Showing posts with label camera olympus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camera olympus. Show all posts

Monday, November 10, 2014

Zoom H4n Portable Digital Recorder Bundle with PAVA Stereo Carrying Case with Speakers, DSLR Camera

Zoom H4n Portable Digital Recorder Bundle with PAVA Stereo Carrying Case with Speakers, DSLR Camera Mounts, Batteries, Tripod, and CablesLike you, I've been shopping for the best package for the H4N and I finally pulled the trigger on this deal. For $30 more than the loan recorder I received some really nice add-ons. First the bag. I saw the thumbnail for this bag but didn't realize it had a built in stereo speaker hidden in the front pocket. I tossed in the free batteries and plugged in my iphone for some pandora, and guess what, this little bag can rock. It's actually not bad at all for being powered by two AA batteries. Next, the mounts. The camera mount and the stand mount are built very well, and alone are worth half the upgrade. Then there is the memory card and the Don King wind filter, not a bad bonus. The stand... Well I had one of these with my camera kit and they are fun to play with but not something you would use for anything worth over $100. The H4N it self is very nice, but it is bulky and not great for quick recording changes. For instance there are no external buttons or switches to change low cut on or off nor mic sense settings. If you wan this and a more compact recorder try the Olympus LS-10

5 stars only because this is the Zoom H4N. The accessories are useful (3 stars only) but their quality is kind of "toys"

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This recorder has more options than most I have seen in the market. This one also had more attachments. Good

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Fantastic product. Great recording quality. The accessories are very helpful and I haven't found the need to purchase anything else. This package is certainly all inclusive.

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It's amazing what this small mic can do, and this nice package is complete the jop.

For interviews, short movies, reports and more.

U really should try it.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Sony MHS-TS20K/S Bloggie Touch Camera 1920x1080p MP4 HD Video with 12.8MP Still Images (Silver)

Sony MHS-TS20K/S Bloggie Touch Camera 1920x1080p MP4 HD Video with 12.8MP Still ImagesThis camera serves every purpose I want it to. It's small, easy and quick to use, and it's high definition. You can pull it out of your pocket and within two seconds you're shooting HD video. With the lowest resolution setting you can get about 4h15m of record time. Even at the highest setting(1080p) you still get almost 1h15m, not too shabby for such a small camera. The 360 degree attachment is great as a novelty item but you won't want to take serious video with it. Disclaimer: I have not used the 360 degree attachment outside yet but inside even in a properly lit room it is really grainy. Also if you move the camera too fast side to side it takes just a moment for the auto focus to catch up. It does have a nice zoom feature as well. I can't say how it performs outside yet because I'm in the middle of a blizzard and don't want to go outside. Last thing: THIS CAMERA IS COMPATIBLE WITH MAC. IT SAYS IN THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION THAT IT IS NOT BUT WHEN I PLUGGED IT IN FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU CAN CLICK ON "SETUP FOR MAC" AND IT TAKES YOU TO A WEBSITE TO DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE FOR IT. The software is really advanced on how you can just click and drag your videos/pictures to facebook, youtube, or saved e-mail recipients. Great buy for the money. One last thing, it is really tiny. I was thinking around the same size as an iPhone but it is a lot smaller. If you have big hands like me it will take some getting used to. Hope this review helped

This camera is easily the best pocket camcorder out there. I work in a photo studio and I`ve tried most pocket camcorder including Flip Video,Kodak, and others. This camera shoots gorgeous pictures thanks to its 12.8 mega pixels and the video quality is superb with 1080p unlike others. For me this is the best because as stated before it offers great videos and pictures which is something no other camera of this type does. Most pocket camcorders are crippled, when they offer good video, they can`t shoot pics and vice versa. If you want a camera to cover all of your memories this is the one to get. Besides it has a great touch screen to watch your videos and pictures without needing a PC. The user is very polished also.

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Finally a video camera so simple that my mother could use it. I got just what I paid for. While 360 degree mode is more a toy than premium class, you get good casual takes. Funny mode to play with.

Excellent HD videos. Good still pictures (though you`ll miss the flash).

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This video recorder is simple and easy to use. i find the picture quality is not quite as good as a flip video but very close. I think the feature to take a snapshot as a video is recording more than makes up for any small quality difference.

The software bundle is good at only one thing; easily sharing videos. You will have to learn windows movie maker or similar to make composites. Flip includes a free movie maker which i think is the way to go

Pros:

Good video quality

Can take picture while videoing

simple to upload and share videos

Cons:

No movie software

Very poor in low light ( but probably all these ultra portables are )

Monday, September 8, 2014

AUDIOVOX MP3 PLAYER 4GB COLOR TFT DISPLAY

AUDIOVOX MP3 PLAYER 4GB COLOR TFT DISPLAY
  • RCA 4GB Flash Memory Digital Media Player w/2 LCD Display/FM Radio/Voice Recording M4304

I got this for my son because it was cheap but cool-looking and he's not old enough (and I'm not rich enough) for an ipod. We had no trouble whatsoever loading music and a few photos. Don't bother using the "easyRip" software that comes on the unit...a total waste of time. If you have Windows Media Player it's easy enough. The unit has to be connected to the computer to delete stuff. The screen is a decent size, good picture quality. On most of the downloaded songs it displays the CD cover when the songs starts playing (but not for songs ripped from CDs). The FM radio picks up tons of stations. The main menu organizes your music by title, artist, genre, etc, but unfortunately you don't get to create your own playlists (I would have liked to be able to create a different playlist for "workouts", "errands", etc). It took me half a day to figure out how to load a DVD movie onto this thing. I finally was able to using Wondershare DVD Ripper, but don't expect to really enjoy any movies. How can you on such a small screen? But alas my son likes having a movie or two on there. At this price (I did not buy mine here) you can't complain.

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For the past yr I've been using the RCA Pearl was ready for a video MP3 Player upgrade,so I remained with RCA and bought the Opal. It's very slim and fits in my pocket as I walk..love the fact if you turn it off it resumes to were you left off with a cd song. The 2" screen is great for viewing videos or pictures.

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We had it a week and it didn't work for 2 days of it....was so slow to load, would freeze up and after 4 days the screen was clearly messed up. My daughter was really disappointed as it was a Christmas gift. We took this back and got the Philips Gogear Vibe....MUCH nice and less $$.

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Features: There is not an option for playlists. I customize my workouts by beats per minute so whenever I want to change a song, I have to go through and delete ALL of the songs up to the point where I add the new song and then re-add the other songs. Also, there is no way to skip a song until the album artwork goes away. Therefore, I have deleted most of the songs that have album artwork because I just don't feel like waiting. Thirdly, I am unsure how they categorize the songs because there are some songs that were arbitrarily relegated to the "Unknown Artist/Unknown Title" category which means that this takes extra time to find them when I want to listen to them instead of just being able to scroll through the "Title" or "Artist" lists. Fourth, unlike the Go Gear I used to have, you cannot listen to your songs while the device is charging.

Battery Life: Pretty good. I can go a few days before absolutely needing to charge.

Portability: Fine.

Sound Quality: There has been more than one occasion on which there was lots of static for no discernible reason at all.

Overall, considering the strides that technology has made, I feel this device is a little prehistoric and am looking forward to getting another device that is NOT made by RCA. I will probably give this one to my 9 year-old cousin. The only reason I gave this 2 stars is because it IS an MP3 player as is marketed.

"Features"

If any of your music has artwork impeded in the ID3 tags enjoy waiting. You are unable to skip to the next song while the opal is loading music artwork. It does this at the speed of displaying an image over a 14.4 kb modem from 1990.

The opal does not recover from crashing...at all. Have you ever had an mp3 player or usb flash drive connected to your computer and forgot to unmount the drive before disconnecting from the computer? I have. The drive 98% of the time will be fine.

Not the opal. If you forget to unmount it from the computer, 100% of the time it will power up, initialize, then go to a screen that says "building database this may take a while" at which point it will sit there forever or shut down. You have just f**ed up your Opal and now must reinstall the firmware. This happens not only from forgetting to unmount it but from shutting your computer down while the device is still connected. (even though that automatically unmounts EVERY OTHER USB harddrive/MP3 Player) And it will also happen if the device freezes/crashes while listening to music. (Which happened to me last night, it froze in the middle of a song, I held the power button to force restart the device and BAM! I am now reloading the firmware and copying back all of my music...again.)

