Hagiwara Sys-Com has introduced the Easy Recorder 2, a device that records analog video onto a Sony Memory Stick Duo card, which can then be used in a Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) or transferred to a Mac or PC using USB, then sent to a video iPod. It costs $139.99.
The Easy Recorder 2 plugs in to a VCR, DVD player, digital video camera or any other video source with standard composite video output. Macrovision-compliant, the Easy Recorder 2 won’t record video from a copy-protected source, the manufacturer advises. It can even work without a computer, as long as you have a Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Pro Duo card inserted.
Equipped with a USB 2.0 port, the Easy Recorder 2 connects to a Mac or PC and can be configured to record at three different resolution and quality levels — 768Kbps/30 frames per second (FPS), 384Kbps/15fps and 192 Kbps/15fps. It supports NTSC video.
A Memory Stick Pro Duo card containing video recorded from the Easy Recorder 2 will work directly in a Sony PSP; recorded in MPEG-4 format, that video can also be used on a video iPod if transferred to iTunes on a Mac or PC using the USB 2.0 cable and then synced to an iPod.