Review: Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo vs. Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX (updated)

Long time readers will note that this is an article that we ran almost a year and a half ago. Seeing how many hits the story still gets, I felt like I should update the article a little and brush up the links. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, holy shit Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX is a long name but we move on. My test was a simple one; to use the Cybershot HX5 (one of the best damn pocket sized cameras I’ve ever used) and I wanted to see, if I used a higher speed Memory Stick, would it impact my shooting experience. There have been plenty of scenarios where I’ve been wanting to take a picture but my camera was still processing the past picture which will of course cause you to miss the shot that you wanted to take. Things only gets worse when it’s a lower light situation and you think your camera is done taking the picture in which you move your hand away and in return, cause a blurry picture, seeing how your camera was still processing the shot.

From the video you can tell that when my Cybershot was using the Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX, that it was able to snap pictures and process them at a faster rate then the normal memory stick. I can imagine that this is only exponentially more apparent on a NEX or Alpha camera. But for me, the difference you see in the video is much more visible on a daily use. My Cybershot just feels snappier from the time I turn it on and hit the shutter. Also as I noted, transferring files to the computer is extremely faster. This is nice because when I got out, I don’t take 200MB of pictures, I take 3GB+.

Conclusion:

If you have a higher end camera from Sony like the NEX or Alpha series, this is a must own for you, no way around it, seeing how those cameras can truly utilize the higher write speeds. For those who own Cybershots, if you take a lot of pictures, this is something I still recommend although they don’t come cheap unless you buy from Amazon. However, if you are more of a casual user, you can stick to the regular Memory Stick Pro Duo and save some money.

Shop:

You can right now pick up one of these guys from Amazonwith a USB card reader for around $54. Beats the $100+ that a retailer will want to charge you.

Sony Teams Up With Pogoplug, Offers Easy Cloud AVCHD Sharing

Cloud computing is a pretty catchy word to throw around these days, and you hear companies talk about it all the time. Though the term might still be new to many, the idea is actually a simple one in concept. The evolution of accessibility and the social media revolution demands that we share our life and experience with others. In simple terms, cloud computing allows you to access your files no matter what computer or potential mobile device you are using (though of course, there can and will be limitations. While all of your devices might have access to the pictures, your iPhone obviously won’t be able to open up a Photoshop file).

Currently, most cloud-computing services are based on the cloud-above-all concept. This means that your files don’t reside on your machine and are instead hosted on the company’s server where you can access them. This fairly standard practice also entails monthly costs for the service as well as storage size limitations which, of course, you can purchase more of.  Enter Pogoplug, who has a different take on the cloud-computing concept. Instead of making you buy set amounts of space from a company and pay for that hosting service, Pogoplug offers an ethernet-enabled device which allows you to plug in as many hard drives as you want to it and, in turn, gives you web access to them. This simple concept means that you can change and grow your storage solution as you see fit while the Pogoplug, through a web portal, gives you access to them with no monthly fees.

Hit the jump for a video walkthrough of the Pogoplug from SGNL, Sony’s internal video blog staff and to see how Sony plays into this.

Sony’s MDR-DS6500 7.1 Wireless Surround Sound Headphone

For those of you who want to enjoy some entertainment at home in your own bliss or you simply don’t want to wake others late at night, Sony’s new  MDR-DS6500 wireless surround sound headphones might become your new best friend. Featuring a 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound and Sony’s Virtualphones Technology, these wireless headphones will give you 20 hours of listening time with a 100-meter (330-foot) operating range. For those of you who will put this guy to use, you will also be happy to hear that the unit will achieve its 20 hour charge with only 3 hour of charging. The MDR-DS6500 will be available in late May for $299. Hit the jump for official and always fun press release.

Sony Introduces External Flash for Alpha and DSLR Cameras with Quick Shift Bounce, the HVL-F43AM

Announced for Europe and we’re guessed head to other territories in months to follow, Sony is releasing a new external flash, the HVL-F43AM. Designed to be dust and moisture resistant, this new rugged flash also has a few neat tricks up its sleeve like working Sony’s Wireless Ratio Control and will come with the Quick Shift Bounce system. This new feature allows “lash head position to be adjusted instantly when switching between horizontal and vertical compositions. This maintains consistent shadow positions regardless of camera orientation, allowing easy creation of natural-looking ‘bounce’ effects.” This Alpha and other branded DSLR based flash is priced at $350 and will be available in Summer.

