Dane 16GB CompactFlash Memory Card

In the description it doesn't say the speed but one assumes it will be normal. Not to fast (like 133x or 200x) but this thing doesn't work at all with the current speed. It's sooo slow that connected with an adapter to an IDE 44 it took about 5 hours to install Windows XP on it). Has a current capacity of 16GB but a speed of a compact flash of 2001. TERRIBLE PRODUCT. I'm gonna return all 4 I bought. I can not understand why they even bother in offer such terrible product. Like trying to sell a Ferrari with a Corolla engine.

I bought two of these over a month ago, used them to upgrade two ipod minis. installed them, programed them, load them, deleted from them, they are worth the value if looking for a 16GB Compact Flash Card, I haven't had an issue yet.

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Toshiba SD2700 DVD Player

• DVD-video player offers playback of DVDs, standard CDs, and CD-R-formatted discs
• Picture Preference mode offers 2 black-level settings and 3 preset picture modes
• Coaxial digital output for external decoding of Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks
• HDCD precision filtering and decoding provide 20-bit audio resolution
• Enhanced sound from conventional audio CDs

This is the first DVD player I have owned. I wanted to buy a DVD player with the features I felt were important at a good price. So here is my review:

First, I was interested in the features it had. This DVD player can play DVD's(duh), CD, CD-R, CD-RW, HDCD, and DVD-R. I don't know about the last one, but it says so on the Toshiba website. Those are the main features that are important TO ME. However, it also has a zoom feature with three different levels of magnification which is really nice, although on the third zoom, the detail becomes a LITTLE fuzzy, but you can still see the picture clear. It has a multiple angle camera function, which works on certain scenes in some DVD's. I have yet to use this function, but I find it kinda neat.

Second, the setup is so easy. I was watching a DVD within 5 minutes of opening the box. Of course, I am not connecting it to a receiver, just directly to the TV. But it would be simple to incorporate a HT system with this DVD player.

Third, the quality. The picture is great. Also, this player can play scratched disks VERY well, as most rental disks are a little worn. Also, the playback is extremely silent. I could hear a VERY faint whirring of the disk, and I was sitting about 6 feet away! I believe if I had a TV cabinet of some sort to put it in, I wouldn't hear a thing.

Fourth: I have read numerous reviews on various websites on some of the drawbacks of this player, most of them complaining about the remote being too small or the buttons on the remote being too close together. In my opinion, the remote is just fine. Maybe these people had stumpy fingers or something, but I don't see how they can say the remote is a problem.

Finally, I would like to say that for an entry-level DVD player, for the features you get, and for the price you pay, this is a GREAT purchase.

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PROS: Great price.

Excellent, features, performance & image quality.

Supports multiple digital sound technologies

(Dolby Digital, DTS, HDCD etc. )

Plays CDR's Cd's.

CONS: Doesn't play MP3's. on CD's.

WIDER than a vcr or cable box so it doesnt fit in cabinet that use standardized sizes for such things.

Instructions arent really that good...I connected it by trial & error.

OVERALL....Great Im very happy it. If yo are on a budget and still want features and performance...get this one!

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As a happy owner of the SD1600 I was looking forward to using the SD2700 and I was not let down in the least. The player has the same great build quality that I love about the entry-level SD1600. The picture quality was beautiful and smooth when paired with my 32" WEGA. However, the image quality seemed no better than that of the SD1600.

This is a key point because it reflects a larger issue: there really aren't many features to lead one to recommend the 2700 over the 1600. For me, it was the ability to play my old collection of VCDs (which is the only reason my old Samsung player is still around the house). The other advantage for some might be the ability to play CD-Rs -having none, I can't confirm whether or not the 1600 can. The HDCD and DVD-recordable functionality are of dubious value to the average consumer. In the end, there isn't much to distinguish the 2700 from the 1600 except for a couple of bucks. That being said, the 2700 is a great DVD player.

One last issue of note is a general gripe about Toshiba remotes. They aren't very ergonomic or simple to use. Toshiba should take a clue from the people at Samsung, whose remotes with joysticks are just great.

For the sub-optimal remote and the minimal advantage over the 1600, the 2700 loses a star and gets **** in my book!

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I wrote an earlier review praising this DVD player. But, the more movies we played, the more it would freeze up during play. The last 3 movies we watched (The Matrix, U-751, Eraser), it would freeze 10-15 times a movie. So, I called a few toshiba service centres in town and I got very inconsistent feedback on what the problem could be. Some would say..."Oh you need a firmware upgrade". But some would tell me that there are no upgrades available for the SD2700. With that information, I said to hell with this...it's going back to the store for a full refund.

Knowing that the sound and picture I was getting from Toshiba was awesome, I told myself that I would try Toshiba again, given that I probably had bought the SD2700 in a broken state. So, last week I went to the store and asked questions for almost 2 hours, of which DVD would meet my needs. It was a toss-up between Panasonic and Toshiba. I settled once again on the Toshiba, but an upgraded model from the SD2700...I bought the SD2710, which plays MP3's. So far it plays all the movies that the SD2700 didn't. I know that the SD2700 I bought was definitely broken, so don't let this review scare you.

I'm very happy with the SD2710.

EXCELLENT!!

Playes CDR and RW. Perfect DD and DTS sound. Both digital connections is a nice touch. Who cares about MP3 if you got CDRW??? Besides, this is a DVD player, not a CD player. IF you want to waste the $$ on MP3, get the SD2710.

I don't know about dude and his 3 month problem. I've had mine 5, and it plays as if it just came out of the box. HDCD is nice, too bad all that is encoded in HDCD is country, and you have to use analog cables for the HDCD to work properly. With digital cables you get no HDCD.

Overall: VERY GOOD entry level DVD player.

Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6 MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom

It was a long wait but finally got it last week and then took it for a trip right away, its performance it's outstanding, I got this camera for a TV show we are producing, after seeing a few options we decided to get this one because of several reasons:

Size, the camera is very compact, for a camera that provides broadcast quality image the size is amazingly small.

Construction, this camera has most of its body made out with metal panels, that makes it very solid and also makes it reliable, also the set up of the buttons are easy to access.

Price, there are other models in the market that could deliver a similar quality or probably a little better but the cost is at least $1k more, if you think like I do "creativity is the main ingredient for a good production", spending the extra cash doesn't really make a difference as long as you are aware of the camera's capabilities and limitations, but there is always ways to improve performance in some conditions that could affect the correct functionality of your equipment.

Tapeless technology, we bought another AVCHD camera a little less than a year ago, we use it mostly for action shots and underwater recording, the transition was effortless, the advantages and capturing time are reduced to minimal and the quality is amazing, with this model we found that its quality is even better than older models and editing is a lot quicker, also recording cost are cut to almost nothing with new SDHC cards that can be used over and over without loosing quality... Just this fact makes it a must buy!!!

After using it for this little time I have managed to work around its many controls and get exactly what I want from it, the response to low light is not the best but it's decent, you can always add a good light for little money and resolve that problem, also the sound quality is excellent, I didn't get the optional xlr adapter piece for it but I am using a 8mm wireless mic system that combined with this little fellow deliver great results!!

In short words: "the new Panasonic AG-HCM40 is not the best camera money can buy but ,to my opinion, it's the best camera money can buy for this price!!"

I just met this camera last week, little brother to the HMC150. The HMC40 brings several welcome upgrades to market. I'm an intermediate producer in training with lots of self study and attended a few great workshops. After two years of shooting 1920 HD on the low end I have to say this camera impressed me.

PROS:

1) MPEG-4. Shoots very good quality in a tiny light weight package. Just love it. Even has time-lapse capability which sure beats roto-ing in post for a time lapse effect.

2) You can squeeze two HMC40s in the same size carryon pelican case as the 150.

3) Start editing your shots on Mac in only 2-3 minutes without waiting for rendering. No transcoding required, no $600 P2 cards either. But you should use something faster than just class 6 SDHC media if you want to bump up the quality a little, otherwise you might get some artifacts (image problems) with fast motion and striped clothing. Same problem as any media recording slower than the camera.

4) I'm cool with renting HMC150 and redrock/letus for higher end projects if necessary. This camera is fine for making DVD projects or streaming HD.

5) Great looking shots with 4:2:0 sampling.

6) We produce our own stuff, make a profit and clients keep coming back. With a $1995 retail price tag I can finally afford to own two very nice HD cameras.

CONS:

A) Manual button lovers will need to learn the softkey menus. I love the softkeys with all the same features. No different than using an iphone.

