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Sanyo Xacti HD2000A

Roberto Baldwin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:29:03 -0600

Pew-pew-pew! Shoot videos, not bullets!

In the video camera market, the term "HD" is thrown around about as much as the word "green" is used in the general consumer market. Both are buzz words intended to lure in customers by making them feel they’re on the cutting-edge of some important new trend. The number of consumer digital video cams that claim to shoot HD is staggering, especially when you consider that most camera companies think shooting in a 16:9 aspect ratio is automatically HD.

And then we have the new Xacti HD2000A. It won’t be used to shoot the next James Cameron film, but its HD shooting modes give us faith that the term HD really does stand for High Definition, and is being used correctly again.

The Xacti utilizes a "gun" form factor instead of the tiny-loaf-of-bread or iPod form factor employed for most consumer DV cameras. The gun form factor may seem odd at first, but, frankly, it makes sense for a consumer camera. When you’re filming your child dancing to Beyonce's All the Single Ladies, a solid handle grip is more comfortable than other form factors, and gives you thumb access to the controls on the back of the camera. That said, the grip isn’t without its issues: If you plan on using a microphone or headphones with the camera, their cords will block the area at the top front of the grip. (As a result, you can either move your hand down the grip, or have your index finger pointing off into nowhere.)

The Xacti is marketed as a "dual camera" with the ability to record 1920x1080 60fps progressive H.264 video as well as shoot 8MP still images. To this end, the camera has two large buttons within thumb-mashing distance that allow you to either take a picture or shoot a video. You don’t need to access the onscreen menu to switch modes--you simply tap the button of the mode you want.

The zoom function is placed near the dual mode buttons, and is accessible by your thumb. We do have an issue with the zoom mechanism, as it seems to have only two speeds: fast and "hold-on-to-your-seats-kids-we’re zooming!" This nearly eliminates any chance of capturing smooth, slow zooms, which could turn off pros looking for a second camera and film makers on a limited budget. Below the main button interface is a joystick used to navigate menus, and is programmed to change the flash mode, the exposure, and the focus mode among other things. The manual focus is a welcome addition, and can handle macro shots from only 1cm away. Unfortunately, you can’t manually change the focus while shooting video.

The Xacti shoots JPEG images up to 8MP. While its still-image capabilities won’t make you ditch your dedicated DSLR, the camera does an impressive job catching light and dark areas in a single photograph. Even in the medium setting (6MP 3264x1840), we were able to capture quality photos. We did notice some pixel noise while taking macro shots, but it wasn’t bad enough to turn us off from using the camera for ultra close-ups. Colors were true to life, and we were surprised how well this dual-function device shoots stills.

The camera supports the new iFrame video format that Apple recently introduced. The resulting 16:9 aspect ratio video files are smaller than your average MP4 files, but still contain the detail of much larger files--and can be immediately ingested by, and edited in, iMovie ’09. The iFrame format shoots 960x540 video at 30fps. It’s not the highest quality video you can get from the Xacti--that honor goes to the 1920x1080/60fps progressive FullHR setting--but iFrame video is great for posting online

As for the quality of video shot in FullHR mode, it rivals that of much higher end cameras available just a few years ago. We found that the auto-focus and auto-exposure functions adjusted quickly during filming, but were never jarring. The Xacti can also capture a nice tonal range when shooting bright and shaded areas. Details were crisp in both iFrame and FullHR mode and quick motion didn’t result in muddy video.

A supplied docking platform keeps the camera from lying around on your desk, and helps ensure that the Xacti will always be charged when you’re ready to start shooting. Photos can be imported directly into iPhoto, iFrame videos can go straight into iMovie, and your FullHR files can load straight into Final Cut Pro when you want to create that masterpiece for film school.

Kodak Zi8

Susie Ochs — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:12:17 -0600

If you flipped over the Flip pocket-size video cameras, there’s a new contender worth your attention. Kodak’s Zi8 replaces the Zi6, bringing full HD 1080p capabilities to a small, well-designed package that fits in your pocket but does more than its competition.

Measuring 2.4 by 4.5 by 0.9 inches and weighing 4.8 ounces, the Zi8 features a great-looking 2.5-inch LCD with three brightness settings--we had no problems viewing it in bright sunlight. We put a few nasty scratches in the plastic body during testing, but the screen survived unscathed. The four buttons and four-way rocker switch make navigating the menus easy with just your thumb.

