If you use Sony MDR-7506, V6, or Audio Technica M-30 headphones, then we have some very good news! The new Pearstone Deluxe Earpads are now available, and they do nothing short of making your current headphones vastly better than they already were. They’re called “deluxe” because they have soft velour pads and a smoother foam-backed surface that covers the headphone driver. The result is a simple upgrade that makes your headphones far more comfortable.

Still listening to AM or FM when you can be enjoying crisp digital radio free of the Internet or a subscription? For stations broadcasting in HD Radio, AM sounds like FM and FM sounds like a CD. HD Radio also enables a broadcaster to send out some three different channels simultaneously, increasing your choices beyond the limitations of conventional stations. If you're ready to step up to HD, radios for under $100 abound.

You gotta' love the rapid pace at which technology is advancing. Prosumer video cameras today can be even better than some of the professional cameras of only a few years ago, and the line between prosumer and professional keeps blurring more and more each year.  Judging by the upcoming Sony HDR-AX2000 prosumer video camera, the accelerated pace of technological advancement shows no sign of slowing.

The HDR-AX2000, expected to sell for around $3500, is a solid state AVCHD camera that crams a whole lot of professional features into a prosumer camera. Able to record at up to 24 Mbps in the AVCHD format, the HDR-AX2000 can capture 1920x1080/60i HD video as well as progressive scan video at 1080/30p and 1080/24p directly to Memory Stick PRO Duo or SDHC cards (the 24p/30p footage is converted to 60i when recorded to the memory stick/SDHC, and 2-3 pull-down is used when converting the 24p to 60i).

PowerShots for Everyone

For the better part of a decade, Canon PowerShot A-Series cameras have offered a respectable set of features at an affordable price. Excellent resolution, sharp Canon optics, and quality handling have made the cameras extremely popular with budget conscious shutterbugs. Though never quite as compact or sleek as the Digital ELPH line, the PowerShot A-Series has always been renowned for capturing high-quality images with ease.

Not all that long ago, shooting under low-lighting conditions without benefit of a flash or tripod meant pushing your film 1,2, or 3 stops beyond its native ISO rating.

For anyone who's bought--or considered buying--a video camera in the last couple years, these are certainly interesting times. That's especially true in the consumer camcorder world, where tape has gone the way of the Tyrannosaurus, taking evolutionary wing into a cloud of 1's and 0's. Whether recording to hard drives or memory cards--and whether or not you're ready for it--solid state recording is the method of choice.