Picture Quality

Video Playback

Considering the maximum output for the RJTech PVR1100 is limited what the composite cables can supply (which means it tops out at 640x480 resolution) the video quality did not suffer much. Overall, I was very happy with the picture quality displayed with by the RJTech PVR1100 when playing nearly any kind of video file downloaded from the file sharing sites. However, I experienced a bit of ghosting in the images when playing back XviD encoded videos which never happened with the other formats we tested. Resolution is another thing we need to mention since while it is great for a budget product, the second you hook this up to a HDTV you will see that 640x480 just ain’t gonna cut it. Hopefully, you don’t have your shiny HDTV on standard cable so one way or another I highly recommend you look at a different RJTech recorder if you are a HD buff.


Video Recording


At 640x480 with the Super Fine option enabled, the quality of the recorded video is immaculate without any errors or artifacts throughout the hours of TV programs and movies we backed up. I was actually stunned at how well a sub-$100 recorder was able to faithfully reproduce anything I threw at it. The colors were spot-on and none of the videos showed the telltale signs of compression since they were sharp as can be on a standard definition TV.

However, there are four recording quality settings and at anything below Fine, the video fidelity degenerates quite a bit. While Normal may be fine for many people, I found it washed out reds and blacks too much after seeing how well the PVR1100 did with Fine and Super Fine recording. However, as you will see in the next section, making the move from Normal to Fine means a pretty significant hit to recording times.


Recording Times

While the manual makes some claims about recording times at various resolutions, we did some of our own tests with a 2GB SD card. Here are our results at 640x480 resolution recorded in MPEG4 format.

Super Fine (2000kbps): 2hrs 2min
Fine (1024kbps): 3hrs 58min
Regular (768kbps): 5hrs 31min
Economic (384kbps): 10hrs 55min

Judging from the recording times we received, it seems like the PVR1100 is definitely an appealing option for recording standard definition broadcasts. It can easily replace the horribly unwieldy VHS cassettes many of us still have lying around our houses with much more compact flash-based memory cards. Personally, I found the nearly four hours of recording time offered by the Fine setting to be the best tradeoff between picture quality and recording length.