Science and electronic hobby products. Multimedia standards.

The Panter`s webstore

Hobby items and mechanical toys

Welcome to this online store for hobby articles. Buying hobby equipment online, you can get them for a better prize than from your local stores. Often you can also find items or product variants you do not find locally.

By clicking on the banners below, you will enter a specialized online store for each cathegory. There you can learn more about or order each product exhibited on this page, and many other products of the same cathegory.

AIRSOFT GUNS AND WEAPONS

A very big collection or airsoft guns of the types spring airsoft guns, electric airsoft guns and gas airsoft guns. Most of the guns are replicas of real life weapons.

Two product example from an other good collection. By clicking at the link you will also see the whole collection.

RC Tank 1/12 Scale (2 1/2 Feet Long) Free Shipping

Dimensions: 32"L x 12"W x 11"H Brand new radio controlled tank as seen in the picture above is the LARGEST rc tank made. The rc tank as you can see in the pictures is highly detailed. The Tank is 2 1/2 foot long comes with a 6 channel remote control and is full function allowing movement in any direction. The Tank is also equipped with Super Spin, which lets the tank spin on its axis by controlling the two caterpillar treads to run in opposite directions. This 1:12 scaled tank runs on a belt to make it easy to drive on dirt and rough roads! Similar models sell for $1000!

H&K M7 Airsoft Gun W/Laser, Sight, & Tactical Flashlight *Hot*

This Airsoft gun replica of the new M7 from H&K is simply awesome. With this gun you are able to switch between semi-automatic and full automatic. Completely electric airsoft gun and will keep you entertained for hours. This gun includes Mock Silencer, Red Dot Scope, Laser Unit and flashlight. Batteries are included. Fires: 6mm plastic BB's and Paintballs (50 6mm BB's Included)

GENERAL HOBBY PRODUCT STORES

Here are two fine collections of hobby products: Radio controlled helicopters, fantacy VTOL airplanes, fast-winged airplanes, race boats, race cars, trucks, submarines and robots. Some of the models are replicas of famous vehicles from the professional life. Others are fantacy creations. Still others are copies of futuristic vehicles from the world of popular moovies. You also find a great collection of airsoft guns, and items like microscopes, telescopes, electronic sets, chemistry sets, magic sets and magic tricks. In Hobbytron you can find a very comprehensive collection of electronic components.

REMOTE CONTROL AIRCRAFTS

You see here some examples of models available. By clicking at the buy-buttons, you will also find links to a lot of other models and other hobby items.

Special store for aiplane models driven by nitro engines: This is a very great collection of nitro driven airplane models with various engine technology: Piston engins, jet turbine engines, nitro ducted fan engines.

Special store for remote control helicopter models - All kinds of RC helicopters and equipment for RC helicopters

Helicopter with double rotor of contrarotating self-stabilizing blades

Classic helicopter model with tail rotor giving stability

RC Scope Tech Type X 4 Channel RTF Electric Helicopter

The Scope Tech Type X Helicopter is a powerful 4 channel electric helicopter that performs and flies just like a larger helicopter. This helicopter is a Ready-to-Fly (RTF) helicopter with the most realistic hovering capabilities using "HVG" Technology. "Hover Vortex Gyro" (HVG) Technology creates the most stable hovering capabilities of any 4 channel radio controlled helicopter. It works by using the earth's gravitational pull to continually adjust the fixed pitch blades to achieve the most level, stable helicopter flights possible, while still allowing it to perform radical maneuvers. The Type X helicopter is easy to assemble and is ready for flight in minutes! The lightweight, damage resistant construction and unique real-life design will give the real feel of flying. The clean, quiet electric power and the ability to control rudder, elevation and to vary the speed will make flying easy!

Remote control electric aircraft

RADIO CONTROLLED CARS

6 wheel remote control electric car

Ultima Rider 6 Wheel RC Car Electric 1:10

Ultima Rider RC Car Electric 1:10 Six Wheel,battery operated. This car features steering alignment, on-off switch, rechargable battery pack and adapter.

Nitro driven and electric redcats: Nitro driven redcats: Hurricane XP PRO, Monsoon XP, Avalamche XP, Tornado BP, Tsunami, Tsunami ultrawide, Volcano SV SV Pro, Tremor ATV XTB XtG XTK XTR. Electric redcats: Lightning XTK, Tornado EPX, Tsunami EPX, Volcano EPXr.

