First, enjoy the video by playing it full screen. Switch between 1080p and 720p while you do it.

Better yet: Use Firefox's Download Helper to get the 720p and 1080p MP4 files into your hard drive, then play them side by side or at full screen. You will see that the 1080p version is clearly sharper than the 720p, helped by the extra pixels. In the 1080p version you see can a lot more of the delicate textures of the Muppets' fabrics, as well as fewer artifacts, and more details in all the objects in the screen. Don't believe me? Check this comparison gallery then.

Remember when YouTube used to be a tiny little window with pixels the size of my fist? [Thanks, GitEmSteveDave!]

While the Touch and its apps are a multi use pocket computer, the Zune HD is an evolution of the PMP—not a devolution of some smartphone model. Every new feature it has is used to expand the way you absorb media, from the HD video output to the HD radio to the redesigned UI.

Hardware

The Zune HD is not a simple curved rectangle with a screen, like the iPod Touch, but a resolutely industrial, luxurious, angular and slim design. From the angled back to the visible screws to the long and thin home button, the Zune HD is a look all its own.

Constructed of aluminum, rubberized black plastic and glass, the Zune HD feels tough and solid in the hand. The widescreen display offers less space for non-media applications like web browsing, but for media (which, after all, is the Zune HD's raison d'etre), it's a really nice size. It won't quite fit in the change pocket of your jeans, but it'll slip into even the tightest of regular pockets. The iPod Touch may be a hair thinner, but the Zune HD's narrower body makes it feel much smaller.

The gorgeous 3.3-inch capacitive OLED touchscreen takes up the majority of the device's face. More on that below. It's surrounded by three hardware buttons: Underneath the screen on the face is the home button, on the top edge is the power/hold button, and in lieu of a volume rocker the Zune HD has a button on the left side that brings up Quickplay options. These options drift onto the screen and offer volume, track forward/back and play/pause. Quickplay can be enabled to work even while the player is locked.

On the bottom of the device is the proprietary Zune port (the Zune HD will work with all of the surprisingly easy-to-find existing Zune accessories) and the headphone jack. It's rated for 33 hours of audio and 8.5 of video, which is very strong if it's true (especially since previous Zunes were lacking in battery life, to say the least). The Zune HD lacks both a speaker and a camera, though neither is necessarily a mark against it. Still, both options would be welcome.

Screen
One of the first PMPs with an OLED screen (the Sony X-Series being the other major one), the Zune HD theoretically has a sharper picture and deeper blacks compared with LCD screens like the one on the iPod Touch.

The Zune HD's screen is a 3.3-inch multitouch capacitive touchscreen, in a 16:9 (widescreen) ratio running at an ironically non-HD 480x272. The iPod Touch, in comparison, is a 3.5-inch multitouch capacitive LCD, but in 4:3 (fullscreen) ratio running at 480×320, which is more efficient for web browsing but a waste of space for straightforward media playback. They're pretty equal in responsiveness, both being about as accurate a touchscreen as you're likely to find.

The Zune HD's screen is definitely sharper and with truer colors than the iPod Touch, when compared with the same video (a standard-def episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations). The iPod Touch's pixels were clearly visible and the color seemed washed out and weak compared to the Zune HD. However, it's not a perfect win for OLED: The Zune HD's screen is extremely reflective, making it difficult to read in sunlight, while the iPod Touch's LCD was quite easy to read in the same conditions.

Part of this difference is due to technology and part of this is due to UI. The iPod touch uses black text on white for music and video browsing, while the Zune HD is reversed. The Zune HD's black background acts as a mirror, making it difficult to see anything but your own annoyed face.

Video

To take advantage of that premium OLED screen, Microsoft is really pushing high-quality video playback on the Zune HD. iPod comparisons aside, my sample HD clip (a 720p episode of Battlestar Galactica bought from the Zune store) sparkles. Tap the screen while video's playing and "Quickplay controls" bring up every button you need.

Codec support, however, reduces the Zune HD's appeal as a general purpose video player. It plays WMV, MP4, H.264 and DVR-MS (recorded video from Windows Media Center), which means it will play iPod-formatted clips (though of course not DRMed videos). That's missing every codec video pirates care about, most importantly DivX for SD and MKV for HD. If you've got a load of torrented HD video in MKV like I do, you're a bit screwed—I tried several converters (iSquint, Cucusoft, Handbrake) and never managed to transcode MKV to a decent-quality Zune-compatible file. If Microsoft isn't going to include a converter in the software, the Zune HD should at least support DivX (like Samsung's P3).