Hit the jump for additional photos and  a press release from Sony.

Sony’s New Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX Offer 50MB Per Second Transfer Rate

Although in the grand scheme of things, Sony’s Memory Stick day are numbered as the company has begun to deploy a hybrid of Memory Stick and SD card input system in their Handycam, Alpha, and NGP lineup, that doesn’t mean that there are not millions of products out in the market who currently use Memory Stick. For those consumers, Sony is releasing the Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX, which offers an impressive 50MB per second transfer rate. The new high speed Memory Stick come in:

• 32GB (¥17,000 about $200)
• 16GB (¥9,000 or $106)
• 8GB (¥5,000 / $59)

I have to say that I myself was skeptical as to what difference a faster transfer rate could provide on a shooting experience till I did my own tests, putting Sony’s Memory Stick Pro Duo against the Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX. The new Pro-HG Duo HX is currently available in Japan, and although there is no US announced date, we expect them to quietly appear in store shelves in the following months.

[Via Impress Watch]

Sony To Release 3 New Speakers to its European Line-up

After beefing up the current VAIO lineup, Sony is looking to conquer the PC home speaker market by introducing three new speakers, designed to help fill the audio gap that laptops tend to offer. The series kicks things off with the compact SRS-A3–a 2 channel 5W speaker with 57mm driver. The series then follows with the SRS-D4 a 2.1 channel system with a total output of 27W (a large bump compared) and 46mm driver unit on the satellite speakers and 95mm on the subwoofer to help add depth to your music, games and movies. Finally, the series finishes off with the SRS-D5, which again increases the 2.1 channel system, offered with a 40W output and 60mm driver units on its pair of satellite speakers and 115mm on its subwoofer. As always, hit the jump for an official press release as well as additional pictures.

Sony Introduces 2 New IC Recorder, the AX412F and BX312

Sony Electronics of Japan has announced two new IC Recorders for the home territory, the AX412F and BX312. The higher end model of the two, the AX412F, comes with:

• Stereo Mic
• FM Radio
• FM Radio Tuner
• Radio Recorder Mode
• Mp3 Player
• 2Gb Internal Memory
• MicroSD and M2 Support

The lower version, the BX312 only lacks the capability to listen and record FM Radio and only has a mono mic. Still, depending on the price, it might be the better of the two if all you need is voice-recording functionality.

We Unbox the Sony CycleEnergy Power Charger

A few days ago, we ordered and received a Sony CycleEnergy Power Charger. Basically a wall plugged battery charger, capable of handling four AA or AAA batteries. Now, we present you an unboxing.

Just In: Sony CycleEnergy Power Charger

When it comes to my computer setup, it seems that I have far too many accessories that all still require AA batteries. Between my Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad, I seem to be running to Costco too often to buy one of those 36 Duracell battery packs. Take into account other stuff around the house like motion air fresheners, electric toothbrushes and remotes (though thank god for my Harmony 1000 which has replaced most of my remotes) and you can see why batteries are a high expense around here. Finally, I bit the bullet and today, UPS brought me my Sony CycleEnergy Power Charger. This little guy, priced at only $14 on Amazon, comes with the charger and four AA batteries. Using high capacity 2500 mAh batteries, they can take up to 300 charges before losing their charge level and will generally last 5x longer then alkaline batteries. For those who need AAA batteries, this charger set is capable of handling those as well with any given mixture of AA and AAA placed inside of it. With an automatic shut off feature built in that kills the flow of energy, once a battery has been fully charged, I cannot recommend these enough to those of you who still have plenty of battery powered devices.

[Buy from Amazon]

Sony Introduced the CLM-V55, a 5-inch LCD for your DSLR and Camcorder

Those of us who have been shooting with DSRLs like the Sony Alpha and smaller siblings like the NEX know that while they might be great for taking pictures, filming on them is not only a joy, but you also get some damn impressive quality. Still, the problem with these types of cameras, including those from the likes of Nikon, Canon and others, is that the LCD display tends to be too small to appropriately view the scene or play back what you just recorded.

Finally, there is a solution for those who take their video seriously: the CLM-V55, a 5-inch LCD video monitor that’s compatible with interchangeable lens cameras from Sony and other manufacturers that use ISO or auto-lock accessory shoes. The 5-inch LCD comes with an 800 x 480 resolution, allows for tilt, and swivels to various angles to accommodate different shooting styles and angles. Another great feature for the photographer in you is the ability to zoom in on scenes for a “pixel-perfect view” of the HD image in order to adjust parameters like colors and brightness. Though a price has not been announced yet, a date is, so mark March 2011 on your calendar and expect a price as we near it.

