Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Tag: video

Hands-On Review: Olympus LS-20M HD Video/Audio Recorder

June 13, 2011 / / 8 Comments

I had the good fortune to get my hands on a very cool, brand-new gadget in late May before it was due to hit stores in June, thanks to my friend Robert Stephens, CTO of Best Buy.  He asked me to shoot video interviews at the Glue Conference, which he wasn't able to attend, and I told him I'd love to try it with a new device I'd just heard about, the Olympus LS-20M, if he could get me a review unit. He scored one for me a day or two later, and I ultimately shot 18 interviews at the conference, May 24-26 in Denver (all of which appear just prior to this post). My net assessment: I loved it!

Olympus_LS-20M This is one heckuva device for the money (list price $299), really unlike anything before it that I had seen.  In a sentence, here's how Olympus describes it: "The new LS-20M is the first Olympus recorder that captures and edits 1080p HD video while recording 24 bit/96 hHz Linear PCM stereo sound…(it) enables users to create home movies that look and sound like professional productions in a device that’s so compact it fits in your pocket."

 I like to call it a hand-held, studio-grade recorder, the same way I'm used to describing my Olympus LS-10 — but that's an audio-only device, which I've been doing interviews with for a couple of years. This adds HD video to my game (finally) and, combined with high-quality audio, lets me record much more interesting interviews at all the conferences I attend.  Sure, I've had an iPhone for some time and shoot videos with that, but not for serious journalistic kinda stuff, and I somehow never got around to buying a Flip (and why would I now that Cisco killed it off?). 

Summary of My Experience:

• The device was very easy to use. The review unit I received came without a manual (because it wasn't printed yet), but I was able to quickly figure out how to operate it. Of course, I had the advantage of having used the LS-10, and the controls are very similar. I just began shooting video interviews without even practicing first. (And some of my interviews show it!) I was challenged by difficult lighting conditions, and it did take me a while to get the hang of shooting with it, but I was generally pleased with how my candid interviews turned out. They averaged 3-4 minutes in length.

• Using a mini-tripod as a handle is the only way to go when doing hand-held interviews. (There's a screw-mount in the bottom of the unit.) I was used to doing this with my LS-10, to aim the device, and of course it's even more critical when shooting video! LS-20M_wTripod My mini-tripod is 4-5 inches high when fully closed and fits perfectly in my hand to support the device and hold it conveniently and comfortably for shooting. A mini-tripod can also double as a stand when doing tabletop interviews, as shown in the accompanying photo (this one and others copyright GizMag, and see the link to their article below). My tripod is smaller than this one and has straight legs, so it's ideal doubling as a handle.

• I bought a high-speed 16GB SD card to use with my LS-20M review unit, to make sure I'd have hours of recording capacity while I was doing all my interviews at the conference. The LS-20 comes with a 2GB card, but that won't hold a lot of video. (Note: you can alternately do audio-only recording with the unit, via a switch on the right side, and MP3s take up a lot less space.)

• The fact that the unit does not have little wheels for volume and audio level on the side is a good thing, as I found with the LS-10 that they could inadvertently be adjusted too low without me realizing it! (All such controls were thankfully made digital on the LS-20M, accessible via the Menu button.)

• The unit doesn't have built-in wifi, so there's no "Upload to YouTube" button. But in my experience at the conference (which had very good wifi), I simply pulled my SD card, put it into a reader, plugged it into a USB port on my MacBook, and quickly uploaded my short videos via the YouTube site. Then, I simply copy-pasted the URL for each video into the Typepad new-post interface, entered a title, clicked publish — and, voila, each video was published as its own post. I was able to post several videos each day of the two-day event, just by working a bit during breaks.

What Could be Improved?

• The one big issue with the LS-20M is the fixed, front-mounted lens, between the dual mics (which you can see in the top photo). That makes viewing the LCD screens a challenge when you're shooting. In order to see the shot you're framing, you have to angle the unit upwards a least a little, and shooting up at a subject is not the most flattering angle.  I had to be very aware of this while I was shooting, constantly trying to minimize the angle while craning my neck to see my shot. LS-20M_front-left (Otherwise, it is so crazy-easy to chop someone's head off!) LS-20M_front-right I got used to that quickly, though, and was able to shoot pretty good video, adequate for my needs. Suggestion to Olympus: make the lens rotatable downward! Even just 15 degrees or so would help immensely. I will not be surprised to see that improvement in the next release of the product. It is a design shortcoming.

