Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite 40GB Picture Viewer

Just got this product and inserted an SD card to view the pictures taken with my NIKON D80 camera taken on RAW format. Surprise!!! The small LCD Screen on my camera has better resolution than the much bigger Screen on the Picture Porter.

If you want a product to store and better view your work while on the field, then this is NOT what you are looking for. Images look blurry at best, 0 detail and 0 sharpness...

LCD Resolution on this prod is 320x240, and the worst is that no information on resolution is available here for similar products.... SKIP!!!

I have just received this Digital Foci ppe 360. Have only tested it at home but am very happy with it function. I got it because it reads my raw camon 5D and 20D perfectly.It tested perfect as to loading into computer. The other unit I have would not show raw on the lcd screen. Its an A in my books.

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The Digital Foci arrived at my daughter's house on schedule and in great condition (Xmas present for my wife). When I looked at the Foci I could not get it to turn on ... even after charging it. An email to Digital Foci stating the problem was responded to in less than an hour and I found there was a user error ... lock was on so the Foci could not be accidentally started. Great people to deal with!! Now I hope my wife likes it.

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This product is excellent! All my photos and memories are now on the device I can share and remember. I had photos from 1997 when I went to Belize birding. I scanned them all and downloaded them into this device.

I can even watch the slides while music plays in the background. This is

the best gift my husband gave me.

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Verbatim 16X DVD-R white inkjet hub printable, 50 pack

A great product from a good company. DVD are thick enough to hold up for years to come. I don't like a thin DVD. Item shipped in record time and in perfect condition. This is one of my favorite company's VERBATIM for DVD's and CD's. A very reasonable price.

These DVD's have all worked as well as expected. But the shipping and handling was awful. There was no spindle so the discs ended up loose all over the box. Several were damaged and not usable.

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I have been using these for years with absolutely no compatibilty issues. As a 30 year video producer, I only recommend Verbatim DVD-Rs to my friends and clients

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These disks are NOT AZO as stated. They are the cheap CMC MAG AM3 crap that Verbatim uses in teh datalifeplus value line. CMC = China Magnetics Corporation and are not worth your time since they are unreliable like most media made in China.

BTW My discs were shiped from --> G.I. Tech, Inc

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Covert Pen Stealth Microphone

If you are going to use this with a bunch of people joining in the conversation it gets choppy. When used with only a few it works great

Item works great as desired. Got it quick and just as expected. Iwould recommend this seller and this equipment to other customers.

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Auto Driving Buddy Plug & Play Dual Camera Driving Recorder. 3 Mega pixel photo and 720P High resol

The video is clear to me and the sound is good, This Dash Cam is very easy to use, I wanted a HD camera to record both side of the road to capture these beautiful scenery of British Columbia during summer and fall without spending a lot of money. The swappable memory card on top is very convenient to change to save the videos. So far I get almost 9 hours of continues recording in 720P HD resolution from a 32GB memory, But you have to be careful not to touch the lenses or you have to clean them often, also its feels like a delicate equipment that may shatter when dropped.

Great camera for the price, small, compact and truly plug and play. I just plug the car charger to the lighter and starts recording. The remote controller should be re-labeled to OFF only, because its only turns off the unit but not ON. The rotatable lens is very handy so if you see something on the either side of the road or if you want to record when you get pulled over, its easy to rotate the cameras to point and shoot.

I love it so far. I have to merge both day time recording and 9PM dusk in one video to upload both scene. It looks like Amazon lowers the resolution to fit the file.

Failed miserably within the first hour but the vendor refunded the money. It worked for a little while and it was neat to have a dual screen adjustable dash cam. However, within the first hour the left screen developed a huge, green band down the side and the right screen flickered constantly. I would not recommend this product, but the vendor was fair even though it two-plus weeks to get refund.

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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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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.

Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100BP(S) 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I was torn between Sony and Panasonic (the Canons seemed to have many recurring complaints especially with the decks), and after reading several reviews became gradually partial to the Panasonic, before ever having used one, based on customer loyalty and consistently glowing testimonials.

Well I've never used the comparable Sony's, JVC's, or the Canon XL2 (some limited experience with the GL2), but as best I can tell without personal comparison this camera does in fact deserve all the great reviews.

The image quality is excellent and in many cases looks about as good as broadcast TV video (nonHD), and the camera allows a tremendous amount of image control--manual focus ring, aperture (iris), gain adjustment, shutter speed, zebra control for overexposure, white AND black balance adjusting, daylight filters, etc. The electronic viewfinder can even be focused via simple diopter. There are six preprogrammed, but customizable, settings for image control so the user can simply dial in whatever setting they need based on the shooting/lighting conditions. So, for example, you shoot occasionally under weak flourescents lights--you adjust the white balance and the gain and the detail level accordingly, save it as a particular "scene file"; whenever you return to that same location or a similar shooting environment, you can click over to the saved settings in an instant and start recording. The first four are factory set for video 60 frames; the last two are 24 fps for a more film-like quality, which this camera handles beautifully.

What actually sold me on the camera, in terms of hardware, were the two XLR jacks--comparably priced models didn't seem to offer this. The XLR jacks allow the user to attach professional shotgun mics and bypass the mediocre factory one, taking fuller advantage of 16bit 48khz stereo recording. I use a fairly inexpensive AZDEN mic and the improvement in sound quality is tremendous. If you were willing to invest in finer mics the audio quality would be better still. Having two XLR inputs means that in addition to recording live audio (like a mic) you can also mix in input from another pre-recorded source--all in the camera!

The lens by Leica is also impressive--it is a bit wide and is not interchangeable (although I believe there is an adaptive telephoto for $$$). I prefer shooting wide but if you have need a wide selection of lenses or don't enjoy the look of wide angle look to Canon.

The drawbacks are minor--the camera is rather cumbersome--and would certainly be tiresome for handheld use as it isn't designed for shoulder-mounted use. I shoot almost exclusively indoors with a tripod and so neither of these issues are relevant for me. Also irrelevant for me are reviews I've read which have indicated lackluster battery performance--again shooting indoors I always have it plugged in and thus haven't noticed any battery problems. The little menu joystick control button used to toggle the menu screens, as well as the VCR playback options, can be frustrating when you're tired, but that is an extremely trivial concern really.

This camera is expensive, even in the $1500+ prosumer class it tends more to professional range, but I feel it is a great value considering what a fine piece of equipment it is and the wealth of features it offers. It is much much more than enough camera for the consumer and probably a little more than I need actually--I've used mine for a few months and I'm still learning how to wring better and better shooting from it. Once you've used it for a while it becomes clear why this particular model maintains a devoted following. If I have to replace this camera--provided I can afford to--the next camera would definitely be a Panasonic and probably be its big HD brother the HVX.

The DVX 100b is cheaper than the XL2 but you get more features. Aside from the compact and built in XLR ports, you get an optional flip out view finder which the XL2 doesn't offer. If you are looking for a non HD camera i would suggest going with a camera that has an optional 24p because you'll be getting your money's worth and it is a awesome feature to have...

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I bought my first DVX100b around May-June 07, and my second this April of 08. Impressed enough to buy a second one.

But really this camera is a well rounded DV camera. Its about as good as you can get with out going HD.

The shots are solid as well as the quality of image. It does not take much to learn the controls, yet in no way is it consumer level technology. Between the white balance controls, the light gain levels, and the 3 filter settings this camera can adapt to a wide range of settings. The color and clarity of the image is brilliant but where the DVX100 really impressed me was in low light conditions. I am a wedding videographer and I was terrified of the reception because theres usually very little lighting and the footage looks black. The DVX100b can keep a good quality image while in very low lighted settings.

