Menu Layout & Options

Main Menu


As you can see, the main menu on the PVR1100 has a number of icons at the top which indicate the various areas you can access. From left to right they are: Pictures, Music, Video, Record, Setup and finally the File Browser menu. Below, we will be going through each of these areas in a bit of detail but please remember, we are just scratching the surface of the options available with this recorder.


Picture Menu


In the Picture menu, you are able to view any of the images you have stored on the memory card you inserted into the RJTech unit. There is a small preview of the photo on the right-hand side with various pieces of information and you are able to access each photo by pressing the Enter button on the remote. This works quite well but the unit is set up in Slideshow mode at default so you might be in for a bit of a rude surprise when your pictures start cycling without you wanting them to. In order to set the Slideshow options you can go into the picture options menu but the main thing that is lacking here is a setting for the actual speed of the slideshow. This is a huge omission in our opinion since at its only speed, the photos change from one to the next far too fast.

When using the unit on a regular basis, I ended up completely turning off the slideshow since you can’t even pause the bloody thing. When the slideshow option is off, you can navigate through your pictures using the left and right buttons which is a welcome relief.


Music Menu


This is where you can listen to music on the PVR1100 and just like with all of the other menus, you are able to see the name of the files and can surf through them with the remote. Once you have picked one to play, the main music playback screen will come up. Here you can control the music with the remote as you would with any CD player by using the play, pause, skip and fast forward buttons. Volume can also be controlled and if you have multiple music files you can easily skip through them.

All in all, this section is very well done and the sound produced is quite good but its quality is limited by the composite output. Throughout my time with the RJTech PVR1100 I hardly ever found myself listening to music through the unit but I guess it’s a good option to have nonetheless.


Video Menu


This is where the real meat of the PVR1100 lies. The video menu holds all of the options for playing back videos on your TV through the RJTech unit as long as it is saved as one of the compatible file types. As discussed in a previous section, when you first open the main Video menu you are greeted by four separate “folders” which are broken up based on resolution. In this case we saved a test file in the TV folder which will then have its information displayed in the black square to the right of the file name. Pressing Play on the remote will queue the file up for playback.


When you are playing back a video, you are able to access an on-screen display which shows information like volume, file name, chapter length and resolution. You are also able to play, pause, fast-forward and rewind the video to your heart’s content.

I was actually surprised with how well the video playback function worked with this recorder even though this is not its primary function. Finding the video files is simple once you get the hang of how the menus are set up but I found that actually controlling the movie is a bit of hit and miss due to the inaccuracy of the remote. Other than that, the controls in this area are near-perfect for a basic media player.


Recording Menu


If your PVR1100 is hooked up directly to your TV, you should get a preview of the channel your TV is tuned into and the same thing would happen if you were playing a DVD or Camcorder through this unit. You are then able to record the media you are watching but we won’t get into this too much here since there are a few caveats we will discuss later.


You are also able to access the recording options menu where you can set the resolution as well as the overall video quality of your recording. While the quality options (of which there are four ranging from Economic to Super Fine) have a HUGE effect on the length of video you can record, it also affects the quality quite dramatically.

Remember the screaming, missed shows and general panic that came with trying to set your VCR’s timer record function? Well, the time function that comes with this RJTech recorder is pretty much top-notch and allows you to record up to six programs which will each be saved as a separate file. It is easy to use and extremely straightforward but if it still looks like glorified Chinese to you, the manual offers up an excellent explanation of all the functions.


Setup Menu


This menu is exactly what its name implies; an area to set up your recorder’s date, time, language and region. The most interesting part of this area is the ability to upgrade the unit’s firmware but at the time of this review there are unfortunately no firmware updates available through RJTech or the original manufacturer A-Red.

Please make sure you set the date and the time the SECOND you plug in this recorder since if it stays at the default values there will be no WAY you will be able to record TV shows through the built-in record timer.


File Browser


With the File Browser you can look through all of the files you have on the inserted memory card or drive. The only issue with this area is that you can’t view or play any of the files on your drive which makes this whole “file browser” setup nothing more than window dressing.