TechBlog from Sewell

We recently launched a feature that allows customers to review products they have purchased.

A lot of customers have taken the time to provide reviews of the USB to DVI adapter - if you have any questions about whether your application will work you may be able to find somebody else who has done the same thing (and whether or not it worked).

This feature is now available on all of our other products as well, so go ahead and browse the site and find the information that you need before placing a purchase.

When it comes to video equipment it is no secret that we love Gefen. Sure, we sell Gefen stuff so we’re biased, but we sell a lot of brands and Gefen is consistently one of our favorites.

Here are 5 reasons we recommend so many Gefen solutions:

1) Scope of Product Line: Gefen is one of the most innovative manufacturers we have ever worked with. When we call to request a new video converter, adapter, extender, switch, splitter, etc. the answer is almost always the same - they are already working on it. If you have a suggestion for Gefen’s product line just give us a call and we will see if it is something that would make sense to mass produce.

2) Quality: Gefen’s products simply work - in the rare instance when there has been a quality issue Gefen swiftly moves to make changes to the hardware and firmware. We had a chance to speak with the founder recently and saw a rare desire to add value in every product Gefen releases.

3) Return Policy: We have a liberal return policy because suppliers like Gefen allow us to. With a better-than-industry 1-year warranty Gefen recently increased the length of the warranty to 2-years - if you buy a Gefen product you can rest assured that you will be taken care of (via Sewell or Gefen directly) for 2 years.

4) Consistency: Gefen products all have a consistent look-and-feel, but this goes way beyond aesthetics. When you buy a Gefen product you know exactly what you’re getting - whether it’s HDMI, DVI, audio, etc., you can be sure that you won’t be out in the cold in 6 months - with Sewell and Gefen you’ll be taken care of.

5) Reasonable Prices: Sure, you can find a company who sells cheaper video equipment - these companies have to save money somewhere, however, and they typically skimp on quality. Just go with Gefen and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing you invested a little bit of money in quality without breaking the bank.

Our Favorites:
Gefen DVI Dual Link Splitter
Gefen DVI Splitter
Gefen FireWire Repeater
Gefen HDMI Splitter

On a daily basis in Tech Support at Sewell Direct we receive telephone calls concerning the compatability of our products with Microsoft’s new OS Windows Vista. I am very happy to report that through extensive testing we have determined that the compatability level is very high across the boards for our products. My fellow techies and I have done a lot and will continue to do more with any hardware installation concerns that you may have with this exciting new OS.

A great example of what has been done so far is the Vista installation procedure for the USB to 32-Bit Card Bus.

Feel free to call our Tech Support Department if you questions about Windows Vista compatiblity: 1(800)709-1345 Option #1.

When our tech support guys get calls, it’s usually a specific question about some function of a product that they recently purchased from Sewell Direct. However, every now and again, we get a repeat question from someone who hasn’t used Sewell Direct in a while, but just has a general technology question. Our guys are usually glad to give a helping hand with that stuff, too.

Once in a while, though, we get referrals to our tech support from other individuals or even other sites. We were kind of surprised at a revealing conversation that our own Jonathan Adams had with someone who was referred to us from a mecca of online retail and a major competitor, Newegg. Newegg passing the buck along for tech support? Isn’t that kind of sad? That’s like Mike Krzyzewski (we forgive you for losing in the first round this year…) telling his star center to ask Roy Williams (UNC’s coach) for advice on blocking out for rebounds because he simply didn’t know what to tell him. Needless to say, it reflects pretty poorly on Newegg.

Apparently, this wasn’t even a unique experience. We had another technician receive a similar phone call. I guess it just goes to show that even though we may not have the deep pockets of Newegg, we gobbled up all the tech-savvy and customer-friendly support staff. Props, guys. And thanks to all our loyal customers whom we promise to never refer to a competitor for their technical questions.

As market compentition increases, it’s important to remain competitive and provide our customers the best possible experience shopping online in our store. One of the features our customers enjoy is the ability to see both the front and back of a product on our website. We took that one step further and introduced a program that would provide full 360 degree product images allowing anyone to look at the front, back, and sides using Adobe Flash technology.

To view the selected products with these first flash images, click on the links below, and then select the image.

PC to TV Converter
Wireless PC to TV converter, 2.4 GHz
DVI to Component Video Adapter
Gefen Component and VGA Video/Audio to HDMI Adapter
USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch, 2 PC’s to 1 Device
DVI-A Male to VGA Female Adapter
DVI-A Female to VGA Male Adapter
VTBook DVI/VGA Dual Display Video PCMCIA Card
3G Phoebus Portable Cellular Wi-Fi Router

Over the past few months, you’ve no doubt noticed the influx of new product announcements that have started to flood onto the TechBlog. Unfortunately, these posts are starting to take over (kind of like morning glory. Give it an inch…) Anyway, we’ve started a new blog dedicated to reviewing the new cool products we’ve added, as well as commentary on the evolving connectivity industry. You can check out this new blog at USBtoBluetooth.com. Come see us! (And we’ll still post some really awesome stuff here too.)

Hats off to Sewell!

The Department of Workforce Services conducts an annual celebration that rewards employers who “listen to employees and strive to create and maintain a culture of equity and opportunity in the workplace. The Award recognizes best practices and promotes their implementation in the business community.”

We were recognized as one of the best micro companies to work for in Utah. We were acutally the only winner (out of all the categories) from Utah County.

Here are a couple of the areas in which we were recognized:

Best Work Environment:
Sewell Direct has a very popular company ping pong area, and although the intention was relaxation and light exercise, the tournaments can be pretty fierce.

Best Company Culture:
A rare move in this 24/7/365 world, full-time employees at Sewell Direct are not expected to nor encouraged to work more than 40 hours a week. When employees travel for work, Sewell Direct pays for spouses/partners to go along on business trips.

Click here to read the press release http://jobs.utah.gov/edo/press/2006/032306.asp.

Here is a scan of Sewell’s page in the 2006 Utah’s Work/Life Award magazine.

For the first time ever we are offering free shipping at Sewell Direct on all orders over $100. We are not sure how long this promotion will last so if you have had your eye on a Gefen HDMI Switch or pretty much any Key Digital product this would be a good time to finally make that purchase.

Note that the free shipping only applies to ground shipping in the continental US. We have, however, discounted our express shipping rates the amount that you would have paid on ground shipping so we also have some cheap 2′nd day, overnight, 3 day, etc.

One of my friends here at Sewell Direct HQ has the awesome Dell 2405fpw LCD monitor. Everytime I pass by that monitor I envy the amount of workspace it produces for getting things done on the desktop. At Sewell Direct we offer many choices and lengths of cables that would allow you to connect such a nice widescreen monitor. Here are some good choices when it comes to DVI Cables for your LCD.

THE NEW DELL 3007WFP!! NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL 30 INCHES OF VISUAL NIRVANA!!!

This new 30 inch monitor from DELL requires a good video card like the XFX 7800 GT
and a Dual Link DVI cable. You can get all of these parts from SEWELL DIRECT!

For those of you out there who wonder what sets Sewell Direct apart as one of the coolest and most useful retailers on the internet I would suggest that it is because we hire the best, brightest (and most unusual). Plus, we are the only company that I know of that actually has a Chief Awesome Officer.

One of our marketing guys recently created a homemade ECG from scratch and then actually took him and his accomplice’s heart readings. These are definitely the type of people that want helping you figure out how to switch HDTV from two different sources.