Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM

Pros Wide f/2.8 aperture throughout zoom range. Impressive telephoto reach. Very sharp. Minimal distortion. Excellent build quality. Compatible with USB dock.

Cons Expensive. Very large and heavy. Huge front element increases filter costs. Bottom Line Sigma's 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM is the lens to get if a 70-200mm f/2.8 just isn't long enough, but you'll need a strong back to lug it.

By Jim Fisher

The Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM ($3,599 direct) isn't a lens for the faint of heart. The zoom, which is compatible with full-frame and APS-C camera bodies and is available in Canon, Nikon, and Sigma mounts, brings new meanings to the words big and heavy. But that's the price you pay if you're shooting sports or wildlife and you want the versatility of a zoom and the light-gathering capabilities of an f/2.8 lens. Most event shooters and weekend warriors will be happy with the reach that a comparatively small 70-200mm f/2.8 lens provides, but if you need the extra reach, the image quality that this zoom captures will not disappoint you. It's unique in that it's the only zoom on the market that reaches 300mm at f/2.8. More importantly, it's an impressive performer in terms of sharpness, which earns it our Editors' Choice award.

It measures 11.5 by 4.8 inches (HD) and weighs 7.5 pounds. If you add the included reversible hood the height increases to 16 inches. Despite the added size, we recommend using the hood for a couple of reasons. It will reduce the chance of lens flares and give a slight boost to image contrast, but more importantly it will go a long way in protecting the huge front element. The hood is made of metal and can take some abuse, and it's certain to prevent stray fingerprints from hitting the lens element. Buying a good multicoated UV filter to protect the lens is a daunting prospect; at 105mm, even the bargain-basement filters can run $50, and a good one will set you back $180. There's no drop-in filter option, so if you're someone who still uses glass filters (the most useful of which are polarizing filters on digital bodies), you'll want to budget for one that fits the lens. You'll also have to reverse or remove the hood if you opt for a polarizing filter; you won't be changing its position very easily with the hood attached.

A tripod collar is included, and that's a good thing. You don't want to put this lens on the front of your SLR and for your mount to bear the brunt of the weight. There are three tripod sockets on the collar, so you can attach a quick release plate and an attachment for a BlackRapid or similar strap system. If you need to move about with this lens, we really recommend that you add a good monopod like the excellent Manfrotto 694CX Carbon Fiber 4-Section Monopod to your kit. Your arms will thank you at the end of a long day of shooting, and you'll be able to get sharp photos at longer shutter speeds. The lens does have built-in optical stabilization, and I was quite happy with its performance in conjunction with a monopod. I managed to get sharp photos at 300mm f/2.8 at shutter speeds as low as 1/60-second when shooting subjects that were relatively still. Obviously you'll want a shorter shutter speed to capture action when the light allows for it.

There are a few control switches on the lens, near the mount. You get a standard autofocus/manual focus toggle swtich, and three-position focus limiter that lets you seek focus over the full range, from 10 meters to infinity, or from the minimum focus distance to 10 meters. The minimum focus distance changes depending on focal length; at 120mm it is 1.5 meters, and at 300mm it is 2.5 meters. There's also a switch to set the stabilization mode, or to disable stabilization, and a custom settings switch. This has an off position and two separate custom settings; you can change custom settings by connecting the lens to your PC via Sigma's USB Dock accessory.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness and distortion of the lens when paired with the full-frame Canon EOS 6D. We consider a lens sharp if it exceeds 1,800 lines per picture height using a center-weighted testing method. The 120-300mm exceeds that mark at eevery tested focal length, even at its maximum f/2.8 aperture. At 120mm f/2.8 it notches 2,415 lines; stopping down progressively increases sharpness, which peaks at 2,657 lines at f/5.6. Edge sharpness is impressive as well. At f/2.8 edges are a little softer than the center, notching 2,143 lines, but are still very impressive. But setting the lens at f/4, f/5.6, or f/8 gives you an image that is evenly sharp from edge to edge. Distortion is completely negligible, just 0.1 percent.

Performance at 200mm is equally impressive. The lens notches 2,351 lines at f/2.8 lines, with edges that are just shy of 1,900 lines. You don't get the even edge-to-edge performance at this focal length that you do at 120mm when you stop down, but the already sharp lens improves steadily as you narrow its aperture, peaking at 2,609 lines at f/8. There's about 0.9 percent pincushion distortion, which is essentially irrelevant in field conditions.

