Technology is both a wonderful and frustrating thing. On one hand, it is always evolving and bringing us new features in a better, smaller package. Unfortunately as the new comes out, the old becomes obsolete. The easiest example of this would be movies. When the DVD came out it had far superior quality to the older VHS. Now it’s difficult to even find a VCR to play those old tapes. Thankfully Blu-ray players are backwards-compatible, but what about the next leap in technology? Well Disney and Apple think they have a solution.
Eventually we are going to get to a point where media is almost completely distributed digitally. Music is slowly getting there, and movies will begin catching up. But when you start distributing movies digitally, there becomes an issue of licensing and DRM. Apple and Disney have teamed up to create “Keychest.”
This morning Flip announced a new version of their Mino camcorder with the MinoHD that features a slimmer aluminum body (or your own custom graphics) an upgrade to 8GB of storage and the ability to capture HD video at 1280×720. Other improvements include a larger 2-inch transflective TFT display (960×240 pixels) making it easier to see in bright daylight and software updates allowing you to do basic editing and trimming of clips right on the device. $229.99 available now from the Flip online store.
We’re just about a month away from the release of Dragon Age: Origins, which means Bioware is teasing us with new footage from the game. Today we have a video and a few high-rez pics of the Ferelden capital city of Denerim. Here’s a brief description of the city for your reading pleasure.
“Denerim, the capital of Ferelden, began originally as an outpost of the ancient Tevinter Imperium. Its mages rose up a dark tower from the side of a mountain, a symbol of the Imperium’s power. As the Imperium faded, the tower passed to the hands of the teyrns that ruled the region for a millennium.
If you’ve had your eye on Apple’s latest 24-inch Cinema Display, then you no doubt know that it doesn’t play nicely with older hardware. Specifically, it only has a Mini DisplayPort connector. Unfortunately unlike DVI and VGA, you aren’t going to find a simple $2 adapter. In fact, if you were running an older laptop without a Mini DisplayPort, there was no way to get the two to work together, short of buying a whole new computer. Well the folks over at Atlona have whipped up something to help you out.
The AT-DP200 takes a regular DVI connection from your computer and transforms it into a Mini Displayport connection that you can use with your fancy-pants monitor. The converter will still keep your full 1920 x 1200 resolution and HDCP compatibility. You’d better be really attached to that older computer though, as this device will set you back $179 when it ships next week.
When I reviewed the Flip UltraHD I found the audio to be quite decent given the smallish microphone located on the front of the device. But if you want the audio done right on your pocket-friendly video recorder you might want to go with the Zoom Q3 (~$250) from Samson. It features a generously sized stereo condenser mic on top with an X/Y configuration for true “stereo imaging” and audio is captured as 44.1/48kHz 16/24-bit Linear PCM WAV files or MP3s up to 320kbps. The downside though? It only records video at PAL or NTSC resolutions, though with a 32GB SDHC card you can expect to capture about 16 hours of footage.
As the world slowly progresses to HDTV it might seem odd to find a device designed to facilitate old standard-definition displays, but that’s exactly what the AT-HD530 from Atlona Technologies does. It accepts a 1080P HD or UXGA digital signal from a PC (1600×1200 @ 60Hz) via HDMI or DVI and downconverts it to a standard-def NTSC or PAL signal available via HDMI, S-video or even ancient composite RCA hookups.
Normally I wouldn’t even give such a device a second look, but since I’m in the middle of testing out a pocket-size Pico Projector that only has a composite video-in connection, I can see how something like this could be useful in certain situations. Just be aware that it won’t work with HDCP-enabled devices if you were hoping it could be used as a workaround. $299 from the Atlona website available in late August.
YouTube and other video sharing sites have made finding and watching clips of men getting hit in the groin by footballs extremely easy for everyone from kids to grandparents. But it was a company called Pure Digital that made capturing hilarious clips like that just as easy for anyone capable of pushing a button. Their Flip line of digital camcorders are known for being as easy to use as it gets, and with the addition of the MinoHD and the UltraHD pictured above, creating HD content is just as simple.
I spent a few weeks playing around with the Flip UltraHD and while I was initially worried that I would be frustrated by such a simple device, I actually walked away appreciating its simplicity. So if you’ve been looking for a way to shoot HD video that’s as easy, if not easier, than a point & shoot still camera, you’ll want to check out my full review of the Flip UltraHD after the jump.
Despite my love for my iPhone, I still don’t get the fascination with watching video on it. It’s a beautiful screen, but any way you slice it, it’s still really small. I don’t mind playing a game on it for a short while, but it doesn’t take too long before I get tired of staring at it. However, for those that absolutely need to keep up on their favorite shows while they’re sitting at the BMV, then you’ll be happy to know that the SlingPlayer App for your iPhone is now available.
The App will stream your favorite shows to your iPhone, with one small catch. You’re going to have to be hooked up to a WiFi connection, as AT&T would not allow the service to run on 3G. Naturally they cited bandwidth concerns, despite having no issues with their own mobile TV services or YouTube. So how much is this exciting service going to cost you? A cool $30, plus you’ll actually need a Slingbox to work in conjunction with it. I think that I’ll survive with just my laptop watching Hulu, thank you very much.
As we’ve mentioned to you before, the Eye-Fi card is really a pretty brilliant idea. Digital cameras are neat little gadgets, but getting all your awesome pics from your camera to the computer and to the internet is still a stone age process that involves plugging cables into things and taking cards out of things and running software and pushing buttons and waiting around. It’s utterly ridiculous. Eye-Fi has the solution to this, with an SD card that includes a WiFi antenna that automatically sends pictures and video that you take directly to the internet and your computer, no cables necessary.
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