Long
gone are the days of scribbling notes on a piece of scrap paper and sticking it
to the fridge. Well, that is of course if you have the Digital Video Memo.
No longer will you need to hunt around the house for pen and
paper, when you can simply press a button and record a short, 30 second video
message for your significant other to watch and listen. With a built-in
camera, the video memo magnet is extremely easy to use.
Plus,
you don't even need to invest in any battery,
as the built-in cell can be
charged quickly and easily by USB. Simply connect it to your PC or
laptop for a fresh supply of juice!
What's in the box?
Inside
the box are the following items:
§ 1 x
Digital Video Memo Magnet
§ 1 x USB
Charging Cable
§ 1 x
Instruction Booklet
As the unit itself houses a magnet, it can either be stuck
to the fridge (or anywhere
you would like to leave someone a message!)
In
Use
On
the front panel, along with the 1.44″ screen, you'll see the speaker
which produces a good, clear level of sound. The built-in
camera, which snaps you in full color as you record your messages, is
situated in the top corner and underneath that is a small but
effective red LED, which flashes brightly when there is a new message
to be viewed. The microphone used
to record your voice when you create a new message is situated at the
bottom, just next to the speaker.
Also on the front there are three function buttons.
One for switching the video memo magnet on & off, one to record a
new video message and one to play back a message that has been recorded.
So,
everything you need use in order to create a video message
is located on the front panel, which is great as the built-in magnet
means you can stick it to anything that is made from metal
(i.e. fridge, filing
cabinet, kitchen panels)
When recording, it's normally better to the fridge door as any
amount of handshake is noticeable. It works perfectly, keeping the whole
thing still whilst I recorded. It's also quite useful to do this, in case
you find your thumb covering the microphone while recording!
It does take a bit of moving around to get your face in the
centre of the screen, and as the microphone is only small you do need to raise
your voice levels just a little, so that you can be heard clearly in your video
message. You don't need to shout though.
Once the video has been recorded, you simply press the
record button again which stops the process and saves your new video
message. Then, you then simply switch off the unit. The LED
however continues to flash, letting people know there is a new message.
All they need to do is simply switch the unit on and press play to watch
the message.
The Video Memo Magnet will record a 30 second video, which is
more than enough time to say what you need to say, however it does only
allow one video to be stored at any one time. As soon as you record a new
video, the previous one is over-written.
I did notice that the camera wasn't particularly good in
areas with low levels of light, so if you do use it indoors, make sure you're
next to the window, which should allow for plenty of natural light. If
it's not very light outside, it works fine if you stand in a room with the
light on. Also, the unit doesn't come equipped with a volume control,
although it does produce a good level of sound anyway, so it's really not an
issue.
It's now in regular use in our house, especially by me as
I've used it a number of times now to leave the wife messages and indeed,
vice-versa, so we love it. No longer will we need to scribble down notes,
which is a good thing as my wife can't read my handwriting!