The thing is, the Zune HD is actually on par with the category leaders (iPod Touch, Sony X-Series) in codec support: All three force you to either get your video directly from the manufacturer's stores or transcode your video into their specific formats. Microsoft could have scored huge with video freaks by supporting DivX and MKV. It's frankly a huge pain in the ass to have to convert every single video I want to watch on my PMP.

If you're really into torrented videos, I'd recommend the Samsung P3, although in just about every other way the Zune HD is a far superior device.

Zune as Media Center
The Zune HD's unparalleled ability to output video in 720p is a major selling point for the device, and let me tell you, it's everything you'd hope it would be. Video is crisp, clear and smooth, looking just as good as the same video played through any bulky media streamer. The interface as a whole actually translates really well to a bigger screen, slightly dumbed down for speed's sake (for example, there's no background artist image on the now playing screen). It's not as full-featured as an HTPC, but for just playing back your media, it does a great job. The screensaver on the now playing screen looks especially awesome on a big HDTV.

But to take advantage of HD content on your television, you'll need to buy the $90 AV dock, which comes with the dock itself (including antenna for radio), a remote, an HDMI cable and a composite cable. Is it worth it? I'd say yes, if you've got an HDTV and plan to buy a lot of HD content from Zune marketplace. If you just want to display some video on a TV, you can buy the last-gen Zune's standard-def AV pack for less than $20, all of which is compatible with the Zune HD. However, if you go the cheapskate route, you'll be missing a major part of what separates the Zune HD from the pack. Not that it's bad to toss a few 128kbps mp3 files on for a bus ride, but you wouldn't really be taking advantage of what the Zune HD can do.

User Interface

Using the Zune HD and the iPod Touch together is jarring—they do mostly the same things, but they look vastly different. The Zune HD's UI is everything but an example of Apple minimalism, constantly teetering between digital eye candy and complete ocular over-stimulation. It's a white text on black layout, and has the very cool (and a little ballsy) design choice to zoom in to certain items so much that they're actually cropped out of the screen. For example, on the homescreen, the word "marketplace" is cut off at the penultimate letter. Some will hate the design, but I think it's a really interesting, aggressively artsy choice. Even when the UI feels too cluttered, which it sometimes does, it's still great to look at.

Homescreen
The homescreen is actually two homescreens in one. You've got the standard list of features, in this case "music, videos, pictures, radio, marketplace, social, podcasts, internet, settings," but there's also a Quickplay menu shrunk to the left side of the screen.

The Quickplay menu mirrors the new front page of the Zune software: It shows the album art and song title of the song that's currently playing (if there is one currently playing), but also your "Pins," "History," and "New." Pins are like favorites—you can tap and hold any item (song, podcast, video, photo) and pin it to this top menu. It's great if you're listening to something long like an audiobook or podcast. History is your recently played items, and New shows the most recent items you've synced to the Zune HD. That last is my favorite of all—I've got a huge and always expanding music collection, and tend to forget which albums I've just added to my PMP. It's also great if you use the ZunePass subscription service, since you'll be downloading so much you'll forget what you meant to listen to.

Content Browsing
The Zune HD uses the same grab-and-flick method of touchscreen navigation as the iPod Touch and Sony X-Series, though like the X-Series it doesn't feel quite as fluid or organic as the iPod Touch. Trying to scroll really quickly through a long list of artists feels like it takes longer than it should, which is probably why Microsoft implemented an alphabet system. As you scroll through the lists of artists, albums or whatever, the actual letters are placed in their appropriate spots (on mine, the list of artists will read "Iron and Wine, Islands, J, Jay Reatard, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros). Tap any of these letters to bring up the full alphabet, any letter of which can be tapped to take you right there.

This is a decent method to get around long lists quickly, but I'd have preferred to separate the letters from the lists of actual items. I've accidentally hit a letter when I meant to hit an artist, and that could easily have been solved with a scrolling alphabet bar on the side.

Browsing through artist lists is mostly straightforward—mostly. There's a bit of a continuity issue with the "one step back" function. On the now playing screen, it's a left-pointing arrow in the top left corner, which is extremely obvious. But once you hit it, you're on the song's page (with options like email and rate), but now there's no back button. Instead, there's a word written in huge letters, so huge in fact that they're cut off and not readable. Those letters actually spell out the name of the album, and tapping it functions as a back button, taking you back to the album. This can be fixed with a firmware update—just add a clear "back" icon like on the now playing screen!