Hit the jump for an official press release and some additional shots.

Quad Charger for PS3 Move Review (Video)

A little under two months ago, I did a video review, though in hindsight should have been called overview of the Quad Charger for the PS3 Move. Back then, I was still getting pieces together for my PlayStation Move setup and did not actually own the PlayStation move itself. Fast forward to today, thanks to a wonderful girlfriend and mother, I now own two PlayStation Move Controllers and 2 PlayStation Move Navigation controllers. This presented itself as the perfect time to revisit the old video and do a full review of the product. For those looking to buy one, Amazon has a fantastic price on them.

[Buy Now]

New Sony 12X Blu-ray Burner/Player with 3D (BD-5300S, BWU-500S and BWU-500S)

Sony has announced a new lineup of internal Blu-ray burners and players with 12x speed and 3D playback. The new Sony Optiarc lineup will come in 3 models: the BD-5300S, BWU-500S and BWU-500S, offering 12x BD-R burning speed and 8x for dual layer Blu-ray discs. Sony is going to be offering these in a variety of retail and OEM configurations but no price point is set yet. For those who are looking to edit some videos, the BWU-500S retail branded model comes with CyberLink’s Media Suite 8 software for capturing, authoring, editing, backing up, viewing high-definition personal content and playing back Blu-ray disc movies including 3D Blu-ray movies. For those looking for an external solution, Sony also offers the BDX-S500u. Hit the jump for a full press release.

New SD Cards from Sony

Remember those Sony SD cards we showed you a few months back? Well their November 10th, 2010 Japanese release has come and gone, and now Sony has its eyes on the US market. With a targeted January 2011 window, Sony is looking to release these new SD cards in 3 series, Class 4 Essential and Experience, and the Class 10 Expert. The class breakdown is as follows:

Class 4  Essential cards:

• 2GB – $14
• 4GB – $21
• 8GB – $49

Class 4 Experience cards with 15MB/s transfer speeds:

• 2GB
• 4GB
• 8GB
• 16GB
• 32GB

Class 10 cards with 22MB/s transfer speeds:

• 8GB – $74
• 16GB – $150
• 32GB – $283

The pricing listed here can change and was more a simple conversion from the Japanese launch of these SD cards than a announcement of prices from Sony. Though, they should give you a good idea of how Sony is looking to price them until we get official word from them. Hit the jump as always for an official press release from Sony.

New PlayStation 3 Bluetooth Headset Available Now

Sony’s new PlayStation 3 Bluetooth headset is now available for purchase, priced at $49 MSRP. Some new features include:

• Dual-microphone design
• Automatic pairing via USB cable with the PS3
• In-game headset status indicator
• An easily accessible microphone mute button
• Charging cradle which also functions as a desktop microphone
• High-Quality (HQ) mode (which delivers crystal clear voice chat while gaming on the PS3) with built-in noise cancellation for filtering out ambient noise when used with the PS3
• 30% smaller than the original mode

Hit the jump for more pictures.

[Via PlayStationBlog]

Our Playstation Eye Camera Mounting Clip Has Arrived! [Updated with Video]

Look what we have in our office! An officially licensed Playstation product; the Playstation Eye Camera Mounting Clip. This guy is designed for those with a real projection LCD TV or normal LCD or Plasma display who want to mount and display their Playstation eye in the dead center. This not only makes for better and more optimal audio quality sense it will be directly point at you, but is a must for Playstation Move owners. A video review to come in the following day.

Update:

Please checkout our new PS3 Eye Camera Mounting Clip article for a video unboxing and review.

Sony Makes SD Card and Reader

Is Sony starting to slowly transition away from the self-made format, the memory stick? Most new Alpha, the NEX and some Cybershots can now handle Memory Stick Pro Duo and SD cards, and the new PSPgo takes the new M2 sticks (although I believe thats more due to size). Now, Sony is releasing a SD card and reader for the Japanese market. The MRW-F3 titled, USB 2.0 SD card reader is priced at $18 and will hit the streets on November 10th.

Then, there is their SD cards that go all the way up to 32GB. Sony is releasing two series, the 4 class which is their consumer based and the 10 class which is their higher end, faster write and speed SD cards.

