14 DAY TRIAL // We are living in a time when almost all the companies are struggling to bury their corporate secrets under a thick layer of legal paperwork, so it's sure that the statement below will surprise you. "HACKERS, welcome! Here are detailed circuit diagrams of our products - modify them as you wish," reads the Neuros Technology's webpage. The company is the creator of a new and versatile video recorder and has decided to join the Hardware Open-Source direction that resembles of Sun Microsystems' strategy.
The US-based company provides the full set of specifications for their video recording hardware platform, the Neuros OSD (open source device). This allows tech-savvy users to customize the mentioned device and pass the improvements to the community, just like the software open-source spirit.
The Neuros OSD recorder is surely an interesting device that can save copies of DVDs, VHS tapes and television programs from satellite receivers, cable boxes, TVs and any other appliances with a standardized output source to a plethora of storage media, including memory cards and USB storage devices. The recorder saves the data using the MP4 compression algorithm, which allows the user watch the files on a wide spectrum of devices, including the popular iPod or smartphone devices.
According to Joe Born, founder and chief executive of the company, the OSD is undergoing perpetual improvements to include the latest technological achievements. "Digital video is a fast-moving space," he said, mentioning that consumers should not be compelled to replace their appliances every time a media company comes out with a new way to deliver its content. "The best way to address this problem was to make the product open source, allowing our smartest developers and users to modify it."
The Neuros OSD recorder is powered by open source software, too. The device is powered by a Linux operating system distribution. Intensive hacking is not only encouraged, but also substantially rewarded in cash by the company. One of the most interesting hacks the community has come up with allows the device owners watch YouTube clips on their television systems.
The recorder does not include a display screen. Instead, it projects its menu on the television set's display. Apart from connecting it to TV sets, users can use it in combination with their gaming consoles, computers or even to a home network of computers.
