Editorial Review

The Canon GL2 (like its predecessor, the GL1, and its big brother, the XL1) is helping to blur the line between consumer and professional video equipment. This camcorder borrows most of those cameras' professional-quality components and puts them into a more compact, affordable camera. Though it's small enough to carry around and doesn't cost much more than a top-of-the-line consumer camcorder, the GL2 produces such high-quality results that it could be used as a broadcast video camera.

The 3 CCD System
The GL2 maximizes the capability of the DV format by using a 3 CCD (charge-coupled device) system with a separate CCD for each primary color (red, green, blue). A beam-splitting prism separates light passing through the lens into individual color components and each is sent to its own CCD. Compared to a single CCD, the 3 CCD system achieves outstanding detail with highly accurate color reproduction suitable for the demands of high-end video production - wide dynamic range, low color noise, high-contrast detail, natural color resolution and low-aliasing. The 3 CCD system also makes advanced Pixel Shift (for increased image quality) and Low Light Recording (for increased flexibility) possible.

Professional L-Series Fluorite Lens
Canon has satisfied the demands of experienced image makers for years through the power, design and quality of 35mm and broadcast TV lenses. Canon's Professional L-Series lenses utilize Fluorite, a material which provides outstanding resolution, contrast, and color reproduction- especially in lightweight, high-magnification lenses. Incorporated into the lens on the GL2, Fluorite delivers the ultimate in clarity and image quality. The Fluorite element inside the lens defeats color aberration -- the effect when the components of light stray from one another within a lens, causing a reduction in sharpness, contrast and color. The Fluorite lens precisely controls components of light providing an excellent balance of these three critical ingredients of picture quality. This is unobtainable with conventional optical glass.

To further improve image detail, Canon has intentionally shifted the green CCD (which contains 60 percent of the picture detail) half a pixel horizontally and vertically. This shift allows more accurate interpolation, resulting in an image that Canon claims rivals those from cameras with 410,000-pixel CCDs. Each pixel is 72 square microns, which is about 1.5 times the size as those in competing camcorders. This increased size increases light sensitivity, allowing you to shoot in low-light situations.All this results in outstanding detail, with highly accurate color reproduction suitable for the demands of high-end video production. The GL2 also incorporates a 20x Professional L-Series fluorite optical zoom lens, which is equivalent to 39.5-790mm, as well as a 100x digital zoom.

Audio
The GL2's omni-directional microphone is designed to deliver realistic stereo sound. Using the GL2's advanced accessory shoe expands your audio options. Audio can be recorded in 16-bit mode on two channels on one track. Alternatively, audio can be record in 12-bit mode, where the audio track is divided into two, and two channels of audio are recorded onto one track, with the other left over for audio dubbing.

Optical Image Stabilizer
Canon's superb optical stabilization system corrects camera shake instantly so even hand held shots, at full telephoto, and shots taken from a moving car, are smooth and steady. And since it is optical, there is no loss of image quality inevitable with electronic image stabilizers. It perfectly complements the high picture quality of the DV format.

Digital Stills
You can turn your GL2 into a still camera by switching to 1.7-megapixel photo mode and capturing high-resolution still images onto the camcorder's MultiMedia/Secure Digital card. (One 8 MB Secure Digital card is included with the GL2.) The full-frame images are free from time-lag blur. A six-blade circular iris, as found on Canon's top-of-the-line XL1 and XL1S models, is used for professional exposure control, helping to deliver stunning video and still photos.

Inputs and Outputs
The GL2 comes with the standard DV IEEE 1394 port (also known as FireWire) for a super-fast, lossless connection to a PC or other DV machines. You can also connect to your PC via a USB connection to download still photos. The GL2 is designed to handle two types of analog input and output: using audio/video cables (composite) or S-video. Both connections are on the camera back.

More Features

• Three shooting modes: normal movie mode, digital photo mode, and the cinema-like frame movie mode.
• The Custom Key function lets you create and save your own custom settings so your common shooting modes can be readily duplicated.
• Digital effects are offered for a greater imaging variety, including fader, sepia, strobe motion, and black and white.
• With the Interval Timer function, you can record for a selected time with a selected interval--convenient for nature observations such as flowers or sunsets.

Editorial Review

Apple’s speedy, affordable Power Mac G4 roster is capably headed by the futuristically styled and appointed M8841LL/A Power Mac. If you require the ultimate in power or simply enjoy being on the cutting edge of computer technology, the M8841LL/A Power Mac is well worth your consideration.