This is the worst MP3 player I have ever owned. DO NOT BUY!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Audio Technica AT-LP60USB Fully Automatic Belt Driven Turntable with USB Port

Audio Technica AT-LP60USB Fully Automatic Belt Driven Turntable with USB Port
  • USB output: no special drivers required for direct connection to your computer
  • Built-in switchable stereo phono/line level pre-amplifier. Permits use of turntable with stereo systems having either magnetic-phono inputs
  • PC & Mac compatible
  • Fully automatic operation keeps LPs scratch free
  • Two speeds: 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm
  • 2 speed turntable - 33 1/3 and 45 RPM

This has recently gone up in price, even apart from the Gold Box Special that greeted me. In a way, I wish I'd seen the higher price, which would have discouraged me from ordering so quickly. I remember when, in the '70s, it cost more to replace a Shure V-15 Type II cartridge than to purchase this turntable, which comes complete with cartridge, stylus, and 4 different connecting cables to cover just about all situations, even those for customers without a receiver/amplifier. It wasn't long before, in the '80s, the elliptical stylus itself went for over a hundred, eventually taken off the market by Shure due to the scarcity of its rare and costly constituent.

The point: for 60 to 90 bucks, you should not expect anything close to a genuine audiophile turntable--even though the machine includes auto tone arm lift, two instruction manuals, four well-made cables, cartridge and stylus. But the feature missing with this turntable, the one reason I wish I hadn't ordered it and had waited to purchase the next model up, is a counterweight for achieving precise tone arm balance as well as an anti-skating control for reducing pressure (and distortion) on the inside grooves of the vinyl LP, especially the tracks closest to the middle hole.

Nevertheless, given the absence of a counter-weighted tone arm and anti-skating control, this turntable does a highly competent job of tracking most recordings. In fact, it performs better than both of the ailing industry-standard, professional Stanton turntables that were proving increasingly problematic at the station. Also, the tracking pressure that I measured is less than 2 and a half grams, light enough to prevent the stylus from eating up your vinyl (at least not until after 2-3 playings).

The unit comes with built-in preamp, so not only does it not require an amp with a phono jack, but it doesn't require any amp beyond the one in your computer if your primary consideration is converting vinyl to digital. A couple of things to be aware of: the lift on the tone arm is too small to be of use for manual placement. You'll need to be comfortable with the automatic lift mechanism or forget about picking up and dropping down the tone arm with any semblance of accuracy. Also, in back is an all-important lever that switches the unit from "phono" to "line" connection. If you're using the unit without an amp with phono jack (beginning in the '90s, cost-conscious manufacturers began leaving them off of receivers and amps, though with the comeback of vinyl we've seen the reappearance of phono jacks), be sure to set the switch to "line." The same holds true if your connection involves use of any of the optional cables and connectors that are included with the turntable.

The turntable tracks quite nicely from what I've seen, and is worth the low cost. Still, before investing in a USB unit--without or without phono connectors--you may simply wish to save up for the best "conventional" turntable along with an amplifier or receiver that has a phono jack. That way you'll have a better chance of scoring some of the audiophile niceties mentioned above, and connection to your computer will be no problem--whether you have an 1/8" familiar audio jack or an adapter that will transform RCA into USB cables.

The software included with the turntable is Audacity--a respected freeware program that's capable of doing an excellent job but is not known for being the most user-friendly program. Other possibilities are Cool Edit (for PC users); Spin Doctor or Sound Studio (Mac users). Once you've converted a couple of LPs, it's a piece of cake--except for the potential of allowing the process to consume all of your time and life. (Try to resist the temptation to make up your own CDs, complete with jewel cases, printed front and back covers and spines, disc centers, booklets, photos, inserts, etc. Another not inconsiderable expense--in time as well as money.)

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Have been waiting and watching and after my first use, download to the computer, and mp3 file creation, I'm happy enough to recommend this product.

For under a hundred bucks the quality seems great. The manual for setup of the system and software is well done with step by step pictures.

I have mine connected to both the computer and external speakers. I'm able to listen to the music while recording thru the external speakers and listen to playback of the downloaded music thru head phones on the computer.

the software has lots of options to play with. but the basic " push the red button to record " and file save as and file export, get the job done to make your albums digital.

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Purely as a turntable, this is a satisfactory unit comparable to any other at the $50 to $80 range. The features that should have set it apart (and for which I purchased the item) are all woefully disappointing.

1) USB-Direct Recording: The true purpose of my purchase was to update my current phonograph configuration to a more convenient way to convert my LPs to MP3. When using the USB connection, there is a dull but constant power-cycle hum from the moment USB Codec is selected as the Recording Device. After attempting to avail myself of this feature with multiple computers in my home I have concluded that the USB connection should be considered unusable by even the least discriminating among music lovers (Perhaps power filters could be used to isolate potential ground-loops but even then, you would still have to contend with issue number 3 below).

[Updated: 03/28/2013]

Although I can't begin to account for what may have possessed me to try this, I've given the USB recording another attempt after upgrading my Notebook Computer to Windows 8. While several other hardware systems on my Notebook (bluetooth, fingerprint reader, blu-ray) have ceased to function due to a lack of driver support, the USB feature on this turntable now functions perfectly. No hum, just right.

I still can't give the turntable 5-stars because of items 2 and 3 below, but at least I can now take full advantage of primary reason I made the purchase.

2) The software: Always in search of audio recording software that would work well on a PC, I was eager to test the claims of Audacity as proclaimed in the included accessory description for this turntable. As it turns out, Audacity is open source freeware. Anyone can get a more recent version of the software for free online.

3) Pre-amp: The ability to play this unit directly through a sound system with the boosted "Phono" inputs of older receivers was a major draw. Having held on to an older receiver for the single purpose of bridging between my turntable and my newer AV receiver, I was looking forward to eliminating one large and superfluous component in my rack. Given the tragic failure of the USB connection, I had also expected this to be the viable alternative to converting to MP3 on my laptop. Sadly, this too was a failure. The pre-amp in this unit is unable to cope with the low input at the end of any track that fades out. The result is a very abrupt cut-off followed by a series of unpleasant audio events as the pre-amp cuts in and out. These events seem to indicate that the db level at the end of the song combined with the surface noise usually experienced between tracks rests squarely at the bottom of the volume range necessary for the pre-amp to engage. As it turns out, this is also the case with USB recording but one might not notice as the aggravating hum covers most of the audio at this volume level.

At this point, my only remaining choice is to use the non-amplified output and run it through the mic input of my Creative Labs SB1090 USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Audio System external sound card (a delightful purchase from Amazon which will be reviewed separately). Of course, I could have done this with my existing turntable as could anyone else who purchased a comparable unit at a comparable price.

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Starting with assembly, I must say it was very simple! The included instructions are clear and concise (including the connect-to-computer instructions).

Now onto the player itself.

The player's output to stereo (and phono) are wonderful! The quality is amazing! My only issue is that the length of the stereo cord is irritatingly short--about one foot long!

Ripping record to your PC or Mac is simple! Just install the software, press 'record', and start playing your record! The rips are wonderful quality, too (IF you convert to a lossless format. MP3 is obviously going to be of a lesser quality)!

Overall, I must say that I love this. Besides the short stereo cord, this is a great, easy to use, and compact record player.

Also included with the record player:

* A USB cable

* A stereo (female) to headphone-jack (female)

* A stereo (female) to headphone-jack (male)

* Installation disc for Audacity (the recording software)

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I was a little concerned about buying it because one user complained of a humming noise from not being grounded properly, but it worked great. I've recorded a dozen albums and am very happy with the purchase. Lots of options on the software that I am still figuring out, but overall, I am very happy with this.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Toshiba DR430 DVD Player/Recorder - 1 Disc(s) - Dolby Digital Virtual Surround DTS

Toshiba DR430 DVD Player/Recorder - 1 Disc(s) - Dolby Digital Virtual Surround DTSThe DVD recorder is easy to use. Picture quality of recording is excellent. I'm very pleased with the product. I would .

I love this product. Will recommend it to everyone. The dual recording mode makes it easy to record on DVD-R and DVD+R. Wish I had this product sooner.

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Did not know until receiving the unit that it needed an external tuner.

I could not find one anywhere that would work and no techs could suggest any.

I have kept the unit and am using it as a dvd player only.

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Friday, August 15, 2014

HD CAR DVR Rear View Mirror G SENSOR 32GB SD card accident camera video recorder HDVR-150

HD CAR DVR Rear View Mirror G SENSOR 32GB SD card accident camera video recorder HDVR-150The videos have no stutter at the 720p resolution and license plates are clearly visible even at night!

The only downside I can see with this unit is that when the unit is first turned on (e.g. when car ignition started) the LCD on the mirror turns on for a moment before turning back off; I would prefer if there was an option for the LCD to not turn on when the unit is first powered on (that way guests in my car wont know that driving is recorded).

Some notes:

* Filesize for five minutes of 720p (1280x720, 16:9 aspect ratio) recording is approximately 700 mb.

* 720p bitrate is 26010 kb/s and the video codec is mjpeg, yuvj420p at 30fps.

