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LifeCam Cinema

(Credit: Microsoft )

Many computers come with a built-in camera, but none offer the HD video of the LifeCam Cinema, Microsoft's newest flagship Webcam, which incorporates a native 720p wide-screen sensor that offers higher quality video to instant-messengers, YouTube videographers, and everyone in between.

Webcam users already know that traditional 1.3-megapixel cameras typically struggle to curb digital noise when recording in low light. Last year's LifeCam Show showed improvement, but the video still had bits of graininess. The LifeCam Cinema continues that momentum with Microsoft's new ClearFrame Technology, which promises better low-light performance (and increased visibility thanks to its 74-degree viewing angle) without having to sacrifice resolution quality.

Microsoft also includes Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery to help users edit and upload their videos to popular social networking sites like YouTube or Facebook. The LifeCam Cinema will start shipping in September for $80, which includes a three-year limited hardware warranty.

One last thing: no surprise (though we still have to say it), but the LifeCam Cinema does not work with Macs.

The iPhone's new video capture and sharing may be a double-edged sword for YouTube.

(Credit: Apple)

With the introduction of the the new iPhone 3G S, one of the features iPhone aficionados are most excited about is the addition of video recording. Never mind that this feature has been available in a lot of other cell phones for a while; the point is, it's finally here, and that's a good thing, especially when Apple has taken the pocket camcorder concept to a whole new level with the integration of some basic onboard editing tools, geotagging, and, most importantly, a wireless distribution system that allows you to easily share your iPhone clips via e-mail, MMS, or by uploading them directly to YouTube (and MobileMe) with a touch of a button (see Apple's demo).

On the surface, this would appear to be excellent news for YouTube and should rather frighten Flip Video, which has seen its YouTube-friendly pocket camcorders take a nice chunk of the camcorder market (recent sales figures indicate that digital pocket models like the Flip, the Creative Vado HD, and the Kodak Zx1, have captured over 25 percent of the camcorder market in the U.S.). ... Read more

If you got an HD-capable digital camera or camcorder over the holidays, you might be wondering which Web sites can handle those massive files you've been recording. Over on Webware, we put six big video-hosting sites head-to-head to see which one handled HD video the best.

Included in the comparison is how big your files can be, how much each service costs, and most importantly, how pretty each one looked. The results might surprise you.

Read the story.

The backers of Wireless Home Digital Interface plan to announce they are officially banding together Wednesday. But we're still months, or even a year from true, interoperable devices that can send high-definition video between themselves.

Wireless Home Digital Interface, or WHDI, sends uncompressed, high-definition video signals over the unlicensed 5-Gigahertz band. The backers of it say its immune to obstructions like walls and can deliver a signal that covers an entire home--that means setting up a set-top box in a basement and connecting it wirelessly to a 1080p TV in an upstairs bedroom.

But we've been hearing this stuff for years. Several different standards have been proposed, and consumer electronics vendors have even announced products, but they've been very slow to trickle out to the market.

One of the few wireless HD video devices that's made it to market.

(Credit: Belkin)

There's been more movement in this industry of late (Sony, and Sharp have released wireless HD video products this year, and Belkin is promising something for October), but we're still waiting for the floodgates to open where all the top-tier manufacturers have TVs with a wireless HD connectivity option.

Amimon, the chipmaker behind the WHDI technology, says that time is next year. WHDI can count Hitachi, Motorola, Sony, Samsung, and Sharp among its charter members, and once the standard is completed later this year, consumers will have many more options for wireless HD video products, according to Amimon's chief executive, Yoav Nissan-Cohen.

"This year you buy products that solve the problem you have, like Belkin's FlyWire kit," said Nissan-Cohen. It doesn't yet meet the standard's goal of having any source using WHDI be able to connect to any screen, but he says that's fine for now.

"Next year you can get multi-vendor, interoperable devices," he said.

Though Nissan-Cohen says the WHDI standard is following along the same path and attempting to build a consortium the way the HDMI standard did--lining up the technology and key hardware players one by one--we've been hearing "next year" for a while now when it comes to this space. Plus, WHDI isn't the only game in town.

