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Griffin RadioSHARK Exceeds Expectations
reifman writes "Picked up a Griffin RadioSHARK (think TiVo for radio) at the Apple store this evening: It exceeds all expectations. The user experience is simple. The iPod synchronization is seamless. The RadioSHARK is a counter-attack on the recording industry and its draconian file sharing lawsuits. I'm glad to see Griffin had the balls to release this product. ."
Anyone want to take a guess on how long it'll be before the crackdown commences?
Actually, I just went to RIAA's website for the first time... all of the "latest news" articles on the main page are about lawsuits they've filed. Nice!
Don't they realize that something is wrong with their business when their news is about lawyers, and not musicians?!
Visit the Game Programming Wiki!
Looks cool but..
What's a "radio"?
"I'm glad to see Griffin had the balls to release this product."
I don't see how releasing this required any balls. FM broadcasts are horrible when compared to the AAC streams from XM.
The RIAA have written off FM copyright lawsuits because any kid with a boombox can swipe a low quality song.
I've been doing this for two years using a TV/FM tuner that costs about the same as the Radioshark - and the bonus is I can record cable TV so now I can have low quality video too!
I ordered mine in July of 2003 and got it last week.
The application (at least on OS X) leaves a lot to be desired. It does not behave like a typical OS X application in many ways, have no way to edit a preset- if you want to go back and put in the radio station's call sign or a genre descriptor you have to re-add the station as a preset and then delete the first instance of the preset, there are no menu options (and thus no keyboard shortcuts) for many of the really important GUI elements.
The time shift feature is a good idea, but is poorly implemented. You can set a number of seconds to move forwards or backwards (defaults to 10 seconds) by pressing the left and right arrow or you can drag the slider around forwards and backwards in the time shift buffer but these 2 methods are either too granular or too coarse to help you pinpoint a precise location.
It would be so cool if Griffin Technologies opened up the API... since the GUI and user interface are just so lame.
here is a trick. get a radio with the loose cable antenna (you know the stuff that is like a string) and then tie the end around the metal connector on your cable line (it can be connected to a TV) that turns the entire cable shielding on all connected lines into a huge antenna for your radio. works great for me.
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
I've been using mine for a few days now, I and love it. Here's my raves:
- 64kps AAC sounds great for npr shows, and the files aren't too big.
- After recording, it automatically puts the file into an iTunes playlist, so you just need to dock your iPod each time to get the updated recordings.
- You can set the time-shift buffer to any length you want. So at any time you can go back to listen to any broadcast in the last day on a station.
- The hardware is solid high quality.
- It records even when the application isn't open. It appears to have a daemon process running at all times, still recording to the buffer.
- You can preset stations with names, and then switch between them using a dropdown.
- The interface is really slick.
Here's what could be improved:
- The filenames for repeat recordings should have the date in them to make it easier to pick from multiple recordings of the same show on the iPod. ID3 tags would be nice, too.
- There should be an option to record shows only on the weekdays. To record a weekday-only show, you need to set up five identical recordings, one for each day.
- The blue/red light on the unit glows like three night lights. Having it in my bedroom lights up the whole room. Where's the dimmer?
- It would be a cool feature to be able to schedule recordings remotely without using VNC.
Now if someone would only come up with a good time-shifting TV tuner of this quality for the Mac.
According to this MacCentral page, the audio output jack of the RadioShark also doubles as an external antenna input. Not sure of the wiring or input impedance.
I've done a lot of lighting for both video and stage, and you're missing the point. The SightLight isn't supposed to be the primary light source for the iSight. If you use it that way, (depening on ambient light) you'll get an image with a lot of contrast and noise.
The way to use the SightLight is as a secondary fill source. Especially with overhead lighting, a lot if people get horrible shadows under their eyes and cheeks, well-defined forehead wrinkles, and the like. That's why a lot of people look like Hermann Munster on a web cam.
Using the SightLight mitigates a lot of this, particularly the eye shadows. For 40 bucks, it does a good job at the job it's supposed to do. (It's certainly cheaper than a real lighting kit!)
BTW, there's a switch on the SightLight to reduce brightness, making the "headlight in your face" effect a little easier to take.
The SightLight is a nifty gadget that does its job pretty darn well. It sucks as a primary light, but using it as such is simply pilot error...