Honest Technology VHS to DVD 4.0
If you're like me, you have a ton of old VHS tapes lying around that you'd like to convert to DVDs, if for no other reason that the aging VCR (you know, that strange box with the flashing "12:00") you paid a fortune for today just sits around taking up space. Enter Honest Tech's (you gotta love that name!) VHS to DVD 4.0, a tiny box and associated software that bridges the composite video and stereo audio outputs of your VHS deck (caution, though, the required RCA cables are not included) to USB, and provides the necessary digitization and even limited optional editing capabilities. This product is also useful for capturing video from older camcorders that lack a digital connection, as well as audio from equally-aging cassettes, LP records, and the like.
Installation took a while -- we had to install the product (with a few confusing pauses that looked like hangs), along with Windows Media Runtime and Apple QuickTime for Windows, and then (gulp) reboot, install an update for QuickTime, enter a lengthy product key (irritating for software that requires particular hardware), and then manually install an update, which we were informed of by the application (why not install it automatically, we ask).
Finally, ready for a little capture and burn, we used the product's Easy Wizard Mode to digitize a VHS tape of a few precious memories (we'd never dream of testing this with copyrighted material, we want all law enforcement officials to know). The app fired right up, and the preview window was filled with the glorious days of yesteryear. The only tricky part was selecting the length of recording (you need to know this so the app can optimize for quality), but we were off and running quickly. The whole process can take a while, depending upon the length of the source material and speed of your burner, but it's completely automated so it won't waste any of your time. And the result -- priceless! - with quality as good as the original VHS tape. Except for a little installation and application clunkiness, this product is perfect for most conversion applications, and highly recommended.
Cool Yule Rating: 4 starsPrice: $79.99Product Web site.Reviewed by Craig Mathias ~~
PhotoLink one-touch scanner, by Pandigital
Let's say that an old friend from high school has suddenly found some old photos of you and have posted them to Facebook. It's time for some revenge!
But then you discover that you have a huge box of photos sitting somewhere, or tucked away in some photo album. You'd like to digitize them and share or reprint them, but using a flatbed scanner just seems like a ton of time and hassle. Most likely, the photos will sit just where they are.
The Pandigital PhotoLink one-touch scanner aims to help improve this process. Without needing a computer connection, you can scan older photo prints and save them directly to a memory card. The system includes a plastic sheet feeder that you put your photo in, and then you feed it into the unit like one of those dollar bill feeders on a vending machine. Unlike your dollar bill, the photo comes out the other end, but then the image is saved to the SD card connected to the device. Images are scanned at 1800 x 1200 JPEG format. Memory card support includes xD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro in addition to SD.
After your box of photos are scanned (or if you've filled up the SD card), you can then plug the card into a computer for editing / posting / sharing. The unit also connects directly to a computer if you want to skip the SD card part.The photo-scanning process is definitely sped up versus using a flatbed scanner. You still have to go through the uploading and editing process, but at least you can quickly get through a bunch of photos faster on the beginning side.
Cool Yule rating: 4 starsPrice: $100Product Web siteReviewed by Keith Shaw~~
Fotobox Plus by Honest Tech
This tiny device includes a memory card reader (SD, Mini SD, MicroSD, MMC, MMC Plus) and a USB port to connect to your PC. When connected, the Fotobox software application opens, which then lets you create photo slide shows from photos stored on the card.
The software includes an "easy" and "advanced" mode, which allows for more customization of your slide shows. You can choose different themes with backgrounds, music and styles. Pictures can be edited, cropped, rotated; red-eye removal and other enhancements can also be done.
Once your slide show is completed, you can burn the show onto a DVD, publish for viewing on a Sony PSP or video iPod, or you can save it for uploading to Facebook and YouTube.
The device is easy to use -- I plugged in an SD card and then plugged in the device to my system, and the software automatically imported photos and created a slide show. The editing and enhancement tools are easy to use, although once you make an adjustment you have to save the photo to the PC's hard drive.
I'd also recommend picking and choosing the photos you want to use beforehand, as I tend to take lots of photos with my digital camera and don't edit them. This led to a lot of bad photos ending up being imported, which takes time to delete them from the slide show. And if I was going to be putting photos on the PC to begin with, I could just use a different photo editor or video editor to create the slide show (like the program Muvee, to name one).
Still, it's a handy device -- if you have some patience, you can make some pretty good slide shows and then share them with friends and family.Cool Yule rating: 3 starsPrice: $80Product Web siteReviewed by Keith Shaw~~
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