I had the opportunity to drop VIEVU which had a smooth booth at the Sands Expo. This company specializes in creating personal video recording devices and currently has two models – the PVR-PRO which sells direct to consumers for $499.95 and the PVR-LE which is specifically for law enforcement usage.
VIEVU describes the PVR-PRO as a wearable video recording device and seriously – that’s what it really is. Think of it as a small video camera that you attach to your shirt or front pocket. The device has a tri-clip design which basically allows it to be attached to nearly anything out there. There’s also a small sliding door that hides the camera lens behind it. When you’re ready to shoot some video, simply slide the shutter door down and the camera begins recording video onto it’s internal memory.
I briefly spoke with Tom Burns (Sales Director at VIEVU) and he explained to me his own thoughts and feelings about the PVR-PRO. First off – it’s a great tool for law enforcement of course because it allows officers to record basically everything that happens at the scene of a crime. Officers can now fully record what is happening from their point of view so there’s no argument whether someone committed an illegal action or not.
On the consumer side, it’s all about capturing the emotion of the moment. Who wants to go around holding a camcorder or camera in their hands? If people see you shooting video at them with a camcorder in their hands, they will undoubtedly act just a tad bit differently. With the PVR-PRO clipped to your shirt or pocket, there’s a much better chance that individuals will act more naturally and show their true emotions of the moment. On top of this – you get to fully enjoy the environment around you without worrying about whether your shot is correct or if you’re panning too quickly etc (though you might still pan a bit too fast if you’re body moves all over the place!)
Above is a photograph of some video footage taken by the folks at VIEVU while using the PVR-PRO as they were walking through the streets of Vegas. It’s definitely a pretty cool device to have on hand if you don’t want to deal with actually carrying a camcorder in your hands etc. Here are the specs:
- VGA quality video (640 x 480)
- Weighs approximately 5 oz
- Measures approximately 2.75 x 1.75 x 0.65 inches
- Zero light infra-red capability – records in complete darkness
- Rugged rubberized case for durability
- Waterproof design – IPX5 standard
- 64 degree field of view
- 4 hours of video recording
- Low memory LED indicator
- Low battery LED indicator
- green design – meets RoHS and WEEE standards
- On/Off switch provides lens protection
- Download to PC via USB
- Supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista
The MSRP for the PVR-PRO is $499.95 which might be a tad bit high for some consumers – especially since you can get camcorders these days for much cheaper prices. Of course – you do lose the convenience of having something wearable which happens to also operate in complete darkness so it’s a tradeoff.
If there’s one thing I hope VIEVU works on for later iterations of the device – it would be to improve the overall look of the device. While it’s fairly small in size, it’s still somewhat noticeable if it’s clipped on a shirt. If they could further miniaturize it and make it more inconspicuous – that would be AWESOME. Adding a media card slot would also make it even more handy for long usage.
I look at it this way. I would LOVED to have had the PVR-PRO on hand while walking around CES 2008. Why bother snapping up pics, carrying a camcorder etc, when I could simply talk naturally to folks at CES AND be able to record the conversations as they happen.
Oh.. one final note – someone tell the folks at GhostHunters that they need to pick up these devices for their investigations!
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Technorati Tags: VIEVU, PVR-PRO, Wearable Personal Video Recording Device, CES 2008