* Audio codec is pcm_s16le, frequency is 11025 Hz, 1 channel with 176 kb/s bitrate (good enough for clear audio recognition!).

First, I ordered the item on Nov 8 and Nov 12 it was in my hands. Mind you, the product comes from Taiwan. As other have said, personal note was icying on the cake. It's been 2 weeks now and the product works superbly. It does come with 32GB card and all the internal settings(Include date and time) had been pre-set correctly for me at the company. All I did was snap it on my Camry '12 rear-view mirror, hide the wires and done. Fitting for me was tight and sturdy. Cable was more then long enough to visually be out of sight through the nook and corners. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this product. Amazed how good the video is at night even with no street lights. Directions provided is thorough and easy to follow. Great product!

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I received the product today.

I am not sure if they shipped the right thing. The product says HDVR-150 on the box. No where on the box or in the manual the product mentions anything about G Sensor.

I also chose the free upgrade Upgrade to FHD 1080p G sensor for HDVR-150 NO NEED TO ADD TO CART AUTO COMES W/ new order from KiWAV in the cart in order to get 1080p resolution and what I received indicates only 720p resolution instead of 1080p on the box and manual and no G-Sensor. So I don't know what they mean by free upgrade and what exactly they shipped me.

I am giving only two stars for incomplete information in the packaging and misleading "free upgrade" option which I selected in the cart. If it is not what I ordered I am going to return this back.

A little disappointed by the lack of complete information on the package and manual.

Update on 12/07/12:

The packaging was misleading. They shipped the right product and the menu options show Full HD and G Sensor options.

Minor Issues: The mirror is not as bright as the original rear view mirror. The alignment after installation is at a slight angle and the holding brackets could have been longer and more secure. This is on a 2012 Prius. The left and right brackets should be designed to be closer to each other and away from the camera on the right. This way the right bracket won't have to be at the edge of the original mirror and the alignment would also be perfect.

Update 01/28/2013:

It was working fine for a few weeks. Now it is unreliable. It shows it is recording with a red icon. However when I put my SD card into a computer it did not have any new files recorded in the card. Sometimes it prompts to format the SD Card for no reason. The idea of the product is good. However it has these flaws:

1. The rear view mirror vibrates on even modest road imperfections.

2. The unit does not align perfectly straight with the stock rear view mirror.

3. Recording is unreliable.

4. Compression is very bad. It does not have H.264 compression so the files are really huge. 1 GB for 5 minutes for just 720p 30fps. So it records only up to 2.5 hours on 720p. Other advanced products use compression and can record up to 9 hours on full 1080p or about 13 hours on 720p 30fps.

5. I am unable to use the auto dimming feature of my stock mirror.

I am reducing the rating for this product to 3 stars. The seller is very supportive. Hope the next version has these flaws addressed.

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I ordered this item on 17/Jan/2013, arrived today. Considering there were weekends and a public holiday in between, it was pretty good shipping time.

Packaging: Excellent. The outer box was a little beaten up, but I have seen/received worse. Inside, the main packaging was bubble wrapped safely, and was completely intact. It was tied up with a nice ribbon, and had a very nice thank you note.

Un-boxing: Internally, everything was well protected. The mirror itself was covered with a thin film to protect from scratching. A 32Gb class 4 SD card was also in the box, in a plastic case. I had already purchased a separate 32Gb class 10 SD card, so I'm using that in the unit instead. But the class 4 card should be fine.

Installation: Very easy. Clipped onto the mirror firmly and gave no hint of it falling off. The cable is quite long, making routing it behind the head liner, down the pillar, under my dash mat and to the power socket simple, easy to hide away, with length to spare. The device itself is quite big, so may take a little to get used to if you have been driving your car for a while and used to the current mirror size. Weight doesn't appear to be a problem; I saw no mirror sag or droop, even going over some serious bumps.

Usage: I thought the manual was a little light on, but you can figure things out pretty easily just playing around. Once you get used to it, the buttons and interface are simple to use and get everything configured the way you want. A lot of the options (date/time, etc.) were already pre-set on arrival (thanks!). A few minor tweaks here and there (power I'm in a 50Hz country, it was set at 60Hz) and you are good to go.

I'm in a right-hand-drive, left side-of-road country (Australia), so that sort of works out an advantage. The camera is positioned on the right end of the device, so it has to hang off the right side of the normal mirror. But with the angle I have the mirror positioned it fitted under my visors nicely when they are down. Visors up: Visors down:

The unit is noticeable from outside: [....]

I found absolutely no interference on my radio, even when listening to AM (which is very susceptible to the slightest electronic interference).

Once driving, I noticed the device was vibrating a fair bit, and was concerned about that affect the video itself. My concerns were unfounded (see the YouTube video linked below).

Video Quality: A little disappointing, but perfectly functional. Colours are bright and clear, you can clearly pick up what you want to see, but the resolution seemed a little low. Number plates can be a bit of an issue (Look for the red Postal van around 3:40 in the video, you can't read the plate until you're right up behind it), I received the Full HD version, so I did expect a little more (and I ensured I had it set to 1920 x 1080 before usage).

Files are stored on the memory card in approx. 900Mb chunks, about 5 minutes each. They are in .AVI file type and encoded with MPEG. Seems that the compression algorithm in a bit lossy. I'm hoping this could be fixed with a future software update (or updating to a different compression codec H-264 would be much better if possible).

A 5 minute section of my trip home from work this evening is located here: (the beeps you hear occasionally are from my electronic toll tag).

Summary: Overall, I am pretty pleased with this. It does what it says it will do, is easy to use, and is a pretty good piece of kit for the price. I would definitely recommend purchasing this.

(Edit : Sorry, can't link apparently, even though the links are perfectly within reason. Go to YouTube, search for "spyder1971". The video is in my channel, and the links to the images are in the video description.

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Tested in my 07 toyota with Pioneer AVH-P4400BH na dit caused bad reception and static on the FM channels. I tried it in a coworkers 011 4Runner factory stereo and same issues.

no problem with vendor-easy returns...keep in mind it came from China , so $20+ to return ship and 2 weeks each way

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Sunday, August 3, 2014

Coby TFDVD7008 7-Inch Portable DVD/CD/MP3 Player (Black)

Coby TFDVD7008 7-Inch Portable DVD/CD/MP3 Player
  • 7-Inch widescreen TFT LCD color display
  • DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 compatible, Compact portable design with anti-skip circuitry
  • Dolby Digital decoding, AV outputs for use with home theater systems
  • Integrated stereo speakers, Headphone jack for private listening
  • Multiple language, subtitle, and camera angle support,Parental lock controls

The price is right on this little unit. The picture is a little better than my previous two portable units. The sound is a little worse (if I could increase the volume just a little bit more it would be perfect). It's very lightweight. Like most cheap units, I expect to get 1-2 years of play out of this unit before I'll need to look for another.

Unusually, this unit comes with a little remote control. This remote gives you a lot more control over functions than most portable DVD players; you can for example skip directly to a specified point on the disk. And you can do things like set a chapter to endlessly looped play, or pick two points on the disk and have it endlessly loop between those two points. The "zoom" feature the remote gives you is great and is the reason why I gave this unit a fourth star rather than the three stars a cheap unit normally deserves.

Now the bad thing about that remote is that (1) it's small, and (2) there is no way of attaching the remote to or within the player so that I can already see that it is easy to misplace the remote. (I'm already considering using velcro to solve this problem).

The manual is not so great. It gets points for actually using the English language well, but loses lots of points on what it doesn't bother to tell you. You have to experiment a bit to discover undocumented features and functions. For example, the forward and reverse buttons work differently when you are currently zoomed in; they become instead pan right and pan left buttons.

And the manual won't tell you what you have to do to shut the unit down so that so that it restarts at the point on the disk where you left off. (If you just try stopping or pausing it reloads the disk and starts from the beginning). I've had success two ways: (1) pausing the picture and letting the unit go into (the undocumented) power saver mode. If you then turned the unit off and immediately back on, it seemed to remember where it left off. An even easier way: (2) use the remote to turn the unit off. If you then use the remote to turn it back on, it picks back up where it left off.

Here's another little undocumented feature. Like most units manufactured for multiple markets, there is a programming sequence you can use to change what region this player can play. Here's how to set up this player to play other region-codes using the remote:

1. Open DVD tray

2. Press the "Menu" button (ignore message "Not allowed at this moment")

3. Press 8888

4. Press the "Display" button

5. Region Code Number shows up. Use the numeric keypad to select your

region code number (0 6).

6. Press the Enter button.

I've verified my unit plays both region 1 and region 2 disks.

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We needed an inexpensive player to be used as a second player in a spare room and for road trips. The first glaring omission is the lack of included video/audio cable. This was solved by a quick trip to Radio Shack to get the correct cable. With that solved, the remaining issues are quality related.

