Swann SW231-WMX Maxi-Brite Dual-Mode Wireless / Wired Security Camera Night Vision 30ft/9m

This camera has very limited wireless use especially when you are shipped two "No 1" cameras. If you order two to be used as wireless and you hook them up to the same DVR and find they both relay images on ONE channel only, then the second camera is useless! You must have one on channel 1 and one on channel 2 if you want simultaneous viewing of both cameras.

Phoned up the manufacturerand was told I could change the channel inside the camera so we tried. As we disassembled layer after layer of tiny screws and computer boards, and lenses, we got as far as we could and NEVER found any place to change the channel option.

As wireless cameras near a wifi hotspot and wireless PC's we get very very poor reception and can not use the motion detection at all on our DVR.

My suggestion is to get the Maxi Day/Night (not the maxi brite) WIRED camera and install the wiring and not waste your time with this one.

The Maxi Day/Night (CCD) gives me almost daylight quality (in b/w after dark) well after the Maxi Brite (CMOS) goes almost too dark to view with any real clarity.

If you don't have wifi or wireless interference, this camera works MUCH better than most prepackaged wireless CMOS cameras like Eyeseeall and QSee, of which I have both to compare. They go quite black while the Swann can still make out shapes.

Luckily I have an 8-channel DVR, so I'll put the lesser cameras to use somewhere around the house and buy a few more WIRED CCD Maxi Day/Night Swanns for outside where I need the most protection.

Save 46% Off

Panasonic Pro AG-DVC20 3CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

Okay, first and foremost, this seems to be the camera everyone forgot, including Panasonic. Go to their website and venture to the comparison page, and it's like no one bothered to fill out the spec sheet. For weight, dimensions and pick-up device it has "N/A."

If you go online and search for reviews of this camera there is no shortage of criticism from the pro set, faulting it for not having this feature or that, but once you do the research the cameras that have those features cost about a grand to two grand more!

Ironically, this undeserved disdain and neglect seems to have resulted in a real deal, both affordable and versatile. It has less features than some professional cameras and more than most consumer cameras. It works great with iMovie on my MacBook Apple MacBook MA701LL/A 13.3" Notebook PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) Black and has been a great way for me to familiarize myself with shooting in general. All you need is a firewire cord like this one and you're good to go.Belkin F3N401-06-ICE IEEE 1394 4-Pin/6-Pin 400 Mbps FireWire Cable (6 Feet)

It is not HD, but neither are 99.9% of the places it will be played.

Maybe as I learn more I'll become more aware of its limitations and my opinion will change and, yes, the lens is smaller than I'd like, but the 3CCD makes a huge difference in the colors and contrast.

One thing to bear in mind, this is a great piece of equipment for someone who works with professional directors and videographers, but in no way a replacement for such skilled and outstanding professionals. Basically, if you're a director or videographer you'll want a far more serious piece of equipment, but if you're a writer or art director who just wants a firmer grasp of the shooting process this is the camera for you!

All in all, it's a great to learn on and great for the price. Not a bad combination at all.

Here's the kit I've put together to go with it:

Case Panasonic Pro Soft Carrying Case for DV60 & DVC7 Camcorders

Wide Angle Lens Panasonic Pro AG-LW4307 Wide Angle Lens Adaptor 7x for AG-DVC7/30/60 Camcorders

Tripod Sunpak UltraPro 757 Full-Size Tripod with Extra Quick-Release Plate (Satin Silver)

Tripod Case Sunpak 620-770-AZ Unpadded Tripod Carrying Case

Microphone System Azden WMS-PRO Wireless Microphone System

Camcorder Light Sima SL-10LX Universal LED Camcorder Light

Studio Light -Photography Studio Continuous Umbrella Light Kit with Free 26w 5500k Fluorescent Photo Light Bulb

I had three must-haves for a video camera:

three ccds

record to miniDV

audio-out port

Most of the cameras with these three features are up in the $3000 range, essentially going for the low-end professional market. All the cameras currently selling for around $600-$700 skimp on some aspect of performance. If all you care about is making home movies to keep and share memories of kids' birthday parties, by all means, go for a HDD camera, or just hope that your sound will turn out okay. But if you want to put together footage that has real production value, shell out the extra few hundred for this model. It will really show in the finished product.

Buy Panasonic Pro AG-DVC20 3CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Now

My name is Sandor ....or DJ SANDOORS .This is a video of RC Formula 1 racing in Savannah, GA. I have other videos on You Tube, look for DJ Sandoors movies. I've had this camera for six months and bought on Amazon. For a lightweight camera of plastic material, it can be a good buddy for me. It's good for action footage and I could call this a semi-professional level. I'm an independent camera man with short films of nature, music, sports and portraits. It might make a high level movie maker angry, but for the price, it's working well.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic Pro AG-DVC20 3CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Here

I love this camerait has a total pro look, great picture and awesome sound. I purchased an external mic and still haven't had to use it, the built in mic is that good. It looks heavy but it's very light and comfortable to use, I was surprised as to how light it was, it must be mostly holloweither way, it's a good weight for me for me, because I'm very petite, which makes it all the more impressive!lol! I'm using FCP2 and everything is coming out beautifully! So far, I am very happy & pleased with this purchased.

Want Panasonic Pro AG-DVC20 3CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Discount?

It's supposed to be entry level but so far it's turned out first class footage for everything.. Of course, I do know how to shoot..but it will work for anybody..and don't let the gripes about the menu discourage you. It's a simple menu and easy to use. I use a battery powered sound board to mix sound before I send it to the cam..but this AG 20 records sound better than any other I've ever used.

Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder

• Portable CD player with AM/FM stereo radio and cassette player; CD-R/RW playback compatible
• 20-Track programmable memory; Records directly from radio or CD player
• Wide range twin three-inch stereo speakers
• Stereo headphone jack
• AC/DC operation (detachable AC cord included)

My parents bought this CD player for my sister over 6 years ago. About 3 years ago, she gave it to me. I used to use it every day until I got my MP3 player. I pulled it out of my closet this morning and it still plays CDs and tapes, and the radio works great even with the antenna broken off. Most of my stuff doesn't last more than a year, and this thing has survived 3 years of my abuse and still works like the day I got it. If you want a durable, fairly cheap CD player boombox, this is your best bet. It outlasted 2 high-end Sony Boomboxes and numerous portable CD players over the years. I highly recommend this boombox not only for durability, but also great sound quality and style.

Buy Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder Now

I bought this little item primarily to play CD's since all my higher priced CD players had croaked. For the price, it plays and sounds just fine, though no adjustments can be made to the sound quality. If you are one who needs bigger bass or wants to fiddle with sound controls, this is not the unit for you. My only real gripe is the lid for the CD player doesn't open quite wide enough which makes it more difficult for me to insert and remove the CD. It's doable just a little inconvenient. Overall, I'm satisfied with the product and would recommend it if all you need is something with fairly decent sound at a very reasonable price.

Read Best Reviews of Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder Here

I received this cd and tape player as a gift about a year and a half ago. I use it to listen to radio, cds, or tapes at work while I work. The tape player doesn't automatically stop at the end of a tape. You have to push the stop button to get the play button to pop up. That is the reason I think that my tape player wore out. The knobs inside to turn the tape will no longer turn but the play will still push the film through and thus it chews and ruins every tape I now put in it. So it worked for a year and a half and I really liked it but now I think when I buy a replacement I will find a better quality one.

Want Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder Discount?

It holds up well to the kids' abuse. They use it all of the time. For the price it is difficult to beat.

This radio CD player is adequate, there is a big however....If you have cassette tapes you wish to use that are Chrome (CrO2) or Metal or 90 or 120 minute tapes; the instructions warn you not to use them. Use only regular 60 minute tapes.

The metal and chrome do work , I just do not know for how long, or what it is doing to the player; but since that is my cassette collection it's what's going in this machine. I just wish there would have been some warning and I would not have purchased this particular model.

The sound is not the best, however so far it has allowed me to record some books on CD to cassette tape.

There is a repeat playback for the CD as well as the ability to program up to 20 tracks to any order

The tuning for the radio is not the best, it takes me back to the days of the first portable radios I had where it was a challenge to get the station into the best reception sound. For the price it is okay, but really would have appreciated a bit more warning on the tape situation.

Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod

• Sleek microphone/speaker turns iPod intoportable voice and memo recorder
• Automatic gain control adjusts signal level to improve recording quality
• Multifunction pass-through jack for connecting headphones or external mic
• Attractive housing perfectly fits seamlessly on top of iPod
• Compatible with any iPod with dock connector; requires iPod software v 2.1 or later

I bought the iTalk to take memos when I'm out in the field. Camera in one had, iPod in the other. I read the reviews first so knew it would be risky but it sounded ok for my uses and I got it cheap.

* Files are about 1 minute per Mb, stored as wav.

* Sound quality is understandable but not as good as AM radio.

* For a fully charged iPod, I got about 90 mins recording before the battery showed empty.

Pros

* Recording works fine, and I can dictate captions for photos as I think of them on site. Typically these are 1-2 minutes at most. I have also made an hour-long recording as a test without problems. I tried recording conversation in a cafe but it picks up too much background to be understandable.

