing WMA though). MPEG4 and JPEG are the video and image formats that are supported on the PVR, both of which are usually compressed. Obviously the speaker on the PVR is not very powerful, giving quite a flat sound due to the lack of bass available. Personally though I feel that if people are going to be using this device whilst on the move, they are bound to be listening via headphones - so I doubt they really care about the quality of the speaker.

Recording direct from the TV is a very simple procedure too, thanks to this little device. Simply attach the AV Cable to the PVR and attach the 3 pins to the corresponding TV output ports (red, white and yellow). Then select the record function on the PVR, and you're away. Though the PVR only includes 32MB of memory on its integrated drive, this can easily be upgraded - a must if you are going to make use of the recording function. 32MB will hardly hold any video, maybe a few minutes at a very low quality. I would recommend purchasing a 1GB SD/MMC Card which would really prolong your use of this device.

Also included with the PVR is the ability to view and make your own slide shows, a calendar, and some games. The slide show is pretty useless, as you could just use your own image viewer. It simply loads up different images after a certain time has elapsed. The calendar is quite poor quality, due to the awkward fonts used, and the backwards-date system used. The games included are tic-tac toe and 'puzzle', both of which get very boring after about the second attempt.

Battery time on the PVR isn't too good either - after about 4 hours or so I find that the battery has all but nearly gone, and though I realise I may be constantly playing music or watching video's, I feel this is an area which could have been improved. Thankfully though the PVR can easily be charged up, thanks to the Li-on battery which is included. You simply plug the PVR into a plug-socket, and it will start charging (the ring around the OK button will glow red).

*Overall*

From reading about the PVR's included features and specification, I felt that it had a lot of potential. However I feel that Mustek haven't created something which goes anywhere near that they were hoping. Yes, they managed to create a portable device which allows TV to be recorded, along with mp3/mpeg4 and jpg playback and at a reasonable price too, but I feel they neglected perhaps the more obvious everyday touches which would have given the PVR are more polished off-feel. The buttons and menu-setup may have been improved, the fonts used on the system could have been a lot clearer especially when viewing the calendar, and perhaps the 32MB standard integrated memory could have been upgraded to at least 64MB, perhaps even 128MB.
Overall I feel that the price of this product shone through overall, though the features and ideas are interesting, the final result is not so. I advice you to spend a bit more money and get something which offers a lot more quality then what the Mustek PVR A1 currently has to offer.
 

...less