Pinnacle's digital video recorder is something Andrew, Jem and the crew of PSPFanboy are going to be drooling over. The gadget has RCA input plugs for a TV, DVD player, etc. on one side and a spot to connect a PSP via a USB cable on the other. Once everything is hooked up you press the button in the center and the Pinnacle Video Transfer live encodes the input video in PSP format. When you're done you can watch the DVD quality video (720 x 480) file on the go.
I asked if the device would work with custom PSP firmware and got a blank stare. A representative from Pinnacle explained it would work with version 2.81 or higher. There was also some confusion on how the device names files when directly encoding content onto the PSP. The demo unit automatically called every file “pinnacle”, which led to a stack of videos with the same name to sort through.
Oh, but the Pinnacle Video Transfer shouldn't be used to copy movies or record TV shows. During the presentation the representative emphasized it is for "home video use."
Published: Jan 8, 2008 09:57 am