The SanDisk V-Mate is a small item of approximately 2cm high and 13cm wide which easily fits into a small space alongside the television. The shiny black front of the SanDisk V-Mate will do well in modern furnishing. The front of the V-mate contains the memory card compartment that can take various memory cards. The SanDisk V-Mate is standard delivered with cables to connect the device to a DVD player, video recorder or satellite and television. A small remote control is also delivered as well as a transmitter to enable operating other devices while recording.

The device records in a number of formats. Instead of having to choose the correct format, you just select the device you plan to view on (such as Sony PSP, Treo 700w, and so on) from the menu. We counted 17 supported phones from Motorola, Nokia, Palm, and Sony Ericsson, plus the T-Mobile MDA, but you can configure settings manually on other devices.

The unit maxes out at 640 x 480-pixel resolution, with video playing at up to 30 frames per second. The results look good enough for watching recorded TV shows on a notebook, but they won’t please videophiles. We noticed a slightly fuzzy cast in the footage. Other than that, we enjoyed fairly smooth and clear playback in a PC window. On the other hand, recordings were quite watchable on our Palm Treo 700wx, though we heard a few stutters in spots. Short video-playback gaps are usually easy to forgive, but audio gaps are more jarring.

Simply connect the V-Mate to your TV and any composite video source, including your cable/satellite/terrestrial set-top box, DVD player, VCR, personal video recorder (PVR), or camcorder. The V-Mate allows you to select your desired playback device “profile,” or manually set video format, resolution, and quality levels via a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) displayed on your television screen. The GUI makes it very easy to navigate through the menu and select recording and viewing options.