B) Two choices for sound: Seperate sound (best) or get the panasonic/beachtek adapter for on camera. I like using seperate sound on a tascam or fostex digital recorder with four seperate channels (mic 1, mic 2, wild background). This gives you plenty of room to remix in post or replace sounds. Great sound is still 50% of the production.

C) It's not the same glass lens set as 150/170 so you may need different accessories.

D) No timecode jam sync between two cameras. This camera does have its own timecoding (HH:MM:SS:FF). Oh well, I've been living without timecode sync since I started. It just adds a little to the time in post for manually lining up shots and sound tracks. It's no problem to keep using a clapper board anyway. Clappers do give a kinda nostalgic flair for the crew and spectators.

I hope this helps. Upgrade cameras every couple of years while the resale value is still a good plan. After shooting a short this weekend I think this is going to be a good two year relationship. I wish you the best.

Semper fidelis,

David Cannon

Buy Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6 MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom Now

This camera deserves "6 Stars" on image quality. I am a Realist when it comes to reviewing a product. First: we must consider the items price, $1995.00. In the "Professional Video Camera World", That is tantamount to saying a steal!!! I will not go into features and functions, the description of this Camera is given in detail on the product description portion of this page.

Second: Size and weight, Until very recently, a Pro Video Camera came in two sizes, large and super large. The additional problem here is that the general public became used to seeing these monstrosities at events, and broadcasts. Many Video Camera Professionals still look for these monstrosities simply to appease their clients visual expectations. This is the wrong approach, we should stop breaking our backs with our equipment, and instead educate the public of the technological advances that have benefited this industry. The video quality produced by this camera will please the most discriminating client.

Third: You have all this quality being recorded on SDHC cards (my advise is Class 10 30mbs or better). Recording on SDHC cards will be a liberating experience for people who used tape in the past. The Quality is much better. You cannot record over scenes by accident. It can be recorded on again and again, without loss of quality. It is not affected by altitude like hard drive consumer models. If you are thinking of getting this camera, Just get it.....think later!!!

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic Professional AG-HMC40 AVCHD Camcorder with 10.6 MP Still and 12x Optical Zoom Here

If you are brand new to professional or pro-sumer camcorders or figure its about that time to step up from your handycam days into the world of professional audio/video, there is no better "starting gate" than the Panasonic AG-HMC40. Its smaller form factor will be a familiar "path" in terms of handling and control but will also give you some more real estate to play with the included on-camera controls. Most of this stuff are things within the menus os high-end consumer camcorders but they have been placed on the camera body for quick reach and control. This enabled a lot of on-the-fly adjusting that was simply not possible with lower end consumer camcorders of today.

Then they add manual adjusting with a focus ring, an iris dial control, three different user-controlled buttons and a wole host of other goodies that will propel your experience into the real of professional videography use.

The included battery that comes with the HMC40 is actually the MID-RANGE model that provides about 3 hours of juice at full charge. Most models of camcorders like this (including the older brother HMC150) usually come with the smallest size 1-hour battery but the fact that Panasonic decided to include the 3.5 hour battery in this kit is simply fantastic. The 8 hour extended battery is always recommended but this three hour long model is definitely a welcome addition that will help offset the cost of buying an extended battery, especially if you don't need longer than a 3 hour model (you can use the money saved for on-camera external microphones, the optional XLR adapter, or external lighting).

Speaking of extras, the optional Panasonic XLR adapter is a MUST if you wish to use a good quality XLR shotgun or omni-directional microphone. External lighting is something you DEFINITELY will need if you plan on filming in low light as this camera's low light recording capabilities are mediocre at best without a decent light.

Also, don't be fooled. This camcorder records perfectly in it's highest quality mode with a GOOD QUALITY Class 4 SDHC card. As long as the SDHC card you plan to use is a good brand such as Transcend, PNY, Lexar, SanDisk, or other quality brands, a class 4 (with MINIMUM 4MBps write speeds) records perfectly. This camcorder records at a MAXIMUM of 24Mbps (That is MEGABITS per second, which equals 3MBps -MEGABYTES PER SECOND-) and a quality Class 4 SDHC cards writes at a MINIMUM of 4MBps (MEGABYTES per second). The ONLY reason you would want a Class 6 or 10 speed SDHC card if if you wanted a higher transfer speed (which is good when offloading the data off the card onto a computer. A Class 6 or 10 card should have a minimum write speed of 6MBps and 10MBps respectively, with good quality SDHC cards even having a minimum write speed of 16MBps 30MBps (Lexar, Transcent, SanDisk being my favorites). I've heard bad things with ADATA cards and this camcorder so please be aware in case you plan on using lower quality SDHC cards as you might get distortion, pixelization, ect.

I hope this helps you in your purchase of this great professional Panasonic camcorder!

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This is the most exciting camera that I have ever owned. Not only is this an outstanding HD video camera but it is also an excellent still camera. While I am still exploring the possibilities of what this camera is capable of I have already come to appreciate the advantages that it offers in controlling the picture quality. The ability to accurately focus quickly as well as to control hot spots in the picture area with the manual f stop control is greatly appreciated. The touch tone screen control works effectively and the ability to choose any three settings for quick access is valuable. I've never seen a camera where the controls were be set up than this one. When hand holding the controls are in exactly the right spot. The ability to do Time Lapse photography is something I have always wanted in a camera and this one does a excellent job. The picture sharpness in the highest recording rate (Approx. 21 Mbps) is breathtaking. My only complaint would be that the instruction book comes only as a pdf file. I printed it off and use it all the time in teaching myself the ins and outs of the superb tool. This is a camera for the person who is serious about creating artistic works that go beyond just shooting a video record. While I'm sure that the Panasonic AG-40 would fit in well with professional TV applications I think that this camera will open up a new world for the serious non-professional who desires to create personal masterpieces. I would pick this as the video camera of the year!

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Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player

• Plays high-def Blu-Ray discs with 5 times resolution of standard DVDs; measures 16.9 x 3.1 x 12.8 inches (WxHxD)
• Backwards compatible with current DVD and CD formats; upconverts DVD movie discs to near high-definition
• Includes 11-in-2 multi-format memory card slot; provides playback of MP3 and high-resolution JPEG files
• Connections: 1 composite, 1 S-Video, 1 component, 1 HDMI
• Built-in decoders for Dolby Digital/Digital Plus/DTS; coaxial and optical digital audio outputs

I purchased this blu-ray player the day they came out and ended up having to switch it out three times to get one that worked. The first one had a bad drive motor, the second a loose component connector and the third worked but still locked up frequently. The picture quality is only slightly better than many of the "upconversion" dvd players on the market. One reviewer stated that Underworld Evolution and T2 are stunning. While I will admit Underworld looks good, although the regular dvd is not that far behind it in picture quality, T2 has a DTS sound glitch that makes it skip on this player and overall the picture is not much better that the ultimate version out for half the price on regular dvd. The discs at this point are not worth the money, poor transfers overall and few or no special features. Save your money.

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So much has been said and written about Blu-ray. So it was with much excitement that I unwrapped my brand new Samsung BD-P1000 on launch day.

Yet, after a weekend during which I tested four Blu-ray movies, as well as several standard DVDs, I couldn't help but be disappointed. In short, one expects this next-generation format to provide spectacular improvements over regular DVD. But, in truth, the differences are so slight that it makes me doubt the format's worth as a movie medium in its early stages.

I'll discuss several things in this review: Aesthetics, ease-of-use, picture and sound quality. (Just so you know, my equipment: A Panasonic plasma television with a resolution of 1024-by-768, as well as an Onkyo 5.1 surround audio system. I connected the player to my television using its HDMI output and optical audio input. I toggled between resolutions of both 1080i and 720p.)

First, aesthetics. Photos don't convey just how pretty this thing is. Its front side has a glassy appearance and looks every bit the high end machine it is. The remote is standard black plastic, fine. When the player is on, its front power button, disc door and circle of manual controls glow a bright neon blue -lights that could prove a distraction for some.

Second, ease-of-use. Yes, the rumors are true. The player takes about 20 seconds to power up. Blu-ray movies take an additional 20 seconds to boot up. A little annoying, sure. But the wait times are hardly cataclysmic and should not be considered a deal breaker. Standard DVDs, by the way, load quicker.

In the back are all the expected inputs: HDMI, component, S-Video and composite video inputs; coaxial and optical outputs. The machine also has analog 5.1 outputs for those of you who can take advantage of such connections (and the sterling uncompressed audio quality those links provide.)

