New and Cool Hardware, Software and Video Gear

If you want to make great looking music videos and slideshows - but don't have time to learn a video editing program or go to film school - you got to check out muvee's latest automatic video editing program - autoProducer 4. more

The new Sony DCR-HC1000 3 CCD Mini DV Camcorder includes 12x Optical/150x Digital Zoom, Color Viewfinder, 2.5" Touch Panel LCD Screen - It boasts three-chip, one-megapixel Advanced HAD™ progressive scan CCD technology. Each CCD imager is dedicated to a primary color. They separate light passing through the lens into individual color components for noticeably sharper images and colors. By giving each lens its own megapixel imager, the camcorder captures the intense detail and color that expert videographers appreciate. And for the first time on a 3-CCD camcorder, high-quality Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* optics have been incorporated for improved sharpness and resolution, along with higher contrast. The camcorder's new grip swivels forward a full 90 degrees. It allows your hand to be placed near the buttons, so you can gracefully control the camcorder with one hand from even the most awkward positions and angles. In addition, a stop/start record button on the LCD frame offers greater recording flexibility in challenging shooting situations. List price on the DCR-HC1000 is about $1,300.

Weighing in at just 3.6 ounces and showing off in a variety of vibrant new shades, the iPod Mini now comes in two capacities starting at $199. Choose from the 4GB iPod mini with a 1,000-song capacity or the 6GB version that holds 1,500 songs.** Both models have a battery that lasts up to 18 hours on a single charge. *** And don't forget free custom engraving from Apple.

LEAD Capture & Convert is a very cool product for capturing and converting video, audio and graphics programs and files. In many ways this is a video editing program which does everything except edit and trim clips – you can capture video, add effects and text, and then output it in a variety of formats as well as extract still images from video and convert video, audio and graphic files. It includes a bunch of effects filters that are not available on other video and graphics packages. more

Looking for a teeny weenie color TV or video monitor? Checkout the TV-205 LCD TV Set 5" LCD TV from AV Toolbox. You can run it from AA batteries, your car cigarette lighter or from AC. You can use it as a regular TV to receive broadcast signals in your neighborhood or you can use the a/v inputs to use it as a monitor for your camcorder or VCR. For just $199, you also get a hinged mounting kit

Looking for a cool little combination camcorder and digital still camera? And you don't want to spend a lot of money? Check out the new Concord DV2020 2 Megapixel 5-in-1 multi-function Digital Video camera. more

Sony is expanding its line of professional video options with the introduction of a complete high-definition video production system. The new HVR-Z1U camcorder and HVR-M10U VTR form the core of an entry-level HD acquisition and playback solution, designed to provide video professionals with a flexible and affordable migration from standard definition infrastructures to the rapidly expanding world of HD. more

The new Sony VAIO U-Series Notebook Combines Power of Full-size PC with Portability of PDA. The 1 pound VAIO® U Ultra Portable PC functions as a PC as well as a portable media player, this "pocket size" PC allows you to download entertainment content and enjoy it virtually anywhere you go. It also includes Integrated 802.11 b/g wireless LAN. more

Miraizon's new Cinematize 2 is a Macintosh-based software package that turns the difficult process of extracting audio and video clips from a DVD into a fun and easy experience. Cinematize saves extracted files in a format compatible with standard multimedia editing software such as QuickTime, iMovie, and Final Cut. With Cinematize 2, users can now select start and end points down to the video frame level, making it possible to extract a segment as short as a fraction of a second and as long as an entire movie. more

Are you thinking of making the move into High Definition? One of the coolest and hottest new camcorders on the market is the new Sony HDV camcorder. more

For more info about the Sony HDV format - High Definition Video - Check out this special HDV Sony web site for details - includes info for professionals as well as for prosumers.