The lens is at its weakest at 300mm, but even there it's pretty darned good. It manages 2,054 lines at f/2.8, with edges that top 1,800 lines. Performance increases as you stop down, peaking at 2,304 lines at f/8; edges top 2,000 lines there. We weren't able to measure distortion at this setting; the bars in our test chart that are used to analyze that weren't able to fit into the frame, but an eyeball inspection shows that it's nothing to be concerned about.

If a 70-200mm isn't long enough, and you need a lens that opens up to f/2.8, the Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM is a tough one to beat. It's impressively sharp throughout its zoom range, gathers a heck of a lot of light, is compatible with Sigma's USB Dock, and is built like a tank. It's also as big and heavy as a tank, so you'll be a happier photographer if you pair it with a monopod or tripod; thankfully the included tripod collar has three tripod threads so you can move it from a BlackRapid strap to a monopod or tripod with ease. It's not an inexpensive lens, and if you prefer to use a filter to protect your lenses you'll be greeted with some sticker shock when you see the price of a good 105mm filter. Most event shooters will be content with a 70-200mm, but if you're a sports shooter, wildlife photographer, or just someone who really loves telephoto photography you won't be disappointed with the sharpness delivered by this 120-300mm. Its performance earns it our Editors' Choice award, but if you hurt your back schlepping it around, please don't send us your chiropractic bills.

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Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DC HSM

Pros Wide aperture. Excellent center sharpness. Includes soft case and lens hood. Internal focus motor.

Cons Weak edge performance, even when stopped down. No optical stabilization. Some barrel distortion. Bottom Line The Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DC HSM captures a lot of light, but it doesn't offer the edge-to-edge sharpness of more recent Sigma lenses.

By Jim Fisher

Sigma has been on quite a run lately, producing camera lenses with ambitious apertures and impressive edge-to-edge sharpness. The 50mm F1.4 EX DC HSM ($499 direct) is an older design, and not quite up to the company's recent standards. It's sharp in the center, but edges are a bit soft, even when the aperture is narrowed. The lens is available for Sigma, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony cameras, and it doesn't offer a significant price advantage over its competition. Our Editors' Choice 50mm lens is still the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G, and is the clear choice if you're considering this lens for a Nikon system; but if you shoot with another camera system, you may want to consider this Sigma lens.

The lens measures 2.7 by 3.3 inches (HD) and weighs about 1.1 pound. It's got an internal focus motor and a big 77mm front element. The lens can focus as close as 17.7 inches, which is in line with the other 50mm f/1.4 lenses that we've tested. A reversible petal-style lens hood and a soft carrying case are included. There's no optical stabilization system, which is also typical for this type of lens; Sony and Pentax owners will benefit from the in-camera stabilization that those cameras provide. Alpha shooters will want to consider this as an alternative to the Sony 50mm f/1.4, which uses a screw-drive focus system that is noticeably noisier than the Sigma's internal focus motor. Sony cameras that use full-time Live View for fast video autofocus will benefit from this, and if you have an APS-C body like the Alpha 77, the lack of edge sharpness that we saw on a full-frame camera isn't a concern.

I used Imatest to check sharpness when paired with the full-frame Canon EOS 6D. At f/1.4 it delivers impressive sharpness at the center areas of the frame, but edges are very soft. Our evaluation looks at a center-weighted score that considers the entirety of the frame; the cutoff for an acceptably sharp photo is 1,800 lines per picture height. The lens does better that, notching 1,959 lines on the test, but outer row of test squares is downright blurry at 838 lines. It's a disappointing result, especially when you consider that the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM managed a comparable 1,874 lines at f/1.4, with an edge score of 1,341 lines using the same test camera.