* The best feature for photo memos is that files are time stamped, so I copy each memo to the same folder as my photos (which are also time stamped) making them easy to match up.

* iTalk can take an external mike which cuts out background white noise.

* Files are automatically sync'd to iTunes Voice Memo list and stored in the iTunes unknown artist folder. (If you have this feature set in iTunes)

Cons

* Software glitches randomly lock up the iPod under almost every condition except for the initial condition (more about this below).

* The iTalk covers the iPod lock. This is a serious design flaw given how quickly the battery drains. It means that you can't carry the iTalk connected to the iPod and easily lock the keys.

* The line that takes a mic also doubles as a line out. If headphones are connected and you try to record, the recording light shows but nothing is recorded. It creates a file but it's empty.

Hints

Prevent freezing: If the iTalk is in place when the iPod is turned on, it will often freeze. To prevent freezing, remove the iTalk before turning on the iPod every time. Under these conditions I've never had it freeze. If the iPod does sleep, to prevent freezing, remove the iTalk then insert it again (i'm not sure how often this is necessary, but I haven't had to reset the iPod since the first day).

Reset: To reset the iPod, remove the iTalk and hold down the iPod's MENU and PLAY '>||' buttons for 10 sec. I used this 5x the first day with the iTalk but haven't needed it since.

Locking: Slide a laminated card (my credit card is too thick) between the iPod and iTalk to lock, or carry the iTalk separately (annoying, but not as annoying as rebooting every time).

Saving: It's not enough to pause a recording, you need to remember to stop and save it before removing the iTalk. The MENU button will also save files.

Finding the files on PC: I have iTunes set to automatically sync files. To find the files in iTunes, look under the Voice Memos list. It's a trifle disconcerting when they disappear from one list and appear elsewhere unless you're prepared for it. On my PC, they can also be copied from

iTunes music/unknown artist/unknown album

Battery: I tried letting the battery run out while recording. It ran for ~50 minutes while the battery was showing empty then shut down with no warning. The file appears to have been saved ok.

Battery life: Check out the apple web page for battery tips (...) (I know this comment is outside the scope of iTalk, but if you use a voice recorder with the iPod, you're going to be dealing with battery issues.)

Summary

Despite the glitches, I like having a handy memo system and will keep it til something better turns up. Doesn't sound like Belkin is any better in terms of software glitches or battery life, but it looks like it would be possible to lock the iPod with the Belkin in place which would be a plus. The minus is that Belkin doesn't take an external mic.

Buy Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod Now

I use a Samsung digital recording device to record oral history interviews. My interviewee has Parkinson's and slurs his speech. He also is prone to mumbling. I spend hours trying to decipher what he's said when I use my Samsung voice recorder.

Enter the Griffin iTalk. After downloading the 2.2 iPod software from Apple, it worked without a glitch. I especially like the ease with which one can start and stop a recording session without starting new files each time. It's simple and easy to use and gives the user a great deal of control. The built-in organization when it syncs with iTunes is also extremely convenient.

The playback quality right out of the iTalk itself isn't great. It's about as good as my laptop's speakers. But I always play back through small Sony speakers anyway. The quality here: perfect. It's actually quite amazing. I was stunned.

I haven't experienced any freezing of the iPod. I haven't experienced any problems at all actually.

I never write reviews on Amazon, but I was so excited by the utility of this little (yes, very attractive) device that I was compelled to come online and share my discovery.

Read Best Reviews of Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod Here

I've had OK luck recording conversations with this, but there are better solutions available elsewhere. Here's my advice:

First, read the warnings of others here. This product, and Griffin's products in general, seem to have strong limitations, in my experience.

First off, if you plan on moving to a new iPod with video anytime soon, then you won't be able to use this. Fortunately, there is at least one MUCH better option available for new (video) iPods. It is the MicroMemo (XtremeMac). Sound quality is MUCH better because it can make 16-bit (as opposed to 8-bit) recordings. I'll bet that other alternatives will be available soon, so do a search for iPod digital voice recorders before buying.

Second, I, like many others, am not too thrilled with the sound and the reliability of this gadget (yet another sub-par product from Griffin, IMHO). Also, the extra jack for a microphone has led to mixed results. The whole gadget will sometimes pop out of the socket in the iPod, if you aren't careful (which is the only reason I know of for not tossing my old microcassette recorder).

Don't bother with Belkin's Voice Recorder--it sounds even worse, quite frankly. I haven't seen or tested the Maxell P-7 recorder, but I hear that it is comparable to Griffin's product, with a slightly better microphone. Other products that I hear are comparable/sub-par are SterlingTek's iRecorder and DLO's VoiceNote.

I think the best solution for these older iPods is to use Belkin's Universal Microphone Adapter along with any decent recording microphone. It WILL sound better, but it will still be an 8-bit recording and the sound quality won't knock your socks off. If you want to record telephone calls, use the UMA with something like Radio Shack's Wireless Phone Recording Controller.

Want Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod Discount?

I'm sure this is a great product. But if you have a 5th Generation iPod, it will NOT work. If you have an iPod Mini, it will NOT work either.

The description for this item is unclear and should really be revised.

I'm a pre-med student and searched the internet for something to record my bio-chemistry lectures. Somthing small, portable, and something that wouldn't give me any hassles. I bought an ipod in february, and teamed up with the italk it seemed the perfect solution.

The italk came in a black box, in white packaging characteristic to all apple products. When I attached the itrip onto my ipod, it fit perfectly onto the top, so much better than its 'belkin rival'.

I first saw the Belkin recorder at Walmart, it was priced at $40, (circuit city price $50). The Belking was flat out ugly, the quality sucked and I took it back. Walmart is real lean on returned items and they promplty refunded my purchase.

When I saw how much griffin cost and the reviews it received for it's sound quality, i made no mistake about it and put my order in with amazon.

When i received it came in the mail, I told my sister to stand on the far side of the living room, and start yelling at me. (I was trying to simulate a biochemistry lecture). The griffin italk picked up beautifully her voice.

I brought my nifty gadget to work and everyone kept asking me how much i got it. (They could hear the jimi hendrix grooves blaring from my ipod via the griffin italk)

My coworkers were suprised when i told them i had bought it for only $26. It looked much more expensive to everybody.

I loved. I didn't get ripped of with the belkin recorder, which didn't even have an external mic output (the bastards sell it seperately).

So if it's so perfect and beautiful and beats competition, what are all the bad reviews for?

Ahhh the freezing.

The ipod is programed to recognize the italk if the ipod is already on, and THEN the italk is plugged in. If though on the other hand you plug the italk in and then turn on the ipod you risk freezing your player. I've had no problems with it doing it the first way.

Five stars.

Digital Sound Level Meter

I bought this product for my father as an anniversary gift. He works with windows and for him is important to know how much noise is passing through them.

The only complain is the size, because he need to hang in a window and keep this huge toy in his pocket.

The precision is perfect compared with other brands that he used to work.

Olympus VN-960PC 128 MB Digital Voice Recorder with PC Link

This recorder works great. Its easy to use, sound quality is good, and the low/high microphone sensitivity feature is great for cutting out background noise for dictation or when you're recording a very close-up or loud speaker. Sounds great in both HQ and SP mode, and has enough memory to record all day long. My favorite feature is the USB upload. Its fast, and worked for me the first time without any problems.

The only problem, is that amazon claims it comes with headphones. It does not. It also claims it comes with a microphone, and I guess it does, but its just the built in one. It does, however, have jacks for both headphones and an external mic, which I assume would increase recording quality even more.

We didn't buy this to record lectures and stuff but we bought it to record our little girl's baby talk :-) We couldn't be happier. I wish we had it when our boy was little.

Olympus VN-960PC is an exceptionally well made device. Very easy to use. Buttons are positioned wisely. The recording quality is wonderful (even from under the blankey!). Each piece of recording is labeled seperately so there is no chance of 'recording over' like in an audio cassette.

The recording format is WAV. It can simply be transferred and played on any CD player (or can be converted to MP3 with appropriate third party software). We made our parents very happy (who live thousands of miles away from us) by sending them the baby's voices on CD (because it is difficult to get even a coo out of her over phone!!)

This voice recorder delivered exactly what we bought it for, hence the 5 starts!

It could have had an AC adapter, but that's no reason to frown upon. Good battery life. I have rechargable 900 mAH batteries which practically run endlessly. The recorder could have come with ear phones, but then again I am sure most of us have spare pairs at home.

Last but not least Amazon.com's price and service was UNBEATABLE! I bought it with free super saver shipping and received in 2 days!

Buy Olympus VN-960PC 128 MB Digital Voice Recorder with PC Link Now

This is GREAT. I really am impressed with this device and happy I bought it over other models. It is really refreshing, after coming across so many crappy items out there, to find something of quality for a good price.

Battery life is impressive. LOVE the ability to transfer to computer (and subsequently, to iPod, or whatever). The software, as others have said, is not the greatest, however I find it to be quite adequate and haven't had any problems. What I like is this isn't one of those devices that forces you to only use its own particular format that isn't compatible with anything else. You download the files in .WAV format and you can access the files with other software easily (like Audacity, free audio editing software for optimization or cutting out silences or whatnot). So even if you do not like the software, you are not limited to it (though I'm not sure if other software can be used for downloading the files).

