Digital Photography/Video Article (1)
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OnAir Solution GT USB HDTV Receiver/Recorder Review » January 21, 2008 05:00PM
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ULTRA Stackables Review » December 19, 2007 05:00PM
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Diamond XtremeTV HDTV 110 Hybrid Tv Tuner USB 2.0 » December 19, 2007 05:00PM
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Logitech Quick Cam Pro for Notebooks Review » September 17, 2007 05:00PM
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Turtle Beach Video Advantage PCI » September 12, 2007 05:00PM
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Digital Photography/Video News (91)
Know Your Lighting When Using Your Digital Camera
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: July 22, 2008 07:21PM
Author: ClayMeow
As many of you venture off on summer vacations, you'll probably be bringing along a digital camera (if you're still using film, stop being stubborn and/or lazy, and buy a digital camera, Grandpa). One of the major things that plague amateur photographers is lighting. Whether it's a lack of lighting, or too much lighting, either can make your pictures look horrid. That's why, when I saw this article on USA Today offering five lighting tips, I thought it would be good to share it with all of you. Whether you're going to another country or simply hanging out with friends, don't let bad lighting ruin your pictures.
Nikon Unveils D700 DSLR
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: July 1, 2008 06:35AM
Author: Ben Grantham
Nikon's new D700 will slip in nicely between the D300 and D3 in its camera line up, adopting the same 12.1 megapixel sensor used in the latter. Features include a weather sealed magnesium alloy body, standard ISO range up to 6400, 51 point autofocus and HDMI video out. Of course that is only just scratching the surface in terms of what makes up the camera, so if you want some more detail then Rob Galbraith has a well put together low down on all the bits and pieces. The conclusion seems to be that the D700 offers much of what you get with the D3, but for two grand less. You should see the D700 popping up in the US some time soon for $3,000 (body only).
New Sony Camcorder Automatically Photographs Smiles
Category: Digital Photography/Video, GadgetsPosted: June 19, 2008 03:42PM
Author: ClayMeow
Next month, Sony plans on launching a new digital camcorder that can not only record high-definition video, but also simultaneously and automatically snap photos when someone smiles. Users of digital camcorders typically have to switch between video recording mode and still picture mode. This is the first camcorder that won't require you to do so, and you can even set priority levels on children or adults. I've been very impressed with the facial recognition of my digital camera (a Canon SX100), so I'm very interested to see how well this "smile recognition" works.
Nikon Adds Three New Cameras To Coolpix Line
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: April 10, 2008 09:10AM
Author: Ben Grantham
If you are looking to buy a compact digital camera, then lack of choice won't be one of your concerns. Nikon announced three new cameras today to add to that bewildering array of options, those being the P80, S52 and S52c. Probably the most interesting of the bunch is the P80, with its 18x optical zoom lense covering a focal range from 27mm to 486mm. This is paired with a 10.1 megapixel sensor and a 2.7" LCD for framing your photos. Whether you need such resolution from a compact camera is debatable, but I guess it'll help you fill any of the large, cheap memory cards that are abundant these days. The S52 and S52c are essentially the same camera, with the 'c' model sporting Wi-Fi connectivity. They are of the type you should be able easily slip into a pocket (something you won't be doing with the P80), and feature 9 megapixel sensors and 3x optical zoom plus 3" LCD displays. You should be able to pick up a P80 from this month for around $399.95, while the the S52 and S52c are set to debut next month at prices of $249.95 and $299.95 respectively.
Amazon Also Compensating Those Who Bought HD-DVD Players
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: April 9, 2008 03:23PM
Author: Ben Grantham
In a move which has a lot in common with that exhibited by retailer Best Buy last month, Amazon.com is now offering customers who bought a HD-DVD player before they were discontinued store credit of $50. Anyone who bought a player before the 23rd of February qualifies and the $50 credit offer will be honored until this time next year (April 9th 2009). Certainly good news for anyone who invested in the now defunct format, while being a good move for Amazon as the offer is likely to stimulate more spending (which is what they want to happen after all).