Class 4 cards:

• 2GB – $14
• 4GB – $21
• 8GB – $49

Class 10 cards:

• 8GB – $74
• 16GB – $150
• 32GB – $283

No dates for a US release, but expect them to hit our market some time after CES.

Review: Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo vs. Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, holy shit that is a long name but we move on. My test was a simple one. I used the Cybershot HX5 (one of the best damn cameras I’ve ever used) and I wanted to see, if I used a higher speed Memory Stick, would it impact my pictures. There have been plenty of scenarios where I’ve been wanting to take a picture but my camera was still processing the past picture. This can cause you to just miss pictures during daylight and worse, when it’s a lower light situation, you think your camera is done taking the picture and you move your hand away and bam, blurry picture.

From the video you can tell that the camera with the Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX does indeed snap pictures faster. I can imagine that this is only exponentially more apparent on a NEX or Alpha camera. But for me, the difference you see in the video is much more visible on a daily use. My Cybershot just feels snappier from the time I turn it on and hit the shutter. Also as I noted, transferring files to the computer is extremely faster. This is nice because when I got out, I don’t take 200MB of pictures, I take 3GB+.

Conclusion:

If you have a higher end camera from Sony, this is a must for you, no way around it. For those who own Cybershots, if you take a lot of pictures, this is something I still highly recommend although they don’t come cheap unless you buy from Amazon. If you are more of a casual user, you can stick to the regular Memory Stick Pro Duo.

Shop:

You can right now pick up one of these guys from Amazonwith a USB card reader for around $80. Beats the MSRP of $120+ Tax

Sony Japan to Patent Backwards Compatibility Adapter

From launch date to now, it took a while for the PS3 to gain some heat in sales (but now they are higher than ever). I bought my 60GB Playstation 3 on launch date. It was fully backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2 games. Slowly but surely, Sony made newer models partially PS2 compatible and now the feature is out of their systems completely. If this was due to a cost issue, Sony now has profits coming in from PS3 sales so bring back this feature! I’m sure the desire for it lessens as time goes by but I wouldn’t mind popping in Kingdom Hearts to play once in a while.

Well, reported today from Japanese message boards exploded overnight when Sony Computer Entertainment Japan filed a patent for a backwards compatible adapter. Nice! The device shows it has its own processor, a DVD decoder/emulator, sound processor, and graphic processor.
Although it would be nice to have it built in and not an external device, this is far better than nothing or having to buy a PS2 again. Do you miss playing your PS2 games? Would you buy this adapter?

Sonys new DR-GA500 Headset gives you 7.1 Surround

Sony is unleashing their new DR-GA500 headset for the gaming world. Sporting a mic and Dolby Pro Logic IIx built in audio, this new headset is designed to stimulate 7.1 surround sound while keeping you comfortable and stylish. Of course, part of this is because of the external drives the come with the unit to make sure all the audio processing is done correctly and also reducing the weight of the unit. Hit the jump for a look at the box and official press release. So if your girlfriend or mother has ever yelled at you for playing too loud or you just want some quality sound, Sony has the cure for your itch.

Sony Finally Releases 3D Glasses

As Sony continues to gear up its 3D arsenal with 3D movies and its 3D TVs and players, it’s finally taken the final step to bring all of these equipment in harmony by releasing the 3D glasses required to make all of this work. Currently, the Sony LX900 series television is the only one of the series that comes with a 3D glasses and chances are, you will want more for around the house. Priced at $150, these units currently come in black for adult and blue and pink for children (also $150).

Hit the jump for a look at the children’s 3D glasses.

[Via Sony]

Cool PS3 Dock + Controller Charger

This isn’t as much as a direct Sony product (we’re Sony centered and not Playstation or specific device centered here) but this little dock has to be seen. Designed to work with the PS3 and the PS3 Slim, this rotating dock allows you to kick up your PS3 and swivel it around. But here comes the best part, rotate the TwistDock and you can dock 2 PS3 controllers. From there, the TwistDock is powered via a wall charger so your controller will charge even when your PS3 is off. Not enough? How about the fact that the TwistDock also comes with a 6 port USB hub? This means your PS3 can continue to look clean and sexy and you can plug all the equipment you want to your PS3. This is especially great for the PS3 Slim and its lack of 2 USB ports, compared to the 4 of the original PS3. There’s no price on this unit yet, but it should be out by September.

[Via Vogel]