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Sharp's
Internet Viewcam - Size Matters...
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Sharp
IVC - Use & Abuse!
OK folks, I
never said this wouldn't get ugly... :-P
The following
movie clip is posted in two formats, "Fine" and
"Normal" quality. The normal quality clip is 500K and the
fine quality clip is 1.5MB. A
Codec will automatically download from Microsoft when you open this
file for the first time. This will update your Windows Media Player
to handle ASF clips, if it isn't already.
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1.55MB
Fine Recording
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500K
Normal Recording
| Normal mode is
intended for emails and quick transport over the net. Fine mode is
good for broadcasts on web pages etc.
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Wow...
Don't quit my day job, huh? No, I am not TRYING to do
"stand-up" either! :-)
The camera comes with an LCD display for viewing your target and
also navigating through the camera set up menu that is built in. You
can set the camera to record in different quality/compression modes
as well as set backlighting etc. It is a very intuitive and easy
camera to use, I hardly even picked up the manual during the tests. |
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Software
and Tools
Sharp
bundles a number of tools in with the camera. Their editing
software, called "PixLab" works well and allows you to
convert your files, with the "Bit Rate Adapter", from
"Super Fine" to a "Long Play" mode and vice
versa depending on the quality and file compression you are looking
for.
PixLab
- Click image
Bit
Rate Adapter - Click Image
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Finally, the
"ASF Extractor" tool allows you to do some basic video
editing....
ASF
Extractor - Click image
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A
New Toy For Christmas?
Final
Assessments
This slick new
piece of video technology reminds me of the type of gadget you would
see in one of those high end mall stores for people who have it all.
It is really quite a high tech piece of gear. The Sharp IVC is said
to retail for $699, so it comes with a slightly high end price tag
too. Still, for some folks, this mini digital video camera will be
an essential tools for giving themselves the edge in getting real
time footage posted or sent over the Internet.
The quality of
the camera's recording and ease of use is excellent. However, if you
want top shelf recording, the file size will grow a little. Never
the less, with MPEG4 compression as its native format, you'll get
the smallest footprint available today especially in a digital video
camera. We think some of our Web Master type colleagues will really
be interested in this handy little cam.
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We give the
Sharp Internet View Cam a Hot Hardware Temp-O-Meter rating of....
85
!
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A Spicy side of MPEG4 to go!
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