The only problem I really had was when I first used it, it was difficult to keep a steady shot. Still with practice over time it becomes easy to hold and have a steady shot.

Above all this camera is freindly for those who have never used a pro camera before, and customizable enough to fit even the best of professional videographers. I recommend this camera to any videographer out there, I especially recommend this camera for those that are beginning and need a camera that can hold you together until you get your style down.

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This is my 4th DVX100 (all still in operation BTW) and I like the updated features and the new tape loading mechanism. The quality is superb and the handling balance is what I've become accustom to with this camera. This camera is still viable for any work performed today and should be a very usable camera even when HD penetrates more i the market, If you are making a decision on a dependable pro video camera with durable features, this is the one to choose hands down!

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I'm not going to rant on & on about all the features & how they compare to ALL the other models, you will go NUTS trying to keep each models pros & cons straight in your head & get dizzy after a while!! LOL I know I did!

After TOO much research, I broke down & finally bought this camera & let me tell you, we have been nothing but pleased in that decision! One of the key deciding factors, besides the most 'BANG" for the buck, was ALL the online user help groups with very active forums & myriads of artcles & info to ANY question that a new user could EVER need! We have had it for a year & we have yet to call Panasonic with ANY questions, as they are readily answered by a quick post or search on the dvx user forums! I am currently looking for a good fluid head for our camera as my son wants to film hunts this year & bought a tree arm, but the 503 Mafrotto, is proving to be elusive,as it has been discontinued , but happens to be the one my son "NEEDS" wouldn't you know!! LOL

Anyways, I highly recommend this for the new (or experienced!)

"PRO" filmaker, It's been a 100% POSITIVE experience for us! Hope this helps...

BTW, I know HD is the new wave of the future & the ultimate way we will eventually switch over to, but not until the prices come WAAAAYYY down!

ATI Technologies TV Wonder VE Remote (100-703145)

I bought this product because it had been very highly rated. However, I quickly realized that with windows xp the installation would not be simple. After going through a long process to get this thing installed, I was given the worst quality video I have ever seen in my life. The quality is so poor that it is unwatchable, even from a distance. The only reason that I even give this product two stars is because the TV Listings function is very nice and makes recording simple. Unfortunately I have never wanted to record anything because who wants to record something that they can't even watch?

GS1000 FULL HD 1080P 1.5" LCD Display 5MP Car Cam Recorder DVR With GPS G sensor Google Map, Extend

• 120 degree ultra wide angle lens,1920x1080P FULL HD high quality resolution,Advanced H.264 video compression technology.
• 5 mega pixels,4X digital zoom, ranges from 12cm to limitless distance,1.5 inch high resolution LCD, can watching while shooting.
• Matching LED for supplementing light at night,Support HDMI high quality video transmission,Support HDMI high quality video transmission.
• 30/60 frames per second for smooth video flow,Equipped with special,Built-in GPS, record traffic speed, driving track. auto suction cup holder. Conveniently fix and use.
• Powerful document protection, even in the recording process, the occurrence of sudden power outages, machine damage, etc., video files will be intact,Seamless continuous recording, will not miss any data.

Updated review: After 5 weeks of use the first GS1000 dashcam that I bought has failed, and the second has arrived essentially inoperable. I'll be returning both.

The first now shows a permanent spinning wheel "wait" icon when I try to access the menu, and halts recording and reboots after about 5 seconds. (It'll happily sit there without recording, but that's not very useful.)

The second unit, ordered under the same item # and title as the first, arrived with a different box, different fonts on the unit, a different, far inferior suction cup material (black hard-ish plastic), and different menu prompts. I can't assess whether it records properly because the suction cup won't hold it to a clean windshield for more than 5 seconds. Useless.

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I bought this 2 weeks ago, it does not work properly, it syas it will record even if the memory card is full, it will erase the old file automatically, but it is not true, when the Card is full , it will stop recording. the motion detecton works improperlly too. just do not buy it, just wasting time.

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Where do I start...let's start with the good part:

(1) it has integrated GPS which most cameras of this kind do not have.

< END OF GOOD PART >

Now the reality about this cheap so called car dvr:

1) GPS (although integrated ) do not work all the time basically it shows the same speed all the time on the .MOV files; the ONLY time I saw a GPS fix was in the parking lot

2) it overheats really bad and no, there was no sunny day, and the temp outside was at around 45 F

3) the card gets filled real fast in about 2-3 hrs a 32 GB card gets filled on 1080

4) there is no loop recording once the card is full there is a max. of 15 min loop and that is it no warning at all

5) autostart does not work camera needs to be manually switched on/off

6) there is no backup battery or mine did not work right out of the box

7) there is no way the files will be played on Google maps the software crashes each time on Windows XP and 7

8) the manual on the disk for the software and the decoder is in Chinese (!!!)

9) shall I continue... ? I think you got the idea so far....

Mine is now in the box returning to vendor.

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This item sounds great, but I am giving up on trying to get it to work. The manual is impossible to follow. I have dealt with translated Chinese before, but this is bad. I figured out how to get it working and recorded a drive today, but cant get the files to play. In addition, the 32G SDHC card that Amazon calls "frequently bought together" doesn't even fit in the device. You need a TF card which is much smaller. I suggest that you find a different DVR to buy.

Excellent Camara, English menu, easy to use, 100% customizable, high quality video and audio, start with the ignition of the car and off when you turn off the vehicle. Highly recommended! Great Buy!

(Update) I have two days to have the camera (black box) works perfect. Only the unit gets very hot, but it works very well. The GPS takes a little work, but once it detects the satellite marks the speed and location in real time. Very Good Plus. The camera works exactly as described by the manufacturer. The filming at night is really very good. Buy another! Great Buy!

Panasonic SDR-H200 30GB 3CCD Hard Disk Drive/SD Palmcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I took the plunge and bought two of them (One for my brother). My reason for this is:

1. the predominance of editing software available for MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, etc. as well as the ability to play on practically any regular DVD player. My Aunts, Uncles, relatives and friends do not care for, nor ever will buy a BluRay Player and a 42"+ Panny, although I do (more about that in a sec). Thus sharing compatibility is more important to me than obtaining the latest AVCHD, although I may for other reasons in the future. I know I can down convert but the extra steps, increased price, limited industry supported software (for unconverted .mt2s files), the new h.264 compression standard and the increased horsepower required for PC use are all compelling reasons to stick with SD in the home and for sharing not only the finished product but also raw footage with others and having zero complications.

I have a 2GB RAM, P4, 3.0 Ghz, etc. laptop but 8 out of every 10 others I know use centrino technology, 1.8 Ghz, 256-512 RAM, etc. which just isn't gonna drive h.264 footage nicely is it. Same goes for desktop setups. Try downloading and watching 720p video from the Windows Media HD Video website if your computer leans more towards the latter to see what I mean. SD footage won't encounter these snags. Once again, I am speaking from the point of view of sharing with the people I know who for the most part will never upgrade to the latest PC / Home theatre (or at least not in the next 5-10 years).

2. USB 2.0 Hi Speed Transferring, i.e. 100 MB files transferred from card/ HDD in about 15 seconds. Editing, Rendering, Authoring is a breeze.

3. I wanted a MEMORY MAKER, not a home movie studio. This unit fits in the palm of your hand (almost bordering on too small) and easily slips into a LowePro camera bag.