• The small LCD screen below the main one is okay, but I noticed the little icon for battery capacity only after I'd run out of battery in the middle of an interview! It was crammed into the upper right of the display. The charger worked quite fast, though, and I found the battery life to be good. (I didn't time it, but it seemed like several hours.)

Those were really my only complaints about the unit.  It worked flawlessly otherwise, and the quality of the video and the audio is nothing short of tremendous.  I would whole-heartedly recommend the LS-20M for anyone needing to do journalistic, remote/on-site interviews as I do.  Beyond that usage, however, the device will surely be popular for general consumer use, including family videos. I didn't even mention (nor did I need to use) this cool feature: it comes with four different optional "Magic Movie" special-effect filters.  But I will surely give those filters a try for personal videos, once I get my own unit.  I do intend to make the LS-20M my video cam of choice when I want to capture serious, quality videos.  The quality of cell phone videos (including the iPhone) only goes so far — especially the audio.  And the LS-20M is easy to take with you in its nice, little zippered black-fabric case. One cool optional accessory is a remote control, which would be be handy in situations where you want the unit stationary or on a tripod, and you need to start and stop the recording — say at an event like a concert or a wedding.

Other sites have written about the LS-20M, at least when it was first announced. I'm not aware of any other reviews yet based on hands-on usage, however. Here are four of the best reports I read on the device, all published in early May:

• Ubergizmo

• CrunchGear

• Engadget

• GizMag

The LS-20M will be available in stores and from online sites sometime in June — the company didn't say exactly when.  Retail is $299, but I see prices as low as $230 already listed online, and I assume some sites may be accepting pre-orders now.

 

DEMOfall 07: Fix My Videos – Please!

September 25, 2007 / / 1 Comment

So you shoot crappy videos, too, huh?  Okay, then does MotionDSP, another of the first session’s presenters, have a deal for you: FixMyMovie.com. It dramatically improves videos you upload from your phone, your digital camera, or your webcam. It’s based on patent-pending military technology — so, it makes sense that one of their investors is InQTel (as in CIA). The company’s raised less than $1 million, but already has more than $1 million in revs.  The demo of their new consumer service was extremely impressive — the technology increases resolution, reduces noise, and corrects color and lighting, said CEO Sean Varah. "It’s one click to enhance."

Jeremy Allaire: Minnesota Boy Makes Good (Very Good)

March 16, 2006 / / 1 Comment

I hooked up with Jeremy via email in advance of PC Forum, and asked him if he’d like to do a little interview at the event for my blog, which of course includes lots of readers back in the Twin Cities. And he quickly responded via Blackberry that he’d be happy to. Which I really appreciated, considering how Brightcove344x69 popular this guy is now with his hot, new startup, Brightcove. Jeremy and his company even had a major feature on page 1A of the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago. So, despite being very busy at PC Forum (including as a panelist — see my previous post on business models), he graciously agreed to spend time chatting with me. What’s more, he had to endure several email attempts by me to hook up with him at the conference (thanks Jeremy!). Hey, it wasn’t easy finding a specific person in a group of 450, especially with things spread out over a large property like LaCosta.

It’s hard to believe it will be 10 years this fall that Jeremy and his brother J.J. — just a couple of years out of Macalester College in St. Paul — plus the 25 or so young employees that were then part of Allaire Corp., picked up and moved the company, lock, stock, and barrel, to Cambridge, MA, at their VC’s suggestion. (That was after first considering but passing on Silicon Valley.) Thus began the legendary status of Allaire Corp. around our neck of the woods as the Web 1.0 company that got away — but one that made it very, very big in the process. The company grew to some 450 employees before being acquired for something north of $350 million by Macromedia, where Jeremy then served as CTO for three years (commuting from Boston to San Francisco, which he admits got old).