Driving this impressive unit are not one but two PowerPC G4 processors, each running at a speed of 1.42 GHz. Although this clock rating may seem low compared with the latest Pentiums, consider that each features an enormous 2 MB of DDR SDRAM Level 3 cache. With 4 MB of fast-access L3 cache, a dual-processor configuration, and 512 MB of fast 333 MHz PC2700 DDR SDRAM memory (expandable to a full 2 GB), the M8841LL/A Power Mac is an extraordinarily fast desktop machine. The one potentially weak link is the system’s graphics card, a 64 MB ATI Radeon 9000 Pro that will easily handle most applications but won’t smoothly render the latest 3-D games. Serious gamers may want to upgrade.

The unit features a variety of data storage and transfer options, including a massive 120 GB hard disk and a DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive, through which you can burn and store home movies, record and play audio CDs, and back up important files. Other desirable amenities include one high-speed FireWire 800 port (twice as fast as USB 2.0 for ultrafast interaction with external peripherals such as digital camcorders), two standard FireWire ports, four USB ports, and an Apple Pro keyboard with 15 programmable function keys.

Features

• Incredibly wide 170-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angles
• Lightning-fast pixel response for full-motion digital video
• Full 23-inch diagonal display area
• Supports 1,920 x 1,200 resolution for high-definition video and stills
• Designed to work with the Power Mac G4 digital graphics interface for distortion-free images

Reviews (26)

too expensive, but undeniably good
I got one of these and you get what you pay for with this screen. The problem is you pay a lot.

Its a very nice screen. Nothing more I can say. Never seen a nicer LCD anywhere. Only reason I dind't give it 5 stars is the price (which is astronomical).

I use it to watch movies, do work, everything. I don't even have a TV.

By the way if anyone knows if a DVD player that I can hook right up to the DVI input of this I would love to find one. DVD player makers are retarded, I havn't found a good DVD player yet that is made to work with DVI (for computers, not DVI for HDTV which apparenltly for some stupid reason is not compatibly).

If you get the 30" model you don't need a TV or HDTV. Its much better than all that crap anyway. HDTVs can come in bigger sizes but the quality is so much worse you are better off not getting one.

Excellent monitor
The screen itself is excellent.Especially since you can get a (...) rebate if u buy it together with an Apple G5 Powermac.Buy one you won't be disappointed.Also, Apple will release a 30" display in the Apple WWDC (...)

Reviews (6)

Professional, impressive features tainted with complexity
Final Cut Pro 4 is undoubltely the hyped "creme de la creme" of video editing software available from Mac, hence it's expensive price tag. If you are accustomed to ease, instinctive interfaces then you might want to think again when considering the purchase of this product. Although its wide variety of dazzling effects and features is truly amazing, this power hungry program is definetely not for the faint of heart. If you're a professional that has the paitence to accustom yourself to perhaps the most bizzare complex editing interface (i.e. simply having so many features can almost be a negative aspect) then this program is certainly for you. If you are use to feeling confident with an editing program "right off the bat" then consider reading up heavily on the manual and perhaps taking a training course before even using the program, because it's loaded with myriad features. Although, while working with the program at school I never experienced any crashes or major bugs, I'm sure there are definetely some annoying ones (any editor knows that more complex and abundant the interfaces/features are, the more likely the chance there isroom for programming errors).

Despite the Hype, FCP 4 is a Step Down for Many Power Users
Unfortunately, several time-saving, creativity-enhancing features that I was accoustomed to in FCP 3 were removed for FCP 4. Functional draft renders, my favorite (albeit flawed) feature from FCP 3 no longer exist.This is quite an area of debate, but experienced editors should see why the new (largely useless) rendering system is far inferior to the previous one.The life-saving Shift-F function is also gone, the new "automatic" capturing system makes file management horribly inconvenient, and the online help file has been replaced with a cumbersome .pdf document. Support for Adobe Photoshop files is still poorly implemented. The bundled LiveType program is also much more awkward to use than one might expect from how it's been marketed. (LiveType is not an integrated extension of FCP, but a completely separate--and SLOW--application.)At this point, I feel I am a less efficient editor for having made this upgrade. Why Apple could not build on what they had instead of dropping helpful features is beyond me.