The Lithium-Ion battery is removable, so you can pack extra batteries ($29.95 each) and keep shooting. A battery charger is included (or you can charge by USB), along with HDMI and composite cables for hooking the camera to your TV. The USB plug for connecting it to your Mac is built right in.

The Zi8 comes in basic black, aqua, or raspberry.

You do have to buy an SDHC card--the camera accepts cards up to 32GB, and we picked up an 8GB card at Best Buy for under $25. This is a great feature compared to the fixed-memory Flip. Fill up one card, swap it out for another, and you can film all day long.

The Zi8 shoots video in 1080p, 720p, or widescreen VGA, all at 30 frames per second, and you can also shoot 60 frames per second at 720p, good for catching fast-moving action, or if you plan to slow the video down later.

Video quality is impressive for a pocket-size camera, with accurate colors and skin tones. The face-detection feature adjusts exposure if you’re shooting someone in shadow, and low-light performance is comparable to the Flip’s. The Zi8 features image stabilization, but we still got the best results using a tripod. The built-in mono mic worked OK even outdoors, and there’s a jack for plugging in your own stereo microphone.

The 5-megapixel still photos didn’t stun us, and it’s hard to keep the camera still while pressing the shutter button. But the macro switch (for photos and videos shot close-up) is a nice touch. The 4x zoom is digital, photo-speak for “unusable.”

Your videos are encoded as H.264 MPEG-4 MOV files, but the included software isn’t Mac compatible. The Zi8 appears on your Desktop like a removable drive, and you have to drag the movies to your hard drive manually, but they open in QuickTime and can be imported into iMovie for editing.

Fifth-Generation iPod nano

Susie Ochs — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:51:45 -0500

We loved the last iPod nano (5 out of 5 stars, Nov/08, p68) with its brightly colored, sleekly tapered aluminum case, accelorometer-assisted Cover Flow and Shake-to-Shuffle, and Genius playlists. The fifth-generation nano brings back all that goodness and shovels on even more "OMG WANT" features, including an FM radio, pedometer, and video camera.

The video camera is obviously the marquee addition, no pun intended. A tiny lens on the back of the nano captures 640x480 H.264 video, and an even tinier microphone records AAC audio. We needed to experiment to find the best ways to hold the nano while keeping the screen visible and our fingers out of the shot. Whichever way the nano is held, the preview appears right-side-up on the screen, so we initially thought we could hold it upside-down in portrait mode--and we wound up with a bunch of upside-down video. If you start shooting with the nano upside-down, your video will be OK. But if you start shooting right-side-up and then turn the nano upside-down, your footage will flip too, even though the preview image on the screen is always upright.

Video quality is not up to the Flip cameras' standard, with more washed-out colors and less detail. Still, it's fun to shoot with, provided you have enough light. Holding the center button brings up 15 special effects that can be added to your footage in real time--Sepia, Black & White, X-Ray, Motion Blur, Cyborg, and more.

When you dock the nano, the videos (in MP4 format) are uploaded to iPhoto, but you can't use iPhoto's Facebook or Flickr uploaders to get them online. Your best bet is to export the clip to your Desktop (File > Export, and choose Original as the format). Then you can open the exported MP4 file in QuickTime to perform some trims or add a quick soundtrack. You can import the clip into iMovie for more extensive editing, although we had to choose File > Import > Movies from iMovie, as dragging the MP4 file onto the iMovie icon didn't work.

The camera's tiny mic also lets you record voice notes using the built-in Voice Memos app. Your memos are saved as AAC files and synced to iTunes with date stamps. You can also label a memo as a podcast, interview, lecture, idea, meeting, or memo, to make it easier to tell them apart later.

The radio feature is new too, but it only works with headphones plugged in, since the wire acts as an antenna. This means you can't listen to the radio with the iPod in a speaker dock, since the dock connector and headphone jack are next to each other on the nano's bottom. The radio won't play through the nano's tiny built-in speaker, either, even though any other audio can. You tune the dial (87.5 to 107.9) with the clickwheel, and save stations as favorites. Pressing pause will buffer the radio for up to 15 minutes, letting you resume playback where you left off. If the station supports iTunes Tagging, you'll see the current artist and song name displayed on the nano's screen, and you can hold the center button and choose Tag from the contextual menu. The nano remembers everything you tagged, and when you sync with your Mac, you'll see a playlist of Tagged Songs in your sidebar, with links to buy those songs on iTunes.

