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As time goes on, more people get more gadgets. People have
VCRs, stereos, portable stereos, cameras, and camcorders.
It is pretty easy for people to get sound in their computer.
Most sound cards have a spot to plug in and external sound
source. Getting photos into a computer is pretty easy if you
have a scanner. But how do you get images from TV, videos,
or home videos into your computer? There are a couple of ways,
but one of the easiest and probably the least expensive ways
is to use the Snappy
Video Snapshot by Play,
Inc.
Installation
Snappy is a small device (about 3" x 6") that plugs
directly into the parallel port of a computer. There is a video
in and video out port. The setup is quite easy. You plug in the
Snappy, install the accompanying software, and connect your video
source to the video in port on the Snappy (the cable is included).
Now you're ready to go. The software is surprisingly easy to use.
Below are a few pictures that I captured from the NBA all-star
weekend. These are just thumbnails, you can click on each image
to see the 800x600 image. They are each about 55k in size. Please
keep in mind that this was done the first time I ever used Snappy.
The pictures are decent, but they can be much better if you know
what you're doing:
  
Testing
You can capture images in several different formats, and can
capture the images as a video, and they will appear basically
as a slide show. You can capture an image when you want, or you
can capture continuously, deciding how far about the snaps should
be taken. There are lots of options. It is all very impressive.
Snappy also comes with 2 of the programs that come with Gizmos
Mega-Pak, Picture Explorer and Performer. Picture Explorer
is an image view. You can view the images that are in specific
folder and can filter which pictures to view. A manual is
included that is just about the program. There is also a manual
for Performer, which is a program that allows you to put pictures,
effects, and sounds together in a presentation.
The only thing that I wasn't impressed with was the way you
need to connect Snappy to the port. The blue knobs in the
picture below (you can't see them very well, but they are
where the notches at the top sides are) are attached to the
screws that go into the connector. I found them very hard
to use. And then when I tried to unscrew it, I couldn't, and
one of the screws ended up breaking off. I could have been
a little more careful, but I still don't think the hardware
design is very good. Be gentle with it.
Purchase
You can buy Snappy at many computer retailers (both on and off
line) for a suggested retial price of $169.95, although you can
find it for cheaper if you shop around.
Conclusions
That being said, I still think that Snappy is a fabulous product.
As with the other products that Play has, there is excellent documentation,
and the software is easy to use. It would be great for presentations,
creating web sites, emailing photos and a number of other fun
alternatives.
You can learn about all of the features of Snappy by visiting
the Play site at http://www.play.com/snappy.
There are many screenshots available to see and also better samples
of captures pictures.
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