The biggest dislike I have (which is a very minor gripe) is there's no PAUSE button. If the class has a break and you don't want to record noise during the break, you have to create 2 separate files. The upside though, is that these 2 files can be put together into one file with other software such as Audacity (which is free).

One thing I wish it could do, though, is UPload files to the recorder... It does not work like a USB drive. Backlit display would also be nice, but for a student like myself recording classroom lectures, this isn't an issue at all. I will not be taking this camping in the woods -and if I was, I'd have a flashlight.

Recording ability is clear, though not perfect. But for the price I do not think it can be beat. I only use HQ (high quality) mode when recording which is fine (even though HQ mode takes up the most storage space) because I can empty the files onto my HD. It has enough storage space to handle plenty of classroom lecture recordings without having to download & delete the files every day to create space.

I do NOT recommend using the voice-activated recording feature if you are in a classroom. That feature really only should be used when you are dictating directly into it. If the audio source being recorded is too far away (ie across a classroom), it doesn't work very well. But usually it works just fine to record the entire time because the instructor is talking most of the time -again, not an issue at all, but thought I'd mention it in case some might care.

I like the multiple folders a lot, and the little separate 'Schedule' folder is nice if you use that, though I do not. I also like that several accessories are included (line-in audio cable, USB cable, software, and one or two more little cables somewhere that I haven't used....).

'Line in' feature allows you to hook it up to a cassette adapter and listen to it in your car if you wish, which is really nice. Or there is a speakerphone on it, which works well. It also has a mic jack if you want to use a better mic, although the mic included in the device is good enough for me.

Overall if you are one of the many budget-minded students wanting to record lectures, I highly, highly recommend this recorder.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus VN-960PC 128 MB Digital Voice Recorder with PC Link Here

I've read many reviews about the product before purchasing it. Fully prepared to deal with the hassle of integrating the machine with the computer. I was surprised that it was a very smooth experience on my home machine, which is run on XP home edition. Then after a couple weeks, I tried my laptop which is on XP professional, another smooth run. No problem at all.

This is just my personal experience, maybe the manufacturer did improve the product, maybe I am just lucky. I do computer work but this installation didn't require any expertise.

The only thing to note is that after installing the software, put in the CD when XP recognizes the hardware and looks for software.

Hope it helps.

Want Olympus VN-960PC 128 MB Digital Voice Recorder with PC Link Discount?

In the limited shopping I did, this seems to be the best recorder for the money. 128 MB for half the price of others with this capacity. It is easy to use, good recording quality, good computer software, small and easy to transport. I am very satisfied and highly recommend

Sharp VLWD255U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5'' Viewscreen, Smart Media Slot and Built-in Digita

To be honest, I knew nothing about digital video cameras... I'd done the research, and knew what features I wanted, but that was about it. The VLWD255U camera was a shot in the dark, but I've been very pleasantly suprised. The feature-to-price ratio was very impressive. This camera takes MiniDV video and stills on SmartMedia flash memory cards. It has gamma adjustment for low light condition, and a "cat's eye" mode for night shots. There are RCA, serial, and iLink outs and several included effects/transitions. The quality was very good and the ease of use surprised me. The only shortcomings was no attached light and no flash memory included. Other than that, it has proven to be an excellent choice and will be well used!

Whenever I buy any piece of electronics, I typically do quite a bit of research. This camcorder is new on the market. If you look for other reviews, Amazon has the most ratings for it. Consumer reports recently rated this as the lowest of the digital camcorders but better than any other analog camcorder. This is fairly obvious as picture quality is based on CCD units and more expensive digital start at 660K, analog is below 300K. I believe sharp is the only one with 460K, hence the middle of the road rating. Anyway, when I was looking for a camcorder for my newborn son, I did not want to spend a lot of money. I was intent on buying a Canon or Sony analog, until I found this Sharp on Amazon. For the price of an analog, I have a digital camera! In other words, I do not even need to upgrade later if I want to store images on my computer. While the picture may not be on par with other digital camcorders, it is substantially improved over any other typical camcorder. Of note, price comparison is based on Sharp's current (dollar amount) rebate.

Now the unit itself is manageable with one hand. Image Stabilization is noticeable and effective. Its zoom range, both optical and digital, is the most powerful of any digital cam. Of note, the lens is made by Canon. While such magnification suffers at the high end, it's still there and usable with a tripod. It's packed with features similar to high end cams and not present on high end analog cams: smartmedia slot, image stabilization, cat eye illumination. Misgivings: PCMIA connection to computer to download smart media (doesn't matter to me), cumbersome menus and dial, lack of S-Video and IEEE1394 cables.

All in all, as I mentioned, the best bang for the buck...so long as the rebate exists.

Buy Sharp VLWD255U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5'' Viewscreen, Smart Media Slot and Built-in Digita Now

First, I have actually BOUGHT this camera. (...) I am VERY pleased with this camera. For 350 dollars you can't ask for anything more. Plus, it DOES include the battery pack, it DOES include serial cable for computer, it DOES include RCA cables, it DOES include charging station, and it does include docking bay. Also, most people dont need a boom mic (you can buy one) but this unit comes standard with built in 16 bit stereo sound. I bought a 64 meg smartmedia card here at amazon for next to nothing. The stills it takes are about 1 megapixel...nothing great..but not BAD either. The video and sound is excellent, manual figures are great..and the effects are fun to play with..including 16:9 widescreen. Buy it! You will be happy.

Read Best Reviews of Sharp VLWD255U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5'' Viewscreen, Smart Media Slot and Built-in Digita Here

This is my first camcorder, so I really have no basis for comparison. I can say that it's quite easy to use. The zoom capabilities are pretty awesome. The picture quality is very good. I really like the feature of taking stills and saving to a memory card (not included, bummer) or video-recording and freezing a frame for a pic too. The included software is easy to use for downloading your pics to a PC. Battery life is pretty good. All in all, a very good buy. It's great fun to play with.

Want Sharp VLWD255U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5'' Viewscreen, Smart Media Slot and Built-in Digita Discount?

I,too, was suckered into buying this camcorder by the (...) rebate. I mean, how can you resist owning a brand new digital camcorder for less than ($$$), right? Well, maybe after my review, you will realize that it is not such a great deal after all. First of all, the picture quality is AWFUL-it is more grainy than the desert! Maybe it's because it only has 460,00 pixels. A S-VHS has 400,000 pixels so it is BARELY better than a good VHS camcorder. I actually compared it to footage shot with my 7+ year-old Panasonic Palmcorder and I could not tell the difference! Why own a digital camera if no one can tell it has digital picture? Second of all, I experienced technical problems within 2 hours of using it!!! It kept jamming my brand new Sony miniDV tapes. Obviously, there is something inherently wrong about their tape mechanism as MANY people have reported similar problems. I became utterly terrified to rewind the tape, afraid, it would eat another $10 tape. Luckily for me, I can still return it to Amazon and not have to deal with Sharp (whose customer service seems awful, judging by other people's comments). I am upgrading to the Panasonic PVDV-51. Sure, it's (...) more but with the (...) rebate, it still comes in at under ($$$). More importantly, it boasts 680,000 pixels! Plus, Panasonic makes great, RELIABLE camcorders. This is the one I should have bought in the first place if I had not been sidetracked by the (...) rebate from Sharp. I realize now that it's well worth the extra $100 for a MUCH higher quality picture, and proven reliability. This sure beats being terrified to use your camcorder in fear of breaking it with one touch of a button. Sharp-You can take your (...) rebate, I'm sticking with Panasonic.

F900,DOD,H.264,WIDE LENS 120 DEG,1080P HD CAR BLACK BOX,CAR DRIVING DVR CAMERA,DASHBOARD CAMERA,4X

I bought this cam to use during custody exchanges with the ex because it is sleek and simple and doesn't stand out (we all gota protect ourselves somehow). I received it and laughed at the box since it's written in mostly Russian. Just found out that over 1,000,000 Russians have these in their cars, that's how they caught so many clips of the meteor crashing. Anyway, the camera works well, 1080p ISN'T as clear and defined as I thought it would be... seems more like 480p in a widescreen format but hey, I'm not looking to make home movies with it. In 1080p mode and doing a continuous 10 minute loop recording it records about 2GB per file (2 files needed). So at minimum a 4GB SD memory card should be bought with this.... I recommend just maxing it out to a 32 GB card so you don't ever have to worry.

If your car cigarette lighter olug power turns OFF with the ignition you can set this up to record loops and start the car and have it automatically START recording and turn the car off and have it automatically STOP recording.

The product is made of plastic so don't expect some durable camera or anything... it's made pretty cheaply but with a price at around 50 bucks on Amazon what do you really expect.

Overall it is a very good camera and it serves its purpose well but I don't think that it is actually 1080p or that it should be advertised as 1080p since it is DEFINITELY not clear like a 1080p video should be.

F900 Box arrives quickly with many accessories. Camera weighs next to nothing, has shiny toylike look and feel of cheap plastic. Even so, tiniest screws all around suggest carefully put together. First problem: how to get battery into camera no help from Manual or from examining camera body. Finally figured it goes in fattest part and resorted after much effort or fruitless fumbling to another rough method: use a knife blade to pry open line around case where battery clearly must go, put blade into crack and twisted and lo, cover slid back. This has to account for some misery among buyers. I like this camera, will keep it, now list its faults.