The built-in pedometer can be always on, or turned on manually, and it counts your steps as you bop around with your iPod in your pocket. When you dock the nano, the data is uploaded to nikeplusactive.com, tracking your progress toward various goals (walking to the top of a virtual 100-story skyscraper, burning off the calories in a hot dog, and so on). You can also tell the nano your weight, and have it calculate the calories burned by your steps. This Nike+ Active system isn't the same as the more robust Nike+ running system (nikerunning.nike.com), which still requires the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit ($29, www.apple.com) with its wireless sensor for your shoes and wireless receiver that plugs into the nano's dock port.

Besides the new bells and whistles, the fifth-gen nano is pretty close to its predecessor. It's the same shape and size, but the new nano's 2.2-inch, 240x376 display is bigger than the fourth-gen's 2-inch, 240x320 screen. The fonts are a little bigger, the menus a little more spaced out. For watching videos or using Cover Flow, just tilt the nano on its side and the accelerometer reorients the display.

The nano supports VoiceOver, letting you hear what song is playing and navigate between tracks and playlists with buttons on your headphones. But bizarrely, the included headphones don't have the buttons--you have to upgrade to the $29 Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic, or the pricier $79 Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic, or use a compatible third-party set. (Our Griffin TuneBuds Mobile worked fine.) Visually impaired users can opt for the Spoken Menus feature instead, which works with any headphones or speakers.

Battery life is impressive. Apple estimates 24 hours of music playback, but in our tests (with the pedometer off, Energy Saver on, and volume set to 50 percent), a brand-new nano pumped out a little more than 29 hours of music before needing to be recharged. Apple estimates 5 hours of video playback, and using the pedometer or video camera does ding those numbers a little.

Elgato Video Capture

Arvind Srinivasan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:08:34 -0500

If you were a kid (or had a kid) any time between the mid-1980s and the turn of the century, chances are you have a bunch of old videotapes with incriminating footage on them. Chances are also good that your mother (or someone like her) has probably bothered you on more than one occasion about converting those aforementioned tapes—because really, who uses a VCR anymore? Using Elgato’s Video Capture, you can turn any analog source into 640x480 digital video files, for playback on your Mac, iPod touch, or iPhone.

The device itself is both sleek and functional and can be stashed in a pocket easily. Video Capture features composite and S-Video outs, so it’ll easily slurp in signals from DVD players, DVRs, video cameras, and other sources with analog outputs. There’s also an included Composite-to-SCART adapter, although SCART is a French standard that never gained much traction outside certain European countries.

Editing controls let you quickly trim footage.

On the software end, however, we found that Elgato’s solution is lacking in the features department. Though utilitarian, it’s simple at the cost of being too simple. First, processing video is incredibly system intensive. On our test Mac, a 2.4GHz dual-core MacBook Pro, the software used all the processing muscle of one CPU and half of the second during the entire conversion, making it impossible to do much of anything else.

We found that Elgato records video at approximately 13MB per minute—a 90-minute video at 640x480 came in at a whopping 1.1GB. Comparatively, when we used HandBrake, the resulting file size was a relatively svelte (and much more portable-device-friendly) 600MB. While we could have compressed the video with third-party software, it’s an additional step, not to mention another encoding, which can affect video quality. Using a variety of sources, the resulting video was consistently a tad darker than it should be, requiring us to crank up the brightness when watching clips encoded by Elgato’s software. The biggest miss, however, is the lack of a pause function while recording, for editing down clips as you encode them. The software does offer a timer function, which can stop recording in 30-minute increments, but you can’t enter your own record times, and you have to trim the excess blank video after the fact.

Video Capture’s editing and sharing capabilities worked well, but there were a few glitches. For example, the trimming functionality was seriously confusing. It’s color-coded, but there’s no clear indication of what the individual colors stand for. Furthermore, even though we tried logging in with several different YouTube accounts to upload our video to the service, it perplexingly only worked when we used a Google Account. On the other hand, the one-click iMovie export was glitch-free. That said, if you have a huge video file, we suggest you open it directly from iMovie—export makes another copy of the file for you to import into iMovie, but multiple copies of large videos can quickly chew through even the largest hard drives.

Logitech Harmony 1100

Ray Aguilera — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:03:00 -0500

It’s pretty… but it can also be pretty frustrating.

The Harmony 1100 remote is a sight to behold. The 3.5-inch touchscreen is bright and clear, and its tablet-style design made us feel like we were piloting a spaceship, not just watching Spaceballs again. With its extensive database of components, and (ostensibly) simple programming interface, the Harmony is a workable solution for users who are drowning in remotes. And while the touchscreen definitely offers style points, in real-world usage, it’s a less than ideal way to control your home media empire.