Stopping the lens down improves the score marginally; at f/2 the overall score is 2,140 lines, and at f/2.8 it improves to 2,173 lines; edges are around 1,000 lines at both of these settings. Narrowing the aperture to f/4 improves sharpness to 2,317 lines with edges that land just shy of 1,200 lines. Edge performance finally gets to an acceptable level at f/5.6; the overall score is 2,472 lines there, with edges that hover around 1,650 lines. At f/8 the lens sings; the overall score is 2,600 lines and edges top 2,100 lines. But the Canon lens gets sharper faster. It hits 2,466 lines at f/4 with edges that resolve 1,750 lines; at f/5.6 its sharpness is rated at 2,739 lines with ultra-sharp edges that resolve 2,321 lines. Our Editors' Choice Nikon lens is even better; its sharpness is 1,955 lines at f/1.4, with edges that are just shy of 1,800 lines. The Sigma shows 1.5 percent barrel distortion, which is just enough to mention—straight lines are going to show a bit of an outward curve in your photos, but it's easily corrected in software. Both the Nikon and Canon 50mm f/1.4 lenses show 1.6 percent.

On a full-frame camera, the Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DC HSM is a bit of a disappointment. Imatest shows that it's quite sharp in the center, but the edges just can't keep up. How often this affects real-world performance will depend on your photographic style. If you like to frame in-focus subjects towards the center of the frame, the shallow depth of field that you'll get when shooting at wider apertures perfectly disguises this shortcoming. And if you've got an APS-C camera, the unsharp edges are going to be cropped out of your photos due to the smaller image sensor size. Sony shooters, especially those with APS-C cameras, should take a close look at this one as it offers an internal focus motor, and Pentax shooters who don't want to drop $800 on the weather-sealed DA* 55mm f/1.4 should also consider this as a less-costly alternative. But Canon shooters are better off with the 50mm f/1.4 USM, and if you're rocking a Nikon D-SLR you'll be happy to know that the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G is an excellent performer. It impressed us enough to earn our Editors' Choice award.

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Sigma USB Dock

Pros Easy lens customization and firmware updates. Inexpensive. Mac and Windows compatibility.

Cons Requires some expertise to use. Only compatible with recent lenses. Bottom Line The Sigma USB Dock makes it easy to perform microfocus adjustments and customize some behaviors of recent Sigma lenses.

By Jim Fisher

The Sigma USB Dock ($59 direct) is an inexpensive accessory that allows you to take full control over the performance of your Sigma lenses. It's compatible with recent glass that's part of the company's Global Vision Line; you'll know that your lens is part of this generation by its Contemporary, Art, or Sports designation. It's available for lenses that use Canon, Nikon, or Sigma mounts. At this time that only includes five lenses; and only one of them, the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM is compatible with the full breadth of customization options.

Other currently compatible lenses include the 35mm F1.4DG HSM, 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM, 30mm F1.4 DC HSM, and 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM. The software is compatible with OS X and Windows. All of the lenses support firmware updates and focus adjustment. Firmware updates are pretty self-explanatory, but focus adjustments take some understanding of how a camera's autofocus system works.

Essentially, light is bounced from the mirror to a dedicated autofocus sensor. In an ideal world, every camera from a specific manufacturer would be perfectly calibrated, but the world isn't ideal. Users who demand critical performance from lenses often encounter back-focus or front-focus, where a lens is focusing slightly in front of or behind the subject. If you've got a focus issue with your lens and body combination you can adjust the lens to correct it. Some higher-end bodies support in-camera focus adjustments, but they don't go as far as the software that works with the dock. It can adjust at different focal lengths and focus distances.

The rest of the functions are currently only compatible with the 120-300mm at this time. There's an OS setting that lets you adjust the way the lens stabilization system works. There are three modes: Dynamic View, Standard, and Moderate View. Dynamic View shows the effects of the stabilization system in the viewfinder, moving elements around as quickly as possible to capture fast action. Moderate View slows down the stabilization system, and is less jarring when you're taking your time to compose a scene. The Standard mode is somewhere in the middle, and represents the lens's default behavior.

From the AF Speed menu you'll be able to prioritize speed over accuracy, accuracy over speed, or revert to the default setting, which is somewhere in the middle. Finally there's a Focus Limiter setting that lets you limit the focus range over any distance. If you know that you're going to shoot a sporting event and you know that you're only going to be shooting action from a distance you can set the limit from 50 feet to infinity and speed the autofocus system. This function will only be enabled on lenses that have a toggle switch to enable or disable the focus limitation system, so setting this in the software can't prevent you from focusing across the entire range of the lens when in the field.