As far as the player drive, works great. Sound is above average too. The unit itself is very light, but you quickly realize when it is open, the weight of the screen almost makes the unit topple over backward. If you are careful with it, this might not be a problem for you. The last thing is the clarity (or resolution) of the screen. It is what I like to call "adequate". I have seen better screens, but those units were twice the price.

The bottom line is this. It is a cheap player, but it works ... so far. We are taking a trip soon and I am sure we will put it in the car and it will really get a workout. If anything happens with the player along the way, I will try to report back.

UPDATE: Aug 27, 2009

Since I bought this in May, we have had good luck with this unit. It seems pretty tough, but we have not dropped it or have been rough with it. Through normal handling and use it has held up well.

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This little DVD player works really well for my 2.5 year old on long car trips.

Pro: works fine, satisfactory picture even at an angle, no bulky external battery, plays for 4 hours on battery, it can read CDs that my previous, more expensive portable DVD player could not read for some reasons.

Cons: does not come with a plug for the car, does not have a menu button! (I turn it on/off to go back to menu or keep fast-forwarding), it's very slow to start. It doesn't work with the toddler headsets I have.

I am satisfied with it just because it works fine and was a great value, the previous more expensive model I had kept stopping and I had to hit it for it to restart every few minutes, I don't remember the brand/model, so as long as my toddler can watch her cartoons uninterrupted while I'm driving, I'm satisfied.

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I wanted to have a unit that would play every format I could possibly run into as this was going to used to demo music and music videos in presentations. I was quite surprised that this is the only unit I found that would play all formats and was the lowest priced as well. I received the player, and it did not function at all, COBY techs said to return it, which I did. Amazon broke their neck making it right, shipped a new unit at no cost and paid for the return shipping of the bad unit! The replacement is working perfectly, longevity is always a question, but for the $ replacements are a serious option if and when needed! Internal speakers are OK for what they are, but add-on speakers make a world of improvement!

I've only used this acouple of times but so far it's working great. Good battery life, it's really light weight and the picture is good. I took it with on a plane ride and it was perfect.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Audio Technica AT2020USBPLUS Deluxe USB Cardioid Condenser Microphone

Audio Technica AT2020USBPLUS Deluxe USB Cardioid Condenser Microphone
  • Condenser microphone with USB output for digital recording
  • High quality A/D converter with 16 bit, 44.1/48 kHz sampling rate for superb audio
  • Headphone jack with volume control allows you to monitor the microphone signal with no delay
  • Mix control allows you to blend your microphone signal and pre-recorded audio
  • High-output internal headphone amplifier delivers superior clarity and musical detail as well as more volume overall

The AT2020 USB (not this item, the Plus) was the USB microphone I recommended, and installed for clients, for years and it was great for both beginning VO students as well as established talent. I used it for almost a decade on the road and in my classes, and the AT2020, the studio version of the mic, was a staple for me as well when I was plugging into my ProTools rig. The quality of this really inexpensive line of microphones far outstrips their street prices.

Other USB microphones sounded amateurish next to the AT2020 USB, as it uses a more expensive analog-to-digital conversion circuit in the body of the mic, giving you a much better sound than, say, the Snowball or the Yeti from Blue Microphones (Blue makes some great mics, but these two aren't among them and because Apple stores sell the Blue line of cheap USB mics, people get suckered into buying them).

At the same time, when using any mic, monitoring your VO reads with headphones, in real time as you're voicing your copy, is essential to understanding how your voice is being picked up by your microphone. It allows you to adjust your addressing of the mic, it lets you know if you're achieving the sound you want, and it can be a first warning that you're overdriving the pickup of your mic and distorting the sound. And the Yeti included a very convenient and useful headphone jack.

But, as a VO talent and teacher here in LA, as my clients and students can confirm for you, I was moaning for years that for a great mic, the AT2020 USB (also still available) was losing sales to the far inferior Snowball and Yeti because it didn't have that essential headphone jack. So, you had to make a sad decision: go for a great mic with a great sound, or go for a mediocre mic that would give you the option to hear how mediocre your sound was.

Happily, with the AT2020-USB Plus, now you can have both great quality and real-time monitoring.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an AT2020-USB Plus microphone shortly after it was introduced at NAMM in 2013. It was so new that the user manual inside was still for the AT2020 USB.

Unpacking the box was a familiar task: the mic, the paperwork (a registration form and a user manual in lots of different languages), and a pouch containing the mounting bracket, a stand and the USB cable.

(By the way, the included stand, as with the AT2020 USB, is almost useless if you do try to use it, your mic will constantly be in danger of falling over, especially with a headphone cable dangling out of the mic. Do yourself a favor and get any other stand, like the On-Stage desk stand (On Stage DS7200B Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand, Black), or floor stand (On Stage Stands MS7701 Tripod Boom Microphone Stand) or whatever you prefer. Use a quarter to remove the threaded adapter from the bracket to use it with any stand you buy.)

That minor annoyance aside, the rest of the equipment is as satisfying to use as the original AT2020 USB. The color is the same, the pickup is the same, the sound is the same but there's one big difference.

The headphone jack.

The glorious headphone jack.

Plugging a stereo mini plug-laden set of earbuds or headphones into that jack lets you hear your voice, pre-encoding, with no latency or delay whatsoever.

You can easily control how loud your headphones are with the thumbwheel-dialed volume control. There's also a mix dial between sound that can be fed back from your computer into the mic and your voice, which might be useful for speaking over a bed or an effect, but for the most part, I'd keep the control all the way over to purely letting you hear your voice.

The sound I get from the Plus is exactly the same as I got from its predecessor: the frequency response, the warmth, the forgiveness at higher or lower volumes and the bass proximity effect which is all really good news. audio-technica had released a mic last year that was a toy compared to the AT2020 series (the AT2500), where they cheaped out on every part of the mic, but added a headphone jack. That was a swing and a miss, but this new AT2020 USB Plus is a solid home run.

I'd love to hear what you all think I'm a fan. And I'm installing the AT2020 USB Plus in every new installation of home equipment I perform.

David H. Lawrence XVII

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I read many reviews on Amazon before I decided on the newer at2020usb+ "Plus" model and I must say it was well worth every penny. I posted a Unboxing and Review on YouTube for all to see how the Mic comes. As always with Amazon...order was packaged well and arrived quickly.

YouTube "Audio Technica AT2020USB+ Plus Condenser Microphone Amazon Unboxing & Review Using Samsung Galaxy S3"

Hope this helps everyone with their decision : ) Well done Audio Technica.

p.s. Um yea the headphone jack is amazing. Zero Delay.

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I owned the Blue Snowball, but like many people was having trouble getting Windows 7 to recognize it. I would have to plug it in and unplug it multiple times to get windows to recognize it.

Well I got fed up, and decided i would get a new mic this mic. GLAD I DID.

First, the setup was extremely easy. I plugged it in once. Windows 7 recognized it immediately and there was no compatibility issues. I will point out that Audiotechnica says on their website that this mic is compatible with Windows 7. IT DOES NOT SAY THIS FOR the AT2020 ONLY the AT2020+. Since I don't own the AT2020, I can't say for sure if it is Windows 7 compatible, but people on the Internet have had problems. I will say that on a fresh installation of Windows 7, all the features of the AT2020+ worked perfectly on the first attempt.

The mic itself is fantastic. Great sound capture, reproduction through Audacity sounds tremendous. The headphone jack allows you to listen to yourself in realtime. I can find out if I am sounding flat when I sing etc... You can also set the headphone jack on the mic as the audio out for your computer. That way if you want to play a song and record you voice to that song, you can do that as well.

I know this mic is expensive relative to the Blue Snowball, but you are gettting so much more. Most importantly, a guarantee that it will work. Blue for whatever reason does guarantee their mics will work unless you are a certain model number or higher.

This one works, plain and simple. I would DEFINITELY buy again.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Digital Concepts Digital Video Camcorder

Digital Concepts Digital Video CamcorderWe purchased this item (one similar) to this last Christmas. Shortly after the first use, we were unable to watch the recordings on a tv screen. After being transfered to numerous people at Sakar customer service, we were told the problem was with the AV cable and they would "happily" send us a new one.

It has now been 7 months, 7 phonecalls, and 7 more promises that they would send a new cable, and they still have not followed through. I have talked to several managers, but when I call back to speak to that particular manager they are somehow never "available". I think they have a phantom employee named Andrew and he is the scapegoat for any troubles. When you call to speak to him, he doesn't exist . . . yet he was the manager that made all of the promises.

I would NEVER buy anything from this company ever again. The camera itself was okay, but if you encounter any kind of warranty issue, dealing with this company is a nightmare!!!!