Toshiba Release SpursEngine Samples
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: April 8, 2008 08:20AM
Author: Ben Grantham
If you haven't read anything about Toshiba's SpursEngine graphics co-processor then here are a few things you might want to know. The SpursEngine is derived from the infamous Cell processor found in PS3 consoles, containing 4 Cell type cores and a hardware codec for dealing with high definition video streams. This piece of technology is capable of some rather neat things, as Toshiba has demonstrated at trade shows. High speed HD encoding and decoding would be a boon for those heavily into video editing, while the ability to upscale standard definition content (relatively convincingly it would seem) through the use of a super-resolution algorithm may be exciting for those looking to get more out of lower quality sources. The SpursEngine also opens up the possibility for real time video manipulation and gestural recognition. Toshiba has started shipping samples of the chips and expects the commercial chip to sell for around $50 in bulk quantities. It will likely find a home in graphics add-in cards to start with and consumer electronic devices some time after that.
Canon Lose Ground To Nikon In DSLR Market
Category: Manufacturers, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: April 2, 2008 10:59AM
Author: Ben Grantham
Canon have remained top dog in the camera game for some time now, at least in terms of market share (other measurements are open to interpretation). For example, in 2006 Canon held 46.7 percent of the DSLR market compared to 33 percent for Nikon. It would seem in the last year that gap closed considerably, with Canon selling 3.18 million SLR models and Nikon selling 2.98 million; shares of 42.7 percent and 40 percent respectively. So one would have to assumed Nikon is doing something right by consumers to narrow the margin by that much, with possibilities being the D300 and D3 at the higher end. Yet it is at the lower end of the DSLR market that the real numbers get shifted, and this is the market that Canon has been strong in previously. What is probably of more interest overall is that the SLR market is growing faster than that for compact cameras as prices are driven down and the compact market becomes saturated. As always, close competition is good for the consumer, so there is something to be happy about even if market share and seemingly meaningless numbers aren't your thing.
Purdue University Creates Transparent Display
Category: Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: April 1, 2008 03:46PM
Author: Carl Dunham
Science Fiction writers dreams are becoming a reality in the form of Transparent Active Matrix Displays. This would allow advances in car electronics, such as GPS and important data showing up on the windshield, this would allow for safer travel as well as looking cool! Other advances would be made in entertainment such as TV's that are clear when not in use, I personally think it would make a sweet shower door too! The researchers at Purdue University created the first unit using new types of transparent transistors and circuits, they also believe that their unit rivals many TV's on the market in terms of brightness. The unit bases its glory on nanowires, small cylindrical structures built on glass or plastic film, these nanowires can be as small as 20 nanometers or about 1000x thinner than a human hair.
Sony Shows Off Flagship Alpha DSLR
Category: Manufacturers, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: March 19, 2008 10:30AM
Author: Ben Grantham
The Photo Imaging Expo in Tokyo provided Sony a good opportunity to show off its new flagship model in the Alpha series of DSLR cameras. Sony only entered this market in 2006 and have quite easily jumped into third place behind perennial competitors Canon and Nikon. Not a whole lot is known about the new Alpha right now, but the specs that Sony has shared so far are pretty impressive. That would namely be the full frame 35mm sensor and a 24.6 megapixel resolution, as well as image stabilisation for those without a rock steady grip. The price is going to be the deal breaker on this one I suspect, as the high end of the market is still dominated by those other two afformentioned companies.
Gift Cards For Those Who Bought HD-DVD Players
Category: Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: March 19, 2008 10:18AM
Author: Ben Grantham
Retailer Best Buy will be giving out gift cards to customers who bought HD-DVD Players (or HD-DVD Attachments) from its stores prior to Feb. 23rd. Best Buy will identify customers who qualify through its Reward Zone program, though you should also be able to claim if you can provide proof of purchase. Each item will net customers a $50 gift card, which means they may end up dishing out somewhere in the region of $10 million. I suspect those unfortunate enough to have lined up behind the HD-DVD format will see it as a small compensation. Those wishing to get rid of their players all together should be able to do so at Best Buy's online trade-in centre from this Friday.