The move worked well for the company and the two Allaire brothers, Jeremy told me. Both took a strong liking to Cambridge and settled in, got married, and now have two kids each. I asked Jeremy of he ever gets back to visit his parents in Winona, MN. He said not often, but that he sees them regulary at another house they now have in the Boston area.

I also had to ask about the latest big development for J.J. — the acquisition of his startup, Onfolio, by Microsoft. (J.J. was originally scheduled to be at PC Forum and I’d planned to interview him as well, But, alas, he had to cancel due to obligations associated with the acquisition.) Jeremy told me it was a big win for J.J., for a company that he had just self-funded over the past few years. (After Allaire Corp. was acquired, Jeremy said the two didn’t really consider teaming up again in a new business, though they remain close personally — simply because they had different interests.) All six employees of Onfolio, including J.J., are now doing yet another big move — this time to Redmond. How does J.J. feel about that, I asked? “He’s really excited about it,” said Jeremy. First Ray Ozzie leaves Boston behind, now J.J…

Meantime, Jeremy, though he’s not planning to move himself anytime soon, is still quite the traveler, regularly shuttling between Brightcove’s home office in Cambridge and three others already set up: in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (the cities that most of the major content producers and media companies call home, after all). He told me the company already has 50 employees and is heading to be double that soon.

What’s been the timeline of Brightcove’s short history to date? First, Jeremy told me, he incubated the idea at General Catalyst Partners in Boston for a year or so, after leaving Macromedia. He first presented the company and its planned business model at PC Forum in March 2005. From then through the fall, he and others at the firm began selectively getting the word out to key partners and content providers. That culminated with a presentation at the very well attended insider conference “Web 2.0” (sponsored by O’Reilly), which was held in San Francisco last fall. The company soon had a public debut via a story in the New York Times, which was then followed in February by the major front-page WSJ piece. (I asked Jeremy how he happened to choose his cracker-jack PR firm, SutherlandGold, based in San Francisco, and he said he met them at last year’s PC Forum! I had the opportunity to meet two of those folks at dinner one evening — Susan Cashen, formerly of TiVo, and Amy Janzen — where we shared some good conversation with my colleague Gary Bolles of Conferenza and Microcast Communications.)

So, fast forward, how is Brightcove sitting today? Very well indeed. Jeremy gave me a rundown: it already has 200 of what he calls “broadband channels” or content partners. And, since the company started what it called a “commercial preview” in November, for video producers, it has signed up 450 companies to date. It has 700 of its video “players” deployed, and it has 7000 titles already in its library. It also has an affiliate syndication program, and one client — Reuters — has 1000 affiliates signed up to date. With this Brightcove program for Reuters, any web site or blog can simply fill out a form, put some code into their web page, and become an instant video news broadcaster. (I plan to try it out myself!) Deals with other major media firms include the New York Times, and yet others are still in the works, including CBS (as touched on in the WSJ article) — though Jeremy had no new announcements he could tell me about quite yet.

My final question for Jeremy was this: What’s it like having Barry Diller on your board? “Oh, it’s great,” he said. “He’s a remarkably intelligent guy, with a strong strategic mind for online businesses. And he’s one of the most connected people on the planet.” Jeremy said it’s very rare for Diller’s firm, IAC/InterActiveCorp, to make minority investments, which they did on the case of Brightcove. They tend to only acquire companies outright. Diller sits on Brightcove’s board, which is also quite an achievement for the startup, since he only serves on two other boards: The Washington Post and Coca-Cola.

I closed by asking Jeremy about his management team, which he said is “tremendous.” It even includes one colleague from the early days of Allaire Corp., who was also a friend of his at Macalester College in St. Paul: Adam Berrey, now Brightcove’s VP of Marketing. Where was Jeremy off to next? San Francisco, he said, to keynote at the “VON” conference. And he was going to spend some time at his offices there as well, in addition to catching up with a guy I’ve since met who was employee #4 at Allaire Corp., Ben Cantlon. (Ben recently relocated back to Minneapolis but was visiting SF this week.)

Thanks for the interview, Jeremy, and best of luck as you continue disrupting the video distribution business!

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