SD CARD a struggle to get into tight area blocked by handle and harder to pull out with not enough room for fingers. Suggest file a groove on card edge so fingernail can grip and yank out.

MANUAL for English section has pictures so tiny as unreadable, even though next section for ?Japanese language shows much larger picture printed with a clear part number. Had to flip back and forth over three sections to follow instruction. Solution: use 3.5X reading glasses. Easier than interpreting Manual, I decided to just fiddle with each button and toggle post to learn how to operate just enough for my purpose to set language to English (why can't they do this before shipping to avoid horror of opening menu to foreign text?), adjust date and time and resolution, and turn off irritating beep.

PHOTOS on computer look fuzzy and distorted from bowing.

VIDEOS look fair, though good for this price, have obvious distortion, such that every straight line has a bow to it.

TESTING. I played with camera at my desk and pointing out window till comfortable with button operation and screen display, then did live field test now in attached video. Press On/Off button on top to turn on, getting blue working light, A second later, upside down display of nifty red automobile quickly righted itself. Press down on slightly raised joystick on top to begin recording, proved by red dot on screen.

For second test, I plugged into car battery for power. Camera did not turn on when engine started. It started recording when On/Off button pressed, eliminating need to again press down on Joystick.

Date and time appear thoughtfully at lower left corner in large white font. Time countdown appears upper right during recording, though oddly not visible on computer playback.

RECORDING, press joystick forward turns on Night Light recording -seems to make no quality difference except to put reflective glare on window. Joy to Left or Right zooms jerkily in or out with significant range on street and closeup desktop images. Zooming from 1X toward 4X got more grainy and fuzzy, obvious in video playback. To start or stop a recording, pressing the Stop Button seems to do same as pressing Joystick. SCREEN goes blank for a second or two at end and at start of recording. Zoom function useful by allowing closeup recording to enlarge detail on any object. [cc see house number and garage lamp in my sample video] In car test plugged into cig lighter bottom right of display showed flashing sign of power plug camera did not turn on or off with engine. I needed to press Power button, and once pressed, it started recording within a couple seconds.

Handheld test: DAYLIGHT recording has faint bluish tint and near objects not sharp. NIGHTTIME recording atest shows camera can record object with light on it and can get some detail within about 18 feet. At night it failed to show green or red or yellow color of street and car lights except as white spots. Moving camera slowly caused light to streak.

Car driving test: DAYLIGHT recording fairly sharp, showing wide view. Later playback confirmed cloudy day recording produces much better video, almost impressive. Street lights distinctly red, yellow or green though on playback appear pulsing or shimmering.

PLAYBACK, press Forward Arrow button on top. Use joystick to navigate thumbnails of combined video and photo images. Down goes forward, Up goes back. Press joystick to play. For still images fullscreen, Up and Down move backward or forward. Recording quality can show distinct letters on license plates when close, even better enlarged during playback on computer monitor. Camera lens makes nearly true sizes, without apparent stretching or squeezing image as do other cheaper cameras tested by me. I left camera in 720P setting for my tests, though maybe better if set to "1080". Camera produced huge AVI file that filled my monitor screen. Camera assigned my 4pm video in afternoon daylight number 164101 and my 4am video in dark night number 0434001, suggesting video naming may relate to time of day (16 as 16 hours on 24-hr clock or 4pm, and 04 as 4am), then 001, 002 for sequence.

BATTERY takes bizarrely long time to charge. After 5 hours mine only charged with 2 bars out of full max 3. Overnight still not full. And it wears down fast.

CONCLUSION? Good carcam for amount money paid and would recommend it as not too hard to use, producing clear enough images and good audio on computer playback. Showed sharp image of other vehicles on street, often making plate readable. Sound loud enough when playback on computer though barely can hear from camera speaker. My audio samples had a frequent grinding noise, not sure if camera or my car. Slight blue tinge to recording. Jerky zoom not a real concern. An important feature for fighting a traffic signal ticket, camera showed show true-enough color of street light during day (though poor color at night), Mount on windshield problematic as would not stay attached, while grip for camera does not allow easy positioning to film and view display at same time.

Buy F900,DOD,H.264,WIDE LENS 120 DEG,1080P HD CAR BLACK BOX,CAR DRIVING DVR CAMERA,DASHBOARD CAMERA,4X Now

i like the camera works good,has a good mount,been using it about three weeks,still working good.for the price it was a good deal.

Read Best Reviews of F900,DOD,H.264,WIDE LENS 120 DEG,1080P HD CAR BLACK BOX,CAR DRIVING DVR CAMERA,DASHBOARD CAMERA,4X Here

I owned this for literally about 30 days. That's how long the product lasted before it broke.

Something electronic inside prevented the camera from turning on again. It wouldn't work with battery or usb power.

I enjoyed it while I had it. It definitely took some getting used to having a screen on my windshield. You can't close the LCD with the camera on. This will shut the camera off immediately.

The mount broke from over-tightening... which i needed to do to keep it from bouncing on every little bump.

Want F900,DOD,H.264,WIDE LENS 120 DEG,1080P HD CAR BLACK BOX,CAR DRIVING DVR CAMERA,DASHBOARD CAMERA,4X Discount?

In title written "H.264" but camera does not support H264 encoding only MJPEG.

Therefore full 1080p does not make any sense because you need HUGE 32G sd card to have at least 1.5 hours capturing.

It is not dash camera and you need to start record each time you need to record and stop it then.

video quality acceptable (ohh yeah with such huge video files)

freezing from time to time

Summary: cheap video recorder to record short videos.

Securityman ClearCam Wi-Fi Interference-Free Mini Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio

Normally video cameras have automatic gain control that turns up the sensitivity in low light. This camera does the opposite. In any light lower than bright office light it produces very dark and noisy pictures. In fact, instead of turning up the gain in low light it turns it down. I pointed it at a slightly dark area and then slid in a white piece of paper to see how the extra bright area affected the rest of the picture. A normal camera will reduce the gain when a bright object in introduced into the scene. In this case the background should have gotten darker when the white paper was put in the scene. But, it got brighter! It turns up the gain when the light level goes up! Either this camera was defective or it has a serious design flaw. In any case I'm returning it for a refund.

I couldn't really see how this cam works, because I dropped it from about 2 feet and it stopped working properly.

Be careful, this thing is fragile..too fragile I might say. Despite my general knowledge about electronics, I couldn't bring it back on line.Something went wrong with the ccd. From what i got to see, the angle of view is narrow, about 60 degrees.Receiver works ok.I guess for the money (around $50) seems like an ok product.

Buy Securityman ClearCam Wi-Fi Interference-Free Mini Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio Now

Philips LFH0888/00 Digital Voice Tracer 0882 with Docking Station/Leather Case

I've many digital recorders. This is my favorite, 4 gigabytes of memory, supports multiple formats, superb interface, good speaker, rechargeable batteries included. I use it for remote recording and transmission of text to speech files. I wrote a business plan by dictating the draft while driving in the car!

I returned this item because you can barely hear it play back. It had great features but was a horrid little item.

Too bad it could live it up to its great features.

Buy Philips LFH0888/00 Digital Voice Tracer 0882 with Docking Station/Leather Case Now

EH1008H Hybrid Dvr

Ok...truth be told, first. The buyer has to provide and install a SATA HDD (Hard drive) for the unit to work. That said, installing the HDD is easy. It takes less than 5 minutes.

The DVR is an excellent product and, when set to motion detection, it can record for weeks. The GUI and specs are almost exactly like AVER's discontinued NV5000 capture card and Software bundles, which were excellent DVR platforms. Unfortunately, with the release of the EH line AVER has decided to target small retailers, instead of professional security integrators (like me). However, there is nothing lacking in the EH series as it pertains to performance. The only caveat is the limited back up capability of data/events. Otherwise, the EH series is a good performer. And worth the price.

Save 45% Off

Mount World 1424x2 Tier Component Shelf Wall Mount -- New Creative Concepts DVD, DVR, Blue Ray Wall

don't waste your money. $40 for two bent pieces of aluminum. Also, the bolts are cheap and they broke.

I like the idea of this product, but the piece thats suppose to cover the cords would not stay on. It does not snap into place, it keeps popping off. Lucky for me I was able to hide some of the cords because my dvd player is about 3" thick. Covering the cords was the reason I bought this and the price was right. There is truth in, "you get what you pay for"!!! I would have sent them back, but now I have these holes in my wall so the shelves will have to stay there until I find the perfect wall mount unit. I don't know if its a defect and I didn't bother to call the seller. I would have given this 5 star if the cord cover had snapped into place and stayed...

Buy Mount World 1424x2 Tier Component Shelf Wall Mount -- New Creative Concepts DVD, DVR, Blue Ray Wall Now

Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player

• Supports MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, ASF, JPEG files
• Built-in flash memory holds 512 MB
• Real Time Equalizer Display
• 10 hour built-in Li-Polymer battery
• Accessories: Necklace, Direct USB Adapter, In-Line Encoding Cable, USB Cable, Earphones, Belt Clip, Carrying Case

I had experience with MP3s with my pocket computer but I decided to get an MP3 player stand alone. For the convience mostly since its size is a fraction of my pocket computer and for sound quality.