Digital Photo Frames a Vector for Trojan Horse Infection
Category: Digital Photography/Video, Bugs / VirusPosted: February 20, 2008 08:44AM
Author: Dale Shuck
When you choose a gift, you'd like the recipient to remember you for a long time. Apparently that's what happened to people who purchased digital photo frames over the holidays but probably not in the way intended. Security researchers recently discovered a rather nasty Trojan horse on digital photo frames from major retailers such as Sam's Club, Best Buy, Target and Costco. By reverse engineering the code, experts have been able to track the origin back to a group in China. This particular Trojan is very sophisticated and is capable of identifying and blocking antivirus software along with the Windows firewall. The thing that makes this malware particularly difficult to identify and clean is that it downloads files from remote locations and hides the files under random names. Currently the malware is only stealing passwords for online games, but has the capability to other personal information as well. Four additional Trojans have been located on the frames in addition to the new one.
Hardware Roundup: Friday Edition
Category: Video Cards, Motherboards, Cases, Memory, Operating Systems, Digital Photography/Video, Storage / Hard Drives, Mouse PadPosted: February 15, 2008 06:10AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Looking around the web today revealed several video card card articles. We begin with a look at the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 from motherboards.org (also reviewed by OCC HERE). ATI is certainly back in the game with their new 3800 series of cards, but how does it stack up against the green team? Bjorn3D has a look at the factory-overclocked Gigabyte 8800GT TurboForce which features a Zalman after-market cooler. If you're in the hunt for a new video card, how do you decide which one to get amongst all the ones out there. Take a moment to read the Sweet 16 Mid-range Graphics Cards Compared article at The Tech Report for more insight. The 790FX is AMD's latest chipset designed to support their Phenom line of processors. By now you're most likely aware of the issues the current processors are having with the TLB and the microcode fix available. Viper Lair evaluates the MSI K9A2 Platinum AMD 790FX Motherboard and has a look at performance and the impact the fix has by toggling the fix on and off. While AMD is still using DDR2 memory, Intel-based boards are moving towards the faster, yet still pricier, DDR3 format. The Aeneon Xtune DDR3-1333 2GB Memory Kit from ThinkComputers is one such offering (see the OCC review HERE). PC Perspective takes the Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case out for a spin and comes away liking what they saw (OCC review). For something on the fun side, you can read about the Cyberlink YouCam at OCModShop. Vitual-Hideout likes the Razer Destructor Gaming Surface (also reviewed by OCC HERE). Tech ARP has just published its Hard Drive Performance Comparison Guide. Finally, OCModShop shows us how to Solve File Copy Problems: Tweak Vista's Auto-tuning Network.
Is Getting Behind HD-DVD Now Like Flogging A Dead Horse?
Category: Music / Video Players, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: February 12, 2008 06:11PM
Author: Ben Grantham
If you have been following the high definition format war closely or have just been thinking recently that you might take the plunge and buy you first piece of HD Disc playing hardware, then you might have taken note of the news yesterday. It seems that Monday may have been a crucial point in deciding which format will eventually win out, and it was about time too. It all started early on Monday, when largest US online movie rental service Netflix declared it would be making the move to providing titles exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Netflix should have HD-DVD phased out by the end of the year. If that wasn't enough, influencial retailer Best-Buy also said yesterday that although it wouldn't be dropping HD-DVD all together, it would be pushing Blu-ray as the preferred choice to its customers.