The appeal of universal remotes is obvious. Currently, our modest media setup requires three separate remotes just to watch a DVD. Pulling the Harmony 1100 from the box, we were giddy at the prospect of finally being able to control everything with one clicker. And since the Harmony features a rechargeable battery and charging cradle, we were looking forward to no longer having to scramble to find AAA batteries when one of the remotes dies.

Programming the Harmony to work with your AV gear is supposed to be a simple matter. The interface is based on Activities, which power up the appropriate components and switch inputs, making going from live TV to watching a DVD a one-button affair. Firing up the Harmony software on our Mac, we entered information about our existing components and defined several Activities for the remote. Once we set up our Activities, we connected the remote to our Mac with the included USB cable--and nothing happened. Turns out, syncing information to your remote requires you to turn your firewall off completely, exposing your Mac to the Internet at large--a sketchy situation at best. Once we jumped that hurdle, the Harmony software downloaded appropriate commands for our equipment from Logitech’s database.

After our first try, the remote successfully recognized our television, TiVo, and DVD player. We had to make minor corrections, using the Harmony’s onboard Remote Assistant, but the basic functionality was there. In addition to the touchscreen, the right side of the Harmony features hard buttons for channel and volume; an up, down, left, right directional control; and other basic functions. Getting the remote to correctly control an older Denon audio mini-system was basically trial and error that resulted in less than full control of the stereo. Logitech’s database identified some new video-streaming hardware, but we could never get those controls to work properly, even after multiple attempts at manually programming the Harmony via its “learning” capability.

We love the idea of the 1100, but the touchscreen was more eye-candy than anything else. It was fine for watching DVDs, or other situations that require minimal interaction with the remote. Controlling a TiVo from the Harmony was an exercise in frustration. Skipping commercials requires watching the TV screen, but even after heavy use, we couldn’t reliably resume playback after fast-forwarding without looking down at the remote. And we really missed the button on the TiVo remote that skips back a few seconds, which is missing in Harmony’s TiVo interface. In short, the touchscreen is no substitute for hard buttons and some muscle memory. And overall, despite some tweakable settings, we found the Harmony to be a slowpoke when it came to sending commands to our components.

If you have RF- or Bluetooth-controlled components in your entertainment center, be prepared to shell out additional coin for adapters. While Bluetooth components aren’t that common, we felt that the Harmony should have included the RF adapter--$99 separately--which would allow you to stash electronics behind closed doors, and still be able to control them without a direct line of sight.

Blue Microphones Eyeball

Roberto Baldwin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:15:00 -0500

I can hear you just fine. Seeing you, on the other hand..

Very seldom does a webcam’s microphone play any part in its quality. They’re usually adequate--and usually ditched in favor of a real microphone for anything that needs that professional touch. Blue Microphones decided to switch it up with their new Eyeball. Instead of a camera with a small mic attached, it’s a mic with a tiny camera attached.

The silver Eyeball is first and foremost a microphone--a very nice one that does a great job of picking up audio. It’s an excellent addition for anyone that podcasts or uses VoIP services like Skype. The microphone is what makes the Eyeball a compelling buy--and in fact, the Eyeball’s mic is very similar to the same company’s Snowflake, which received five stars in our Oct/08 issue.

Unfortunately, the webcam’s video quality is its biggest liability. Video requires steady footing, and unfortunately, the Eyeball’s base was too wobbly to capture steady video when sitting on a desktop. Thankfully, the base is removable and the Eyeball can be attached to the top of many desktop monitors via an included rubber adapter. We would have appreciated a tripod adapter as well, for more flexibility.

The Eyeball boasts a 1.3-megapixel camera that records at up to 1280x1024. The specs are impressive, but in our tests, the actual video wasn’t up to par with other webcams in this price range. Skin tones tended to come off redder than they should be, and the images were a bit dark overall. It’s not a great webcam, but it’s adequate for most applications, after some adjustments to the surrounding lighting.

The camera’s pop-out, pop-in mechanism is a great way to be sure that you’ve finished broadcasting, perfect for avoiding any American Pie-style webcam disasters. With the Eyeball, there is no question as to when you’ve signed off.

3M Micro Professional Projector MPro110

Zack Stern — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:41:56 -0500

It’s only the length of an iPhone; just don’t leave it in a back pocket and sit down.

The MPro110 could easily slip into a shirt pocket or stow away anywhere. Its candy-bar shape echoes its simplicity: There’s only an on/off switch, port for composite video, and physical focus adjustment. A small power adapter drives the unit, even recharging its included battery for truly mobile situations. We only got 50 minutes out of the battery--and there’s no warning as it’s running out--but it’s nice for short use.