ROBOTS AND ROBOT KITS

- An example of the many hobby robots you kan find by clicking at the link, both simple robot toys and advanced programable robot kits.

Moon Walker II Owi Robot Kit (Requires Soldering)

Not one, but two! Light AND sound! MOON WALKER II has combined the technology of two sensors. A whimsical indication of future trends, MOON WALKER II begins to walk when it detects a change in light intensity or sound commands. MOON WALKER II continues its four-legged voyage until instructed by an internal timer to stop. This kit presents an engaging opportunity to learn about some of the mechanics, operation and history of robots. When assembled, this robot uses a phototransistor to sense changes in light (such as turning on a lamp) and a condenser microphone to sense changes in sound (such as clapping). It converts those stimuli into electronic signals to power a motor, and MOON WALKER II will walk forward for a time. When it stops, affecting other change in light or sound may activate it again. The sensors can be adjusted for different sensitivity levels.

SOFTWARE AND ELECTRONIC GAMES

GamePass - By membership you get a new FREE game of your choice every month!. Over 550 games to choose from and new releases every week. Get 25% to 75% off on all other games you decide to purchase. You can get advance notises of new releases and events.

Games and software for very good prizes: In this shop you will find electronic games of all chathegories: Action,Adventure, Arcade, Board Games, Cards & Casino, Classics, Collections, Flight Sims, Hunting & Fishing, Kid Games, MahJonng & Tetris, Pinball, Puzzle, Racing, Role Playing, Simulations, Sports, Strategy, Trivia, War Games. This is also a general store for software and computer accessories where you can find any kind of software for good prizes.

A few xamples of games in the shop: 505 Great Games, Adventure Inlay, Atari Anniversary Edition, Atari Arcade Hits 2, Atlantis: Coral Quest, Bejeweled Deluxe, Blast Thru - A Brick Blasting Frenzy!, Break! - Intense Arcade Collection, Bustout - 3D Worlds, Bustout Velocity, Collapse! Crunch, Crazy Island, Crystalize! The Crown Jewel of Puzzle Games, eGames Entertainment Suite 2 - 15 Best-Selling Games,Emoticon Swirl & Sling Dottery - 2 For You Game Pack, Gerbil Drop! 5, HeliQuick Bob, Jewel Mines!, Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender, Magic Ball 2, Marble Blaster, Mega Match, MotoGP 3, MuncherMania! 3D Worlds, Poppit! To Go, Pressure Pop!, Rocket Power - Extreme Arcade Games, SnowBubble Pop!, Space Racers RTL, Sprint Car Racing, Star Miner, Sudoku Crunch for Kids!, Sudoku Mania!, Super Bubble Pop, Super Bubble Pop, Super Granny 3, SuperStart! Science Arcade, Toy Tanks, Trax: Robot Wars, Ultimate Puzzle Collection, Wik & the Fable of Souls, Yin-Yanged, Zuma Deluxe

THINGS FOR YOUR CAR HOBBY

These are three online stores with affordable parts and equipment for any car. The titles over the banner tell which areas each store is best at, but all stores have equipment of all types.

Technical parts for repair and performance

Internal and external equipment and comodities, car electronics and GPS navigation

Comodities to take with you on your journey, car electronics, workshop tools.

Books reading materials and elecronic media about cars and other motor vehicles

By clicking at this banner you will find a grat range of books, calendars, manuals, videos and collectibles about: Modern and classic cars, auto racing, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, trains, boats, aviation, military history, bicycles, americana, and collectibles.

STORE WITH EVERY KIND OF TOOLS

By clicking at this banner you get into a superstore qith every kinds of tools you can use by yopur hobby activities. You also find garden equipment, cooking equiopment, car accessories, herbs and herbal preparations and a lot more.

TELESCOPES, CAMERAS, OPTICS

Here is an example of the many telescopes available. By clicking at the link you can find the presented telescope and a lot of other astronomy telescopes, landscape telescopes and nautical telescopes.

