We take a look at the EZKeyboard Professional aimed at the consumer and based on the same technology the professionals use.  The DV Keyboard has a built-in jog/shuttle controller and specialty keys enabling the home enthusiast with the same control that the pros have over their timelines and video clips. 

The best feature of the EZKeyboard Professional is the shuttle/jog dial on the lower right third of the keyboard. During video capture, it controls the camera (or playback deck if you're fancy) making it much easier to log the clips for capture. The outside ring is spring loaded and you simply rotate right to go forward, the further right, the faster and left do go backwards, obviously, the further left the faster. The middle dial rotates 360 degress and "click" into place every 1/10 of the way around. Each click advance the frame on the camera on frame.

TV on a PC's certainly nothing new, but Pinnacle's PCTV USB stick is aimed squarely at TV on the move - plug this little gadget into your laptop for digital TV and radio anywhere. At least that's what is says on the box. How does it work in practice? Inside the little package (and yes, it's one of those plastic cases designed never to be opened), you'll find an aerial, remote and USB stick. Dig a little deeper and you'll also find an installation CD and instructions. The instructions couldn't be simpler: plug in the ariel, insert the USB stick into a port and install the software on the CD...

I bought my Rode Videomic after deciding I needed better audio than the standard onboard camera microphone could give me. One thing that always comes through seems to be handling noise on the camera and with the feature of an integral shock suspension mount as standard I considered it to be worth a shot. After some hunting around I finally bought from an eBay dealer, and including postage it cost me just short of eighty quid....

You'd never display fluffy dice on a Porsche... so why even consider connecting a VCR to a spanking new home entertainment system? Oh and I also hear that they've actually stopped making VCRs. So it's clearly time to preserve your collection of VHS videos in a digital format. You could throw money at some guy you've never met to watch you prat around, or you could save both money and embarrassment by investing in an analogue to digital video converter.

The ATI all in wonder cards offer a cheap route into video editing, combining a complete home entertainment solution with high end gaming performance. The latest incarnation in the All-in-Wonder series is the Radeon 9700.

Practice can't make perfect.

That's the unfortunate truth in eliminating camera shake from handhelds. I know the funky "handheld" look is the current darling of filmmakers, but it's just a fad. Camera shake looks plain amateurish, and we all know the 'professional look' is the holy grail of any aspiring amateur. Inevitably the experienced shooter claims rock handheld shots (he'll also be heard repeating the "my body is a tripod" mantra), but this dedication and skill will always be limited. Tripod, dollys and cranes are also great for very well, but completely useless for the intrepid DV shooter.

It seems the creation of a DVD camcorder is the product of today's society: Sony's market research apparently suggested the current crop of gadget hungry 30 somthings desire their video footage served immediately. Forget editing, they want instant DVD creation. It would appear Sony's previous attempt at wowing this market failed dramatically with its MicroMV format. Small was good, but not perfect. And so was born the DVD camcorder: a device that records footage directly onto a DVD in MPEG2, playable in (just about) and DVD player (including Sony Playstion 2s).It all sounds good on paper, but how does it fair in the hands of end users?