Daily deal – Sabrent pocket USB HDTV tuner

by Scott Carmichael on

My deal for today is for the Sabrent pocket USB HDTV tuner. This tiny USB key contains a full HD tuner, and allows your laptop (or desktop) to pick up the signal from any local TV station, (analogue or digital). The digital signal compatibility ensures your device will still work after the big switch being made in February of next year.

With this device, you’ll be able to plug in the included mini antenna, and watch TV on your computer. Software is included for recording TV shows, and there is support for an electronic TV guide. If you have ever been stuck in a hotel with a 20″ wood grain TV, and nothing more than 4 channels of local farming information, then this device might be able to keep you entertained for a while.

The Sabrent pocket USB HDTV tuner is on sale for just $39.99, shipping is about $7 and tax is collected in IL, FL, TX and NC.

The package contains the USB tuner, a mini HD capable antenna and a credit-card size remote control. The included software works on Windows XP and Vista, sorry; no Mac support.

Daily deal – Canon HV20 Hi-def camcorder for $539.99 (refurbished)

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the highly rated Canon HV20 HD camcorder. This high definition recorder shoots video in true 1080 widescreen format, directly to regular (cheap) miniDV tapes.

The camera normally retails for around $720, but if you can deal with a refurbished version, it could be yours for just $539.99+$5 for shipping.

Refurbished products have been sent back to the manufacturer (for any number of reasons), and have been returned to their “as new” condition. One word of warning about refurbished products though – even though many credit cards offer additional warranty on purchases, this warranty usually does not apply when the product was refurbished. The HV20 comes with a limited 90 day warranty.

Included in this package is the camera itself, a battery pack, AC charger, remote control, HD video cable and of course the user manual.

The Canon HV20 HD camcorder is on sale through the Woot spinoff “Woot Sellout”. To get to the sales page, you will have to enter through shopping.yahoo.com, then right in the middle of the screen you will see the Canon HV20. By clicking on that, you will be taken to sellout.woot.com. You HAVE to go through the Yahoo page to get to the deal. As always with Woot! deals, once it is sold out, the deal is gone. At the moment, this camera is still in stock, but there is no telling how long that will last.

Kodak Zi6 HD camcorder now available for pre-order!

by Scott Carmichael on

After spending the past couple of decades surrounded by gadgets, it usually takes a lot to get me excited about an upcoming product. My inbox gets bombarded with product announcements and updates to existing products 100’s of times a week. But there is currently one product “coming soon” that is very high on my “must have” list, and it’s from a pretty unlikely source.

HD video capable? Check. Built in USB connector? Check. Runs off AA batteries? Check. Can be expanded with cheap SD cards? Check. Weighs just 3.8 ounces? Check. Costs less than $180? CHECK!

The Kodak Zi6 is a handheld digital camcorder, much like the highly successful “Flip Camcorder” that made its way to retail stores in the past year. The ZI6 is different though; it can record HD video files. No longer will you have to settle for grainy and stuttering movie clips of your kids first dive into the pool, you’ll be able to film their antics in 720p HD at 60 frames per second.

HD video recording is in its infancy, a “real” HD camcorder still costs around $1000, but Kodak have managed to shave as much off the price of the Zi6 as possible, and it will be retailing for just $179.95. Of course, at this price point, you don’t get a nice optical zoom, and the image quality will be the lowest HD resolution (720p), and not 1080i or 1080p like a high-end camcorder can produce.

The camera should be available within the next month, but Kodak have made it easier to get your hands on it, as soon as it is available thanks to their new pre-order page.

A quick recap of the specifications; the Zi6 can record in wide screen 720p HD at 60 frames per second, it has a 2.4″ LCD screen, an integrated pop-out USB jack, direct-to-Youtube uploads and it can be expanded using SD and SDHC memory cards up to 32GB. The Zi6 has just 128MB of internal memory, so an additional SD card is a must if you plan to record HD video.

The Kodak Zi6 ships with AA rechargeable batteries and recharger, AV and HD video cables (component), a wrist strap, a pouch and a special version of Arcsoft Media Impression, for editing HD video. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a full review as soon as I can get my hands on one.