Northstar 523 x 3 Telescope with Real Voice Output

The Bushnell® NorthStar® offers stargazers some amazing sights. This impressive telescope pairs amazingly advanced features - computer-driven location and tracking ability, RVO (Real Voice Output), Red Dot Finderscope - with simple, push button control. Amateur astronomers will appreciate a programmed database of 20,000 celestial objects, first-time telescope users will be happy to know they don't need a calculus degree to use it. NorthStar is a highly advanced telescope that doesn't act that way - and it's always the best way to explore the night sky. With a unique meniscus-shaped front glass lens element, the Maksutov Cassegrain Optical Design has a strong optical heritage in astronomy. Utilizing a spherically curved front lens element in conjunction with a similarly curved primary mirror, this incredible design provides remarkably sharp images in a compact folded-light path package. The total optical system provides a focal length much longer than the actual optical tube body length to yield an awesome imaging scope convenient enough to take out in the backyard or on the road. This advanced design has only typically been found on many higher-end systems often used by professionals. Now Bushnell&3174; brings incredible professional optical system to the NorthStar® family. A talking high-power, reflector telescope. NorthStar® Features: 1.25 eyepieces Power-boosting Barlow lens (reflectors only) Go To computerized tracking technology Red Dot LED finderscope Remote hand-held control module Camera adaptable Quick release tripod Accessory tray For in-depth information on how to choose which Telescope is right for you and for detailed technical information, please click here .

Quality digital cameras and equipment for good prizes: From Digital Concepts, Hewlett-Packard, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, Sony, Casio, Digital Blue, Disney, FujiFilm, Girl Gear, Hallo Kitty, Rollei, Sakar, Sealife, Sigma, Spy Chix, VuPoints

All types of camera accessories: Digital SLR, Compact Cameras, Digital Picture Frames, Camera & Printer Kits, Lenses, Memory, Batteries, Bags & Cases, Filters, Tripods, Flashes, Tutorials, Studio Lighting, Docking Stations, Software. Free shipping and no sales tax. Please click at this banner to exactly the camera or equipment you want.

ELECTRIC CONSUMER AND HOBBY ITEMS

Electronic building sets: Here are many interesting general and special sets to build up a lot of electronic devices, like: Radio/TV resceivers and amplifiers, psychedelic lights, electronic music instruments, burglar allarms, detectors, controllers, sound effectors, logical devices, timing devices, communication equipment, and a lot more. You can also find a very huge collection of individual components to be used in hobby applications and in professional laboratory settings.

Get Hobby Electronics Kits by clicking here

Consumer electronics: Computers, Televisions, DVD Players / Recorders, Home Audio / Video, MP3 Players / iPod Accessories, Satellite Radio, Headphones, Mobile Audio / Video, GPS / Navigation, Home Electronics, Telephones & Fax, Personal Electronics, Electronic Accessories

Shop.com: This is a collection where you also can find a huge variety of consumer electronic products. Here is product example from this collection - a pocket PC from Hewlet Packard. By clicking at the link you also get access to the whole collection.

HP iPAQ hx2490 Pocket PC (FA675B)

520MHz Intel PXA270 Processor, 256 MB Standard memory, 3.5" Display size, 240 x 320 (W x H), 64K colours, 16-bit Video Resolutions, Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC, Premium Edition.

Accessories for all types of laptop equipment from all brands and for all models for good prizes: Examples: Laptop Batteries, PDA Batteries, MP3 Batteries, Digital. Camera Batteries, Camcorder Batteries, Universal Batteries, AC Adapters, Car Adapters, Airplane Adapters, Universal. Adapters, Printer Power Supplies, Chargers. GPS Receivers, Sync Cords, Fiber Optic Cables, HDMI. Cables, DC-DC Plugs • RPTV Lamps, Projector Lamps, iPod Accessories, MP3 Accessories, PDA Accessories. And more.

BE YOUR YOUR OWN FASHION DESIGNER - and get the clothes of your own design sent to you

Make your own creations with SpreadShirt designer - By clicking at the banners here, you will find a flash-based tool that you can use to design your own clothes. You can give them the background colors and patterns you want, choose drawings and place them where you want on the clothes, and create texts to place on strategic sites on the clothes. You can then purchase the clothes of your own design and get them sent to you within 48 hours.

If you live in America, please click at this banner.

If your home is in UK, please click here.

MUSIC INSTRUMENTS

Quality music instruments for good prizes - By clicking at these banners you will see two collections of quality guitars, brass instruments, keyboards, drum sets, sound equipment and much more. Most famous producents in the world are present in one or the other collection.

