Neuros has updated its Neuros MPEG 4 Recorder (NMR), dropping the original gadget's SD memory card support for the Sony PlayStation Portable-friendly MemoryStick family. It's also added support for video iPod-compatible content.

Neuros is specifically pitching the product at PSP owners keen to get more video onto their handheld consoles. While the first version of the NMR provided recording resolutions of 320 x 240, the NMR 2 adds 368 x 208 to fit the PSP's widescreen display. It also adds a 640 x480 resolution for better TV playback. All three resolutions are encoded at 30fps.

Neuros has improved the device's software, adding support for a more commonplace array of codecs than before. The MPEG 4 SP encoder uses MP3 for audio now, rather than the more obscure G.726 audio format of old.

It also supports MPEG 4 with AAC-LC stereo sound, which should make the player handy for video iPod users too.

The NMR can connect directly to any video source, such as a PVR, VCR, DVD player or set-top box, and record programming directly to memory card.

Neuros hasn't ignored the many players who've turned to the NMR as a way to get video content onto PDAs - it now bundles the open source Core Pocket Media Player in both Palm OS and Windows Mobile versions with the unit. Of course, having dropped SD for the MemoryStick, getting recorded content onto said PDAs is harder now. Fortunately, the NMR can connect to a PC and operate as a card reader, allowing recordings to be copied over to the hard drive and later synced to a connected PDA. The NMR still sports a CompactFlash slot.

The NMR 2 costs $150 and is available from Neuros' website. ®