Gifts, Gadgets & Gizmos

Part 3 of 3

In this final installment of our Gift guide for this season, we're going to look at a very diverse group of cool tech toys ranging from video production tools to actual flying toys! Hang on tight because we're going to cover a lot of ground in a strangely cohesive order.

Let's face it; these days if you're not filming it you're watching it. Either on TV or YouTube. So we're going to show you 3 things that will make that part of your life a whole lot better.

Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000  

Logitech has released a number of terrific webcams over the years including one of my favorites, the venerable QuickCam Orbit. This year they've outdone themselves with the QuickCam Pro 9000 . Probably the most salient feature of this little gem is the incorporation of Carl Zeiss optics. Carl Zeiss is one of the most respected names in optics and lenses. They are renowned for both their scientific and photographic offerings and the inclusion of their glass in the Pro 9000 helps to deliver outstanding crispness and clarity at HD video resolutions of 960 x 720 pixels. Coupled with Logitech's RightLight™ 2 and RightSound™ technology, this is an unbeatable webcam at $99.00.

We've experimented with this webcam in all kinds of lighting conditions and even using ‘green screen' effects (that's what the weather person stands in front of so you see the weather map behind them), and it works flawlessly.

If you're considering anything from serious desktop video production to just video chat, this is a must have for your shopping list.

Speaking of video production.....

Pinnacle Studio MovieBox Ultimate

Have you ever seen a magician reach into his top hat and start pulling things out...and he keeps on pulling things out and you wonder how he got all that stuff into that little hat. Well, the folks at Pinnacle have pulled off a little video magic of their own. They have crammed just about everything you could imagine into a little box called Studio MovieBox Ultimate.

Studio MovieBox Ultimate integrates a high-speed USB 2.0 capture device with all the inputs you could hope for in this era of DRM (digital rights management) and movie studio paranoia. You can attach your video camera, webcam, or other video source into a Firewire, composite or S-video input and have it come appropriately out the other end through a series of connectors including USB 2.0, directly to your computer.

After that the magic of Pinnacle Studio Plus 11 video editing software and a suite of highly acclaimed pro audio and video tools help you produce Spielberg like results (OK, maybe not that good, but the tools are that good). The suite runs comfortably on a Windows XP or Vista (yes, I said Vista...miracles do happen) system and you can crank out HD DVD and AVCHD format disc authoring, web publishing formats and even audio music tracks to set the mood.

 
If you're really adventurous, try the included green screen for awesome live production effects.

The Pinnacle Studio MovieBox Ultimate is all yours for only $149.00

So now that you've produced several Oscar worthy features, it's time to kick back and watch some good HD TV. But wait, you're sitting in the airport waiting for your flight to L.A. What to do, what to do.....

Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick

Got a laptop? Got a spare USB port? Got milk? You're all set. This tiny little wonder plugs into your laptop or PC's USB port and poof, instant over the air broadcast HD TV. The ‘Stick' comes with its own antenna and remote along with a small host of other dongles and adapters. Another nice plus, it comes with PVR software so you can record on the fly (or in between flights).

Sitting alone in your room? You can also attach your analog cable feed to the antenna input of the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick and cozy up to "Weeds" or the weather channel. All this for $99.00.

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