Just two product examples

Ibanez AW30LECENT

Ibanez AW30LECENT Ibanez AW30LECENT Description: Ibanez AW30LECENT Acoustic Guitar This new Ibanez AW30LECENT acoustic electric left hand guitar features a solid Engelmann spruce top, with mahogany back and sides, and a dreadnought body with cutaway access to the higher frets. The Artwood series of Ibanez guitars features High Vibration Bracing (HVB) , which provides even greater strength and less resonance-interfering body contact than traditional scalloped bracing. Other features of this well made left hand guitar are: Fishman Sonicore pickup and Ibanez AEQ-SST preamp with onboard tuner, balanced 1/4" and XLR outputs, gold die-cast tuners, and much more. Ibanez Artwood guitars offer more quality, sound, and value than guitars that cost considerably more. That's one reason why they continue to be the most popular solid top guitars in their price range year after year. Dovetail neck joints in the Ibanez Artwood guitars provide the excellent stability and strength required of guitars made for professional performance. Ibanez Artwood guitars - old world craftsmanship combined new world technology. Ibanez AW30LECENT Specifications: Optional Specs: Left Hand Guitar Body: Dreadnought Body w/ Cutaway Neck: Mahogany Binding: Maple Body and Neck Binding Back & Sides: Mahogany Top: Solid Engelmann Spruce Rosette: Abalone Tuners: Ibanez Gold Die-Cast Tuners w/ Brown Pearloid Knob Pickup: Fishman Sonicore Pickup Electronics: Ibanez AEQ-SST Shape Shifter Preamp with Onboard Tuner Outputs: Balanced 1/4" and XLR Outputs Fretboard: Rosewood Bridge and Fretboard Saddle: Ivorex II Nut and Saddle Bridge Pins: Advantage Bridge Pins Strings: D'Addario EXP Strings Optional Case: PF50C Get your Ibanez AW30LECENT product today!

Dean Baby Z Electric Guitar

Dean Baby Z Electric Guitar A lighter, smaller version of the classic Z, featuring string-thru body design and hi- output pickups for the ultimate in tone. An incredible deal on a certified classic design. Features: Based on original Z design String-thru body Dean hi-output pickups

INFORMATION RESOURCES

Here is a survey of video formats. To find other information resources, please go to this page

Digital audio and video standards (multimedia standards)

Storage hardware standards explained

Here is an explanation of some storage standrds used for multmedia files.

DVD - Short for digital versatile disc or digital video disc: This is a type of optical disk technology similar to the CD-ROM. A DVD holds a minimum of 4.7GB of data, enough for a full-length movie. DVDs are commonly used as a medium for digital representation of movies and other multimedia presentations that combine sound with graphics.
The DVD specification supports disks with capacities of from 4.7GB to 17GB and access rates of 600 KBps to 1.3 MBps. One of the best features of DVD drives is that they are backward-compatible with CD-ROMs, meaning they can play old CD-ROMs, CD-I disks, and video CDs, as well as new DVD-ROMs. Newer DVD players can also read CD-R disks. DVD uses MPEG-2 to compress video data.

DVD-R - Short for DVD+Recordable: This is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc cannot be recorded onto a second time. DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD-RW - Short for DVD-ReWritable, and re-recordable: DVD format similar to CD-RW or DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp.

Short for DVD+ReWritable, a re-recordable: DVD format similar to CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium. DVD+RW and DVD+R formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD-RAM: A DVD format wherein DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are only compatible with devices manufactured by the companies that support the DVD-RAM format. DVD-RAM discs are typically housed in cartridges. DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum

Storage and transmission formats explained

Here is an explanation of formats used to store video, audio or combined video/audio files (multimedia files) on the PC, for streaming transmission of such files from a central server, or for storing multimedia files on CDs or DVDs.

AVI or "Audio Video Interleave": This is the file format for Microsoft's Video for Windows standard. It is an proprietary and Microsoft Windows spesific audio video standard designed by Microsoft for storing video and audio information. Files in this format have an .AVI extension. These files are limited to 320 x 240 resolution, and 30 frames per second, neither of which is adequate for full screen, full motion video. However, Video for Windows does not require any special hardware, making it the lowest common denominator for multimedia applications. Many multimedia producers use this format because it allows them to sell their products to the largest base of users. Acceptable aplication support. A competing software - only in video format is QuickTime. Videos stored in the AVI format have the extension .avi. Characteristics: Bad quality to size ratio and subjective quality impression.

ASF-WMA/WMV: This is Microsoft's Advanced Streaming format. A file in this format can contain Video, Audio, Slide Shows and synchronized events. WMA (Windows Media Audio) contains audio. WMV (Windows Media file with Audio/Video) is the same as the ASF except it can be downloaded instead of streamed from a server far away.