Tired of scrolling, hitting play, reverse and rewind? Check out the new Logitech MediaPLay Mouse - a wireless mouse specifically designed for watching video and multimedia. more

The Canon XL 2 is the upgraded replacement model of the ground-breaking XL 1 camera. It is still the only prosumer camcorder to offer an interchangeable lens system. Canon's state-of-the-art lens development provides the highest quality glass, finest resolution and advanced element coatings that are superior to any other model in its prosumer class. The camera comes with a longer (compared to the previous XL 1 camera) 20x zoom lens that is superior to the competition's offerings. The extra-long telephoto feature works with an advanced two-stage optical stabilizing system. This advance delivers clear and shake-free images, even from the longest parts of the focal range. more

New Adobe Premiere Elements makes it easy to create Home Videos that look professional - check it out - Premiere Pro Lite! Easy video capture, automated editing tasks and integrated DVD burning more

ArcSoft Video Stabilizer effortlessly takes the shakes out of your home movies. We know it's hard to keep a steady shot going at all times, with kids clinging to your legs as you film, your arm getting tired from holding the camera, etc. Cameras are getting better as newer technologies allow for steadier captures, but even these solutions can't fix everything. Plus, everyone has an archive of old videos that could use some fixin'. Now you have a simple and effective program that does it all through one simple intuitive screen. more

Apple's GarageBand program is an easy to use song-making toolkit and software recording studio that can produce professional-sounding, polished musical tracks. If you want to produce some great sounding tunes at home, get it and Get it and "GarageBand: The Missing Manual"

Samsung's new SyncMaster 192MP is a high-end LCD computer monitor, a full-featured stand-alone TV, a video display device for direct hook up to a DVD player, VCR or any video source, and it's HDTV-Ready. The 192MP is a sport's buff's gateway to all the action -- even when you can't leave the office or home. With the 192MP's picture-in-picture functionality you can watch swimming, track and field or any sport while working on a spreadsheet. Or you can view any of the political action while e-mailing a friend! At a full 19-inches, the 192MP truly functions as a TV that can be easily viewed from a distance. So if you're stuck at work late, be sure to gather your colleagues and take a break from the work-a-day world and tune into the Olympics and national political conventions this summer. Just $899

Manfrotto, the world’s leading manufacturer of photographic support products, is set to revolutionize photography once again with the introduction of the world’s first fully automatic self-regulating tripod – the NeoTec. This revolutionary new mechanism allows the user to quickly and easily extend each leg to the desired height by simply pulling downwards. There are no locks, knobs or levers of any kind to contend with. Once the leg is extended into position, NeoTec’s patented internal mechanism automatically locks it there by pushing outwards on the tubing, exerting more locking power and further stabilizing the tripod as additional weight is added more

Canon's new vertically designed Optura 500 and Optura 400 Mini DV 2.2-megapixel camcorders provide consumers with high quality video and photos in a compact and easy-to-use package. Incorporating Canon's DV Photo Plus technology, these eye-catching camcorders are shorter and smaller than their predecessors, take advantage of Genuine Canon Optics and advanced photo features often found in Canon's line of PowerShot and EOS digital cameras. more

ImageMAX Plus is a high performance HDTV Progressive Scan Video Up-Converter for the Home Theater market. Now, you can view any Composite Video, S-Video or YCbCr Component Video signal on any HDTV, Plasma, Projection or PC Display. By means of advanced frame buffer technology and line doubling, imageMAX Plus can transform existing standard video from a DVD Player, VCR, Camcorder, Video Game, Satellite Receiver or virtually any other video source into a high quality picture on any display device with an RGBHV (PC-type) or YPbPr progressive scan input. It is perfectly suited for use with HDTV-ready TV Sets, resulting in dramatically improved video image quality.

for more info

Three chip DV camcorder for under $700! Panasonic PV-GS120 3CCD Ultra-Compact Digital Palmcorder MultiCam Camcorder with Leica Dicomar Lens 10x Optical / 700x Digital Zoom, Mega Pixel CCD, Color Viewfinder, 2.5" LCD Screen. Includes Macro and HD zoom, soft skin mode, simultaneous still/DV video capture, picture in picture, built-in SD card.

The AVT-3300 Universal Hi-Res Gamer allows you to play virtually any video game in high resolution on a PC Monitor. However, since it has a standard Composite Video input, it is not limited to Video Game use and can also be used to up convert to SVGA or XGA almost any video signal, such as from a VCR or DVD. It has pass-thru connections for VGA Video and Soundcard Audio from the PC, so it is easy to switch between a Video Game and PC signal on the PC Monitor and Speakers without moving around any cables just move the slider.

muvee adds magicMoments scene selection - for automatic video editing - now you can pick scenes will be in and which scenes will be out when using muvee to automatically create a movie on your computer. You don't need to know anything about video editing in order to create cool and professional looking music videos and movies of your tips, kid's activities and special events.