4. I have a 32-bit PCMCIA SD/SDHC card reader (not 16) that I bought to replace my laptop 4-in-1 media reader. Standard readers that most people have today on their desk or built in to their laptop will not read the new SDHC cards available at 4GB+ capacities. More mention of this should be made in my opinion. Also, these new cards will not work in older devices that do not support SDHC. The SDR-H200 does support SDHC.

I experimented recording to the card and then transferring footage to my laptop. The 32bit cardBus adapter is 10-16X faster than USB 2.0. It is just awesome. The reason I mention this is because of the 1 major gripe I encountered, Namely...

...Transferring HDD footage requires disconnecting the battery from the unit and connecting a DC cable to it from the AC power adapter. Then USB 2.0 cable out to computer. Sooooooo, this means always needing to be around power instead of just turning on the camera and transferring the HDD footage randomly anywhere. It's not that big of a deal but I like having Zero restrictions ;) So using SDHC cards frees me from that restriction, hence the mention of the 32bit cardBus reader (YES they exist interfirm http://www.synchrotech.com/products/media-adapters_01.html)! ***If you follow suit and get this adapter make sure you download and install the correct driver from the website because there's no Windows XP/ Vista substitute that will do it for you like we're used to!!

Another Note if you transfer files directly from the card they show up as .mod files. Windows media player 11 recognizes them and plays. Other players don't, so you simply change them to .mpg. Sektionschef created a great program that automatically converts multiple .mod files (i.e. all of your stored clips) to the .mpg extension all at once! Very cool. It's called

5. 3CCD over single chip, this unit uses 3CCD RGB, nice. A handy F1.8 for dimly lit environments works pretty good. The 10x optical zoom is very smooth, speed contollable by the amount of pressure used on the toggle switch and there was no focus hunting in Auto mode. The O.I.S. doesn't help much when zoomed in on a subject and you're moving around so staying wider helps unless you're into using tripods. But zooming in fully on a WestJet airplane taking off produced good results.

Another nice feature is the auto fade in and fade out when you start and stop recording. It effectively smooths over those slight but noticeable camera movements that sometimes occur when the record button is pressed non-gently, awkwardly, haphazardly or whatever. This setting can be switched on or off. I like it, but you may not want to use it if you're into utilizing post-editing software because you can't remove an already recorded fade.

Here is a few clips I uploaded you can check out. I recommend downloading and playing the clips on your computer video player over using the website streaming player because the web player compresses the video resolution...

Indoor, Available Light, Auto, Setting = XP (higest SD quality) Outdoor light is completely overcast.

http://files.filefront.com/MOV007mp...;/fileinfo.html

Outdoor Auto, Zoom in on airplane, XP, Completely overcast sky

http://files.filefront.com/MOV009mp...;/fileinfo.html

Low Light, Indoor, Coffee Shop, XP Mode, Auto

http://files.filefront.com/MOV002mp...;/fileinfo.html

Finally, does the footage measure up? YES. There is no comparison to watching footage on the laptop as compared to a monitor, TV or Plasma. When I watched it on my laptop I was like hmmmm, oh yeah, that's pretty good. But when I ran my footage from the camera through a Yamaha RX-V2700 Receiver with 1080i/1080p upsacling to a 42" Panasonic Plasma via HDMI I was blown away! You will be extremely PLEASED if you run your footage through a home theatre HDMI setup. The same goes for a DVD disc.

I also tried S-Video out directly to TV with included AV cables (no HDMI/ no receiver) and I would still rate the footage as GREAT. Fortunately, you can do this running on straight battery power and a remote control is included! I also ran it through my 23" Samsung LCD HDTV computer monitor and... you guessed it, great. In all cases the picture turns out to be very crisp, clean and vibrant.

So although I love the new HiDef footage, etc. I took my chances in sticking with SD for home video purposes and am more than pleased. No regrets. The unit shoots in 16:9 or 4:3 and has no problem saturating my entire 42" screen. Even my mother who is expecting plenty of baby footage from my brother was more than impressed and could tell that it was a quality pic.

So, if you are looking for a memory maker and anticipate bringing it along on trips or to the ball game or whatever you'll be happy to own this unit.

The menu is simple and clean, and you can easily switch from recording to HDD/ SD/ SDHC card at the push of a button. There is plenty of manual settings you can tinker with but auto mode does the trick nicely.

It is simple, handy and fun which is exactly what I wanted. This unit delivered that. 4 out of 5 stars for not being able to transfer HDD footage to computer without power adapter (but to its credit, the adapter is conveniently small). Since it also holds 7 hours of highest quality footage this shouldn't be too much of a bother unless you're a frequent downloader. I peronally will buy an 8GB SDHC card (110 minutes) off of eBay and leave it in the unit so that I'll have options baby :)

The unit comes with ImageMixer editing software and is very easy to use and import your video with directly from the camera it's a good added value piece of software.

This is my first review here and always appreciate when others have taken the time to share their experience with new products that I'm interested in buying too. I hope my taking the plunge this time helps. Enjoy!

One more thing... READ the manual you lazies, there are things you should and need to know.

P.S. It takes decent one push 2MP still photographs too in a pinch (not outstanding but not too bad it's nice knowing that it's there if necessary)! You can find a still I posted here...

http://www.pana3ccduser.com/showthread.php?t=14208&page=4&pp=10

Bruce

I just purchased a JVC Everio GZMG130 last week, and was so upset by the 1CCD, 1/6", 340 effective pixel, piece of crap lens and camcorder that it was. First off, the colors were awful. As a graphic designer and artist, I am trained in color theory. It's so obvious that this JVC lens wasn't producing a accurate colors. Also, the finished movie files, even at highest quality, are really really grainy. This camcorder was just awful. So anyway, I decided to upgrade. It was between this Panasonic SDR-H200 and the SONY Handycam DCR-SR200. I knew this would be a hard decision, and I had to do my research. Considering it's very hard to find reviews for this Panasonic camcorder, I hope my review will answer any of those questions you're asking yourself. First off, the SONY has a CMOS lens (CCD is slightly better quality than CMOS), but the SONY has a large lens (1/2") so it seems it'd be good for dark shots. WRONG! Panasonic has a 1 LUX rating (meaning the minimum amount of light to get a shot) while the SONY has a 1&1/2 LUX rating... hmmm.... wierd that the Panasonic has a smaller lens but can take in more light. If you're wondering what the deal is about a 3CCD lens, it produces much more accurate colors than a 1CCD or CMOS lens. Each of the 3 filters in the lens filters in the blue, red, and green colors. After trying both the SONY and PANASONIC outdoors and indoors, it was obvious why they say a 3CCD is used for Professional Broadcast. The colors on the Panasonic were just perfect. The auto WHITE BALANCE is great too. No shots are too bright or too dark. The SONY is a 4 mega pixel, and the Panasonic is a 3 mega pixel. The 3CCD's color quality more than just makes up for that missing mega pixel. The color is close to accurate on the SONY's Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, but just not nearly as nice as the Panasonic. Both camcorders have full manual capabilities (shutter speed, aperture, manual focus... etc.). The only difference is that the SONY can do a slower shutter speed manually, but the Panasonic makes up for that with the MagicPIX feature, which slows the shutter speed. You will want a tripod for this feature or else it will probably come out blurry. Obviously this is the same with the SONY. The Panasonic is much nicer to hold and it's only 1 pound heavy. The SONY's battery extrudes from the back and its very awkward to hold. I can't stress enough how amazing the Panasonic's OIS (optical image stabilization) system works. Even at a 10X Optical zoom, and no tripod w/ shaky hands, the OIS gets rid of the shaking very well. The SONY shakes like crazy when zoomed. Not good... The Panasonic also comes with a 512 MB SD card, which allows you to take 3 mega pixel still shots while recording video. The video will save on the 30 GB hard drive, while the photos save on the 512 MB SD card. So cool! The macro mode on the Panasonic is so much nicer than SONY's. You can get closer (by like 20-30 mm) than the SONY and the quality is so gorgeous! There is very little graininess in both camcorders. The only time you'll see it is in low light situations, and the SONY is worse off. To be honest, both camcorders are kind of a pain to connect to the computer. The Panasonic connects through USB and it has to be powered by the AC Adapter (can't use a battery because the AC Adapter and USP port are where the battery goes which is very weird). The SONY is even worse, because it has the station that it has to connect to. Why can't either just be as simple as battery powered and one USB connection? Lastly, the auto and manual focus on the Panasonic is soooo much better than the SONY. For some reason, especially when zoomed, the SONY will take many seconds to adjust focus, while the Panasonic is instantly. The Panasonic has a pretty bright light for close shots, while the SONY only has a flash for still images. You will also really notice the difference between a 3CCD versus a CMOS/1CCD when you're outdoors. The colors from plants, the sky, clouds, soil, etc. are so close to what you see with your own eyes. Like I said earlier, the SONY's colors are not as nice. The only thing I can really notice that makes the SONY better than the Panasonic, is its resolution for the finished movie. It's not better quality for say, it's just a higher resolution. Also, the SONY saves .mpegs to your computer while the Panasonic saves those annoying .mov files. To easily convert the .MOV files to AVI, DVD, or DIVX, use CyberLink PowerDirector. It is so easy to learn and does a great job. Also, it keeps the wide screen ratio. In my opinion, & for the price, the Panasonic SDR-H200 is the best camcorder you can buy. I give it a 9.5/10, while the SONY DCR-SR200 lacks behind with a 8/10. Don't get me wrong, the SONY is a nice camcorder, but for the same price, you should get the 3CCD lens, because it's soooo much nicer. Hope this review helps, and enjoy your new toy!