DivX is a trademark of DivXNetworks, Inc: DivX is a digital video compression format based on the MPEG-4 technology. DivX files can be downloaded over high-speed lines in a relatively short time without sacrificing the quality of the digital video.

IVF (Intel Video Technology): This format was originally the Indeo codec developed by Intel. Later Ligos ( www.ligos.com ) has taken over the development of the Intel codecs.

MOV (Quick Time Movie File Extension): This is a video and animation system developed by Apple Computer. QuickTime is built into the Macintosh operating system and is used by most Mac applications that include video or animation. PCs can also run files in QuickTime format, but they require a special QuickTime driver. QuickTime supports most encoding formats, including Cinepak, JPEG and MPEG. Apple's QuickTime has superior audio/video quality, it is compatible with Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers and supports various media formats.

The MPEG Format: The MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) format is the most popular format on the Internet. MPEG refers to the Motion Picture Experts Group, an organization that sets international standards for digital formats for audio and video. It incorporates both audio and video encoding at a range of data rates. MPEG audio and video are the standard formats used on Video CDs and DVDs. It is cross-platform, and supported by all the most popular web browsers. Videos stored in the MPEG format have the extension .mpg or .mpeg.

MP3 is short for MPEG Audio Layer 3: MP3s are digital audio files that have been shrunken down while still maintaining their original sound quality. The file shrinking technology itself was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. Before there were MP3s, digital audio files took hours to download. But on a 56K modem, most MP3s can download in just a few minutes. MP3s are widely recognized as the most popular format for storing and listening to music on the World Wide Web. There are three types of MPEG audio encoding, layer I, layer II and layer III in increasing order of sound quality and encoding time. Layer I is the "PASC" compression used in Digital Compact Cassettes and Layer II is the "MUSICAM" compression format. Layer III (aka "MP3") has recently become very popular on the Internet due to its combination of high quality and high compression ratio. It can be downloaded from many World Wide sites and can be played using software available for most operating systems. Characteristics: Acceptable quality to size ratio, good subjective quality impression. Very good application support. Videos stored in the MPEG format have the extension .mpg or .mpeg.

RealAudio: This is a proprietary encoding format created by 'Progressive Networks'. It was the first compression format to support live audio over the Internet and thus gained considerable support, but it requires proprietary server software in order to provide the real-time playback facility. It also supports repositioning during real-time playback. The system is implemented as a client/server architecture. The RealAudio server incorporates an encoder which compresses sound into RealAudio files. The client side is a web browser plug-in or add-on (a recent version of 'Internet Explorer' apparently has built-in support for RealAudio) which allows the stream of data sent from the server to be uncompressed and output using the normal sound facilities of the computer, such as a sound card. Characteristics: Good quality to size ratio, good subjective quality impression. Bad application support.

Real Video: is a format, but also a total streaming technology developed by RealNetworks for transmitting live video over the Internet. RealVideo uses a variety of data compression techniques and works with both normal IP connections as well as IP Multicast connections. RealVideo 8 offers enriched video quality and smoother playback over all types of connections, from regular dial-up to broadband Internet connections. Picture controls let you lighten up dark scenes and adjust flesh tones. Great for Web cams or reality shows. Sharpen up fuzzy video. No matter what speed Internet connection you have, RealPlayer 8 offers the highest-quality audio and video experience available online. Videos stored in the RealVideo format have the extension .rm or .ram.

RealPlayer: This system has very good audio/video quality. It is compatible with Internet Explorer and Netscape browsers. It supports various media formats. However, it provides only three preset video viewing window sizes. RealPlayer is the only streaming media player that plays both RealAudio and RealVideo, the leading formats for Internet audio and video, giving you access to more than 85% of the streaming media programming on the Web.

Shockwave (Flash) Format: The Shockwave format was developed by Macromedia.The Shockwave format requires an extra component to play. This component comes preinstalled with the latest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer. Videos stored in the Shockwave format have the extension .swf.

QuickTime Format: The QuickTime format is developed by Apple.QuickTime is a common format on the Internet, but QuickTime movies cannot be played on a Windows computer without an extra (free) component installed.Videos stored in the QuickTime format have the extension .mov.

VIV (Vivo Video) this is an old format and pretty bad quality, but one of the first to be designed and used for Internet streaming and thus it is still in use in a few areas. However, it is not very compatible with current browser standards, mainly because development on the format ceased back in 1997.