The HD-DVD group responded to the bad news with, well a whimper quite frankly. Quoting numbers of players in the marketplace and simply expressing disappointment at the decision of Netflix doesn't sound like confidence to me. The statement even sounded glad that Best-Buy was keeping HD-DVD stocked and not simply dropping it completely. With the major movie studios already behind Blu-ray, HD-DVD will need to pull out something special to turn the state of affairs around. Will the format have the persistence to keep fighting? Will it just fade into the background with its tail between its legs? Do we even care and are just glad it looks like we won't have to make a format decision the next time we shop for movies? I'm personally opting for the latter.
nVidia Introduces Mobile Applications Processor
Category: Mobile, Manufacturers, Music / Video Players, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: February 11, 2008 05:10PM
Author: Ben Grantham
Want hardware decoding support for 720p H.264 and a string of other formats on your windows mobile device? Well then nVidia thinks it has an answer for you in the form of its new APX 2500 application processor. This little chip will decode the previously mentioned format as well as VC-1/WMV9 and MPEG-4, also being able to encode in both 720p H.264 and MPEG-4. If that's not enough, it supports the regular audio formats (MP3, WMA etc.) plus HDMI 1.2 to provide video output at 720p or output for monitors at resolutions up to 1280x1024. Sounds pretty promising, and hopefully they have managed to do all of this without ballooning power demand, which is all important in mobile devices of course.
The APX 2500 will be on display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and we might see more of it around by this upcoming summer.
Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition
Category: Video Cards, Motherboards, CPU's, Software, Digital Photography/Video, CPU Cooling, VGA CoolingPosted: February 11, 2008 06:41AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Our week gets started with a lot of ground to cover. Intel-based systems are dominating the roundup today so if that's your platform of choice we have a lot to offer. LostCircuits leads off with an in-depth look at Intel's SkullTrail Extreme Platform. By now you are most likely aware that Skulltrail is a dual-processor platform with Crossfire and SLI support. You may have also noticed it will require a serious wallet to implement. However, there are alternatives based on other Intel chipsets such as the P35 and X38 as well as the upcoming X48. Today we have a chance to examine motherboards based on two of those platforms. ThinkComputers reviews the ASUS Maximus Formula Intel X38 Motherboard. If you've been wondering about the X48 and what it offers over the previous generation you can check out the MSI X48 Platinum Motherboard at RBMods. To round out the news, Tech ARP has an article on Intel G45 & G43 Chipset Details. Not all the news is around Intel's chipsets though. NVIDIA has a new chipset supporting PCI-E 2.0 and the Intel 45nm CPUs, so if you're currently looking for SLI support you need to check out the EVGA 780i SLI Motherboard at motherboards.org. A quiet, but effective, way to cool your processor is the goal of the CoolIT PURE Silent Liquid CPU Cooler reviewed at Techgage. Thermalright is well-known among enthusiasts for it extreme air-cooling products. When you combine that name with a name like Inferno Fire eXtinguisher you end up with the Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler and this one is truly a monster with room for up to three 140mm fans. Madshrimps gives us the chance to see what this behemoth can do. For those looking for a more traditional air cooling solution you can check out the TweakTown review of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU Cooler. Your CPU is not the only item in your machine needing cooling. Virtual-Hideout takes a look at the Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler to see how well it performs. Today's roundup also features more opportunities to check out the latest video cards from AMD/ATI as Fudzilla has their article HD3870 and HD3850 mix tested in Crossfire and Bjorn3D evaluates the PowerColor HD 3650 512M GDDR3 Xtreme PCS. Just how well do those cards perform? Every review has some sort of reference to a set of results from one or more benchmarks. [H]ardocp challenges that approach in its Benchmarking the Benchmarks article. We've had the opportunity to look at several software packages from Uniblue here at OCC and today Tweak News has another in that lineup with the UniBlue Process Scanner Software. Last, but not least, there is the OnAir Solution GT Mobile HDTV Tuner at Overclockers Online.
Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition
Category: Video Cards, Motherboards, CPU's, Cases, Power Supplies, Digital Photography/Video, Storage / Hard Drives, CPU Cooling, Trade Shows/ConventionsPosted: February 4, 2008 06:16AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Our Monday roundup kicks off with a chance to ponder the question How much is enough? Or conversely, How much is too much? When you're dealing with computer enthusiasts, trying to get too philosophical this early in the week may be a futile exercise. However, we're going to give you that opportunity as we bring you several reviews and articles about Intel's new Skulltrail platform. Skulltrail is Intel's new enthusiast platform destined to redefine 'high-end'. First off is the Intel D5400XS motherboard supporting two quad-core processors by way of dual LGA771 sockets. Designed initially for the QX9775 processors it will also be the first Intel-based board to also support Nvidia SLI. The platform will also support AMD Crossfire. All of this via four PCI-e graphics slots. But there are some caveats involved. For the rest of the story you can check out one of the following: Intel Skulltrail Unleashed: Core 2 Extreme QX9775 x 2 at HotHardware and Intel Skulltrail Enthusiast Platform at Techgage. PC Perspective also offers up two articles with Intel Skulltrail and Multi-GPU Graphics: Mixed Results and Intel Skulltrail Platform Review - Eight Cores, SLI and CrossFire. If that wasn't enough to get your blood pumping then Madshrimps has a compendium of water cooling products in their 6 High End CPU Water Blocks Tested and Compared. For more AMD/ATI graphics card news HotHardware has the Asus EAH3870 X2 1GB TOP Sneak Peek while TweakTown reviews the factory-overclocked HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX. In the case department 3dGameMan has a video review of the Silverstone CW03 HTPC Case. This sweet looking case sports a 7-inch LCD touch screen monitor as well an an all-aluminum body. For a look at a mid-tower case, check out the Cooler Master 690 at Overclockers Online. Another Intel X38 motherboard makes the rounds today with a preview of the Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 at motheboards.org. Madshrimps makes a second appearance in today's roundup with a look at 3 MSI Webcam Models Compared. When you hear the name Zalman the first thing you think of is cooling. PC Apex reviews the Zalman ZM850-HP Power Supply and shows us just how they incorporated that cooling experience into a PSU (think dual heatpipes). If you need more storage but don't have enough available SATA ports, you owe it to yourself to check out TweakTown and their review of the HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 PCI-E SATA (you can also read OCC's review HERE). Next we have another look at the AutumnWave OnAir GT (USB HDTV Tuner) from Bjorn3D (also reviewed by OCC HERE). RBMods has the Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB USB Flash Drive recently announced at CES. That gives us a perfect segue for Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008 - Part 2 from Virtual-Hideout. Finally, Tech ARP has a couple of updates with Intel Core 2 Processor Performance Comparison Guide and Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide.
Sandisk Announce 32GB SDHC Cards
Category: Memory, Digital Photography/Video, Storage / Hard DrivesPosted: January 31, 2008 05:49PM
Author: Ben Grantham
Sandisk has upped the ante by releasing details of its upcoming Ultra II line of SDHC cards, which will top out with a massive 32GB version. The High capacity Ultra II cards also achieve higher transfer speeds of 15MB/sec compared to 10MB/sec and 9MB/sec from older cards. The 32GB card will be the highest capacity flash memory card that Sandisk produces, and will hit retail sometime in April. The smaller 8GB and 16GB cards in the line are set to ship slightly earlier, with a March release date. You'll be looking at a pretty hefty $350 suggested retail price for the top of the range 32GB card, and $180 and $100 for the 16GB and 8GB versions respectively.
Sandisk is throwing in its 'Micromate' USB 2.0 reader (apparently worth $20) with the 32GB and 16GB models. The 8GB Ultra II SDHC Plus card can be plugged into a USB as it is, thanks to its hinged USB connector. With the 32GB card being able to store approximately 8,000 high resolution images or up to 40 hours of video (at modest resolution), it is certainly aimed at an intesive or professional user base. The real question is when we will see the next doubling in capacity.