Third, picture quality. I tested four movies on my machine -XXX, 50 First Dates, Underworld: Evolution and House of Flying Daggers. To hear boosters tell it, Blu-ray's ace in the hole is its picture quality. After all, the player can deliver a full 1080p picture, a resolution up to five times as good as standard DVDs.

Indeed, the picture does look sharp. But, as we all know, so do standard DVDs, especially on a good DVD player with upconversion capabilities. My eyes saw this: With the exception of a few scenes here and there, each film looked about the same as a regular DVD might look played on a good system.

Perhaps the problem is the source material itself, as some early professional reviews have indicated. A few scenes appeared downright grainy. Of the four movies I watched, 50 First Dates looked the best, with its sunny-day colors and clarity. The first few minutes of Underworld also offer promise as to what Blu-ray might deliver down the road (The movie's first scene is a close-up of a vampire's face -the detail of which is truly stunning.)

Standard DVDs, meantime, look very sharp, displaying images equivalent to what a good DVD player might provide. Yet, switching between the Blu-ray movies and standard DVDs drove home the point: The difference in quality just isn't that spectacular, at least with the initial roster of Blu-ray titles.

Finally, sound. Each Blu-ray disc is encoded with both traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, an uncompressed PCM 5.1 track and other assorted language tracks. Alas, my older surround system is unable to take advantage of the uncompressed sound. Early reviews laud that track for its quality. For my part, the regular Dolby 5.1 sounded like, well, regular Dolby 5.1 -good but about the same as on a standard DVD.

In conclusion, as much as I hate to say it, the BD-P1000 experience was underwhelming. Really. Maybe my humble home theater system is simply incapable of unleashing the full power of Blu-ray. I haven't seen Blu-ray movies displayed on a 1080p television, nor have I heard the uncompressed audio quality.

More likely, most of you out there are like me: A home theater amateur intrigued by Blu-ray, yet hesitant about making the investment because of the lukewarm early reviews. My advice: Given its price tag, the lack of content out there and the negligible differences in quality compared with standard DVDs, I'd advise waiting. My hope is that Blu-ray will, indeed, show its true colors one day. Today is not that day.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Here

Over here in Australia, I have just paid for one of the first units to ht the stores and i am absoloutley over the moon with the result. Despite Samsung's suggestion that it would only play region "B" (Australian) discs, it plays all blu-ray discs that I can get my hands on including region "A" (USA and Canada), and I am rapidly building up my library from Amazon.com. The picture is superb, "Under Siege" for example has been rehashed to high def and the picture is just unbelieveable, but you must have a high definition TV to get the result required otherwise don't waste your money. The unit also plays all region 4 discs and all burnt copies including dual layer. Best investment I have made in years.

Ray Duncan

Cairns Australia

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Robert Says:

"Can't explain some of the poor reviews other than maybe some people don't know how to properly setup the player."

Robert, Maybe you do not understand the Blu Ray format and how little this player delivers compared to what the Blu Ray format is supposed to deliver. Also, you have not even ackowledged the possible softening bug, although I believe that is a spin from Sony to try and save face from the poor Samsung player *and* the poor initial releases from Sony and Lions Gate. Read the hundreads of reviews that concur that the inital wave of Blu Ray titles as well as the Samsung player itself are a horrible value for the money and of poor quality, NOTHING TO DO WITH SETUP. I reviewed the SAMSUNG on the $10,000 Ruby projector and Stewart filmscreen Studiotek. Everything was properly calibrated using HDMI. Other outputs were also tested. The Samsung is a poor performer and is a completely Generic unit.

Robert Says:

"If you use Standard DVD's and you hookup the system using composite or Y/C connections, the piture will obviously not look as good. For optimum results you need to use HDMI connection, which looks incredible."

NOT TRUE. Even using a reference 1080p system as noted above, the images of the Samsung are substandard however, that is partly due to the poor quality Sony Blu Ray releases and partly the Samsung player.

Robert Says:

"Go to a Best Buy and see it in action and you WILL see the difference. I was leaning toward the Sony player, but it won't be out for a few more weeks and this player has a card reader which the Sony lacks. Being a person who works with video everyday, I can tell you this is one Awesome system. I wonder if the negative comments are coming from the HD-DVD camp???"

Sounds like a Best Buy pitch to me. Are you related to Best Buy? If you read my review of the Toshiba HD-A1, I slammed the A-1 HD-DVD player with a similar review, just check my reviews.

In summary:

1) The Samsung is flimsy with poor build quality for a $1,000.00 player.

2) The Samsung may have a bug contributing to softened pitcure quality.

3) The upconversion of standard DVD's of the Samsung player was inferior to that of the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player.

4) No 480i output over HDMI, which is important to those who want to use superior upscaling of external video processors. Very easy to provide, yet overlooked carelessly by Samsung.

5) No 1080p24, 1080p24sf, and 1080p48 output options (in addition to 1080i60 and 1080p60). This player is essentially a 1080i player with a cheap deinterlacer to provide 1080p60. The native 1080p output options should be provided (1080p24).

6) No DD True HD nor DTS Master HD

7) No HDMI 1.3 ... The PS3 will have HDMI 1.3 and will be a lot cheaper.

8) Blu Ray movies are currently terrible single layer 25 GB and using MPEG-2 as well as uncompressed PCM: this is not what Blu Ray should stand for. Blu Ray is supposed to be about using the advanced video codecs: VC-1/MPEG-4 AVC as well as the advanced audio codecs: DD True HD and DTS MAster HD.

9) Even if number 8 happens, there will still be no advantage over HD-DVD unless 50 GB BDROM comes to market.

Right now, I wouldn't touch Blu Ray with a 10 foot pole, especially for the high cost. However, if the laundry list noted above is addressed, Blu Ray may become a superior format. Currently, The Samsung player and initial Blu Ray movies are a TERRIBLE VALUE with poor performance for the money. I highly recommend people not buy into these formats until they deliver on all of the items mentioned above.

No reason to buy any of these early players, especially when the movies give us no reason to do so... Blu Ray can go take a flying leap until the above criteria are met.

1) 50 GB discs available for movies

2) Blu Ray players with 480i output over HDMI

3) 1080p24, 1080p24sf, and 1080p48 output options (in addition to 1080i60 and 1080p60)

4) VC-1/MPEG-4 AVC

5) 5.1 DD True HD or 5.1 DTS Master HD

6) HDMI 1.3

No reason to buy any of these early players, especially when the movies give us no reason to do so... Blu Ray can go take a flying leap until the above criteria are met.

It seems that a lot has been said already.

Since I purchased my HD ready set 5yrs ago, I have been consistantly disappointed with the quality of HD that I've been able to get at home on it. You know how it is, it just never looks as good as it does on the showroom floor... Well, this is what my HD Ready set has been waiting for. Iam fairly certain that an HD-DVD player would look just as good, but have no home experience with one to say.

If you have a sense for new technology that would most likely be the wave of the future, then you'll love this. I was considering waiting till the release of the Sony model which is continually being pushed back. When Samsung released a firmware upgrade for this player that was easily applied by the consumer, well it made a huge plus for me. Add to that, that dispite what it says in the manual, it will play the DVD+R format. Add additionally the suport for popular memory card media even if it's unnecessary, how can you beat it.

Ok, so Iam an early adopter... Technologically speaking, if the HD-DVD camp wins the format war, a BluRay player could probably be modified firmwarewise to play HD-DVDs. It wouldn't shock me if they do it anyway sometime in the future, just because they can. HD-DVD players on the other could not be modified anywise to play a BluRay if the trend goes that way.

The only downside to BluRay is the price IMO... The BluRay camp needs to figure this out soon and start dropping the prices down comparable to HD-DVD and get more product out on the store shelves before this superior format goes the way of the DiVX player.