BUYER BEWARE.

I bought this for my 10 year old nephew who loves videotaping!! I found this in the toy electronic section at Target. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. If you are looking for a high quality video camcorder then this isn't what you want! But if you are looking for something a 10 year old can be creative with and have some fun with, this would be a good purchase for you.

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Incompatible with ... everything we had. Could not get it to work on Mac or PC. (And I'm reasonably tech savvy) It took hours to get an answer on the phone from tech support, who promised to email the patch we need to make it work. No email. No follow up at all. Never answered the phone again. Beware if you do this, you are on your own. It does record images that you can play back directly onto TV. Sound is very poor.

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Monday, May 5, 2014

VIZIO VBR120 Blu-ray Player with Internet Apps

VIZIO VBR120 Blu-ray Player with Internet Apps
  • Plays back Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CDs, MP3s and JPEG files
  • Full HD 1080p playback
  • Built-in Ethernet port and USB port
  • Dolby TrueHD/Digital Plus and DTS-HD
  • BD-Live compatible
  • Built-in Ethernet wired networking for access to entertainment on demand through your high-speed Internet connection.
  • Plays Blu-ray Discs for full high definition 1080p video playback
  • Plays DVD discs and audio CDs for added versatility
  • Supports 7.1 digital audio output via HDMI with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD audio processing
  • View personal photos (JPG) or music (MP3) using the built-in USB port
  • Watch thousands of HD titles, TV episodes and more with VUDU, Netflix, Pandora and much more

It's frustrating to hear how well this Blu-Ray player works for others, but it's also consoling to realize that I'm not the only one who's experienced problem after problem with it. I won't dwell on the glue issue, since it's been covered well enough by other reviewers. My main complaint is with the seemingly random hardware issues with this model. From day one, powering on the player has always been a crap shoot, and to date I've never been able to turn it on, or eject a disc, using the buttons on the machine itself. Thank goodness for the remote!

Sometimes it will play a disc quickly and without any problems; other times it will click and grind for one to two minutes before getting started. I want to be clear, however, that it's not so much the slowness that bothers me, but rather its inconsistency. Every day is a surprise, because I don't know whether it will turn on and hum smoothly away, or turn on and grind, or simply not turn on at all.

The coup de grâce came tonight, when I settled down to watch an evening film. Picture, but no audio. The user manual, a tome of wisdom, suggested that I either turn up the volume or double-check the mute button. Right. Thanks for the tip. Nor do I have any headphones or external devices plugged in, but the manual doesn't offer any suggestions beyond that.

I plan on returning this unit as soon as possible and exchanging it for something else. My recommendation to potential buyers? It's a great deal if you manage to get one that works as well as the models some of these other folks picked up; but it also seems like quite a few of us have run into a number of similar problems that you may want to avoid by dropping a few more dollars on a different brand.

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This is my first blu-ray player, and first Vizio product. I have it connected to my Insignia 42" 1080p 120Hz LCD via HDMI. The TV runs the sound via optical cable back to an older Yamaha 5.1 channel receiver hooked to a pair of Martin Logan SL3's and Cinema center channel.

I'm on a limited budget for our entertainment system (except the speakers! I've had them a while) so while looking for a blu-ray I didn't want a lot of extras such as wi-fi, etc, but something that would upscale my old DVD's and of course play blu-ray's reliably.

First, the player looks great. It is much smaller than other player's I've seen. It looks more expensive that it is. One minor annoyance for some reason the factory put a long strip of cardboardy type advertising along the top of the player. Not a big deal. But, it was put on with double stick tape that was VERY hard to get off. I had to work at it for several minutes and it left a little residue which I had to remove.

I've only played one regular DVD so I don't have much experience with the upscaling, but that one DVD was very acceptable. I have played several blu-ray discs, such as Avatar, Dark Knight, Casino Royale, Bucket List, and Wild China. Every DISC has loaded within 20 to 40 seconds, with the exception of Avatar which was rented and the DISC was very dirty. After a quick clean it loaded normally. I'm not a videophile, but I do appreciate a good picture, and I have not owned another player to compare against, so my only comments on the blu-ray format are WOW.

Another bonus with this player is the integrated applications. The interface is simple but very effective. You must connect the player to the internet through the hard wired connection (no wi-fi for $99!) and you'll have access to Netflix, VuDu, Pandora, Flickr, Facebook, etc. I connected to my Pandora account and had access to my stations cool. You get two free movie rentals through VUDU for purchasing the player, I watched one movie and was very impressed. My home internet connection speed would only play the lowest resolution movies, but it looked great! A pleasant surprise.

My only real complaint about this player is the remote control. The buttons are VERY hard to press. For those who have a universal remote this will not be a problem as they will program it in and toss this aside.

For $99 at my local Walmart I am very pleased with this purchase and whole heartedly recommend this player, especially if it is your first player and you have a wired internet connection available (if you want to use the built in apps).

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5/3/12 Update.. Product still works great.. However, remote went out (actually caught on fire) but vizio replaced it.. Item is over a year old but is starting to show age.. Still very few apps compaired to new players..

after reading the reviews i still decided to buy this bluray player. I LOVE IT. as for the bad reviews, i dont believe some people have ever used the bluray technology before.. I had a sony for 3 years, the load time on this unit is MUCH faster than my first generation sony.. Is it slow? kind of, but its common with bluray players.

as for the people who said internet apps dont work, i think they should check their connection.. this player does not have wifi, but if plugged into your home router, and if your internet is fast enough, it seems to work great! i use it nightly for netlflix.

Remember with bluray players, anytime it wont play a disc UPDATE it.. I cant stress that enough! old players, you would update daily it felt like.. this one i have never ran into a problem updates wont fix.

the only problem i had with this unit was the glue like mentioned before.. but instead of spending hours to get it off, buy some goo gone.. glue was off in under 5 minutes!!!!

overall i would recommend this if you are looking for a budget player. it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a more expensive player (quick start, wifi, etc) but for the price it works and is much faster than first generation players. my longest wait with this unit was under 1 min.. my old sony took 15 mins sometimes to load and YES thats common with old players

it made a great replacement for my old sony.. im sure there are nicer units out there but this one does it fow me

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Bought one of these at wal-mart for 98 dollars.Well worth the money it works great! i also have a panasonic blu ray with apps but i like this one better! BUY ONE! you won't be sorry.

Bought this at a local Walmart in November 2011 because the price at the time was under $100. I already own two Vizio TV's and love them, so I assumed that their blu ray players were also high quality. I was wrong. Very wrong.

From the day I installed it, the device was very buggy. The remote response for power and tray open/close, whether using the one that came with it or a universal remote, was often hit or miss. There are no obstructions between the remotes and the unit. and even holding the remotes literally a foot away from the unit didn't work some the time, even when brand new, high-quality batteries were installed.

Even when working, the device takes a VERY long time to read and boot a DVD or blu ray disc. It was so bad that we after inserting a disc we could find something else to do...pop corn, put laundry in the washing machine, etc. and the disc would still be in the process of booting.

Because the device was used every now and again in a spare room and cost so little, we tolerated these quirks. Plus, the whole process of calling customer service and dealing with boxing it up, getting a RGA number, sending it in for repair, waiting for its return, just to get a quirky machine (based on other reviews) back seemed like too much of a hassle for an inexpensive device,

But now, not even six months after the purchase, the buttons on the front of the machine are unresponsive, it fails to responds to the remote more often than not, and when a disc is placed in it, it completely fails to load the disc and either freezes or shuts off. I have to unplug the machine and re-plug it in and quickly use the remote to turn it on and open the tray in order to retrieve the disc.

The machine was a waste of money and a true example of the expression "you get what you pay for." I cannot, under any circumstances, recommend this device. Very disappointed in Vizio and will *not* buy another Vizio brand blu ray player to replace this piece of garbage.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

SIIG CB-HM0142-S1 High Speed HDMI Cable with Right Angle Connector (90 -90 Degree), 2-Meters

SIIG CB-HM0142-S1 High Speed HDMI Cable with Right Angle Connector, 2-MetersI ran one of these down a wall from my TV to the bottom and hooked it to a dvd player. I had pixels going in and out and the TV cutting in and out. May have just been this one cable.

Save 9% Off

Saturday, April 19, 2014

LG BP220 2D Blu-Ray Player with Smart TV (Black)

LG BP220 2D Blu-Ray Player with Smart TVI bought this to replace a WDTV Live HD, as I had problems using the WD with my streaming server. This player does everything it advertises, and does them as well or better than the WDTV, plus adds in a bluray player.

While not the best thing out there, it is a solid player, that does what's needed for a media player.

Pros:

-Plays video from any DLNA source.

-Does most major online video streaming services.

-Plays bluray/dvd, as well as local USB sources

-Easy to navigate menus

-Fairly regular firmware updates.

