Reviews

XYZPrinting Da Vinci Jr 3D Printer

Garry Whittaker — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 12:35:00 GMT

XYZPrinting Da Vinci Jr 3D Printer

TrulyFascinating Award Winner

It is not often a product comes along that defines a whole new audience for its type but the DaVinci JR did that. When it was released last year it was the first truly consumer targetted 3d printer. Yes there had been other attempts to get in that market before but they had come from 3D printer manufacturers that had a Maker community point of view. A lot of knowledge was assumed and very little support given. Now XYZ entered the market from a conventional consumer ink-jet printing background. You may not have heard the name before but you have probably used one of the products their parent company manufactures for some of the major printing brands.

They applied some of those principals of conventional printers to create a product at an unheard of price point of sub £300. Now one of the things they did was to tie users in to using their own brand 3D printing filament which got some of the maker community up in arms who were used to using any old filament. Now there are some advantages to XYZprintings approach. The fact that the filament is supplied with an RFID chip with information about the type of material used makes set up a doddle and puts less risk of damaging the extruder head with incorrect settings. Something that inexperienced users have been known to get very wrong with other brand devices. When you consider that some other brand extruder heads cost more than the whole Da Vinci Jr you could buy a lot of filament for that money.

We found that the price premium for the Da Vinci Jr filament was not excessive and that you could get some very good deals by shopping around. With the target audience we think this is a reasonable approach. To give them their due XYZPrinting are about to launch a Maker community targetted printer that will not have this restriction but that is a different market.

Unlike some 3D printers we have tried the Da Vinci Jr was really easy to setup. Although the manual seemed a little intimidating it was purely a matter of connecting a tube from the extruder head out the top of the unit and back in to the filament feed from the reel and then putting the suppied tape on the printing plate. This latter is needed to allow for a good contact with the extruded filament so that the initial layer stays in place.

The supplied software works very well allowing you download 3D printing files from the web and send them to the printer to process. Complex models can take some time to print but are very accurate and the lack of any need to calibrate before getting started is a joy. We did have a couple of failed prints - these were normally where we were trying to print shapes that jutted out from the base or where the base was narrower than the rest of the print. There are options to work round this by printing a raft as a wide base and using thin supports to as they say support the model. The software can apply this automatically. Using these options solved all our failures - although we did have to use a sharp knife to cut away the supports.

As with all 3D printers some maintenance is required including cleaning the extruder head from time to time. These were well explained in the manual and unusually all the tools needed were supplied.

The question might be asked why you would want a 3D printer? Well if you are creative, or have creative kids, there are loads of 3D modelling packages out there, indeed XYZ themselves are just launching one, with which you could use the printer to turn your designs into real objects. I personally found a really good use for it in reproducing the broken clips for my footplate in my kitchen whch were no longer made. We also used the printer to make a charging stands for the Pebble Watch reviewed this issue. The file for this along with thousand of other objects was avaialble online. The possiblities are endless.

You can probably tell we really like this printer it truly opens up the market to the masses and is a joy to use. We can't wait to see what XYZPrinting does next.

Swann Cloud HD Pan and Tilt IP Camera

Garry Whittaker — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:02:00 GMT

We've lways been fans of the image quality of Swann range of surveillance cameras both the cabled and IP varieties. One thing that has let their IP/Networked cameras down in the past has been a complexity of set-up which has required quite a bit of technical knowledge beyond a mere mortal.

The SwannCloud range sets out to get beyond this latter restriction. Once you have signed up for a SwannCloud account then either on your PC or an app on your Smartphone you can easilly generate a QR Code that contains all the necessary information to set up the camera on your network. Just switch the camera on and point it at the code and hey presto -its all set up. You can then immediately access the camera's image and control pan and tilt through the online Swann Cloud system and its apps- this does require internet access where the camera is connected. You can also set up the service to trigger alerts on movement, sound or even facial recognition. Its very powerful stuff.

The image quality is as expected with the 720p camera perfoming well in both day and nighttime conditions.

Why then if it is so good have we held off including this review. Basically we didn't want to include something with hidden costs. To get the best of the SwannCloud system you need to siggn up for a monthly subscription and untill recently there was nothing on the packaging to warn you of this. Swann have now changed this and each box carries a warning sticker and I'm told new packaging with a clear message is forthcoming.

Overall this is a great security camera but we would advise checking Swann's website for costs to see if they suit your needs before purchasing. It is possible to get some use on the free service layer but we cannot see that suiting many people. Having said that if the costs seem reasonable you will get a camera that is really easy to set up (something we think should be standard on all IP cameras) and has great image quality.

TDK TREK Max- A bluetooth speaker with punch

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:02:00 GMT

The TDK Trek Max is the top of the TDK Trek Range. Unlike the others which come with only a micro usb lead for charging this little beast comes with a seperate power supply with a more traditional round power plug.

The battery in this unit is excellent and when fully charged lasts a day really easilly. The unit comes with a USB output that can be used to charge your phone even when not plugged in - this might be the highest capacity mobile charger battery ever.

That is of course but just a bonus and wouldn't be any good if the sound or Bluetooth playback wasn't any good.

Bluetooth connectivity is in line with the rest of the Trek familty very good. It has NFC to do the pairing which is convenient. It supports the A2DP, HFP, and HSP protocols for Bluetooth. Unfortuantely not AptX which would have been nice but its probably a mute point in this size of speaker.

The sound is produced by two front facing tweeters and a rear facing bass woofer. The bass is very strong for this size of speaker which lead to an interesting review issue. Initially we really didn't like the sound of this speaker it seemed bass heavy and had minimal detail but this was purely because we were listening from above the speaker.

Move it slightly away so you listen from the front and it is another matter. A veil is lifted and you have detailed sound with good postional imagery and a very taut bass for such a small system. Spoken word for podcasts and books sound particularly natural which is good use-case for this speaker over and above its powerful rendition of almost any sort of music. Where it falls down slightly is in the high end when pushed really hard - giving a slight harshness but so do almost all devices of this size. The bass can also feel a little unfocussed when percussion is rapid - a lack of ability to respond to fast dynamics but not unpleasantly so. No its not going to give any real high-end audio a run for its money but at its price we would be hard pressed to find a competitor on sound quality.

Excellent stuff - oh and did we mention its splashproof so can be used outside.

We really like this unit just be careful where you place it.

Edifier Studio R1600TIII - traditional styling throughly modern innards

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 10:20:00 GMT

On the outside the Edifier 1600TIII's look like a thoroughly traditional pair of bookshelf speakers although the three control knobs on the side and the remote control might give away the fact that these are powered speakers.

These are designed for use with a PC but could be equally be used with an portable audio system. The main reaon for this is that unlike most modern pc speakers these do not use a USB plug for output but instead rely on traditional phono inputs. It is supplied with both a phono leads and a 3.5mm jack to Phono leads.

Power comes from a wired in lead - the power supply unit is inside one of the speakers so no ugly power brick,

The two speakers are linked together with a special cable you woudln't want to lose.

Volume can be controlled with one of the side knobs or the supplied remote which is very useful.

All of this would not be worth anything if they didn't sound good. On paper the specs don't put these in the high end of speakers but at around 90 GB pounds you wouldn't expect that. You probably woudn't expect them to sound as good as they do though. Edifier do some thoroughly modern magic with sound processing and whilst purists may not like they sound messed around it certainly seems to pay benefits here.

The 1600TIII's are better their price would suggest and sound really good. Perhaps not the tightest bass but still reasonable and midrange and high end seem very precise. One trick is to keep the bass control in a neutral position. The electronics appear to be tuned for this position. Anything else sounds forced.

In conclusion I really like these speakers they sound much better than the specs would show and are great value for money. As with all speakers I would advise auditioning these yourself but they are certainly well worth a try.

Specification from Edifier

Total power output:

RMS 13W x 2 + 17W x 2

THD + N (testing level):

10%

Signal to noise ratio:

≥85dBA

Distortion:

≤0.1%

Input sensitivity:

PC: 700mV±50mVAux: 550mV±50mV

Input impedance:

10KΩ

Audio Input Type:

Stereo RCA line-in ports

Adjustment:

Wireless remote control for volume and powerMaster Control for Volume, bass and treble adjustment

Frequency Response:

R/L: 3.3KHz - 20KHz | SW:30Hz-3KHz

Subwoofer / bass unit:

4 inch (119mm), 6Ω

Tweeter unit:

Ф19mm, Silk dome tweeter, 6Ω

Control panel:

Volume, bass, treble, power indicator

Dimension:

154 mm x 254mm x 214mm (W x H x D)

Weight:

6.4Kg net | 7.4Kg gross

Magix Photostory 2015 Deluxe

Wayne Watson — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:45:00 GMT

Summary

With 8 "tracks" to cater for complex audio and visual set-ups but with a scalable timeline and large preview area to allow for fine tuning, Magix Photostory 2015 Deluxe does exactly what it says on the box - allowing people to 'Make moving picture stories without any previous experience'. Its key aim is to allow the user to orchestrate video and slideshows that are above the mundane. Even without prior experience of slideshow making, or Magix software specifically, the application is intuitive enough to produce output in a relatively short amount of time and without a steep learning curve. There is a wealth of templates, transitions, titling effects and audio clips to cater for most beginners needs, and with the ability to upload your own soundtracks or record audio directly onto the timeline, it should also cater for the enthusiast as well.

It's not without a few annoyances but as a start point you can't go too far wrong.

Product Details

• Software Magix Photostory 2015 Deluxe

• Version 14.0.2.51

• Website http://www.magix.com/?id=73&L=38&C=74

In the box

• DVD with all software

• Multilingual paper manual

• License key

Key software installed by the installer

• Magix Photostory 2015 Deluxe ~ 630 MB

• Magix Music Editor 3 ~ 85 MB

• Magix Extreme Print Studio ~ 48 MB

• Magix Photo Designer 7 ~ 30 MB

• Speed3_burnR_mxcdr_MSI ~ 20 MB

Bundled and optional, but defaulted to "Yes, install"

• Simpliclean ~ 60 MB required

Specifications & Requirements

The following is taken from the box \ website and worked well enough on my second generation i3 + 8GB RAM

Recommended Minimum Hardware (4K videos require higher specification)

• CPU 2 GHz

• RAM 2 GB

• HDD 1 GB

• Internet Required for licencing \ registration and uploads

• Can be used offline, but requires internet connection once per month to validate key

Import formats

• Video (DV-)AVI, MPEG-1/2/4, M(2)TS, MXV, MJPEG, MOV, WMV (HD)

• Audio WAV, MP3, OGG, WMA, MIDI

• Image JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIF, (& PNG)

Export formats

• Disk DVD, Blu-ray

• Video (DV-)AVI, MJPEG, MOV, MPEG-1/2/w, WMV(HD)

• Image JPEG, BMP, GIF

First impressions

If you have used Magix software (musc maker etc...) before then the interface will look familiar. Even without prior knowledge of this type of product, the interface is simple and clean with enough space provided for each of the 4 key sections and associated menu functions \ buttons.

The software leads you through the creative process easily enough with a "Create \ Edit \ Export" approach that is expected and common for this sort of editing software.

1) Quick menu - Access to common project controls

a) Menu functions
b) Sub functions
c) Edit \ Burn \ Export quick actions

2) Preview - Display the current slideshow or selected effect

a) Preview of current slide or selected transition or effect
b) current time position in the slideshow
c) Transport controls (Record Audio, Rewind, Stop \ Play etc...)

3) Media Selections - Drag onto timeline

a) Your media \ Inbuilt transitions \ Inbuilt Titles \ Inbuilt Effects
b) Displays a tree of the selected media - Effects are categorised into groups for ease of access
c) Contents of the selected item in (b) or input to control a selected item

4) Timeline - Your slideshow shown as an overview, a zoomed area, or a detailed timeline

a) Basic controls affecting a single slide, or the slideshow as a whole
b) The timeline - Control where to play \ pause the slideshow

Additional functions and options appear on a right click on certain elements, such as on a slide or transition, or when selecting the Edit \ Burn \ Export quick menu buttons. In addition, when certain elements are selected (such as a title) additional dialogues will be presented in the "media" section on the right of the screen, or as a pop-up.

In Use

There is a HUGE amount you can do with this tool. The default library has over:

• 850 sound effects Listed in documentation

• 50 new music pieces Listed in documentation

• 200+ transitions Calculated by counting them on the interface

• 250+ title effects Calculated by counting them on the interface

• 800+ Effects IIntro's, templates, colour schemes, 3d themes etc...

A number of these have default values and outcomes while others can be adjusted to suite your own taste. With the included photo editing software, you can use a single set of tools for almost all of your work.

The minimum you have to do is supply the images you wish to work with and steer the product to give you an end result.

The Beginnings

#1 - Experiment - There is a WEALTH of options available and while the very useful and well written 255 page PDF manual can explain the functions and options available, nothing beats doing things yourself to get familiar with the product and process. It's always useful to have an idea of what you want to accomplish, but the wizards and help pages can prompt you if you get a creative block.

• Start small then expand to bigger things once you are comfortable with the functions

• Sometimes subtlety and finesse trumps grandiose and loud. Sometimes...

The Basics

It's very quick and easy to select and drop your photos into the timeline and manually add basic transitions and effects to them (blurs, crossovers, fades, more complex) and to add titles \ text.

• Drag a slide onto the timeline and it will snap against the previous one (or the time marker).

• Drag one slide so it overlaps another and a smooth fade in\out will be automatically applied.

• Click on the [A|B] icon on either side of the slide to choose a transition.

• Click on a transition in the right hand side of the UI to test the transition in the preview.

• Publish the end result to YouTube, Flikr, or Facebook, straight from the application.

If all else fails,

• Make use of the Wizards to start you off and get the creative juices running

• Use the pre-supplied templates to set a theme

• Publish to YouTube or burn to physical media and share.

The Intermediate

With a single or group of slides, you have the ability to

• Sharpen the images.

• Change the overall colour \ tone \ hue \ Saturation of the images.

• Change the exposure \ contrast \ gamma to suit the project.

• Apply artistic effects such as embossing, erosion, contouring, warping, kaleidoscope....

• Pan and zoom across your images during the slideshow.

• Add a 'travel route map' - ala Indiana Jones style... to set the scenes

• Create a panorama image from a number of individual images and pan across it

The Advanced

There are additional functions that allow you to:

• Create picture-in-picture collages

• Use key frames and parameters to fine tune your transitions

• Add bezier interpolations to smooth the movements of text and images

• Adjust audio track volume to fit the transitions

• Use all 8 tracks to blend multiple images, titles, transitions and audio tracks

• Remove background and hiss from audio

• Make use of a 10 track audio equalizer to enhance the sound

• Generate 'true' 3D videos for playback on compatible devices

• Export final output in a variety of formats with lots of customisation and optimisation available dependant on the format chosen.

The Good

As mentioned, this is quite a decent product - you get a lot of tools and options in one package and a pretty decent help system for when you get stuck. Most controls have keyboard short cuts (for those of us who like them) and most core functions are accessible via context sensitive mouse clicks or from the main menus.

The system is divided into Create, Burn, and Export sections which are clearly differentiated onscreen to let you know what you are doing - IE, the screens look very different, although the Export section is just a series of pop-ups displayed over the main UI.

Create

The interface is neatly laid out with clear indications on what you are trying to perform. The Preview area is a nice size by default and accurately represents what is happening at that point in the timeline. The transitions are neatly grouped together as are the captions, effects and the titling functions. The effects themselves are pretty smooth and professionally executed with blends and crossovers looking particularly nice (I like 'simple and well done').

The Movie Templates are varied and well choreographed allowing the user to add in their own images and text while maintaining a well orchestrated theme.

Transitions and effects can be previewed before they are applied to the slideshow ...

... and some elements can be adjusted before saving.

The animated route tool is functional and customisable allowing the user to add in a number of waypoints and have the system animate a car, plane, a car, or walking with varying speed. This can be imported into your slideshow as a semi-transparent backdrop (on one of your 8 tracks) with the appropriate slides and titles transitioning behind it.

Music and sound effects are sometime overlooked when creating slideshows and presentations and the tool has a large library to draw on if you do not have any effects of your own.

The Useful

Some parts of the application are dependent on other software or products being installed. In these circumstances:

The component may be downloaded automatically ...

• When exporting to MPEG4, the codec is downloaded automatically

Or the user is taken to a web page where they can download it ...

Or the system may just fail to run ...

Burn to DVD

This feature has an interface all of its own with a selection of preset 'menu systems' ...

... which can be customised and changed by the user ...

This does require access to a DVD Burner which, even in 2014, some people may not have access to.

The functionality was not tested during the review so the output and manipulation \ functions cannot be reported on.

Export

The final key option allows the user to save the final slideshow to a number of 'common' locations in a format optimised for that locale.

Save on your computer

This option allows you to quickly specify the requirements for an externally viewable format for your slideshow.

Export to a mobile device

This option allows you to select from a number of pre-defined formats which are optimised for that 'style' of device. When 'saved' the system will render the slideshow appropriately and either save the file to a location on a device (if it is connected) or to a folder on the PC for later upload.

The size of the resulting file will depend on the options the system selected when generating the output, and if saved to the PC the user is required to copy the file to the connected device at their convenience.

Not all mobile devices are listed but each phone or device should be able to play at least one of the generated files.

Upload to Internet

This option will render and upload the final slideshow to Facebook, Flikr, YouTube, Magix Online or Showfy if you have the appropriate credentials. Each destination has a set of limited set of options that you can configure (such as YouTube keywords and quality) and provides a quick and easy way to get your files uploaded.

Export - Menu Item

However, for finer grained control of export options, the user can select 'Export' from the main interface and have much greater control over the final output.

The user can export

• AVI

• MPEG 2 \ 4

• Magix format

• Quicktime

• Animated GIF

• A single frame

Some of these options may require the download of an appropriate codec (such as in the case of MPEG-4)

When an export option is selected, the user can then tailor this more via a dialog that is displayed

For example, the MPEG-4 export option allows you to select the output

• Resolution

• Frame rate

• Interlace method

• Compression \ codec used

The Annoyances

When installing the software it offers to install SimpliClean - While this free software may be of use to some people it won't be useful to everyone. The key issue is that it is pre-selected by default (it's an opt-out offer) - If vendors have these offers, please make them opt-in (IE, user has to say 'Yes, install it' via a conscious decision \ act)

It was not clear that additional software will be installed - Music Editor, Print Studio, Photo Designer - Although these again may be welcome applications, or indeed necessary for the smooth running of the main software, It annoys me when these are installed "stealthily" rather than being informed upfront or having it mentioned plainly in the documentation (Photo Designer first appears on page 22 of the user manual as a TIP for example)

When the application first loads it presents a full screen 'Welcome' dialogue that prompts for an initial action - Create new project, Load project etc... If escape is pressed here then the application closes. It would be useful to have the Welcome screen close but leave the main interface open.

When the application launches it may display a 'Magix Software Offering' window which appears on top of EVERY other window you may have open. This is annoying. I typically have a number of applications running concurrently (especially for reviews) and there is no real need to overlay windows on top of these windows... This window has a 'Don't show in future' option which helps.

There appears to be no way to set a default background slide colour. When a slide or title is added, you have the ability to select the background colour and apply it to the slide or all slides... but this affects just those items already in place - not future slides. The next image added appears on a black background. In the example video I produced, I required a white background. As I chopped and changed the slides I needed to change the background colour each time. This may just be an issue due to the workflow I adopted, but a simple 'default slide \ transition colour' option would be welcome.

The title text may not fade \ disappear with the caption. This is observable at 13 seconds into the example video I produced where the 'Photostory 2015 Deluxe' text remains when the surrounding caption has disappeared and the 'Installation is straightforward' caption is displayed.

On occasion the text typed into the caption is not immediately reflected in the preview window. When the caption is re-edited and 'Enter' pressed again, the text takes effect.

Pressing 'Escape' when the cursor is in the caption text field deletes the text - Annoying. Ctrl+z returns the field to its original content

Sometimes the playback starts from the beginning of the slideshow rather than where the indicator is set on the timeline. Repeatedly setting the position does not help.

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the pros and cons of the item under review, not provide details on how to use it. Where notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of it.

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise. Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

• Sony α 580 DSLR

• 35mm f/1.8 prime lens

• 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens

• Other lenses and equipment

Imagery and videos

All review images and videos are (c) by me and used on the Fascinating Tech website with my permission. Images for this (and other) reviews can also be found on my personal website at:

• www.knuks.net/reviews

• http://knuks.net/reviews/Magix_Photostory/

Videos can be found hosted on YouTube under my channel

• Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0su0TZvV8GzVPqCgIKJAw

• Box Opening http://youtu.be/zWOVhz1Vr4I

• Example Output http://youtu.be/FHXYaBT0Cdc

Use of imagery, videos and music

If you wish to use any of my review images or videos on another site or in another publication, please contact myself and \ or the editor of Fascinating Tech and wait for permission first.

You may use any other images taken by me and found at knuks.net/finepix for any other purpose so long as:

• it's in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative license that is displayed on my web site \ on the Creative Commons web site

• does not place me or the images into disrepute

• they are not used in illegal (UK or readers locale - whichever is less lenient) or questionable publications - I have sole discretion in deciding what is "questionable".

Acknowledgements , Thank-You's and Disclosure

Disclosure

The music found on the example video was arranged by me using Magix Music Maker (2010 I believe) - The music was created about 4 years ago and is subject to the same copyright as the photographs, images and videos for FascinatingTech.com. Use of the music is granted free for use by FascinatingTech. If you wish to use the music for any purpose, please contact myself or the editor of Fascinating Tech first.

Huion H610 Pro

Wayne Watson — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 21:07:00 GMT

Summary

The Huion H610 Pro graphics tablet is a cheap but powerful device that functionally and cosmetically appears on a par with more expensive equipment. It interacts well with the Windows 7 interface without conflicting with other devices and integrates very well with at least two popular photo editing packages that the reviewer has tried. It has a professional and pleasing overall presentation that would not look out of place in any graphic artist’s desk. The 8 user programmable physical buttons are pleasing to the touch and nicely laid out, while the 16 programmable "soft keys" across the top can be disabled to provide more space to the drawing area, or enabled and programmed to provide extra functionality suiting the software package in use. The huge work area takes a little getting used to but offers the user a much better work environment with less "scrolling", and more "doing".

As an enthusiastic amateur photographer who has used smaller and cheaper graphics tablets previously, this is a huge improvement in performance and responsiveness that will help produce better retouched photographs in a shorter timeframe.

Product Details

• Unit Huion H610 Pro graphics tablet

• Model H610 Pro (comes with version 7 drivers and tray software)

• Website http://www.huiontablet.com/h610-pro/

• Latest Drivers http://huion-tablet.com/download/HUION-PenDisplay.zip (version 9)

In the box

• Huion H610 Pro Graphics tablet

• Wireless rechargeable pen + nib

• Pen holder + 4 spare nibs + nib extractor

• USB cable (connects tablet to pc)

• USB power cable (connects pc to pen to charge it)

• CD ROM with drivers (version 7) and manuals (pdf)

• Windows user manual \ set up guide (paper based)

• Mac OS X user manual \ set up guide (paper based)

Testing Setup

The following software was predominantly used while testing the devices capabilities.

Product Link GIMP 2.8.14 http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Photoshop shortcuts 1 http://epierce.freeshell.org/gimp/gimp_ps.php

GIMP lag workaround 2 http://download1050.mediafire.com/d4g8gc1wejug/zs6hpi1tmpsqqwr/gimp_2_8_14_fix.zip

Photoshop Elements 10 http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop-elements.html

1) The Photoshop keystroke shortcuts were downloaded as (a) these mimicked some of the shortcuts used in Adobe Photoshop Elements (my previous retouching software) and (b) to allow me to more easily follow Photoshop video tutorials. Although there are a number of good GIMP tutorials, the Photoshop ones are more numerous and tend to be in the areas I am interested in.

2) The GIMP lag workaround refers to a known issue in GIMP 2.8.14 where movement on the screen lags behind movement on the tablet. This has been traced to an issue in 2 or 3 DLLs and is remedied by replacing them with DLLs from GIMP version 2.8.10. It is hoped that this issue will be addressed by GIMP.org directly in the next release, until then the site listed above provides \ provided the three files pre-extracted into a zip file.

