Tech Inspector » audio visual

Big old television

The Inspector — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:41:27 +0000

Now that we have cable my parents think it is important for us to have a big television. Both of my parents have monstrous televisions. I grew up in a family where television was very important. My wife on the other hand grew up in a family where television was very limited. We often butts heads when it comes to how much television our kids watch when visiting my parents. I am a little concerned what is going to happen at Christmas this year because my Mom told me that my Dad is going to be giving us his 42″ television that he recently upgraded to a bigger and newer model. She will likely insist that we install home theater seating and start charging admission when friends come over because we will be one step shy of a real movie theater experience. I like to watch television but given that this isn’t one of the new like models I am really dreading the number of times I am sure to have to move this around the house until she finds the perfect spot for it.

Cable sucks.

The Inspector — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:35:30 +0000

When we moved we signed up for a basic cable package. After not having cable for years and year we thought this would be a treat for our kids. Aside from PBS and some shows on Saturday morning they can’t seem to find a thing to watch. Part of me wants to check into satellite and the other says I should just call the cable company and have the cable switched off.

Canon HV10 3.1MP High-Definition MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

The Inspector — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:46:17 +0000

This camcorder has incredible high definition picture quality and it’s very easy in use. It is very small that makes it very convenient to carry it with you everywhere. Because of the small size it is a bit difficult in the beginning to handle it well and control the zoom but after some time you are getting used to it with no problem. The lack of HDMI, and microphone input are minor shortcomings for this camera as you can also have HD quality to your TV with component connection and you very rarely will need to use external microphone in a small non professional camcorder like this. In contrary to the theoretical characteristics, it shoots great in low light indoor environments. For very low light environments there is the flash light. The image quality in general under any circumstances it’s just perfect. The ergonomics are easy to get used to and the battery life is not all that bad either.

Features

* HDV camcorder with 1/2.7-inch CMOS image sensor
* High-definition 10x optical zoom lens; super-range optical image stabilizer
* Advanced photo features: up to 3-megapixel stills, histogram display, built-in flash, and more
* 2.7-inch color widescreen LCD; color viewfinder
* Easy one-hand operation; ultra-compact and lightweight

Technical Details

* Optical zoom: 10x
* Sensor: CMOS
* Filter: RGB primary color filter
* Effective sensor resolution: 2.96 Megapixels (1920 x 1080)
* Optical sensor Size: 1/2.7-inch
* Shooting modes: Normal movie mode (HD and SD), digital photo mode
* Lens filter size: 37 mm
* Focus: Instant Auto Focus
* Built-in light: Yes
* Image stabilization: Yes
* Input/output terminals: IEEE 1394 (FireWire), USB 2.0
* Monitor: 2.7-inch color widescreen LCD
* Still image resolution: 3.1 megapixels (4:3 aspect ratio); 2.07 Megapixels (16:9 aspect ratio)
* Continuous shooting speed: 5 still images/second
* Memory card media: miniSD card
* Exposure modes: Auto, AV (aperture priority), TV (shutter priority), P (program)
* Program AE modes: Portrait, Sports, Night, Snow and Beach, Sunset, Spotlight, Fireworks
* Histogram display: Yes
* Still capture from tape: Yes
* Built-in flash: Yes

On a quest for a new camera…

The Inspector — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:20:45 +0000

Our digital camera died a couple weeks ago for reasons that I can’t seem to detect. It all began with the camera steadily eating up batteries at a faster and faster pace. Finally we started testing the batteries only to find out that they were just fine. This is when everything started pointing to something being wrong electronically with our digital camera. Finally, the camera simply refused to turn on at all no matter what I tried. After researching this model on the web it seems that many other owners have experienced the same problem with this model. Unfortunately, the camera is out of warranty and relatively archaic despite being only two years old.

I am relatively leery of spending more than $100.00 on another digital camera considering this one cost far more and only lasted a couple of years. Sam’s is running a special on the Samsung Digimax S600 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom that features a price tag of just $97.00. While this is not a top of the line digital camera it is certainly more advanced than the one now sitting in my junk drawer. Check out these features:

Product Features

* 6.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
* 3x optical zoom; captures full-screen, full-motion video with audio and in-camera editing
* 2.4-inch display, silver finish
* Point-and-shoot digital camera; Effects Key allows users to adjust colors and add effects on the fly
* Store images in internal memory or on SD memory cards; powered by 2 AA-size batteries

Technical Details

* Color: Black
* Megapixels: 6 megapixels
* Optical sensor: 1/2.5-inch CCD
* Image sizes: 2816 x 2112, 2592 x 1944, 2272 x 1704, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480
* Image format: JPEG (DCF), EXIF 2.2, DPOF 1.1, PictBridge 1.0
* Video clips: 640 x 480, 320 x 240; 30 frames per second
* Video format: AVI
* Optical zoom: 3x
* Digital zoom: 5x
* Image stabilization: No
* Autofocus: TTL contrast autofocus
* Metering: Multi, spot
* Shutter speed: 1 to 1/1500 seconds
* ISO sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
* Timer: 2 seconds, 10 seconds, Double self timer (10 seconds and 2 seconds)
* Flash: Auto, Auto and Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off; 6-second recharge time
* LCD: 2.4 inches
* Internal storage: 20 MB
* Memory card compatibility: Secure Digital, MMC
* Connectivity: USB 2.0
* Power: 2 AA batteries
* Dimensions (W x H x D): 3.9 x 2.5 x 1.1 inches
* Item weight: 4.8 ounces