The Sigma USB Dock isn't an accessory that every photographer needs or will use. Its functionality is limited based on the lens you're using. If you've got a lens that's not quite focusing correctly, it's an inexpensive way to calibrate it for use with your camera. The more advanced features are most useful with the 120-300mm telephoto zoom, and future long telephoto and macro lenses are sure to benefit from the focus limiter and autofocus speed settings. It's easy to use, though some care should be taken when adjusting focus calibration. At $60, it's not an expensive accessory in the camera world, and it's a good tool to have if you own a compatible Sigma lens.

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Simplenote (Web)

Pros Simple online note-taking app. Unique collaboration and sharing feature that turns notes into Web pages. Includes tags and decent search.

Cons No notebooks or folders for organizing notes. Unusual selection of third-party apps; missing key players. Free versus paid account benefits unclear. Bottom Line Online note-taking and -syncing app Simplenote offers an unusual list of features and even more unusual list of third-party with which it integrates. It could be a good note-taking app if you aren't in the market for something more standard.

By Jill Duffy Simplenote (free to $1.99 per month) is a note-taking app available online as well as in an iOS app (see my review of the Simplenote iPad app). It reminds me of Writebox in many ways. Both have iPad apps that sync with a Web app, all used for typing notes in a fairly distraction-free environment. They're both rather plain without a lot of fluff, but Writebox syncs via Dropbox, whereas Simplenote provides its own storage.

What's unusual is that Simplenote doesn't give you the option to use Dropbox—or Box or any other major storage service for that matter. The list of services that Simplenote does support is an eclectic little group, including Click.to, Scrivener, Tinderbox, and a few other apps that slightly favor Macs over Windows PCs.

As its name suggests, it's simple, at least in its design and what it attempts to do, which is provide you with a place to take notes and sync them in the cloud so that you can access them via a Web app or supported third-party app. Simplenote is also rather unusual, though, in that it has one or two unique features—and yet lacks some fairly standard features.

The most powerful note-taking and syncing app in my experience remains Evernote (an Editors' Choice), which blows Simplenote out of the water in terms of capabilities and features. Evernote does have a relatively clean and clutter-free view for typing new notes and editing existing ones. But it also has a voice memo recorder, photo upload functionality, and OCR for searching any text that might appear in your images.

In terms of note organization, Simplenote relies entirely on search. You can add tags, although it's a little wonky because you can only add single-word tags. Evernote, meanwhile, lets you organize notes into notebooks, and you can even organize your notebooks into "stacks," which function more like projects or sections of your life. Simplenote's search is pretty good, but considering its only looking at text and tags, it's nothing to write home about.

There are two unique features in Simplenote that I found both quirky and endearing. The first is how it handles collaboration. You "share" any note by pressing a button that turns it into a Web page. You can send a link to that page to anyone you want, and if the recipient signs up for Simplenote as well, she or he can edit the very same note. Then, all the parties working on the note can see it any time via the URL. It's a strange strategy, although I could imagine situation when it would be very useful.

The second oddball feature is a revisions history button, which works via a slider bar. Open a note, and you can revert it to an earlier draft by simply sliding your finger along a line and seeing the note change to its earlier state. Keeping a change history isn't a wildly innovative feature in note-taking apps, but using a slider bar to move backward and forward through time isn't something I've seen before.

Simplenote might be a good note-taking app for you if use the apps that it connects with, or if these unique features seem like they'd come in handy, and you don't need some of the stock features you might expect. It's also not available on Android (yet), so mobile users will need to have an iOS device. If you want the whole kit and caboodle in a note-taking and syncing app, go for Evernote. And if you need an app that supports handwriting and lets you markup PDFs, you'll need something like the Noteshelf iPad app or better, Note Taker HD, our Editors' Choice in that category. 

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Skullcandy Crusher

Pros Powerful audio output, with slider to adjust bass response. Works in passive mode, without a battery. Inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices.

Cons Bass boost goes to ridiculously high levels. AA battery required for the bass slider to work. Bottom Line Skullcandy's Crusher headphones let you adjust the bass level, and the resulting sound signatures range from thin to well-balanced to hilariously bass-heavy.

