Techie Reviews

Do you have boxes and boxes of family videos on VHS tape that you would like to transfer to DVD without paying a fortune? If so, then the DVD Maker USB 2.0 may be the product you are looking for – just remember that you usually get what you pay for, so you may have to adjust your expectations. Following is my review of :

Having two college-aged kids, I though it would be nice to take all of the VHS tapes that had accumulated over the years, from infancy, preschool, dance recitals, sports, high-school events, family holidays, etc., and transfer them to DVD for the kids (and myself) to keep with their treasured mementos. After doing some online research, I found the DVD Maker USB 2.0 to be the product with the most positive reviews, the least amount of negative feedback and the most reasonably priced (between $45-$60).

The box contained:
1 capture device – USB 2.0 Plug-and-Play Interface
1 “Quick Start Guide”
1 CD-ROM with driver, utilities and basic user manual
1 CD-Rom with Cyberlink PowerDirector v5 software and PowerProducer v4 software

The Quick Start Guide amounted to about ¼ of a page in English – the rest of the sheet was translated into other languages. It all seemed simple enough, so I really wasn’t worried. I installed the software and the driver utilities CDs and proceed to plug the capture device into my computer and VCR.

On one end of the capture device are cords for your source, a yellow video (composite) connection, audio (red and white) connection and an s-video connection. On the other end are the cords to connect to your computer, a USB 2.0 plug and Audio Out (to be plugged into your line-in port for sound).

Problem – I have an old VCR which only has one audio port (white) and this device has two (red and white). I searched for a splitter without any luck, so I had to borrow a “newer” VCR from a friend in order to make the sound work.

After wasting too much time trying to solve that problem, I had it working. Note - I was able to view my small cassettes directly from the video camera without any problem, but for the really old, large VHS tapes, I needed the VCR.

The PowerProducer program contains several options, one allows you to transfer your movie “Right-to-Disc” and another option, “Produce Movie Disc,” allows you to make a more customized DVD, like breaking your movie up into snippets or chapters. There are other options for managing and editing your videos. I was never able to get the “Right-to-Disc” option to work – after about 30 minutes into the movie, the program would freeze up and I would have to reboot the computer and start over. It became very frustrating and was not happy with the lack of product support available.

I ended up using the “Produce Movie Disc” option for everything, which isn’t all bad, as the end result turns out to be a better presentation and easier deal with when viewing, since you can select “chapters’ to view individually if you don’t want to watch the entire movie. It was nice to cut out all of the dead space and lousy takes from the original tape.

I did not use the PowerDirector software much, because whenever I tried to do something with it, I was prompted to upgrade - it seems these programs are the lite version. It would have been helpful if there were manuals included with the software instead of having to hunt for one online.

As for the quality of the recorded DVDs, they turned out to be fairly decent after tweaking the sound settings on my computer and keeping in mind the quality of the original videos. The more recent tapes came out perfect, while the old, grainy tapes came out as new, grainy, DVDs. In the end, I am just grateful for the ability to copy the movies to a format that allows my family to continue to enjoy old times.

Being a fan of Bose products - owning both the Lifestyle and 3-2-1 Home Theatre Systems, Wave Radio/CD, Outdoor Speakers and Car Stereo System - you might expect to read a rave review here of their in-ear headphones. While it is positive overall, you won’t find me gushing over these, earbud-styled headphones. Inside the box you will find: In-ear headphones (of course), 3 silicone tips (S, M and L), clip and lanyard (for additional in-ear stability) and a carrying case. Price tag: $99.

The inclusion of the clip and lanyard, along with the noted “additional in-ear stability” should have been a clue that they may not be the best headphones for activity - one of the main reasons for purchasing a new pair of earbuds. I have been searching for a pair of quality headphones that stay put when doing general, walking-around type tasks - nothing overly strenuous like running or aerobics.

It came with the medium silicone tips installed and they didn’t feel right, so I switched to the small size which seemed to fit better. The silicone tips take some getting used to - it often feels like they are going to fall out - and unfortunately for me, the left one does occasionally slip out. I tried the lanyard and clip, however I found it to be too awkward and cumbersome.

As for the sound, there are absolutely no complaints here! I will not go into too much detail because this is where opinions can vary greatly, as everyone “listens” differently. Much like wine tasting, there will always be conflicting viewpoints as to quality, etc. I will say that I was immediately impressed by the sound quality, and only had to make a minor adjustment to lower the bass (probably because it was overly adjusted for the old earbuds). Now, if you are looking for noise-canceling headphones, these are not the ones (nor do they claim to be) - that is another Bose product.

The carrying case leaves something to be desired - like a piece to keep the headphones from getting caught in the zipper. I probably won’t use the case much anyway, but it would have been nice.

Since I am happy with the sound quality and will probably use them a lot while sitting at the computer, I will hold on to these headphones - however I will continue to search for quality earphones that will stay inside my ears, no matter what I am doing!

Ok, so I had Devo on the brain! Anyway, for some Christmas gifts, I bought a laptop Skinit for a geeky friend of mine (meant that in a good way, of course), and another one for my kid’s hand-me-down iPod, to give it a fresh look. Both gift recipients were very happy with their skins, and neither had any problem applying their Skinit - I watched them do it in just a few minutes. The laptop skin was not the same team as the SkinIt New York Rangers Laptop Skin shown in the picture below, but it gives you an idea of what it should look like.

The material is a 3M product that provides a thin, but tough protective layer to your techie gear, preventing surface nicks and scratches. You can skin your computer, laptop, cell phone, mp3 player, printer, router, etc. - there are even skins for that Guitar Hero guitar you got for Christmas! There are an endless array of designs to choose from - Sports - NFL, Collegiate, MLB, Music, Art, Cartoons - or design your own.

They are custom fit to your laptop - and for you Mac users, the skin even has the Apple logo cut out to perfectly match that glowing piece of fruit on your screen’s lid! As with the laptops, the skins for the iPods are custom fit for each generation of the player - the one we bought was for the 3rd generation iPod with the 4 round buttons. It looks like the SkinIt Florida Panthers Ipod Skin pictured below, just with the 4 holes cut out.

There are easy-to-follow instructions that come with your Skinit - if you take the time to read them and follow their advice, you will have no problems. Just remember that when installing, you need to take it slow in order to avoid bubbles. If you do happen to get a few (as we did with the iPod) they work out easily by gently pushing the bubble towards the end of the skin.