GSI MP4/MP3 "8 GB" Player with FM Radio, Camera, Voice Recorder, USB Portable, 2.8-inch Touchscreen

• 8 GB USB MP4/MP3/FM/Camera with 2.8-inch Touchscreen
• 2.8-inch color Touch Screen MP4 video player MP3 audio player FM Radio Camera DV Camera, USB interface Built-in Speaker and more
• You can play AVI, RM, RMVB, FLV, Some WMV and Some MPEG4 videos files WITHOUTH the need for conversion
• Built-in rechargeable lithium battery, with up to 5 hrs for Video and 10 hrs for Music

I ordered this and when it came it didn't have all the features that it said it did. No FM radio and no contact icon, or place to put contact info, no You Tube icon, and no calculator. So I like what I have seen so far, but the first day I used it it went black and I couldn't get it back on til day three , by holding the on button and reset at the same time. I will send it back , because I wanted more features, but dread it because then I have to go through the whole process of getting another one and waiting for it to come then figuring it out. With this one though, the best way I found to put videos on was to convert them to 320x420 like in a psp format of an MP4. These work best. Oh and haven's figured out how to put my songs in the favorite folder either.

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This is a good mp5 came in 3 days and has allot of uses even though it mostly uses avi and 3gp the video player is good. The music player is a bit confusing but not after you understand how to use it. The camera could be better as well as the touch screen,or at least get a pen for it. The games are ok but i dont know if you can add more. The thing that I didn't like is the earphones that come with it over all it is great especially for its price.

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This item was a fake! It was a decoy. I bought it when I was deployed and was not able to send it back. I will keep a close eye on items I buy from this person. Never again!

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My Daugther is delighted with his new MP4. She says It's Funny, easy and VERY cool.

Excellent price on this item.

This was ordered for my 13 yr old who was going on his first mission trip and saved to get it in time to take with him. He had it a week and the screen went bad the night before leaving after he had spent the whole time getting his music loaded.

Philips DVD727 Progressive-Scan DVD Player

• Plays DVD-Video, DVD+RW, DVD+R, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3-CD, VCD, S-VCD and Picture CD Format
• Picture CD with MP3-CD playback:Playback MP3's while viewing digital (JPEG) on TV
• Offers progressive-scan output with 3:2 pulldown for distortion-free viewing of 24 fps movies
• Optical and coaxial digital-audio outputs pass Dolby Digital and DTS surround signals
• PAL-to-NTSC format conversion--great for viewing non-region-encoded European discs

I replaced my older Pioneer DVD player with this one and trust me guys, it's awesome. And I definitely don't mean that it's just awesome for this price. Plays every single DVD and even the clumsiest of VCDs that even my PC wouldn't even read. As a test drive, I copied a single .dat video file on a slow CD-RW and this baby played it oh-so-smoothly. In short, being packed with features like built-in picture and sound controls, 32x FF, optical out, 5 disc resume, and DTS render this model a "must-go-for". I got mine from Singapore a month back and my DVD viewing habits have gone from bad to worse eversince.

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This unit plays EVERYTHING.. including VCD/SVCD/Raw MPEG/MP3/WMA files off of RECORDED DVD's and CD's. This is the best thing about this unit. I could not find any other player that would do this. Skipping from file to file and scanning thru files is a breeze, even with 100+ VCD files on a single DVD-R disc.

The PAL->NTSC and back conversion on the fly is also flawless!

Picture quality on DVD's is very very good.. much better than expected for a [the price] DVD player. Menu and remote are easy to use as well.

Only complaint is the coaxial digital audio output has to be switched back and forth to get audio from DVD's or regular mpeg audio files.. but using the Optical output doesn't have this problem.

This unit appears to be made from the same Chinese manufacturer that used to make the old Apex units (AD-600a), although I could be wrong on that.

Either way, it's a great "Plays Everything" unit that doesn't seem to sacrifice video quality.

Highly Recommended!

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I am orgianly from Europe and have a 1 year old daughter. I was looking at several DVD Players, so I could play for her some Children DVD's in our native language as well as other languages.

This is the BEST buy!!! The quality, features and picture are excellent. And the ultimate Bonus, it plays any DVD from anywhere in the world.

Region free hack is simple:

Just open the tray , press 9999 and 0 from the remote with pauses between every digit. You will see Region 0 on the screen and you are all set to play any DVD from any region!!!

You don't even need a special TV. Just connect it and your are set to go.

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This puppy can oversample at a 4X rate -meaning it can read ahead of the data stream and anticipate/correct variances before you are even aware there was a problem. Add to everything else written here about its features. I just burn plain ole MPEGS and this baby has no issues. Nice internal volume and picture settings for special tweaking. All region hack capable. And LORDY they even include BOTH optical and coax audio out-a simple necessity which the Panasonic chowderheads apparently neglected in rushing to promote their soon to be outdated DVD-RAM format. As the long-time tech leader in Europe with its inherent multiple, incompatible formats, Philips has always demonstrated a technical flexibility with media it plays DVD+R/RW also.

WARNING! Do NOT use the Philips upgrade disc (found at their website)with their earlier models as this effectively froze my beautiful 724 player and I have read others also having this happen to theirs. On the bright side, Philips is exchanging this despite being almost a year old! I am impressed-so far.

I ordered it Sunday, it arrived Friday (same week)by standard shipping. I had it hooked up via Digital Coax and 3-Component video in less than 10 minutes. Picture and Sound are great! I set it to Region 0 (i.e it plays DVDs from Europe and Asia. Even the ones that don't say "All Regions". I have a bunch of German DVDs). The Region 0 setting is not described in the manual.

Open the tray, type 9 9 9 9 0 slowly on the remote. Then it played the DVDs no problem.

The start-up time (on to playing the picture) is a litte longer than my previous player, but not very annoying.

Overall I love it!

Zmodo DVR-H9008UL-1TB 19-Inch Monitor with Built-In 8-Channel Pentaplex Real Time Network DVR with

I purchased this unit on Amazon in the beginning of Oct 2010. I ordered it on a Monday and had it the next day (didn't even pay for 1 day shipping). We've been having a lot of problems with teenage punks in the neighborhood breaking into cars, kicking doors, stealing lawn ornaments and they destroyed some of my property. I liked that this was a security monitor with a built in 1 TB security system DVR. Set up was super easy. Just plug in the power and it starts right up. No programing or installation of programs required. I just had to set the date and time. I believe this is a Chinese built system with an office in the US. The manual is a lot better written than most of the Chinese made items I've purchased through the years. I have 4 different Q-See cameras hooked up, also a Zmodo camera and a Swann camera to this unit. All six work without problems on this machine. You can view one camera at a time or four or all eight, or set the system to rotate through the cameras. It comes with a mouse and it is easy to use it to point and click on the monitor. The included remote control also functions well, but it is much easier to use the mouse to navigate through the menus. You can easily adjust camera settings (brightness/contrast/Hue/Saturation) from the monitor. You can also program the cameras and system to only record when motion is detected. I don't have any audio on the cameras so I can't tell you about sound quality. The playback search of recorded video took a little getting used to, but it is very easy once you get the hang of it. It only fast forwards/reverses in 16x speed, so a one hour recorded block can take several minutes to get through so it would take you a while to go through several cameras worth of recordings. You can backup video you want to save on a USB thumb drive. The format is .264 so you have to convert it to .avi (or some other format) to view it on a regular computer or burn it to a CD/DVD. The system comes with a CD that has a converter program. It is easy and quick and does a good job converting the video to .avi format. I'm trying to find a program that I can edit (cut) .avi video, but for some reason they don't recognize the converted .avi video from the included program. If you are looking for an all-in-one security DVR system for a decent price ($505 in 10/10, which was the cheapest I could find it). I'd give this a shot. I have not played with the remote internet viewing or mobile phone viewing yet, but will at a later date. I probably should have gone for the system that included 8 cameras for an extra $225, but I wanted better 6mm cameras with more infrared LEDs than the ones (3.6mm) included in the complete package. Again overall a nice system that is very easy to set up and use.

Product arrived without a power adapter. Only option available was to return entire package and have them ship a new one. Ordered the adapter elsewhere to avoid the hassle. Not really much of a review, just a forum to vent.

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Sylvania DVD1096 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080P Up-conversion

• 1080p up convert DVD player; High Definition Video Output
• Supports multiple DVD and CD disc formats, plus JPEG photo slideshows and MP3 audio
• Progressive scan; AC-3 Decoding, MP3 decoding
• 2 Channel or 5 Channel Output
• CVBS/S-VIDEO/YUV/RGBSCART/Coaxial OUTPUT

This is a basic Upconvert DVD player and one of the cheapest available. It plays well and after pushing a few buttons I was able to watch my UK DVDs. The main con is the lack of a button to open/close the disk tray. You must use the remote to put a DVD in, which can be a hassle. The remote and disk tray seem a bit flimsy so I would not recommend for use in a child's or even a teen's bedroom. For an adult who enjoys the quality of HDMI this is an good buy.

