Pure Digital Flip UltraHD Camcorder Review

Playback & Connectivity Summary
• Playback is simple, but doesn't offer many options. • Features the standard flip-out USB arm, which is fun to use, but has multiple drawbacks. • The Flip UltraHD is the first Flip camcorder to feature an HDMI port.
	Handling & Use	(Page 10 of 17)	Audio & Other Features

Playback (2.00)

To view your recorded clips on the Flip UltraHD, you can either press the playback button in in the upper left, or simply tap the left and right buttons on the d-pad to begin filtering through your videos. When a video is playing, you can pause it by pressing the playback button and you can control volume by pressing plus and minus (up and down) on the d-pad. Information about the length of each clip is displayed in the upper left corner of the LCD screen and a progress bar is located at the bottom of the screen, which tells you how much of the selected video you have viewed. You can even fast forward and rewind your clips by holding down on the left or right buttons on the d-pad.

Deleting clips is easy on the Flip UltraHD. There's a large delete button (represented by a trash can) that is located to the right of the d-pad. When you press the button you have the option of deleting the current video or deleting all videos on the camcorder. You must confirm the deletion by pressing the playback button, which feels a bit awkward (the record button probably would have made more sense).

This playback format is incredibly simple, although it can be deceivingly frustrating. There is no way to view all your clips at once  in a thumbnail format, which is the standard playback view on most consumer camcorders. So, if you have a lot of clips and you want to shuffle through them, it may take some time and a good deal of clicking.

During playback mode, there is no thumbnail interface: just the clip number and timer.

Connectivity (1.38)

The Flip UltraHD has two connectivity options: USB and HDMI-output. The UltraHD features the standard flip-out USB arm that should be familiar to any Flip user. The arm snaps out from the body of the UltraHD when you slide down the gripped button on the side of the camcorder. As with previous models, the arm isn't incredibly sturdy and the flip-out mechanism isn't very well designed. The bulkiness of the Flip UltraHD compared to the Flip Mino also makes it a much bigger pain to connect to a computer.

The main connection on the UltraHD is the USB arm, which "flips out" from the side.

Since the USB arm only extends roughly an inch from the body of the camcorder, it means the Flip has to be right next to you computer when you plug it in. The thing is, since the UltraHD is actually thicker than many laptops, it can create a lot of difficulty when you connect it to a USB port. When we connected camcorder to a MacBook Pro, we had to prop the laptop up on a small book or pad of paper in order to get the UltraHD's USB arm to line up properly. This is terrible design, as you can risk damaging your computer's USB ports, or the USB connector on the camcorder, simply because the USB arm doesn't bend or flex (like any ordinary cable would). Pure Digital does sell accessory USB cable extenders, but for $25 bucks a pop—you've got to be kidding.

In comparison, the Sony MHS-CM1 uses a regular USB cable connector, while the Kodak Zi6 has a similar pop-out USB design like the Flips.

There is no AV/component output, but there is an HDMI output for viewing clips on your TV.

While all Flip camcorders have the standard built-in USB arm, the Flip UltraHD is the first to have an HDMI output. The HDMI output is located on the lower-left side of the camcorder and it doesn't have a port cover or any protective element. We like the inclusion of HDMI on an HD camcorder, but it does mean that you're out of luck if you want to connect the Flip UltraHD to you're old standard definition television.