Looks

The Huion is a beautiful looking unit with a textured matt black active \ pen area surrounded by a wide, smooth and slightly less matt effect bezel. The 8 buttons in the left side bezel are slightly recessed and responsive with an unobtrusive status led situated above them. The right hand side hosts just the Huion logo. The only other markings are 16 soft key areas (at 1 cm intervals) across the top of the active surface. At 11mm high, the unit is a very thin device but it still curves down at the top and bottom ends adding a nice professional look to it. A USB port located on the left hand side provides the connectivity to a pc and is the only break in its slim lines.

The active \ pen area is 6.5" high by x 10" wide (16 x 25.5 cm) and has a slight texture applied that provides some audible feedback when the pen is moved across it. I find the noise quite pleasing, reminiscent on writing on tracing paper, but others may find it a little distracting. I must say that I can filter out the noise when I focus on the task in hand. Huion sell covers for the drawing area that may help reduce the noise and offer some additional surface protection (useful if you work predominantly with tablets and worried about flat spots developing on the tablets surface from over-use).

The pen is 14.7 cm long with the nib inserted and is in the same matt black finish as the tablet bezel. The front part has three ribs where the fingers grip it which makes holding it easier and the obligatory rocker switch is nicely positioned with a shallow but nice movement to it. The back end of the pen has a small port to allow recharging via the supplied USB \ power cable.

The pen holder comes in two parts and is in the same material as the pen. When the two parts are combined, it provides a sturdy-ish resting place for the pen (it's held horizontally in two of four grooves to avoid undue pressure on the nib). When opened, the holder provides access to the nib removal tool and 4 spare nibs. Given my anticipated use of the system these nibs should provide a long service.

The box the unit comes in is well padded with high density foam with recesses accommodating the key components. The paper manuals (for OS X and Windows set up) are nicely presented and reasonably well written and the CD with the software drivers and manuals was easy to navigate.

Downsides?

The unit is susceptible to dust and oil. After 2 minutes of use the unit had collected a few dust particles which showed up well against the black colouring, and the unit also showed a few marks left by the ball of my hand and side of my fingers as I moved the pen. The dust was easily blown away and a light rub from a photographers cloth removed the other marks.

The unit is BIG. This is not a long term issue; As I get used to the tablet, it will become easier to use. At present I find myself lifting the pen and moving my hand across the tablet to reach the other side. I suspect that after a while I will find the best positioning to allow me to move the pen across the device without moving my hand (or I will cheat and reset the active area size through the tray icon).

Set up

Other reviewers have documented issues when connecting the unit for the first time with the cause being traced to connecting the unit ahead of installing the drivers. Following the printed instructions and installing the drivers before connecting the unit saw it work first time. The status led came on and I was immediately able to move the windows mouse pointer across the screen. Touching the pen to the active area caused a "single click" event to be fired, while a press down and drag with the mouse caused the area to be selected.

Drivers

The application drivers on the accompanying CD were identified as version 7. A quick scan on the Huion website led me to the updated drivers section where they were downloaded in a few seconds (the wonders of 152 Mb/sec home broadband...) Installation of the new drivers was straight forward (and did not require any un-installation or disconnection of the tablet) and upgraded me to version 9. As expected both installs included a tray icon where various properties about the tablet and pen could be configured.

Support

Version 9 software differed drastically from the version 7 installed previously and included manuals for a different Huion product. An email to Huion support was quickly responded to where they confirmed that (a) the drivers were for my tablet and (b) they would address the inclusion of the wrong manuals - Support was quick, efficient and courteous.

Device Conflict

One of my key concerns with this (or any other unit) was with potential conflict with the wired mouse also connected to the pc. My old Trust "mini" tablet conflicted with my Intelli-mouse badly causing pointer jumping and application crashing as multiple signals clashed.

There have been NO conflicts or issues encountered with the Huion. When the tablet registered the pen (typically when < 1 cm away from the active area) the mouse becomes effectively disabled. When the pen is moved further away, the cursor \ pointer become controllable by the mouse again.

When the pen is active it is still possible to use the mouse buttons.

In use

Huion Application

The controlling software is automatically launched and hidden away as an icon in the system tray. Launching this pops up a "One-Panel" application that allows you to configure and customise the tablet.

The application requires Admin permission before the other functions become active.Here, the pens rocker key can have its commands defined, and the default minimum pressure can be set and tested. "Work Scope" opens up more options.

By default, the 8 hard keys map to Photoshop shortcuts and the 16 soft keys \ areas accessible by the pen are set up to send keystrokes A-P by default.

The active work area (for drawing) ends just below these soft keys.

Assigning shortcuts to the buttons and soft keys is a matter of clicking on the appropriate key and selecting one or more of the values in the presented dialogue.

Do not TYPE the key as this will not be saved - Select the key from the drop down list.

The soft keys can be disabled by clicking on "Disable soft keys"

The soft key area can be left "non-active" to the pen, or made active by clicking on the "Full Area" button.

The active area (the area the tablet responds to) can also be changed manually. Here, only the bottom left corner of the tablet is active.

The scaled down active area is still mapped to the monitors resolution, so the bottom right corner of the active area still maps to pixel column 1920.

The Tablet

There is no power switch on the tablet. As soon as the pen is touched to the tablet, or is within 1cm, it becomes active. When active, the tablet takes precedence over mouse movement, but mouse buttons are still recognised and acted upon - This makes sense and is preferred.

When the pen is moved away from the tablet, the tablet effectively sleeps and relinquishes control to the mouse. The pen remains "on" for a short period before it sleeps and needs a push on the tablet to wake it back up.

The LED in the top left corner of the tablet lights up when the pen is in motion or the buttons are pressed.

Pressure

The tablet has 2048 pressure levels which should allow for smaller \ more refined variations in touch up work in graphics packages - How discernible these variations are on the final images will be a matter of opinion but in use I found that I had a lot of perceived control over the width and opacity of pen strokes; light brushing across the board provided smaller \ fainter lines, while quite heavy stroke left bold opaque marks on the image. I used the word perceived as I do not have a 1024 level pressure tablet to compare against. I suspect that under most conditions the doubling of the pressure sensitivity range will not be noticeable except by other tablet users.

Sensitivity

The tablet has 5080 lines per inch of sensitivity which should lead to accurate tracking of the pen across the tablet. In use, I found that the pointer was exactly where I expected it to be in GIMP and Element with no mis-tracking or jittering in any of the functions undertaken (painting, drawing paths or moving selections). Accuracy of tracking was maintained with the pen up to a centimetre above the active area.

The Pen

The pen does not need much of a touch on the tablet to send a click and the response is immediate. It is quite comfortable to hold for extended periods of time and although made of plastic, is not slippery. The rear end of the pen has a hole where it can be connected to the supplied charging cable. One end of the cable is USB style for connecting to a spare port on the pc, while the other is a Nokia-like needle power adapter. Charging takes ~ 1 hour from empty and a charge lasts for a hundred hours or so.

Rocker Switch

The rocker switch on the pen is nicely located and easily accessible without being too easy to hit accidentally. Like the tablet buttons, the rocker can be customised to execute a limited number of actions.

Buttons

The tablet has 8 physical buttons on the left hand side, with the two middle ones being "grouped" together. The buttons are transparent with icons printed underneath them (Undo, Eraser, Pen, Zoom in, Zoom out, Pencil +, Pencil -, and Hand). The Huion allows these buttons to be configured to send keystrokes to the receiving software and by default are set up with the corresponding Photoshop key strokes for Undo, Eraser, Pen etc...

The buttons activate with a medium weight press and have a satisfying click. The buttons are easily accessible, with the "Hand \ Pan" button nicely placed to allow combined button holding with my left hand and pen panning movement with my right.

Along the top of the active area are a further 16 highlighted sections which correspond to a further 16 programmable areas that the pen can activate. These areas can again be reprogrammed via the Huion application or can be disabled completely.

In use, the soft areas respond to the pen clicks and execute the selected commands.

Overall, having 24 programmable buttons on the tablet (+ 2 pen rocker switch functions) should mean that less time is spent on moving between application and drawing surface and more time spent on the task at hand. However, in reality I think that the keyboard will always be used over some tablet functions \ shortcuts as GIMP and Photoshop, for example, occasionally require keyboard input to refine the tools selected.

Application Integration Examples

Windows

It is possible to use the pen to interact with the Windows desktop. Moving the pen above the active area of the tablet disengages the mouse, and moves the cursor \ pointer around. Moving to a windows menu an touching pen to tablet signals left mouse click while pressing and holding the pen down causes a drag etc... Clicking the rear part of the pens rocker switch causes a right click.

Word

It IS possible to control MS Word with the pen using clicks and drags to reformat text, but it isn't recommended; a mouse feels much more comfortable. The preceding paragraphs were moved and spell checked via the pen as a test, but I will stick with the tried and tested mouse \ keyboard combo from now on.

GIMP \ Photoshop Elements

Graphics packages are where the tablets come into their own and why so many graphics artists use them over other input devices.

GIMP

GIMP and the Huion work very well together. Pressure sensitivity is recognised by the Huion immediately, and the assignment of different dynamics to the pen pressure (opacity, line width, fade etc...) worked very well. I still find myself using the mouse for some of the menu selections, but this is dropping off as I get used to the tablet; about 75% of my work is via the tablet alone.

Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements recognised the tablet and allowed me to control most of the functions as expected but the pen pressure was not recognised. IE, I could draw lines but not fade the opacity or change width based on pen pressure. Although set up this way in the menu, and the Huion listed as one of the controllers, I could not get pressure working. I suspect that this is down to my configuration but I will look to find a remedy.

My YouTube channel will host videos of the Huion in action with GIMP and possibly Photoshop Elements.

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the pros and cons of the item under review, not provide details on how to use it. Where notes on use are provided, these are the reviewer’s observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of it.

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise. Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

• Sony α 580 DSLR

• 35mm f/1.8 prime lens

• 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens

• Other lenses and equipment

Imagery and videos

All review images and videos are (c) by me and used on the Fascinating Tech website with my permission. Images for this (and other) reviews can also be found on my personal website at:

• www.knuks.net/reviews

Videos can be found hosted on YouTube under my channel

•https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0su0TZvV8GzVPqCgIKJAw

Use of imagery and videos

If you wish to use any of my review images or videos on another site or in another publication, please contact myself and \ or the editor of Fascinating Tech and wait for permission first.

You may use any other images taken by me and found at knuks.net/finepix for any other purpose so long as:

•it's in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative license that is displayed on my web site \ on the Creative Commons web site

•does not place me or the images into disrepute

•they are not used in illegal (UK or readers locale - whichever is less lenient) or questionable publications - I have sole discretion in deciding what is "questionable".

Acknowledgements , Thank-You's and Disclosure

Acknowledgements

Huion for providing quick and efficient turn-around on my email query.

Thank You

Amazon for delivering the order at the exact time mentioned in their delivery schedule.

Disclosure

This review was performed against my own Huion H610Pro. I purchased this after researching a number of manufacturers and models, and looking at other reviewer’s comments and reviews. I typically spend a small amount of money on new devices first to ensure I will make as much use of it as planned. If I do spend the time and effort on it, I may then upgrade to bigger and better equipment. This device offered, on paper, a very well spec'd product for a relatively small outlay. I don't feel I will be needing to purchase any other tablet in the short to medium term at least.

Manfrotto Pocket Support

Wayne Watson — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 20:31:00 GMT

Summary

The Manfrotto Pocket Support provides a secure and sturdy footing for any compatible compact camera. Its adjustable sturdy feet allows the attached camera to be placed on most uneven surfaces while its height should allow it to straddle wet areas too. Its light weight allows it to remain connected to the camera without adding any significant weight and without interfering with its operation. If you are concerned that resting your camera on a surface will scratch the bodywork, or that the battery compartment will get wet when placed on a damp surface, the pocket support can provide some protection against that too.

A useful stocking filler for the occasional photographer.

Product Details

• Unit Manfrotto Pocket Support (small)

• Model MP1-BU

• Website www.manfrotto.co.uk/product/0/MP1-BU/_/Pocket_Support_Small_Blue

In the box

• Pocket Support

• Inlay card with various pieces of information

Attachment to camera

• Via attached ¼" screw

Specifications

Unless stated otherwise, these measurements were taken by the reviewer

Looks

The unit reviewed was a rich metallic blue colour with 6 black rubber inserts along the top face (which rest against the cameras body) and three rubberised feet attached to three strong springs. The feet have a beauty ridge cut into the front of them (for looks) with the front foot emblazoned with the Manfrotto logo. The rear of the rubber feet have a couple of grooves moulded into them which should provide some additional grip if perched on uneven ground.

The only part protruding above the top surface of the unit is the ¼" screw that connects it to the camera. The screw is free to slide along a channel that is cut into the top of the unit but is retained by a washer to keep it from falling out.

Upsides?

It's a neat looking device. The blue colour fits well with the black camera I used for the review and when attached does not seem out of place. I does not add much weight to the camera itself and is not really noticed when the camera is held in your hand.

Downsides?

Being such a thin and lightweight unit, the rubber inserts are themselves quite small and thin. After connecting and disconnecting the unit from my camera multiple times, one of the rubber feet came unglued and fell off, while all 6 showed some evidence of being squashed and compressed. The insert that fell off was pushed into place again and has held up well since, while the evidence of compression has worn away somewhat showing that the rubber is quite resilient.

The blue paint is quite thin and the underside of the unit shows a few tiny areas flaking off or missing (visible on some of the photographs I took) but the top surface looks pristine. So long as the unit is not being continually connected and disconnected, and generally looked after, it should not cause you any problems.

Attaching the unit

This is a straight forward affair- With the Manfrotto log pointing in the same direction as the camera lens, place the top of the unit against the bottom of the camera so that the ¼" screw aligns with the corresponding hole in the bottom of the camera. A couple of light twists of the screw with a wide blade, thin screw driver (or a 1p coin) will attach the two components.

Do not over tighten the screw else it may damage the screw thread, the rubber inserts or the screw hole.

The image below shows the support reversed. The logo should be to the front when connecting it.

In Use

It works pretty well.

With all three feet extended at an appropriate angle, the support provides a sturdy base for your camera. Stability will ultimately depend on the size of camera, the lens extension and the surface it is placed on, but on a concrete wall, a stony road, a bench or table top, the unit stays pretty steady.

With my particular camera (Samsung PL20) and with lens fully extended, the device and camera remained upright when on a tabletop and being subjected to pushes, knocks and heavy books being dropped next to it.

The three feet can be adjusted to accommodate uneven surfaces, inclinations, or just tilted back to angle the camera up a bit. If you are in a bar or restaurant and want a group shot, this device will suit; Fold the back feet back a bit and the front one upright a little more and the camera will point upwards at an angle rather than straight forward.

Conversely, if you wish to photograph something close to the ground or point the camera down, move the back feet upright and the front foot splayed forward and the camera points down and still remain steady. This could be useful if doing macro work (insects, leaves, coins etc...)

Finally, the unit can be moved left or right, or even rotated, while still attached to the camera allowing for creative positioning \ framing or to accommodate other uneven surfaces. Note, that this may unbalance the camera so caution is advised.

When not being used, the support can be kept attached to the camera with the feet folded in. It only adds a 0.6 cm to the overall height of the camera and the weight is negligible.

The screw can be loosened slightly to allow the unit to slide left or right if you need to gain access to a battery compartment or memory card slot. A couple more turns of the screw will release the unit completely when needed.

Review Style

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise. Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

• Sony α 580 DSLR

• 35mm f/1.8 prime lens

• 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens

• Other lenses and equipment

Imagery and videos

All review images and videos are (c) by me and used on the Fascinating Tech website with my permission. Images for this (and other) reviews can also be found on my personal website at:

• www.knuks.net/reviews

• www.knuks.net/reviews/PocketSupport/

Videos can be found hosted on YouTube under my channel

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0su0TZvV8GzVPqCgIKJAw

Use of imagery and videos

If you wish to use any of my review images or videos on another site or in another publication, please contact myself and \ or the editor of Fascinating Tech and wait for permission first.

You may use any other images taken by me and found at knuks.net/finepix for any other purpose so long as:

• it's in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative license that is displayed on my web site \ on the Creative Commons web site

• does not place me or the images into disrepute

• they are not used in illegal (UK or readers locale - whichever is less lenient) or questionable publications - I have sole discretion in deciding what is "questionable".

Manfrotto Active Backpack 1

Wayne Watson — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 19:35:00 GMT

Summary

The backpack is a well constructed and comfortable piece of equipment that has plenty of space for cameras and accessories needed on small shoots or quick excursions in the field.

The foam padded, velcro attached dividers in the bottom section and the multitude of pockets and sections provide the user with a number of load-out options and coupled with the ability to access the main camera compartment via the front zips or from inside the backpack should cater for most photographers needs.

The included rain cover is a welcome addition and fits the bag nicely.

Its waterproof-ness has been tested in the field and has shown no evidence of leakage.

Its main purpose of carrying expensive equipment around safely and securely has been achieved all with the same level of quality and attention to detail as would be expected in a Manfrotto product.

Product Details

·Unit Manfrotto Active Backpack 1

·Model mb ma-bp-a1

·Web www.manfrotto.com/product/0/MB%2BMA-BP-A1/_/Advanced_Active_Backpack_I

In the box

·Manfrotto Active Backpack

·Waterproof cover

·"Is It Genuine" guide

·Card containing summary specifications and warranty web address

Specifications

Unless stated otherwise, these measurements were taken by the reviewer.

Looks

The backpack is a standard black nylon affair with a few "Manfrotto red" colour accents on tags and the obligatory logo button.

The top half has a smooth nylon coat with a side pocket and two separate top partitions accessible via zips.

The bottom half has a rough nylon exterior with a double zipped access point to the main camera compartment.

On either side are slots designed to accommodate the legs of small monopods or lightweight tripods with a tripod tie point on the right.

The back is again nylon covering some nicely textured foam padding.

The shoulder straps are nicely positioned and have ample padding for all of their length.

The strap adjusters are quite small and plastic quick release design but there is plenty of length in the adjustable straps themselves.

The zip teeth are nylon with chunky metal fasteners and 4cm \ 1 ½" metal tags that can be gripped while wearing thick gloves (useful for December weather).

Behind the shoulder straps you find another strap running horizontally across the backpack, providing an extra lifting point if you do not want to use the well padded carry handle on the top.

The top carrying handle has 1 ½ cm\ 3/4" clearance between the itself and the bag, allowing it to be carried easily while wearing gloves.

Inside

The inside of the backpack is finished in a nice grey polyester material with some tight and nicely presented stitch work...

... Why am I focusing on this?

I have had a few cheaper bags where:

a) Stitching became loose and frayed causing holes to appear round zips, letting in rain

b) Straps became worn causing the bag and contents to slip off shoulders

c) Over-zealous packing caused monopod feet to poke through thin dividers...

If the details are sharp, then you know some effort has been put into making a usable and long lasting product.

This Manfrotto rucksack is a nicely tailored, nicely finished, and well constructed unit that should provide years of good service without breaking down at an inopportune time.

Access Points and Pockets

In the top \ front of the bag is a zipped access point. It's big enough to hold small items such as business cards or paperwork but not much else.

It's a thin pocket running 17cm around the front of the bag so big enough for some folded A4 sheets.

Next is a compartment accessible by a single zip that provides access to a shallow partition containing a zippered netted area. It's the full size of the top half of the bag but again is quite thin.

The netted area could be used for batteries or other small objects that you do not want rolling around, while the space in front is big enough for a small notebook and pen or other thin \ small objects.

Next is the main compartment accessible via a double zip system (where you can open on the left, the right or down the middle.

Opening this up provides access to a large-ish area suitable for light accessories or ones that you don't mind rolling around. Or a sandwich box and small thermos flask of coffee... or a small hip flask of Red Breast Whisky or similar. The walls are nicely padded to the left and right with a padded compartment behind it.

The floor of this main compartment is the top of the main camera storage area.Its coloured "Manfrotto Red" and is actually quite thin - Thinner than the side padding or the shoulder straps so I would not recommend storing anything heavy here.

The camera compartment is accessible from here as the "bottom" of the compartment has a zippered access point which, while initially fiddly to access, opens up easily enough.

Access to the camera compartment is not restrictive and its quite easy to pull out lenses, flash units, light meters etc... without snagging on anything else.

As mentioned above, the main compartment is well padded at the back.

This back portion has two thin pockets (for lens cloths or pens for example) stitched into it with a velcro fastening at the very top.

Undoing the velcro gives access to a final compartment that can be used for stowing a medium sized laptop or tablet. The section runs the whole depth of the backpack and can accommodate something up to 36 cm x 22 cm x 4 cm in size without impacting the rest of the storage area unnecessarily.

Going back to the outside of the backpack once again, the lower half of it has a double zipped access point that gains access to the main camera compartment.

Undoing the zips allows the compartment to fall forward a little bit to make access a little easier (although you can pull the compartment further forward, or remove it completely).

The compartment is well padded on all sides with two chunky red velcro dividers and three smaller grey ones, giving you up to 6 cubbyholes to stow your equipment.

Any or all of the dividers can be moved, repositioned or removed, as you would expect, and is big enough to handle a body + small lens, a second lens, a flashgun and a few other bits and pieces.

If you need to carry more, then a bigger bag with more padding may be a better idea.

As a general purpose walk-around bag, it can hold a usable amount of equipment.

Finally, the bag has two side slots that are deep enough to hold the feet of a monopod or small tripod.

The right hand side also contains a stitched loop that can be used to attach a small bungy cord or similar to further secure the tripod.

The slots can't really be used for anything else.

Downsides?

I have had issues with some nylon zips previously with teeth being pulled out or knocked out of shape.

The teeth on this backpack are quite small (considering the size of the zip pull itself) but they seem well anchored to the bag being (glued?) and stitched to some decent amount of tape.

Small teeth are usually used to help keep water out - The smaller the teeth, the tighter the seal, but time will tell if these teeth become worn or damaged.

The zips themselves do not have any internal tape behind them (which can aid water resistance) but as the bag comes with a nicely fitting nylon cover (water repellent, not water proof) it's not a big issue.

When the number of partitions increase, the amount of "usable" space diminishes. It's nice to have compartments for memory cards or business cards, but when there are a large number of these then the area set aside for larger pieces of equipment either reduces, or the padding used lessens or gets thinner.

This bag has 2 too many dividers \ pockets in the top half for my preference but they are thin enough that I won't lose any space if I don't use them.

Protection

The bag has a good amount of padding all round so should protect equipment from occasional drops or knocks.

More padding on the bottom would be useful as you can sometimes misjudge the distance to the floor and drop the bag a little further than anticipated, or drop it onto rocks or stones if out in the field (do you store your cameras with the lens pointed up, or pointed down?)

The bag is well made and well put together so I don't think holes or splits appearing (and losing contents through them) will be a big concern.

Security

There are plenty of stories (and videos) of pickpockets distracting owners while partners open up rucksacks and bags and steal the contents.

Camera bags usually contain expensive equipment and if you think this is a concern they I recommend that you purchase a small padlock with a bar that could fit through the holes in the zippers of the main camera compartment.

Even though the padlock could be (easily) broken, doing so may prove too much of a hassle for the opportunist thief, especially if you are carrying the rucksack at the time. Some may say that having a padlock may entice a thief - it's a personal decision.

What may be useful on a backpack like this is to allow the zips to be pushed further into the side pockets (at present they stop AT the side pocket). If they were to end further down inside, it would make it much harder for the pickpocket to gain access to it without you knowing, even if you are being distracted by someone else at the time.

In use

The backpack sits comfortably on the body with the weight nicely at the bottom and resting just above the small of my back. I have taken it on a couple of small hikes and it did not chaff or rub against my shoulders during the time I used it.

The padding was adequate and I didn't notice the carry \ reinforcing strap that runs across the top part of the bag over the padding.

With all the metal zip pulls there was a certain amount of jingling but nothing too distracting.

The straps needed to be pulled in a bit and the loose ends ended up being rolled up and held in place with elastic bands to stop them flapping around and against me.

Out in the field, the camera compartment was easy to open and close without any unnecessary fiddling around and the equipment was easy to stow back afterwards. If you pack too much equipment then there will be problems with the remaining contents shifting around and making stowing more difficult, but as it's designed as a light (occasional?) bag then not much kit would be taken anyway.

The other compartments were just as easy to access (nice chunky zip pulls) and the netted area kept the loose batteries and other paraphernalia in one place.