Now Playing
The Now Playing screen cleverly finds a photo of the artist and uses that as the wallpaper, and I love the screensaver that slowly scrolls the artist, track name, album name, length and album art. Microsoft nails the advanced design work—what about the obvious? How do I pause, navigate forward and backward, and adjust volume? It's not as easy as it should be.

All of those controls are relegated to another Quickplay menu, activated either by the left side button or by tapping anywhere on the now playing screen that's not another button. I don't want to bring up a sub-menu to do things like pause music or adjust volume when relatively unimportant options like ratings get their own space on the screen.

Again, I get the sense that Microsoft was so enamored with the beauty of the UI (and it is certainly full of eye candy) that they refused to adjust it to insert simple playback controls.

Radio
Surprisingly, FM radio has become a hot topic in PMPs, thanks to Microsoft's announcement that the Zune HD will support HD radio and now Apple's reversal on its long-held aversion to FM with its new iPod Nano. But HD radio is another example of Microsoft expanding the boundaries of the PMP: "So you support FM radio? We're going to support it better."

HD radio allows for both more stations and (hopefully) higher quality broadcasts. The Zune HD's radio will often pick up two simultaneous broadcasts from one station, like San Francisco's KFOG-1 and KFOG-2. The Zune HD's reception is excellent, at least as clear as the iPod Nano, able to pick up a handful of HD stations, all with RDS data (artist, song name). Like the Nano, the Zune HD can pause and cache live radio, a great function, though it also cannot record.

Internet Browser

This is a serious surprise, after seeing the similar Sony X-Series's browser crash, burn, and then explode shards of awful all over me, but the Zune HD's internet browser is solid. The narrower 3.3-inch widescreen isn't as spacious as that of the iPod Touch and pages definitely load a little slower, but besides that it's a full-featured, fast and responsive browser. The accelerometer is very quick (way faster than the iPod Touch), panning is smooth and easy, and the standard multitouch gestures (pinch, drag) work nicely. Unfortunately, the Zune HD does not support YouTube or any other Flash video, which would have been a nice feature for quickly listening to new music.

The soft keyboard is functional (if a little small), built-in Bing search works well, and even an intense site like Gizmodo loads with no problem. Please, Microsoft: Stick this browser in Windows Mobile.

Syncing

The Zune software has been updated with a few features and slight UI changes to match the Zune HD. It now has a front page similar to the Zune HD's homescreen Quickplay, and puts more of an emphasis on Smart DJ, which is an evolution of Microsoft's Pandora-like recommendation service. If you're not a member of the ZunePass subscription service, it'll recommend music in your own library, and if you are, it'll dig through the ZunePass's massive collection. But it's largely unchanged, which is a good thing.

The Zune HD is, like the other Zunes, Windows only. It can only sync with the Zune software, which is restricted to Windows.

This is, of course, a huge mistake on Microsoft's part. Mac users would be right in the demographic sweet spot to be interested in the Zune HD: Media-loving, style-conscious, with money to burn on gadgets. Hell, the 32GB platinum Zune HD even matches the unibody MacBook Pro models. But with yet another Zune shunning Mac compatibility, it seems certain that Microsoft has given up on converting Apple zealots.

Marketplace
The Zune HD gives you access to the Zune Marketplace, an all-you-can-eat buffet of music downloads. You can download music directly from the device, but this feature seems half-baked: Search is fine, but browsing is limited and recommendations, a strong suit of the Zune software, are nonexistent. Browsing music is restricted to new releases and the bestseller charts, which is pretty lame for discovering new music. I already know about Jay-Z, Zune. Plus there's no way to download new podcasts on the go, which is something I really miss. All in all the on-device Marketplace leaves a lot to be desired.

Apps
Well, there are apps, technically. But Microsoft has stressed that the Zune HD is a media device first and foremost—there's no SDK, so independent development is out for now, and the Zune team seems to have little interest in competing with Apple's App Store. At launch, the Zune HD has seven games and two utilities (calculator and weather) available. The games are just ports of the games from older Zunes, like poker and sudoku. Even further, Microsoft has confirmed that Facebook and Twitter apps will come to the Zune HD, but only around November. For some, this may be the big weakness. The iPod Touch is really a pocket computer with an excellent touch-based music and video app. When you grab a Touch, you're just as likely to play a game or check your email as you are to play some music. Meawhile, Archos and Creative both use Android, a mobile computing OS, to do similar things. The Zune HD doesn't have the benefit of these ecosystems.

The app selection just confirms that the Zune HD is a PMP and not a mobile computer. You can't even move an app to the homescreen; they stay stuck in the "apps" section, way down the list, confined like a grounded child to their bedroom.