Buy Panasonic SDR-H200 30GB 3CCD Hard Disk Drive/SD Palmcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Now

I am NOT very good with electronics or trouble shooting. Just your typical 30 year old consumer.

Like you, I research products until I'm nauseous before I buy them; for camcorders, I looked at customer reviews (and official reviews) on: camcorderinfo.com, Amazon.com, CNET, circuitcity.com, to name a few. Camcorderinfo.com, by far, has the best professional reviews. CNET is best for providing general guidance (which format, HD or Standard def, etc), but comparing to camcorderinfo.com, their reviewers clearly know less than they should.

After purchasing this camcorder and having trouble editing the footage, I researched the same websties for comments on video-editing software, and was disappointed at how little info there was. I want to share my limited experience as a non-technical person. (I'm not going to review the camcorder itself; suffice to say I'm satisfied.)

The included software, ImagePixeler, didn't work; the Core Duo PC computer I have is fine, it's the software's fault (or my fault). Editing with it was very slow, and edited footage was severely degraded in quality. I wasn't able to burn what I edited, got some error message, and I'm not saavy enough to de-bug it or diagnose the problem.

I tried Windows Movie Maker had other problems, wasn't able to edit it.

I downloaded Sony Vegas it didn't recognize either the .mod nor .mpg file extensions.

I acknowledge that my inability to use these programs may be due to my ignorance and lack of know-how with de-bugging/diagnosing problems.

I downloaded Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD and it worked GREAT. Kicked as5! I quickly cut out parts from my footage, did slow-motion, applied transitions, made basic titles, added MP3 music, edited the music and music volume, etc. I picked a DVD menu, edited the menu text, and picked out the background image for the DVD menu. I burned the DVD, and it worked! (hard to describe how happy I was)

From downloading the free trial version of Womble MPEG Video Wizard to burning the DVD, I spent a total of maybe one hour.

I later found several websites saying that this program is among the top 3 MPEG editors (if you search for editing software for this camcorder, google "MPEG editor", NOT "video-editing software", which will yield high power programs not specifically for MPEGs such as Adobe, Ulead, Sony Vegas, Ulead, Pinnacle etc). The other top programs for editing MPEG are TMPGEnc MPEG Editor, and VideoReDo MPEG Editor.

Here are some useful links:

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/TMPGEnc_Xpress

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MPEG_Video_Wizard_DVD

www.VideoReDo.com

Standard video editing software "re-encodes" your finished product after editing, and this process results in some degradation in quality. The best MPEG video editors do NOT re-encode any footage that has not been edited. From what I understand, the above products do not re-encode unnecessarily.

Always try the free trial version before purchasing any software.

If you are not very saavy with video-editing software or trouble shooting error messages, and have had trouble with editing/burning your footage on the Panasonic SDR-H200, here's what I have to offer (my idiot's guide):

1. download SDCOPY, which converts .mod files to .mpg files:

http://zyvid.com/smf/index.php?acti...ic=280.0;id=153

2. download Womble MPEG Video Editor DVD:

http://www.womble.com/products/dvd.html

3. ensure that you have a program on your computer that can burn a "data disc" to DVD-R or DVD+R. Nero or Roxio or Sonic should all work.

4. copy your footage from your SDR-H200 hard drive onto your desktop by dragging the appropriate files (extension will be .mod) onto your desktop into a designated folder

5. Use SDCOPY to convert the .mod files to .mpg

6. Use the Womble MPEG Video Editor DVD to make some basic edits; this make take a while to figure out. Do something basic for practice. Then you click DVD to burn to DVD. Take note of the name of the file folder where the DVD-video files are saved. (this program does NOT burn to DVD, but it makes the files that go straight to the DVD)

7. Use your disc-burning software to burn the contents of that file folder containing the DVD-video data onto a DVD disc. There was no "video DVD" function on the program I was using, so I picked "create Data disc".

It should work when you pop it into your DVD player.

Good luck.

Last thing: I started looking into external motion stabilizers. Try:

http://www.levelcam.com/media/levelcam%20features.htm

http://littlegreatideas.com/steadycam/

these cost $40-50, shipping not included.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic SDR-H200 30GB 3CCD Hard Disk Drive/SD Palmcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Here

We bought the SDR-H200 for my church to use in our multimedia program and couldn't be more pleased. The 3 CCD imaging system gives you an excellent picture--sharp and clear with vivid, true colors. Image stabilization keeps minor shakes and jitters from making it to the screen.

The files on the camera's hard drive are easy to transfer, though the included software is nothing more than OK. It won't tempt you to give up your current editing program, whatever it is.

We have a variety of folks using the camera. It's easy enough to operate that our amateurs can pick it up and start shooting, but has enough extra bells and whistles that some of our more proficient volunteers are happy with it, too. All in all, the SDR-H200 has been a great investment.

My only complaints, both small, have to do with design. In order to access the USB port, you have to remove the battery and run the camera on AC power. And while the LED screen is large and bright, I'm just a relic and miss having an optical viewfinder to use.

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EDIT #2: I can no longer recommend this camera. 2-stars. What first was a minor annoyance has become irritating to the point where I wish I had not bought the camera. Panasonic uses their own spin on the MPEG2 format, which means files from their cameras don't always play nice with anything other than their included software, which is BASIC. I have used Pinnacle Studio for years with good resultsit can't process the audio in these files properly. Without a 3rd party utility (SDcopy) I couldn't get any programs to recognize the wide angle aspect (16:9) and still other programs, despite conversions etc, never had any sound at all. I recently moved to a Mac. It will work with iMovie ONLY if you download the files off the camera directly into iMovie. Sounds simple, but if you have other MPEG files you downloaded previously they are useless. And since you can't put them back on the camera, you're stuck with some type of conversion process which degrades the quality. It also makes archiving footage on the mac a little more painful.