***UPDATE***

Shorty after I wrote this reveiw, I found how to open/close the door without the remote. Since I just had a "comment" regarding that issue, I wanted to take the time to update.

This DVD player is still working fine. I have a blu ray player and a Roku, so it is only used to play my region 2 DVDs. (The reason I purchased this player.)

Again, I would not recommend this for a child, teen or even an elderly person. If you are an adult on a budget who would like an HDMI DVD player or you are looking for a player that can be made region free, this is a good price. If you are looking for a theater room/man cave player, this may not be for you.

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Don't waste your money.

Bought this for my sister and within 6 months it crapped out on her. It turns on and off nowthats about it. While it was funtional though it was fine, simple and user friendly. That obviiously did't last long though. If there was a warrantywouldn't matter because she threw the box away.

Spend a little more for a better machine.

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While I have had this product a short while, I have had no problems with it. The picture and sound are very good. A little slow to start movie but otherwise a good product.

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Absolutely have no complaints, it's definitely built toddler tough. It's still working just fine surprisingly, considering the falls and drops its went through..

There is a hidden power button that evaded me. Once I found that it worked fine. Won't play some divx.

Insignia HD Radio Tabletop Radio Black NS-HDRAD

I've been wanting to try HD radio for a while, and when a friend gave me a gift card for Christmas I plopped it down for this Insignia tabletop HD radio. I'm really pleased. I live in the middle of San Francisco and have never had much luck tuning in analog FM signals. They would fade and drift, hiss and squeal. This radio is the cure for that problem. With the built in telescoping antenna not extended I received 10 stations, 9 of which also had a secondary channel, for a total of 19 channels. When I extended that built in whip antenna I received 4 more stations, which when including the secondary channels came out to 7 more listening choices for a grand total of 26.

The unit doesn't sound bad considering it's size, but one if the first things I did was plug it into a decent 2.1 sound system Altec Lansing VS4221 2.1 Speaker System Music & Gaming System with Remoteand it is quite impressive. The radio seems to be quite bass heavy, which while not noticeable with its own speakers, shows up when plugged into an external amplifier. I just ran the bass way down on the external sound system and it sounds fine now.

I was hoping that HD radio would sound as good as streaming Internet radio, and it does. Here in the middle of the city I get all of the local HD radio stations and receive them flawlessly. I DO NOT receive the station broadcasting from the College of San Mateo (23 miles away) or the San Jose stations (47 miles away).

Also, I did not realize that this was an FM only radio when I bought it. Makes no difference to me, but it might to you.

Only small HD I could find. Sounds OK with built in speakers but great through my Bose. Would be nice to have AM too

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I wanted this radio for work to replace a small AAA powered AM/FM radio. This radio has great signal strength, crisp sound quality and the additional HD stations are a wonderful addition to the normal stations I listen to. The telescoping antenna hasn't been needed to pick up stations clearly.

Highly recommended!

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There aren't too many radios that pick up HD stations. Insignia is one of the very few companies that include HD in their tuners. This is the best HD radio I've seen. It's compact, takes four AA's and is very selective and sensitive in receiving signals. You probably have to be thirty miles or so from the station transmitter to receive the HD signal and it's subchannels.

I live about 50 miles from Wilkes Barre,Pa and 70 miles from Harrisburg. Most of the signals come in where I live, but the HD signal does not. This morning I was 35 miles from Wilkes Barre and two HD channels registered. I look forward to bringing this radio with me on the road to see what I can pick up.

This radio also has an RDS feature that displays the call letters and the song that is currently playing on stations that do have that feature. Only other portable that has this is Sangeans PR D5. Now, if that radio had HD capabilities, that would make that model the tops in it's field.

Finally, an easy, convenient way to listen to HD radio. Now, only if there were more of these sub channels and the industry began promoting them.

This radio is FM only and also features an Aux In, which is a bonus.

At $30 plus on Amazon and $40 at Best Buy, this is a very nice receiver.

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Audio quality is excellent, reception far better than the table top boom box it replaced. Love being able to get HD stations as easily as regular stations. I use it every day

Rando HD CAR DVR 1280 x 720P Camcorder Video Camera Night Vision 2.5-Inch LCD with HDMI Cable

• HDMI Cable included
• Built-in microphone
• Built-in LED for night vision
• 1280 x 720 HD
• 140 degree wide view-angle

The image is very nice. Just as described.Is working as expected.This is a must have for everyone on the road today.

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No problems yet, good image quality in daylight, not the best in the night. This camera does include an HDMI port and a night-vision photo sensor, which fake versions of this camera don't have.

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Pros:

Cheep & inexpensive.

Suction cup holds securly to windshield. Won't fall.

Has all the features one would want in a device like this.

Cons:

have to remove battery every 2 weeks to keep it working.

Resolution. Not Great. Same quality Ive seen on 640ish cameras.

Reset device does not reset all options.

Device & Manual quality show this is an obvious Knock-Off Product.

Overall

-It works "OK". I would recommend spending $100 and get the TopDawg Model. It has to work better.

-Guess for $50 I can't complain too much. At this price I didn't have great expectations.

Xtreamer ULTRA Mini-ITX SFF HTPC (1.8 GHZ Intel Atom Dual-Core D525, nVidia ION 2, 4GB DDR3, HDMI 1

I've had this for about 2 weeks now and absolutly love it. It comes with everything pictured (although I had to get a euro to us power adaptor 2$). The machine boots from the USB stick and out of the box runs XBMC, Boxee and their ubuntu linux OS (you can install a HDD and install windows). There is a slot in the machine for a 2.5 HDD and through the xtreamer forums you can find instructions to install all of those and a version of windows to the internal hard drive pretty easily. I think the xbmc is faster from the HDD than the usb stick, but that's just my observation. Both ways, there is no lag or slowdown and the machine plays all kinds of movies with ease. I own about 250 DVDs that I converted to .ISO files and have on an external 3T drive works great, I never have to search for a dvd or worry about it being scratched.

The only cons the included keyboard remote is not the greatest, I would reccomend getting a wireless keyboard/trackball combo. The machine does get hot, but mine constantly runs and has had NO problems at all.

Would definately reccommend to anyone looking for a digital media server / HTPC.

I have bought quite a few media streamers (Popcorn hour, Dvico Tvix and Mede8er) in the past. Now, it appears I will be going back to XBMC (bringing back memories of XBMC on the xbox and on my old noisy htpc) on this really truly awesome device. I really love this thing. I will admit that you better have a 2.5 hdd available, since running on the usb thumb drive is very slow. After putting an old laptop hdd in this thing, my god (and loading the ultra os, which can be downloaded from xtreamer.net)... this thing is AWESOME!

If you are not the type of person who can put a 2.5 drive in a pc, then you should not buy this. If the menu appearance is not too important... and you want simplicity, then go buy a Tvix or Popcorn hour. However, if you are comfortable with computers, then for the price, this really is a great product.

Pro: Very quiet, Can play around with loads of options (Boxee, XBMC, load windows, etc.), can customize like a pc to load Tversity to stream your media collection to your portable devices.

Cons: running the device with the usb thumb drive should only be a workaround until you can get a 2.5 hdd. If you are cheap, buy a $10 hdd drive. The xtreamer ultra might not be a good fit for someone who is not comfortable with computers.

This is hands down...the best packaged HTPC in the market. There is not many products that make me act crazy like Droopy Dog...

... I'm happy.

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The XTreamer Ultra is a nice little machine hardware-wise, but running the included OS from USB is WAY too slow. I bought a 120GB SSD drive and installed Windows 7 Home on it, and now it works great! I'm considering installing the Linux OS that comes with it onto the hard-drive and dual booting from there instead of the USB. That should make it less frustrating to use XBMC and Boxee.

The main reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is that the included mini-keyboard would simply not pair with the USB stub. I tried it on existing Windows 7 machines as well, and it just would not work. I went to the Xtreamer web site and used their contact us form to inform them, but never got anything at all back from them. Apparently since this was sold to me via a 3rd-party vendor (Xtreamer US Distributor), I needed to inform the 3rd-party, but I just didn't feel like dealing with it anymore, so I simply bought an equivalent mini-keyboard via Amazon, and this one works great. I love not having to have a large keyboard sitting next to me on the coach.

