TechoLiO
A plethora of all things technical.

Video Recording

There is one monumental difference in this area. The fact that the video files encoded by the RD2780 are saved in the ASF format. Anyone that does any video manipulation knows that editing an asf is next to impossible. I could not find any software that would allow me to crop off the end of a file I recorded using the RD2780. I was able to bring the file into Vegas, but I couldn't figure out a way of doing a direct stream copy of both the video and audio tracks like I do in the amazing freeware product VirtualDub. I even tracked down an old version of VDub that allowed opening up ASF files. I could open them in version 1.4b, but when I tried to play the track, it gave me an error message. If anyone has figured out a way of cropping without reencoding, please shoot me an e-mail message. nglomski@hotmail.com

The AVI files created using the AV300 were gladly imported into VDub for any commercial chopping/cropping.

Both products encoded nice looking video files. The major difference between the recording quality settings on the RD2780 was frame rate. All of the files are recorded at 320x240. The low quality setting uses 15 fps, while the Medium and High quality settings were 30 fps. Has anyone figured out the difference between the Medium and High quality settings on the RD2780? They were very similar. I swear on a few tests I tried using it, the Medium setting yielded a higher bitrate capture. I don't have access to the capture test files right now, so I am writing all of this from memory... don't read this like it is the definitive source of info on this topic. If any of you RD2780 users have more detailed information, I will post it on this page (and give you credit) for all to read.

I do like how the RD2780 does not require any external components besides an AV cable for recording video and audio content. It is limited to composite video in however. This is far inferior to the S-Video input that the AV300 accepts through it's DVR attachment.

I really have not experimented enough with the DVR component of the AV300 to write about the different quality settings. See Shane Brinkman's excellent AV300 site for more info regarding the DVR settings.

I have been creating all of the DivX videos on my computer using Dr. DivX. It is very user friendly and when you have the time to make your files using 2 pass, they end up looking outstanding. Two pass looks much better than single pass. Unfortunately it takes about 3 hours longer.

Audio Recording

Both devices allow you to record an external music source, such as a portable CD player or a streaming music file from Rhapsody, cough, cough. I am not suggesting you do anything, I am merely making an observation.

The AV300 has a built in microphone for recording phone conversations, personal notes to self, etc. Do you notice that this darn AV300 is always one upping the RD2780?

Battery Life

This is another sore spot regarding the RD2780. I never did any formal battery life testing with the RD2780. I will tell you that if you are playing both MP3 files and DivX movies, you will be lucky to squeak out 3 hours. I took it on a plane ride and I was able to watch one movie before the battery croaked... Approximately 2 hours. One user posted that he was able to get 3 hours 45 minutes of MP3 playback here.

The AV300 is a completely different story. I traveled to 6 hours to my Mother-in-law's house over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was able to listen to and navigate to different MP3 albums the entire way, then I continued playing MP3s until the battery finally gave out. I actually got 8 hours and 20 minutes of playback! This test including navigating my 40+ Gigabytes of MP3 files. I wrote down all the albums I finished and then threw them all into WInAmp and it gave me the 8 hours 20 minutes length for the playlist I created. This battery test was done with my 80GB drive installed.

I have not yet tested the battery life of the AV300 for video playback. I will tell you that I play MP3's all day at work and watch 20-30 minutes of video during my lunch hour without the aid of my AC adapter. I charge 'er up at night and it lasts me through the following day at work. I will update this web page after I gather any further battery testing information.

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