Neuros Technology Releases Open Source Video Recorder
January 11, 2008
The New York Times has an article about the Neuros OSD - an open source video recorder that is basically hack ready. Neuros Technology International, the creator of the Neuros OSD, is providing the full documentation behind the recorder to help people learn how to hack the device.
But Neuros Technology International, creator of a new video recorder, has decided to go in a different direction. The company, based in Chicago, is providing full documentation of the hardware platform for its recorder, the Neuros OSD (for open source device), so that skilled users can customize or "hack" the device - and then pass along the improvements to others.
The OSD is a versatile recorder. Using a memory card or a U.S.B. storage device, it saves copies of DVDs, VHS tapes and television programs from satellite receivers, cable boxes, TVs and any other device with standard video output.
Because the OSD saves the recordings in the popular compressed video format MPEG-4 (pronounced EM-peg), the programs can be watched on a host of devices, including iPods and smartphones. The OSD is for sale at Fry's, Micro Center, J&R Electronics and other locations for about $230.
The OSD's capabilities will grow to suit changing times, said Joe Born, founder and chief executive of the company. "Digital video is a fast-moving space," he said, and many consumers don't want to buy a new piece of hardware every time a media company comes out with a new way to watch its shows. "The best way to address this problem was to make the product open source, allowing our smartest developers and users to modify it."
Hackers have been hacking or modding computers, toasters, game systems - basically any gadget you can think of - for the past several years. Some of the smarter companies like Neuros OSD are starting to target these people who like to tinker with their gadgets.
The New York Times has an 