Editorial Review

Adobe After Effects 5.5 is the program of choice for motion graphics andvisual effects maestros. No other software package can match its powerful andflexible 2-D and 3-D compositing and animation tool set. After Effects 5.5offers seamless integration with other Adobe products such as Premiere,Photoshop, and Illustrator, allowing users to expand their creativity withpinpoint control for the Web, film, multimedia, and video. Additionally, theuser interface is very similar to the interface in Adobe LiveMotion, making it abreeze for LiveMotion users to quickly learn this program.

After Effects 5.5 introduces multiple 2-D and 3-D views, allowing users to viewa composition from several perspectives simultaneously. A new Effects palettethat helps users easily organize and apply effects is also introduced. Users cannow view all of the installed effects and easily scroll through the list beforemaking a selection. In addition, the effects window is completely customizable,letting users view effects based on their own criteria or by category. Thisversion also introduces an assortment of new effects, including projectionlayers, colored shadows, a color stabilizer, advanced lightning, grid, roughenedges, four-color gradients, and cell pattern effects. With the new effects,users will have increased control over lighting properties and access to morethan 90 effects in total.

After Effects 5.5 has also improved the input and output options not availablein earlier versions of After Effects. Advanced RealMedia export now allows usersto export files directly into the RealMedia format. Users can easily createRealMedia streaming or Web downloadable files that support RealVideo andRealAudio. Users can also import Flash and MPEG-1 files into their compositions.3-D camera data import from Maya, 3ds max, and 16-bit-per-channel formats suchas Maya IFF, QuickTime, RPF, and SGI files are also supported. This allows usersto work more efficiently and achieve professional-quality results for film,video, multimedia, and the Web. Artists and designers can now import RLA and RPFdata directly into After Effects 5.5 to match 3-D shots exactly, thus quicklycreating complete environments.

This latest version of After Effects allows artists and designers to work moreefficiently and with more media formats than ever before. Adobe After Effects5.5 provides native support for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows XP platforms.After Effects 5.5 is also optimized for the Intel Pentium 4 processor.

Features

• NTSC
• Info-Shoe for a variety of optional attachments such as an Auto Light, Video Flash, or Stereo Zoom Mic
• BN-V428U 2800 mAh, high-capacity, rechargeable battery pack
• Professional-quality High-Definition DV camcorder and still camera with1.18-megapixel progressive scan CCD
• 10x optical zoom lens (digital zoom to 200x) with Picture Stabilizer for shooting without blur from camera motion when zoomed
• 3.5-inch rotating color polycrystalline silicon LCD and color LCD viewfinder

Reviews (2)

Would be Good if it worked
I bought this camcorder on September 28, 2003 when it was still fairly new on the market and more expensive than it is now. By July 2004 both the LCD screen and the viewfinder just went black. No image but I was still able to record audio. I reported it to JVC. They told me I had to send it in for repair, which I did. It seems that this was a common problem. They didn't ask too many questions. The warranty had already expired so I had to pay a couple hundred dollars. Six months later, the same problem again. I called JVC again and told them the problem. The technician who attended to me suggested that I turn it off and disconnect all power for about an hour and then try again because "that usually works." Now what kind of advice is that? I need this camera to shoot footage of events. What am I supposed to do each time this happens? Turn it off for an hour and ask the event organisers to postpone their events for an hour? Anyway, even that super solution didn't work, so I called again and they said I had to send it in for repair again. So I asked, would I have to be sending this camera in to you every six months? "No," she responded but "thank you for calling JVC."
The words I would like to use to describe this camera and JVC cannot be expressed here but do not buy this camera!!! For the short period of time that it did work, it was great, but I will never buy this or any other JVC product ever again.

I thought about fixing it and then selling it used but then my conscience wouldn't let me pass this problem on to someone else. So I decided to write this review.

If you have an HDTV, you need this camcorder!!!!
This is the first camcorder I have ever used that looks good on an HDTV. No...Let me correct that.It looks great!!!

Have you ever wondered why a normal camcorder looks so bad on an HDTV?It's because an HDTV is very high resolution.When you connect a traditional camcorder (even a Mini DV), the TV sees a much smaller, comparatively low resolution picture and must scale it (digitally enlarge it) to fit the screen.It doesn't matter if you have a $400 low end cam or a $4000 high end cam...Scaling the picture on virtually any HDTV will ruin your camcorder picture.

