Box Pro, 1080p@60fps Video Recorder, DVR with HDMI Capture, Playback on TV. RCA/YPbPr/VGA to Digital Converter. Schedule Recording. No PC Required.

I initially purchased the HDML Cloner Box (non Pro) because of the good Amazon reviews. I was looking for an HD DVR device and the HDML Cloner Box reviews said that it would record virtually anything across an HDMI connection with excellent video quality. I ran into the common issue of the “blank screen” after hooking up the Cloner Box and went the manufacturer web site (Cloner-Alliance) for help and found the “Pro” model with Remote Control, Timer Recordings, and Instant Playback. The Pro being a new product had no reviews on Amazon so I didn’t see it on first pass. After testing the Cloner Box and seeing for myself that recorded everything I tried (CATV, Blue Ray, PC Stream) with Excellent Quality, I instantly purchased the Pro Model and arranged to return the Box version. The blank screen on the Box version was resolved by pressing the 1080/720 button for 5 seconds (you do the same with the Input button on the Pro).In addition to wanting an HD DVR, I also am in the process of moving my owned DVDs and Blue Rays to MP4 files for my Home Theater Server. I have another software solution for moving my Blue-Ray movies to MP4, but the Cloner Box can do that too. I have found using the Cloner Box for the “Extras” is nice because I have to view them to choose which one to copy and it is easier on the Cloner than the software solution.I LOVE the HDML Cloner Box Pro. Similar to the non-Pro Box, it records EVERYTHING coming across the HDMI port with EXCELLENT Video quality. The Remote functionality is fantastic. I have yet to test the Timer recording, but understand how it works. The Pro also allows you to Record on the PC through a 2nd Mini-USB port using their HDML-Cloner Pro Helper Application. The PC recording functions worked perfectly, giving you a mirror image of the HDMI stream on the PC (with a slight delay) and full recording control (with the addition of a Pause that you do not get on the USB Drive recordings). The recordings on the PC were as perfect as the ones on the USB flash drive. I can see one advantage of the PC recording is that you can record without having an HD monitor handy. I’m going to test recording from my DSLR Camera where that functionality will come in handy. The Cloner Box Pro Also has a Mic AND Headphone Jack (Mic Jack also on the Box), adding a headphone monitoring capability I currently do not have on the DSLR. The PRO also allows you to control the volume of the HDMI stream and Mic to get a perfect mix. One thing I noticed is my initial recordings had low volume (the Box recordings were slightly louder than the original program). I had to adjust the HDMI volume higher (controlled via remote) to get my recorded volumes back to “normal.”The file sizes on the recorded videos are very large. Cloner-Alliance obviously made a decision to provide the best possible MP4 video quality and did not try to over-compress the video. I’m seeing that the Pro files are about 2G per half hour of video. You can choose between 1080 or 720 recording quality, but the file size does not change a whole lot. The Pro also has a 2G file size limit so it creates a new file every 2G (or 30 minutes). Cloner-Alliance recently removed that restriction on the Box version and is promising new Pro firmware soon that removes that restriction. I had a problem trying to record baseball games where the recording stopped after 1 hour and it appeared the Pro had trouble creating that 3rd file after filling 2 2G files. Cloner-Alliance support was excellent and suggested a different USB flash drive. That appears to have been the problem. Since changing flash drives I have been able to record two 2 hour movies without issue. After the All-Star break I will try baseball again.Cloner-Alliance also provides another software application “MP4-Cloner” which allows you to “Trim” “Combine” “Convert” and “Burn” (to Disk). The Trim and Combine function do not re-compress the video so they work very fast, and do not diminish the quality. “Trim” allows you to remove extra things that are recorded at the beginning or end of the file (lead-in and recordings after the program had ended). Trim on a 30 min 2G file only took a few minutes. Combine allows you to combine the 2G MP4 files together into one file. The last 1.5 hour movie that I combined only took about 10 minutes to complete. “Convert” allows you to convert the native MP4 streams into other formats, although what I used it for was to reduce the 6G movie file down to 3G by decreasing the BPS setting. “Convert” does re-compress the video so it takes a bit longer. The video quality of the 3G file was still very good.The Pro also allows you to record from various other input types: VGA, RGB, and standard AV signals. This is accomplished by a provided cable with those various plugs that feed into a multi-purpose plug (reusing a 2nd HDMI-looking physical connector). Of course I purchased the Cloner-Box to get away from an older RGB recorder so I don’t see using anything other than HDMI.If you’re looking for a device that will record Full HD Video from your Game Console, Cable TV Box, PC Streams, or Blu-Ray Player, the Cloner Box and Cloner Box Pro is the device you have been looking for.

Bought a Box Pro to replace my old VHS/DVD setup that finally bit the dust (and they stopped making new VHS recorders around 2014). Box Pro works great so far (see notes below) and I am able to record off my cable box as well as my Roku device. The Box Pro provides different input ports so I have both devices connected to the Box Pro simultaneously and use the Box Pro remote control to select the port/device I want to record from. Playback works as advertised and Box Pro provides two different playback resolutions. The company also provides digital editing SW that come free with the device ....I downloaded the SW but have not had time to use it yet.Things to be aware of:> You definitely need get a high quality flash drive or HD....Had an issue with an inexpensive flash drive but bought a Toshiba HD as recommended & so far no issues> User manual is cursory & needs to provide more detail> Box Pro can only Fast Forward at 10x in playback so 'zooming' through commercials is slower that I was able to do with VHS (a case where digital is not better than old school)>Playback always starts from the beginning so if you want to take a break during playback, you have to leave the Box Pro in the stopped screen mode....this means you can't record anything else until you jump back to the main menu (WHICH RESETS ALL PLAYBACKS TO START FROM THEIR BEGINNING...WHICH MEANS YOU LOSE YOUR PLACE).... in other words, you won't be able to return to watching a movie where you left off once to leave the 'stopped screen'...Note that the 10x 'fast forward' is ''lethargic' ... for example it takes 'multiple' minutes to get back to where you left off even if you remember where you left off (say you were 1 hour in to a movie)....This 'feature' also means you can't playback/save your place on multiple recorded sessions either....Box Pro only allows you to stop a single playback at a time.......I never had this issue with VHS, using multiple tapes but I guess this is progress!?Bottom line, I am happy with my purchase and it is worth the price.... thought it can be improved (I sent these suggestion in to the Box Pro customer service and they said they would pass them on to development).....We shall see