If you're not doing any PC editing, and you're only watching movies through the camera, or if you just want the basic included software, then get the camera, the quality is still good. If you want to make some polished home movies with a 3rd party program, look at a camera that uses a more standard format.

EDIT: The only thing I couldn't test before was how the picture looked on an HD screen. I didn't go with HD because I didn't have the software or hardware to edit it anyways, and then you can't put it on a Blu-Ray or anything yet anyways. And, at the time, I didn't have an HDTV.

Since I bought the camera, I have purchased a Samsung 50" 720p plasma. The pictures from the camera over the S-Video are amazing. They look great. Some of that depends on the TV, I know, but very happy. After processing and burning a DVD, the image quality still looks great (again, software variables as well). But the bottom line is: I have no problems viewing this video on a HD set. It looks great. Still very happy. I will say, the low light (indoors at night) is a little grainy which is from the smaller 3 CCDsbut well lit scenes and outdoor scenes are brilliant. No need in my mind to fool with an High Def camcorder until they figure out a reasonable way to put the video on a medium you can play back on your HDTV. Playing it back through the camera is cumbersome at best.

Original review:

I won't repeat everything said below. there are some very comprehensive reviews out there. I'll put the most important first:

The thing that pushed me the most towards this Panasonic were:

1) JVC has gotten less than stellar reviews with their image quality, so they were out.

2)Compared to other HDD cameras, this one will record full video to the SD card as well, so if you do end up with a full HDD, you can still use memory cards like "tapes" or miniDVD discs and keep going. I think a 4GB SD card will hold ~45min or so at full quality. More than the miniDVDs (1.7GB) It's not the ideal way cost wise, but at least you're not stuck. personally, I've never recorded more than 7 hours of video at one event. It sure beats carrying around 7 tapes. But with other cams, when you're full, you're done.

3)Comparable Sony cams were $200+ more.

This is my second camcorder, I switched from MiniDV and I'm not looking back. The image quality is great (I was initially concerned about MPEG compression) and looks stunning on a regular TV (I don't have HD). Colors are amazing and crisp. The color indoors suffers a bit if you don't have lots of light, but the grain is barely noticable and the picture is still very good. the optical image stabilization is a plus, electronic stabalization on other units looses some image quality. the zoom mic feature is pretty cool and works well out doors. Video transfer and backup to DVD are easy and fast.

you'll need to get your own video editing software, or use windows movie maker, to do any type of real editing. the included software is pretty basic, but that's pretty much standard for any camera.

For typical home movies with the occasional special event, you can't go wrong.

RedFoxSecurity - 720P HD Mini DV,The Thumb DV, Digital Camera Recorder With Motion Detection

Wow, could someone write some directions that make sense? It has a nice picture, when you can get it to work, but everything else is terrible. The directions are a waste of time. you just need to play around with it to get it to work. It freezes up my computer everytime. wasted time and money .

A Window in the Earth

Matthew Fish has written a lovely book that is filled with gorgeous images based on a fascinating concept, his "Window in the Earth." The characters, Christopher, his brother James, and their new friend Kylie are very realistic and well-developed, and what happens to them unfolds in a completely believable way.

The elements of fantasy are introduced during the night time and the characters' excursion to a cave. Again, the fantasy is handled in a very organic manner, and I had no problem imagining Christopher, Kylie and James discovering the "Window."

The greatest strength of this book is how visual it is. I"m a big admirer of Miyazaki films, and I could picture an anime rendering of the story, using the natural, fantastic settings and likable characters that Mr. Fish has created.

I came upon this book after Amazon was giving away it's sequel for free. Reading the books out of order was a bit jarring but I am glad that I came and picked this one up. When I was younger I grew up in the Ozarks and can relate to the beauty that is exemplified in this novel and the appreciation for the geographical region this novel takes place in. I call this story a 'modern day classic' for a few simple reasons:

The characters are believable, young teens dealing with the grief of the loss of their parents, another from a broken home, and a widowed grandfather war veteran.

The setting is perfect for me, a take on the familiar fish out of water.

Finally, the concept. This 'Window in the Earth' is one of the most intriguing ideas I have ever read about. I have lived a long, full life filled with wonderful memories and the idea that one might get the chance to relive these is a unique concept. This window is handle in such a delicate and natural way that shows that this idea was executed with such care. The overall story is one that I found very moving, nostalgic, at times sad, but in the end beautiful. It could have been very easy to mess up this idea had it not been handled with such care and to that I give this book five stars.

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This book was just OK in my opinion. It does have some interesting character development and not bad writing. It's very much from an adolescent's viewpoint so might appeal more to younger writers.

Read Best Reviews of A Window in the Earth Here

"A Window In The Earth" is a refreshing work of fiction. The characters are multidimensional and evolve as the story progresses. What an interesting story line...in a day when many books take predictable turns, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. A story filled with adventures and wonder as the main characters explore the local countryside in search of answers to a local mystery. What they find answers more than they could have imagined...stretching the boundaries of all that they thought was possible. A thoroughly enjoyable read!!

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I'm amazed at how many reviews said this book was well written. If by well written they meant a well thought out plot, good pacing and pretty good character development then yes, I would agree. It feels like a beginner's novel but one, based on that criteria, that would convince me to read another book by the author.

But the book is also full of the kind of mistakes one finds in many low cost Kindle editions. Mistakes that could easily have been fixed by a little editing of the grammatical kind. Example: "...grateful for all that he had done for he and his brother". Need I add that it should have been 'him and his brother'? Lots of mistakes like that as well as sentences with missing words or words in the wrong place that stop the reading flow.

And stylistically, the author ping pongs back and forth from a light contemporary style for a young adult audience to sentences that read like they were copied from 19th century novels. Flowery passages or just lists of emotions that the characters were feeling instead of giving a picture of how these emotions came to be or were expresesed. This too could have been solved with good editing, of the kind where the writer gets some guidance in their choice of sentences and style. The book was all over the place.

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Escient FireBall ZP-1 Network Music Player

• Use your TV to access and play all your digital music on your home theater system or in different rooms
• Supports streaming PCM, MP3, FLAC (CD Quality), WMA, AAC
• Built-in 10/100BaseT Ethernet networking; Wired IR, RS232 and Ethernet port for 3rd party external control interfaces
• Web interface for remote control via web browser; PDA interface for controlling from any pocket-sized web device
• Wireless network compatible via optional WiFi 802.11 network adapters

I have had two of these for about a year now. In that time, I've discovered these issues:

1. The Fireball PC software used to manage your music from a PC or Mac is kludgy, slow, and unreliable. I have never been able to get it to run without crashing on my iMac running Leopard. Escient claims it works on an iMac, but it doesn't, in my experience. (And I am running a brand new iMac purchased in December of 2007). As a result, I have to run the Escient PC software on a Windows PC rather than a Mac.

2. If you are used to music player software like iTunes, Escient's PC software will drive you nuts because it is so slow and crude. It feels like it was designed in 1996 and has never been usability tested or updated since. For example, there is no way to simply play all songs by an artist--which you can easily do in iTunes or Windows Media Player. With Escient's software, to queue up all the songs in your collection by an artist, you must first add all the artist's songs to a playlist, and then play that. For guests at your house who want to simply hear music by one artist, it's a perplexing, counter intuitive process. Also, the PC user interface is often very slow to load and refresh. (I am running it in a house that is wired throughout with gigabit switches and cabling.)