Cons:

-Slow, java based menu system. Not terrible, but takes a bit going from main to online apps such as netflix.

-Only wired ethernet again not terrible, but for some who need wireless to connect, they'll have to look to a higher model.

-Changes to menu system in early firmware updates. Seems to have stabilized at this point.

-No digital optical audio output; only coax. Another minor inconvenience, for those of us not able to use HDMI for audio output.

Overall:

Again a solid player, that does what it needs to, at a cheaper pricetag than some standalone media players. I use this with TVersity Streaming server, and have not found any format that doesn't work properly. Some tweaking was required, but it works for me.

I bought the LG BP220 along with 3 other blue-ray players Sony s185, Toshiba BD2150. The LG BP220 stands way ahead of the others.

At $89 it is $10 more, but well worth it. To be honest, I didn't try the internet capabilities. That was not much of interest to me. Just playing DVD's, and USB hard drives.

On the USB section, this plays any hard drive I threw at it, and plays every format except ogg and flac.

The menu displays are dazzling. The unit uses a Mediatek MT8551 processor to obtain all the functions.

Its a fairly heavy unit. At lease compared to the Toshiba.

The only issue I would say is the rather small remote. The keys are kind of rubbery.

I especially like the counter display on the front of the basal. It shows time elapsed and "HELLO" when turned on. For some reason I want to know how much time was used, and on other units I have to use the remote menu info.

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Bought this at my local Walmart for $79. I cannot speak compared to many other blu-ray players, but this was a huge step up from my dvd player and at least on par if not bettr than any other blu-ray I have seen. I also own an LG tv, and the player and remote automatically sync'd to my tv. This is really convenient as I no longer have to change which input I have on to switch from tv mode to the blu-ray. I would definitely recommend especially for the price and the ease of the online content.

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I'm not sure you can beat this unit for the price. Blu-ray playback appears to work really well. Netflix looks VERY nice. I have my TV connected to my PC through an HDMI cable, so before buying this unit, I'd just open up a browser window on the TV as if it was a 2nd monitor. But the difference between that method and using the dedicated Netflix app on this player was night and day. The picture quality is truly HD. I'm very pleased.

So why the deduction of a star? The menus on this player are cumbersome, clunky, slow, and non-intuitive. It seems to me that things could have been designed so much more simply. This is, after all, a simple blu-ray player vs. the rest of the LG lineup. Now that I've figured out how to navigate, I just have to contend with the slowness, aka red spinny loading wheel of death. That complaint aside, this product is well worth the money.

Update 8/16/12 As other reviewers have pointed out, this player does not support Amazon Prime Instant Video. I don't use the service so it wasn't a factor in my purchase decision, but I did find this LG response on their website to a customer:

"Amazon is not available on this player, nor on any of our Smart TV products this year. This was a determination made by Amazon. We have no indication of when or if this app will be allowed for our products."

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We only use this player to watch DVD and Blu Ray movies. I use the HDMI out to the TV and digital coax to my old receiver for the 5.1 sound. It gets almost daily use. I've updated the software a couple times without trouble. The only problem is that it occasionally locks up and has to be unplugged to reset it. This has happened maybe five times in the three months we've had it. Other than that it was a great value.

Friday, April 11, 2014

AMERICAN RECORDER CO-2/6 6 Pack Replacement CO2 Cylinders

AMERICAN RECORDER CO-2/6 6 Pack Replacement CO2 CylindersI purchased 2 sets of these 6 packs as replacements for the ones that come in the American Recorder kit. I've used this product in the past (12 years ago) and it performs well for cleaning cameras. These packs will last me years for the application I use them on. (See my review on the kit)

This is a great item for camera sensor cleaning and other sensitive electronics. Much easier then pumping a air pump and stronger too.

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I got this for the reload able keyboard duster I got from staples and it is not the correct size, furthermore the duster itself is not worth any price other than free

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Micca EP950 1080p 3D Digital Media Player with Gigabit Network, USB 3.0, and 3.5" HDD Drive Bay (Re

Micca EP950 1080p 3D Digital Media Player with Gigabit Network, USB 3.0, and 3.5' HDD Drive BayI went through quite a few media players recently. Almost gave up on idea of finding the one that plays full HD rips flawlessly. The perfect player for me would be one that is reasonably priced and plays direct (m2ts) HD rip with 24p and HD audio over network from NAS, 3D is welcome too. 1185 based players were close, but were dropping audio during playback, occasionally. Popcorn Hour A-300 was horrible bug fested player. Dune HD TV-101 was almost there, but could not hold the candle with HD Audio and does not play DivX encoded video.

This player based on 1186 Realtek chip and handles full HD video and HD audio flawlessly:

24p check

Audio sync check

TrueHD check

DTS-HD check

Subtitles -check

3D-SBS/TOB check (activate from player popup menu during playback, once in 3D player's playback menu and info popups would work in 3D mode)

3D-SBS/TOB SRT subtitles check

SMB shares check

NFS shares check

UPNP streaming check

It plays iso and BD folder fine. Menus sometimes not shown plays movie straight.

I tried 3D iso some will show menu, some not. You can configure player to prompt for iso playback mode. "Direct play" plays 3D movie version correctly on every iso I tried so far. When "BD Lite" or "BD 1.0" used it may not show 3D movie for playback or just plays 3D movie straight. TV switched to 3D mode automatically. I am sure there will be few 3D bugs there, but it is not critical for me. Besides, my preferred method is "Direct play" and it works correctly.

As far as non 3D player it works flawlessly and quite impressive for brand new product, just released . No fw updates yet published, but I feel like not updating fw, because I do not have any issues yet.

Thanks to Realtek and Micca for making it available. Job well done!

At the moment, this player will wipe floor with the likes of Dune-HD or Popcorn Hour. Not to mention full 3D support.

Time has come to retire WDTV HD Live. It took a while, WDTV is quite a player, but stable only with older fw 1.03.49 and older... With WDTV, it gets more and more crippled as a player with every fw update.

Issues found:

1) Rare audio dropouts with DTS-768Kbps audio tracks. It was present in earlier Realtek based players as well. This is very rarely used DTS bit rate, usually present in SkyHD movies. The remedy is simple just convert it to more common DTS-1536Kbps and problem solved.

2) Some times it takes a few tries to power on the unit from remote. It works ok, but with very short power button press on remote. Looks more like a jitter, long press would turn unit on and then immediately off, so it looks like unit never turned on. This is being like this for many Realtek based players. Front panel on/off touch button works fine all the time.

3) Some AVC BD rips could cause a micro stutter in 24P mode, disabling 24P mode corrects the issue.

4) Only one movie with DTS-HD Master causes micro audio drops every 10 mins or so (nothing special about this movie, may be audio encoding issue, not the player). Remediation: Set "Deep Color"=off. I consider it as useless option anyway. I never encountered movie encoded with more than 8-bit color, increasing HDMI data bandwidth by 25/50% with no benefits.

Note, it is "micro" issues, most folks may not even notice it.

Still, very small issue considering product is just released.

Good Luck!

The device, and all that it does is awesome. Totally worth the money, in my opinion this is the right price vs feature set I think it is probably equal to or superior to the popcorn hour, and *can* boot to Android which is a plus.

If you're anything like me, you spend days agonizing and reading about the realtek 1185 vs the 1186 chipset, and trying to rationalize why Popcorn hour is $300+ for the same feature set, and the CPU is 750 on this vs 900 there, and read reviews online of people struggling with the 500 of 1185 chipset...blah blah blah.

In conclusion technically this device does everything I could ask for, and is the best raw value.

The bummer for me is I've owned it for a month, and had to engage support a half a dozen times (which can only be done via email)..each time I get a response timely (the next day) but it's always a 1 sentence answer. The company is growing and focusing on just getting their product out there, that all the foundations of how to make the device usable to the end user eludes them. The fundamental programming is great (user interface etc)..all that's fine. The problem, is no guide or documentation exists anywhere.

Here are my examples :

1.) Mine came with firmware 1.0.2.6 out of box, I inserted a new hard drive, with all my media formatted NTFS with Win 7. The device could read but not copy. Support said I had to wipe my 100gb of data and let the device format. I did. Device formatted and then could not find the hard drive any longer. It saw it in setup, but couldn't read it in the user interface. So Micca tells me to re-flash firmware. Except they didn't have any firmware on their site for download, and the link they sent me was fake. They posted it to their site that day, and it solved the problem for me (flashing via USB). I flashed to 1.0.26 that struck me as weird. Also this version of firmware introduced a new hard coded asian channel called Hi something. It's weird..I can't even read it..why is it in my face all the time now?