I didn't try to access the camera compartment via the inside of the bag so cannot confirm how easy it is to access it during high winds, but I did leave my camera in the top section for a short time and it survived being knocked around while I clambered over some trees and mud banks.

Being nylon, the outside of the unit was a doddle to clean (damp cloth & elbow grease) and quick to dry out. The same went for the rain cover - It was easy to put on and take off while in the field, in the evening, and was easy to dry off after a short rain spell.

Accessories

The bag comes with two accessories - A rain cover and an extra strap that connects the two shoulder straps in front of you.

Rain Cover

The rain cover is finished in the same colour grey as the internal finish of the bag.

It's a one piece affair made up of three well stitched panels and an elasticated rim that fits over the front, top, sides and bottom of the rucksack, leaving the back panel and shoulder straps bare (so you can carry the rucksack as normal).

During the review the rain cover was used during a couple of light showers. It was easy to put on and take off, and protected the bag quite well. Some waterproofing sealant may be useful if it does not affect the material, especially across the stitching (usually the weak point).

It rolls up quite small and can be stored in one of the many rucksack pockets for easy access.

Extra Strap

I have found two uses for this strap.

When carrying the backpack across your back, the extra strap can be used to connect \ fasten the shoulder straps in front of you. During long hikes this can be a useful device to reduce the amount of movement across the shoulders, or to make it more difficult to dislodge the backpack. The shoulder straps have the appropriate connectors on them at mid chest height but it's a matter of preference if you use this or not.

Alternatively, the strap could be used to help fasten a tripod to the backpack.If the tripod is slotted into the right hand side pocket (standing upright), the strap can be looped around the tripod and through the securing loop (stitched into the side of the backpack) to hold it steady and secure it.

Again, it's a matter of taste if this is used in preference to a small bungy cord but it's nice to know it's there.

Like the rain cover, the strap can be stored in one of the available pockets.

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the pros and cons of the item under review, not provide details on how to use it.

Where notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of it.

Review images \ videos and capture device

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless

explicitly stated otherwise.

Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

·Sony α 580 DSLR

·35mm f/1.8 prime lens

·18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens

·Other lenses and equipment

Imagery and videos

All review images and videos are (c) by me and used on the Fascinating Tech website with my permission.

Images for this (and other) reviews can also be found on my personal website at:

· www.knuks.net/reviews

· www.knuks.net/reviews/ActiveBackpack1/

Videos can be found hosted on YouTube under my channel

· https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0su0TZvV8GzVPqCgIKJAw

Use of imagery and videos

If you wish to use any of my review images or videos on another site or in another publication, please contact myself and \ or the editor of Fascinating Tech and wait for permission first

You may use any other images taken by me and found at knuks.net/finepix for any other purpose so long as:

·it's in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Non-Derivative license that is displayed on my web site \ on the Creative Commons web site

·it does not place me or the images into disrepute

·they are not used in illegal (UK or readers locale - whichever is less lenient) or questionable publications - I have sole discretion in deciding what is "questionable".

Disclosure

I consider myself an enthusiastic amateur photographer who is always learning, always willing to learn, and a bit of a jack-of-all-trades.

I like landscape and macro photography but have no affinity to any single theme, experimenting with astro-photography, HDR, compositing and the like.

My kit is mediocre by anyone's standards but I am building it up as I go - My Manfrotto MTX055XPRO3 tripod and my cable release are my closest friends.

Roku Streaming Stick

Ruth — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 13:31:00 GMT

This stick just plugs into the back of your TV in the HDMI socket and into a usb adaptor lugged into the power socket (or usb lead directly into a usb port on your tv if it has one).

You start the set up on your television and connect the device using your home Wifi..You are then asked to use another device to complete set up. I grabbed my mobile phone and was set up in no time.

You have a choice of channels to start with but my one criticism is on the first few that you are offered it does not state if they are charged or free and at this time you have just given your payment method. That I think should be clearly stated.

However you have the usual iPlayer 4OD etc. channels to get you started. There is a wide range of other channels some carry advertising and others are paid for to access but at this point it is clear if you are paying or not when you choose to download the channel.

You can connect your Sky Now.TV connection and Netflix account to this too.

It does not show live television only streamed programs unless the streaming service supports live streams (Sky for example).

It however solves the problem where you have one aerial into your house – usually the lounge and you do not have connections to the bedrooms. There are various methods of getting the signal round the house but this has to be one of the simplest and quickest to set up.

At a mere £49.99 it is well worth the price for the simplicity and convenience.

The Leapfrog Leap Band

Ruth — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 13:11:00 GMT

Want to get your children active? Are they between 4 and 7 years of age? Then here is a new option for you a leapfrog smart wrist band for them.

A quick charge and install the app (iOS and Android supported). Set up the app details which are school hours and bedtime hours. This turns it into a watch when they are at school so they are not playing when they should be paying attention!

The app is only needed to set up the band but an also be used to monitor activity.

Then strap this on your little one and let them set up their character choosing by scrolling through the choices and selecting their choice and the colour. Then off they go. Press the activity button and they will have the watch talk to them telling them what activity to do. For example swim like a fish and it is accompanied by water sound effect. These are all 10 second activities and they earn jewels. This is what gives their character energy.

So stop hogging that wearable tech yourself and pass on a great example to your children. Its fun and it’s quirky and the little character chats to them. It cheers and claps when they do lots of activities.

I found that my only recommendation would be that the location of the usb charging plug did clash with wrist bones and would be better on the other side of the watch so it does not clash with the bone. It is unusual in that it is a mini and not a micro USB for charging. Again it would be nice if this was changed as it would mean less leads to take when you are travelling as most phones charge on a micro USB these days.

That said it is good fun, encouraging and has a range of activities so they don’t keep having the same activity to be done. Whats more it is a great present the kids will actually enjoy.

Adonit Jot Touch with Pixelpoint

Ruth — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:54:00 GMT

This a serious product for artists on the iPad.

Fed up with those wide uncontrollable strokes from your stylus? Then time to get this device. It recognises pressure sensitivity and enables the artist in you far greater control.

Once you link this to your chosen app then you can set this up to ignore your palm on the screen. The Bluetooth synching is quick and easy and the stylus will last up to 11 hours on one charge.

It’s not just for artists it can be used by architects too and those of you who love to scribble and note.

It can be really frustrating when you are trying to make a note and everytime your hand catches the screen you end up with a random line on the screen. The ability to get rid of this is so helpful.

The pixelpoint enables you to achieve a refinement that would not be achieved otherwise. You can work on much smaller items than would usually be the case. This is a great improvement on previous stylii.

I often scribble diagrams to explain things and this is so much easier with the pixelpoint.

Generally to activate you simply set up the Bluetooth connection in the app you are using. I found it simply on all the apps I tried.

So if you are a scribbler or an artist then time to try a new medium. You’ve done oils and watercolours time now to work on the screen format.

A really good product that is easy to set up and use.

Toshiba Encore Mini 7

Garry Whittaker — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:25:00 GMT

the Toshiba Encore Mini 7 - a full blown Windows 8.1 tablet in a 7 inch form factor at sub 100GBP

This is a really superb device which I used for a couple of weeks. Toshiba's PR agency advised us this was seen to be a companion device and probably not your sole computer but if all you use your PC for is to browse the web and read emails then this is more than adequate and far more portable than a laptop or even a netbook. It doesn't have a keyboard or even a full sized USB port to plug one in (it does have a micro-usb for charging like most phones) so you will probably have to get used to using an onscreen keyboard but this isn't at all bad. It does support bluetooth so you could use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse with it. As it also supports Intels Wireless Display technology and, although not stated in the spec, Miracast you can use these to send the screen wirelessly to a supported display. In this configuration it actually makes a pretty good desktop PC.

However it is designred to be portable and it is excellent in that mode. Being a full Windows 8 device it has none of the limitations of say the Surface RT and Surface 2 and can run any Desktop applications you like (including iTunes). It will also run some older games quite well but don't expect to be doing anything too graphics hungry. It excels when running apps from the Windows Store. These run full screen and are very easy to use with touch. The desktop is a little fiddly to use wth touch but I did find it OK to use the version of Word built in to write a letter or two. Yes I did say Word - this little 99 UK pound beast comes with a year's license to Office 365 for two devices, that alone could set you back over half the cost if bought separately. This is just great value for money.

I really like the Mini 7 it has a great balance of performance and reasonable battery life - it doesn't seem to suffer the issue that some other 7inch Windows tablets do in losing power whilst switched off. My only slight criticism is that the native screen resolution is less than the screen resolution required for Windows 8.1 so this is scaled up leading to some slight jaggedness.

All in all for the price you just can't go wrong. It would be a perfect companion for any traveller.

The Netatmo Weather Station

Ruth — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:19:00 GMT

If you like to watch the weather then this is a modern way to do so. The sensors do not have screens.

The internal one is plugged in and needs power to operate. The external one is battery powered but it ensures that you have an accurate reading of the temperature and humidity outside.

It syncs with your ipad, iphone, android and windows 8 phones. I have internally measurements on temperature, air quality, pressure, humidity and CO2. CO2 does have a light to warn when CO2 levels are too high. The only CO2 alarm I had was an utter pain and went off day and night for no reason.

If you press the top of the internal one it will flash green and upload a new reading.

You can see readings from all over Europe so you could even see a different part of the same city to check the temperature. If you are going on holiday no need to rely on a forecast you can see the temperatures in the local area. The more people who have the Netatmo weather station and upload the information, the more detailed picture that will build up over time.

You can see various charts and get full details of the trends. The outdoor sensor is sensible as no need to peer out the window to see if it is raining it will know for you. 7 day forecasts are available too.

What is an unusual is that the internal sensor has a decibel reading. It’s nice to see something different on a weather station and this is an interesting added feature. You can pick up your readings from multiple devices which are updated every 5 minutes.

This combined with the app controlled heating systems is really going to help plan for when you need the heating most and to save money.

Quick and easy to set up so easy to be up and running on your wi fi system.

Garry also points out that this is the only Weather system with clients for Windows Phone as well as iPhone and Android. Netatmo also provide a great application interface so programmers could integrate this system into other home automation systems. Garry was easilly able to add readings from the sensors into the VoxCommando system he covered a few issues back.

For the person who loves to keep track of the weather in your family this is a great addition and the perfect present.

Toshiba BDX5500KB Blu-ray player

Garry Whittaker — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:17:00 GMT

The Toshiba BDX5500KB Blu-ray player is a small black box not much wider than a disc itself, that for just under 120 GBP can take any current Blu-ray format thrown at it and decode both Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. It also outputs upt ot 2160p resolution (i.e. twice HD) which might b useful with some projection systems.

In use the playback is crisp and vibrant with a natural reproduction of skin tones. It was able to keep up with all the action when playing Enders Game and sounds came through with appropriate punch.

For 120 GBP that would be impressive enough but there is more. This is a Wi-Fi enabled player meaning you can also use Toshibas Smart TV offerings and whilst the range of these are limited compared to some other manufacturers this does give you access to BBC iPLayer. This seems to have some clever cacheing for whilst other platfoms we had tried this on stuttered in our test environment playback here was clear, detailed and stutter-free. In fact I would go to say this is the best iPlayer experience I've seen on any platform.

The box also supports play back from DLNA compatible devices (such as PCs) on your network and is a pretty capable network music player.

It has one final trick up its sleeve in that it is also a Miracast receiver allowing Laptop and Tablets that support this standard to project their screens through the BDX5500KB, I have to say we had a lot less luck with this. Many devices including Toshiba's own Encore Mini 7 wouldn't connect to it but a Microsoft Surface did. If this is important to you I would suggest testing your device first.

Connections are limited on the back to HDMI, DIgital Audio (SPDIF Optical) and an Ethernet port. It is nice to see wired networking being supported as well as wireless. This worked well with a Powerline network in a home that gets poor WIFI due to old thick walls.

My only complaint about this unit is the simply terrible remote control that is really unresponsive. Trying with a replacement all in one type controller gave a much better experience. Toshiba really need to replace the supplied one.

Overall though this is a lot of machine for the money.

iCushion - support your tablet in comfort

Garry Whittaker — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:39:00 GMT

The iCushion from www.mobiletoyz.co.uk

When I was told I was reviewing a cushion I was a little taken aback but this is a really useful cushion indeed. Coated in a black velvet like material this triangular wedge shape cushion has a small pocket on the front to slip your table into. Be that an iPad or Galaxy Tab or even a Microsoft surface. The positioning is perfect for using the device on your lap or say reading in bed.

When using the iCushion on your lap you soon realise the real advantage of using a soft padded stand over a conventional tray or table. It moulds to your legs and as you shift weight it moves with you.

The iCushion can be purchased in many different colours to match your decor. I had the black one to review which felt right at home with my black Surface tablet. When used with the Surface there wasn't really a good way to attach the Surface keyboard and keep it in the iCushion pocket but that is not what it is designed for. Using it in the iCushion without the keyboard gave the perfect touch experience and was far more stable than using the Surface's kick stand on my lap.

I usually start to get shoulder ache when holding a tablet for extended periods this totally alleviated that. Its just great for watching movies as the viewing angle is perfect without the need to hold the tablet at all.

My only slight criticism is I found the tablet had a tendancy to fall out if I handed the iCushion to someone else but this is easy to avoid by holding the device in place - just something you have to remember.

It is really well put together and feels like it work stand up to every day use. The filling has a bean bag type feel to it which allows it to mould to uneven surfaces but maintain rigidity.

All in all I found the iCushion a, perhaps suprisingly, really good idea . Currently priced at 24.95 GBP and available at MobileToyz

Tics all the right boxes - Casio Ediface Watch

Wayne Watson — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:56:00 GMT

Tics all the right boxes

Summary

The Casio Edifice is a well made and suitably functional wristwatch.

It serves its prime purpose of telling the time very well with little evidence of loosing seconds so far.

Its recessed glass facia helps reduce the opportunity for scratching and the wristband still looks good after 4 months of continuous wear.

Its build quality is excellent and it's weight is just right, letting you know it's there without becoming obtrusive.

Overall, a watch I should have bought earlier.

Product Details

Reviewed

Casio Edifice EMA-100D-1A1VEF

Model 5299
Website www.casio.co.uk/products/timepieces/edifice/Product/EMA-100D-1A1VEF/
Manual http://support.casio.com/en/manual/009/qw5299.pdf

Device

Box Contents

Watch
Instruction manual Multiple languages
Guarantee

Specification

Accuracy ±15 seconds per month (not noticed so far)

Watch body (max) 45mm wide x 48mm tall x 14mm deep

Bezel Stainless steel with rotation (divers movement)

Analogue display 2 sections covering : time, tide

Digital displays 3 sections covering : time, date, moon phase, all other functions

Water resistance 200 M \ 20 bar - Suitable for swimming and general use

Wrist strap Stainless steel, adjustable with fine adjustment via the clasp

Clasp Lockable \ safety

Movement Quartz

Power Battery, 2 x SR92W with average 3 year lifespan

Weight 150 grams depending on strap length

Illumination Blue LED, manual or automatic initiation, 1.5 or 3 second duration

Time Setting Analogue follows digital time with manual adjustments catered for

Other Anti-magnetic, button tones on \ off,

Functions\ display

Time 12 \ 24 hour display, Daylight Saving Time option
World time 48 cities \ 29 time zones (+ Home city, + UTC)
Moon age Graphic display showing ~ visibility, scroll forward and back in time
Tide graph display Analogue tide height, scroll forward and back in time
Thermometer From -10˚C to 60˚C in 0.1˚ increments (Display in ˚C or ˚F)
LED backlightManual or automatic
Stopwatch To 1/100th second with split times, maximum of 999h, 59m, 59.9s
Daily alarms x 5 independent alarms (including snooze)
Hourly chime Enable or silent
Countdown timer Manually set from 1 minute to 24 hours with signal at end

Buttons

Top Left Split \ reset
Top Right Light
Bottom Right Start \ stop
Bottom Left Mode

Buttons may have multiple functions, especially when setting options such as time, date etc...

Looks

The watch is on my wrist almost constantly and does not look out of place whether I am in a suit meeting clients, in old jeans doing DIY, or in casual clothes doing photography or going shopping.

Facia

I like the looks; the black facia with white markings and orange accents are nicely framed by the silvered body and strap.

The hour marks are not numbered but flashed with white while the 3, 6, 9 and 12 marks are accented in orange. The white analogue hands are easy to see without hiding too much of the background and have silvered back ends.

There is no second hand and no accompanying "tic" sound.

The glass facia is slightly convex and quite scratch resistant and sits lower than the divers bezel helping the glass stay scratch free.

The face of the watch has three digital displays at the 1, 4 and 6 hour locations and a small analogue display between the 10 and 11 hour mark.

The digital displays are a little dim but this actually helps as it does not distract from the analogue hands.

The analogue section holds the tide height indicator but again is not obtrusive and does not interfere with the time hands or reading the time.

Bezel

The bezel is of the rotating divers type and sits marginally higher that the highest point of the glass facia.

Like similar bezels it rotates anti-clockwise only with a pleasing tight action which is unlikely to be moved accidentally.

The inside bezel is black with white lettering while the outside is brushed steel.

There are simulated screws at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 hour marks with intermediate areas marked by minutes (05, 10, screw, 20, 25, screw, 35,40, screw, 50,55, screw). The 12 0'clock position is again flashed in orange.

Buttons

There are four function buttons fitted to the lower body below the bezel which ride low on the watch, close to the wrist.

Each are made of polished steel with the bottom right button slightly larger than the others, embellished with the edifice logo, and looking like a locked down crown.

Strap and clasp

The strap itself is stainless steel with 15+ three-piece rectangular segments with the edges brushed and the central segment polished - a nice look without being overbearing.

The clasp is of the standard safety design with a locking loop and push buttons on either side to release the strap.

The edifice name and logo are stamped into the clasp.

The watch comes in two flavours - One with orange accents as reviewed here, or with deep blue accents.

My preference was for the orange but the blue also looked good.

Key \ Useful Functions

When looking for a new watch, my primary needs were for a digi-analogue watch which clearly presented the time and date, had a nice weight and feel, needed little maintenance \ had a good battery life, and was within my budget.

This watch covered all my requirements with the extra functions providing a nice bonus.

Time and date

The analogue hands are easy to read even with the information displayed in the background.

The hour and minute hands are easy to distinguish and the hour marks on the facia are easy to identify.

The lower digital readout (between the 5 and 7 hour marks) can show the time in 12 or 24 hour format (your preference) or can show the date.

This is toggled by a push on the top left button.

The watch has a fully automatic calendar synched up to the year 2099 accommodating leap years and the varying month lengths.

When displaying the date or time in the bottom digital window, the window at the 1 o'clock position shows the day name.

Time Setting

Time setting is accomplished by setting the digital element to the correct time; the analogue hands then move to reflect this.

There have been instances where the analogue hands drift out of sync (usually if I leave my watch by a speaker or other magnetic source) but it's quite straight forward to adjust the hands via one of the functions described in the manual (moving the hands to the 12 o'clock position and on ok, the hands moving the correct position to reflect the digital time).

Moon Phase and Tide

Based on the displayed date and time, the digital window at the 5 o'clock position shows the approximate moon phase via a graphical representation (a circle with a number of filled or blank arcs).

The user is able to configure the display to choose whether the filled arcs represent the moons visible element or its shadow.

Again, tied to the date \ time, the analogue display at the 10 o'clock position represents the tide height via a High \ Low tide register and a dial pointing to the approximate current tide height.

Both of the displays above can be adjusted to show the phase and tide height for any calendar date and time accessible on the watch - IE, you can scroll to a date in the past \ future and display the moon phase and tide height for that date \ time.

Temperature

The watch can take temperature readings of the surroundings with documented accuracy of 0.1˚C.

The display appears in the bottom digital window with updates after 3 seconds, then every 2 seconds for the first 2 minutes, then every 2 minutes thereafter.

Its recommended that the watch is left alone, off the wrist for a few minutes before the temperature is read.

Background light

The light can be configured to power on for 1.5 or 3 seconds and produces a light blue wash across the dials \ facia.

Depending on the angle some of the digital elements are a little hard to read but the analogue hands show up nicely.

Starting the light can be accomplished by pressing the top right button, or by configuring (via watch menu buttons) to power on when the watch is moved to parallel to the ground, then tilted > 40 degrees (as if you are looking at the watch)

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the pros and cons of the item under review, not provide details on how to use it.

Where guidance or notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of it.

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless

explicitly stated otherwise.

Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

Sony α 580 DSLR
35mm f/1.8 prime lens
18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens
Other lenses and equipment

Acknowledgements and Thank-You's

A very big thank you to "The Watch Shop" in Cross Street, Reading for allowing me to take photographs of a pristine version of the watch for this review.

Disclosure

This review was performed against my own Edifice watch purchased in April 2014.

All photographs accompanying the article were taken by me but the subject may be my own watch or the pristine version from The Watch Shop.

Time and Motion - Honestech Stopmotion Studio 4

Ruth — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:26:00 GMT

Time and Motion

Summary

Honestech Stopmotion Studio 4 is a very clever piece of software that will have school children making animations and cartoons within a few minutes of launching.

The shallow learning curve and easy to follow instructions will hook the user quickly, and with the ability to preview their work at any point (without leaving the main interface), it will keep them glued to their seats.

The simple interface invites a quick start up and "hands on" approach while more advanced options such as Rotoscoping and ChromaKey will satisfy the more adventurous user.

Without too much effort we could be seeing budding Ray Harryhausens or Suzie Templetons in the making.

Product Shot

Product Details

Product \ Packages

Package Contents

CD
Product Key
Quick Start Guide

Specifications \ websites

Version under review 4.0.13.1(4.0.17 available)
Main site http://www.honestech.com/main/index.asp
Updates http://www.honestech.com/main/SoftwareUpdates.asp

Input resolutions (device dependant)

From 160 x 90
To 1280 x 1024

Frames per second User selectable 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30

Output formats

WMV 320 x 240 @ 25 fps > 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps
MPEG1 Best, Good, Normal, VCD_NTSC \ _PAL
MPEG2 Best, Good, Normal, SVCD_NTSC \ _PAL, DVD_NTSC \ _PAL
HD MPEG HD_NTSC \ _PAL (1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080)
iPad \ iPhone \ iPod Various \ Numerous formats
PSP Various \ Numerous formats
YouTube Upload to your account (password required)
Facebook Upload to your account (password required)

Items used in the review

The following items were used but do not form part of the review

WebCam Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000

Firmware Version 2.96.6009
Driver Version 13.51.823.0

In General

Installation

Installation was quite straight forward with a minor hiccup when a newer version of Quicktime was found already installed on my PC.

The system generated a warning message that installation could not proceed but after OK'ing the message box installation did in fact continue.

Adobe acrobat 9.2 was installed as a pre-requisite and the whole install completed in only a couple of minutes.

The system uses a horrible beige background colour for its message and dialogue - Not an issue in itself but it didn't look pretty.

Post install the system requested a licence key and used the web to authenticate it (mandatory), then invites the user to register the software in order to receive

updates (optional).

Subsequent launches of the application continued to pop-up the registration dialogue box but this can be "delayed" \ disabled for a user entered number of days.

Launch

On launching, and after skipping the registration dialogue if appropriate, the system displays its main user interface.

It has 6 key areas with menus and other dialogues popping up modally when required.

A menu bar at the top allows the user to access basic options, the contextual ("point at") help menu and general help. The centre-left area is taken up by the Capture \ Preview window while the right hand is taken up by a settings palette for video, chromakey, rotoscoping and audio options. A timeline control bar sits below this with a tool box and the time line below that.

1 Title and Menu bar

2 Preview Area

3 Key palette and settings

4 Timeline controller

5 Tools

6 Timeline

Basic use

The key button is the big red Record button in the middle of the timeline control bar.

A click on this button takes a snapshot of what the camera sees and adds it to the timeline. Move the objects in the scene, and take another shot, then another, then another and soon you have your first animation.

All the other functions and menu options then add to this basic process and make some tasks even easier.

You can instruct the software to take snapshots every 1, 3, 5 seconds etc... allowing you to move scenery and having the snapshots be taken automatically.

The same options allow for snapshots every 10 or 30 minutes or even hourly or every 10 hours allowing for a basic form of time lapse photography to take place (plants growing or following the sun for example).

You can display a grid on the preview area to assist framing and composition (not displayed on the resultant animation), and also draw lines and paths on the preview to assist in the movement of scenery - again, this is not stored on the preview itself or the final animation.

