Gizmondo to offer diskless 'PVR'

Transfer DVDs to SDs

Handheld games console maker Gizmondo is apparently planning to offer a pocket MPEG 4 recorder in a bid to make it easier for owners to get video content onto their gadgets.

The Register can reveal that the unit is the same Taiwan-made module recently launched by MP3 player vendor Neuros in the US. The box can take SD and CompactFlash cards - there's no hard disk, alas - on which it will dump video in real time.

The unit can connect to any video source that has composite video and stereo audio RCA jacks, though the encoded audio is limited to mono. The picture quality isn't great, but it's eminently watchable on a small screen like the Gizmondo's. The unit offers a range of video encoding rates to allow you to balance quality against storage capacity.

The MPEG 4 video files are written to Windows' .ASF format, which makes them a natural choice for the Windows CE-based Gizmondo.

The 140g, 11.8 x 8.7 x 1.8cm recorder also has a USB 2.0 port, and can double up as a memory card reader at the flick of a switch.

Look out for The Register's full review of the device later today. ®

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