3. Escient playlists will not hold more than 500 songs.

4. When playing songs in a playlist, I found that the playlists often stop playing for no apparent reason.

5. With the PC software used to manage and play music from your computer, there is no way to scroll through albums and songs. Instead, you have to use a page down button, which only moves you through about six albums or songs. Because there is no way to scroll through your music library, it's a huge pain navigating extensive music collections using the PC software. I have contacted Escient about this, and they said they do not have an update to the PC software planned. Oddly, you can scroll through music when using the TV version of Escient's software. It's just that the scroll functionality is missing on the PC.

6. On the upside, Escient is extremely quick to get back to you when you contact them with support questions. I've contacted them about all the problems above. Unfortunately, the responses I have gotten to most of these issues is either that's just the way it is, or it's a bug in the software that Escient has not fixed. That or they involve complicated workarounds that defeat the purpose of installing a user-friendly system for managing and playing your music collection.

MXL 990/991 Recording Microphone Package

• The 990 for vocals with silky highs and tight, solid lowsThe 991 for acoustic guitars and drum overheadsgold-sputtered diaphragms for a professional soundComes with carrying case and mic stand adaptersSuited for digital and analog recordingWired with Mogami cable

I produce music for a living and normally write only at my studio. Recently I became interested in having a basic laptop rig for home and I picked up this mic package based on some reviews. When I got them home I had found that they were an excellent value. They're really quite good sounding with lots of detail in the high end. Again, this is considering priceif they were $1,000 for the pair it would be an incredible ripoff. Of course I should state the obvious: These will not sound like a high-end Neumann, Lawson, or Telefunken mic costing many, many, times the price of these mics. That said, they're only $99! I bought two packs and have found they work very nicely in stereo pairs. There seems to be a large influx of inexpensive condensor mics coming in from overseas (particularly Asia) which IMHO are miles better than similarly-priced competition from Europe. However, if you want a Neumann U87, you have to buy one. While the high end on these are nice for the price it does have a bit of a synthetic sound to it at times, and lacks the smoothness of some of the much higher end mics. That said, the pair of these cover much sonic ground; you can use them for most instruments. Drums would be inadvisable unless you were using two matched larger ones as overheads.

This is the type of package I would strongly recommend to the hobbyist because of the price to performance ratio. I -wishthat something like this had existed when I was in high school, just getting into recording. It would make a great gift for the budding enthusiast.

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I have had no experience with mics except that I am a avid listener of music and I could recognize if something sounded aweful. I am very happy to report for a $100 this package is a great start in home recording. I'm doing a podcast and some light guitar recording and it works like a charm.

Read Best Reviews of MXL 990/991 Recording Microphone Package Here

1st The bigger one has the same size capsule as the smaller one. It has a better bass response due to mounting. Neither of these is a Large Diaphram Condenser, but they can get you some higher frequency response in your recordings. The 990, with its larger frame lends itself to many mods and there are even a few companies that will get it sounding quite good compared to $800 SDCs. If you have a PC/or DigitalWorkstation set up this could get you started getting things recorded fairly quickly but in the long run you are better off with with an Audix i5 or Shure SM57 and then one of the LDC's from AKG Perception , Oktava Mk219 or Mk319 or an inexpensive MXL, Marshal, or Rode. If you are looking for recording drums you might get usable results with these using the recorderman technique and a kick drum mic. They are usable but a LDC or even SM58 would be better on vocals. On acoustic instruments they might shine better than most

Sony ICDTX50 Digital Voice Recorder + Samsung 8GB MicroSD Memory Card + Accessory Kit

I used the device for the first time for an assignment I had at school. I am in a PhD program and I needed to record a professional business coaching session. I am no techno-geek and this device was so easy to set up and operate. The clarity of the recording was outstanding. I just placed it on the table between my client and myself. I made an "A" on the assignment :-). This is a terrific product that I will definitely recommend to others!

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Honeywell Video HD51P Super High Resolution Vandal Resistant Dome Camera

Seems to be a good little cam. We use it to identify faces, if needed, at a pharmacy drop off location. The camera is about 20 feet away and is very clear. I cannot attest to the performance of the dome and camera is outside though.

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Sony ADPCM1 Wind Screen for the PCM-D1 and PCM-D50 Linear PCM Recorders

This windscreen is absolutely essential for routine use of the PCM-D50. I've used it to help ensure that vocal plosives are minimized and that I can record outdoors in moderately windy conditions. That said, there's no reason why what's essentially a fuzzy sock end should cost $50. But unless you can come up with alternative yourself, you'll need this accessory. Shame on Sony for not including it with this high-end digital recorder.

This thing is WAY overpriced, BUT IT IS COMPLETELY NECESSARY. The Sony recorder is absolutely unbelievable, and all that loveliness of sound quality goes out the window from even breath noise, never mind wind, if you don't have blimp like this over the mics. Unless you're good with a needle (this is simple, hairy polyester the band isn't even elastic, though that would be a really good idea), you have to buy this. If you can sew, make it yourself. Even I could have done this if I had known how simple it is.

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This windscreen kicks ass. I've used it in a large variety of settings from subways in Turkey to New England wharves. Highly recommended for anything outdoor (and sometimes indoor). Thanks!

Read Best Reviews of Sony ADPCM1 Wind Screen for the PCM-D1 and PCM-D50 Linear PCM Recorders Here

It's good but it doesn't seem to fit too securely to the top of the recorder. I have to mess with it a bit to get to fit properly round the top cage. At this price I would expect a little better from Sony

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Thank you, I needed this for recording interviews and wanted a higher end recorder and yet reasnonalby priced the product is performing well and the package came right away in perfect condition.

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Night Owl SecurityCS-WATCH-4GB Covert Video Watch with 4GB microSD Card (Black)

The quality of the video is pretty good but there are issues with this item. It is very difficult to judge how to hold your wrist to shoot what you want. I took some videos and thought the camera was pointing at my subjects but when I viewed it on the computer all I got was either their chests, the wall or the ceiling. I guess it takes practice. The main problem with this watch in comparison to other spy/video equipment I have is that it has a distinct red light that comes on when you are recording. So if you are trying to do this without anyone knowing they can see a red light coming from the face of the watch. My other equipment I have either shows a very light green light when recording or no light. So this is poorly designed. I had to put a small piece of of electrical tape over the red light and hope no one sees it. The sound could be better as far as picking up conversations with people 4 feet in front of you. It was very hard to hear what they are saying at a distance. The watch is kinda large so for a man the design looks good but I am female so I wish they made one for women too. (I wear it anyways...looks kinda sporty) So I had some fun with it, I need to practice the aiming of my videos. The videos download easily to your computer in avi...I convert them to wmv using You Tubes converter. I think this camera should cost only about $30-$40 because of the poor design with the red light and the difficulty in aiming the video at what you want to film. I have Night Owl's surveillance cameras and I guess I expected more from this since its a Night Owl product.

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Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe

• Bestselling all-in-one video converter software and hardware solution: U.S. consumer video editing category, NPD 2008 Report
• All-in-one solution: Provides everything you need to easily convert your video to DVD, including USB 2.0 video capture device.
• HD Editing: Capture and edit high-definition video from HDV camcorders. Supports up to 1920x1080 resolution.
• Upload to YouTube: Uploading video to YouTube is easier than ever with a One-Click option.
• DVD & Blu-ray Disc Creation: Burn your movies onto DVD, CD or Blu-ray Disc (requires Blu-ray writer); enhance menu pages with motion and music.

This software does what it says: it helped me convert my old VHS home movies to DVD. Yay! The software has two settings: 1) The basic mode works smoothly and simply. 2) The advanced mode was incredibly S-L-O-W on my computer, but it works if you're patient.