However, the XNA team has just released an add-on for XNA Game Studio 3.1 that will allow developers to create apps for the Zune HD. They've demonstrated a multi-touch drawing app as proof, which is very cool, but remember, apps (like music and video) need to be loaded onto the device via the Zune software—and who knows whether Microsoft will allow third-party apps into the marketplace.

Best of Breed

The Zune HD is the best touchscreen PMP on the market. It's got the most unique vision, the most impressive hardware and the most stylish software. It's priced fairly at $220 for 16GB and $290 for 32GB, though I'd call the $90 dock a required accessory.

But I'm not sure that's enough. PMPs like the Zune HD and Sony X-Series try to advance the genre with new and impressive media playback features, but the success of the iPod Touch shows that that media playback alone isn't necessarily enough anymore. People seem to want pocketable computers, either in smartphone or near-smartphone form, or simpler, smaller devices like the iPod Nano and SanDisk's Sansa line. So it's not going to steal sales from the iPod Touch, but it should make some Samsung and Sony executives pretty jealous.

I'm left wishing Microsoft could get its Zune team to work with (read: boss around) the Windows Mobile team to put together a media phone. The Zune HD is a great PMP, but it could have been a jaw-dropping, unbelievable phone.

Flashy and unusual hardware

Excellent software integration

Advanced media features like HD video-out and HD radio

Surprisingly excellent internet browser

Requires $90 accessory to be actually "HD"

UI is beautiful, but sometimes confusing

Capacity restricted to 16GB and 32GB

Disappointing codec support

DPReview has posted a selection of 14 clips (not embeddable), putting the sexy rangefinder-esque camera through its paces, in a selection of shooting conditions. They used a Panasonic 14-140mm lens on the Micro Four Thirds cam and shot most of the 720p footage in Aperture Priority mode.

First impressions are that the E-P1 could give some of the HD-shooting DSLRs a run for their money, especially once you put some better glass on it, since these were shot using the 14-140mm kit Lens from the Panasonic GH1. [DPReview]

The resolution you see is determined not just by the screen, but by its size and how far you sit from it, as detailed using the Lechner Distance chart. For example, if you sit 12 feet away from your 1080p TV, it would have to measure 92-inches in order for you to see all the detail.

Later, you can use it to set the optimum viewing distance between your couch and TV. But first, tell us how you have your gear set up now.

720p TVs

1080i/1080p TVs:

[Image via Flickr]

The underlying plasma tube (PTA) technology remains the same, and the new set is constructed from component panels identical to those in prior examples, but Shinoda has managed to stitch the panels into an almost seamless 3:2 display, reaching the crucial 720p vertical resolution threshold in a 2-meter-tall display that weighs an incredible 16 pounds.

Best of all, Shinoda is moving closer to production of such panels, announcing business alliances with WAIEISHII and Itochu, a do-it-all, GE-like Japanese megacorporation. So somebody might actually make this thing, someday. [Impress Watch]

The 1.66GHz N280 is only a 0.06GHz jump over its N270 processor, but the 667MHz front-side bus and the pairing of the GN40 chipset with its hardware-based 720p HD video decoder is really where its at. That will lead to better HD viewing with less power consumption.

However, Nvidia is still looming looming on the horizon with their Atom-ion plaform and its full on 1080p capability. If you simply can't wait for that to go down, the Eee PC 1000HE will be the first netbook to ship with the N280/GN40 combo and is now available for pre-order. [PC World via Wired Gadget Lab]

The P70 looks remarkably petite, though Pentax's press materials don't specify just how thin the body is. As for specs, the still imaging features aren't terribly surprising: a 12MP CCD sits behind a 4X zoom, 28mm wide-angle lens. Pentax claims that the camera's autofocus will track 32 faces almost instantly, which is useful if you often take pictures of, uhh, 32 faces.

The P70's trump card is its video recording capability. The camera can pull down 720p video at a respectable 15fps, making it a reasonable replacement for many of the pocket video cameras that sit around the same price, as long as the cut in framerate doesn't bother you too much. About that price—the P70 should sell for $200.

So what of the E70? It's pretty boring, to be frank. The features are as standard as they come, for the most part mirroring, with a bit of subtraction, the E70. Where there were 12MP, there are now 10, and where there was 4x zoom, there's a 3x. The HD video recording is gone, as is the rechargable battery, and the body is a bit thicker, though still admirably slim. The E70 is an unspectacular camera, a very cheap one. The price at launch will be a scant $140, and it is due for release in February, with the P70. [Pentax via Akihabara]

Basically, after a certain distance, your eyes can't distinguish the level of detail no matter how much resolution your screen has unless you're Superman or Batman.