In fact, it's got several competitors. WirelessHD is one: it uses the 60-Gigahertz band to send high-def video between devices, though it is limited to one room and can't go through walls. But it does have some of the same vendors on board, like Sony and Samsung. There's also ultrawideband solutions, but they've had more trouble getting off the ground.

Still, Nissan-Cohen of Amimon says next year you'll see TVs that have wireless receivers built in for a premium of approximately $100 to $200 (right now an add-on WHDI dongle costs about $400 or $500). And in a three to five years, or when shipping volumes reach 10 million or higher, the wireless HD device should only cost $10 extra to have the technology inside. By then, he says it will be the "default option to every TV and every source device."

I certainly hope so, but for now, we'll take this one with the requisite grain of salt.

Microsoft on Sunday cut the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 Pro model game console with a 20GB hard drive from $349 to $299.

Microsoft on Sunday unveiled an Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive. It's expected to go on sale in August.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The company also introduced a new Xbox 360 model with a 60GB hard drive. It will go on sale in stores in the U.S. and Canada for $349 in early August.

Microsoft's announcements, which were widely expected, come on the eve of the start of this week's E3 video game industry trade show in Los Angeles.

Rumors of the Xbox price cut swirled on popular gaming blogs Joystiq and Kotaku last week. The two sites received snapshots of Kmart and RadioShack fliers advertising the $299 price.

Microsoft announced in May that Xbox 360 had become the first next-generation video game console to hit 10 million units sold in the United States. All told, Microsoft said it has sold 19 million Xboxes worldwide.

(Credit: Canon)

A $699 camcorder may not seem like a bargain, but hear me out. The Canon HV20 captures stunning high-def video (so says CNET) and includes high-end features like HDMI output (so you can connect it directly to your HDTV), instant auto-focus, and a "hot" accessory shoe. Normally it sells for around $799, but Dell has it on sale for $699.99 shipped.

If you're still shooting in standard-def, do yourself a favor and upgrade to an HD camcorder like this one. The difference is just jaw-dropping. The HV20 stumbles a bit in low-light environments, but that's true of most consumer camcorders. I like that it relies on standard MiniDV tapes, which I find preferable to memory cards or hard drives: They're cheap, easy to store, and compatible with most video-editing programs.

Dell customers rated the HV20 4.7 out of 5, while CNET readers gave it 8.3 out of 10--pretty admirable scores. I'm not sure how long this deal will last, so if you're looking to save big on an HD camcorder, don't wait.

Microsoft will end production of the external HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 video game console, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The company said it would, however, continue to offer warranty support for the peripheral.

(Credit: Microsoft)

"HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own," Blair Westlake, a corporate vice president of Microsoft's media and entertainment group, said in a statement.

The drive, which currently costs about $130, was intended as Microsoft's answer to Sony's PlayStation 3 console, which contained an integrated Blu-ray Disc drive.

Microsoft is just the latest top-tier tech company to abandon the failed high-definition disc format. Along with Toshiba, Intel, and NEC, Microsoft was one of the most prominent supporters of the standard. Toshiba said last week it would no longer make HD DVD players. Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy, and all the major movie studios have all now said they will exclusively support Blu-ray.

The biggest proponent of Blu-ray, Sony, now stands poised to become the standard bearer of HD video mostly because of its strategy in including Blu-ray playback capability into the PS3. It's unclear if Microsoft now plans to make an attachable Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360.

(Credit: Sony )

Sony has released the "world's first HD Video Walkman with pro features" for viewing and recording HDV and DV tapes.

Engadget is right in saying that the GV-HD700 isn't the most attractive device. (It looks like it should be sitting next to an Intellivision.) But, you have to keep in mind that it's not really meant for the iPod crowd.

The HD Video Walkman is actually meant as a handy device for news producers who may want to check footage without having to come in from the field. It can record and play back HDV 1080i, as well as regular DV (SP/LP) tapes, and has USB, video and audio inputs, outputs and ports for hooking up to a high-def camcorder.

The Sony GV-HD700 HD Video Walkman is expected to release this September in Europe. Sony has not yet announced pricing.