I did some research and I decided against IPODs. They are NOT good value for the money plus I did not want to be tied to Itunes. Also I personally enjoy the radio. I wanted an MP3 player with a radio. I went with this one after checking the Web for reviews.

I have had my player a few days now. Overall I am very pleased. The FM tuner is superb. The sound is very good. Especially with the WOW or SRS functions selected. The MP3 player is great. Unlike IPOD this player has the nifty ability of direct in-line recording. What that means is you hook up an included cable to the line-out of your music system and the line-in end on the Samsung and you get conversion to MP3 at the bit rate you desire up to 192.

So if you have books on CD or tape you could record them on a low bit-rate.

I also like the ease of uploading files. It uses a windows folder system. The device turns up as a removable drive and no driver is needed for systems over Windows 98. You then just drag files over. You can create new folders to hold the files.

This I think will help a lot when I start adding hundreds of songs. Yes 512MB is not that big, but you can simply cut and then copy back over entire folders without much problem.

A couple more things to say about this. One, 512MB still holds a lot of music. Actually it is 486MB after the system software takes some space. But really unless you were hiking in Peru for a month it is not that hard to swap folders out. For any given day or weekend the storage is more than enough unless you listen to MP3s from getting up to going to sleep.

Why 4 stars? The picture function simply is a gimick. I downloaded pictures at the suggested pixel size and they look pretty bad.

Bottomline is the goods outway the bad. Especially as you can use this as a normal removable drive to transfer files and also to display text files. Very, very pleased and the radio and direct in-line recording make it a lot more nifty and usable than the increasingly narrow and featureless seeming IPODs.

Buy Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player Now

This MP3 player ROCKS! And here's why: 1. It sounds great 2. It's the size of a book of matches and weighs like one ounce 3. It has a color screen 4. Has rechargeable battery 5. Is simple to use and navigate once you are familiar with it 6. No moving parts, it's a flash drive 7. No extra software required, just drag & drop in Windows, or Media Player. 8. It has a FM radio built in. The only downside to this player is the crappy headphones included. I bought some better headphones, and with the included belt clip, I'm all set for the gym. Ipod Shuffle eat your heart out.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player Here

It's a good item. I haven't tried any other mp3 players so I have no basis to compair.

It caught my eye with the color screen, which is really nice to have some graphics on your hip. The user interface is real easy to use. I have yet to read the manual and I have no reason to. The audio quality is nice. The little bud earphones give sufficiant sound quality. I like the image viewer. It could use a couple more cool features to utilize the color screen. More graphics or such. It has a screen saver function and it'd be nice to use a custom image. Audio options are excellent. You can adjust just about anything.

It's small, light weight, very versitle and easy to use. It comes with a good ammount of accessories.

I have nothing really negative to say about this product. It's real good and I'm happy with it except i'd go for the 1 gig @ 200 instead of 512 @ 150.

Cheers! ;D

Want Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player Discount?

This player is the first MP3 player that I actually like. It has a customizable equalizer to get the sound to sound just the way you want it. Very very few MP3 players let you do that and it is something I believe should be in all MP3 players. The player is small but has a bright color display. The player doesn't require any additonal software in Windows XP. You simply drag files between your computer and the player in "My Computer": it is that easy.

There are a few quirks. The little stick that you use to move around the interface is a little too loose. You can move it up and the player will think you mived it left or right. Similarly, manuvering around the interface with the little stick takes a few tries before you figure out how to find the options you want. But these are minor complaints for such a feature-rich and small mp3 player.

Battery life is OK at max 10 hours.

I highly recommend this player. I did alot of research on the web and this had everything I wanted. A radio, recording, color screen and easy drag and drop song loading. It works seamlessly with windows media player at home and at work I trasfer files onto it from a mac with no problems. I have not a single regret purchasing this product. It holds enough songs, the interface is so simple that I can switch songs and turn up the volume without pulling it out, and so far it is quite durable. I think if I bought an ipod I would have deeply regreted it. Everyone I know that has had an ipod has sent it in for expensive servicing several times and the price for an ipod is too much for no radio, no line in and being locked into using itunes suxxx. Get this player, you won't regret it!

Night Owl Security APOLLO-45 4-Channel H.264 DVR Surveillance Kit with 4 Color Indoor/Outdoor Night

Setup all 4 cameras around the house. Colors are not very realistic but ok for surveillance purposes. Motion recording works good and it has captured several critters walking around in my yard I didn't know about! Networking access works well and I've opened ports on my DSL router to allow access to the cameras and recorded video from anywhere (internet explorer needed some tweaking added the ip of the DVR to trusted sites list did the trick).

Apps for my iPhone and android phone work good as well and I can view live cameras from my phone anywhere (required some tweaking on the dsl router as well).

All said and done this system is good for the price. I got the extended warranty as I've heard the cameras don't last too long? Time will tell.

I bought this from Amazon for basic home security. I read the reviews and seeing that some were positive, some negative, and others in between...I wasn't expecting a great product. The unit is fine for my basic needs. I just wanted to record around my home. The daytime colors are not accurate and the night vision is limited. However, I figured this would be the case for spending under three hundred. If you want a simple setup that is easy to use, this is a nice choice. If you want high resolution, the ability to expand,or any major features, you will need to find another unit. I have not played with the networking yet as some other steps will be needed because my ISP does not provide a static IP.

Update 12/20/12: The system still works great. Despite nasty storms, cold weather, hot weather, etc. all my cameras are working like new. I was able to get the phone feed for a while, but I made some router changes, and lost the ability. The internet/phone feature is a bit of a pain.

Buy Night Owl Security APOLLO-45 4-Channel H.264 DVR Surveillance Kit with 4 Color Indoor/Outdoor Night Now

I see that there are mostly 3-star reviews...i think that is a disservice. for what you pay, this is a great starter unit. The fact that it comes without a hard drive is, to me, a feature...i can install any size drive i want, and change them out easily.

i just receiveced this unit and installed...the images are not that bad...even with cheap cameras. if you have full featured PTZ cameras, you can rotate, zoom,focus...and the images are as good as any professional system...it's the camera's stupid...not the dvr!

Comes with decent software, i can monitor over a lan or the net. even comes with a remote and mouse. and you can connect a keyboard if you like.

while i've only had it a couple of days, if it doesn't crash, it is well worth the money...

Read Best Reviews of Night Owl Security APOLLO-45 4-Channel H.264 DVR Surveillance Kit with 4 Color Indoor/Outdoor Night Here

This system is excellent, with it's night vision, apple and android link up, it's excellent for small stores and people who want to keep and eye on their employee's. To add it is price excellently cheap. I recommend this to my people as often as I can. Thanks, S'No Whyt

Want Night Owl Security APOLLO-45 4-Channel H.264 DVR Surveillance Kit with 4 Color Indoor/Outdoor Night Discount?

I have installed several of these systems and I recommend to replace the cameras with a good 600tvl camera. Should you do that you will have a great system that will last. The cameras that come with the system are ok should you only need to know if someone is around, but if identification is what you seek get the better cameras. I have installed systems for 30 years and highly recommend Night Owl products.

Save 39% Off

Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder

This Sony unit is an excellent voice recorder with only a couple of negatives (resulting in a 1-Star deduction). It is not only a very high-quality product, but it's packed with many nice advanced features and options. So here are most of the unit's Positive Features, Official Sony Specs, and at the very end of this review, the Negatives.

ULTRA THIN & LIGHT: There is nothing else on the market today that even comes close to being this thin. So for this reason ALONE, it could be a great reason to buy this recorder (if you can afford the premium price that is). It is absolutely PERFECT for a shirt pocket or clipping onto a notebook (all without the bulkiness and extra weight of other voice recorders). *See my above 2 photos for a "side-by-side comparison" of my 2-year-old Sony ICD-PX820 voice recorder vs. this ultra-thin recorder.

RECORDING FORMATS:

WAV (CD quality) 95Hz 20,000Hz, 44.1 kHz/16 bit, (stereo).

MP3 192 kbps, 95Hz 18,000Hz (stereo).

MP3 128 kbps, 95Hz 16,000Hz (stereo).

MP3 48 kbps, 95Hz 14,000Hz (mono).

NOTE: 192 kbps is considered to be "FM radio" quality, or 75% of CD quality...and 128 kbps is considered to be 50% of CD quality. Also, a "WAV" format (CD quality) records at exactly 1,411 kbps, which is why the audio quality is so superior).

RECORDING TIME: The unit's 4 GB's of Internal Memory will hold...

WAV = 6 Hours.

192 kbps = 44 Hours.

128 kbps = 67 Hours.

48 kbps = 178 Hours.

(The Micro SD/SDHC card slot can hold up to 32 GB's of additional memory).

BATTERY TIMES: Depending on which one of the above 4 recording formats you use, the "Recording Time" on a SINGLE CHARGE will range between 18-24 Hours. "Playback Time" using the Internal Speaker will range between 10-11 Hours. Playback Time with Headphones will range between 19-26 Hours (which largely depends on the size of the headphones).

