Griffin RadioSHARK Exceeds Expectations 191
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. ."
Cool idea, but... (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Mt short review (Score:5, Informative)
- 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.
External antenna (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Mt short review (Score:4, Informative)
Too bad it's from Griffin. They're abysmal (Score:3, Informative)
The Windows drivers suck, to put it mildly. They don't use DirectInput, so there is no games support, regardless of what the marketing brochures and manual say, and the USB integration is so piss poor that every time you plug the PowerMate in it installs another copy of the drivers, regardless of how many previous copies might already be on the system. At first I though it was just mildly stupid and wanted a new driver for each USB port. Nope, it will reinstall/add drivers ad infinitum if you just keep plugging it into the same USB port.
Griffin acknowledged the problem to me in email about 2 years ago. Not after a long story from their engineer about how driver writing is "hard" and I should just be happy it works at all and shut up. They said 6 months out there would be better drivers. The version number hasn't changed from 1.5.2 in over 24 months.
It's a piece of junk and I suspect, based on other reviews I've read, that other Griffin products are of the same poor quality.
Re:Crackdown, T-Minus ? days (Score:2, Informative)
Now, I'm all for personal responsibility, but the lady who sued suffered real physical damage from an item that was meant to be consumed in a moving vehicle (purchased from the drive-thru), was easily spilled (a liquid), and about which numerous complaints had already been filed. All businesses have a responsibilty to provide as safe a product as possible ('cept maybe the tobacco industry), and if one doesn't then it is liable. Why should an individual have to be responsible but a corporation not?
Re:Does it support MP3 or Vorbis? (Score:5, Informative)
RTFA.
Answer: No.
It can, however, record to unprotected AAC (compressed) or AIFF (lossless - I'm pretty sure). AIFF has been used for years, predominantly on the mac, and many utilities are available to easily convert AIFF into whatever format your heart desires.
a couple thoughts (Score:4, Informative)
I don't know if I could justify $69+s/h for a hardware device with no way to boost signal reception. If you already have a radio that has stereo out, you can cross connect it to your PC and use this software: Total Recorder [highcriteria.com]. This enables you to schedule and encode the broadcast directly to any number of formats (mp3, aiff, wav, etc). It's only $12. This is from a Windows perspective, but I'm sure there is some Mac software out there that can do this.....but then again, if you listen to certain regularly syndicated radio show, you can snag eps of it from suprnova.org, I do this for Howard Stern.
Re:SightLight (Score:5, Informative)
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...
Re:Nice but... (Score:1, Informative)
Dan
Re:I'm sure I'm not the only one (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Too bad it's from Griffin. They're abysmal (Score:3, Informative)
I bring up MAME because the PowerMate for Windows manual specifically mentions MAME and Tempest as something that can be controlled via PowerMate. It's a lie, pure and simple. As I said, I was told that by a rep from Griffin.
If they can't get a simple driver coded correctly and rely instead on false advertising to sell their product I can't trust that some of their other products might be better. The same people designed, built, and support them.
Re:what about using internet radio stations? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Crackdown, T-Minus ? days (Score:3, Informative)
Minor problem: She wasn't driving [centerjd.org]. Not only wasn't she the driver, the car wasn't even moving.