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I upgraded from the sidewinder 2 which for the money still is one of the best media players out there, had it since they came out and never had any issues with it. The Ultra rocks, it is faster, it can be expanded, you can stream just about to any other device in the network and it performs superbly. I just got a NAS and consolidated all task to it, now I can stream, transfer and share from it. The Ultra is running Windows 7 on a 128 GB SSD, it is fast, quiet and it allows me to run any application I desire. It does have a fan on the side but it is quiet very quiet and efficient.The connection to the network is made using the Rosewill RPLC-500KIT Powerline AV Wall-Plug Gigabit Adapter, it will never do the advertised speed but it is faster than wireless and is steady again streaming to and from is not an issue in my case. I have it hooked up to an inexpensive Onkio 5.1 system and again works and sounds great. My experience with customer service was outstanding, I had an issue and they took care of it very efficiently, communications, and great attention to detail. I"m just a regular customer here, but if I had to do this all over again I would without hesitation. I hope this info will help someone, please if you got any questions send them to me.

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The HW is good, but the OS it's a headache. It does not even recognize the 4MB it comes with, so many adaptations are required. I ended up removing this useless OS and putting plane Ubuntu on the box. The HW is nice and has good interfaces, but the OS and the Tech-Support are terrible..

Panasonic SVAV50 MPEG-4 SD Video Camera

The trouble with most combination devices is that they try to do too much, and thus end up doing lots of things poorly. With the D-Snap 50, Panasonic has avoided this all too common design flaw... mostly.

The D-Snap 50 is an excellent gadget for professionals on the go, combining a two megapixel video camera, a digital voice recorder, and an MP3 player all into a package smaller and lighter than a pack of cigarettes. The bundled software is complete (if unexceptional) and the controls are fairly intuitive most people familiar with digital cameras should be able to master the basics in a few minutes of use.

Nonetheless, there are a few questions I'd like to ask the D-Snap engineering team. First, did you intend for me to amputate my right index finger in order to take a decent picture? Second, just how many songs, memos, pictures, and videos do you expect me to fit on a measly 8 megabyte memory card? Third, why so many different quality settings for images when only Superfine (or Fine and big) is even good enough for email? Finally, would Macintosh support have killed you?

Despite these grievances, this is a great buy for a select target audience, such as people considering the Palm Zire 71 that prefer to organize their thoughts using spoken words instead of text. With a little practice and a 256 MB or 512 MB Secure Digital Card the D-Snap's annoyances will quickly fade. Three-and-a-half stars now, four when the price comes down a little.

I purchased the camera a few months ago. I saw it first at a stand at JFK, and thought it was a really neat and fantastic little product. I knew straight away all the my tech friends would love it. Cool design, easy to use. Small, smaller than most mobile phones. Good flash, even sometimes it is to good, and can flash away your picture, meaning close-up photos may become to bright. But I guess it also has something to do with the person operating it. :-)

So then there are of course a few downsides to it too! 1. Inside filming is a bit tricky. You either need very good lighting in-doors to get a good video, or you need to turn on the night view option, which then slows down the FPS (frames per second) which really means that the video slows down, and you really have to hold it still to make a good video. Not a good option I think. So that really sucks, because it means you really have to have some good light indoors. Outside is ok. Not the best video quality there either, but it is more than acceptable and the sound is good.

The second thing here is that it is only a 2 mega pixel camera. And most people today probably have a compact digital cam that has from 3.2 and up. There is no doubt that a compact cam of 2 mega, bets this cameras 2 mega. The pictures are ok, but once you are used to better quality cams, then you kind of feel like you are stepping back with this one. Would be cool to see this cam with at least 3.2 mega...

Unfortunately I lost the CD cover with the installation code for the installation of the MP3 software, so I have not been able to test that yet. But the earphones that came with the cam seem to be of pretty good quality. We'll see.

My overall conclusion is that this is an OK cam to have, but should not be your prime camera to use for those special occasions, vacations etc. I would then stick to either a digital camera with better mega pixels, or just a regular film camera. (but that takes away some of the fun taking pictures I think) Good luck.

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I got this for my birthday a while ago, and is my first of a couple of digital cameras that i like to use regularly. most other cameras only take aroung 8 to 15 mins of video with a high memory card but this one takes alot more. with a 512 mg SD card you can take over 1 hour of video and hundreds of pictures on high resolution. the "mp3 player" is a little low rate but its ok. and i never really used the voice recorder, but when i did test it it sounded ok except for a low static sound in the backround. if you do get it i suggest getting an extra battery, and at least a 256 mg card. Most of the problems that occur can be fixed with the manual, and if you have a dot on your screen that doesnt change its alright because it wont come out in the picture. 2 megapixels is a little on the grainy side, but you can print regular sized pictures without any of the grainy effect. Overall it is a very handy and useful camera for everyday use and catching those spur of the moment things.

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I really enjoy this product. I ordered it off the internet and i had read some reviews saying it was just ok... so i felt a little wary. However, this is the coolest product ever! All of the photos and video are good quality and the MP3 is really cool! I am so pumped to show all of my friends! It is a real attention getter and I love it! It is so tiny that you can take it ANYWHERE. SMALLER THAN MY CELL! Its a great product and i encourage anyone to buy! Im gonna go use it some more now! LOVE IT! 5

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I recently bought this on sale (very good price I might add) and am going to be sending in for the rebate. For what I paid it is a great little product. It's nice to stick in your purse or bag and you have everything at your fingertips voice recorder, camera, video and music.

Drawbacks:

1 It only plays MP3 files (it comes with software which you must use, but it is easy).

2 When playing music if you accidentally nudge the little orange button (used for making menu choices etc) it will go back to the start of the song very annoying. I am going to try putting a piece of tape over it if I will be listening for awhile and if it will be in my purse or pocket at the time.

3 Only comes with an 8 MB card! It hardly holds anything! You WILL want to buy another card if you are going to use it much at all so factor the cost of a 128 or 264MB card into your budget.

For everything together it is great. Obviously it is not as good as a normal digital camera, but I am not going to carry my camera with me. With this in my purse if I see a picture I can't resist or (God forbid) I get in a fender bender I will have it right there to snap a few shots.

It's a nice little splurge to have fun with at the right price.

SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip 4 GB MP3 Player (Lime)

• Plays music, audiobooks, and podcasts
• FM radio and Voice Recording
• New stopwatch feature
• Plays content from nearly every source (MP3, WMA, secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and FLAC)
• AAC for DRM-free iTunes compatibility

I am a big old fat geek that recently got into doing...(GASP!)...exercising.

I have many MP3 capable products and reasons why I am very fond of this little one for my new found effort. I have the following list of products and have tried my:

Nexus S (too big and heavy for running, no physical buttons)

iPod touch 4th Gen (Big, expensive at the storage size i wanted and no buttons for music controls)

iPod Nano 4thGen (little, has a clip, but why the hell can't they include buttons?)

iPod shuffle (not enough storage and I don't want to mix in my metal songs from lifting weights into my up beat running songs...)

Likes:

The clip Zip sounds great, is very small, has a clip and has physical buttons.

It fits every need i want. The bonus is the MicroSD slot, I can not stress this enough. Skip the 8GB version and get the 4GB and pair it with a 16 or 32GB card. Bam 20-36GB of storage, insanely small and still clocks in under $100.

FLAC support.

Low rez color screen does what it needs to. Won't knock people over but tells you whats playing with album art.

As for the other areas, the stop watch works like a stop watch...It keeps time and does splits. Not a huge thing and if you are using a polar watch or at a gym, the machine you are on will do just as well and be more convenient. In a pinch it works.

The FM radio works fine. I live in a rural area, so my station choices are limited. From my experience, it works just fine if you are in an area with good recption.

Dislikes:

*UPDATE* MM works on updated firmware...still broken on stock firmware. Drag and drop also works, so you have that going for you.

General gripe: The included headphones are perfect for giving to people you hate. You can use them, i guess, if you want to torture yourself, but like any MP3 player, Apple or otherwise, get some better phones...your ears and your music will appreciate it.

Considering you would need to pay twice as much for an iPod with fewer features, no physical buttons and no storage expansion, just to run in a hampster wheel, save your scratch and get this guy. You will be glad you did, as it looks good, sounds good and does a it in a small package that just screams to be used in your fitness routine.

Update of an update: A new firmware patch was released, make sure to update your new Clip Zip or you will experience the "Static Blast" between some of your songs...not fun, but it has been addressed, so make sure to update right away.