EQ: There is no Equalizer, but it does have 7 optional "EQ presets" for Playback listening, which are: Clear Voice-1, Clear Voice-2, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Bass-1, Bass-2.

MIC: Has 3 Mic Sensitivity settings: LOW (for dictation/loud sounds), MEDIUM (for small-room meetings/interviews), HIGH (for extra-large rooms/far distances).

"TRACK MARK" side button: Pressing this button at ANY TIME during a Recording or Playback sets a "bookmark" for easier locating later. You also have the option to instantly "divide" ALL of the Track Marks within a recording into their own separate files.

OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE: **Has both "Power Saving Mode" and "Stand-by Mode" options. **DPC option (allows slower or faster playback without changing the "pitch" of the voice). **Cue/Review side buttons (allows you listen to "bits of audio" while in fast-forward or rewind). **Customizable "Easy Search" (allows you to set the length of the "time jumps" when pushing the fast-forward or rewind button, and these times can be set anywhere from 5-Seconds to 10-Minutes). **Allows the option of turning OFF all the unit's "beep sounds" and/or LED lights for your secret recordings. **LCS option (this is a special noise filter that diminishes low-frequency background noises while in the recording mode, such as an air conditioner, "ruffling" of a shirt while in the pocket, outside wind, etc). **VOR option (automatically pauses a recording after a short period of silence, and the unit's "recording buffer" enables the unit to catch "nearly" 100% of the very first word spoken after a pause...as long as the mic's sensitivity is set correctly). **Has convenient Drag-n-Drop capabilities for moving recorded files around. **The unit can PLAY virtually ANY pre-recorded audio format, which include: MP3's between 32 kbps 320 kbps, VBR's, WAV's, AAC's, and WMA's. (How well it sounds as an MP3 music player using the 7 EQ presets I don't know). **The unit can double as a USB Storage Device for pictures, videos, documents, etc.

THE BATTERY: The fact is, the battery in this unit is NOT replaceable, and Lithium-ion rechargeables DO have a limited life span. So when the battery has reached the end of its life cycle, this voice recorder WILL turn into a $120 PAPERWEIGHT. Therefore, I want to talk about prolonging the life of this very expensive voice recorder, which is to say, its battery.

If Sony were to be completely transparent, their spec sheet would have to state the "minimum life" of the Lithium-ion battery...which is 300-500 "discharge life cycles". That means if you let it go completely dead before each recharge, after 300-500 recharges, the battery will have reached a permanent end to its life, and will no longer take a charge... rendering this Sony recorder useless.

So how do you get the longest life out of your recorder? Well, the highly-respected "National Institute of Standards and Technology" (NIST), has published the following results concerning their extensive studies on the life of a Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery.

Charging a Lithium-ion Battery after a...

100% Discharge (dead) = 300-500 cycle life (when it becomes 100% non-usable).

50% Discharge = 1,200-1,500 cycle life.

25% Discharge = 2,000-2,500 cycle life.

10% Discharge = 3,700-4,700 cycle life.

As you can see, a lower discharge before recharging can significantly extend the battery's life, that is to say, its relative "full" cycle lifespan. In other words, the less discharge before recharging will result in "extra" full cycles. A good rule-of-thumb might be to try and recharge the unit after a 25% discharge, which according to the Sony specs, is equal to every 4.5 to 6 hours of actual Recording Time (depending on the recording format used). It doesn't have to be "every" time of course, let's just say "more often than not". But most of all, it is very important not to let Li-ions go completely dead. There is really no faster way to shorten the lifespan of Li-ions other than letting it go completely dead before each recharge.

Also, since Li-ions have NO "memory effect" (unlike nickel-cadmium rechargeables for example, which DO have a memory effect), it is perfectly fine to charge this unit at ANY battery level. However, keeping it ALWAYS plugged-in and charging when not in use is not very good for Li-ions either. Li-ion electrons like to "move around" a bit, and they do not like being charged while at 100%. It puts sort of an "overcharging strain" on the battery, or more officially called "voltage-related stress". (This is exactly why all Apple iPads are designed with a safeguard to automatically STOP the charging current once they hit 100%, and they will not start recharging again until it drops to around 98%). BTW, all this advice goes for ALL Li-ion rechargeables, which include the Li-ion in your smartphone and laptop. However, many smartphones/laptops go into a safe "trickle-charge" mode once they hit 100%, and will then only accept a charging-current that is equal to its natural discharging rate when not in use (which makes it safe to keep plugged-in). So unplugging a Li-ion device when at 100% is not necessarily a universal recommendation...just for this voice recorder.

Various other factors contribute towards reducing the lifespan of Li-ions as well, such as the "charging current" (how many volts/mA/watts are sent out from a USB slot or a/c plug adapter)...and elevated temperatures (anything above 86-degrees Fahrenheit). However, the charging-current for Li-ions is not as critical of an issue as it is to avoid extremely high temperatures, like keeping the unit stored inside a parked car on a hot summer day for example. And lastly, whenever you DO decide to charge, always make sure the unit is turned OFF. When left ON, something called a "parasitic load" will occur, and it will confuse the charging process. A parasitic load is when the unit is actually charging & discharging at the exact same time. Nothing critical here, just a recommendation to keep in mind.

3 NEGATIVES (a 1-Star Deduction): Well, I do agree with other fellow reviewers in saying that the tiny side buttons are fairly difficult to read, locate, and push. Large fingers may have to resort towards using their fingernail tips to push the buttons..."when" you can locate the right one to push that is. Transferring 3 of the more commonly-used side buttons (FF, PLAY, REW) to the FRONT of the unit (where the Stop & Record buttons currently are) would have been a MUCH BETTER design...or at the very least made the side buttons more of an easier to "see & distinguish" color other than all black. (*See the above 2 photos of all the side buttons). A 2nd negative is that the unit WILL automatically shut down after 10 minutes of non-use while in the "Stop" mode, and there is NO WAY to change this. It's a battery-saving feature, but it really should be an "Option" for people who would like to use the recorder on a very frequent basis throughout the workday. Being forced to turn the unit back on every 10 minutes could easily become a significant inconvenience. And why they force you to do this when the unit is supplied with an incredibly long 24-Hour battery makes very little sense. Plus, on a more minor note, there is no "physical" paper manual, only a digital English manual on the CD. You could of course print-out the massive 120-page manual on your own printer, but that's a whopping 120 pages of your ink! However, I found the digital 120-page English manual to be highly detailed and very easy to understand. Though as one reviewer correctly pointed out, some features may take awhile to find in this long manual.

Well, I hope all this info helps! Yes, it has a few negatives, but overall it's a very nice, "hi-tech" looking, top-quality voice recorder, with many great features & options. With proper battery care, this Sony unit should last you many, MANY years, with absolutely no need to upgrade to a newer model.

Bill in Denver

I'm a military police officer, and for years i've used voice recorders for work (mainly for covering my butt). I've used several different types of recorders, and so far this is the BEST one i've ever had. I'ts sleek design makes it easy to place in pocket and remain hidden. the only drawback i see with it is because of it sleek design it worries me, the next time i have to get into a fight and take someone down it might break from an impact. But I've had it for a month now and its yet to break or fail on me. I highly recommend this recorder.

Buy Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Now

For several years I've been trying to be more productive with respect to academics after suffering a major illness that significantly weakened me in many areas, one of which was concentration.

I used this to record myself speaking my ideas into it. This allowed me to get all my immediate thoughts out quickly when I was reading papers for my research. And with Dragon Speak I could put those onto pages to read later.

In any event, great recorder, and I give it a strong recommendation!

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Here

I have the Sony ICD-BX112, PX312 and now the TX50. I also have an Apple Ipod with the feature of the voice recording. They are all good, depending on your needs. But this last, the TX50 is awesome. I've been in meetings with more than 100 people as audience, seating in the rear of the room, placing it into my pocket shirt and recording it's been amazing. And then, being able to save the recording in MP3 format, what a convenience! I highly recommend the Sony ICD-TX50.

Want Sony ICDTX50 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Discount?

I purchased this recorder for meetings and it picks up even those who speak very quietly. I love that it is so thin.

Save 30% Off

NightOwl 8 Channel DVR Security System w/500GB HDD

Cameras: a lot of cheap fixed cameras are better than a couple of pan/zoom cameras, you want fewer perimeter blind spots and cameras in each other's field of view to capture tampering. 8 was about right for a house and garage, 4 might work for a condo. These are full of compromises, a license plate is difficult to read when the car fills the frame, and the LEDs cause a halo glare at night. But HD cameras would have cost twice as much. Blooming trips the motion detection algorithm. I didn't like black so I painted them to reduce overt big-brother feel.

Wires: Others say "cheap wires," I think that really means cheap connectors; I had a camera "die" less than 24 hours after installation, turned out to be the spring-loaded BNC connection.

DVR: Latest hack, from January 29 this year, no firmware update to address it. http://securityadvancement.com/2013/01/dvr-flaw-swann/ . Instructions poke too many holes, I opened fewer ports and changed the numbers from the instructions. Controlling it from a browser requires an unsigned activeX plug-in and defeating a lot of security settings on your computer, Windows wouldn't even let me over-ride to install the plug-in-ironic for a security product to be so indifferent to security. Installed NetViewer instead; NetViewer can't paste password from KeyPass manager so logging in is tedious.