Hardware Roundup: Wednesday Edition
Category: Video Cards, Motherboards, CPU's, Cooling, Power Supplies, Software, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: January 30, 2008 06:25AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Our roundup du jour features several power supplies for us to look at today. We'll lead off with the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W at Overclockers Online. Moving down the power scale we have two similar units, the Antec NeoPower 650 and NeoPower 650 Blue PSU, reviewed by [H]ardocp. At the lower end of the power spectrum we have TweakTown's review of the Seasonic M12II 500watt Power Supply. FrostyTech brings us another installment in their chipset cooler series with a look at the Zalman ZM-NB47J Passive Northbridge Heatsink. Intel's P35 chipset was released several months ago and today we have two motherboards based on that platform. PCSTATS brings us the Asus BLITZ Formula Intel P35 Express DDR2 Motherboard and we also have the Gigabyte 6Quad GA-P35-DQ6 from motherboards.org. VIA's Glenn Henry Speaks On New Low Power Isaiah Processor and HotHardware has the interview. New processors always generate a lot of buzz among enthusiasts and Intel's new 45nm CPUs are no exception. Techgage gives us an opportunity to look at one today in their Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz - Wolfdale Arrives review. Also in the queue today is another double feature as ThinkComputers has the AutumnWave OnAir HDTV-GT USB ATSC/NTSC Tuner/Receiver followed by OnAir USB HDTV-GT at ViperLair (you can always check out OCC's own look at that unit HERE). Next up Bjorn3D gets to play doctor with PC-Doctor, Inc. Always on Call. For more PC remedies check out the Uniblue SpyEraser Spyware Removal Software at Tweaknews. Tech ARP is back with another update to their Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide.
Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition
Category: Video Cards, Memory, Mobile, Gaming, Music / Video Players, Digital Photography/Video, Storage / Hard Drives, CPU Cooling, VGA Cooling, Trade Shows/ConventionsPosted: January 14, 2008 05:12AM
Author: Dale Shuck
We have a lot of ground to cover in today's roundup so let's jump right in. First up is the ASUS EN8800GTS 512MB Graphics Card at Tech ARP. Several cooling products made their way into today's offerings. OCModSHop has a look at the Danger Den MC-TDX 775 CPU Waterblock and evaluates its compares its performance to the previous TDX block. Virtual-Hideout looks at the ASUS Triton 75 CPU Cooler which features a fan-less cooling design that also allows you to choose your own 120mm fan similar to some of Thermalright's products. The Zerotherm Hurricane HC92 CU 8800 VGA Cooler is designed for cooling the latest generation of video cards and Tweaknews evaluates this beast to see if the bulky design of this cooler is worth it. Our friends at Bonafide Reviews have a look at the second generation Zune 2 80GB MP3 Player. The battle for DDR3 memory supremacy continues to heat up (literally) and Overclockers Online reviews the Corsair Dominator PC3-14400 (TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN) kit with its included Corsair Dominator AirFlow fan setup. For the gamers we have Crysis 1.1 Patch Performance with Multi-GPU Testing from TechSpot. Tired of all that cable clutter under your desk? Take a look at the ULTRA Stackable at Bjorn3D (also check out the OCC review here). Finally, ThinkComputers brings us more CES 2008 coverage with articles on Antec, Microsoft, Viewsonic and Thermaltake.
ASUS EN8800GTS 512MB Graphics Card @ Tech ARP
CES 2008: Antec @ ThinkComputers
Danger Den MC-TDX 775 CPU Waterblock @ OCModShop
CES 2008: Microsoft @ ThinkComputers
CES 2008: ViewSonic @ ThinkComputers
Zune 2 80GB MP3 Player @ Bonafide Reviews
Corsair Dominator PC3-14400 (TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN) @ Overclockers Online
Crysis 1.1 Patch Performance with Multi-GPU Testing @ TechSpot
ASUS Triton 75 CPU Cooler @ Virtual-Hideout
ULTRA Stackable @ Bjorn3D
CES 2008: Thermaltake @ ThinkComputers
Zerotherm Hurricane HC92 CU 8800 VGA Cooler @ Tweaknews
Hardware Roundup: Tuesday Morning Edition
Category: Video Cards, Cases, Cooling, Speakers/Headphones, Digital Photography/Video, Storage / Hard Drives, Gadgets, CPU CoolingPosted: December 11, 2007 05:56AM
Author: Dale Shuck
We have a full plate in front of us today as we sample from the offerings around the net so let's get started. The upcoming release NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS continues to generate a lot of interest. Tech ARP posted their NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS (G92) Benchmark Results and [H]ardocp looks and the BFGTech GeForce 8800 GTS OC 512MB. TweakTown has two video cards on the table today and treats us to a review of the Leadtek WinFast 8500 & 8600GT with HDMI. Next up are several items in the cooling department with two reviews from FrostyTech – the Glacialtech Igloo 5610 Silent Heatsink and the Scythe Ninja Mini SCMNJ-1000 Heatsink. OCModShop evaluates the Gigabyte 3D Galaxy II Water Cooling System. Rounding out the offerings in the cooling arena is Tweaknews review of the Nanoxia DualContact Hybrid Base CPU Cooler. Techgage abuses and tortures the OCZ ATV 2GB & ATV Turbo 4GB thumb drives and reports on just how rugged these little drives are. The Nexus Caterpillar Silent ATX Case is brought to us by the good folks over at Madshrimps. The Rosewill 8" Digital Photo Frame reviewed by Overclocker Cafe might make a nice present to someone on your holiday list this year. Wrapping up, we have the Rosewill RX81-CW-US Hard Drive Enclosure at ThinkComputers and TweakTown's review of the Yidsun SPK-796 Bluetooth Stereo Speaker.