The onionskin slider is a useful control as it allows the last image to be displayed on the preview as the next image is composed allowing you to see where the object should move next in order to get a smooth animation.

The preview can be set through varying opaqueness levels to suit the users preference, from almost transparent to almost solid.

It can also be disabled completely.

Individual (or groups of) frames can be dragged to different positions within the timeline as required, or deleted by pressing the delete key.

If frames are to be inserted into the middle of the timeline, the user can scroll to the correct position and press the record button as normal. All very simple and most of all intuitive.

Playback of the work so far can be initiated at any time by clicking on the Play button to the left of the record button.

The animation can be looped, or halted after 1 play, or when the user clicks on Stop.

This ability to immediately play what's recorded is key for the target audience - They do not have to wait for rendering or saving before they can show off their work.

The project \ work in progress can be saved at any time and the system allows for a small amount of meta-data to be stored for any project (when a project is started they are prompted for Title, Author, Comments - This is the metadata)

Advanced controls

Some advanced controls are available for those wishing to delve a little deeper.

Chroma Key

This tab allows you to select a colour (range of hues) on the preview and replace them with a background image selected from any images on the PC.

This is how green-screen \ blue-screen works in the movies or on the weather channel.

Typically a piece of cloth or paper of deep blue or green is placed in the cameras view (or any other colour that is not present in the scene) and the appropriate background image (a castle, the sea, hot lava) is then displayed in its place.

In the following screenshot, a green piece of material was placed in the camera view and a "green" selection from the colour panel was selected.

The green material was then replaced with the background image of the dog.

The main image is what will be recorded, the small image to its right shows what the camera is actually seeing (the strop of green cloth) and the last image on the right is the image being used to replace the green cloth.

String removal

For the times when the strings or blue-tac used to hold the props in place become visible, the software allows the users to erase them by over-painting the appropriate areas of the frames with the corresponding areas from a reference frame.

It's not perfect and if the video camera has auto colour or white balance, the editing may be more visible than the artefacts it's trying to replace - Used with caution its a useful tool and, like most elements of the software, changes can be undone (ctrl+z).

Audio

The software allows background music to be played along with the animation, or for a soundtrack to be added afterwards.

In the example video accompanying this review, the imagery was shot first, then as the video played back, the audio elements were then added.

It took a few goes but in the end the audio was added in real time as the video was played back.

Titles

Static titles can be added at the start and \ or the end of the animation for a suer determined period of time (measured in frames).

It's pretty basic but it suits its purpose and audience, allowing the creators to add their names to the animation (ala TV credit style)

Text

Similar to titling, text can be added at user selected frame and last for a variable number of frames.

It's static text again (no fades or transitions), but it adds a bit more depth

Other items

Capture quality

Videos can be captured in a variety of resolutions from 160 x 90 to 1280 x 1024, device dependant.

At any resolution the playback quality will only be as good as the device that captured it - If the webcam is low quality, then the captured video, thus playback, will be no better.

Output options

As shown in the specifications section the software can output video in a number of formats, even uploading to YouTube or Facebook if the appropriate account details are entered.

The variety is useful as it should allow for a simple upload to the schools website or YouTube channel for the creators to see and share.

Issues

The software did lock on two occasions, both times after a period of inactivity and when having the webcam controller options displayed.

This may have confused the software as it became inaccessible to the point of locking the PC.

A hard reboot was necessary as an operating system reset just hung, and logging off then on again didn't release files or processes.

I am not sure if the background colour scheme has a specific purpose (easy on the eyes?), but it does look dull.

Demonstrations

I produced an example video showing off some of the basic capabilities of the software - IE, I did not use ChromaKey or Rotoscoping.

http://youtu.be/-enLJixK714

Lessons learned (Animation 101)

Plan ahead - Story boards are useful (Disney use them... so should you)
Play out the action before videoing it
Paper moves, there is always a breeze, the dog will jog the table
Blue-tack and string are lifesavers
Pauses are necessary and important - Nothing moves continually
Play back the video multiple times before recording the audio track

Conclusions

Upside

Simple - Anyone can use this and get good results
Immediate - You can see what you have done immediately
Responsive - Help files are good, and so is "What does this do" help

Downside

Interface background looks a little dull
Locked twice

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the item(s) under review, not provide details on how to use it.

Where notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of the items.

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where images and screenshots are provided, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Any source video and still images were captured on any of the following devices:

Samsung Galaxy S4

Model GT-I9505
OS Stock Android - 4.3
Video 1920 x 1080, stabilised, 25+ fps, MP4
Images 4128 x 2322, stabilised, JPEG

Sony α 580 DSLR

Video 1440 x 1080, 25 fps, MP4 or AVCHD
Images 4912 x 3264, non-stabilised, RAW, JPG

Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000

Firmware 2.96.6009

Driver 13.51.823.0

Rugged - Manfrotto MTX055XPRO3 tripod

Wayne Watson — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:15:00 GMT

Rugged

Summary

The Manfrotto MTX055XPRO3 tripod is a supremely capable device that has provided a sound and stable platform in the time that I have used it. The build quality and the configuration options have allowed it to be used in a number of demanding situations without worries that it will tip over, or loose traction. The Manfrotto MHXPRO-3W head may not be the prettiest out there, but its smooth action and positive responsiveness make it an excellent companion for the tripod body. As an amateur photographer my only regret is not buying this combination sooner.

Product Details

• Reviewed Manfrotto MTX055XPRO3 tripod + Manfrotto MHXPRO-3W head

• Website http://www.manfrotto.co.uk/ http://www.manfrotto.com

Box Contents

Tripod

• Manfrotto MTX055XPRO3 tripod

• General instructions & warranty - Multiple languages

Specification

*=measured by reviewer, others taken from website and literature

• Closed Height* 61 cm

• Maximum Height* 154 cm with legs closed, centre column down

• Maximum Height* 140 cm with legs @ 25˚, centre column down

• Maximum Height* 175 cm with legs @ 25˚, centre column extended

• Minimum Height* 6 cm (legs splayed out @ 88˚, excluding centre column)

• Centre column 38cm (maximum length)

• Weight 2.5 KG

• Maximum load 9 KG

• Construction Aluminium

• Legs 3 sections each with 2 Quick Power Locks

• Legs (diameter) 30 mm, 26 mm, 22.5 mm

• Legs (lockable angles) 25˚, 44˚, 66˚, 88˚

• Other EasyLink connector allowing accessories to be attached

• Other Eyelet for attaching a carrying strap

• Other Centre column folds "out and over" perpendicular to main body

• Other Bubble level

Head

• MHXPRO-3W head

• General instructions & warranty - Multiple languages

Specification

• Height 13 cm

• Weight 1 KG

• Maximum load 8 KG

• Construction Aluminium

• Camera plate Quick release style with secondary security \ lock

• Controls 2 x retractable handles for tilt and roll

• Other 2 x friction locks for tilt and level

• Other Bubble levels x 3 (x, y, z)

The following review will be for the combined tripod and head together unless otherwise stated or where common sense prevails.

Look and Feel

The whole unit is a very stylish affair with both elements constructed of aluminium and finished in black with small \ discreet flashes of colour.

The tripod has accents of brushed aluminium on the leg locks and shoulder mounts \ ratchets while the centre column collar, finger lock, and Manfrotto button is fire-engine red. The only other colour is in the white Manfrotto name and model appearing on one of the legs.

The head is mainly black with red accents on the foot \ tripod attachment and around the pitch and roll handles. The two adjustable friction wheels are in brushed aluminium, and the three mini spirit levels are standard issue green. A red Manfrotto logo button finishes it off. issue The safety lock where the camera attaches is the only part that looks a little out of place being a mid-gray colour - Plain black would have been a better choice in my view.

Two of the legs have 18cm rubber grips wrapped round them which makes carrying the tripod that little bit easier, although a carry strap or bag is strongly recommended. Rubber elements also appear on the head handles and are knurled to provide additional grip and work very well. They also offer some respite when working on a cold morning - bare hands on cold aluminium is not fun - The only question is why the third leg was left bare. The tripod feet are made of slightly harder rubber and are screwed on - These could be replaced with spikes is you wish.

With the large diameter legs and hefty quick release locks the tripod looks very rugged and professional without being ostentatious.

The power locks feel as good as they look, opening with a solid snap and taking a little pressure to close them again. There is minimal rattle from the legs as they slide smoothly from inside each other but they allow for a little movement \ twisting as they extend. There is a hard stop once they are extended - IE no padding inside the tubes to stop them.

The ratchets on the tripod shoulders also have a nice solid movement. It takes a little bit of effort to initially push the locks down and disengage from the current position, but once done the legs swing out and back smoothly and efficiently.

The central column takes a little getting used to - Unscrew the locking nut, push in the locking pin at the base of the column, push the column all the way through the central collar then back through the collar to lock it at 90 degrees. The central column needs to be watched as it is pushed through the collar as it is quite heavy and can fall back on itself pinching an unwary finger.

The complete unit is quite heavy and even with a well padded shoulder strap you will probably still notice the weight. 3.5 kilograms is easy enough to take along for short trips, but hiking around with this unit for more than 30 minutes may start wearing at your shoulders and back. HOWEVER in my view the weight is well worth it. It adds to the stability of the unit once it is in use and that is the key purpose of the unit - Providing a stable and secure platform for your camera.

Everything is simply done, but done with quality.

In Use

This unit provides a very stable platform for your camera.

My working set up is typically top tubes at full extent, bottom tubes 3 cm short from full extent and no central column. At this height the unit may shake fractionally when knocked, but there is next to no wobble or rebound. The camera sits on the mounting plate well, although there is a very small amount of "give" if the camera is not pushed forward.

With the exception of the loose shoulder strap hook, there are no rattles or squeaks from the unit that seemed to plague me when using less professional tripods or heads.

The leg locks can be operated with one hand and lock firmly in place with no evidence of slipping or loosening during shoots. They offer good feedback and seem \ feel better than other locks used on earlier tripods.

With regards to the head unit, the two control handles can be pushed over their respective shafts when not in use and extend to a comfortable working length when needed. When rotated they lock and unlock the tilt and pan controls smoothly with very little effort needed.

With the friction wheels set correctly (for me), the tilting and panning of the camera is very smooth throughout the shot; it starts easily (no jarring), transitions with no snags and stops just as smoothly.

The unit works well at ground level too; With all legs retracted and splayed at 88 degrees and with the central column pushed to its 90 degree position and at half length, the unit feels just as sturdy. There is with a little more play using the central column but as I tend to use a cable release when using the tripod in this configuration there is not much of an issue.

For uneven ground, the legs adjust to accommodate most required configurations and still remain stable. If the camera looks a little shaky it's time to rethink the shot.

I have not yet had chance to test the easy-link adapter but the screw fitting looks substantial and should hold the required accessories with no issue.

What's missing?

There is no hook on the central column to hold weights to further weigh the unit down during shoots but this is expected given that the column extends through the unit itself - A hook (albeit removable) may be a problem in this instance. Also, given that the unit is quite weighty itself, the hook is not missed at all.

Quick release feet - The rubber feet do a good job of keeping the unit from slipping, but as these are screwed in it would take a little time to fit spikes instead and could not be easily attempted mid-shoot.

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the pros and cons of the item under review, not provide details on how to use it. Where guidance or notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of it.

Review images \ videos and capture devices

Where photographs are provided for this review, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise. Equipment used could consist of:

Main Camera

• Sony α 580 DSLR

• 35mm f/1.8 prime lens

• 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 zoom lens

• Other lenses and equipment

Disclosure

The unit under review is mine. I bought it after reviewing a number of options from various manufacturers and visiting a number of stores to get first hand experience of them. For me, this manufacturer and model offered a good combination of quality, style and cost, with cost being one of the main drivers. After a few months use I suggested the review given my overall satisfaction with the unit.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to John and the other paragliders at Butser Hill for allowing me to take photos and videos of them while testing the stability, functions and ergonomics of the equipment.

Video footage

The following videos were taken with the Sony Alpha mounted to the tripod & head

http://youtu.be/qYLigYD1spM

http://youtu.be/mpsaNGPtagk

Spare One- The phone that talks

Ruth — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 10:11:00 GMT

Spare One- The phone that talks

A phone powered by a single double A battery without a screen…no not a mistake. You have a spare tyre in the car so what is wrong with a spare phone?

Yes you know when you run out of power as you forgot to charge, you get on the train and the socket doesn’t work. You are out of touch and stressed in this connected world. What about in winter when you get stuck in the snow and you run out of power? How do you tell your family you are safe but stuck? What about trudging in the mountains and you drop your smart phone?

Not a problem if you have a Spare One. This is a very simple phone and the best thing to do is set it up first.

First take the back off and plug in your sim card. Remove the battery cover then put the back on to the phone.

Press the end call button and hold. The phone will tell you that Spare One is turning on.

There is no screen so get ready to use your ears and not your eyes!

Given the lack of a screen you need to pre-program a few buttons. So for example dial your most frequent number and then press and hold the one. This will set up a pre-programmed number for you. You can keep going to set up the numbers you want. So no problem if your smartphone is damaged or flat and you can’t remember the number as you have pre-programmed.

If you need to use the number then just press and hold the number one and it will dial the number you pre-programmed and it will actually call out the number it is dialling.

You can of course just dial the number you want it you know the number and hit the green key to call.

Be careful though in the Spare One it needs to have a sim that is 2G (GSM). Most sims work fine but a Three Sim did not work as it only works on 3G only and not older technology. It does however support both normal and micro-sims with a micro-sim adaptor cleverlyy included inside the unit.

In terms of battery life that single AA battery will give you 10 hours talk time and can last up to 15 years on stand-by!

Now it is designed to be an emergency phone and it can call the emergency number without a Sim. The plus button in the centre is usually programmed for this and a press of two seconds will get you a call through to the emergency services.

Not just that it has a light too which may be handy for getting attention if you are in trouble and needing to attract the attention of an emergency crew.

It doesn't have a screen which is not usualy a problem but I did have one issue in that my SIM provider wanted to text me a code so I could top up online - something to be careful of but there are usually work arounds.

When you are using the spare one you will notice that the lights flash where a screen would normally be and this is what they all mean:-

1) BATTERY STATUS LED LIGHT:

• Battery level from 100% to 40% [Blinks Green]

• Battery level from 40% to 20% [Blinks Red]

• Change your battery [Blinks Red Fast]

2) ANTENNA/ NETWORK LED LIGHT

• Searching for network [Blinks Blue & Red]

• Connected to network [Blinks Blue]

• Network not found [Blinks Red]

If the Spare One beeps in use it is telling you it is running out of power.

A nice extra is that it comes supplied in a waterproof pack.

So if you are off to a festival this may just prove a handy way to stay in touch if you can manage on just calls. If it runs out just pop in a new battery and you are sorted out. No need for a charger and a socket that you just can’t find out on a muddy campsite!

(An enhanced version of this review with video appears in the Autumn/fall 2014 edition of FascinatingTech)

READERS OFFER

UK readers of FascinatingTech can get a discount off the price of a SpareOne plus free shipping (please note for shipping chose FedEx International Economy at $29.87 which will be discounted at final checkout) To get this offer please use the code FASTECH14 at checkout on www.spareone.com

Nakamichi AV1/AVP1 7.1 Decoder/Controller and Power Amp combination.

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 14:28:50 GMT

The AV1 processor and AVP1 power amp combination mark Nakamichi’s re-entrance into the AV Receiver field after a few years. The original AV1 won quite a few plaudits so how does this modern combo replacement fair.

Well in summary it is a very fine attempt let down slightly by some lack of fine detail (mitigated to some extent when using XLR connections) and well worth an audition at the price.

It’s a heavyweight. Well at least the AVP1 Power Amp is both in actual weight and power output. This thing is heavy weighing in around 32KG – definitely a 2 man carry. This actually caused us a problem with the review as our normal AV review area is up three flights of twisty stairs. We ended up unable to carry it up there. It is also a heavyweight in terms of power – at a claimed 150Watts on each of its 7 channels it really packs a punch. To be honest we never got it that loud – at 75% of maximum volume it was loud enough to shake the walls.

Connections between the AV1 and AVP1 are either by phono or balanced XLR. We highly recommend using the latter. Whilst they do add bulk, blind tests proved a real difference in perceived detail and clarity with all our listeners greatly preferring the balanced connections.

Speaker Connections are by substantail binding posts which also take bananna plugs.

We were disappointed when we first turned the combo on. The first content we played sounded harsh and muddied. It is surprising these days with the increasing use of digital stages that equipment still benefits from warming in but the Nakamichi definitely did.
In fact it took a good week before a revelation occurred. Suddenly the harshness was gone replaced with a deep power and roundness. A good if not really expansive soundstage beckoned us into 7.1 sound and an easy almost casual ability to power through music entertained. This was particularly noticeable when using a set of relatively low cost bookshelf monitor speakers in stereo mode; on most amps we have tried these on bass seems to be a struggle, very unrounded and lacking in punch, but on the AV1 combo they sounded like much more expensive speakers with an easy to listen to bass. Yes there were still some issue. The casual laid-back approach (and I know that is not a scientific term but it was the way all our reviewers described it) seems to mask a lack of dynamism – a slowness to react.

We wondered where this came from and as an experiment tried plugging the 7.1 output from another AV Processor into the AVP1 power amp – suddenly we had dynamism and tautness but still that easy power. Now the AV1 has firmware so maybe this is something Nakamichi can tweak.

So we really like the AVP1 as a power amp it may be heavy but it delivers. We also tried it directly from the outputs a high quality 7.1 PC sound card and again this was fabulous and may be worth buying on its own.

The AV1 processor comes with HDMI, digital and analogue Audio inputs but no Component or composite video which was an interesting choice. The HDMI is said to be 3D but not 4K compatible. It also supports HDMI’s audio return channel. This is also a good multi-zone controller with 3 independent zone outputs.

The controller comes with Bluetooth that supports Apt-X and testing this with an Apple Mac Book Air we could not perceive a difference between connecting over Apt-X or by cable. Except that is when it broke up and we found we could not take the Mac very far from the receiver before it did this seemed to be Apt-X specific as the other Bluetooth protocols supported didn’t have the same range issue – although they didn’t sound as good.

One major minus for the controller in the current market was the lack of any WiFi or Network support. This is very surprising seeing how well Nakamichi did this with their Air-Lilly range of speakers. I’m told network support is coming soon but have no details on what it will be or whether it will be available as an upgrade to existing owners.

It does however have a very good DAB radio which picked up and decoded a number of stations our standalone DAB radio couldn’t using the same antenna.

Control and setup was pretty simple with the on screen display and practical remote control. These are nothing special cosmetically but do the job and that is most important.

There is a microphone supplied for auto setup of speaker size and distance. This took a while but gave accurate results.

Some may prefer the richer user experience on some the Yamaha and Denon receivers but we felt in many ways the Nakamichi controls were simpler to pick up.

We did however really like the cosmetic look of the devices. They have an imposing style and are obviously well built. We also liked the dimmable illuminated logo and display. It would be a little bright in most rooms if not dimmable.

One other plus point for those interested in home automation or integrating with other equipment the controller has an RS232 port with a well-documented command structure. It also support HDMI-CEC.

Good

Very capable and gutsy Power amp – we would recommend this on its own
Transparent easy sound with easy power across the frequency range
Really good 7.1 decoding.
Easy to use
Great multi-zone connectivity
Choice of Balanced XLR connectors
Good Bluetooth connectivity – has Apt-X for cabled quality Bluetooth
Controllable through HDMI-CEC or RS232
Price – we’ve seen it mentioned as low as £900 which would be a bargain and we would have no hesitation recommended the Power-amp on its own at that price.

Not so good

Harsh out of the box – needs significant warm in
Controller is a little lacking in dynamics.
No Network Music
Apt-X is lacks range on Bluetooth
XLR connections are really needed and add bulk.
Very heavy
Price – the Nakamichi site is currently showing the price at over £2000 which is realistic but brings it in line with some more capable competition.

Conclusion
In conclusion with a few tweaks to the controller Nakamichi could have a star on its hands here. We’re not sure if they can do much about the dynamics but the power amp could certainly cope with them. We would really want to see the network music capability added but if they were to do that as well as they did in the Dragon Lilly Speakers then they would be up there with the absolute best. Pricing is critical at the moment and I couldn’t bring myself to recommend the combination at the over £2000 price currently listed but at sub £1000 I would seriously give the combo a listen.

Specification from Nakamichi (www.nakamichi.co.uk)
•Multi-signal inputs and outputs
•Support wide range ways of audio processing, PRO-LOGIC Dolby DIGITAL, DOLBY DIGITAL-EX, DTS, DTS-ES, DTS NEO:6
•Support multiple HDMI video formats
•7 channels, Output of 150W @ 8Ώ
•THD %, 8 Ohms, 20Hz-20kHz @ <0.07%
•20Hz-100kHz Frequency response
•Dimmer link, 5 levels and Off
•Standby

Quick Look - Edifier Extreme Connect

Garry Whittaker — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 23:00:35 GMT

I can't help thinking this device reminds me of another very famous portable speaker but putting that aside it is a more than capable competitor which excels its lookalike in many ways.

Despite its small size it is a full range speaker (well 190Hz~18KHz) and like most Edifier devices really packed a punch. It is not going to give you the bass quality of some of its bigger brethren in the Edifier range but it does a much better job that any speaker I've tested of its size. Its seems really transparent and rounded with very few harsh edges except when pushed really hard.

There was a little noise evident at low levels particularly when connected by Bluetooth but that is hard to avoid. Although the Signal To Noise Ratio of around 85dbA is reasonable in this size of device.

The Extreme in this versions name relates to the amount of connectivity with Bluetooth, Micro SD, USB audio and AUX (3.5mm stereo) all present. The Micro SD slot can take up to 32GB card with up to 7 folders deep of MP3 or WMA files.
Bluetooth is Version: 2 +1 EDR and supports A2DP and AVRCP with a Max range 10M or 30FT. A shame that it doesn't support aptX but the licnesing costs probably prohibit that in this price range.

Aside from the aforementioned sligh noise floor Bluetooth playback was excellent, SD playback solid but PC Audio was a revelation some Edifier magic going on there I'm sure with a vastly better experience then any of my high-end PC speakers.

The Exteme Connect is a rechargable unit and I found I could get nearly 16 hours of playback at about half the maximum volume. Very impressive.

Overall this is a very capable speaker and more than a match for its competition.

ON networks N300R

Wayne Watson — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 21:57:03 GMT

A router by any other name...

Summary

The "on networks" N300R is a cheap and functional single band (2.4Ghz) router that provides very good Wi-Fi coverage, fast speeds and a simple management interface. At it's heart it's a Netgear router with simple lines that seems at home most anywhere. The novice user can have the kit up and running in a matter of minutes and it seems to handle all traffic thrown at it so far with no problem. After four month's solid use I cannot find any real issue with it at all.

Product Details
·        Version under review                      N300R-199UKS
·        Firmware version                             V1.0.0.4_1.0.2 then V1.0.0.5_1.0.1
·        Manufacturers website                  http://www.on-networks.com/
·        Product specific site                       http://on-networks.com/products/routers/n300.aspx
·        Other Site #1                                    http://www.netgear.co.uk/about/Trademarks/

Device

Box Contents
·        N300 Router
·        Ethernet cable (cat-5)
·        Power adapter
·        Quick installation guide

Specification
·        802.11b/g/n supporting wireless 2.4GHz
·        1 WAN port & 4 LAN ports (10/100Mb/s) Autosensing
·        Power on off button
·        WPS button
·        Reset recess
·        No USB Port

Looks
It may not win any beauty pageants but I quite like it. It's a simple "bookish" design, some may say bland austere, with no external aerials or other projections. It's a bright white colour with the "on networks" logo printed on both sides. The front panel has 8 LEDs for power, wireless connectivity, modem connectivity and Ethernet connections while the back panel has sockets for the 4 downstream LAN ports (yellow) the upstream WAN port (blue) and the power lead. Apart from the power and WPS buttons and the reset hole, there is nothing else breaking up the design.

Defaults
The device comes preconfigured with a unique SSID and Network password. These, along with the Serial Number and MAC address, are printed on the underside of the device, so it's recommended that these are written down before you connect the device (I have erased these in the picture below)

Wireless Signal Strength

My router is situated on a bookcase, next to a wall window at the front of the house. As expected, wireless signal strength will depend on:
·        Placement location of the device
·        Nearby electrical signals interference
·        Number and type of connected devices
·        Background activities.