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The pros:

- all the benefits of the Clip+: great sound; small; microSD card support; FM radio (with record capability); recorder; gapless play; optional folder navigation; multiple formats support (mp3, wma, ogg vorbis, flac); file drag-and-drop capability; ad hoc playlist creation; cute and appealing

- new: aac file support for DRM-free aac format files; small color screen with album art display; time-of-day indication; "sports mode" with timer and lap time; fast alphabet scrolling in lists; menu customizability; enhanced contemporary feel and, perhaps, sturdiness; improved microSD card fit; improved EQ

The limited cons:

- internal memory maxes out at 8GB; limited what's playing screen information; underlying folder art can make screen readability harder; missing some play-all options; for some users: battery life remains rated at 15 hours; no video capability; greater functionality could be provided to the user (could be handled in future firmware upgrades)

The Clip Zip, the latest in the SanDisk Sansa Clip line, is firmly committed to the Clip line's proven success: a small, cute and attractive, easy-to-use player with great sound. Not much more can be said about the sound: SanDisk got it right with the original Clip and wisely has not tinkered with that, keeping the Clip line at the top of the audio player field. With one exception: while the Clip Zip's EQ options sound improved to my ears, they still can sound harsh--as a general matter, best to leave the EQ options alone.

Physically, the Clip Zip is only a trifle larger than its predecessor, in its long dimension. As before, the body is an attractive, sturdy 2-piece plastic shell that angles out, with a large, permanently attached, sturdy plastic clip occupying its back. The one-piece directional pad on the front of the Clip Zip has been reduced in size to the bottom third of the player's face, with a thin, rectangular select button in its center--some larger-fingered users may have to exercise some care. An inset postage stamp-sized screen occupies the top half of the face of the player. Available in a variety of pleasing colors, my player is an attractive platinum color with a silver-colored directional pad and silver volume rocker and power switches at the left and top sides. The headphone jack remains on the top right side of the player, with a microSD card slot below that, at the bottom; an inserted microSD card now sits totally flush with the player, helping to avoid any inadvertent ejection (although this could make removing the card a trifle more difficult for some). The Clip Zip adopts the micro USB standard for its data and power port at the top left of the player, and comes with a handy short USB/micro USB cable.

In the end, the Clip Zip has a perhaps slightly more contemporary, and sturdy, feel than before, including with its modernized screen graphics and opening and closing exploding screen logo. SanDisk includes with the player a pair of its standard earbud headphones, which many users like--I swap them out for audiophile in-ear phones that complement the player's well-tuned sound.

Beyond these basics, the Clip Zip, like the earlier Clip+, includes microSD card support, making it possible to increase the player's storage five-fold from its maximum 8GB internal storage to a total of 40GB, with a 32GB microSD card. Amazing, for something so small; microSD card slots should be standard in all audio players. All content nicely is seamlessly merged in the Clip Zip's database, or separately can be accessed by folder, as on a computer. The Clip Zip also includes a well-functioning FM radio, with presets and recording capability; new, the display automatically shows the currently-selected radio station's call letters. As before, the Clip Zip has a recorder; gapless play between files--a necessity for live performance recordings; simple drag-and-drop file transfer capability as well as compatibility with music players and aggregators like Windows Media Player; and ad hoc playlist creation (limited to a current, temporary playlist). The Clip Zip also continues Replaygain support to equalize volume between files, and speed control (slow, normal, fast) for podcasts and audiobooks (but, unfortunately, without pitch adjustment, which would be a welcome addition).

With this pedigree in hand, the Clip Zip then takes off. Firmly inviting iTunes users in, the Clip Zip now is compatible with DRM-free aac files (the iTunes standard), in addition to, as before, mp3, wma, protected wma, ogg vorbis and flac formats; iTunes users no longer need convert their aac files (hurting it in the process) to mp3 format. Reflecting the visual age, the Clip Zip trades in the mostly monochrome, text-oriented small screen of its predecessors for a full (albeit postage stamp-sized), well-functioning color screen with album art display and muted album art backgrounds; where album art is not available, the Clip Zip substitutes varying tasteful designs rather than a dry, static picture (no more pictures of a music note for album art-less files). And then, perhaps listening to its audience's earlier suggestions, SanDisk adds in the time-of-day to the player's what's playing screen (many thanks!); a "sports mode" with timer and lap time; fast alphabetical scrolling for content lists--very welcome for those users with lots of content; and the (limited) ability to customize the Clip Zip's top menu to show or exclude function categories (Music, Radio, Books, Voice, Card, Sport).

Users of earlier Clip players will find the operation of the Clip Zip familiar, and largely instinctual. Newcomers will adapt in minutes.

All of this is done in an evolutionary manner, still within the Clip lineage; this is not a new player line. Some users will be disappointed by the 8GB internal memory ceiling; 16GB and 32GB models would be appreciated at this point in time--as well as beyond that for us jukebox users. The player's battery remains rated at 15-hours, typically enough for a full day, but some users would like more; the battery is not user replaceable, given the player's size (some users would prefer otherwise). And there is no video capability (although this only would be minimally useful, given the small screen--but it still would be welcome).

Seemingly as a result of the adoption of album art display, some informational functionality has been lessened on the Clip Zip's what's playing screen: there is no current track number and total tracks information; the current song/file time position is only indicated by a progress bar--there are no elapsed or remaining time indicators; and some of the on-screen information can be a bit harder to see, depending on underlying album art. Also, for some reason, a play-all option, apart from in shuffled mode, has gone missing from most of the playback options--album aficionados will be limited to choosing 1 album at a time or creating playlists. These issues are important for many users--perhaps (hopefully) SanDisk will consider them for future firmware upgrades. (Speaking of which: how about a separate time screen with a clock face, with a few style options?) And the database hindrance from earlier Clip models remains: when files are added to or removed from the microSD card or the card is removed and replaced, the Clip Zip needs to refresh its database, which can take many minutes, depending on the size of the card's contents, during which the player cannot otherwise be used.

In the end, despite some limitations (some of which could be addressed in the future), the Clip Zip is an attractive successor in the Clip line, with enhanced functionality especially of note for those with a library of aac files and for those wanting album art or timing capabilities.

9-12-11 UPDATE as to Audible compatibility with the Clip Zip:

Apparently, people have been finding it impossible to transfer Audible audiobooks to the Clip Zip. In trying myself, I found the same thing--frustrating! In following up, it turns out that Audible needs to update its Audible Manager software, used to transfer Audible audiobooks, etc. to a device, and is working on it. In the meanwhile, see the comments section below for a couple of easy ways to transfer Audible content to the Clip Zip: simple drag-and-drop/copy-and-paste; or using Windows Media Player. In fact, personally, I actually prefer using the drag-and-drop method to having to fire up the Audible Manager just to transfer content over--simpler.

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The Sansa Clip Zip sounded like just what I wanted -a small, inexpensive, clip-on mp3 player to use while I exercise. I was wrong. I listen to audiobooks while I exercise, and despite Sansa's product description the Clip Zip doesn't do that.

When I manually load audiobook mp3 files on the Clip Zip, it classifies them as songs on different albums by one artist. If I select "artist" it plays all the 'track #1s' in sequence and then all the 'track #2s', etc. If I choose "album" it plays that set of files but then I have to search around for the next cryptically-named "album" in the book. That works, sort of, but who wants to stop exercising to fiddle around with an mp3 player for 10 minutes searching for the next section of a book?

When I use Windows Media Player to make a playlist of an audiobook's tracks and then sync them with the Sansa, the process fails -no playlist is on the Sansa and the book is organized exactly as it was using drag-and-drop.

Same thing happens with iTunes, except iTunes itself crashes half the time too.

Audible.com books? Sorry, the audible format is not supported.

If you want to listen to music on a cheap mp3 player, buy the Clip Zip. If you want to play an audiobook, forget about it -it's useless.

Addendum:

Several people have offered comments and work-arounds that have been very helpful. First of all, the problem with Audible compatibility apparently belongs to Audible.com, not SanDisk. Second, Windows Media Player does work with the Clip Zip. Third, even without built-in Audible support, you can manually add Audible books to the Clip Zip.

I've added one star to my rating. It's OK as it is now and when Audible.com (an Amazon subsidiary, BTW) changes the Audible Manager it should move up to "pretty good" rating -actually a "good for the price" rating.

Second addendum (December 15, 2011):

1) I'm told that Audible.com now supports this device.