The Sony Micro Vault USB 2.0 - based storage media device is designed to let you quickly transport and share files between computers without cables or adaptors. Transfer data in a Mac to PC, Mac to Mac, or PC to PC environment and its transfer speed of up to 5MB per second offers very quick access. Especially among Mac users, there's a migration away from floppy disks and this provides an alternative to the floppy as a bridge from computer to computer. The Micro Vault is about as long as a car key and thick as a highlighter pen, and it plugs into any USB computer. Microsoft Windows 2000, ME or XP, or Apple MacOS 9, OS X and above, do not require a driver to be installed.

to get the 128MB Micro Vault for only $69.95 see Mini-Micro Vault press release

Concord Camera Corp. (Nasdaq:LENS), just announced their new, 5 MegaPixel Concord 5345z digital camera. In addition to high res stills, AVI video clips can be shot at 15 frames per second in the QVGA mode and the length is only limited by the capacity of the SD card inserted in the camera. $397.99 more

SV-AV50 D-snap Multifunction Camera

Super thin and unobtrusive, the new Panasonic SV-AV50 features a unique flip and twist 2-inch color LCD that rotates 180° for easy self-portrait shooting. Its innovative design makes it comfortable to hold and operate in either the vertical or horizontal position. The unit’s A/V cradle with built-in battery charger allows users to connect the device to a TV for viewing video and still images, or to a VCR or TV for recording favorite programs for later viewing on the go. Also features smooth-motion 30 fps MPEG4 recording; 2-megapixel digital still images recording; MP3/AAC music playback; digital voice recorder; multi-thumbnail picture display; built-in microphone and speakers, and removable SD Memory Card. Equipped with USB driver software and a USB cable.

Outerspace Software's BluffTitler DX9 is an inexpensive (around $35) and easy way to add 3D text animations and effects to videos and photos. BluffTitler DX9 uses Microsoft’s DirectX 9 technology and 3D hardware acceleration to create broadcast-quality, animated 3D titles in realtime – results are shown instantly, without rendering. Animations can be played in realtime by the BluffTitler player and screensaver or exported to video and picture formats for use in videos, multimedia presentations and websites. BluffTitler makes it easy to create dazzling 3D titles from any TrueType font with a wide variety of bevel styles and texturing options – including high-resolution JPEG, BMP and PNG textures, animated MPEG and AVI movie textures and reflection mapping. Still or moving images can be imported as backgrounds or morphed into a variety of animated 3D shapes such as spheres, cubes, cylinders and donuts. Animated point, ambient and directional lights illuminate the scene. Any number of independent layers containing 3D text, video, pictures, particles and plasma effects can be created and animated independently. For more info or to download the free demo www.blufftitler.us

Smart Converter 1.7 from Acoll Software makes it easy to convert between a wide range of graphic image formats. It supports more than 80 different formats and includes a variety of filters and special effects. You can apply 100's of special effects and convert between formats an image at a time or in batch mode.

DATA BECKER Corporation today announced the release of Private File Transfer. The software application allows users to quickly and securely share files between two computers without the need of a server or additional Internet services. After selecting which files to share, the software generates and sends a Web link invitation via e-mail to the designated recipients. Clicking on the link brings each recipient to the secure folders of the host computer where files can then be downloaded or uploaded. more

Check out Flash AV Player. The Flash AV Player is a very cool, skinable Flash application for both Mac and Windows that can stream folders of MP3, SWF files & JPEG files by loading all necessary playlist information from an XML file. It is made to broadcast any media content : from an MP3 file to a QuickTtime movie. This is a great way to package your videos for the web. Click on the AV Players to see the various samples. The Concorde and Read My Lips videos are great.