The following table shows the signal strength from various locations as measured using Wi-Fi Analyser (v 3.6.6 by Kevin Yuan) running on my Galaxy S4 - Samples taken over 30 seconds and averaged:

Installation

The installation was straight forward and pain free and followed the process shown in the accompanying quick installation guide.
·        Initialise the modem (power down up to flush any existing configuration)
·        Connect modem to router WAN port using the supplied network cable if required (I used a 1m cat-6 cable instead - Had some spare)
·        Power up router
·        Connect router to PC - Again, I used a spare cat-6 cable rather than over Wi-Fi - Just preference
·        Launch the web based configuration settings

Post installation management

Once installed, the user is invited to use the web based management console to configure and personalise the device. The process is painless and completed for me inside a minute. Once completed, I connected my other wired devices (a minute or two each), then the wireless ones (quick scan, enter passphrase, test connection).

My Setup

Upstream, I am connected to a Virgin Media 20 Mb/s line which I usually get 24hrs per day. It's rare that I get less than 15 Mb/sec.

I have tried connecting the following devices all at once - 4 Phones, (2 Android, 1 Apple, 1 Blackberry) + 3 Games consoles + 1 Media server + Main PC, Home laptop, Notebook, Work laptop (with VPN to corporate network) + iPad - The router handled it without too much effort, although streaming video from the media server AND the internet while my son was playing FIFA14 online did seem to slow down traffic somewhat; FIFA played ok with some lag and the YouTube feed started to buffer a lot after a while.

Home Setup

Speed Test with Work laptop connected to VPN (emails) + 1 console playing FIF 14, main PC running BOINC + youtube videos in background + 2 phones on internet

User Interface

The device is accessed and managed via a series of web pages covering the basic and more advanced options. Like the router itself, its clean and simple to use. Requesting HELP sometimes takes you to the online manual and some information may be considered lacking, but overall it's a usable system.

A number of the pages are accessible from various routes (connected devices can be displayed in-situ, or as a pop-up depending on which option is clicked).

Security

Following standard good practices, after a few minutes of inactivity the user has to re-authenticate to access the management pages. Unfortunately the system does tend to remember the last ID PWD entered if you allow it... The more security conscious user may want to look at disabling this (possibly a cookie set somewhere)

The device can be controlled remotely if required. This is disabled by default but can be enabled via the "Advanced Remote management" tab.

The following pages show examples of the pages and should not be considered a "how-to".

The Home screen ....

Here the user can check the basic router status, reinitialise setup the device, and use WPS setup to make the device discoverable allow other devices to connect to it ...

Home Router Status

Home EZ Setup

Home WPS Setup

The Setup Screens

Here the user can
·        Set change internet connection settings
·        Change Wifi settings (SSID broadcast, security options, passwords)
·        Enable disable port scan and DOS protection, set NAT filters
·        Enable change WMM settings, turn on bandwidth control
·        Set up QoS rules and preferences

Internet Setup

QoS

The Security Screens

Here the user can
·        set and amend site and service blocks,
·        schedules to block access (useful if your son spends too much time on FIFA and not enough on his college assignments)
·        Set up automatic alerts if a blocked site is accessed

Site Blocking
Scheduling

The Management Screens

Here the user can
·        Check on the router status reboot device Show statistics and connection status
·        Review the logs
·        View connected devices
·        Backup settings Change Password Manually check for firmware updates

Router Status

Connection Status

Statistics

Log extract

The Advanced Screens

Here the user can
·        Review change Wi-Fi settings
·        Set change Wi-Fi repeater (if being used a s a repeater)
·        Set port forwarding triggering services
·        Set static routes
·        Allow deny remote management of the device (off by default)
·        Configure UPnP services

UPnP

Advanced Wi-Fi

Upside

·        It's a cheap and very capable device
·        It does exactly what I want it to do, no more, no less.
·        It's a Netgear router - A name I trust

Downside
·        I would like to see a "single" summary page showing the connected (and discovered) devices and their statistics. At present the currently connected devices is presented on one page and the statistics presented on a pop-up making fault diagnosis a little more troublesome.
·        It's single band so no separation of traffic (but you can give some services a higher priority than others via the QoS screens)
·        On occasion my wired connections drop from 100 Mb/s to 10 Mb/s
·        I have had to reboot the device twice in the last 4 months, once as it randomly locked, and once after a firmware update caused a network hang.
·        No USB port

Review Style

This review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the router, not provide details on how to use it.   Where guidance or notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of the system.

QIk and Easy Charging - MSC QI Wireless charging Pad and adaptor for Galaxy S4

Wayne Watson — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 21:24:25 GMT

The MSC "QI" Wireless charging pad allows compatible devices to charge their batteries simply by placing the device on it. The wireless charging is comparatively quick when compared to direct (mains) charging and the charging station can be left plugged in permanently taking very little current itself. After 2 weeks usage I can't really find any fault with the device itself, but have had to change a few peripheral components.

Product Details
QI Charging Pad
Package Contents
QI charging pad
Power adapter (not included in the review model)
Wireless charger operations manual (English)

Charging Pad Specifications
Version under review Model K8 Wireless Charger
Input    5v 1.5A
Output    5v 700 to 1000 mA
Product site #1    https://www.facebook.com/MobileSolarChargers
Product site #2    https://twitter.com/mobilesolarchrg
Details taken from vendor supplied manuals and instructions, or from the device

Charging Receiver Module
Package Contents
Wireless charger receiver (instructions printed on the receiver itself)
MSC instructions for fitting S4 charging receiver + some accessory details

Charging Receiver Module Specifications
Version used   Wireless charging receiver module for (Galaxy) S4
Input    Self-adaption
Output    600 mA
Details taken from vendor supplied manuals and instructions, or from the device

Testing Software
Battery Observation Software (not under review)
Application Battery Spy
Version 1.5, revision 19 (trial version)
Supplier Vertiform Technologies
Play Link https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Vertiform+Technologies

The Components
Charging pad
The charging pad a white plastic unit 83mm wide X 153mmlong X 7mm thick. It has a charging power status LED in the bottom left corner, and a micro USB slot in the bottom edge for connecting to the now de-facto (de-rigeur?) "standard" USB style power supply (or to a PC charging hub). The unit is a bit flexible bendy but seems up to general day to day use.

The majority of the facia is covered by a rubbery black charging area stamped with the QI logo. The rubber does go some way to stopping the 'to-be-charged' device from moving around too much but is not 100% foolproof (see below).
When the charging pad is receiving power, the LED glows green. When it is charging a device, it turns blue. There is no audible power charging queue from the charging unit at any point.

Charging receiver
The S4 charging receiver in this instance was a small (47mm wide X 82mm long x 1mm thick) package of electronics wrapped up in a plastic-y shell. The only elements exposed were a bit of circuitry and the two pins that fitted neatly into the charging holes in the Galaxy S4. The bulk of the package contained the receiving coil that fitted against the S4's battery. The receiver also had a sticky area (covered by a removable film) that allowed the unit to stick to the battery meaning that it was less likely to move when fitting or removing the phones back cover.

Fitting The Charging Receiver
Some phones already come with wireless charging receivers already built into them. The Samsung Galaxy S4 does not but allows compatible wireless receiver modules to be installed by the user.

Following the "printed-on-the-receiver-itself" instructions was easy enough with the whole operation completed in about 30 seconds.
Remove the phone from any "100% genuine real faux leather" carry case you may have
Remove the back cover of the phone exposing the battery etc..
Remove the sticker from the back of the charging receiver
Line up the two contact points on the receiver with the corresponding holes in the S4
Gently press the receiver onto the battery (so the sticky area sticks to it)
Replace the cover
... Do not place the phone in the thick leather carry case*.

Connecting the wireless charger base unit
Simple enough:
Connect the plug to the USB charging cable to the charging pad, or...
Connect the USB cable between a PC and the charging pad

Charging Compatible Devices
On paper this sounds remarkably straight forward...
Put the device on the wireless charger
The device starts charging.
... but there are a few "However's" and "Gotchas".

Notifications
When the Galaxy S4 is charging wirelessly a notification is displayed and a "trill" is sounded - This is vendor specific so this may or may not occur for other brands of phone. When the phone stops charging, no notification is displayed and no sound is played.

Movement /Flex
Although quite thin, the receiving unit added to my phone did push the back cover out a little bit making it slightly convex. The upshot of this is that the phone was more prone to spinning around or being moved if the device or table it was sitting on was knocked.

The base units grippy rubber surface did help reduce slight wobbles and accidental knocks but as the back cover of the S4 is quite slippery shiny, it didn't completely remove the spinning effect. The lesson here is to make sure the phone can't be accidentally knocked.

Alignment
Charging only occurs if the receiver is lined up with the charging "element" of the base unit. If the device is not sitting squarely on the charging pad initially, charging may not take place. Experimentation showed that so long as the receiving unit was directly and completely on the charging pad, charging took place (squarely on or 90˚ to the charging unit worked best).

Once the device has been recognised and is charging the device can move around quite a bit (~30˚ from original position) and still be charged; If the device moves beyond this angle the charging "signal" is lost. If the device is rotated back round again (to within 30˚) it still may not be recognised. The safest bet is to remove the device and re-seat it.

The assumption is that the further apart the transmitter and receiver, the less "signal" found to start the charge. Replacing reseating the device on the pad returns to the strongest signal and charging restarts.

Proximity
In the notes above I mentioned "do not put the phone back in its thick leather cover". This is because the charger and receiver need to be in very close proximity to each other; If they are too far apart, the receiver cannot receive a charge. i.e.
Galaxy S4 + Standard thin S4 case cover Charges fine
Galaxy S4 + Thick leather carry case No charging possible

Experimentation by introducing sheets of A4 printer paper between base unit and phone showed:
16 sheets- charging is possible, but disconnects easily
20 sheets - Occasionally charges but mostly does not find the receiver.
24 sheets - Could not charge

It's possible that other factors are at play here -
Quality of the battery,
Seating of the receiving unit,
Power signal quality...

... but the upshot is that if you have a thick leather carry case, (for example bought to stop the phone being scratched and damaged when it falls out your shirt pocket and onto the rocky outcrop you are balancing on when you lean forward to photograph a particularly nice example of Salticus scenicus), the charger may not work.

In addition, the thin cover case that I had to hand did not have a hole in the cover for the camera phone - This was particularly aggravating as I still use my Daily Roads Voyager Dash-Cam; As my case did not have a hole for the camera, I could not fold the cover back without blocking the rear facing camera - Upshot, I have to purchase a new thin cover that does not obscure the camera when it's in its car cradle.

Charging Observations
To observer charging rates between mains powered charger and the wireless charger, I downloaded and installed Vertiform Technologies Battery Spy from the Google Play Store.

Approach
The idea was to use the application generated graphs to observe any key differences between charging via mains and wireless charging. These are observations only as I did not have the appropriate equipment or processes to conduct a formal test.
The software allowed observations of:
Battery charge level
Charge draw rates
Temperature



Testing Approach
Restart the phone
Disable Bluetooth and GPS - Keep Wireless on
No user interactions except for screen shots Record start point charge %
Record intermediate changes
Cable used in both runs was the Standard Galaxy S4 charger supplied with the phone.

On wireless charger
Phone reached 100% charge ~ 00:40 (2h 40m from 38% charge)

On mains charger
Phone reached 100% charge ~ 18:00 (1h 30 hours from 43% charge)

The green cell is just to indicate a "comparable" start point - 43% battery charge and I have tried to align "comparable" observation times

Observations
As expected, the mains charger provided a bigger charge (59.5% of base at peak) and thus charged quicker, but given the convenience of just putting the device on the charger unit it allows the device to be charged more frequently. Once charge reaches 100% the charger reduces to a trickle charge keeping the device topped up.

Conclusions
Upside
Usefulness - It does exactly what it says on the box, charge items wirelessly
Speed - Its relatively quick - charge from 50% to 100% can take less than 90 minutes
Simplicity - leave the charging unit plugged in and put any compatible device on top

Downside
Proximity - Charger and device need to be close to each other - No thick phone cases
Movement - If the device is knocked, it may stop charging
Compatibility - Not all devices can accept wireless charging - check before you buy

Review Style
This review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the item(s) under review, not provide details on how to use it.   Where notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of the items.

Rollei CarDVR-110

Garry Whittaker — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 02:26:13 GMT

Rollei have been making cameras since 1920 and this experience really shows in the image quality and low light capability of their in car camera and recorder the CarDVR-110

Designed to suction clamp to your windscreen, the small unit, which can fit in my hand, provides a forward facing camera to record everything that happens on your journey in stunning HD.

Summary
The CarDVR-110 is a very neat unit that records very high quality video at 1080p resiolution and 30fps in .mov format. These can then be played back on the unit or on your PC using either quicktime or the supplied SuperCar software.

The hardware is excellent and easy to control, with one minor foible about the power button. If you need to record your journey either for security or as a travelogue this is an excellent choice. We did have one major concern that the screen remains on whilst recording and shows the video whilst driving. We felt this was distracting and you may want to check legality before purchasing. It is a shame as otherwise it is a truly excellent device.

The Good
Compact but easy to use
Very high video and audio quality
Emergency mode allows you safeguard important video from being overwritten
Motion detect mode to record activity outside your car when parked
Collision detection mode to only record on impact
Built in GPS to record the location of video
HDMI OUT (mini connector)
Remote control supplied for playback
Great pc software

The Bad
Video is shown at all times when recording including when driving
In Motion Detection mode when engine off the device is powered by an internal battery - this seemed to last only a few hours even on full charge
Needs a MicroSD card to work of at least 8GB - this is not supplied

Detail
Our first impression of the CarDVR was poor as we could not use it out of the box. To do anything the device requires a MicroSD card of at least 8GB in siz and this is not supplied. Nor is it highlighted on the packaging as being required.

Once we sorted that issue our experience got a lot better. The unit was very easy to set up with the camera unit snapping solidly into the supplied adjustable suction mount (beware the plastic covering on the rubber suction mount - ours kept falling off the window until we found that)

Rollei recommend setting the unit up near the rear view mirror and it comes with the longest cable on a car accessory (cigarette lighter) adaptor we have ever seen to help you route it out of your way. Once plugged into the lighter socket the unit will power up and down when the ignition key is turned (there is a menu option to override this)

You can also manually power off and on pressing a button on the side of the unit. We found powering off very awkward as the unit seemed to always want to power straight back on. We usually ended up resorting to the time out after unplugging it form the socket.

Recording is by default automatic when powered on and the unit records rolling 30 second clips overwriting fromthe first once it runs ou of space. Of you want to save a recording in case of an emergncy pressing the OK button will secure the current recording and subsequent ones until you press ok again. This is quite easy to do. There are four easy to press buttons underneath the screen labelled for back, up, down and OK. The screen shows alternative meanings for these buttons depending on context but it is all pretty easy to follow.

If you don't want to worry about use interaction in the case of a collision you can set collision detect mode which will automatically save any video if the unit detects an impact - we didn't for obvious reasons actually test a collision but breaking very hard did seem to trigger this.

Once you have stopped your car and turned off the device will normally go to sleep but you do have the option to set motion detect mode which will leave the camera on powered by its built in battery and it will record any time motion occurs in front of it. We found the battery life quite limiting on this - on one particular evening we tried this we only got 2 hours elapsed before the battery fail - it had recorded about 15 minutes of motion in that time. We did do better with 4 hours elapsed and a similar amount of motion later in the week which may speak to some battery conditioning occuring.

We have to question the real usefulness of this feature as the camera is clearly on display in the car and anyone with malicious intent is likely to just steal it too.

The recording of driving when plugged inthough is truly excellent and we were really impressed by the quality at night where recording was just illuminated by the car headlights. It could often make out more than we could out the windscreen. Unfortunately this reminds us of the flaw that the video was always on - we did work round this by positioning the camera so it was obscured from the drivers vision behind the mirror.

One thing to note is that it is important to mount the unit properly and avoid it contacting things like the mirror as the video will pick up any vibrations from car. These can appear as a fairly large judder on the final video. We found mounting the unit firmly near the top of the window minimised this.

As well as recording video you can press a button to take a still picture - although we couldn't see a way to do this whilst recording.

Once you've recorded you might want to replay the video. You can do this on the device itself either viewing on the small screen or by using a cable to connect to an HDMI enabled output. We were unable to test this as a cable was not supplied with the unit and it is not a fullsize hdmi cable.

Your other option is to take the sd card out of the unit and use a suitable reader to conenct it to your pc. Now you can use the supplied SuperCar software to view the video

This is quite fun as when you tell the software to open a video file it also opens the associated GPS data file and shows you on the map where you have driven (and how fast you drove)

We liked this a lot but would like to see a better way of selecting the file you want rather than by just file name - perhaps it could read all the files in advance and let you select from a map of your journey which bit to view.

Overall the Rollei CarDVR-110 is an excelent device. It is a shame there is no way to turn off video whilst driving but this could be simply overcome by hiding the screen from the drivers view (we felt the black tape suggestion of one of our colleagues was a little extreme) One thing to also point out is that this is a pretty superb small hand held video camera.

Rollei have some great video of this camera in action on their site: http://www.rollei.com/rollei-interactive/videos/rollei-cardvr-110,v400185

Nakamichi Dragon Lily Speakers

Garry Whittaker — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 23:21:05 GMT

Anyone of a certain age will remember Nakamichi as the absolute pinnacle of Cassette deck builders. They've struggled a bit since those days but are now back with a bang and a range of really innovative audio hardware.

The Dragon Lily 2.1 speaker system is the first of those to reach us for review.

Summary

The Dragon Lily is a fabulous single box 2.1 speaker system that looks stylish in black, red or silver and sounds stunning. It is highly adaptable with a wealth of inputs including every wireless standard we can think of being covered by its Air Cast system. Highly recommended.

The good

Sounds great - the combination of some clever electronics and a thumping down facing woofer can fill a room with beautiful sound.
Looks great - someone who saw it said it would look good as an interior decorators dressing piece.
Has Bluetooth, DLNA and AirPlay- not to mention NFC for pairing
Exceptional Air Cast system makes using speaker wirelessly a real doddle
Convenient single box design include the subwoofer
Stylish and very practical touch panel control
Compact and very easy to use remote
Can be used to charge your phone
Great value for money at 239.99 GBP (RRP)

The less good

RRP is 239.99 GBP which some might consider high compared to other 2.1 speaker systems - as we said we think it is pretty good value for money
No Apt X - On a device of this quality we would have liked to have seen this advanced audio form of bluetooth implemented.
No Optical Audio input
Limited USB support (although what it has is really well done)
Its soundstage is not particualarly wide (not suprising in a single box)
The remote control is not paired with the device so if you have more than one Dragon Liliy one remote will control all of them at once.

In Detail
If there was an award for most adaptable speaker in a single box the Nakamichi Dragon Lilys would win it hands down. Other than any form of digital line in it has just about every input going.

Located on the back:

Power connector
3.5mm aux in - note this is analogue only and there is no optical in which some might see as a shame.
USB in (and charge out). This can be used to paly from a USB stick but only MP3/WMA files are supported and there is no indication in the documentation of what file structures are supported - it wouldn't play from my Lumia 920 for example.

It also can not be used as a USB audio device for a PC.

However it does support the iPhone and iPad really well - playing any audio on these devices immediately plays on the speaker. One thing to note the packaging gives the impression you need to buy a special cable to do this but in fact your normal iPhone cable will work.

It will also charge any device attached even if the speakers are playing from another source - useful when I placed one in my bedroom as part of the Spring 2014 issue's DIY multiroom audio test, as I lost the use of the power socket I nromally charge my phone in. I simply used the Dragon Lily USB port instead,

In addition the Dragon Lily supports the following:

Air Cast - Nakamichi's Wifi system which cleverly gives both

DLNA - The Digital Lifestyle network Alliance standard supported by Microsoft amongst many others
AirPlay - Apple's wireless audio standard

Air Cast is really impressive and works in two modes. When you first get the speaker it is in access point mode which basically means it sets up its own wireless network that you can connect your phone or device to and then either use DLNA or AirPlay to play to it. However if you would rather your speakers were on your own network you can use a configuration web page to set up what wifi network to connect to and then change a small switch on the back of the unit to Client mode. The Speaker will then, if you have the right settings, connect to your network and be visible there. Excellent stuff and pretty easy to follow with very good guidance in the supplied manual.

Bluetooth - A2DP and AVRCP - this latter means you can remotely control your device from the speaker. Note the lack of AptX. AptX is an emerging system for playing audio over Bluetooth at higher bandwidth than is supported by A2DP and whilst its absence is made up for by the great Air Cast system it certainly would have complemented the quality of this system.

NFC - if you have an NFC enabled device then this makes pairing to the Dragon Lily over Bluetooth a doddle. I just tapped my Nokia Lumia 920 on top of the speaker (gently of course) and I was immediately prompted to pair, one tap on the Lumia screen and it was done. Subsequently tapping on the seaker started playback immediately. It was slightly more confusing when using Sony Android phone as there was no prompt displayed but pairing had just happened.

The controls
Control for all this fabulous connectivity is either by a stylish (I think glass) touch panel on top of the speaker or a very solid feeling but small lozenge shaped remote. As you touch the controls on the touch panel very subtle and stylish white lit symbols give you feedback. The panel has controls to choose between sources, adjust the volume and the remote has all these but adds playback controls for Bluetooth and USB sources.

One other button on the remote allows you to turn the bass (I'm guessing the subwoofer) of the Dragon Lily off. From a musicality point of view i can't see why you would want to do this but I guess It might give the neighbours a rest from the pounding bass,

The sound
Which brings us on to how the Dragon Lilly sounds. The simple answer is for a single box unit pretty fabulous. There is a real clarity and transparency in the presentation. Frequency response seems really good with no noticeable transition form the pounding but very tight downward facing sub woofer to the main speakers.

Compared to speaker and amplifier combinations three or four times their cost there might be some cloudiness in the midrange but it is very minimal and you are going to need to jump up to that kind of level to get something even a little better. They are really exceptional for the money.

The only area of any dissapointment is soundstage which seems very narrow. They can fill a room and this lack of soundstage is cearly a limitation of the single box design but others (notably the B and W Zeppelin) do achieve better results.

To be honest though the sheer likeability of the sound of the speaker system makes this soundstage issue a minor point.

I should again mention my bias toward accurate reproduction and clarity over colour. If you prefer analogue to digital you might want to audition these speakers before parting with your cash. In fact we would always urge auditioning any audio equipment before parting with your cash.

The bottom line though is the Nakamichi Dragon Lily speakers need to be listened to.

Specifications from the manufacturer
Output Power 25Wx2 +50W
Total Harmonic Distortion <1% (1kHz, 1 W)
Audio Input Sensitivity/Impedence 500mV/47kOhm

proDad - Full reSpeedr Aheadr

Wayne Watson — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 21:42:38 GMT

ReSpeedr is a standalone video manipulation application from ProDAD. It's purpose is to provide a simple and effective way of speeding up and slowing down video clips and generating professional looking output.

Summary
The application is small, compact and does exactly what it says on the tin. It generates good quality output files with a very shallow learning curve; Its suitable for the beginner wanting to experiment with speed up and slow down, through to the enthusiastic amateur who wants to process numerous files.

An obvious comparison is against YouTube and its Slow Motion enhancement.
• YouTube allows for up to 1/8 slow-motion. ReSpeedr caters from much slower speed.
• YouTube slow-motion (1/8th) quality seems to be on par with ReSpeedr Frame Blending @ 1/10th speed.

o ReSpeedr Optical Flow looks superior at the same 1/10th.

• YouTube does not cater for speed-up

Review
The following review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the system, not provide details on how to use the application.

In the sample videos I used a Samsung Galaxy 4S (a common phone) with standard settings to emulate what a typical person may use.
• Resolution 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
• Video Stabilisation On
• Frames per second Variable but typically above 25fps
The footage processed includes a dog shaking water from itself after a swim. The amount of movement involved would put most software products to the test.

Start up UI
The application launches very quickly and presents a basic and functional user interface split into 4 key areas:
• Along the top - Menu functions ribbon
• On the right - Information on the video clip, Input files, Output files
• Central - Video preview replay area
• Bottom - Timeline for trimming, and setting work areas

The core functionality begins once the user loads video clip(s) by drag dropping into the preview area or using the Import Media function.