2.) No document says anything for how to make the BT Client work, even in other EP models Micca reps tell people to use a 3rd party app ... nowhere does it say how to use it..only turn it on/off. I found a folder on the hard drive named BT..so I tried copying a torrent file there nope nothing. Then Micca emails me back and says navigate to the device in web browser via IP..and it should work. The web server has error 500, failed to start. Still working with Micca on how to fix this.

3.) It says wifi optional, but they actually only install the drivers for 1 wifi chipset. There are maybe 5-8 manufacturers who created that chipset, and so you have to buy that specific wifi dongle from some manufacturer. None of those are guaranteed to work, except the 2.5 star one sold by Micca, but they are *likely* to work. In no document or link is this information found, once again after contacting Micca I got info link to EP600 compatible wifi dongles... I guess I should have read other model manuals more. That seemed silly to me... the least they can do is test a few dongles against their product and install some generic drivers to open that up. I bought that dongle, and it works, and I'm happy. Frustrated that there is no clarity anywhere about it.

That's only 3 of maybe 4-5 issues like that I've had. Everytime I solve one problem, a new roadblock presents itself. I feel like I want to like Micca as a company, cause this is a cool product that is fundamentally innovative and blends the realm of TV streaming with being rid of physical media. However, they are just feeling the pains of being an immature company. Growing pains make a company awkward. I would advise they open up a forum so they can crowd source these problems, and shift much of their support burden away. I'm sure I'm not the only one with these issues. It would also serve as a centralizing point to prioritize development issues.

Fundamentally the device is good, the bulk of the interface is usable, it's fast, at least somewhat intuitive and plays media great. If my consumer experience were strictly based on the tech device it would be 5 stars. Probably in 6-9 months they will have caught up with my issues. However, my consumer experience for now is painful. I've had my exciting new toy for 4 weeks, and I still can't use it to it's fullest extent. What should have been fun to open out of box and plug in and do neat stuff with, instead has turned into a multimonth pain of copying a giant library back and forth several times and still not working fully. I have to dock 2 stars strictly because nothing should take me more than a month to make work, and I'm an advanced IT person for a living I expect the user challenge is insurmountable for the average Joe at least until these issues are resolved out of box. I believe they will get there, and my review should be considered a point in time snapshot.

Buy Micca EP950 1080p 3D Digital Media Player with Gigabit Network, USB 3.0, and 3.5" HDD Drive Bay (Re Now

I've been looking for a decent Media Player for at least 18 months, and this is by far the best one I've found for my needs. As for connections, it has:

1 GB ethernet port

1 external SATA port (both data and power)

2 USB 2.0 ports (A, Female)

1 SD memory card slot

1 USB 3.0 port (B, Female)

1 HDMI port

RCA composite and component video and audio out

RCA Coaxial port (function unknown)

One optical audio out port.

The unit can accommodate 1 3.5 inch internal SATA drive.

My primary use for this media player is to play video recordings for debriefing, so the fact the Realtek 1186 chip plays .mts files out the starting gate is a definite plus. The addition of a USB 3.0 port, an external SATA port and a gb ethernet port provides for many options to shunt video to/from storage devices quickly without overloading the USB 2.0 bus. The remote control is SO much better than Previous media players I've used that I think it's great, though I suspect there is at least some room for improvement of button placement etc. (like moving play/pause buttons from the bottom of the remote to the center...). Anyhow, buttons are clearly labeled enough that one can figure out their functionality without consulting a manual, which is a definite plus. Once the player is booted up, it is very snappy and responsive to commands from the remote, definite plus.

So far I've tested mp3s, mkvs, divx AVIs, jpgs, and mts files, all seem to play snappily with little lag between button press and media playing. When displaying JPGs the player automatically goes into slideshow mode, with the ability to change slide show settings (random sequence, repeat, fades, time to transition, etc.) This is actually very cool, tempting to use it just for picture viewing! Video was a little frighting at first, as at 1080 60p out, the TV's dejudder caused any camera panning to induce a vertigo effect. Once I turned off the TV's dejutter, video looked fine.

As for Cons, the boot up sequence takes a little while, from turning on the unit to getting a menu it takes 30-45 seconds. It takes an additional 15-30 seconds for connected devices to be recognized, so feels more like a computer boot time than most gadgets. Though it seems to shut down quickly, trying to restart it immediately after shutdown the unit seems to resist, so I suspect the shutdown sequence takes at least 10-15 seconds as well. The device has a fan which fires up as the device turns on. It's resonance can vibrate things near by. When dampened by something, the sound is barely audible from 6 feet away. I'm not sure about the permanence of media library, but I was having some harddrive issues when the media library seemed a little fritzy, so unknown at this point. It doesn't come with a USB 3.0 cable of any kind, nor an hdmi cable, it does come with a (6 inch?) ESATA extension cable, and a composite video out cable. To use the USB 3.0 port, some esoteric cables/gender changers will likely be required.

I haven't tried any networking with the Unit, either wired or wireless. I tried playing one Blu-ray ISO, which seemed to work with no menus, but I didn't investigate this feature too much. I haven't tried any 3d content. I haven't tried any of the Video/Audio outputs except hdmi, for my needs that maybe the RCA stereo out from the Composite Video should do the trick. And I haven't tried any of the internet features of the unit, it has a built in browser, support for Android 2.2 and any apps that can run on it, a section for "premium apps" (12-20 internet widget thingies), etc. Anyway, all of this functionality is interesting, but untried by me at this point.

So in summary, with a good remote, good to very good screen navigation menus, snappy response times, a multitude of connection options, and a price that as of this review is 100 dollars less than similar products with a realtek 1186 chipset, the Micca EP950 seems a winner. If you are considering this product for it's more advanced features (namely playing 3d content), it might behoove you to wait for the product to mature, newer firmware to be released, and competing products to be introduced to drive down prices.

I'm giving it 4 stars only because the gadget is still new to me and there may be serious issues lurking underneath (networking, anyone?) but for my uses it's more like a 5 star Digital media player.

Hope that helps!

Update: 12/29/11

New Pro: the unit will play music and show pictures/jpgs simultaneously, definitely useful for making those vacation photo presentations just a little more enjoyable...

New BIG con: it doesn't play video in slow motion. I know most people won't miss this feature, and very few other media players seem to support slow motion playback, but for anyone who want's to view fast action video (sports fans?) this is a useful feature and not including it in this player is a big letdown.

Update: 1/9/12

Yes, Virginia, the EP950 will do slow motion playback. The remote that comes with the unit doesn't support it, but if you buy a Logitech Harmony 300 and configure it with the HiMedia HD560B profile, then program one of the buttons with the "slow" command, the slow command button will cycle through slow motion playback from 3/4ths to 1/16th. It seems to have some issues with .mkv files, only slowing those down to 1/2 before "fast motioning" the playback until playback is stopped and resumed. But Slow Motion does work. The player has a host of other issues as well, see the forum below:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1380932

... and it seems the price has climbed up 50 bucks since the holidays... But it still seems a good value, if only they could squash some of the bugs and and add support for playlists...

Read Best Reviews of Micca EP950 1080p 3D Digital Media Player with Gigabit Network, USB 3.0, and 3.5" HDD Drive Bay (Re Here

I first got the EP600. My brother liked it so I gave it to him. Then I got this EP950. I have been using it for 5 months and it is delivering! I have it wired to my network so I got a fast connection to my movies. It could play files in multiple audio and video formats. I can play 3D files. I highly recommend this product being cheaper than most known brands but works good. You probably need some technical skills to update firmware but product will work out of the box without firmware update. True that it takes timing to turn it on but once you get used to the trick it won't bother you anymore.

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I did have some teething pains with the EP950 at first but all is pretty much smooth sailing now.

I find the interface responsive and functional. I disable the database/semi-jukebox feature mainly

because I am not fussy about such things. Actual network speed is better than the older Realtek models

but still only around 12 megabytes per second max over wired ethernet. Again I think people expect

way too much functionality from a device at this price point. For what it is supposed to do which is

play media files it performs very well. Also the browser works fine on mine so I am not sure why

the other reviewer was having an issue. Unless they were trying to access a page that used Flash then

yeah that would not work. I also find it runs much cooler than my older briteview unit even with the

internal hard disk installed. Transferring files directly to the internal disk using a USB 3.0 connection

is a dream come true, I have copied files over at 70+ MB which saves me a lot of time. One last note about

the sata connector on the side of the unit. When you plug a drive into this it shows up on the EP950 as

a usb device NOT a sata drive so transfers to and from that port are not gonna be super fast, maybe

20-25 MB/s at most. Just thought I would make that known because I do not see that fact widely mentioned.