I also wish there were two sensitivity thresholds and schedules, one for recording, and then a tighter screen for email/alarm; if it would even put the camera number in the subject line, I could use an email subject filter to pick the cameras I'm most interested in, but the other cameras would be available for forensics. Anyway, I set all the sensitivities to the lowest setting and had ten emails overnight.

Android App: Functional and helped a bunch for aligning the cameras. Annoyances: doesn't exit when you push the power button; I had to make two profiles one if I'm on the LAN and other if I'm outside on internet; and there's a pop-up to prevent you from leaving the app.

But when I can buy a package this cheap that does most of the good for so little of the cost, it's hard to justify spending more to protect a residence.

Sony HDRXR260V High-Definition Handycam 8.9 MP Camcorder with 30x Optical / 55x Extended Zoom and 1

This camera is well worth the money which I picked up for $559.99 through the sony website. The camera can take some amazing video, and still pictures are fantastic contrary to what some may say. I find the color saturation is impressive, perhaps a little bit vibrant but the colors are sharp and vivid. As long as you are not moving the actual camera too much the video is incredibly smooth with 60p, and the sound recording is amazing for a camcorder. Very impressive directional mic which blocks out noises outside the camera recording view, though this can be turned off. The GPS feature I thought was at first kind of lame, but viewing videos in map mode is pretty cool looking at a map with all the pictures located at the spots you took them, very cool feature.

The zoom is absolutely amazing and the video I uploaded showcases this mazed out at 350x zoom back down to 1x, though I have better and was restricted to 100 MB file which was converted from .mts (28 MBps) to .avi (8 MBps) and lost some detail. This video amazes me still at how far away that tree actually is (at least 15-20km or more) which is just incredible. Whether it's 10 KM away or zooming into a ladybug, you will get unbelievably crisp images with accurate color (well as long as you don't zoom in all the way to 350x digital).

Be warned though, at the highest quality you are looking at over 12GB of data an hour and is difficult to upload anywhere (especially amazon, which can barely even handle a 25 second video at 1/4 quality) as this short video is 98MB even in avi format.

Also do not buy your accessories from sony. They charge $200 for the best battery (NP-FV100)! I got that battery plus a whole package of items (case, charger, sd card, tripod, etc.) for $50! 1/4 the price and a whole accessory package also and the battery gets 6 hours recording. So avoid sony branded accessories, way overpriced. Buy this camera, you will not regret it. For the record, I went through sunset electronics for my accessories.

160GB HDD storage! 5.1 surround sound! Built-In USB! GPS!

So those are the positives and they are somewhat impressive. However, keep in mind that it is HDD storage and NOT solid state memory. You'll need to insert a SD card into the included SD card slot if you want solid state memory.

Sony has decided to place the microphone pickups right at the front (under the lens) which means that you are near certain to pickup wind noise while recording. In fairness, it was minimal but it was evident.

Battery use is fast and depletes faster than solid state because of the HDD moving parts. Carry a backup.

BUT.... What is most important is the quality of the video. This camcorder has so many positives but when it comes to picture quality, you'll find a severe lack of pixel resolution. Colors will be impressive and even low light indoor video came in with impressive results. The negative was sub-par video. Just no details. No sharpness. Low lines of resolution. We used both 60i and 60p. Maximum quality settings and as said, got great colors but just no details. Can't see a human hair, a flower, a garden leaf or a blade of grass. Playback was using HDMI to a 1080p TV.

Sony did a fairly good job of including massive storage, 5.1 sound and GPS. What I wanted mostly was resolution and this model doesn't offer that.

I did not use the photo/still aspect as I purchased a camcorder and not a digital still camera.

Buy Sony HDRXR260V High-Definition Handycam 8.9 MP Camcorder with 30x Optical / 55x Extended Zoom and 1 Now

I waited to do the review on this until I could use it a lot and give a good review.

The camera is easy to use, the touch screen works well, and the menu is very intuitive. Linking and downloading to the computer also works well. I cant accurately comment on battery life as I purchased a larger battery right from the get go and I can get a day out of that easily with lots of stand by time and active filming. Video quality is good but deteriorates rapidly about 2/3 of the way through zooming.

The one thing that this camera does that is really annoying and a deal breaker for me is it does not function in cold, or even cool, weather. I use the camera in the outdoors in all weather conditions and a camera that wont function below about 35 degrees Fahrenheit is unacceptable. All my other electronics work just fine, even when it is -20 or colder. This thing gives you a message "cannot access media, warm the camera".

If you want to film stuff in the outdoors during fall and winter I would not recommend this product. If that is not an issue than it is a pretty good deal.

Read Best Reviews of Sony HDRXR260V High-Definition Handycam 8.9 MP Camcorder with 30x Optical / 55x Extended Zoom and 1 Here

I had been wanting a video camera for the last couple of years and had kept researching the $100-$150 range cameras. I kept seeing a lot of cons and the last thing I wanted was bad video of good memories. I decided to look at a higher price range and finally ended up deciding on this Sony Handycam. It was more than I wanted to spend, but thanks to the great reviews on here I spent the money and got something halfway decent. This camera doesn't do anything below average. I am not an expert when it comes to video cameras, but I think it does an excellent job. At this point I have taken a lot of video. In good lighting it is amazing and in low lighting it is still pretty good. It has some amazing features including a nice large built in hard drive, good optical zoom, touch screen tracking focus, image stabilization which minimizes camera shake and blur, a built in USB cable, and of course full HD which I always take advantage of when capturing memories. I will note that the battery that comes with it was not to my satisfaction. Not only do you only get the one, but it is middle of the road in terms of what is available out there. The good news is that the batteries are cheap are easy to get a hold of. This is a quality product by Sony that I highly recommend if this is your price range. Many people have said it better than me, but it was worth taking my time if it helps influence someone else to buy this camera and make great videos that they will be proud to have years down the road.

Want Sony HDRXR260V High-Definition Handycam 8.9 MP Camcorder with 30x Optical / 55x Extended Zoom and 1 Discount?

When I researched for a camcorder to buy, I wanted:

1. The ability to have wireless, external remote microphone for sound.

2. Large capacity hard drive recording.

3. Sufficient quality for high-action video.

The first item was the most difficult feature to find for the price I was willing to pay. Most consumer priced camcorders do not have external microphone jacks. Something that was confusing to me was that this camcorder was listed on the Sony site as being compatible with the Sony ECM-AW2 Wireless Microphone. I called Sony customer service to confirm what the website said, and the clerk assured me that it was compatible. However, after receiving the camcorder, I saw that it does not have the "active interace shoe" required for compatibility with the Sony ECM-AW2 Wireless Microphone. So, I cancelled my order for that item and ordered instead the Sony ECM-AW3 Wireless Microphone -fortunately this camcorder model DOES have an external microphone jack, and as I was able to determine from watching product demonstrations on YouTube, the Sony ECM-AW3 Wireless Microphone will work with the external mic jack.

The video files of this camcorder have the file extension "MTS." I just renamed them to "mpg" and they work fine when played with Windows Media Player and when edited with Sony Vegas.

I am very pleased with this camcorder; it has a sturdy feel to it that my older, cheaper camcorders lack. The quality of the recordings is impressive.

Save $1.99 Off

Nokia 6300 Unlocked Phone with 2 MP Camera, Media Player, Stereo Bluetooth, and MicroSD Slot--U.S.

great nokia phone. I travel frequently, and this GSM works in asia, europe perfectly. I don't need a PDA, just a small solid phone with a good battery life. This one fits the bill.

I threw my high tech touch screen against the wall entirely to finicky and 'touchy'!

THIS PHONE IS BASIC, RELIABLE, EASY TO USE! Bogus graphics of a dog but that is irrelevant when it comes to function and reliability.

Buy Nokia 6300 Unlocked Phone with 2 MP Camera, Media Player, Stereo Bluetooth, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Now

Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player

• Play Full HD 1080p video, music and photos on your HD TV
• Play a wide variety of file formats
• Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS audio support
• DVD-like menu

I purchased the WDTV Media Player (version 2) through Amazon two weeks ago. I have an extensive collection of movies and tv shows that I have ripped from my blurays and dvds over the past few years, plus downloads etc (over 2.8 gigs worth and counting). I built a HTPC 1.5 years ago and always hoped there would be a simple, inexpensive solution that would allow me to easily transfer my media to the TV without constantly playing with settings to the point where my wife is getting up from the couch out of boredom.

Along came the WDTV Media Player, the best solution for someone like me. I have tried as hard as I can to dig up a format (H.264, X.264, .mkv, .flac, .omg etc.) or problem to throw at this device to muck it up and I have yet to succeed. It has even been able to playback halfway decompressed files. I have it hooked up by HDMI through a Pioneer 819 AVR and set to bitstream audio codecs. I have had none of the audio syncing issues that were prevalent in the first generation machines. The user interface is attractive and intuitive. If you are use to using a HD set top box from your cable company and a PVR/DVR, this is basically the same functionality. Set up takes minutes and playback is beautiful. Unlike an previous reviewer, I have found that playback on standard definition content to be excellent. It upscales as well as any high quality dvd/bluray player. For HD playback, playback is just as good as bluray--without and time lag between pressing play and start time.

