Fresh Reviews

Motorola TX500 Bluetooth…

The Motorola TX500 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone is extremely easy to pair with a smart phone and has…

Bose SoundLink II Mobile…

The Bose SoundLink II mobile Bluetooth speaker sounds very good, is extremely easy to use and feels…

The KitchenAid 5-Speed…

At 3 am in the morning during an all night edit session nothing hits the spot like a good smoothie.   The…

Sanyo eneloop Rechargeable AA…

Sanyo eneloop AA rechargeable batteries are good a place to start when investing in rechargeable batteries.…

HitFilm 2 Ultimate Review

HitFilm 2 Ultimate is an easy to use effects and compositing tool that offers outstanding value under $400.…

iPad mini Versus Kindle Fire…

The Kindle Fire HD is an appealing product and a great choice if you consider it a media consumption device…

The Roku 2 XS Review

The Roku 2 XS is a great gift for anyone with a high speed Internet connection that wants to get into…
Production and Design
HitFilm 2 Ultimate Review PDF E-mail
Production and Design
Thursday, 31 January 2013 23:39





















HitFilm 2 Ultimate is an easy to use effects and compositing tool that offers outstanding value under $400. With the latest release just yesterday of Vegas Pro 12 being more stable we’re looking forward to integrating HitFilm 2 Ultimate into the work flow.

We’ve been primarily testing HitFilm 2 Ultimate in standalone mode and it takes a little getting used to the XML GUI. We’ve certainly grown accustomed to more traditional Windows programs. However, once you start to play with the software a bit and understand the flow it quickly becomes addictive.

HitFilm 2 Ultimate has a lot of useful presets and offers infinite ways to tweak and create new ones from scratch. Be prepared to spend hours and hours experimenting and playing. It’s fun.

HitFilm 2 Ultimate offers a decent NLE workflow making it possible to complete an entire project without round-tripping to other apps. However, this is better suited toward tweaking an edit versus building it from scratch. Hang on to your preferred NLE of choice.

We were hoping that HitFilm 2 Ultimate would allow us to export a codec optimized for editing such as AVID DNxHD but the software currently has limited export options. In spite of that, HitFilm 2 Ultimate offers a very good value compare to other popular effects software and is certainly worth a download to test for you.

Visit HitFilm for all the specs and to download a trial version.
 
Glyph Technologies GT 062E External RAID Review PDF E-mail
Production and Design
Thursday, 22 November 2012 08:17



















The 6TB version of the Glyph GT 062E external RAID can be configured as JBOD, RAID 0 or RAID 1. We tested it in both the RAID 0 and the RAID 1 configurations and were generally pleased with the performance.

Glyph Technologies created a solid box with an internal power supply to house the two internal 7200 RPM SATA drives. The GT 062E starts up quickly and creates just a bit of white noise. We placed it on the desk in the edit suite and it was barely audible. Placing it a few feet away or in a rack and the sound of the GT 062E will be masked by other equipment in the room.

The case includes a cooling fan that sucks in air through the nicely designed vents in front and out the back of the unit. After prolonged periods of use the case never appeared to heat up much. This is the opposite of passive designs that rely on the case as a heat sink. Over time this could become a noise issue once the fan starts to fail but we like the peace of mind knowing the drives are being ventilated properly.

The Glyph GT 062E performs best in RAID 0 mode. We primarily used it with Avid DNxHD files and native P2 formats such as AVC Intra-100. However, in RAID 0 mode the GT 062E takes much longer to be recognized by the system when first connected. Whether using USB, eSATA or Firewire modes the RAID 0 configuration can cause some frustration. We connected it to a couple of workstations with the Sonnet E4P card installed and experience the same slow initial behavior. When we change the configuration to RAID 1 we didn’t experience any strange delays in the drive being recognized and ready for use.

We don’t find the Glyph Manager software very friendly or useful. It reports the status of the drive but doesn’t seem to have much functionality other than changing the RAID configuration.

