I found only few mentions on this forum about those two recorders so I think it'll be good idea to put in some additional info.

Why together? Because they are identical when it comes to functionality - they even use same firmware.

So, first lets take a look at HMDVR:

Mine was shipped in antistatic plastic bag



Inside we'll find our recorder, a connector with very thin cables (AV in, AV out and power feed), English/Chinese manual, and piece of double sided foam tape.



Dimensions are about 0,5mm bigger than stated in the manual (41,5x31,5x9,5mm) Weight - as advertised, 9g w/o cables.



Connectors rest a little bit too deep inside the cover. It is necessary to use some slim tool or at least have long nails to set the connector properly in place.



Same problem with SD card slot. It is impossible to insert or remove the card without something slim to poke it.



Original firmware has Chinese language set as default and two major bugs. Does not remember settings (especially resolution settings which is most annoying since DVR reverts back to VGA after each power cycle) and crops the image when in PAL mode. Soon after it's release, one of the sellers provided new firmware which addressed first bug. Few months later, second firmware showed up and both bugs are gone. KonradS already mentioned that here:

http://intofpv.com/t-eachine-prodvr-pal-...sue-solved

Newest firmware is available here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthrea...52&page=43

Or, if someone has problem with RCG, here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Byt2Nb...F91aWxlTlE

Upgrade process is very simple - unpack CRESFW.BIN file onto blank microSD card, insert the card into the DVR and turn it on. Process will start automatically. Red LED will start to blink. When it goes of, wait for 30 seconds, disconnect the power, remove the card and delete CRESFW.BIN file (it sometimes stays on the card after upgrade). Voila - we have new firmware installed. No image cropping and DVR remembers settings after power off.

Old firmware:


New firmware:


Unfortunately, there are few more things that we should be aware of. First of all, even newest firmware does not resolve cropping problem completely. Here's the catch - if the DVR and VRx is powered first and VTx second, there's still image cropping present. If the VTx is first and then we power VRx and the DVR - no cropping occur.
There's a way to work around it - if You go to settings and temporarily switch to any other resolution, DVR will soft reset hence removing cropping effect. Raulvolador from RCG found even simpler method - just go to playback mode. Upon return to normal mode, cropping will disappear.

Also there are some problems with AVout - DVR generates quite a lag so AVout should not be used for piloting purposes and some people reported that disconnecting monitor from AVout halts the recording.

Another nuisance - in case of the accidental power loss during the recording, last file is lost so do not disconnect HMDVR from power source before stopping the recording.

One of my friends asked if this recorder removes BlueScreen - I do not own any typical BS monitor but my SKY-700D shows "NO SIGNAL" when there's too much snow. Here's how it looks when I connect some receiver directly to the SKY-700D:



HMDVR generates it's own OSD so here's how it looks if I plug HMDVR between receiver and SKY-700D:



NO SIGNAL disappeared which might mean that HMDVR indeed removes BS.

Now - few words about Eachine ProDVR. It appeared on the market shortly before release of the first firmware upgrade. Funny thing is that it was (and maybe still is) cheaper than HMDVR and still had more accessories included.
Just like HMDVR, it arrived in plastic antistatic bag but with big cardboard logo attached to it.



Inside we got DVR, two pieces of the sticky foam, English manual, some small paper triangle serving as quality certificate



Also we get FIVE sets of cables instead just one - the usual AV in & power cable, AVout cable, ready for soldering, another one with chinches, power only cable and bonus set to connect external switches if necessary.



PCB cover is brightly orange and has some sticker on it with ports and keys descriptions:



Dimensions: 41,3mm x 33mm x 9,6mm.
Weight w/o cables and microSD card: 9,6g.
On the left side we'll find slot for microSD card:



Contrary to the HMDVR, ports located on the right side, aren't too deep so it is possible to connect the cables without additional tools.



Manual is simple and... totally useless.



That's because original Eachine ProDVR firmware had identical issues as HMDVR and after firmware upgrade, key assignment and behavior changes.

Summary - since HMDVR and Eachine ProDVR are functionally identical and Eachine product is slightly cheaper, has better design (ports' depth) and comes with more cables, I'd rather get ProDVR. They both have some flaws but as long as one is fully aware of them, they pose no problem and price is very appealing.

Man, you are on fire! thanks for linking that rcg topic. After my update I still sometimes have the image stretched but usually its good. Also it (prodvr) still sometimes records only black screen - I will try to upgrade to the newest fw

Quote:'Also it (prodvr) still sometimes records only black screen

According to the linked RCG thread, that might be correlated with PCB version You have. There are two - 1.4 and 1.6.
1.4 records snow whereas 1.6 has this black screen issue.

Professional Review.

Great review! Ty!
Subscribed for future reference

(08-Feb-2017, 08:25 AM)Verid Wrote: According to the linked RCG thread, that might be correlated with PCB version You have. There are two - 1.4 and 1.6.
1.4 records snow whereas 1.6 has this black screen issue.

I have 1.4 version of PCB, but my black screen is of a different nature - in 1.6 black screen appears when user has signal quality loss and it goes back the moment signal is good again. My 1.4 sometimes just records black on whole video.
Now I see that in my case there are some bent pins - audio and gnd may be bridging from time to time, I will desolder this socket and solder wires on directly. WIll see if it changes anything.