The application allows for multiple files to be opened concurrently with the limitation appearing to be on the amount of memory and processing power available to the system. With multiple files opened, they can be processed individually and then output in batch.

It's worth noting that the application drops the audio track of the video clips being processed. This makes sense it is manipulating the time flow of the video. If this was to extend to the audio track, it too would speed up or slow down.

If you wish to retain the audio (or parts of it), it has to be re-attached using another application.

On the down side:
The UI is a little untidy and some of the menu controls and labels are a little confusing: EG
• "Clear" button is easy to click on and drops ALL video clips without prompting
• Render Quality is displayed as Render Qualität
• Compression Quality has options of High (large file size) to Low (small file size) instead of

o "Compression (High - Small files, low quality) to (Low - Large files, high quality)" or
o "Quality (Low quality, small files) to (High quality, large files)"

• The help system is very basic and of varying quality

On the up side
• You soon learn to stay clear of the Clear button
• The UI is intuitive and easy to get to grips with
• The help system is enough to prod you in the right direction

Input formats
• Video: .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .mts, .m2t, .m2ts, .m2v, .avi, .wmv, .mxf, .vob, .vcd, .3gp,
• Image: .jpg, .tif, .png, .tga, .gif, .bmp, .dpx

o Not sure why these are included. Not affected by the application

Output formats
• Video: .mp4 (MPEG-4), .mov (Quicktime)

Preliminary Activities
Once a video is loaded, but prior to starting speed up down work proper, the application can be requested to "stabilize" the video.

Stabilisation
By selecting the menu option, the application will analyse the video clip, looking for user introduced movement (camera shake or tilt) and compensating for it. The system looks for 6 key characteristics and once analysed introduces the appropriate amount of "opposite-movement" to reduce the appearance of the shake.

Rolling Shutter
The application can also be requested to correct some of the errors and artefacts that "rolling shutter" devices can introduce when filming fast moving objects (skewing, foreshortening..) The rolling shutter is found typically on camera-phones, point and click cameras videos, and a number of dSLR cameras.

Using the timeline
Once a video has been loaded (and stabilised if necessary) the user is able to interact with the timeline (bottom section) to:
• Set a new start and end point (trim points) for the output video by dragging blue markers
• Set multiple speed up slow down points by selecting an area (work area) using the green markers then setting the required speed parameter by:

o Clicking on the time RIBBON to specify speed up or slow down (1/50th to X50), or
o Selecting typing a speed factor into the "Speed" box on menu bar, or
o Selecting the "Duration" button and typing how long you want that section to last

• There is no real limit to the number of sections that can be added.

In the image below:
• The original 3minute 38 second clip has been trimmed to 1 minute 51 seconds (blue section)
• A "1/6" speed section has been defined at the 66 second mark, lasting 4 seconds (original) 24 seconds (new elapsed)
• A "X 8" speed section has been added at the 79 second mark, lasting 6.9 seconds (original) 0.9 seconds (new elapsed) - Shown by the pop up

When changes are made, the output can be previewed in the main area of the window. The quality of the preview can be adjusted independently of the output rendering quality.

Slowing Down
There are a number of videos on YouTube showing ReSpeedr slowing down videos (just search for ReSpeedr). In all cases reviewed, the action is generally of large fast moving objects (BMX-er jumping off a ramp, cars on motorway, tomato into a bowl of water). The output is very clear and strong with very little ghosting.

When slowing down video, the system will generate sub-frames by one of two interpolation methods - Frame Blending or Optical Flow. By default the application will select one based on the user preferred output video quality but the user can select a method directly.

Frame Blending
For low quality outputs, but with fast calculations, the system will use Frame Blending. Here, consecutive images are compared and a cross-faded image (sub-frame) is introduced that "blends" the two images together. This is repeated for all interpolated frames.

The up side of this is speed, and in a number of test videos, this has worked pretty well.
The downside is that the chance of ghosting (video aberrations) increases as the fades are for the video frame as a whole.

Optical Flow
For a better quality video, but with a slower calculation hit, the system can perform Optical Flow analysis, where individual pixel vectors (position, direction, speed) are compared and new ones introduced into the sub-frames. Ghosting is generally reduced but may not be completely eliminated.

In both modes, the general output quality is very good even at extreme slow-downs (1/20th or more). As slow down increases, the chance of ghosting or noticeable aberration increases, and if the video includes a large number of small items (such as water droplets from a wet dog shaking itself) the images can ghost pretty badly with the transitions become much more apparent.

Speeding Up

This is fun.

The controls are identical to that of slowing down but in the testing performed, the sub-frame modes (Optical Flow and Frame Blending) appear to have no apparent effect on the video output.

This may be as expected as the system is jumping over excluding frames of the input file, but the output is neither jumpy nor jerky - the output is smooth and seamless (up to the speed rates tested).

Output
Output is either to MPEG-4 or Quicktime only. For the most part this will unlikely be an issue as these are common and good quality output formats.

Time for a cuppa ...
When being output, the system will render the new file using the quality compression values set by the user. Depending on the amount of slow-down introduced, this could run for some time. In the test videos below, the 9 second 1/2 speed video took ~ 1 minute, while the 1/10 speed took ~ 6. Subsequent runs however took quite a bit less so may be influenced by other processes running on the PC.

... and a bigger disk
In addition, output file sizes grow relative to the amount and duration of slow-down. When slowing down videos, new frames are being introduced into the video thus increasing the size of the output file. The slower the slow-down or the longer the slow-down, the larger the file size.

Test videos
A video of my dog playing in a puddle was taken on my Galaxy S4 at 1920 x 1024 x 30 fps
The first video shows a 36 second clip, unedited, just trimmed to 36 seconds. A 9 second portion of this video is then extracted and a 3 second portion of that is then slowed down. This 3 second portion is slowed down to 1/2, 1/4, 1/6, and then 1/10 speed with optical flow and frame blending.

Note: this sample clip was used to highlight the ghosting aberrations that can occur when small rapid changes are present in the input video. This is likely to be worst case. If you examine the water ripples in the pond, rather than the droplets from the dog, you can see a very smooth slow motion effect occurring.

Sample Videos
Original 36 second clip http://youtu.be/grQoCodDVfY ~130s 193 MB

9 second clip with 3 seconds slowed down
1/2 speed with Frame Blending http://youtu.be/Wx53_qFk6BQ ~60s   41 MB
1/4 Speed with Frame Blending http://youtu.be/AFtM9hsgQtw ~90s   54 MB
1/4 Speed with Optical Flow http://youtu.be/azIZ4tT5AoU ~110s   49 MB
1/6 Speed with Frame Blending http://youtu.be/PmqOsKUJDfQ ~150s   79 MB
1/6 Speed with Optical Flow http://youtu.be/2vs_IKRj0xk ~220s   63 MB
1/10 Speed with Frame Blending http://youtu.be/rxn1jpRfDKI ~320s   95MB
1/10 Speed with Optical Flow http://youtu.be/gK_Iu2FWU5g ~400s   68 MB

x6 Speed in Car http://youtu.be/UgxHlFdJFPQ ~ 300s    75MB

The last video shows an example of speed-up; I took the "left hand turn only" route from near my house to the shops, sped up 6 times.

Equipment used
• Samsung Galaxy S4    GT-I9505 (Android 4.3)
• PC Hardware :

o Handbuilt i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz,
o 8GB RAM,
o 2 x 500GB HDD,
o GeForce GT430PC
o Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

• ReSpeedr

o Version 1.0.33, 64 bit, Full version

Hints, Tips and Notes
• Removing items from the Media Bin is done by pressing [Del] key - No warnings are given
• The "Clear" function closes all videos and leaves the user with a blank UI - no warning
• The application can make use of the GPU for rendering the final video
• Where possible use a tripod to stabilise the camera - this is quicker and more efficient than using software stabilisation and is general good practice for video photography.
• Remember - Audio is stripped from the file
• Always work on a copy of the original file

proDAD - Teach a man to Defishr

Wayne Watson — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 20:58:48 GMT

Defishr is an automatic video fisheye corrector application for Windows®. Defishr is highly effective at removing the warp and perspective (compression) distortion caused by very wide angle camera lenses on GoPro-type action cameras, DSLR cameras fitted with wide angle lenses, and even mobile phones with wide angle lenses. Fisheye is most commonly introduced to video shot on these types of cameras when the camera pitches up and down, which causes the video to appear warped or bent.

Defishr is as easy to use as it is effective. To remove fisheye from a video clip, a user simply drags a video clip into the Defishr app, selects the camera model that recorded the video from a drop-down list and the fisheye distortion is instantly corrected. Want more correction options? Defishr includes a suite of manual lens correction tools to fine-tune the lens angle, zoom, even rotate the video and correct minor camera placement problems. If a user’s camera & lens combination is not in the list of camera profiles, Defishr includes an innovative camera calibrator tool, which can be used to create a custom camera profile. Corrected video is rendered and exported from Defishr in industry standard formats.

Summary
Defishr is a standalone video manipulation application from ProDAD that provides simple and effective tools to help reduce fisheye distortions introduced by wide angle lenses. The ability to select (and tailor) preset adjustments makes start up very easy, and being able to add to the list and make "on-the-fly" adjustments provides the enthusiast some welcome control. The output can include split-screen (original and adjusted output) which is VERY useful in order to check in your favourite video player (outside of the software) and make any final adjustments before the final output is generated.

Review
The following review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the system, not provide details on how to use the application.

Start up UI
The UI follows a similar layout to the other products being reviewed - Defishr, ProDrenalin, Mercalli and ReSpeedr - with a tool ribbon across the top of the UI, a video preview area in the centre, a timeline beneath it and a tool box properties window on the right hand side.

On the up side
It's a simple and effective layout with an uncluttered set of icons and buttons all separated by an appropriate amount of space. The "Additional Correction" area expands to a panel when the panel is enlarged or condenses to a button with a drop down panel if the areas shrinks. The video area and right hand properties area can be expanded contracted by the user at any time.

On the down side:
There are a few control usability differences between this and ReSpeedr ...
• In ReSpeedr you can drag and drop files into the centre panel while in Defishr you need to drag them into the Media Bin panel on the right hand side
• The Export button is in the same location but a different icon
... but nothing that detracts from the use of the software, and all suitable for the tool in use.

Input formats
The software caters for
• Video: .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .mts, .m2t, .m2ts, .m2v, .avi, .wmv, .mxf, .vob, .vcd, .3gp,
• Image: .jpg, .tif, .png, .tga, .gif, .bmp, .dpx

o Not sure why these are included. Not processed by the application

Output formats
• Video: .mp4 (MPEG-4) only

Preliminary Activities
Calibrator
If setting up a new profile (new item not on the list of preset devices lenses), it is recommended you use the Calibrator. This displays a chequer board image on the monitor that you then video using the device lens in question. Once complete, the resulting video is uploaded into the calibrator which then analyses the footage, compares it to the expected results and identifies the parameters to correct any lens distortion. The videoing of the image is done in a prescribed manner to attain the best results - See hints.

Minor issue
My Sony Alpha Camera allows video to be shot in MP4 or AVCHD, while my Samsung allows for MP4 only. When the Sony MP4 files were uploaded into the calibrator it stated that "Anamorph, S3D or Interlaced video was not supported." This was possibly due to the aspect ratio of the image.

This was circumvented by uploading an AVCHD video instead (as the "image" through the wide angle lens is the critical element, the file system used to record the image is irrelevant.

No such issues were found with the cameras AVCHD format or the Samsung S4 MP4 format and the Sony generated MP4 files loaded into the main Defishr application without any issue.

Analysing the video
During processing calibration, the software looks for key frames in the input file. The number of "good" frames is displayed on the progress message. If the chequer board slips (partially) out of view or the image is too shaky, the number of good frames reduces. Once 20 good frames are reached, a calibration profile can be set. The more good frames found, the better the calibration.
Once complete, the resulting output footage is displayed (and compared with the original), along with the calibration grid.

In Use
Loading Files
File(s) can be loaded using the Import Media button or by dragging files onto the Media bar. Files open quickly and the number of files opened seem to be dependent on the amount of memory available to your PC.

Using the timeline
As with ReSpeedr, you can use the timeline to trim the input video by dragging the start and end points across the timeline. However, you cannot zoom in or out of the time line (fine control) nor set multiple trim points. In practice this is not an issue as you can:
• Use the mouse scroll wheel to jog forward back a second at a time (fine control)
• Set one trim area, export, set another trim area, export ...

Using the preview
The tool ribbon allows you to set what appears in the preview window.
• Result - The adjusted video is displayed
• Source - The original video is displayed
• Compare - Split screen with original footage on left and adjusted footage on right is displayed

I found the split screen very useful when comparing the footage. The devices I used (Sony Alpha 580 and Samsung Galaxy S4) introduced only slight distortions and the split screen (and toggling between source adjusted) frames allowed me to tailor the parameters for a pleasing look.

Additional Corrections

If the footage needs further adjustments, the user is able to do this via a simple panel in the tool ribbon. The sections are self explanatory and can be changed via the arrows, or by typing in values. If using Result or Compare previews, the results of the adjustment can be seen immediately in the preview area.

For my Camera and wide angle lens, a zoom of 108 removed the vignette an occlusions in the corners of the image.

Saving files
Unlike ReSpeedr, the application only outputs an mp4 format file. Its good quality (even at medium setting) and doesn't take long to generate but file sizes increase accordingly
A 38 second, 1440 x 1080 x 25 fps source file took on average:
(Thee three valies shown are for Low, Medium and High quality respectively)
Export time 97 seconds, 51 seconds, 71 seconds
File Size 21 MB, 62 MB, 201 MB
Maximum YouTube Quality 144p, 1080 HD, 1080 HD

Sample Videos
Video footage has been uploaded to YouTube at the following locations:
Original Footage

3985 Base Video.MP4 http://youtu.be/JYucSG7A2_Y A580 Base Video
3986 Chase Ebony.MP4 http://youtu.be/UZ7c4Tte9jU Standard lens with movement
3987 Wide Angle 1.MP4 http://youtu.be/z2uKBpC1i04 Wide converter
3988 Wide 2 and chase.MP4 http://youtu.be/nWdbXzQEPZ8 Wide converter + movement
3989 Jerky Wide Puppy.MP4 http://youtu.be/R3_Oiar8Kkw Wide converter + movement
3992 Jerky Ground.MP4 http://youtu.be/ns_Ul_aRJ3o Wide converter + close ups
3993 Jerky Swans.MP4 http://youtu.be/n_GHQwxoPp0 Wide converter
3995 Jerky Pond.MTS http://youtu.be/Q9f0LF7rliU Wide converter
Calibration S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/bvGJaBd2QZA S4 video of Mercalli calibration
00036 Calibration.MTS http://youtu.be/eCrEw1zAPgI a580 video of Mercalli calibration
Ebony S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/BbbDK-mbKD0 Base video using Galaxy S4

Processed Footage

3987 Wide Angle 1 Defishr1 http://youtu.be/3IHdL2dnSKk Defishr
3987 Wide Angle 1 Hi http://youtu.be/us2YIND93oY Defishr - High Quality
3987 Wide Angle 1 Med http://youtu.be/rTp1_3XNRuw Defishr - Med Quality
3987 Wide Angle 1 Low http://youtu.be/RRsVMiidILg Defishr - Low Quality
3988 Wide 2 and chase Defishr http://youtu.be/znHMgT8ImQk Defishr
3992 Jerky Ground Stabilised http://youtu.be/ndVo2J-LVVE Mercalli
3993 Jerky Swans ProDrenalin http://youtu.be/38PzMpUED5Q ProDrenalin
3993 Jerky Swans Stabilised http://youtu.be/FZ04bkwKnxI Mercalli
3993 Jerky Swans Stabilised ProDren http://youtu.be/mtMD7CG9YcU Mercalli & ProDrenalin
Calibration S4 Stabilised http://youtu.be/NRGOq76yGSg Mercalli
00036 Calibration Pro http://youtu.be/rLEF7NYvmeg ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Processed01 http://youtu.be/7I6jKbKYLzU ProDrenalin

Equipment used
• Sony α 580 DSLR

o MP4 1440 x 1080 x 25 fps
o AVCHD 1920 x 1080 x 25 fps

• Sony 18mm - 55mm standard lens SAM1855
• Digital King Wide Angle Converter DSW Pro x 0.7
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 (Android 4.3)
• PC Hardware :

o Handbuilt i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz,
o 8GB RAM,
o 2 x 500GB HDD,
o GeForce GT430PC
o Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

• Defishr

o Version 1.0.59, 32 bit, Full version (1.0.61.1 available post review)

Hints, Tips and Notes
• Clearing (deleting) a source item is done immediately and with no prompt

o Click on ribbon tool [x] Clear, or select an item in the Media Bin and press [DEL]

• Use the Save Project option to retain the settings of the current session

Calibration hints
• Make sure you have enough room around your monitor to video the image from ALL angles.
• Start videoing and move the device around the monitor:

o Focussing on the centre of the chequer board
o Keeping the complete chequer board image in the viewfinder at all times
o Get in close to the monitor - Don't worry about using extreme angles

• Once complete, keep the camera perpendicular to the monitor and move it around again

o This time move horizontally until 1/2 the image is offscreen,
o Then move Up (until partially offscreen), then left, then down.

DailyRoads Voyager - Down the road...

Wayne Watson — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 20:30:50 GMT

Summary
DailyRoads Voyager is a free and versatile dash-cam application for Android based devices which has now become part of my daily driving routine; I get in the car, connect my phone, launch the app, then drive off.

Using the application with its default settings provides very good imagery and information for the novice user, while the extensive list of customisable features provides everyone the tools to tailor the system to their own personal needs.
In two recent instances I felt confident that, if issues had escalated, the captured video would have provided very useful evidence for the appropriate authorities.

Application Details
• Version under review DailyRoads Voyager v3.0
• Developers website http://www.dailyroads.com/
• Application specific site http://www.dailyroads.com/voyager.php
• Download site #1 http://www.dailyroads.com/voyager/download
• Download site #2 Google play. Search for DailyRoads Voyager

The developers website is a very useful one with areas covering support, known bugs and planned releases, and it also allows users to share videos and images with a budding community. One of the most useful features for me, however, is a page containing an explanation of what the various application permissions are and why they are required.

Launching and user interface
The application does not have any widget associated with it but like other apps it can be dragged to any location on your devices screen(s). Starting the application is quick and it then presents its main screen.

The main screen (and key interface) is clean and functional with all appropriate action buttons close to hand. The key UI areas are:
• Title bar at the top
• Video preview window taking the most of the middle section
• The key action buttons (Video audio, Photo, Files and Camera mode) on the right
• Messages area at the bottom

The devices Menu button provides quick access to
• Settings See below
• Gallery Application captured images
• About   Version details
• Issues Known bugs and links to vendors web site
• Donate Did I mention that the application is free
• Exit Leave application completely

The settings option allows the user to tailor the application to their own needs, with customisable values covering:
• GPS usage & reverse lookup of addresses
• Camera orientation, Video settings and photo settings
• Overlays and subtitles
• Background mode buttons ...
• Automation (connecting to a dock)
• File maintenance

Upside
It's functional and clean. The lions' share of the screen is left to the video preview area and the buttons are large enough to be touched when needed.
The configuration options are nicely grouped in the sub-menus, and there is enough detail in the prompts to guide a user through the various options.

Downside
When sitting in a car, the files and camera mode button may be more difficult to press, but as you should not be driving when manipulating the device this is no real issue.
The main UI preview is designed for landscape mode. This may be an issue if the placement of the phone device reduces visibility out of the windscreen. Again, not a major concern as users are encouraged to try out different locations for the device until they are happy (whilst vehicle is stationary of course.)

In Use
General summary
Users are encouraged to try out different settings until the resulting files are suitable for their need. My main purpose for the device is to capture clear details of roads, conditions and traffic in case of an accident. Others use the device in order to capture moments of their journey, or of vistas along their way (as shown in the vendors growing community website).

The application can be configured to auto launch when its plugged into a car docking station and power off when the power reaches a predetermined limit or the power is unplugged (saving battery for other uses.)

Audio can be captured alongside the imagery if required, either by default or by pressing the microphone icon on the video button. Quality is fine but does pick up all noise in the vehicle and any associated road noise.

Key Features
Foreground Background
The device can be configured to run in the foreground (showing the video preview) or run in the background.

Having the device in the foreground (showing the video) may be a distraction, especially as the system allows the device not to sleep. Foreground running also draws more power from the device. However, foreground mode can stop the device from locking thus making all the features accessible without having to wake unlock the device.

Running in the background, the user can concentrate on the driving with the system making audible queues to inform the user when a new video file is being generated and when a still image is captured. These little touches do tend to impress.

Capturing imagery
The application can be set up to record video for a predetermined amount of time, retaining it then starting a new file when the time limit expires, and to take photographs at other user determined times. This allows you to (for example) select low quality video with high quality snapshots, saving device memory.    When the video time limit expires the system saves the file in a user accessible temporary area and starts a new one. At the users convenience, they can review the videos images and either retain them or delete them the rest , saving space on the device or memory card.

The application gives video priority over static images, so if you require both, the static images are taken when the video is not being used. EG, if the video is set up to start a new file every 60 seconds, and the static images are taken every 15 seconds, you will only get the static image every 60 seconds between the times when as the video is stored and a new file is started.

I have configured my device to take medium quality (640 x 480) video, creating a new file every 5 minutes, and take high resolution still images (2048 x 1536) every 60 seconds. (As described above, in reality, the static image is taken every 5 minutes when a new video file is started, but if I pause the video for any reason, the pictures are then taken every 60 seconds). At the end of the journey I review and keep any interesting videos and images and delete the rest. The retained files can then be uploaded to another PC or to the DailyRoads web site and shared with the community.

640 x 480 video resolution is good enough for my needs and quality is usable when played back on the device or on my PC. Other users may wish to select a better quality setting, or even create their own profile using their preferred frames-per-sec, encoder, file format etc...)

If the device encounters a pre-determined shock (measured in 'g') the system can retain the video automatically; EG, if the car is involved in an accident, the video can be retained without having the user try to save it directly. Alternatively, a quick tap on the preview area will move the file to the retained area, again keeping the video from accidental removal.

The resulting files are able to be saved to the phone or a memory card and the user can access these via the in-built "files" menu item, or using another application. Temporary videos (older ones first) can be automatically removed if the pre-set file size limit is reached, or the user can move them to another location manually. Again, lots of nice little touches.

GPS overlay
The user is able to make use of the devices GPS functionality if it exists. When active, the system records positional information in a separate file. The GPS "location" can be displayed on the preview while running, and saved with the video and during playback, and with the device in portrait mode, the video image is displayed on the top half of the screen and the GPS data, with accompanying Google Map images, displayed in the bottom half. The map is not embedded within the video itself as Android does not support video overlays at present. When the imagery is uploaded to your PC, you will only see the video.

If the files are uploaded to DailyRoads, the relevant GPS data is also uploaded and the system can be displayed with both sets of data - Image and map. The user can then download the overlayed video for a charge.

Other Overlays
Users are also able to select additional information to be (a) displayed on the preview or (b) saved with the video images independently, covering:
• GPS location (if GPS is available)
• Elevation (measured by GPS, various formats)
• Speed (calculated by GPS, various formats)
• Timestamp (from the device, various formats)

Foreshortening
When video is activated the captured imagery is a little foreshortened - Things in the distance (in reality) seem closer on the video. This is especially noticeable in play back where a slow moving object suddenly speeds up as you pass it. This does not distract from the quality of the footage and may partially be related to moving to the required video resolution during recording.

Power consumption
As would be expected, the application can draw a lot of power from the device, even if it is plugged in to a charger. The amount of drain is dependent on a number of factors:
• Running in foreground or background
• Video quality
• Time of day scene changes in the video
• Static image frequency and quality
• Making use of GPS
• If the device has Bluetooth or Wifi enabled (not used by the application)
• Whether the device is plugged in to a charger.
• State of the devices battery to begin with

With Bluetooth on, Wi-Fi off, 640 x 480 video, no static images and plugged into car charger, I do see % power drop over time - A typical regular 90 mile journey sees power drop 8 to 10 percentage points. Again, I do not feel this is a big issue myself, but other users may have different power drain concerns.

