LG HD-DVD ROM / Blu-Ray Burner combo

A review on the new LG combo drive. Seems it made a good impression, but there's definitely a catch. You'll need to save up almost $1200 for this little gem.

You'd better also save a few dollars for Blu-Ray blanks, as they run about $10 to $20 per disc right now. You can get up to 50GB per dual layer disc, so when you look at this just from the data backup angle alone, it seems a bit more attractive. Inevitably, the prices on such drives will come down, but it might take a while.

DIY Camcorder

Pretty darn clever idea here. A home brewed camcorder! It actually looks pretty darn nice in the photos. While it may lack some of the features of factory built rigs, it comes in at a fraction of the price.

Interestingly, this sort of modular design is the new trend in higher end cameras. Take the Red One camera for example. The camera itself is just the imaging unit, and it too can live on a frame with a deck, or hard drive capture system. It's just one example of a commercial modular system that we'll be seeing much more of in the future.

A handy monopod

This is actually my second one of these, a Manfrotto 3245 monopod. My first was purchased a couple of years ago, but sadly was left behind at a shoot, and never seen again. Apparently, someone ended up with a really nice monopod.

Of course I did have a second `pod to use, but it just wasn't the same. Personally, I don't see how other event videographers do without one. The real difference with the 3245, is the trigger. It's a three section `pod, but the trigger allows you to raise and lower the third section on the fly. Release the trigger, and it locks in place. The remaining two sections are a more common twist lock style. A clever dual threaded screw allows either direct camera mount, or the use of a pan head.

Blockbuster Video favors Blu-Ray over HD-DVD

You may have seen this posted in numerous tech blogs around the `sphere, but it looks to be confirmed. Blockbuster will continue to offer HD-DVD via it's online service. Looks like this might be an important battle for Blu-Ray.

I believe a pretty good argument can be made for either format. HD-DVD has wider player support, Blu-Ray has the potential of more storage capacity, and so on. The real issue has been the confusion of two competing formats for HD delivery. As with other past format battles, it's caused many buyers to wait for the dust to settle. There's now more than one dual format player out there, but none support all features of both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

Frankly, I believe the sooner one format wins, the better. Especially from the perspective of one who produces video, the cost of two separate burners, and two different types of media is an unwelcome burden.

From a podcast to a text blog

It's been a while since the last podcast. It's tough to find the time to record, edit, and publish these days. I've finally decided to make the transition to a text blog. The feed will remain up for a brief time, and the previous episodes will remain in the archive for at least a few months. Thanks so much to all who listened, and those who sent their kind messages of encouragement.

The text version will be a bit broader in scope than the audio podcast. While still primarily focused on video (pun intended) it will also include a bit wider scope of tech based postings, and probably some non tech items here and there.

Thanks again for listening, and check back soon for new postings!