Posts

XGIMI HORIZON PRO 4K ALL-IN-ONE PROJECTOR REVIEW: MORE FOR LESS

 gimi’sXgimi’s latest all-in-one smart projector not only looks good, but it supports native 4K and HDR content. Better yet, the Xgimi Horizon Pro boots straight into Android TV and features a pair of 8W Harman Kardon speakers that sound great despite the projector’s compact size. Couple that with a bright LED light source, built-in Wi-Fi, and the ability to automatically avoid obstacles when determining where to project the image, and you’ve got a 300-inch display that can go anywhere there’s a power outlet and a flat surface. Hell, it’ll even double as a Bluetooth speaker in a pinch. I’ve never been a fan of smart televisions when it’s so easy to offload those smarts to a more capable streaming box or stick, which can be neatly hidden out of sight. But it’s much harder to do the same thing with a projector when they’re mounted to ceilings or placed on a coffee table for an impromptu movie or gaming night with friends. With projectors, the more self-contained they are, the better....
Post a Comment
Read more

LENOVO YOGA 9I (14-INCH) REVIEW: SOUNDS LIKE A WINNER

 Lenovo is a big player in the convertible laptop sphere, and the Yoga 9i is its top dog. A sequel to the Yoga C940, the $1,299.99-and-up 14-inch Yoga 9i is a capable laptop in almost every area that matters, with a comfortable keyboard, respectable battery life, and some of the better specs you can get at its price point. But there’s one area where it’s far ahead of the pack — the audio. Yes, you read that correctly. There’s actually a 14-inch laptop out there with very good audio. I know. I’m shocked to be typing that, too. Though it doesn’t quite surpass the likes of HP’s Spectre x360 and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 Plus in many other areas, the Yoga 9i’s innovative speaker design keeps it very much in the premium mix as an exceptional entertainment and multimedia machine. About this speaker system, to start. There are two downward-firing woofers on the bottom. But the 9i’s secret is that the custom tweeters are housed in a rotating soundbar, which is built into the laptop’s hinge...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why small design decisions can matter

 While we usually look for major features in a device — speed or sound quality or picture sharpness — sometimes it’s the little things that can make or break your experience with that device. I realized this recently when I bought myself a pair of Jabra Elite 75t earbuds for day-to-day use. I really liked my new earbuds. But while my previous headset came with a detachable loop that you could use to attach it to a bag or a keyring or whatever, the Jabra case has no way of attaching to anything. Now, I wasn’t about to return the earbuds because of this, but it did cause me to growl a little. In order to get that same convenient functionality I had enjoyed with my previous earbuds, I had to buy a cheap silicone cover for the case — one that came with a carabiner that I could hook onto my bag. It also started me thinking about other easily overlooked design features that we may not even think about when we buy a device but become issues once we start using the device on a day-to-day b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Genki ShadowCast review: a clever but limited capture card

 The ShadowCast from Genki is a dongle-size video capture card that might provide all that some gamers and streamers need. It’s $45, a relatively low price for a no-frills device that can get your console games onto your PC. But it has some limitations. The video quality isn’t great, and there’s a noticeable amount of lag if you’re trying to play along with the stream. These compromises aren’t a surprise, considering the ShadowCast costs a fraction of the price of something more capable like Elgato’s HD60 S+. You can actually go a bit cheaper than Genki’s $45 if you’re willing to roll the dice on quality control. Last year we covered an affordable (between $10 and $30, usually) no-brand HDMI capture card that’s very similar to this one, and perhaps its port arrangement may be more convenient for you. Unlike the ShadowCast, which plugs into an HDMI port and has a USB-C-in port on its other end, the cheaper alternative has HDMI-in and USB-out, so you can just plug in an HDMI cable yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

HTC’S VIVE FOCUS 3 IS A GREAT PROTOTYPE FOR A TRUE OCULUS QUEST RIVAL

 Let’sLet’s get this out of the way: you shouldn’t buy the HTC Vive Focus 3 for home VR. The Vive Focus 3 is HTC’s latest virtual reality headset, part of the Vive line that it first released in 2016. The Vive helped establish the modern VR industry, and the Focus 3 is one of only two big-brand standalone (as opposed to PC- or console-tethered) headsets on the market alongside Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2. But as Facebook lengthens its lead in consumer VR, HTC has voluntarily taken itself out of the running. The Focus 3, which opened for preorders last month, is meant for businesses, research institutions, and other professional settings. It’s equipped with a small suite of apps that hold little consumer appeal, and it is sold with HTC tech support and other enterprise-oriented features. At $1,300, it costs more than four times as much as the Quest 2’s $299 base price. Again: if you want a device for playing video games, exercising, or using most VR social spaces, don’t buy HTC’s stan...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to change Alexa’s voice

 Alexa’s pleasant, feminine voice has filled the homes of millions over the past few years, but now Amazon has finally released a masculine counterpart for it. Amazon is late to this — both Apple and Google have offered different voices, both feminine and masculine, in their virtual assistants for years. But late or not, it’s nice that Amazon is finally giving some choice for Alexa. In addition to the two main Alexa voices, Amazon also has celebrity voices (right now you can choose between Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Melissa McCarthy). These are programmed to work with certain phrases and answer select questions — mostly alarms and timers, jokes, or weather reports. They also cost $5 each. Any query to an Echo device that’s not supported by the chosen celebrity voice will get a response from the native Alexa voice. There are two ways you can change the voice of Alexa on your Echo devices: through the device itself or through the Alexa app. Note that changing the voice ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to use the Green Screen effect on TikTok

 Green screens used to be reserved for those with access to, well, a green screen. This method has been around for a long time: allowing creators to superimpose a photo or video onto a background in a film or video. Traditionally, that means using a setup that has a large sheet of (usually) green material behind the subject. The solid color makes it easy to digitally remove that color in post-production and add whatever image or video should be there. Now the idea of green screens has gone digital as a way to hide backgrounds in meetings or to create fun videos on social media. TikTok has taken this idea and run with it by creating an effect within the app that does basically the same thing. While not as polished as a traditional green screen, it still gets the job done and allows the creator to remain on-screen while showing the audience an image in the background of the video. The effect is a great way to spice up a video and provide an interesting visual. I use it regularly on T...
Post a Comment
Read more