By Tim Gideon

As deep bass becomes increasingly easier to produce in relatively affordable headphones, companies are adding new tricks to the equation to win your interest. Beyerdynamic and Skullcandy both recently released headphones with adjustable bass sliders—but Skullcandy's Crusher, at $99.95 (direct), is both much more affordable and far more brazen in its approach, allowing you to raise the bass to insane levels. Used with a subtle touch, the bass slider still brings plenty of deep bass—and a nice balance in the high-mids and highs. Combine that with the removable cable, which has an inline remote and microphone for mobile devices, and the Crusher is a winner. But make no mistake, it's very easy to make these headphones sound horrifyingly bass-heavy and very bad—it's up to you to find the right balance.

Design
The Crusher's glossy plastic contour comes in three color options—white, red, or black. The earcups are well-padded with plush black pads, and the underside of the headband has a sufficient amount of cushion, though it's not quite as plush as the ear pads. Because of the massive amount of bass response the Crusher is capable of producing, the headphones require ports on either ear cup to help the drivers operate with ease.

Behind the right ear cushion is a battery compartment for one AA battery, which is included. I found it a bit annoying to remove a battery from the compartment, but you'll only have to do that roughly every 40 hours of playback time, according to Skullcandy—and that rating is based on playback with the bass at the maximum, ridiculously pumped-up level.

The bass slider on the right ear cup effectively acts as an on/off switch, as well. When you see the red dot on the slider appear, you're no longer pulling power from the battery. It's a bit disconcerting, because there's no reassuring click you feel or hear with a typical power switch, but it turns the internal amp off nonetheless. If music is paused or the headphones are disconnected from an audio source, this also shuts off the internal amp and saves battery life.

You can listen to music passively (with the slider in the off position) or without any battery in the compartment whatsoever—you just lose the ability to adjust the bass.

The included cable is removable and features an inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices. This increases the value of the Crusher, as it's far less expensive to buy a new cable than it is to replace the whole headphone pair if the cable malfunctions over time. The remote is of the single button variety, which means no volume controls, but it has greater compatibility across most of the popular mobile device platforms.

A black nylon drawstring pouch is also included with the Crusher, which the headphones easily fold down into.

Performance
With the bass slider in the off position, the Crusher already produces a substantial amount of bass response. Tracks with intense sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," are delivered with a respectable thump. At top volumes, with the slider off, tracks like this sound like they are teetering on the edge of distortion, but never quite give in. With the slider up all the way...whoa. We have some actual driver distortion, combined with serious vibration of the headphone frame itself, which also sounds a bit like distortion, but isn't. The headphones feel like they're one of those massage chairs at the airport, but burrowing into your skull—it doesn't hurt, but it's not exactly a relaxing feeling. Good thing no sane person will be using these headphones with both the volume and the bass slider maxed out!

Once we put the slider at mid-way, and lower the volume from our sound source (in this case, an iPhone 4S), things get a little less intense, though a track with this much deep bass is still going to be a distortion threat until you dip well below the halfway point for the bass slider. This track hardly needs more bass response to begin with, so we'll take the intense vibrations and distorted lows with a grain of salt.

At a mid-level bass setting on Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the Crusher blends the low frequencies in nicely with what is a fairly crisp response. There's no distortion at top-bass volume, but even though this track has less in-your-face sub-bass in the mix, the Crusher still sounds ridiculous. Oddly, the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop only catch the power of the bass slider when the synth hits the higher notes in its short progression—the lowest note, which it hits most often, gets lost in the mix and the other slightly higher notes boom with gusto. So even with this much boosted bass, it doesn't reach all the way down into the lowest depths of subwoofer thunder.

I found that, at about 25-percent bass level, this track sounded intense in the lows and still crisp and clear in the highs. And with the slider off, the track sounds a lot thinner, and seems to have almost no low-end presence. For me, the sweet spot is at about one-quarter bass level.

This bass level seemed to work pretty well with other genres, too—Bill Callahan's "Drover" gets the right amount of crisp high-mid presence so that his voice can handle the extra richness it gets from the low-end. At maximum or even mid-bass level, the balance is tipped way off and the song sounds comically bass-heavy. Even classical tracks can sound ridiculously bass-heavy, which is not really desirable, so your best bet is to keep the slider at very moderate settings.