We’d primarily use the Glyph GT 062E as a backup and transfer drive between sessions and vendors versus an online array. It’s great to have a rugged, portable drive set in RAID 1 with nearly 3TB of usable capacity and a built in power supply. Firewire 400/800, eSATA and USB 2.0 offer plenty of connectivity although USB 2.0 is really a turtle for large amounts of data. USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt should be included in next gen products to keep pace.

Visit Glyph Technologies for more information and all the specs on teh GT 062E

 
Lowepro Pro Roller x300 Case Review PDF E-mail
Production and Design
Sunday, 11 November 2012 22:08



































The Lowepro Pro Roller x300 Case can accommodate a couple of DSLRs with grips and up to 10 lenses and accessories. It includes a nicely padded interior that’s fully customizable and removable. The interior pops out and can be worn like a back pack. However, when we filled it with gear we much preferred to roll it around.

The x300 is made of a touch nylon similar to what you would find on more expensive travel gear and it’s water resistant if you get caught in less than ideal conditions. The wheels are touch enough for most conditions however outside on rough terrain, cobblestone paths…etc., we found ourselves carrying the entire case versus risking breaking a wheel.

Fully packed with gear the x300 is easy to maneuver and lift into the overhead bin of an airplane. It sized just about right and everything can be packed nice and tight so you don’t feel like there’s anything shifting around inside the case.

There is a Lock and Go System that is a retractable cable connecting a TSA approved Travel Sentry lock that secures all components and pockets. There is a Hideaway Tripod Mount that secures a tripod two ways at the front or side of the case. Perhaps these features are useful to some but we’d mostly use this case as a carry-on and we usually have a human to carry the tripod. We also, didn’t use the prop foot too much. The 30-45° angle wasn’t a big time save and we generally just laid the case flat when moving gear in and out.

Overall, the Pro Roller x300 functions like a really good camera case on wheels. When you break it down to the fundamentals the wheels are what we would like to see improved. It would have been such a great feeling to wheel the case down that gobble stone street without fear versus picking it up and carrying it. Not a big deal, but more important to us than a tripod mount or the prop foot. Still the Lowepro x300 is a good choice for the DSLR shooter that needs a quality carry-on for travel.

Visit Lowepro for more information and all the specs on the x300 and other rolling cases.


 
More Articles...
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 19
Loading

Technology and Toys

The SSD Video Production…

Default Image
We recently produced this video for SanDisk which highlights the use of SSDs in the…

The SSD Avalanche from…

The LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt SSD drive offers 250GB of solid state storage in…

The Move to 4K in Both Low…

GoPro is one of the hottest brands on the planet right now. The Hero3 was attracting…

2013 - Bring it On!

2013 should be a great year for mobile computing, smart consumer electronics, remote…

How to Install an SSD Drive…

Default Image
If you've been thinking about upgrading your system to an SSD there's never been a…

Health and Home

The KitchenAid 5-Speed…

At 3 am in the morning during an all night edit session nothing hits the spot like a…

Happy Holidays

Default Image
Travel safe this holiday season and enjoy your loved ones!

Nike Free Run +3 Review

We love these running shoes. They’re lightweight, super comfortable and have good…

Nest Learning Thermostat 2.0…

The Nest thermostat provides an incredibly thoughtful design with a friendly analog…

Fitbit One Review

The Fitbit One is a great way to monitor your activity, eating habits and sleep…

Fun and Entertainment

Lazy Sunday 2

Default Image
Another instant classic and this time featuring a dubstep breakdown. Nice.

SanDisk Extreme SSD: Love At…

Default Image
You know you want this...Gamers are pumped about this.  Anyone that wants superfast…

Party Rock Anthem - Literal…

Default Image
The literal translation series of videos is good stuff and this is really funny. Yes…

Earth Time Lapse Sequence…

Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by Ron Garan, Satoshi Furukawa and the crew…