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS (G92) Benchmark Results @ Tech ARP
Nexus Caterpillar Silent ATX Case @ Madshrimps
Scythe Ninja Mini SCMNJ-1000 Heatsink @ FrostyTech
Glacialtech Igloo 5610 Silent Heatsink @ FrostyTech
Gigabyte 3D Galaxy II Water Cooling System @ OCModShop
Rosewill 8" Digital Photo Frame @ OC Cafe
OCZ ATV 2GB & ATV Turbo 4GB @ Techgage
Rosewill RX81-CW-US Hard Drive Enclosure @ ThinkComputers.org
Leadtek WinFast 8500 & 8600GT with HDMI @ TweakTown
Yidsun SPK-796 Bluetooth Stereo Speaker @ TweakTown
BFGTech GeForce 8800 GTS OC 512MB @ [H]ardocp
Nanoxia Dualcontact Hybrid Base CPU Cooler @ Tweaknews.net
Hardware Roundup: Thursday Morning Edition
Category: Video Cards, CPU's, Cases, Gaming, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: November 29, 2007 06:02AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Let's get your day started off with some hardware reviews from around the internet. First up is a trio of video cards from NVIDIA. PCSTATS looks at the 8800GT from MSI and NVNews looks at the 8800 GT offering from Inno3D. Both of these cards come clocked higher than NVIDIA's reference card. The third video card is the new G92 based 8800GTS reviewed by TweakTown. That should make an appearance on a few Christmas wish lists this season. Speaking of wish lists, there's nothing like a new camera to capture all of those Kodak moments and ThinkCompters has a look at the Kodak EasyShare Z710 digital camera. The AMD Phenom has been out for a short while and we're being treated to a review and some test results of the 2.3GHz Phenom 9600 courtesy of Neoseeker. Rounding out this morning’s offerings are the NZXT Rogue Ultimate Gaming SFF chassis from Virtual-Hideout and a look at the Sirtec High Power 1000W PSU from Bjorn3D. More power for all those new toys coming down the chimney!
MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC Geforce 8800GT Videocard @ PCSTATS
Super Mario Galaxy Walkthrough @ OCModShop
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 512MB G92 @ TweakTown
Kodak Z710 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera @ ThinkComputers.org
Phenom 9600 @ Neoseeker
Inno3D GeForce 8800 GT OC @ NVNews.net
NZXT Rogue Ultimate Gaming SFF Chassis @ Virtual-Hideout
Sirtec High Power 1000W @ Bjorn3D
HD DVD Player to Break $100 Mark on Friday
Category: Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: November 1, 2007 08:47AM
Author: road-runner
News: Sony Intros the HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album
Category: Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: October 17, 2007 08:26PM
Author: road-runner
News: iPod Lineup Renewed - Now iPod Touch, Classic, Nano And Shuffle
Category: Internet, Mobile, Manufacturers, Music / Video Players, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: September 5, 2007 02:36PM
Author: Ben Grantham
What was the iPod Video is now called the iPod classic. It features the familiar look of previous iPod generations, but is now of completely metal construction and thinner than the older model. The HDD capacity doubles up here as well, jumping from 80GB to 160GB. Plenty for all but the most demanding of music collections I would imagine. Battery life is also claimed to improve, with up to 40 hours of music or 7 hours of video playback.
