GoVideo PVP4040 Pocket Cinema Portable A/V Player with 3.5" LCD

With its ability to provide compact, lightweight video and audio fun for commuters, travelers, and students, GoVideo's PVP4040 Pocket Cinema player/recorder a stylish treat. At a mere 4 x 3 inches and less than a full inch thick, the device is much smaller than a CD player, a minidisc player/recorder, or--critically--a portable DVD player. And it actually records from external devices, generating MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio files on the fly. This little device would be a fabulous tool for single parents traveling lightly with one or more kids.

It's built around a nearly edge-to-edge 3.5-inch color LCD, on which you can view full-motion video as well as slide shows of your favorite digital photos, which is probably how the PVP4040 will be used the most, whether at Mom and Dad's house or at dinner with friends or colleagues. Internal 128 MB memory holds around 2 hours of 128 kbps MP3 files and, at the lowest quality setting, close to that duration in MPEG-4.

With photos only, you'll get more than 300 full-resolution (2-megapixel) JPEGs and many times that if you take the time to scale them for 480 x 240 display before loading them. Need more storage? There's a slot for an optional SD Card so you can add anywhere from 8 MB to 1 GB of additional flash memory. JPEG images look pretty satisfying when they're landscape oriented (as opposed to portrait, which results in a tiny image in the middle of the screen). Just be sure to orient them before loading.

We were impressed with the screen's high brightness, high contrast, and color accuracy, and the screen is remarkably free of line flickering. What it lacks is resolution. Granted, the PVP4040's small size is a selling point. But even at 2.9 x 2.1 inches, the 480 x 240 screen's lack of detail is readily apparent when viewing non-close-up JPEGs. Surprisingly, the lack of detail wasn't as glaring with video content, but MPEG-4 compression brings its own artifacts to the table.

The PVP4040 hooks up to your PC computer (Windows ME, 2000, or XP) via USB 2.0/1.1 using a supplied cable. Loading JPEG images and MP3 files is easy--just drag and drop them onto the PVP4040. Video files, however, must first be converted to MPEG-4 (.asf) or DivX (.avi), a feat performed by GoVideo's included TransCoder software.

Alternately, you can record video content directly from VHS, camcorder, laser disc, non-copy-protected DVDs, and other composite-video sources using a handy cable, also provided. Just plug in your source and hit record. Three modes let you scale the quality to your available memory: 128 MB will give you up to 110 minutes of A/V content in "economy," 50 minutes in "normal," and 30 minutes in "fine" mode. Yes, "fine" is a telling term: the MPEG-4 quality in this mode is still nowhere near as good as what you see on the screen when your program is coming in. That's the price of portability, perhaps, but it would be nice to have the option of true high quality, even with limited duration.

Nevertheless, now you can make the most of your morning bus or train ride by loading the morning TV news while you're showering and eating. Just run an A/V feed from the outputs of your PVR or VCR into the PVP4040, press "record," and let the Pocket Cinema do the rest.

The process works for music, too. You can create your own MP3s (up to 128 kbps) from the headphone output of your portable-audio device (cable included), or from other components using an optional "Y" adapter or cable. With audio only, it's a little hard to tell when recording has commenced, and there's no input level control. Still, the option is there.

We've yet to meet earbud headphones we like--pick up some over-ears, if you don't own a set, for greater comfort and better sound. --Michael Mikesell

Pros:

Small size
Light weight
Stylish appearance
Bright screen
High-contrast, accurate colors
Intuitive audio and/or video recording
Comes with rechargeable battery
Strong headphone amplifier
Convenient accessory pack
Firmware upgradeable
Doesn't get too hot during extended use

Cons:

480 x 240 screen lacks ability for nuanced images
Can't view photos while listening to music
No zoom/rotate features for still photos
No high-resolution video-capture
No MP3 shuffle, scan, or programming
Minimal navigation options

Portable MP3 players are great if you just want to listen to music when you're out and about, but they leave you high and dry when it comes to music videos and your favorite digital photos. GoVideo's PVP4040 compact pocket entertainment center takes portable media playback to the next level, storing and playing not just digital audio, but video and still images, too. Now you can transfer video, music, and pictures from your PC and enjoy them while you're on the go. That tattered snapshot of your kids you still keep in your wallet is so yesterday.

The PVP4040's format compatibilities are nearly too numerous to mention, but we'll do it anyway. Try playback for MPEG-4 audio, MPEG-4 video, MP3 music files, MPG video, AVI video, MP4 audio/video, DAT, WMV, and ASF (with included transcoder software). It even records MPEG-4 content in real time, storing up to 110 minutes. Not enough? Just add an SD (Secure Digital) Card for extra storage.

The SD Card slot lets you view pictures right off your digital camera, without having to use your PC at all. You'll get great-looking images on its crystal clear, 3.5-inch color TFT LCD. (SD Card is not included.)

The unit's rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides 5 hours of audio playback and 2 hours of video playback per charge.

What's in the Box
Compact media player, earbud headphones, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an AC adapter/charger, an audio/video cable, a USB cable, a keychain stand, a carrying case, a software CD-ROM, an audio cable, and a user's manual.

1 I have it for a year and it just got good!
I bought this a year ago, and was very disapointed. It had very few features, was hard to use, and SD cars cost so much, it was worthless. Now, there is a firmware update you can get through yahoo groups, that adds all the features of the expensive units, and SD cards are reasonable. I love my new year old toy. You can record video with a timer, and on a 512mb SD card hold 6 hours of video. Everything you need is in the box. Very satisfied. Life is good when the stuff you already own gets better..........

2 Where to get the latest firmware update!
Goto this Yahoo Group below to get the lastest goodies about this PVP404 unit. Like the hard to find firmware updates.. Join the group and stick around!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GoVideoPVP4040/

CONS: the battery life needs to be improved, but folks are already on the case locating cheaper battery alternatives to the Govideo OEM battery..

F.

3 very nifty at new price
firstly there is substitute firmware around, not hard to find, that really makes this unit work fantastic.

secondly the prices of these are half of what you see here so look around.

I am confused at the previous review because I easily get 2 hours on the onboard lilon battery (not to mention the ac and dc adapters). the killer app is that it takes standard sd card flash mememory and one gig cards are now south of ninety bucks. since the pvp4040 can be bought for one hundred bucks that means less than two hundred bucks get's you a very cool device able to hold over almost four hours of mpeg4 video on "fine" (native 480x240) resolution.

it converts easily to mpeg4 with its own decoders (quite cool and simple) and you can record off of your pcr,or as I do off your pc using any dvd you own or any tv program you captuer if you have a capture card like an ATI. I keep 20 full length 90 minute two hour films converted to mpeg4 at 240x480 on my hard drive. they take less than $5 worth of hard drive space and I can stick two of them on an sd card in about one minute (actually my nine-year old can).

my kid loves this unit for the car. it goes anywhere in your pocket and is a lot hardier then portable an easily broken portable dvd players.

4 Not good enough...
Most people should pass on this device.

It is probably about 1 or 2 years behind the current portable a/v technology; the screen quality is barely adequate for video or picture playback; the interface is awkward to use; the battery life is short (maybe 45 minutes for video playback and picture viewing); and finally, it is difficult to encode video clips for this device.

Cool concept, small form factor, nice design, but it does not work very well.