TechSmec.com

Creative Produces Uber Webcam

Creative has announced what they call a breakthrough in webcam design and TechSmec.com tends to agree with them.

Featuring MaxView, a combination of motorized Pan-n-Tilt and a ViewPlus 76-degree wide-angle lens, in addition to Smart Face Tracking, the WebCam Live! Motion quietly and smoothly follows user movements during video instant messaging. Capable of capturing high-resolution panoramic images with one easy click, the WebCam Live! Motion (fed up with that exclamation mark yet?) is now available for only $149.99 at www.us.creative.com.

The WebCam Live! Motion auto Pan-n-Tilt feature gives users the freedom of movement during video instant messaging with friends, family or business colleagues. The WebCam Live! Motion automatically follows users’ natural movements during conversations, so they don’t have to continually make manual adjustments to stay centered in the field of view. Users can select Smart Face Tracking so the WebCam Live! Motion follows the movements of one person, or they can leave it off to include the whole group. Ideal for broadband users, the Creative WebCam Live! Motion incorporates true high-speed USB 2.0 for delivering crisp, high-resolution video at up to twice the video frame rates of USB 1.1 cameras.

“We previewed the WebCam Live! Motion to the media in New York and San Francisco, and the journalists got really excited about how our WebCam physically moves to follow motion during video instant messaging, and how it quietly spans the room to take panoramic pictures,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative. “And as much as we heard about the great performance, we also heard a lot of comments about how cool the WebCam Live! Motion looks.”

The WebCam Live! Motion features a high-quality CCD sensor, and it delivers video at VGA 640×480 quality and software-enhanced still images of up to 1.3 megapixels. An ultra-smooth, exceptionally quiet precision Pan-N-Tilt motor enables the camera to deliver fluid video without distracting motor noise.

The WebCam Live! Motion looks great on any desktop or notebook monitor. Available in either pearl white or charcoal gray with a luminescent blue glowing ring on each side, the WebCam Live! Motion commands attention as it sits atop any desktop or notebook PC. The patent-pending Multi-Attach base easily and securely attaches the webcam to any flat panel, CRT monitor or notebook display for optimal positioning during video instant messaging.

Add comment September 14th, 2005

Sony Predicts Demise of HD-DVD

Despite the ongoing war of words between Sony and Toshiba over the next-generation optical storage format, the argument has, up until now, focussed on the merits of the two competing standards, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

Noticeably, neither camp has made any predictions as to the outcome of a head-to-head fight in the marketplace, save only to agree that it would not be best for consumers. That’s all changed with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president, Benjamin Feingold, confidently predicting a victory for Blu-Ray over HD-DVD within 12 months of hitting the shops.

“I think in 12 months it’s going to be clear,” he said. “The combination of Blu-Ray and PlayStation 3 machines is going to overwhelm any HD-DVD presence and all studios will have to support Blu-Ray.”

For what it’s worth, TechSmec.com has to agree. Only Microsoft stepping into the fight and adding HD-DVD to the Xbox 360 can save the lower-capacity format now.

Add comment September 14th, 2005