Basically, you install the software on your computer, then hook up your VCR (or camcorder) to the conversion box, which you then connect to your computer via USB. The box includes all the cords you need. The software has a preview screen so you can see what's playing/recording right on your computer screen.

Basic Mode: You record directly from the VHS to a blank DVD in your computer's DVD burner. As the movie plays, it burns. It saves the digital file in a temp folder, so you can immediately create more than one DVD of the same movie without having to run through it all over again. (But once you say you're done, it deletes the temp file.) The finished product doesn't have a menu or chapter points. It records exactly what's on the VHS from beginning to end. Simple and easy.

Advanced Mode: This converts your VHS into a digital .mpg file and saves it on your computer. You can then assemble clips, add music, add menus and chapter points (for navigation), etc. Then once you've assembled everything, you burn it to a DVD. This mode is super-duper slow on my computer, and it froze up a couple of times. But it works if you're patient.

(There's a third setting that you can use to transfer audio from LP or cassette to a CD. But I haven't tried this.)

One note about transferring video to DVD: While watching the preview screen, it will seem like the audio is out of sync with the video. But when we play the DVDs back on our TV, it matches up fine.

I've transferred 7 tapes so far. Overall, it does what it says. I do wish the advanced mode worked more smoothly, but for now I'm just thrilled it works, and that I can finally watch -and share -my old home movies!

Buy Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe Now

So bought this item in a gold box deal and had not used it till couple of days ago when i had some off time so I decided to give it a try.

First of all the kit comes with all cables that u need to connect, a small box called vidbox and instruction manual. You insert the CD into your laptop and off you go.

You will of course need a separate VHS player to play your VHS tapes.

Run the CD, register the product online which is easy and remember to re-start the computer, the software should prompt you to restart the computer once fully installed, once done the Cd installs the software and instruction manual onto your computer, click on the icon which guides you through the process. Now that I have used both easy menu and expert menu I can comment on both.

One caveat is that the best quality is achieved only when you record upto 110 minutes in one sitting, you can still record for longer duration with slight compromise in the quality of the recording. SO MAKE SURE UR TAPES ARE NOT LONGER THAN 70 MINUTES DURATION BEFORE U START RECORDING, if they are longer than 70 minutes duration then you can adjust the recording time on the menu pretty easily to fix this issue.

overall the converted video quality is decent, I personally use cocusoft products to reconvert dvd files to MP4 for palyback on quicktime.

Of note though you will need a seperate 3.5 to 3.5 mm cable or 3.5 to rca audio cable to convert audio cassettes to mp3 or wma format, I ordered them from amazon and recieved them today.

I am using 3.5mm to RCA cable via vidbox to convert my audio cassette files to WMA files, and LO IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM, AWESOME!!!.

I have previously tried audacity but found it complicated and confusing to use, but with Honestech the audio-file conversion is a breeze!!!, truly, just remember few things.

1. In the settings click on the noise reduction box and set noise reduction below 10.0 ( minus ten point zero), I initially set noise reduction at the highest and the recording quality was very bad but once I set it to low level it worked like a charm, no hissing unlike with other software. ( NOW NOISE REDUCTION LEVEL OF 11.2 IS WHERE I FOUND THE BEST QUALITY OF RECORDING WAS, BUT FOR YOU ALL IT MAY DEPEND ON YOUR COMPUTER SETTINGS AND ALSO THE QUALITY OF THE TAPE USED TO RECORD THE ORIGINAL, SO BY TRIAL AND ERROR USE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT.!!!)

2. In the audio device properties keep the ''master input mix'' bar at 25% level or lower, and in this setting the recoding was smooth and the output file had no hissing for me and the quality of recording was better than original.

3. Now this one is important, when you record using 3.5mm to rca audio cable via vidbox I have very little hissing only, however if you use 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable bypassing vidbox there is lots of hissing noise, so i think either the vidbox has a built in filter or it just does good job eliminating hissing, I have so far used only one type of 3.5mm to 3.5 mm cable to record the audio so unsure if the quality of the cable i used had anything to do with it??, anywayz if you want to convert cassette to wma then connecting to your computer through the vidbox probably gives you the best quality.

I shall try out various setting for video recording over next few weeks and update this review again.

Once again the audio conversion software works like a charm, I am happy with this software, so far it has been a great buy, instead of spending a fortune at walgreens or sams or other stores trying to get your old tapes converted, with he help of this software and a laptop you can get it done at home!!!, wow, I am happy.

Overall this product works as advertised and is a winner, thanks Honestech for a great product.

ADDENDUM 01/06/2010

Advanced Video options are nice to use as well.

You can convert either in 4:3 of 16:9 format, one can convert the VHS to WMV format and store it on hard disc whils the basic simple format only lets you burn it onto dvd immediately after aquring the content. Easy record format only lets you record 110 minutes of best quality of video whilst advanced recording input u can do about 5-6 hours of WMV format recording which is awesome.

Some of the settings I used for advanced format included WMV format best video output possible at 4:3 since my VHS tapes were standard definition only. I initially did a mistake by trying to record to an external source HD connected via USB drive, you will achieve best performance quality by recording on the internal hard-drive of a laptop or a desktop, you can always transfer it to an external storage device, software froze up when i tried to record to an external HD but worked fine with internal HD.

You can also edit, join, unjoin, add effects to your video using th existing software which is cool too. you can also record it in various formats suiting VCD or DVD or WMV. For some reason there are no options for recording the video in MP4 format.

Overall an excellent source for someone who doesnot want to spend a fortune trying to get their home videos or LP or cassette tapes converted to digital MP3 or WMV pr WMA formats.

Read Best Reviews of Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe Here

I tried other software and had great difficulty getting it to work. When I purchased this product I had my fingers crossed because most of the other copy software I used created a lot of work and I never did get decent copies. VHS to DVD 5.0 worked right out of the box. No problems with computer (Vista OS) no problem with audio or video. I was thrilled to be able to view old vhs tapes for the first time in years and convert them to DVD! The video looks fine on my HD television set... considering the source of the video... plays on my regular DVD player and my Blu-ray player. Set up was simple...just install the software and you're ready to roll. If you have old VHS tapes with irreplaceable programs and you want to save them to disc, this will do the trick!

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I have never written a review before but after using this product I just had to. I wanted to convert a VHS tape to a DVD. I researched several products and based on the reviews I chose this one. And, boy was I glad that I did. Yes, it cost a little more than some of the others but it was worth it. The set-up and installation took only 5 minutes. The process of recording the VHS tape then burning the DVD was easy. The instructions were great. The first tape I converted would play on my desktop but there was no audio. I called their Tech Support (someone actually answered the phone). The tech walked me through a few steps to make sure that the tape was being recorded properly it was. He then had me update my Windows Media Player and the DVD played fine (both audio and video). It not only will play on the computer but it also plays on both of the DVD players that I have in my home. The audio and video remained in-sync through the recording and burning. In my opinion, this is one great product and works as advertised. Thank you everyone who has ever written a review!

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I was looking for a product to transfer all my old VHS tapes over and needed something that was Windows 7 64 bit compatibable and this product works great! So far I have converted over 40 VHS tapes over without any issues and you can also lighten them with the settings and some of my tapes are over 30 years old and had a dark picture, so this product cleared them up and made them sharper. I researched other products and I would reccomend this one over all the others. Comes with all the connections you need, so nothing else needs to be purchased.