As with any device, it has its flaws-although they are minor in the scheme of things. First, it will not play menus from ripped DVD's and blurays (only the largest file in the rip, i.e. the movie). The WDTV does have its own menu that allows you to change audio tracks and subtitles on the fly. Unless the chapters are ripped and formatted correctly, you cannot skip to the next chapter. This sounds like a bigger problem than it is. This can be rectified by ripping with better quality software. If you downloaded your movie with bit torrent, you get what you pay for with your "free"/stolen content. Even using content without the ability to skip chapters, fast forward and reverse work quicker than on my panny bluray player and I am able to fast forward up 16x speed and the devise allows you to skip ahead in 30 second intervals (just enough to allow you to jump ahead of commercials from video capture off your cable box).

Other minor gripes: They are not able to bitstream lossless sound codecs (TrueHD and DTS-HD MA). Frankly, this is minor and most people will be happy with Dolby Digital and DTS (which the WDTV v2 and Live can send by bitstream over the HDMI capable--a feature lacking in the first gen WDTV). I have been told by people familiar with the Sigma 3365 processor that firmware may allow it to bitstream TrueHD, although probably not DTS-HDMA). We'll have to wait an see.

I have seen the Asus, Seagate and Popcorn C-110 and, they all have their pro's and con's. Dollar for dollar, the WDTV (v2) or WDTV Live (for an extra $20) are the best media players on the market. I give this three thumbs up and my strongest recommendation.

Update: 12/29/09 I picked up an WD HD Live at one of the big chain electric stores over the weekend to see if it was worth the extra few dollars. Pandora internet radio is a nice feature and I think the Live has a lot of "potential". There are some problems though. To test the machine, I tried to set up with a wireless dongle (g--i don't have a wireless n dogggle although I am not sure it would make much differenec). I also used a direct ethernet connection (obviously the best way to set it up).

First, HD streaming from a network harddrive was disappointing. Although 720P playback was usually not bad through ethernet. It did stutter and lose audio sync from time to time. If I paused playback to allow the WDTV LIve to rebuffer (or HDD drive--I am not entirely sure which devise had the issue), it seemed to fix the problem for a while. Using the dongle, playback about the same as with the ethernet. To be clear, some files played back without a hitch and others were far more problematic. The same files played perfectly on both the WD TV Live and WD TV (v2) when connected directly to a USB HDD.

With respect to 1080P playback, there were some significant hiccups. Using the network, playback stuttered badly on more than half of the files played. It appeared that the machine was dropping frames and lost audio sync. This was more prevalent when playing back large files (17 gig archived BD movies for example). Smaller 1080P files (8-12G) played about as well as 720P--some played perfectly and others with only minor issues. all files, however, played without issue using a direct usb harddrive. In my bedroom I am using an LG BD player that already has netflix, YouTube and pandora. The WD does not handle netflix, and the other services are redundant (Pandora is nice, but, frankly, YouTube is a pain to use with all of these systems).

In conclusion, the WDTV Live and WDTV (v2)have the same capabilities when used as stand alone devices connected to USB harddrives. Although I didn't mention this earlier, streaming SD content from a network was no problem with the Live. HD streaming capabilities were suspect, particularly with large files. As a caveat, other more sophisticated videophiles may have the time and computing power to convert larger HD files into smaller formats that will stream better. The thought of using handbrake to downsize my entire collection is not something I have any intention of doing. The WD TV LIve is a great first start. With some more firmware updates, it may be a better network streamer, but I think network streaming for 1080P is still a generation or two away from prime time.

Buy Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player Now

This review is about WD TV Live and WD TV generation 2 (featured on this page), which share the same hardware minus the network capabilities.

I bought this unit recently, after having bought WD TV generation 1 a few weeks ago. There was a significant improvement in user interface, plus the capability to copy/move files between media and to play DTS audio over a stereo or HDMI output (on WD TV gen1 DTS won't decode, it only outputs it in digital mode through the optical output).

Besides occasional problems with audio sync, the unit operates beautifully for high definition video. However, for standard definition video, which needs to be upscaled by the device to play on most LCD or plasma TVs, the picture quality is quite worse than that of the WD TV generation 1. The picture is grainier, with very noticeable artefacts. This is super annoying for me and a great disappointment for a device that otherwise would be ideal.

WD has not addressed the matter and has not replied to queries about it. I hope this is solved in future firmware upgrades, because the device is otherwise excellent.

I've seen this issue addressed in many user forums, there's no clear explanation for the phenomenon, hopefully WD will address it.

Meanwhile, I'm returning my unit.

Read Best Reviews of Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player Here

I've now owned the Gen1 and Gen2 of this product. Gen2 is quite a bit faster for loading and navigating menus which makes it nice. They've released one firmware update but I don't think it fixed any of the many bugs and may have even introduced some.

With the Gen1, I don't remember having audio/video sync problems like I experience now. This makes many of the movies I have completely unwatchable. I'm not talking millisecond differences, I'm talking 3 to 5 seconds for some movies. Sometimes more.

There are workarounds for many, but not all, problems you'll experience if you own or plan on purchasing one of these. Many of the workarounds can be found on WD's community forum. If it wasn't riddled with so many bugs for so long, I would give it 2 or even 3 more stars but WD seems to have lost interest with device.

Why didn't I give it more stars??

Does not meet USB and HDMI mechanical specifications. Since this is the case, who knows about well the meet the electrical specs. (workaround Some people trim 1 to 2 mm off the ends of the cable to resolve issues)

Problems with audio/video sync (workaround I wish there was one. Sometimes stopping the movie and resuming playback works, but mostly it doesn't.)

Certain sized USB devices work when updating to new firmware, others do not. This is not documented so your guess as to what sizes work are as good as mine. (workaround For updating, only use FAT32 formatted drives of less than 256MB and you should be fine)

While the power is on, if I plug in a USB drive, the first time I go to that drive, the WD hangs for about 1 or 2 whole minutes without any sign of doing anything. (workaround Turn off the WDTV, plug in the drive, turn on the WDTV. This takes less time.)

The file manager (used to move files and whatnot) hides files with certain extensions. Unfortunately, it hides files with the .srt extension which contains subtitles for a given movie. (workaround take the drive(s) to the PC and move the file)

Sometimes when I select a movie to play, it'll start playing the audio but not the video. This requires the box to be powered off and then on sometimes unplug and plug back in even because it stops responding to the remote. (workaround After power cycle, try again.)

This is only a smattering of the fun you'll have if you decide to buy one. In a nutshell, many bugs, slightly fewer workarounds, and even less support from WD.

Want Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player Discount?

This media player is not capable of playing ripped DVDs in their normal format. It is not just that it can't read DVD menus but the real problem is that it has partial recognition of DVD structured files. The only video objects (.vob files) that routinely play are the ones that correspond to the first chapter of the DVD. Try to select another vob video file and it will only play the unselected first one. This makes it impossible to play DVDs in their native structure off a USB drive. You have to re-encode the DVD files into another format if you want to watch them through this device. It would be much better if there were no recognition of DVD structure at all. Then you would be able to simply navigate by selecting the individual vob files. Not as good as menu recognition but a workable solution.

I also found a bug that gave a black screen on my HD TV whenever I changed drives. I figured out that by unplugging the HMDI cable and then plugging it back in, the display screen came back.

Do to poor design and continued bugs in this product, I returned mine. It is hard to believe that they created a USB video player that does not correctly read the most common video standard DVD files.

I really wanted this to work!! I bought this as a christmas gift for my dad 2 days ago and it arrived today. When I opened the package it looked so cool I wanted one for myself so I opened it up to try it out and I am so glad I did! First off you have to upgrade the firmware. Well I went on WD site to get it. What this ad on amazon doesn't tell you is that this is the 1st gen wd tv hd media player, western digital only has firmware on there site for 2nd gen. I called the most incompetent tech support guy who was practically worthless, had no solution for me whatsoever. Than after 10min he figured out where on the wd site I go to update the firmware, the only problem is that wd was "updating" their site so basically when you click on the firmware to download it leads you to a page that says "page not found" I told the tech support guy he makes up some lame excuse about the site being down. Then I ask him why other firmwares work for other products. He didnt have an answer and told me to call back tomorrow. After a quick google search I found the firmware update someone posted on the wd conversation forum, so I finally updated and was on my way. I played an Avi and Mkv movies, they worked flawlessly and everything seemed perfect after that.. That is until 2 hours later. I turned of the system then went to go back to finish watching the mkv I film had been watching earlier and what do you know I got a blank black screen. This little piece of plastic junk will not play anything. I tried resetting (the hardware and software), I went back to the wd conversation forum and basically what I found was that this model has a habit of doing this and that WD is phasing them out so there isnt much support on the 1st gen models. So now I am out $130 and no gift for dad yet.. Please dont make the same mistake I did and listen to all these great reviews.. THIS IS JUNK!!! Beware it does not work, do a quick google research and type in "wd tv 1st gen not working" and you will see I am not the only one with this problem and there are more complaints than good reviews out there ( just not on amazon). I wish I would of done that in the first place.