Stories by: James Dickinson

Sanyo's Xacti HD1A is an interesting device. For a start, it's the smallest High Definition camcorder on the market, and one of the cheapest. It also has respectable still photograph abilities, beyond what we would usually expect from a camcorder. Which begs the question, is it a video camera with an above average still image function or a digital camera with an above average video function?

When it comes to the budget end of the DVD camcorder market, we're used to seeing pictures marred but all kinds of compression artifacts and inaccurate colours. There's usually little room for manual controls either. So it's good to see Canon producing a cut price model that addresses both of these concerns to some degree. It's certainly not an outstanding performer by any means, but for the consumer on a budget, it will fit the bill nicely.

Logitech's mm28 is a standalone speaker setup for use with portable music players and other small devices such as a PSP. The system uses flat panel NXT speaker technology, so it's thin, light and portable, and combined with the option to use battery power, this makes the mm28 and ideal choice for taking to the park on a summer's day.

The PlayGear Amp is a speaker system that's designed to be a companion to the Sony PSP. Two mini speakers fold out from the main body and the PSP slides neatly into the middle. It's an easy to use system that's also portable, though ultimately it fails in the most crucial area: sound quality.

There's only one solution for today's discerning home theatre enthusiast, and that's to buy an AV receiver. What's it the solution to you may ask? Well, just about everything it turns out, especially if you opt for a powerhouse such as Pioneer's VSX-AX2AS.

Panasonic's NV-GS300 is a high quality Mini DV camcorder, with all the bells and whistles that we usually find lacking from mid-priced models. It's nice to finally see a manufacturer including functional extras a mid range units.

What do you do if you can't decide between the convenience of a DVD camcorder and the capacity of a hard disk model? If you're Hitachi you stick them together to create the world's first hybrid DVD/HDD camcorder. Hitachi's hybrid technology is a great idea, circumventing one of our main gripes with DVD camcorders, and producing a far more practical system as a result. Video quality is generally good, and it's just the lack of manual options and a slightly awkward chassis that dent the otherwise impressive credentials.

When it comes to home theatre speakers they don't get much better than B&W's Mini Theatre range. Three packages are available, each using the same set of five satellite speakers, but coming with a different subwoofer. We took a look at the MT30, the top of the range system which comes with the novel PV1 subwoofer, and were extremely impressed with its performance.

One of the first things that strikes you when looking at Toshiba's latest portable media player is the presence of a Windows key. You certainly don't see those on the iPod, and that's because the gigabeat S is the first player to have Windows Portable Media Centre on board. This means there's an incredibly simple and intuitive interface, and more crucially, the unit is backed by Microsoft. The gigabeat S is a worthy addition to the media player market, and contrary to what might be expected, this is primarily due to the addition of Windows.

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away. If you can use some exotic booze there's a bar in far Bombay. Come fly with me, we'll fly, we'll fly away. When Mr. Sinatra crooned about gliding through the air, he probably hadn't imagined being boxed into Qantas economy class with 400 other gloomy travellers. But fear not, for Bose has a solution that can drastically improve the prospects of long haul flights. The new QuietComfort 3 represents the latest product in the company's range of noise cancelling headphones, and while their sound quality isn't the best we've heard, they offer great noise cancelling technology that is excellent for frequent travellers.

As one of Sony's two new high definition camcorders, the HDR-UX1 should be an attractive proposition. In many ways it is, with good quality video, a reasonable feature set and excellent construction. Unfortunately the UX1 just can't compare to its sibling, the [[prodid:2650]] with regards to usability. Despite being almost identical products, there is one major difference: the SR1 uses a 30GB hard disk while the UX1 uses mini DVDs, which severely limits it both in terms of recording time and playback.