It seems silly to knock a pair of headphones that has the capability of sounding quite balanced and powerful just because it allows the user to adjust things so far out of whack that it sounds awful or the drivers could (perhaps) blow. So, we're not knocking the Crusher, because used normally, it sounds great. It does seem odd that the bass slider allows for such a whopping, unnecessarily high bass level, but just because a Ferrari can cruise at 110MPH doesn't mean you can't enjoy a leisurely 50MPH drive.

If you love the idea of adjustable sound signatures, and have a bit more money available, the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro is an excellent, refined version of the boom-tastic Crusher. Perhaps solid bass response is appealing to you, but not so much the user adjustable controls—if so, consider the Sennheiser HD 429s, which offers a nice balance, but still plenty of low-end. And if all of the options listed here are too much for your budget, the affordable Skullcandy Hesh 2 and Jays v-Jays both offer reasonable bass response without going over the top. For $100, however, the Crusher is a well-designed, user-customizable curiosity, capable of bringing out the beauty and fury of your favorite music, or making it sound like the bass is starting a war against all other frequencies ranges, and that war is taking place inside your skull.

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TiVo Roamio Pro

Pros Supports streaming and download to iOS devices. Integrated Wi-Fi and MoCA. Six tuners. 450-hour HD recording capacity. Online content from Netflix, Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Pandora, YouTube, and Amazon Video On Demand.

Cons Digital Cable only (requires CableCARD). Requires paid subscription. Currently no Android support for streaming. Out-of-home streaming requires Wi-Fi, and is not ready yet. No support for Amazon Prime streaming, HBO Go, or Watch ESPN yet. Bottom Line The six-tuner, 3TB Roamio Pro finally gives the TiVo faithful all the features they've wanted for years. No more add-ons, the TiVo Roamio, the company's best DVR yet, has it all built in.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The TiVo Roamio Pro is the new top-of-the-line digital video recorder and media hub from the company that pretty much invented the DVR. The new Roamio Pro leapfrogs the competition, adding built-in live-streaming capabilities to a mature user interface. It's got six tuners and provides 450 hours of HD storage space, so there's virtually no excuse to miss those new and repeat shows when they float by on the rivers of live programming. Think of it as the best DVR on the market, with the addition of online features and the promise of place-shifting in the future. This is the set-top box to buy if you can't live without cable or phone company TV service, so it's our latest Editors' Choice for DVRs alongside the Dish Network Hopper With Sling for satellite users.

Design and Features
The TiVo Roamio Pro looks like you'd expect a TiVo DVR to look like: It's not nearly as pretty as the 2006-vintage TiVo Series3 HD, which featured an OLED info panel and physical controls on the front panel, but it's a natural evolution of the TiVo Premiere Elite (now the XL4). The Roamio Pro measures 2.4 by 16.5 by 10 inches (HWD), and has a white and black two-tone front panel with indicator lights for power, recording, and so on. Hookup is as easy as any other cable company DVR: There's a CableCard slot in the back, along with HDMI, component, and composite A/V ports, two USB 2.0 ports (for accessories like the receiver for the TiVo Slide remote), eSATA for DVR storage expansion, and a digital audio port for connecting external speakers or a speaker bar.

You get a 3TB internal drive, good for 450 hours of HD content or an insane 3,500 hours of SD content. And you can add up to another 1TB via an eSATA DVR expander, good for another 150 hours of HD video. This, along with the six tuners, means that you'll rarely encounter a situation where you can't record what you want. This outguns the previous TiVo Premiere XL4's four tuners and 300 hours of HD, and way outpaces most cable and phone company DVRs, which typically offer two tuners and less than 50 hours of HD recording space. It even edges out the Dish Network Hopper's three tuners and 2TB of storage.

The peanut-shaped remote is both familiar to TiVo veterans and more compact than the original Series 1-3 remotes, and it supports both IR and RF, which makes it easier to use if you have the box hidden away in a home theater cabinet or closet. It also means that you can use the amber Find Remote button on the TiVo Roamio Pro (and Roamio Plus) DVRs to make the remote chirp the TiVo jingle. Like the TiVo Premiere remote, the Roamio Pro remote includes extra function buttons for cable systems that support On Demand programming.