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Monday, February 17, 2014

Panasonic PVL452 VHS-C Mulitcam Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD & 8MB SD Memory Card

Panasonic PVL452 VHS-C Mulitcam Camcorder with 2.5' Color LCD & 8MB SD Memory CardI purchased this camcorder/digital camera in May 2002 and found that it takes excellent video, is easy to use, and seemed to be a good value. Unfortunately my good first impression came to an end. Despite every trick known to a computer geek and following Panasonic's instructions to the letter, I cannot get the camera to "talk" to my PC. Therefore the digital camera function is worthless to me now. Panasonic's product literature states the Windows 95/98/Me/2000 OS is required. I am using Windows XP. So I went to Panasonic's website to download the newest iteration of the software but that didn't solve the problem. I called Panasonic's customer service and despite numerous busy signals, finally reached a rep who was basically clueless. It might be the cable, but I don't want to buy a new one. I'd really like Panasonic to solve the problem!

I have wanted a video camera for years and years. When I finally decided to get one, I chose this one. I read all the reviewers comments, and compared it to other products. I even found it here on Amazon for ...less than I saw it at another online store. As for using it, so far it's been easy to figure out. And the videos are bright, crystal clear and colorful -both indoors and out. I still have to play with it a little bit (it's my first camcorder ever) but I have the basics down pat. Indoors and out, my family and I are having a ball with this. I agree with the others who said it's a great first camcorder.

***************

June 29, 2004

My father died a month ago, and I am the only family member who has him in living, breathing, talking and singing color on video thanks to this cam. A few weeks after I bought it, I took it with me on a visit to see him. If I thought it was a splurge purchase back when I bought it, it's value has become priceless as I've found comfort in these sad times by watching and rewatching the video I made of my dad back in 2002!

Buy Panasonic PVL452 VHS-C Mulitcam Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD & 8MB SD Memory Card Now

I think this camcorder/camera is very nice!! I have used it to download pictures and they turn out great. I did have a little problem with it saying that it was not connected but after just trying a few more times it worked. I love it and especially for the price and the accessory kit. I am anxious to use it more!! You can find the memory cards at at good deal. I bought a 64mb one so that I will have lots of room. Lots of gadgets on the camcorder but will take time to figure them all out but I think a VERY good deal for the price!!!

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic PVL452 VHS-C Mulitcam Camcorder with 2.5" Color LCD & 8MB SD Memory Card Here

This is probably one of the best electronics I have bought in a while, the only complaint I have on it is you need good light to take pictures or video tape anything, otherwise it comes out fuzzy and slightly blurry. It works great other than that. I already have transfered about 300 pictures onto my computer and have enhanced and printed them out. I would like to have something smaller to take pictures but I am happy w/ what I have until I get some extra $$$ to spend on a small digital camera.

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This camera takes amazing quality digital photos. The features are extremely handy for making home movies, incorperating still photos; It is also nice to be able to get a still photo out of a movie! I have gotten a lot of compliments on the close-ups I took of my dogs... no red eye, no blurs... I also managed to get quite a few wildlife photos because the zoom quality is so good. I could also take a picture of a dew drop on my roses at night. So, that should tell you how good this camera is. The ONLY thing I do not like is the smaller sized video casettes. But, that is pretty standard with camcorders.. and a small price to pay for the size reduction from the much older, more cumbersome models. I would definitely recommend this product.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Cisco Flip Video SlideHD USB Extension Cable (6 Feet) with Free Carabiner Key Chain

Cisco Flip Video SlideHD USB Extension Cable with Free Carabiner Key ChainIt is a cable. What else can you say?

it works.

The Carabiner makes a nice clip for keys of cups on my work bag.

not much else to be said

NO CAMERA INCLUDED... HAHAHA :-)

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Monday, February 3, 2014

Monster 125968 Cable J2 CAM DVDR DV-6 Digital Camcorder to DVD Recorder Cable

Monster 125968 Cable J2 CAM DVDR DV-6 Digital Camcorder to DVD Recorder CableMonster cables typically cost more but are worth it...and this one is no exception. Bought it to transfer camcorder video to DVD and it works flawlessly. You may be able to find a cheaper cable but if you want one that's reliable and long lasting, Monster is the ticket.

Took no time at all to be shipped to me. It was bought for the purpose of transferring video from a camcorder to the computer, which it does fine.

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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

DXG 579V Hi-Def Pocket Camcorder (Silver)

DXG 579V Hi-Def Pocket CamcorderI wish this product had more reviews to help me make a decision but since I couldn't find reviews of the DXH-579v anywhere I decided to buy it anyway. BIG MISTAKE.

1) ZOOM impossible to use smoothly. Doesn't matter how slow you're zooming it's all jittery.

2)Wind noise is unbearable and extremely loud. NOW I have to spend MORE money to buy a windcutter to stick on the mike just so I can use the darn thing.

3) No matter if you got the smooth hands of a sharp shooter your videos will jump all over the place since there's no image stabilizer.

Worse purchase I've made in a long time and I can't return it. :-(

And lastly, I've emailed DXG 5 times to get help regarding the wind issue and ZIP, NADA, ZILCH, NOTHING, no replies.

Stay away.



This is an awesome camera...no matter what you may take away from the other reviewers comments. I will agree that you are best served by using a tripod because the unit is so small and light weight...but THAT'S WHY PEOPLE BUY IT, so why criticize the product for doing/being exactly what the manufacturer claims it will do/be?

This isn't a high-end professional camera or camcorder, but how many high-end cameras or camcorders can you find for under a hundred bucks? This camera, as it is in price and classification, ROCKS!

I have shot test pictures and video footage with it, popped the SD Card out and into my laptop, and viewed the results in HD, and in minutes was able to convert the video files to .WMV format to view on my pocket media player. Sure the video is a bit shaky at the times I didn't use my mini tripod, and the zoom isn't smooth as glass, but the image is extremely clear, and the sound is great, and I can put the camera in a pocket, pop new AAA batteries in it when needed, and have instant memories on an SD card that can be quickly uploaded, NONE of which I could do with my HI-8 Sony Handicam, but I wouldn't try to take the Handicam on a snorkling trip either, but I can take this one, (with the DXG-579V Underwater Casing from ).

So, if you want an inexpensive quick, convenient, camcorder or dual camera, that delivers nice quality 720P HD images, then buy this. If you want something that will deliver DVD high quality images/video, then look in higher price range.

UPDATE...check out YouTube, search on b06efj, for more DXG 579 video samples recently taken in Grand Cayman, using the underwater case

Buy DXG 579V Hi-Def Pocket Camcorder (Silver) Now

For some time now, I have been wanting a light and easy-to-carry camcorder so I can record anything around me or take pictures. One of my local stores had this on sale in a bundle pack and I thought that it was a pretty good camera from looking at the specifications on the box. When I tried the camera out I liked the 720p HD video and the nice 8mp pictures but the big set back to the pictures was the objects had to be very still and the camera had to be very still. A lot of pictures turn out blurry due to movement on both sides. The camera does have a nice digital voice recorder built in and comes with its own 2GB SD card. The 2.4'' screen allows the user to see clearly the pictures or video taken. Another great aspect of the camera is the front USB and HD connections for direct connections to monitors or TVs.

Read Best Reviews of DXG 579V Hi-Def Pocket Camcorder (Silver) Here

For those looking for a simple, lightweight HD video recorder/camera, this is a very good device. The standard packaging includes a tripod which helps greatly as the still images end up blurry if not used, especially in low light, and video can be jerky due to lack of image stabilization. For taking some simple videos of family or events, it works very well.

Pros:

good looking videos,

good looking still images if used with tripod,

decent battery life provided you start with charged/new batteries.

Small size makes it super portable.

Carrying case is a nice addition to the included items.

Great sound (as long as there is no wind/fans blowing on the camera.

Included LED for light works well for closer shots.

Cons:

Videos can be jerky if used with the zoom,

still images can be blurry due to slow shutter speed,

you have to make sure batteries are full if it is planned to be used for more that 10-20 minutes (I keep an extra set of fully charged Ni-MH rechargables with me). Sometimes batteries last 30 minutes, other times they last hours with constant video and pictures.

Included software is severely out of date and in my case doesn't even work in XP or Vista. Attempting to alter/change videos in any form with the included software causes it to crash (luckily I have Adobe Premier 8).

With video, a light breeze or wind outdoors (or fan indoors) can dominate the sound, or if used in real quiet area it cuts in and out with horrible clicks as it apparently turns the mic on and off in quiet areas to save battery life.

Mac users will love this device as it records video by default in Quicktime .MOV format. Windows users will have to find a way to convert it to either AVI if mostly used on a PC, or DVD format (like using FAVC software).

Location of LED light means your fingers can easily block it when holding the camera, but not a problem when used with a tripod.

Remember, this is a basic model HD video cam, do not expect professional quality videos or images from this device. Use it as it is designed, for basic video and picture usage.

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