2) There's a workaround for the problem I had with playing mp3 audiobooks. Both Andy Sexton and John R. Ridley came up with the workaround and posted it in the comments to this review. Quoting Mr. Ridley: "If you put audiobooks into the audiobook folder, or set the genre in the MP3 tags as "AUDIOBOOK" the Clip Zip will handle them properly, with proper resume points and no need to make playlists or anything." Thank you Andy and John!

Third addendum (April 26, 2013)

Apparently here are workarounds for the mp3 file order problem that I experienced.

Fred Langa with WindowsSecrets.com says: "There are other tricks and workarounds, too, that enthusiasts have developed for copying and playing audiobook chapters, MP3s, or other media files in a specific order. For example, see the AnandTech forum thread, 'Tell Windows the order in which to copy files?' (http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=1493981), or the MurrayMoffatt.com article, 'Sort MP3 files on MP3 player' (http://www.murraymoffatt.com/software-problem-0010.html)."

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I bought this little guy to replace a 6th Gen iPad Nano. My main complaints about the Nano:

1. No buttons, difficult to work with it when you are running or working out. Difficult to pause when a co-worker arrives at your desk.

2. I'm a Linux guy. The 6th gen iPod nano is not compatible with any Linux drivers. Will not work with gtk-pod. Running a VM just for an iPod is a drag.

3. You're stuck with the storage size you buy.

Don't get me wrong, I really did like the Nano, but for my usage patterns it was not ideal. The Zip Clip takes care of the above problems and then some.

1. Buttons are easy to find and navigate, even when you are not using your eyes.

2. You can load it just using your raw MP3's or MTP mode using Rhythmbox on Linux, and lots of other music managers on other platforms.

3. Stick a microSD card in it and bam, you now have a 36 GB portable music player.

4. Bonus, the Zip Clip has a custom EQ mode as well as presets, so you can make your music sound just the way you want.

5. Bonus, the Zip Clip supports the leveling encoded in your MP3's or albums. Yes, the iPod has sound check but that's all secret voodoo stuff and only works with their own files.

The size is a bit bigger than the nano but it's made of plastic and is nearly the same weight (Zip Clip is 25 grams, nano is 20.) I clip it on my watchband when I'm working out. It also dangles from my lanyard when I'm working. My RSA fob and badge weigh way more than the Zip Clip.

I'm really happy with this thing, it does exactly what I want it to do. Dealing with the iPod was becoming rather frustrating to a non-Apple guy and I find that the Zip Clip has a couple added features that make it work and sound better than the iPod. Me like.

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Let me start off with the bottom line. Buy this player. Period.

Ok,with that out of the way let me tell you why. I am a complete tech geek. I built my own computer AND server and have the usual assortment of laptops, mobile phones, netbooks, and other assorted tech items. I decided I wanted a compact music player because there are times I don't want to use my mobile phone as a music player. Sometimes I want something really small and light. With my tech background my standards were pretty high for what I wanted out of an MP3 player and of everything I looked at, including the various iPods, this was the ONLY player that met all my criteria.

PROs: Super small and light. In fact, if it had been any smaller it would have been TOO small. One complaint some people have with the newest generation iPod is that it's so small they have a hard time manipulating the controls. The Clip Zip has actual buttons you can press which makes control very easy. And don't worry about accidentally hitting a button and screwing up your music. If you tap the power button on top it locks all the buttons except the volume control so that won't happen.

Has a small screen so you can actually select what you want to hear and displays album art if you have it installed.

All the usual music selection options. You can search by artist, album, song, genera, or even by folder or playlist.

SD CARD SLOT!!! This was the most important feature to me. It will take up to a 32 GB MicroSD card. 32 Gigs. Do you understand how much music will fit on that? I have every CD I own installed to an SD card, over 7500 songs, and it only takes 18.5 GB using Windows Media format. Even better, when you pop in an SD card the player takes only a few seconds to scan it and update its internal database. So even if you have 50,000 songs you could just copy them all to a couple of different SD cards and switch them in and out. There are only a small handful of players on the market with this feature and it gives you AMAZING flexibility in using your player. Want to just cram a ton of music on there? Go for it. Want to use a lossless, high quality format like FLAC so your music sounds perfect but don't want to be stuck with only a handful of songs on your player? No problem, grab a few cards and take as much as you like.

When you first get a blank card install it in the player and go to "system settings". Chose "format" and select "external card". The player will format your card for you and install a folder titled "MUSIC" on it. Just drag and drop any music folders you have saved on your computer here and install it in your player. The player reads the card, organizes the files, and you're ready to listen to music.

File Options. It accepts an amazingly wide range of file formats. MP3, WMA, Flac, even the various iTunes formats.

Built in FM radio. Less important these days but still a nice option to have sometimes. And it even does autoscan for stations.

SANSA Updater. If you go to the Sandisk website to the clip zip page you can download their installer. First, it upgrades the firmware on the player. DO THAT. But more important it also installs a small updater program. When you connect your player it pops open and gives you different options including syncing with different folders or just dragging music onto your player. You can use it to create playlists right on the player. Or, if you already have playlists on your windows media player you can sync with those instead.

CONs: Nothing is perfect and this is no exception. First, it is a very light plastic player. If you step on it or sit on it you WILL break it. Duh.

It seems to have a problems with songs recorded in iTunes format. Checking on line it has to do with the way iTunes tags certain songs. A few years ago iTunes adjusted the way they tag songs based on if they were DRM protected. I had a mix of old and new songs in my iTunes folder and if I tried to install them the player would hang up. Deleting the music from the player solved the problem. There is no such problem with ANY windows based format. Personally, I have seen this as yet another problem with Apple being not quite compatible with everything else and not a player problem.

Slow file transfer. Dragging music onto your player is kinda slow. Not a huge deal since you are unlikely to do it very often. It's even less of a big deal because you can take the SD card out and copy music directly to the card, then just pop it back in. In truth, even burning directly to an SD card can take a while if you have a lot of music. I copied 12 GB at once at it took almost an hour. But again, how often are you going to need to do that?

CONCLUSION: The bottom line here is this is an amazingly good MP3 player. Is it perfect? No, obviously not. But there are a lot of players on the market with fewer options for a lot more money. I spent several days researching every player on the market and the Clip Zip has the best combination of options at the best price, hands down.

MINI DV HIDDEN VIDEO CAMERA SPY CAM CAMCORDER

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I ordered this a few weeks back, charged it (as the terribly translated instructions said to do), even purchased a SEPARATE mini-SD card that is necessary for the product to even work, and yet it STILL didn't. The lights flashed the same as if it didn't have the SD card. Toyed with it for almost 3 hours and it STILL DOES NOT WORK. I have no clue how to return it and get my money back, as this is a terrible and unrepeatable dealer. I e-mailed the dealer through Amazon and have yet to receive an apology or even a response. Save yourself the money and get something higher quality. If the price is too good to be true, it is.

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Compared to a similar product that I had a few years ago this unit doesn't have the functions available and the one's it has don't seem to work...cannot download anything to even see if it works becuz computer doesn't recognize it...even with the disc and drivers downloaded! Wouldn't recommend to anyone! Can't contact seller as no information on package or bill of sale available!

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I bought one an i like the images, and I bought the another, And i just bought another, total I heve about eight diferent camaras they work great, for the price, i think is awesom

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XBLUE X7 USB Call Recorder, Cocoa (2499-01)

Item arrived, looked nice. No driver discs. Only a download web address on the instruction sheet. Link was broken, had to look around website to find drivers and software. Installed software, hooked it up. Terrible outgoing sound quality. tried gain adjustment in software. Mostly it just made the hum get louder. Yes it had a hum. Sending it back. Shame, I needed it, and really wanted to like this product.

Purchased this device and am very pleased with the quality and the level of recording capability...it worked as advertised and is simple to use, we record calls in our office and am going to purchase more units for the other branches...

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very cool thing to have in your office to record both sides of the conversation, then it auto saves it and you can email your conversation.

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Hi; Got it and I was needing it to work as discribed. Just was a big disapointment,from there tech personel said. I must be totaly unable to opperated even the most basic software program. That's really nice of they to say to me. Still have this piece of... and can't use it. Bought another brand that is a phone recorder using a sd card black opps by spygadgets. Check for there positive feed back. This sd phone recorder works and a big thanks to spygadgets. AJ

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Downloaded the software and thought this should be easy to install, NOPE I was wrong. Maybe this doesn't work with Windows 7. I wasn't able to get any of the buttons to start recording I plug it in and the green light comes on and a red light next to the gren buttons light up. Nothing happens when I press a button. Sending it back. This was a waste of time.

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