In fact, a recent survey revealed that one in five HDTV owners can't even tell the difference between standard def and high def. We can't account for all the variables in your viewing arena, such as distance from the screen and how good your eyes are, but what about you? Do you think you can really tell the difference?

[Image via HDTV on the Dish]

It looks like it's designed for classrooms but there's nothing in the specs that'd disqualify it from being a pretty decent home theater projector. And at the stated sub-$1000 price when it's released this month, it's hard to find too much fault with it. The above picture is not the PG-F255W, but a model in the same line that looks pretty similar. [Press Release via Engadget]

Samsung's new 1/4in CMOS sensor is claimed to produce a 720p images at a full 30FPS, and VGA (640x480) video at 60FPS. Samsung manages to preserve low-light performance at such resolutions and framerates on such a small sensor using a technique called "binning", whereby certain pixels are sometimes deactivated and grouped together to help gather light for active pixels. In other words, if you're, uh, Vlogging in the dark, your webcam stream might look like it's 720p, but in reality a significant number of pixels might be clumped together. But at least you'll be able to see them.

The sensor was designed with integration into laptops and desktops in mind, and should go to manufacture in the first half of '09. [Samsung]

Note: actual sensor not pictured

You can also get a 42" Panasonic VIERA plasma HDTV for only $660, which is a good hundred dollars off its general retail price. It's packed with three HDMI inputs, an SD slot, and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.

Or, if you can't get enough Samsung, you can grab the Samsung 40" 1080p LCD for only $800 from 6th Ave Electronics, which puts it more than $150 lower than what you'd find elsewhere. It's got a 20,000:1 contrast ratio and a 5 ms response rate. [DealNews]

IFA Berlin, 28th August 2008 - Everyone’s spoiled for choice with the camera that thinks it’s a camcorder. Now it’s easy to capture your favourite moments as sumptuous stills or HD movie clips with the slim, stylish new Cyber-shot™ T500 from Sony.

Available in a choice of eye-catching piano black, silver and red finishes, the chic T500 is packed with Sony technology to help everyone take better-looking pictures.

Alongside sparkling 10.1 effective megapixel still image quality, it’s the first Cyber-shot™ that captures crisp, clear HD movie clips with stereo sound. New HD movie mode allows continuous shooting time of up to 10 minutes per clip. In total up to 60 mins (approx) of video content can be stored on the supplied 4GB Memory Stick™. Movie files are recorded in ‘PC-friendly’ MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format. This offers great HD picture quality while keeping files down to a minimum size for convenient saving, sharing and viewing via the web or email.

Not sure whether that special moment deserves a photo or a video clip? It’s easy to switch instantly between still and movie modes at the touch of a comfortably placed button on top of the camera. You can even grab crisp still images (1280x720 pixels) without interrupting video shooting.

The superb Carl Zeiss lens features a new ring-type Zoom button, allowing easy adjustment throughout the 5x range while you’re shooting movies.

Detail-packed stills and video clips can be viewed on the extra-large wide 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD. As well as giving a beautiful view of your images, the touchscreen also makes operation of camera functions beautifully simple. Touching anywhere on the screen while you’re composing a shot locks focus on that part of the scene.

Touching a face turns on Face Detection, ensuring that people’s faces in the scene are in sharp focus and with perfect exposure for fewer spoiled shots. Up to eight faces can be tracked at a time, making the T500 ideal for capturing large groups of friends and family.

Shooting handheld without flash can mean blurred pictures, especially when light levels are low or with telephoto shots. Optical SteadyShot is teamed with an improved High Sensitivity mode to allow faster shutter speeds. This ‘Dual Anti-blur’ solution is complemented by Clear RAW Noise Reduction for clean, natural images, even in low-light conditions like parties or twilight.

After you’ve finished shooting, HD Slide Shows add an extra dimension of enjoyment to your collection of photos and videos. Pick from a choice of musical accompaniments, or import your favourite music track from a connected PC.

If you want an even bigger picture, still images and HD movie clips can be experienced with extra impact on your HD Ready television. Connected via HDMI™ to your Sony HD TV, BRAVIA™ Sync allows on-screen control of Cyber-shot™ playback functions using the TV’s remote control.

Supplied Picture Motion Browser software makes it easy to browse and manage pictures and HD movie files on your PC, upload your favourite moments to image sharing sites – or email them to friends and family.

The Cyber-shot™ T500 will be available from October 2008.