JVC solved this on the GR-HD1 with the world's first consumer HD camcorder.Basically, it's the first consumer camcorder ever that makes a picture which correctly fits a widescreen HDTV.It records a picture with 720 x 1280 dots, compared with 480 x 720 dots for a normal camcorder.

The result?The detail & resolution is simply phennominal!The colors look great!The video is much more appealing to watch in widescreen because it more closely matches your natural field of vision.

The only thing you need to be careful of is the frame rate.This shoots 720/30P.What that means is it takes video at 30 frames per second.As a result, if the camera uses too fast of a shutter speed you may see a "jitter" in things that move on-screen.The fix is really easy:Simply take the camcorder out of the "auto" mode and lock in a 1/30th of a second shutter speed.This eliminates the vast majority of the jitter.What you are left with is a superb high resolution video with a subtle "film-like" quality.

You don't have to be Stephen Speilberg to appreciate this.This is the ideal camcorder for any type of family video.Think about the great stuff happening today that you'll want to be able to watch 10-20 years from now, and still be happy with the quality.

Reviews (2)

Best DVD Authoring App on Market!!!
I've been authoring DVDs for years. I started off using Sonic Solutions authoring suite. We paid almost $... for this system in 1997. And SOnic only runs in OS9. Now you can have all that functionality for only $... with DVD Studio Pro. DVD Studio Pro 1.5 offers welcome improvements such as OS X compatibility, more-reliable previews, higher MPEG-2 compression quality, and tighter integration with Final Cut Pro 3, and the program remains the only viable choice for professional DVD authoring on the Mac. But Apple needs to deliver another version that improves usability, the bit-budgeting process, and documentation, so that new users can get up-to-speed faster and experienced users can work more efficiently. If you are serious about making DVDs, I suggest you have a dedicated machine for DVD Studio Pro. Once you start installing games and weird shareware apps, you will have issues with crashing and such. Bottom Line: This is a great application for a pro user and does everything "high end" systems like Sonic does, but better. Nice work Apple!

Features

• Package contains 5 blank 4x DVD-R discs
• 4.7 gigabyte capacity each
• Can be used with applications like iDVD or DVD Studio Pro for writing DVD-Video or for writing data
• For use only in DVD-R General drives, such as the Apple SuperDrive

Reviews (1)

Best Discs!
I consistantly get flawless burns from theses discs.I have never made a coaster out of one of these discs.

Editorial Review

Samsung invites you to experience the world of digital television on its SPL4225K widescreen plasma television. The SPL4225K's brilliant picture and stunning design will instantly transform anyone into a space-conscious technophile. The plasma monitor can be mounted on a wall or placed on a table-top stand that also permits placement on a shelf or wall fixture. Adding to its "picture frame TV" appeal, the monitor is just under 4 inches deep and weighs less than 90 pounds. Whether you're attracted by its slim, light design, its placement flexibility, or its "cool factor," the SPL4225K is the perfect consideration for framing all your favorite TV and video programming choices.

PDP (plasma display panel) technology combines flat-matrix pixel imaging and RGB color phosphors in a thin, lightweight housing. Plasma describes the temporary conductive state of the low-pressure gas used in these panels. The set's totally flat image area results in virtually no distortions generated by the glass surface of the plasma TV module, which is flat on both sides. Samsung Digital ProPicture provides superior conversion of all input signals to achieve a high-quality progressive-scan picture. Advanced noise reduction, detail, and contrast enhancement also help deliver a stunning and clear natural picture.

Reviews (8)

Cute Poppa!
We got this for our 6 yr old and she loves it.I thought it was really cute and there are a lot of pieces for the pizza! Our 4 yr old found it intimidating at first. She started to have fun when we all screamed each time a topping was placed on the pizza and it began to tip!For a more challenging game, Poppa can stand without the base.The pizza is a little slick, but the pizza toppings were made of rubber which helped (a little) keep the pieces from slipping.A lot of fun for the whole family (our 12 yr old likes it too).I recommend this game for kids 6 yrs and up.

GREAT FAMILY FUN!
Our 5 year old daughter got this as a holiday gift.It's turned out to be a favorite game for the entire family and friends.It's a clever, fun, fast and creative game for the whole family.Even our 2 year old son loves it - however it changes the whole out come of the game.He stands back and just throws toppings at the wobbling pie but he's entertained for 15 or 20 minutes so that's worth a lot!We'd recommend this as a birthday gift to kids because it's unique and fun.