Digital Reviews Network

QNAP TS-453A – a Multi Media NAS as Karaoke Machine?

StorageWritten by Martin Regtien on 17 July 2016.

A Network Attached Storage system is a jack of all trades, a Swiss Army knife of interconnected computing, based on a bunch of drives that play nice with just about any computing platform.
That is my definition anyways...

But a NAS as a karaoke machine is a bit different. Mind you, it is just another app that will run nicely on this particular QNAP model in addition to the host of other standard NAS applications.
So QNAP has done something different to make this machine really sing and dance.

Let’s have a look and listen.

OLIGHT SRmini Intimidator II Rechargeable Flashlight – Be Intimidated!

MiscellaneousWritten by Martin Regtien on 06 July 2016.

Let There Be Light!
From the beginning of creation light was essential for our existence and survival. The trouble is that in our electrical age we don’t give it a second thought: just flip a switch. But what if you’re in the great outdoors, at night in a power outage or in a survival situation?

You want a reliable, rechargeable light that will last a long time and will illuminate a vast distance. It would help if you can vary the output and if, for life-threatening situations, you can blind an opponent with a dazzling strobe light. So essentially, you are looking at a flashlight like the Intimidator from Olight.

Let’s throw some light on the subject.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge - The Essential Accessories PART 2: Official LED Flip Case and Wireless Charger Stand

AccessoriesWritten by Martin Regtien on 20 May 2016.

Following up on our earlier article on the Samsung S-View case, we now look at the highly touted, much promoted LED Flip case as well as the desktop wireless charger.

One gets a big tick of approval, the other one not so much.

Which one do we definitely recommend?

Powerex Precharged by Maha Energy

Upcoming ReviewsWritten by Kevin Cheng on 18 May 2016.

Maha Energy, the maker of Powerex and and Imedion batteries have long been a staple in many photographers' bags. Now they have combined the best features of these two lines and launched the new Powerex Precharged line.

Synology DS216j - Small Form, Big Punch

StorageWritten by Kevin Cheng on 17 May 2016.

Synology launched the DS216j Network Attached Storage (NAS) recently, the successor to the previous year's DS215j. The sleek and modern slim two bay form factor and price tag is aimed squarely at the SOHO, workgroups and small office environments. The previous year's model was well-received by and large, with thanks to Synology, DigitalReviews get to see how the latest revision performs.

Blackvue DR650GW-2CH + Power Magic B-100 - More eyes on the road

AutomotiveWritten by Kevin Cheng on 04 April 2016.

I think most of us have watched dashcam videos at some point - Meteorites exploding over a city, crazy drivers on the road, and the occasional aviation disaster just to name a few. There is even a website dedicated to dashcam accident videos. BlackVue was kind enough to ship was a DR650GW-2CH, the successor to the DR550GW-2CH reviewed by us a few years ago. In addition to the camera kit, we also received the Power Magic B-100 kit to go with it.

You could say I am a little late to the dashcam party, the truth is that I was a little slow to the realisation to the potential value. I mean, my beloved Saab did get sideswiped by a taxi while it was parked (no they didn't leave a note and the distinctive yellow and green paint on the paintwork left me no doubts at all). Amongst other not-at-fault accidents, it was eventually written off by having a pretty large branch falling on it. On average I drive between 20,000 to 40,000km a year, thinking back, some of the miraculous near misses on the road would have made for interesting footage. Fast forward many years, let's see what the DR650GW and the B-100 can do together.

Miele Complete C3 Comfort Electro Plus PowerLine Vacuum Cleaner: Why This Unit Earned our Top Recommendation, Especially for Asthma and Allergy Sufferers

AppliancesWritten by Martin Regtien on 09 April 2016.

Normally we put our recommendation at the very end of our review but we don’t mind this time to get your attention first and justify our conclusions later.

Is this vacuum the perfect cleaning tool for every household?

Certainly not but if you’re in the market for a cylinder/barrel/canister vacuum cleaner you can’t go past the Miele C3 range...

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge - The Essential Accessories: Official S-View Case and Wireless Charger

AccessoriesWritten by Martin Regtien on 30 March 2016.

There is no denying it: the Galaxy S7 edge is a fantastic phone. It is a combination of the best of the S5 and S6 and the latest Marshmallow operating system.

It is quite an investment at well over AU$1000 and totally worth protecting, particularly as the phone is a slippery as a slimy eel. That’s not the best comparison as there is nothing slimy about it, just slippery....

So first up we will be looking at an official Samsung case in the familiar S View edition.

Avantree Audition - Wireless Audio

AudioWritten by Kevin Cheng on 20 March 2016.

Ear-buds and headphones, all of us must have at least one of these lying around. Think of all those absolutely awful ear-buds that were once bundled with every phone for a while. iPhone users would still get them, yes they are white, and no they are not great. There are plenty of alternatives ranging from affordable to house mortgage range - Sennheiser, Denon, Bose, Beats just to name a few, but Avantree? This one is new to me so I put my hand up when MobileFun offered to send a set my way. Thanks guys!

Disclosure time, I am not an audiophile. More accurately I am not an audio fanatic. I am surrounded by them all my life and have an appreciation for good gear and pure sound, it is just that instead of spending my money on some serious sound gear at home or in my car, I use the money to travel and indulge in my other just as expensive hobbies. My taste in music is eclectic enough to be a challenge for any headphones to deliver quality sound across the range - from classical to heavy metal depending on my mood.