Number of Effective Pixels
10 Million Pixels
CCD Sensor
1/ 2.3-inch CCD

Image File Size
Still image: 3,648 x 2,736 / 3,648 x 2,432 (3:2) / 2,592 x 1,944 / 2,048 x 1,536 / 1,600 x 1,200 / 640 x 480 pixels

Movie: 1,280 x 720 (720pHD), 320 x 740, 640 x 480

File Format
Still image : JPEG (Exif Ver.2.2)
Movie : AVI (Motion JPEG ) with sound
(Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible)
Storage Media
Internal memory (approx. 55MB) / SD memory card / SDHC memory card

Lens
Fujinon 15 X Optical zoom lens, F3.5(Wide) - F5.4(Telephoto)

Lens Focal Length
f=5.0mm - 75.0mm, Equivalent to 27.6 - 414 mm on a 35mm camera

Focusing
Auto Focus (Area, Multi, Center) / Continuous AF / Manual Focus
AF assist illuminator available
Focus Distance
Normal: Wide Angle: Approx. 0.7 m / 2.3 ft. to infinity; Telephoto: Approx. 2.5 m / 8.2 ft. to infinity
Macro: Wide Angle: Approx. 10 cm to 1 m; Telephoto: Approx. 70 cm to 3.5 m
Super Macro: Approx. 1 cm to 30 cm

Aperture
Wide: F3.5/7.0, Telephoto: F5.4 / 7.0

Viewfinder
0.2-inch, approx. 200,000 dots. Colour LCD monitor, approx. 97% coverage, 60 fps
Metering, TTL 256-zones metering

Exposure Control
Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual

Sensitivity
Auto / Auto(1600) / Auto(800) / Auto(400) / Equivalent to ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/3200/6400 (Standard Output Sensitivity)
ISO 3200/6400: Number of recorded pixels: 5M pixels or lower
Shutter Speeds
(Auto mode) 1/4 sec. to 1/1000 sec. (All other modes) 4 sec. to 1/1000 sec.

White Balance
AUTO
Preset (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light), Custom

Flash
Auto flash

Flash Range
Effective range: (ISO 800)
Normal: Wide Angle: Approx. 0.5 m to 6.4 m
Telephoto angle: Approx. 0.5 m to 4.1 m
Macro: Approx. 0.7 m to 3.0 m

Flash Modes
Red-eye removal OFF: Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro

Red-eye removal ON: Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro

LCD Monitor
2.7 inches, 230,000 pixels, Coverage Approx. 97%
Amorphous silicon TFT colour LCD monitor (WV type). 60 fps

Video Output
NTSC / PAL selectable
HD Output

Interface
USB High-speed

Power Source
4xAA type alkaline batteries (included), Ni-MH rechargeable batteries (optional) or Lithium batteries (optional)
DC Coupler CP-04 with AC power adapter AC-5VX (optional)
Other Functions

Digital Zoom
Approx 5.7 X (max.)

Shooting Modes
Mode Dial: Auto, PS (Anti-Blur), Natural Light, Natural Light & with Flash, Zoom Bracketing, SP, P, S, M, Movie, CUSTOM

SP: Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, Flower, Party, Museum, Text, Auction, Custom

Continuous Shooting:
Top-3 (max 1.1 frames/sec.)
Long-period (max. 0.5 frames/sec.)
Top-33, High speed (max 6.8 frames/sec., 5M pixels)
Top-33, Ultra High speed (max 13.5 frames/sec., 3M pixels)

Movie Recording
1280 x 720 pixels (HD) / 640 x 480 / 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames/sec.
With monaural sound, with electronic image stabilization
* Zoom function can be selectable optical zoom during movie recording.

Voice Captioning

F-button

Web Cam Functions

Playback
Face Detection, Slide show, Scrapbook view slideshow, Trimming, Single frame, Multi-frame playback (with Micro Thumbnail), Sorting by date, Image rotate, Voice Memo, Histograms (highlight warning)

Picture Cradle

Camera Weight
Approx. 386 g (excluding accessories, batteries and memory card)

Dimensions
110.0 (W) × 78.9 (H) × 75.7 (D) mm / 4.3 (W) x 3.1 (H) x 3.0 (D) in. (excluding accessories and attachments)

Self Timer
Approx. 10 sec. / 2 sec. delay

Photography Functions
ZOOM Bracketing, Instant ZOOM Bracketing, Face Detection (with Red-eye removal), High speed shooting, Best framing, Post shot assist windows, Frame No. memory, Histograms, HD Framing Guide

[Fujifilm Canada via dpreview — Thanks Mark]