Heat
On long trips, 100 miles or so, I did notice the device getting warm. It's possible that some of the heating was due to the device being close to the windscreen and therefore the due to the heater (can be chilly at 5am in the UK). It's nothing I feel overly concerned about but each users should adjust the settings to take this into account if they feel it necessary. On short trips (20 miles or so), there was no noticeable warming evident.

Output formats
• Video   MP4, 3GP
• Images   JPEG

Sample outputs files
The following files are on YouTube and should be taken as examples of the footage that can be attained using the application. The video preview was on during recording in order to compare and contrast the recording elements with the real-life situation. I would not recommend using the application in the foreground in normal use.

All driving was performed in line with the appropriate speed limits and road signs, the weather and road conditions, and within my driving ability.    The roads in the video known to me and I drive on the regularly.

640x480 am M40 Wet 1 http://youtu.be/O5vrLxlLYRc 640x480 - 5m 00s - 57 MB
640x480 am M40 Wet 2 http://youtu.be/ckL20nXaFJY 640x480 - 5m 00s - 109 MB
640x480 dark B road 4m15s http://youtu.be/DogRWi5oXkM 640x480 - 5m 00s - 55 MB
640x480 day A road 3m44s http://youtu.be/xHHQooobw68 640x480 - 4m 23s - 96 MB
640x480 pm M40 Wet 3 http://youtu.be/ldT5NXLoz4U 640x480 - 5m 00s - 55 MB
640x480 pm M40 Wet Truck http://youtu.be/FstQqsJ4WfU 640x480 - 3m 30s - 37 MB
640x480 pm wet M42 http://youtu.be/N39H7SZbIM4 640x480 - 5m 00s - 55 MB
1280x720 day A road http://youtu.be/wv1tuzuseTA 1280x720 - 2m 40s - 230 MB

Review Style
This review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the system, not provide details on how to use the application itself.   Where guidance or notes on use are provided, these are the reviewers observations at the time of review and may not necessarily represent the best, easiest, recommended or proper use of the system.

Review images videos and capture devices
Where screenshots are provided, they were taken by the reviewer unless explicitly stated otherwise. Source video and images were captured on the following devices:

Samsung Galaxy S4
• Model GT-I9505
• OS Stock Android - 4.3
• Video 1920 x 1080, stabilised, 25+ fps, MP4
• Images 4128 x 2322, stabilised, JPEG

Sony α 580 DSLR
• Video 1440 x 1080, 25 fps, MP4 or AVCHD
• Images 4912 x 3264, non-stabilised, RAW, JPG

Magix Photostory 2014 Deluxe

Peter Moore — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 00:11:44 GMT

The advent of digital photography saw a vast increase in the number of photographs taken as invariably those extra pictures are taken to ensure that we capture that elusive perfect image. In theory on downloading the pictures the best image of each scene is retained and the extras deleted. In practice for many of us there are more pressing demands on our time and the net result is a large file of images sitting on our computer that cannot be conveniently viewed. What many of us need to be able to do is to put the best images into an impressive looking slide show with the minimum of time and fuss. Magix Photostory 2014 Deluxe has a wizard that can do this automatically adding transitions and music to create an impressive slide show, all it asks from you is to select the photos to be included and to answer a few questions. However, if you have the time, Magix Photos are loaded into the media pool on the updated interface which now includes touch features from where those required can be quickly dragged to the Story board. Here the length of time that each picture is displayed can be set and images rotated if necessary.

Photostory 2014 Deluxe can of course do so much more, allowing the user to control every aspect of the slide show.

The Programme
Loading the programme from DVD was straightforward but one needs to be careful to ensure that the correct boxes are ticked as some option choices have been reversed from the norm.

The programme is straightforward to use especially if a few moments have been spent watching the quick start video provided.

Photos are loaded into the media pool on the updated interface which now includes touch features from where those required can be quickly dragged to the Story board. Here the length of time that each picture is displayed can be set and images rotated if necessary.

Switching to timeline mode displays the images as objects. Handles on the objects can be dragged to modify the display time or to fade out an image.

Images can be optimised with an extensive range of options including artistic filters and distortion effects. Dynamic camera movements can be added such as zoom and pan while picture in picture effects are easily created using one of the many supplied templates. The range of text effects should suit every need from simple scrolling titles to complex 3D animation. From the media pool music can be added to the slide show either from the extensive range supplied by Magix or from your own media files. The programme will automatically adjust the music to fit the length of the slide show.

An alternative way to use the programme is to make use of the Wizards provided. The key ones are:

The import wizard which can transfer images from cameras and storage devices directly into your slide show and includes support for all camera formats.
The Slideshow Wizard which can create a complete slideshow and requires a minimum of input from the user.

The finished slide show can be saved on your computer as a video file or burnt to DVD. It can be exported to a mobile device in a format to suit a tablet or phone or uploaded to sites such as Youtube or facebook. The new 4K Ultra HD format is supported in this version.

Conclusions
An excellent product that really does make it quick and easy to create a stunning slideshow complete with music and then export it to your favourite device. Somehow it achieves this while still allowing the professional user total control over every aspect of the slideshow. I found the product easy to use and the extensive help available including context help, a PDF Manual or from the online Magix multimedia community will rarely be needed.

It has not been possible to mention all of the features present in this product but one I particularly like as a regular traveller is the ability to create animated travel routes to include in my slideshows.

I would highly recommend this product full details of which can be found on the Magix website at
http://www.magix.com/gb/photostory-on-cd-dvd/deluxe/

proDAD -Ten degrees of Mercalli

Wayne Watson — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:55:08 GMT

Mercalli Easy, a Windows app letting consumers easily fix shaky videos posting to YouTube, Facebook, etc. While some smart phones, pocket camcorders and DSLR cameras have image stabilization for video, it’s not effective in all situations. The result is many videos captured by these devices are shaky and consumers simply put up with excessive shake in their videos because they think there is no alternative.

Summary
Mercalli Easy is an effective standalone video manipulation application from ProDAD that provides simple interface to reduce the effects of camera shake and rolling shutter effects while maintaining good quality output. The application can be used with its default settings to satisfy the novice user (or someone who wants a quick, but dramatically improved, output) while allowing the enthusiast to further refine the settings to provide a more superior output.

Review
The following review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the system, not provide details on how to use the application.

Source video was captured on two devices
A Samsung Galaxy S4 using standard settings (A popular mobile phone)
• Resolution 1920 x 1080
• Image Stabilisation On
• Frames per Second Varied, but typically above 25 FPS
• Output MP4

A Sony α 580 DSLR (A typical low-cost, high quality DSLR)
• Resolution 1440 x 1080
• Image Stabilisation N
• Frames per Second Fixed 25 fps
• Output MP4 and AVCHD

Start up UI
The UI follows a similar layout to the other products being reviewed - Defishr, ProDrenalin, Mercalli and ReSpeedr - with a tool ribbon across the top of the UI, a video preview area in the centre, a timeline beneath it and a tool box properties window on the right hand side. Mercalli also introduces a dashboard area between the video preview window and the properties window.

On the up side
Like the other products, it's a clean and simple interface with controls and functions logically grouped together. Even if the user has not experienced the other products, its intuitive and simple to use.

On the down side:
There are minor differences in standard button layouts between the ProDAD products - none of which are issues and none of which stop the application from being used.

Input formats
The software caters for
• Video: .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .mts, .m2t, .m2ts, .m2v, .avi, .wmv, .mxf, .vob, .vcd, .3gp,
• Image: .jpg, .tif, .png, .tga, .gif, .bmp, .dpx

o Not sure why these are included. Not processed by the application

Output formats
• Video: .mp4 (MPEG-4), (.mov) Quicktime

In Use
Loading Files
Like ProDAD Respeedr, file(s) can be loaded using the Import Media button or by dragging files onto the preview area. Files open quickly and the number of files opened seem to be limited to the amount of memory available to your PC.

Preliminary Activities
Analysis
Once a file is loaded it should be analysed. Here, the footage is measured frame by frame for the amount of movement (and other effects) introduced during filming. The user can select the best start point for the analysis by selecting one of three "camera types" (in reality, the sort of movement in the footage, thus the best algorithm to use to reduce the effects)
• Stabi-cam Original footage contains stabilisation required
• Glide Sideways tracking General steadying required
• Rock Steady Lots of movement Very steady output required
• Universal A good alternative start point General steadying

The amount of Panning, Rolling, Tilting and Zooming is measured and calculated and if Rolling Shutter Compensation was selected, the appropriate adjustments are included.

Results of the analysis are displayed as it runs and the duration of the analysis varies based on the type of analysis (Rock steady, Glide, Universal camera), the length of the input video and the amount of movement detected. Tests show analysis took (on average (2 runs)) ...
Original clip length 10 seconds 15 seconds 30 seconds 40 seconds
Rock Steady Camera 27 seconds 40 seconds 77 seconds 102 seconds
Glide Camera 26 seconds 39 seconds 74 seconds 99 seconds
Universal Camera 20 seconds 31 seconds 60 seconds 79 seconds

Using the timeline
As with other ProDAD products, the timeline can be used to trim the video to the appropriate area required for output. Each change of the trim points requires a re-analysis of the video.

To fine tune the start and end points of the trim area, use the mouse scroll wheel to jog forward back a second at a time (fine control). If you wish to steady multiple points of the video, set one trim area, export, set another trim area, export ... then merge the separate parts together using another product

Along with the timeline, the outputs of the current analysis are shown as various line charts superimposed on top.

The user can view these graphs by clicking on the graph indicator on the right of the timeline, and can enable disable fine tuning of these metrics using the appropriate toggle switches.

As switches are enabled, fine control areas are enabled in the properties section on the right hand properties area. All functions are appropriately described in the help system, but experimentation is recommended as each person's view of "That's just right" will be different.

Using the preview
Like Defishr, the tool ribbon allows you to set what's displayed in the preview window.
• The original source footage
• The current processed footage (manual adjustments occur in real time)
• Horizontal* compare (where original and processed footage appear side by side)
• Vertical compare* (where original footage appears above the processed footage)

Comparison layouts split the footage so half the raw footage appears in one area with the other half (processed) shows in the other.
* The labels do not match the split view (Horizontal and Vertical mixed up)

Saving files
The application outputs an mp4 format file or a QuickTime format file. As with other products, the user can select from 3 output qualities which governs the file size compression and resulting maximum resolution of the video.
Output times vary based on the quality and duration of the output file; below are examples based on 2 runs each.

The three values shown for each entry below are for Low, Medium and high quality respectively

15 second video
Export time 97 seconds 51 seconds 71 seconds
File Size 10 MB 27 MB 85 MB
Maximum YouTube Quality 144p 1080 HD 1080 HD

40 second video
Export time 105 seconds 49 seconds 65 seconds
File Size 31 MB 88 MB 271 MB
Maximum YouTube Quality 144p 1080 HD 1080 HD

Sample Videos
Video footage has been uploaded to YouTube at the following locations:
Original Footage
3985 Base Video.MP4 http://youtu.be/JYucSG7A2_Y A580 Base Video
3986 Chase Ebony.MP4 http://youtu.be/UZ7c4Tte9jU Standard lens with movement
3987 Wide Angle 1.MP4 http://youtu.be/z2uKBpC1i04 Wide converter
3988 Wide 2 and chase.MP4 http://youtu.be/nWdbXzQEPZ8 Wide converter + movement
3989 Jerky Wide Puppy.MP4 http://youtu.be/R3_Oiar8Kkw Wide converter + movement
3992 Jerky Ground.MP4 http://youtu.be/ns_Ul_aRJ3o Wide converter + close ups
3993 Jerky Swans.MP4 http://youtu.be/n_GHQwxoPp0 Wide converter
3995 Jerky Pond.MTS http://youtu.be/Q9f0LF7rliU Wide converter
Calibration S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/bvGJaBd2QZA S4 video of Mercalli calibration
00036 Calibration.MTS http://youtu.be/eCrEw1zAPgI a580 video of Mercalli calibration
Ebony S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/BbbDK-mbKD0 Base video using Galaxy S4

Processed Footage
3985 Base Video Glide High http://youtu.be/78LLE3zgnPg Mercalli
3985 Base Video Glide Low http://youtu.be/3psYK-ZucZc Mercalli
3985 Base Video Glide Med http://youtu.be/Xr7FPRNw3jU Mercalli
3985 Base Video High http://youtu.be/DTFdHsAWjR0 Mercalli
3985 Base Video Low http://youtu.be/LOwd9Qsw7Ec Mercalli
3985 Base Video Med http://youtu.be/DMafczyFmUk Mercalli
3992 Jerky Ground Stabilised http://youtu.be/ndVo2J-LVVE Mercalli
3993 Jerky Swans Stabilised http://youtu.be/FZ04bkwKnxI Mercalli
3993 Jerky Swans Stabilised ProDren http://youtu.be/mtMD7CG9YcU Mercalli & ProDrenalin
Calibration S4 Stabilised http://youtu.be/NRGOq76yGSg Mercalli

Equipment used
• Sony α 580 DSLR

o MP4 1440 x 1080 x 25 fps
o AVCHD 1920 x 1080 x 25 fps

• Sony 18mm - 55mm standard lens SAM1855
• Digital King Wide Angle Converter DSW Pro x 0.7
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 (Android 4.3)
• PC Hardware :

o Handbuilt i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz,
o 8GB RAM,
o 2 x 500GB HDD,
o GeForce GT430PC
o Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

• Mercalli Studio

o Version 3.0.256, 64 bit, Full version

proDAD - A Rush of ProDrenalin

Wayne Watson — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:13:20 GMT

ProDrenalin is a revolutionary all-in-one software application for GoPro and other action/sports camera users to significantly improve their videos by removing fisheye and perspective distortion, stabilizing, correcting rolling-shutter distortion, de-noising, colour correction, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the video – all in a single effective, affordable application with batch processing and support for 4K and 2.7K video clips. ProDrenalin can also load sequences of still images (including 4k resolution and higher) and convert them to video and optimize them; a fantastic workflow improvement for those wanting to create supersize resolution movies with higher frame rates.
GoPro and other action cameras are extremely versatile and they are becoming increasingly popular among sports enthusiasts and even video professionals. Whether shooting from an aerial platform, mounted on a helmet, bike, surfboard, watercraft, motorbike, off-road vehicle, etcetera, proDAD’s new ProDrenalin action camera enhancement software gives users the ability to quickly and easily optimize their videos prior to sharing them or bringing into a video editing application for additional editing.

Summary
ProDrenalin is a standalone application from ProDAD that brings together basic video effects and elements of Defishr and Mercalli to provide the user a simple but effective way of improving video footage from mobile phones and cameras. The video effects are limited to saturation, brightness, white balance and contrast adjustments but the stabilisation and camera adjustment features go a long way to turn badly taken footage into something a lot more pleasing to the eye. The software also allows individual static images to be processed and combined into a single output video...

Review
The following review is intended to highlight the benefits and limitations of the system, not provide details on how to use the application.
Source video was captured on two devices:

A Samsung Galaxy S4 using standard settings (A popular mobile phone)
• Resolution 1920 x 1080
• Image Stabilisation On
• Frames per Second Varied, but typically above 25 FPS
• Output   MP4

A Sony α 580 DSLR (A typical low-cost, high quality DSLR)
• Resolution 1440 x 1080
• Image Stabilisation N
• Frames per Second Fixed 25 fps
• Output   MP4 and AVCHD

Start up/UI
The UI follows a similar layout to the other products being reviewed - Defishr, ProDrenalin, Mercalli and ReSpeedr - with a multi-function tool ribbon across the top of the UI, a video preview area in the centre, a timeline beneath it and a tool box properties window on the right hand side.

Tools
The ribbon allows for:
• Fish-eye adjustment Uses Defishr profiles and allows customisation creating
• Video FX Various contrast, brightness, saturation and white balance settings
• Stabilisation Mercalli like (no customisation) and rolling shutter compensation
• Virtual Camera Allows for zoom, pan, tilt and roll adjustments

On the up side
The UI is very easy to use for the novice, and follows the common look and feel of the other ProDAD products. The Camera Profile drop-down pulls in the same information as that used in Mercalli Studio and the user can edit import settings.
The various panels within the ribbon, and the toolbox, expand to make use of the available screen space.

On the down side:
The camera profile section includes a "Create Camera Profile" button that should launch the Defishr calibration tool. Defishr was installed on my PC, (32 bit version) but the launch did not work for me. Instead the system displayed a prompt that took me to the ProDAD website.   Note that the application DID recognise Defishr profiles I created previously.

The Stabilise Video option takes effect as soon as it is clicked - No prompt - No major issue but you do need to wait while the footage is analysed (can be cancelled)

Adding sequential images to convert to a video stream is not intuitive.
• If a series of files are dragged into the preview area, they are added as individual files.
• If a series of files are lassoed selected via the Open dialogue, the last file is added first (I have seen this in other applications too)
• I used the Open dialogue and selected the items one at a time, ctrl+clicking each one in order - This seemed to work

Once the files were imported, the sequence could be jogged forward and back in the preview window 1 frame at a time, but when "played" the sequence jumped over frames - This may be due a lack of understanding on my part, but the Help system did not provide any information (the Help system in this product is poor compared to the other products.).

When the Video is played back outside of the application, all frames are visible.

Input formats
The software caters for
• Video: .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .mts, .m2t, .m2ts, .m2v, .avi, .wmv, .mxf, .vob, .vcd, .3gp,
• Image: .jpg, .tif, .png, .tga, .gif, .bmp, .dpx
                o ProDrenalin allows individual images to be streamed into a single video

Output formats
• Video: .mp4 (MPEG-4), (.mov) Quicktime

On export you have the option to de-noise the output footage - remove grain due to low-lighting etc... The amount of noise removed is selected via a drop down
• Disable
• Low
• Medium
• Strong

In Use
Loading Files
Like other ProDAD products, file(s) can be loaded using the Import Media button or by dragging files onto the preview area. Files open quickly and the number of files opened seem to be limited to the amount of memory available to your PC.
Unlike the other products, the user is able to select multiple static images (photographs) and have them combined into a single video (Eg, from a burst mode from a camera) - The output is of varying quality with all of the images appearing in the preview, but skipped over in the resulting output file.

Using the timeline
As with other ProDAD products, the timeline can be used to trim the video to the appropriate area required for output; this is accomplished by dragging the blue handles on the timeline to the appropriate location.

Adjustments Tools
If the video is shaky, Click on the Video Stabilisation box - This initiates a video analysis window and generates a general profile that eliminates the major shakes - You cannot amend or adjust settings as you can in Mercalli Studio.

Click rolling shutter compensation if required from the stabilisation section.

If the footage suffers from fisheye, select (edit or create) the appropriate profile from the Fish-Eye removal section. Items defined using DeFishr are shown here also

If the footage needs general contrast brightness adjustments, select a setting using the Video FX presets andfine tune using the Clip Adjustments toolbox

If the footage is badly aligned (tilted or rolled), you can also tilt roll the footage to a better angle using the Virtual Camera Adjustments panel.

Loading still image sequences
ProDrenalin allows the import of sequential images for generation of a video output. As mentioned in the UI section, the system needs users to select the images in the order they are to be processed - Selecting all images in a directory may not retain the order even if they are pre-ordered.

Once loaded, the images appear as a single item in the media box

The preview can be jogged forward and back using a mouse wheel and all frames are displayed, but when previewed (played) not all the images displayed . This may be due to only 13 frames being loaded and played at 25 fps, however I would expect to see a smooth playback for only 0.5 of a second instead of it jumping through 3 or 4 frames.
When the footage is played back using an external viewer, all frames are visible and plays well.

Using the preview
The video-FX panel, fish-eye removal profiles, rolling shutter compensation and virtual camera settings (zoom, pan, tilt) work in real time. The FX also allows the use to hover over an effect to preview against the current footage, while clicking applies it. Only one setting can be applied; they do not stack. There is an option to return the video to its original settings.

Like Defishr, the tool ribbon allows you to set what's displayed in the preview window.
• The original source footage
• The current processed footage (manual adjustments occur in real time)
• Horizontal compare (where original and processed footage appear side by side)
• Vertical compare (where original footage appears above the processed footage)

Saving files
The application outputs an mp4 format file or a QuickTime format file. As with other products, the user can select from 3 output qualities which governs the file size compression and resulting maximum resolution of the video. In addition, the user can select whether or not the footage is de-noised where speckles (salt-and-pepper) effects due to low lighting etc is removed. This is processor intensive but can improve the resulting footage.

Output times vary based on the quality and duration of the output file; below are examples based on 1 run each (PC quiet, no other processes consuming major resources no disk activity AV scanning)

30 second video - No de-noising
Export time (mp4) Low Quality: 64 seconds Medium: 32 seconds High: 40 seconds
File Size Low Quality: 12 MB Medium: 36 MB High: 123 MB

30 second video - Strong de-noising
Export time (mp4) Low Quality: 7m 22 seconds Medium:7m 01 seconds 7m 03 second
File Size Low Quality: 12 MB Medium:34 MB High: 111 MB

0.5 second video of 13 static images - No de-noising
Export time (mp4) Low Quality: 50 seconds Medium:33 seconds 38 seconds
File Size Low Quality: 10 MB Medium:49 MB 99 MB

Sample Videos
Video footage has been uploaded to YouTube at the following locations:
Original Footage
3985 Base Video.MP4 http://youtu.be/JYucSG7A2_Y A580 Base Video
3986 Chase Ebony.MP4 http://youtu.be/UZ7c4Tte9jU Standard lens with movement
3987 Wide Angle 1.MP4 http://youtu.be/z2uKBpC1i04 Wide converter
3988 Wide 2 and chase.MP4 http://youtu.be/nWdbXzQEPZ8 Wide converter + movement
3989 Jerky Wide Puppy.MP4 http://youtu.be/R3_Oiar8Kkw Wide converter + movement
3992 Jerky Ground.MP4 http://youtu.be/ns_Ul_aRJ3o Wide converter + close ups
3993 Jerky Swans.MP4 http://youtu.be/n_GHQwxoPp0Wide converter
3995 Jerky Pond.MTS http://youtu.be/Q9f0LF7rliU Wide converter
Calibration S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/bvGJaBd2QZA S4 video of Mercalli calibration
00036 Calibration.MTS http://youtu.be/eCrEw1zAPgI a580 video of Mercalli calibration
Ebony S4.mp4 http://youtu.be/BbbDK-mbKD0 Base video using Galaxy S4

Processed Footage

3993 Jerky Swans Stabilised ProDren http://youtu.be/mtMD7CG9YcU Mercalli & ProDrenalin
3993 Jerky Swans ProDrenalin / http://youtu.be/38PzMpUED5Q ProDrenalin
00036 Calibration Pro / http://youtu.be/rLEF7NYvmeg ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Processed01 / http://youtu.be/7I6jKbKYLzU ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Low Strong / http://youtu.be/O4TZWa6oUQU ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 High Strong / http://youtu.be/2KBXY-b7fZo ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Med Strong / http://youtu.be/LbHImRITfpo ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Low / http://youtu.be/Dig06G1hbGc ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 High / http://youtu.be/bJaQCojNd-I ProDrenalin
Ebony S4 Med / http://youtu.be/2rtVZ5cdwkw ProDrenalin
Processed Low / http://youtu.be/QkZnxmQIu68 ProDrenalin
Processed High / http://youtu.be/ESYQ--21W8M ProDrenalin
Processed Med / http://youtu.be/G0cyXgszNwo ProDrenalin

Equipment used
• Sony α 580 DSLR

o MP4 1440 x 1080 x 25 fps
o AVCHD 1920 x 1080 x 25 fps

• Sony 18mm - 55mm standard lens SAM1855
• Digital King Wide Angle Converter DSW Pro x 0.7
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 (Android 4.3)
• PC Hardware :

o Handbuilt i3-2120 @ 3.3GHz,
o 8GB RAM,
o 2 x 500GB HDD,
o GeForce GT430PC
o Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

• ProDrenalin

o Version 1.0.66, 64 bit, Full version (Version 1.0.67

Velodyne vBold - amazing Bluetooth Headphones with AptX and NFC

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 02:00:10 GMT

The vBolds are over the ear headphones with Bluetooth including AptX and NFC pairing. Whilst you will almost certainly have heard of that brand Velodyne are a relatively new name to UK audio. They are not a new company though having been for a long time probably the premiere maker of Sub-Woofers in the USA.