Looking for a funny book? - You got to get the "The Best of the Joy of Tech" (O'Reilly, US $14.95) by Nitrozac and Snaggy offers the perfect boost to get a fresh and funny look at the geek world and restore their sense of humor along the way. With a style that's simultaneously retro and
modern, smart and sexy, The Joy of Tech comics poke fun at the latest cultural and technological trends, including those mired deep within the recesses of the IT world. From geeks to corporate giants to the funny world of Macintosh culture, nothing is sacred, and "The Best of The Joy of
Tech" will have readers laughing at it all. more

Check out Unreal media server - a non-commercial media delivery system for Windows platforms, similar in performance to MMS, supports all file types. TechTV channel had a program about it at November 13 2003. Both media files (VOD) and live media streams are supported. No need to re-encode your existing media files! We stream AVI, MPEG (MPEG-1), WMV, MP3, QuickTime, and any other format supported by Microsoft DirectX. Live media sources include: digital cameras, microphones, analog video sources (analog camera, TV-DVD-VHS) connected to Video card or to FrameGrabber card that supports DirectShow interface. Live video content is compressed with MPEG- 4 codec in real time; MP3 or GSM formats are used for live audio compression.

The new DV Caddie for professional and video hobbyists - makes it easy to hold your camcorder steady and gives you Steadicam moves at an affordable price. Includes versions for smallone chip video cameras as well as larger 3 chip and pr cameras. more

New Sony DSR-PD170 compact DVCAM adds performance and feature enhancements to the legacy of its predecessor model, the DSR-PD150. more

The new Panasonic PV-VM202 2-in-1 Multicam provides High-Resolution Video, Mega-Pixel Still Image Recording, MPEG-4 Internet Movies. It is a digital camcorder with detachable, mega-pixel digital camera. more

New eight screen LCD Video Monitor from PANORAMAdtv, the video division of Wohler Technologies. The MON8-1 contains eight 1.8" LCD screens, each one with a composite video input, a loop-through output and termination switches - and all this in a compact 1U of rack space. Despite its small screen size, the image quality is surprisingly good - positioning this new product as the ideal tool for quick confidence checks on multiple video feeds whist requiring only the absolute minimum of valuable rack space. The MON8-1, widely anticipated by the industry and originally to shown at IBC, will make its first major debut at the upcoming SMPTE conference & exhibition in New York this November. http://www.panoramadtv.com/overviews/MON8-1.html PRODUCT INFORMATION (PDF Datasheet): http://www.panoramadtv.com/pdf/MON8-1.pdf

You can now play your MP3s and music files stored on your computers on any TV in your home by using the wireless ew-5000 Digital Media Receiver from Hewlett Packard. ($299 list) This cool little box uses 802.11b WiFi technology to send your music files from your computer's hard drive to any TV within your house. By the way, as the DMR uses standard RCA plugs, you could connect it to an audio system. The DMR also transmits digital images from your computer as well. By linking your slide show to a music play list, you can have it run on any TV in the house. You can use multiple DMRs simultaneously. If your computers are networked, each DMR can access the shared music and image files stored on each of the computers. If there is a shared printer attached to one of the networked computers, you can use the DMR to select an image, do some minor editing, and then print it out - all from your living room, bedroom or den. Pretty cool. The HP DMR is for Windows computers only and is available in two versions - wireless and wired. Click here to get the Hewlett Packard DMR-EW5000 Digital Media Receiver from Amazon

VAIO V100G Desktop Features Compact Design, Wireless Keyboard and Mouse - With a glossy black profile barely thicker than a flat panel monitor, Sony's new VAIO® PCV-V100G all-in-one desktop adds an element of cool to even the smallest space. The V100G PC doubles as a TV with Sony's exclusive Giga Pocket® personal video recorder. more

Check out the teeny new MPEG4 camcorder - 2 MB digital camera from Gateway - just $199. Great for web video and images. more

New Sony VAIO RZ Series of desktop computers integrates Windows XP Media Center Edition with Giga Pocket Engine for High-Octane Entertainment Experience - Running on Microsoft's Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2004 operating system -- augmented by Sony's own Giga Pocket® hardware and exclusive suite of multimedia software -- the new VAIO desktops are aimed squarely at digital media enthusiasts who want to take an active role in their entertainment options. more