Tokyo, July 30, 2008 – SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) announces the DMX-HD800, a new sleek, slim high definition dual camera Xacti that can take both stills and videos. The camera sports a compact and light-weight body, and easily saves data onto SD/SDHC memory cards for convenience. The DMX-HD800 will take stills and videos used on a personal computer or for the Web, houses a new three-dimensional digital noise reduction (3DDNR) filter, and adds the ‘Face Chaser’ for both stills and videos with an active scanner visible on the monitor.
On the new product launch, Hideki Toyoda, General Manager of SANYO’s Digital System Company, DI Company Products Planning Department, said, “The DMX-HD800 has not only has it been designed to be sleek and stylish, but it now offers our unique three-dimensional digital noise reduction (3DDNR) filter, which allows clear, beautiful images with simple operation of a dual camera offering high resolution stills and HD videos in a single unit.”

Main Features
Compact, light-weight camera capable of high definition movies compatible with personal
computers and/or upload video data to the Internet
- Easily drag and drop recorded files on to the hard drive or upload to the Internet
- Ideal for website-use/blog-use videos as well as standard video creation
- Take either high definition videos (1280 x 720, 720p) or 8.0-Megapixel still images with one
unit
- Snap photos anytime, even during video filming, without changing modes or pausing the viedo
- Preview the frame for photos while still recording video with the one-push ‘Photo View’ button
- Uses AVC/H.264 codec format for longer, higher quality recording than traditional codecs

[AV Watch and ]

DXG ANNOUNCES LOW COST STYLISH HD CAMCORDER

DXG-569V HD 5 Megapixel Ultra-Slim Digital Camcorder Features Sexy Vertical Design in Black & Silver
Available Now at Radio Shack & Other Stores

City of Industry, CA, April 28, 2008 - DXG USA (www.dxgusa.com), one of the fastest growing digital camera manufacturers, announced today the new low priced DXG-569V HD High-Definition camcorder with a sexy vertical design for an ultra-slim form factor that consumers prefer. Available immediately at Radio Shack and other stores for $169 in glossy black and silver, the DXG-569V HD camcorder records real HD video up to 1280 x 720 at 30 fps for videos that are crystal-clear, crisp and colorful.

The DXG-569V HD is a high-definition video camcorder that is well within your reach, letting you capture and record it all — in high-definition video. Sporting a 5 Megapixel CMOS sensor for still image resolution up to 8 Megapixels; a light-weight slim design; large rotational 3" TFT screen; and other advanced camera features, the DXG-569V is the perfect size to bring everywhere to capture real life — from birthdays to baseball games, school performances, vacations and picnics.

In addition, the DXG-569V HD also features a digital voice recorder, so you can record and make notes anywhere you go. And the camcorder also can be used as a mass storage device by connecting it to a PC to easily copy and back-up documents, music files, pictures, and videos from a computer to the camcorder's SD Card.

View High-Quality Videos on Your HDTV

Home videos can be shared with friends and family by connecting the DXG-569V HD to a TV. Since the camcorder lets you view videos in 4:3 or 16:9 (panoramic) aspect ratios, it's perfect for your plasma or HDTV. You can also connect the DXG-569V HD to your PC and upload videos online to video sites, like YouTube and others, to share your videos with friends, family — and the world.

The DXG-569V HD comes complete with the ArcSoft Total Media Extreme software that lets you create, edit and watch videos. The software (normally a $99 retail value) features two unique applications:

· TotalMedia Theatre: a high-quality video playback application that enhances your movie-watching experience with cool features and options right from your PC.

· TotalMedia Studio: a fun and easy-to-use program that lets you make amazing and customized movies. You just need to follow a few simple steps, and in no time, you'll be able to burn and share your homemade videos.

DXG-569V HD Features:

* Digital Camcorder
o Records full-motion video in High-Definition
+ HD Resolution: 1280 x 720 at 30fps
o Records video in H.264, MOV file format
o 2X Digital Zoom
o 3-inch TFT Screen
o Displays video on TV with A/V Out port

# Digital Still Camera

* 5 Megapixel CMOS sensor
* Captures still images in JPEG format up to 8MP image resolution
* Built-in LED Flash
* Self-timer
* White-Balance Adjustment

* Digital Voice Recorder
o Records voice notations and reminders

* Mass Storage Device
o Comes with 32MB onboard memory
o SD Card slot, supports High-Capacity SD Cards
o Connects to your PC to store and transfer data files
o USB2.0 interface for fast transfer of files

The DXG-569V HD is available immediately in two colors: silver and black, with a retail price of $169.99 from RadioShack and other leading retailers. For more information, see www.dxgusa.com .