A lot of this review is going to be very similar to my previous vQuiet review. Indeed it appears these are the same headphones with the noise cancelling replaced by Bluetooth.
When you first connect the vBolds you will hear that SubWoofer legacy in troves particularly if you connect using AptX.

AptX is an addition to the Bluetooth standard that allows much higher bandwith for audio. It isn't supported on many devices and this is one of the first headphones I have tested with it. Using a MacBooK Air as the source and ensuring the configuration showed it was uing AptX the difference was noticeable to using standard Bluetooth audio. It was like the headphones were plugged in using a cable.

The bass from the 40mm drivers is immediately very impressive, not in an artificially boosted way like some of the bass centric headphones, but in a powerful but very natural and compelling way. These were the second headphones to ever pass one of the tests I always use which checks frequency response from 10hz up.to 200. Whilst 10hz is inaudible they showed a linear response all the way form there to 100 and beyond. Very impressive and you can hear it. Put simple if you like natural powerful bass you will love these headphones. (the first headphones to pass this test were Velodynes vQuiets)

Velodyne rate them as having a 20Hz to 23khz range and that naturalness and clarity extends throughout, with the tests showing a very linear response with minimal harmonic distortion. This means the headphones sound clean and transparent from bass through midrange and onto the highs with a shocking amount of detail.

I was also impressed that the stereo imaging was rock solid with no sense of drift between phones over the frequency range. As with the vQuiets listening to the binaural test track we have of a door being knocked on to the far left and far right had me convinced someone was actually knocking on my door and wall. The soundstage is wide and natural. At no stage did I feel closed in by these phones.

Pairing these headphones on Bluetooth is exceptionally easy and even easier if you have an NFDC enabled phone. With my Nokia Lumia 920 I was simply able to hold the phone up to the NFC area on the side of the Headphone and was immediately prompted as to whether I wanted to pair with the vBolds. This is a really nice touch.

In physical terms the vBolds have quite large ear pads making for a comfortable wear whatever your ear size, mine are sometimes compared to dumbo and often over the ear headphones are uncomfortable for long duration use. The Velodynes remained comfortable in many hours of use. The other thing I liked was that I was able to wear them comfortably with glasses on. I’m told by our smaller eared reviewers that they work very well with smaller ears too but smaller heads may be an issue as there is not much adjustment in the band.

They do fold up but even are still a significant size but I would be prepared to make an exception to make room to carry them - they are that good.

The headphones need to be charged for bluetooth use but do not draw any power when this is not being used. Power is through a Micro-USB socket and supplied USB cable which can be plugged into any USB power source such as a PC or maybe a phone charger. There is no power supply included but I agree with Velodyne that it is a reasonable assumption that most people will have some form of USB source these days.

You will have gathered as with the vQuiets I really liked these headphones and I really didn’t want to send them back. They are clear, have amazing detail, are transparent across the range with fabulous natural bass. Simply the best Bluetooth Headphones I have listened to. One slight cavat though is that the Microphone which is built in to allow you to use these as a Bluetooth extension to your phone is pretty poor and people on the other end of calls often struggled to hear me - they did sound crystal clear though.

If you can live with that - and to be honest I can - these are simply fabulous.

Edifier Luna Eclipse

Garry Whittaker — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 00:53:18 GMT

I've kept this review back a little as I was unsure I wasn't judging too much on expectations based on the fabulous Edifier Spinakers I reviewd last year.

Initially with the stunning looking Luna Eclipses I was a little disapointed but soon came to realise these speakers work best when driven hard and when you are sitting in the fairly narrow sweetspot.

I don't think the narrow sweetspot is a real issue once you realise that these speakers are really meant as desktop PC speakers although they certainly work really well when plugged into any portable audio device with the suplied 3.5mm cable.

Aside from the 3.5mm jack which is the only audio socket, they also include a rather excellent Bluetooth implementation (although it did take me a while to work out how to switch back to analogue input - hold your hand over the touch sensitive switches on the side of the speaker for a few seconds).

Bluetooth was suprisingly good despite not being Apt-X (this is a special Bluetooth standard for very high quality audio). I suspect edifiers sophisticated enhancement circuitry was doing some magic to correct standard Bluetooth's audio failing.

As with most Edifier speakers they just ooze clarity with details like fingers scraping along fret bars of keyboards being clearly picked out. The bass was a little disapoinitng at low volume levels but turn them up a bit and they really fill the room and the bass becomes deep and focusssed. Snare drums have a real snap to them.

The detail and sense of realism is shown in the low THD and SNR figures we saw.

Doing blind tests against a range of similarly speaker docks at various volumes it was noticeable that the Eclipes were constantly chosen as best when at higher volumes but fell into the crowd when played at lower volumes. I suspect the sophisticated electronics the Edifier employs may have something to do with this. I am always a little concerned about audio enhancing circuitry but the Eclipses never sounded anything less than natural although at lower volumes they lost that real edge of detail. It seems odd to say but even periods of 'silence' sounded better when the volume was slightly up. There appeared to be less background noise - slighty counterintuitive as normally when the volume goes up on a test so does the background noise. When I say turned up I am not talking uncomfortable levels - although they would certainly go very loud.

In terms of looks they are unique. Side on they look like gient pacmen but in a stylish way. In stunning Red or a glossy black they should not cause any worries to the style concious.

Overall despite initial reservations I have to say Edifier do have another winner on their hands. If you are in the market for PC Speakers or something to play your portable audio player through then you really should audition the Edifier Luna Eclipses.

iRobot Scooba 230 v iRobot Scooba 390

Ruth — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 23:32:48 GMT

So cleaning the kitchen floor or your sealed wood floors?

Still doing it the hard way with dirty water? Yes you know that bucket that you dip your mop in and out of spreading the dirty water about!

So time to modernise the way and use some clean water. There are some cheap versions that just have a damp cloth on the bottom and in all effect smear the dirt around.

So of the quality devices what should you be using?

I’d recommend taking a look at the irobot scooba range. Today I am looking at two of their range.

The scooba 230 which is the smaller more modern release
The Scooba 390 which is the bigger device but with active brushes.

The key difference aside from the size is that the 300 series Scooba has a rotating brush to give a scrubbing action whereas the 200 series has static brushes on the bottom.

Both have a detatchable battery. The batteries for the 300 series for me are charged on a separate charger and for the 200 series are charged in the device. The 300 series is a substantial battery but the 200 series is a much lighter lithium ion battery.
See pictures below:-

The blue battery is the 300 Series and the silver is the 200 Series.

Then turning to filling these up then both have separate clean and dirty tanks. In the 200 series this is a bladder inside the device and you are told to open the empty cap when filling to avoid an air bubble. You can either use the Scooba cleaning fluid or some vinegar to clean and this applies to both devices.

Warning you will be surprise how dirty the water is off your so called clean floor. The Scooba dispenses water out of the clean tank but collects this back into the dirty to tank giving you a properly clean floor.

The 300 Series has a detachable tank and a solid plastic tank rather than just a membrane. This means that it is more durable and easier to put near the tap as with the 200 Series you are putting the whole device under the tap or getting a jug to fill it.

The next difference is that the 300 series prepares the area by sweeping up the crumbs then cleaning scrubbing and then sucking up the water so you are just left with a damp floor that won’t take long to dry.

The 200 Series does not sweep for you so you need to sweep the floor first and then set the robot to run.

The best part is you can just go out and let them both to get on with the job. If you watch the random pattern you will probably think it is all a bit mad but by the time you come back the floor will be clean so the science does work.

The 300 Series has rotating scrubbing brushes whereas the 200 has static scrubbing brushes that can be unclipped for cleaning

The difference I found that is that they were both the same on a smooth floor but on a textured floor say a textured vinyl the 300 performed better at getting the dips in the floor clean.

The 300 series comes with a silent wall which is a device to stop the robot going into areas you want to block. It is simply set up and gives a signal to prevent the robot crossing the pre-set line.

The 200 Series has a shiny surface and this tends to show marks where it runs along the skirting boards. The 300 has a more practical surface and tends not to show the marks.
It is fair to say there is a significant price difference. The 230 can be picked up from the irobot site for £249 however the 390 will cost you £449.

So which should you choose? If you have textured floors then go for the 300 series as you will get better results. If your floors are smooth then the 230 should keep your floor clean just fine.

Velodyne vQuiet - fabulous noise cancelling headphones set the standard

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 23:26:50 GMT

The vQuiets are over the ear headphones that include noise cancellation technology which aims to reduce the noise of trains or planes. Their main competition in this market are Bose and whilst you will almost certainly have heard of that brand Velodyne are a relatively new name to UK audio. They are not a new company though having been for a long time probably the premiere maker of Sub-Woofers in the USA.

When you first plug in the vQuiets, using the very rugged 3.5mm cable supplied that handily can plug in to either side of the headphone, you will hear that SubWoofer legacy in troves. The bass from the 40mm drivers is immediately very impressive, not in an artificially boosted way like some of the bass centric headphones, but in a powerful but very natural and compelling way. These were the first headphones to ever pass one of the tests I always use which checks frequency response from 10hz up.to 200. Whilst 10hz is inaudible they showed a linear response all the way form there to 100 and beyond. Very impressive and you can hear it. Put simple if you like natural powerful bass you will love these headphones.

Velodyne rate them as having a 20Hz to 23khz range and that naturalness and clarity extends throughout, with the tests showing a very linear response with minimal harmonic distortion. This means the headphones sound clean and transparent from bass through midrange and onto the highs with a shocking amount of detail. Even without the noise reduction they would be a good buy.

I was also impressed that the stereo imaging was rock solid with no sense of drift between phones over the frequency range. Listening to the binaural test track we have of a door being knocked on to the far left and far right had me convinced someone was actually knocking on my door and wall. The soundstage is wide and natural. At no stage did I feel closed in by these phones.

I said noise reduction at one point earlier but I really should say cancellation as that is what these units do. They monitor in realtime the ambient noise and play counter sounds to cancel out annoying bass rumbles. I tested this on a train and it was fantastic - the continuous background rumble completely disappeared but announcements etc. were still audible - which would be a safety consideration when using them on airplane.

One nice touch here is that the left ear pad has a large button on it, in the shape of the Velodyne logo, which once pressed mutes the audio so you can hear people talking to you - simple and very effective.

One of the problems that normally occur with noise cancellation is that the process introduces a significant degradation in the audio quality of the playback medium. With the Velodynes there is only a minuscule loss of clarity and they remain eminently good to listen to. Whilst you can notice this difference when compared to having noise cancellation turned off onthe vQuiets compared to most other headphones they still sound fantastic. This makes the whole journey experience a real pleasure and it is easy to lose yourself in the music despite the location.

In physical terms the vQuiets have quite large ear pads making for a comfortable wear whatever your ear size, mine are sometimes compared to dumbo and often over the ear headphones are uncomfortable for long duration use. The Velodynes remained comfortable in many hours of use. The other thing I liked was that I was able to wear them comfortably with glasses on. I’m told by our smaller eared reviewers that they work very well with smaller ears too.

They do fold up but even are still a significant size but although they may not meet the needs of the small suitcase traveller I would be prepared to make an exception to make room to carry them - they are that good.

The noise cancellation is easy to switch on and off so they are able to be used as normal headphones when it is not needed. As previously mentioned each phone has a 3.5mm connection for the headphone lead making it very convenient to plug in regardless which side the source socket is- something which is particularly useful on aircraft where the socket is often in an armrest. As these are targeted at travellers i would have liked to have seen an airline audio convertor included but this is a small point and most airlines are moving away from these strange two pin connectors anyway.

The headphones need to be charged for noise cancellation use but do not draw any power when this is not being used. Power is through a Micro-USB socket and supplied USB cable which can be plugged into any USB power source such as a PC or maybe a phone charger. There is no power supply included but I agree with Velodyne that it is a reasonable assumption that most people will have some form of USB source these days.

You will have gathered I really liked these headphones and I really didn’t want to send them back. They are clear, have amazing detail, are transparent across the range with fabulous natural bass. As for that competition I mentioned earlier… what competition.

If you travel a lot do your ears a favour and audition the Velodyne vQuiets.

Sphero 2

Wayne Watson — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 22:45:49 GMT

Back in 2009 there was an episode of The Big Bang Theory called "The Work Song Nanocluster" where Penny started making flower shaped hair clips (barretts) called Penny Blossoms in her apartment. Sheldon and the others are soon involved and "help" in streamlining her processes and marketing them online.

Soon the question arises as to how to expand their market and Penny questions how they can make the barrettes more appealing to men. Howard quickly chirps in that they should add Bluetooth. Penny is unimpressed but Sheldon soon reassures her that Everything is better with Bluetooth.

The hamster ball v2 is here - now with Bluetooth! - Welcome to Sphero 2.0

What is it?
In essence, you are getting a ball that can zoom around at up to 7 feet per second (4.5 miles per hour), that can launch itself off ramps and catch some serious air (1 foot gaps are no problem), can swim (float) and scare the bejeezus out of 9 year old black Labradors*, all controlled via your IoS or Android devices Bluetooth connection.

You can control Sphero 2.0 by sliding your finger over a virtual control board or by drawing a path for it to follow (application dependant).

*If you are particularly evil you can chase the aforementioned Labrador from the comfort of your doorstep for up to 30 meters.... before Sphero 2.0 trundles out of range and continues to roll on down the road forcing you to jump up (nearly dropping the Nexus 10) and chase it before the oncoming Vauxhall runs it over... All the while knowing the Labrador is laughing at you behind your back - Karma.

Un-boxing

Sphero 2.0 comes in a rather nifty box reminiscent of iPhone packages with everything fitting nice and neatly together with very little wasted space.

Slide the outer box up (and listen to the soft, slow glide of the inner box easing itself out) and you are presented with:
Sphero 2.0

A green cradle, reminiscent of a golf-hole
A blue and white inductive charging station
2 green ramps (hands rub in glee already)
A box containing the charger and three socket adapters
An instruction manual - 165 pages in total, 11 in English, the rest in other languages

The device itself is slightly smaller than a cricket ball (about 75mm in diameter) but feels about as heavy. It has a hard (and tough) translucent polycarbonate shell containing LEDs, an inductive rechargeable battery, and the cyborg hamster sorry I mean motor unit. The skin has a series of raised rough lines on it that provides the device its grip as it zooms around carpet, lino, wooden floors, tarmac, but not so much on wet grass.

You can purchase little rubber jackets that help protect the device from larger knocks and drops and that also provide a bit more control when the device is in water - Yes, Sphero 2.0 can terrorise piscine and well as canine foes...

Applications
There are a number of applications available for download - At the time or writing IoS seemed to have a few more than Android.

The core application is "Sphero" where you can use the levelling-up screens to unlock more speed and more colours on the device. This is very useful as even at low speeds Sphero is a little tricky to control for the beginner.

Sphero 2.0 is also programmable using Orb Basic with Orbotix providing a simple programming language and with reference material online - For those of you of a certain age, this is reminiscent of Turtle Basic and Logo ...

Then there are the augmented reality applications where you view Sphero 2.0 through your tablet phones camera and software places rabbits, zombies or other creatures around the room. Using the same controls as above, you are then able to roll into (or avoid) them.

Sphero 2.0 software is updated over-the-air automatically - This is both good and bad - When first used it downloaded and installed two sets of updates, each requiring a restart of the application, but at least you always have the latest revision loaded.

Control and use
Sphero 2.0 needs calibration each time you use it - This is a painless process where you orientate a blue LED on the device against your controller phone tablet. Sliding your finger up the controller moves the Sphero 2.0 forward, move it to the left and the Sphero 2.0 follows suite.

Controls are intuitive but it does take a while to force yourself not to orientate yourself with Sphero or follow it around, especially if it gets knocked off course. If Sphero is not running true or if you change your orientation, you need to recalibrate it. After an hour or so though, you will be swerving Sphero in and out of table legs and jumping over Sega Mega Drive II's like a professional.

Longevity
Views are divided.

Adults who saw Sphero for the first time loved it - This included people working in the office, the office cleaner and the next door neighbour. They liked the idea, the build quality and the application software choice. After a few hours or use however the enjoyment for a 45 year old technophile waned quite a bit. It became enjoyable again when It was showed it off to other people, but as a piece of kit that is "owned", it's likely that it's going to sit in a box for quite a while.

However, the 13 year old kid next door thought it was cool piece of kit - He liked the plain driving experience (more than the augmented reality games) and wanted to get a second one so he could race his friends.

That's where I believe the fun will last. Get more than one device. Race them, set obstacle courses , jump pools of water. Show off your control prowess and knock your friends Sphero into the gutter - laugh and point at them, then shake hands and eat some jam sandwiches and drink some juice.

Black Labrador Retrievers hate Sphero 2.0.

Some handy hints

Tke note on how the components are packed into the box. An unintended bonus of this packaging is a gruelling 10 minute mental workout trying to figure how to fit everything back in again so the box closes fully.
The device does not work "out-of-the-box". Along with a three hour charging time you also need to download at least one controlling application to your phone or tablet. Bear this in mind if giving this as a present to someone.
Power off the device when not in use - Look after that 3 hour charge time investment
Be prepared to mutter / swear as the device gets knocked off course and you have to recalibrate the control on the fly - After a while this can be done very quickly (<1 second) but is a frustration when starting out.

References

Big Bang Theory reference http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1256028/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Sphero website http://www.gosphero.com/
Documentation SDKs http://orbotixinc.github.io/Sphero-Docs/

Tested against/with
Google Nexus 10
Apple iPad
Samsung Galaxy 4s

Images videos taken with
Samsung Galaxy 4s
Sony Alpha 580 (video compressed with HandBrake)

Speed : http://www.gosphero.com/sphero-2-0/
Powered with a new engine, Sphero 2.0 is capable of rolling at speeds of up to 7 feet per second. That’s 2x faster than the original Sphero. Trust us, this thing hauls

Reallusion Crazy Talk Professional version 7.2

Peter Moore — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:39:39 GMT

This is not a new product but is the latest version of the well-established Crazy Talk facial animation software.

There are two versions of crazy talk available depending on how much control you need over your animation.

The Standard version which covers all the basic functions including auto lip-sync, and the ability to edit on a timeline and the Professional version discussed here which gives the extra control refinements required by professional animators. These give advanced auto motion capability, multiple audio tracks, detailed facial movements and other features that allow more precise control over the animation. A more detailed comparison of the two versions can be found on the Reallusion website.

The package comes with video tutorials, and online a quick start guide and a detailed user’s manual which fully explains what every tab and button does. The guide and manual are extremely well written and easy to follow. Studying a few of the tutorials and the quick start guide should get one off to a flying start.

The Process

The working environment features dockable panels allowing the toolbars, content manager and timeline to be positioned according to personal preference.

Creating a basic animation was a straightforward and intuitive process.

A project is started by creating a new actor which may either be by importing an existing image, by the use of the computer webcam or alternatively one can start with one of the many supplied actors. Then it is a matter of fitting the Crazy Talk grid to the head, adjusting the settings and checking the results. A selection of teeth and eyes are available and these can be used as required to create your actor.

A handy masking tool allows the removal of the background from the imported image which can then be replaced with an alternative image or the tool could be used to change the head to another body. The audio track can either be recorded, imported from an existing file, or created using the supplied text to speech converter.

A number of talking scripts are also supplied. The audio file can be used in listen mode where the actor is animated as if responding to a spoken conversation or in talk mode when lips-sync is applied to the actor. The lips-sync can be modified manually via the Timeline.

In both modes Auto Motions are automatically generated but in Talk mode the actor’s actions will be more vigorous at the audio peaks. Having created the animation it can be further refined by setting the characters mood, and changing from the default Auto Motions that were automatically generated.

The Timeline is where the detailed animation takes place at a frame by frame level if required and this is where the professional version really shows its added capability.

Conclusions
Crazy Talk 7 Pro is an excellent piece of software allowing the user to create stunning animations in an intuitive way without any need to keep looking at the Manual. The Pro version is certainly the one for professionals who need that precise control over every detail of their animation. Be aware that Reallusion have another product in their range namely Crazy talk Animator which rather than restricting the animation to a head allows full body animation and additional features such as the ability to create a full 2-D animation. So before you rush out to buy, check out the Reallusion website to see which product is right for you.
Be warned though, this fun to use software is addictive, with the simplicity of changing features or creating different moods you can find yourself experimenting for hours .
Peter Moore

Pinnacle AndroidTV - take anywhere minature TV tuner for your Android Phone or tablet.

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:42:07 GMT

Designed for use with android Devices with USB on the go and Micro Usb ports the AndroidTV is a real small TV Tuner that plugs into that aforementioned port. It is supplied with a small telescoping aerial which plugs directly in the side, an adaptor to take a coaxial lead and a small desktop aerial that plugs into the coaxial soccer. Software comes for free from the Google Play store and you are automatically prompted to install it when you plug the device in.

The UK’s Freeview transmission system is not suited for indoor reception using portable aerials and this device was no exception getting no signal on a first scan. I couldn’t get the telescoping aerial to work even when outside but I dis have more success with the small desktop aerial. Whilst the number of channels was limited and there was some breakup of signal I ddi manage to watch the main terrestrial stations in a way that was reasonable. It certainly would be useful if I was desperate to watch says sporting event covered on one of those channels whilst I was out an about. Plugging in a roof mounted aerial gave the foul channel range (wight he exception of the HD channels) and the quality was really good, Motion was noticeably good with minimal motiion-blur.

The software is really easy to use. Once the aerial is connected for the first time it prompts you to scan for channels wit good feedback during the process. Once scanned a list of channels appears and you can choose to sort them into any order you like. The sorting has to be down manually and I would have like a sort by number or name option.

The system uses the over the air guide information to show details of what is showing now and next for each channel and if the information is available to populate the channel guide. Selecting channels to view is simply a matter of tapping on them. Once full screen you can tap on the playing video to bring up a series of options including the option to record. One pain in these options is they didn’t seem to be maintained when changing channels this could be particularly troublesome if you were hard of hearing and needed subtitles - you would have to re-switch these on every time you changed channel. Other than this though the software is pretty user friendly and certainly better than a lot of PC based TV software I’ve seen.

It is difficult to fully recommend this unit for UK portable use because the over the air digital signal is really patchy in its quality here but that is not the units fault. I suspect in Europe it would be another matter entirely and i have had reports of crystal clear clarity when used in Germany.

Having said that couple this with a 10 inch tablet and plug it into a roof mounted TV Aerial and you would have a really cool TV set for a student or child’s room even if they would have to get some exercise getting up to change the channels which might not be a bad thing.

UrbanEars Kransen - truly convenient earphones

Garry Whittaker — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:35:58 GMT

These in-ear headphones come in a variety of colours and have a very reasonable audio quality but that is not what has made them my day to day choice.

It is the shear attention to detail and convenience which has meant these have become my go to guys when out for a walk or down the gym.

What is really clever about these is the thought that has gone into how people use headphones. For example I will often need to take my headphones out to hold a conversation. With conventional phones this means either putting them away in a pocket or levying the cable dangling with inherent risks - what usually happens with me is I put them down running the other inherent risk of not picking them up. again. These phones neatly clip together allowing you to loop them behind your head when not in use - I truly love this patented feature and it makes me confident that I am unlikely to lose these headphones.

When you do want to put them away a clever tag on the cable enables the audio jack to be clipped in forming a loop round the cable locking it in place. No cable tangles. Not that the cable is prone to tangles - the material it is made of seems to inherently avoid such things. They also stay in your ear very well with as light twist to fit approach. I’ve never been able to dislodge them down the gym.

Of course this convenience would not be useful if the phones were not pleasant to listen to. These are far more than just pleasant putting a whole lot of in-ear phones in their price range to shame and they certainly blow most stock earphones issued with mobile phones out the water. There is some small loss of detail in the midrange compared to high-end competitors and their bass response is not going to blow you away but there is an eminent musicality to them which just makes them a joy to listen to.

Soundstage is good and is clearly focussed across the frequency range with no drift form ear to ear. Whilst the soundstage is not as extensive as you would get with an over the ear pair it is certainly acceptable for day to day listening.

Build quality was excellent and I had no sense that the phones themselves were introducing any form of vibration or distortion. Indeed distortion of any kind was at a minimum which added to the clarity especially in the highs - these could never be reproached for being tinny.

Comfort was good as well and these are no problem to wear for extensive periods.

Comfortable, uniquely convenient with really good sound quality and they won’t break the bank to replace should you lose them - what more could you want in a day to day headphone pair.