Philips CAM300WH/37 12 MP Digital Camera with CMOS Sensor, 5 x Optical Zoom and Touchscreen (White)

I own several devices for recording and playing digital videos: a Flip MinoHD, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Black), a Palm Pixi smartphone and an older Sony miniDV tape camcorder (disclosure: the Flip and Panasonic cameras were Vine freebies) and now this Philips Qvida camcorder, also from Vine. They all have their optimal uses: the Flip is good for casual at-home or near-home videos since it has no card slot for additional memory; the Lumix is good for traveling since it does have a card slot and can be recharged by AC, but has no zoom; the Sony is good for taping TV shows, and the phone, also zoomless, is good for quick on-the-fly videos like a celebrity sighting on the street.

Where does that put the Philips? Pretty much like a Flip with a card slot, larger and more versatile screen and a choice of video resolutions full 1080p HD, "sports" 720p HD or standard def. It also has features like snapshot mode, dual recording (recording HD and SD at the same time handy if you need to email or upload a video, since the HD files are huge), 3 second pre-recording and onboard editing (you can trim the beginning or end of the video).

What I liked:

The large flip screen is very versatile; you can flip it out and turn it 90 degrees counterclockwise for recording someone else, turn it another 90 degrees and flip it flat against the body for video viewing, or turn it 90 degrees clockwise for recording yourself, like for a blog or YouTube rant.

The screen tells you if you're recording in full HD, SHD or SD, and how much time you have remaining.

The batteries seem to last awhile, and the unit automatically turns on when opened, and shuts off after a few seconds when closed.

You can take snapshots or videos with a flip of a switch.

The video trimming and pre-recording features work well.

The HD videos look great on my HD TV (but see below).

Sound is very good, whether played back on TV, the computer, the camera or YouTube.

What could be improved:

The touch screen, as others have noted, can be hinky, and there's no alternate button control.

Touch screen menus can be confusing and hard to control.

The record/zoom control is poorly designed; three separate buttons would have been much better.

Controls in general can be hard to figure out without downloading and studying the user manual. I discovered, after a few weeks, that playback volume is controlled with the zoom switch.

Snapshots tend to be blurry.

No cover for the lens means it can easily be scratched.

"Wide" isn't very wide; you'll need to step way back to film a group (a shortcoming for the Flip as well)

What you need to consider before buying:

A lot of computers choke on HD videos if they don't have a fast processor or suitable video card. If you can't play HD videos from YouTube then you'll probably have problems with these HD videos. I can only play HD videos on my 1080p HDTV, not on any of my computers. (That's where the dual recording comes in handy)

You'll need to buy a micro SD card to record anything, and you'll need a mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable to link the camera to your HDTV unless it has a USB input.

Edited and updated 4/17: The dual recording DOES work! The dual videos didn't appear on the camera's screen, but when I plugged it into the TV, the dual videos appeared. I also added a 4th star because I've really gotten to like this camera, and have pretty much retired the Flip. The full HD videos I took of outdoor activities on a sunny day, look spectacular on a big-screen HDTV! If they could tweak the controls (starting with that record/zoom switch) and make them more intuitive, this would be a winner.

Summary: This is an OK but not jaw-dropping videocamera along the lines of the older Flip cameras. Many people may have a phone that takes good enough video to make something like this surplus. If you need a light camera to carry along in case you want to take basic video, this is good, albiet with some weird design choices. However, I don't think the touchscreen adds much, so if you're interested, consider a non-touchscreen version.

Note: For some reason, the description of this product currently says that the camcorder has 4x optical zoom. It doesn't have optical zoom at all. It has 5x DIGITAL zoom.

What's good:

+ This takes pretty good video at up to 1080p resolution. The anti-shake feature seems to work pretty well, and the fold out screen is handy for taking video from weird angles, like holding the camera above your head to get a shot from the middle of a crowd.

+ The camera is very compact and comes with a carry bag. It's light enough that you could drop it in your bag and forget it.

+ I like the 3 second feature. Basically, if you have it set and have the unit on, then it keeps a constant 3 second buffer. When you hit record, the unit uses that buffer to start your recording 3 seconds before you actually hit the button. This isn't always helpful -you need to have the unit on and your shot framed or else you will get either nothing or 3 seconds of your shoes, but when you're tracking something and waiting for the right shot, it's kind of cool.

What could be better:

As I said, the touch screen feature is forgettable. I didn't find it any easier to use than button based menus from other cameras.

While the still photo feature is handy, I thought the color balance on still photos looked a little washed out. This wouldn't be my first choice for still photos -in a pinch, I would probably just use my phone, even with less resolution.

I didn't have problems with my hand covering the lens or flash like some reviewers, but do have one major design gripe. The record button is placed right in the middle of the zoom in/out rocker. This has caused me to stop recording more than once when I tried to zoom in or out but accidentally touched the record button.

This doesn't have replaceable batteries, so if the built in rechargeable battery runs out, you're done for the day. It recharges through a pop-out male usb plug, which wouldn't be my preference. If you have a laptop, the unit sits right on your desk next to your laptop while recharging, but if you want to recharge from a power adapter or a tower computer, either you have to have the whole unit dangling out in space, which will probably break your usb port sooner or later, or you need to buy a male to female USB cord. I have about a million male/male, but am not crazy about buying one more cord for my cord menagerie.

Lastly, the on-board memory is so small as to be useless. You will need a microSD card to do more than test it.

Conclusion: IMHO, this is a little too much for a throwaway videocam, but not quite enough for a serious family camera. If you want something for casual videos, I recommend you use your phone or buy something more basic, like the Philips CAM110BL/37. If you want a camera to preserve family memories, I would consider the next step up to a Sony HDR-CX160 High-Definition Handycam Camcorder (Black), which has the same quality high def video with much better zoom.

Buy Philips CAM300WH/37 12 MP Digital Camera with CMOS Sensor, 5 x Optical Zoom and Touchscreen (White) Now

Nothing against the seller but the manufacturer is misleading you on this one. This camera provides 1080p videos but NOT 1080p quality videos. In other words, just because the videos are 1080p in dimensions does not mean that it was recorded that way. It's no different then if you wer eto take a video from your iphone and then use video conversion software to enlarge the video to 1080p instead of 720. (It's like taking silly putty and pressing it on a comic strip, then stretching it out, then telling people that the comic strip was that big.)

The USB connector that pops out at the bottom will now NOT stay back in so I am forever with a camera that has this stupid little USB thingy sticking out the bottom. Which means that now it won't even go into the little felt case that comes with it all of the way.

I thought that it's sideways grip might be a good thing but nah. By holding it that way, when you move your thumb to press a button, it tends to want to slip off the palm. So you don't really have a free hand when using this. Even more difficult if you are left handed like me.

BUY A MICRO SDHC or you only get about 8 seconds of HD video! Don't say I didn't warn you.

BUY A USB EXTENSION or otherwise, try sticking this thing in a USB port while hanging in mid air (unless you have a laptop or a USB hub that is laying flat) Luckily, I had a spare cord laying around.

I didn't give it just 1 star because overall, it's worth the $70. If you pay that much or less, you're ok. If it's listed as more, keep shopping. There are far better ones that cost just a little more.

SIZE: If you can't tell how big this is by eye or by reading the specs, it's the same size as an iphone but about 2 and a half times thicker.

Read Best Reviews of Philips CAM300WH/37 12 MP Digital Camera with CMOS Sensor, 5 x Optical Zoom and Touchscreen (White) Here

I consider this product good for taking photos on the day, but it's not good for photos at night, even with a flash, not enough lighting.

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I could invest more for the picture quality I'm looking for. But it's okay for day to day used for the price I paid for. I will still recomend this product to all my friends.

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