About DXG USA

DXG USA "The Digital Camera Company" is one of the fastest growing digital camera manufacturers in the United States, selling attractively-designed digital cameras for the youth and mainstream markets. Compact, fashionable and affordably priced, DXG digital cameras are setting trends for quality and utility. DXG USA is a fully-owned subsidiary of DXG Technology Corporation, one of the world's leading manufacturers and designers (OEM/ODM) of digital cameras and camcorders. With over 20 years of experience manufacturing digital technology products under other brand names, DXG now designs and manufactures cameras under its own name. DXG Technology has won numerous design and innovation awards and employs over 4,000 people worldwide.

For more information on DXG USA, please visit www.dxgusa.com .

PANASONIC UNVEILS COMPANY'S FIRST TOUCH-SCREEN LUMIX DIGITAL CAMERA, COMPLETE WITH 25MM ULTRA-WIDE- ANGLE LENS AND HD VIDEO CAPABILITIES

New LUMIX FX500 Packs 3-inch LCD with Touch-Screen Operation, 5x Optical Zoom and 10.1 megapixels in Slim and Compact Design

SECAUCUS, NJ (March 18, 2008) - Panasonic today announces the LUMIX DMC-FX500, the company's first digital camera with a 3-inch touch-screen LCD - also featuring a 25mm ultra-wide-angle Leica DC lens, 5x optical zoom and 10.1 megapixels. With a dual control system using both touch-screen and joystick operation, the ability to record High Definition (HD) video and advanced Intelligent Auto technologies, the FX500 packs innovative features and intuitive design, helping consumers enrich the digital photography experience and take better photos.

"With the FX500's touch-screen operation, we are giving our consumers a new interface that we think will prove extremely intuitive during playback, photo organization and of course - helping to take high-quality photos," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "The FX500 represents a new flagship model for Panasonic, as we add brand-new capabilities to our already popular, slim and stylish FX-Series of LUMIX digital cameras and we introduce another model that features a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens."

The FX500 has a hybrid control system that combines joystick control with touch-screen operation, so users can make fine adjustments by touch, using their finger, or the LUMIX stylus-pen that comes with the FX500. In manual exposure mode, adjustments can be made using the on-screen sliders to adjust aperture and shutter speeds. Users can also set the auto focus and exposure in frames by simply touching the subject, on screen, while recording. In playback mode, a new Easy Organization menu allows for photos to be selected and viewed by scrolling through the thumbnails located below the main window. Then, users can edit the titles using an on-screen keyboard.

The FX500 expands Panasonic's family of wide-angle LUMIX digital cameras and joins the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX35 as an ultra-wide-angle lens with a 25mm wide-angle lens, which can capture almost double the photo area at the same shooting distance compared with a conventional 35mm lens*. Also new to the FX500 is Auto Focus (AF) tracking, a feature that tracks the photo subject even if it moves after the AF is set - especially helpful for catching active children or pets.

Panasonic's iA (Intelligent Auto) mode is an advanced system of technologies that engage automatically, so the user does not have to change any settings. Maximizing the iA mode, users can go a step further and easily set auto focus and exposure by simply touching the screen. This kind of quick, easy operation is made possible with the touch-screen technology.

* Intelligent Exposure - To help correct photos from being under- or over-exposed, the FX500 instantly analyzes the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting or the use of the flash.
* Digital Red-eye Correction - Helps eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at the night. Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash, detects red-eye and digitally corrects it.
* MEGA O.I.S. - Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent hand-shake from creating a blurry image.
* Intelligent ISO - Determines if the photo subject is moving and changes the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly.
* Intelligent Scene Selector - Senses the ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and automatically selects the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode.
* Face Detection - Detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the optimal focus and exposure settings so portraits come out clear and crisp. Detecting up to 15 faces, Panasonic's Face Detection can even track a face if the subject is moving.
* Continuous AF - Maintains focus on the subject even without the user pressing a shutter button halfway, thus minimizing the AF time.

Other features include its ability to take1280 x 720p HD video content and still photos with a 16:9 aspect ratio, perfect for viewing on an HDTV. In addition, the FX500 incorporates the Venus Engine IV processor, featuring more advanced digital signal processing technology for taking even higher-quality images. The fdsa proprietary Venus Engine IV also heightens the detection accuracy and corrective features in both MEGA O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO Control.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX500 will be available in black and silver models for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $399.95 in May 2008.

*35mm film camera equivalent: 25-125mm