The user interface hasn't changed too much from the TiVo Premiere UI: You can still search by actors, directors, titles, and keywords. There's access to services like YouTube, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, MLB.TV, Spotify, and Pandora direct from the TiVo Roamio Pro's menus. Netflix has been updated to deliver the same interface seen on other set top boxes like the Wii U and Apple TV, but Amazon Instant Video still doesn't support Amazon Prime streaming yet. Hopefully TiVo will add services like HBO Go in the future and has plans for an HTML5-based app store down the line.

The speed of the menu system still has the occasional hiccup, as with any set-top box with a multi-pane UI, but overall the interface is starting to approach the responsiveness of the older Series 2 and 3 TiVo flat menus. Searching for programs that aren't on TV in the next couple of weeks will bring up opportunities to buy them on Amazon or open them in Netflix. This is annoying if you don't subscribe, but convenient if you already have access.

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Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case (for iPhone 5)

Pros Convertible design. Adds hours of battery life. Includes two slim cases.

Cons Hard to remove battery pack. Bulbous design. Bottom Line The Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case for the iPhone 5 is a battery case when you need it and a slim protective case when you don't.

By Eugene Kim

A battery case when you need it, a simple protective case when you don't—that's the theory behind the Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case ($99.99 direct). It's similar to the Unu Ecopak, but with a built-in Lightning connector making it far more useful. It's a bit bulbous in design, though, and removing the battery pack is trickier than it should be. Still, it offers superb battery life and at least gives you some more options for use. If you're looking for just an extended battery, a more traditional case like the Unu DX, which is our Editors' Choice, is the better option. It's less expensive, offers comparable battery life, and it's easy enough to find a slim protective case to swap on when you don't need the extra juice.

Design and Setup
The Energi is fairly unique in the world of battery cases—it's really just a slim protective case with grooves that let you slide on a battery pack with integrated Lightning connector. The slim case provides protection for the sides and back, and the lip is raised above the screen so it'll provide some protection should you put your iPhone face down on flat surfaces. There are cutouts for the buttons and switch along the side, while the top and bottom have large openings for easy access to the rest of the ports and buttons. It's a minimal case that provides just enough protection without adding any bulk. Tylt also includes two slim cases with each Energi; a black case and your choice of blue, red, or green cases. The battery pack itself is only available in black.

The battery pack slides easily onto slim case, lining up seamlessly with the grooves along the side. With the pack installed, the Energi measures 5.5 by 2.6 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.2 ounces. It's only slightly bigger and heavier than the Unu DX (5.5 by 2.5 by 0.6 inches, 2.9 ounces) and the Mophie Juice Pack Helium (5.5 by 2.5 by 0.6 inches, 2.44 ounces), but the bulbous design makes it feel bulkier than it is.  There's a button around back that activates the power flow, while an embedded LED glows green or red to indicate battery life. Like all iPhone 5 battery cases, the headphone jack is recessed and requires an included adapter for bulkier plugs.

Removing the battery pack can be a bit of a chore and requires some breaking-in. It holds very securely in place, which is a plus, but it took a good deal of effort to release the pack the first few times I tried. It got a little smoother over time, but still required a bit too much force than I'd like to apply to the screen of the iPhone. Tylt suggest a few methods, but I found the best way was pressing your palm against the screen and using the friction between your skin and the glass to force the phone out. It's much easier to take off the Helium or DX and just snap on a standard protective case, which sort of defeats the advantage of the Energi's design.

Performance and Conclusions
The Energi features a 2,500mAh battery pack, which is pretty sizeable as far as iPhone 5 batteries go. The Unu DX uses a 2,300mAh pack, while the Helium uses a much smaller 1,500mAh battery. In my tests, making a continuous call with LTE enabled with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off, the Energi added 8 hours, 7 minutes of talk time to my completely drained AT&T iPhone 5. That's actually the best result we've seen, but not by much—the DX lasted 7 hours, 52 minutes and the Juice Pack Plus lasted 7 hours, 23 minutes.

Though the Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case offers about as much extra battery life as you'll find, it's not the best value and its bulbous, hard-to-remove design is a bit of a bummer. The Unu DX is $20 less and offers virtually equal battery life and a design that feels slicker. If you're looking for the thinnest and lightest, the Helium still offers substantial battery life and costs less than the Energi. The convertible design might appeal to those who don't always need the extra juice, but the convenience is negated by how tricky it can be to remove the battery pack. I recommend the DX and an inexpensive standard case instead, which would let you swap out cases more easily than with the Tylt. 

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