The iPod Nano is still called the Nano, but looks considerably different from earlier Nano models as it moves to a video capable format (with a 2" QVGA display). The new Nano comes in five different colours and in capacities of 4GB and 8GB. Both the iPod Classic and iPod Nano will feature a new interface which includes the now familiar cover flow. The iPod shuffle does get a refresh as well, but simply in the form of a new range of colours (for a sense of completeness on Apples part I suspect).
The new models should be available sometime this week at the following prices: iPod Touch 8GB for $299 and 16GB for $399 - iPod Classic 80GB for $249 and 160GB for $349 - iPod Nano 4GB for $149 and 8GB for $199 - iPod shuffle 1GB for $79. That gives apple a complete top to bottom price scale, which should mean all models find some form of popularity.
News: NVIDIA Cheats In HD HQV Benchmark?
Category: Video Cards, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: September 5, 2007 07:05AM
Author: Ben Grantham
News: Apple TV Service Launches In The UK
Category: Internet, Music / Video Players, Digital Photography/VideoPosted: August 29, 2007 04:42AM
Author: Ben Grantham
News: NASA photo, video collection to be digitized
Category: Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: August 25, 2007 11:10AM
Author: Dale Shuck
NASA has been collecting images from manned and unmanned space missions for close to 50 years. A lot of that collection is available online but it is not organized in such a way to make specific images easy to find. Now NASA has reached an agreement with the Internet Archive to scan and manage its vast collection. The project will span the next five years and includes plans to automatically capture and catalog future material as well. According to NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs "Any opportunity that we have to allow the public to experience these missions, well, they're just incredible opportunities for us to do that. We have some of the most amazing imagery of anyone on the planet."
News: Blockbuster Buys Movielink
Category: Internet, Digital Photography/Video, General NewsPosted: August 9, 2007 05:08AM
Author: Ben Grantham
"We heard it was going to happen, and it did: Blockbuster bought Movielink for an undisclosed sum, surely to compliment its online offerings to better compete with arch-nemesis Netflix in the internet movie distribution game. And surely if it did sell for the piddly $50 mil figure being tossed around before, the barrier to this entry is just a drop in the bucket for the big blue movie rental giant."
News: Microsoft photo standard comes into focus
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: July 31, 2007 10:59AM
Author: Dale Shuck
Microsoft wants its new HD Photo format to become an industry standard. Once known as Windows Media Photo, Microsft has submitted it to the Joint Picture Expects Group (JPEG) as a royalty-free standard to be known as JPEG XR. Since Windows Vista has built-in support of the HD Photo format, Microsoft would like to get it approved as a standard so it can line up support from camera manufactuers. Benefits of the new format include better compression, the ability to capture more information for a given size file and an extended range of tones that can be captured. - Nemo *News Editor*
JPEG standardization could improve the format's prospects, said InfoTrends analyst Ed Lee. "That helps the potential future of the standard significantly," he said. With an open standard, it will be easier to win allies such as camera makers, and competitors "won't feel as wary about adopting it."
News: Blu-Ray Camcorders Coming This Year
Category: Digital Photography/VideoPosted: July 20, 2007 08:52AM
Author: Ben Grantham
"Sure, at this point they're just non-functional mock-ups, but later in the year we can expect to see a series of camcorders featuring Hitachi's new 8cm BD/DVD drive bundled with a biggie, 5.3 megapixel CMOS sensor capable of recording at full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. In fact, Hitachi claims that their Wooo-branded camcorders could be introduced as early as Fall. The cams would record up to 7GB of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video on 8cm BD-RE/R media or 5 times less on 8cm DVD-RAM/RW/R discs. Uh, Hoozah? Picture of the actual drive mechanism after the break."