The 640x480-pixel images are pushed out with LEDs, making this projector fear ambient light like a vampire. In a dark room, it kicks out enough brightness, playing a projection of about 3 feet. However, even then, colors start to fade; this unit never seems saturated enough. With normal room lighting, the projection is useless, and it’s inadequate for movies--versus high-contrast, static presentations--in a dimmed setting.

Vudu Box

Ray Aquilera — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:12:45 -0500

(Almost) just like renting from the video store…except you don’t have to be wearing pants.

We’ve long been fans of Netflix, partially because of the convenience, and because well…recently all the video stores in our neighborhood have died of mysterious causes. But waiting for the mail sucks, and our Netflix queue has the annoying tendency of not magically knowing exactly what we want to watch on a given day. Which is precisely what the Vudu excels at: instant gratification. A compact box that hooks up to your (standard or hi-def) TV, the Vudu Box delivers streaming movies in several resolutions directly to your living room, with no late fees, discs, or trips to the video store--or the mailbox.

Connecting the Vudu to your video gear couldn’t be easier. Connect AC power, and to your home network by Ethernet, or the optional Vudu WiFi Kit. Vudu outputs to your TV by (included!) HDMI, Component, Composite, or S-Video, and features analog RCA, or digital Optical or Coax outs. Put simply, unlike the Apple TV, Vudu easily connects to just about any standard or HD TV. Vudu also includes a somewhat bulbous but innovative scrollwheel remote, comfortable for left- or right-handed use. And the remote operates over RF, so the Vudu Box can be hidden away in a cabinet--no direct line of sight required.

Movies on Vudu are available for purchase or rental. New releases rent for $3.99 for standard-definition and $5.99 for HD or Vudu’s higher-quality HDX format. Older titles can be rented for as little as 99 cents, but most are in the $2.99 to $3.99 range. You can also buy movies for viewing anytime, with prices comparable to those you’d find for DVDs, although so far only standard-definition content is available for purchase. Like other on-demand rentals, the movie studios have stupidly limited rentals to a rather punitive 24-hour window--if you start a movie Thursday at 7 p.m., you can’t finish up the last 20 minutes Friday at 8:30 without paying again. Luckily, Vudu offers the ability to re-up your rental for another day, for less than the cost of a second rental.

In our tests, the Vudu performed well, and we only had trouble with one of the films we rented. HD and HDX versions looked significantly better than the less expensive SD versions on our 1080p TV, but even HDX isn’t the same as what you’d see from Blu-Ray. But HD versions come at a price (besides the upcharge of a few bucks). SD titles start instantly, but HD and HDX titles can require a few hours of downloading time before you can start watching--somewhat mitigated by the ability to initiate movie downloads to your Vudu from your iPhone or any Web browser. And, if you’re interested, the Vudu also features adult content, which is disabled by default, and must be activated via Web browser before the option shows up on your Vudu Box. And there’s even a Dad “panic button” to take you quickly out of the adult section if your mom/kid/spouse/clergyman comes into the room unexpectedly.

If your ISP imposes a bandwidth cap on your Internet access, be warned that Vudu uses a closed peer-to-peer system for downloads, so you’re serving files, in addition to downloading your movies. For heavy users of Vudu’s HD formats, there is a risk of running afoul of your ISP with normal use. Vudu was cagey when asked about file sizes for the various movie formats, but it’s a factor that heavy Internet users may need to be wary of.

We loved the simple setup, and extras like YouTube and Flickr were nice. Unfortunately, Vudu remains locked into its own proprietary video universe. There’s neither an option to play back your own video files on the device, nor to stream them from computers on your local network. And while titles are often available the same day the DVD gets released, some are only available for purchase on that date--you’re forced to wait a few weeks in order to rent a title rather than buy it. Vagaries like this make us a little apprehensive about movie-download services, including Vudu. They’re still reliant on the movie studios for content, which means that titles available today might be gone tomorrow. Vudu assures us that any content you purchase is yours to keep, even if your Vudu never again connects to the Internet or Vudu’s servers--if they were to go out of business, for example. And since there’s no way to back up your purchases locally, you only own purchased content for as long as your Vudu box is operating. Vudu says they’ll replace content if your drive dies, but they’ll have to be in business in order to do that. At least with DVDs you own a physical product that isn’t dependent on a proprietary device to remain functional.