AMR DIGITAL SENSOR CLEANING BRUSH

I used this brush one time and threw it away. I removed it from the sealed package, protective case, and went right to cleaning my sensor. Dozens of bristles shed from the brush all over the sensor and inside the camera. It took an hour to undue the damage done by this brush! Spend a little more money and get a better product that doesn't do more harm than good.

Definitely will recommend this product. It was a lot easier to dust off the sensor area with this brush.

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ION IT28 Quick Play Flash Conversion Turntable with USB Flash Drive

• Convert LPs to. WAV without the need of a computer
• Headphone output for quick, noise-free listening during transfers
• Plays and converts 33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPM records
• EZ Converter software guides through transfer steps
• Plays and records. WAV files to a USB flash drive

The Ion IT28 Quick Play Flash turntable is all Ion claims ... small, good looking, efficient, and 3 speeds (33, 45, 78 rpm). It works flawlessly. I have 7 portfolios filled with 78 rpm records that I have wanted to convert to digital format and this Ion does it. Simply insert the attached USB flash stick into the USB port, place your record on the turntable and start converting. Afterwards, the flash stick can then be inserted into your Mac or PC computer and the converted digital file copied. This is the most straight-forward method of transferring music. You may also use the included software by directly connecting the Ion to your computer.

The Ion connects to any receiver (even one without a turntable input) by connecting to a simple RCA input jack. Since many newer surround sound system receivers no longer include a turntable input, this is a great way to listen to your old records. The ion comes w/ the USB flash stick, all cables and software for both Macs and Windows and an included needle cartridge for both 78s and 45s & 33s. Replacements are available and very inexpensive.

The terrible audio quality of 78s of course transfers to the digital format, but w/ 3rd party audio software, the music can easily be filtered and the offending scratches and hisses minimized. I cannot say enough about the Ion. They have created a simple and direct approach to a very old problem ... getting those old analog records into our new digital lives.

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This Ion works as designed and performs quite well. Can't beat it for the price. I've digitized numerous albums with no major problems. No skipping what so ever on lps over 40 years old. Obviously, records that are badly damaged won't play any better on this unit than they would on any record player. My only problem with the unit is the software that you need to download. Don't use the cd which comes with the unit; it is already an older version. Still, the up to date software sometimes starts a new track when in fact the song isn't complete yet. The instructions do make a note about this issue however. On lps that this does occur, you can make new tracks manually when you set up to record a new record. Overall, I'm very happy with it. I don't mind having to listen to some of my music twice when the software acts up because their all good. That's why I bought the lps way back then in the first place. If I want to assure that I won't need to play the music twice, I just use the manual mode and start the new tracks that way. No issues. I haven't connected the Ion to my sound system however I'd bet it would work great. My main reason for getting it was to convert lps to digital then burn the songs to cds so I can listen to them anywhere.

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I got the Ion usb flash turntable about a week ago and have had absolutely no problem with it. I plugged it in, put on a record, plugged in the flash drive and some headphones and started converting my albums immediately. I didn't want to install Itunes or the other software that came with it on my computer so it took me a few minutes to figure out a work around. It turned out to be pretty simple. I just plugged the flash drive into my computer, brought up the files on it, renamed them so I knew what to look for on the other side and then copied them to my music library. Once they were in there I right clicked on each track and found the album info, which most of the time also brought up the artwork. Somebody else complained that their unit skipped while playing. I have had no problem with this and I've played some pretty beat up old discs. It has skipped no more than what every other record player I've ever had would have done. Sure, this isn't as heavy or as well made as my old record players, but the sound quality has been about the same. I don't really intend to add it to my stereo for constant use, but I think it would hold up pretty well. I'm interested in only converting my old LP's and for that the flash drive aspect of it has been great. I don't have to hook it up to my computer to get my music there and that has been a real plus for me. In fact, that was the deciding factor in buying this unit. For 60 bucks you can't go wrong.

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This turntable looks cool and is very small. That is the good. The bad is very bad. It sounds terrible! The cartridge is ceramic so don't expect accurate sound. The worst part is that it does not even run at the correct speed or at least mine did not. All 3 speeds were significantly faster than they should have. Very disappointed on ION for this one.

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I bought this because I have read the product details that it can convert our LP into wav files.

But the reality is that, it converts directly to mp3. Aside from that, it converts the small file which is 128 kbit, which is not a good quality of sound.

I don't know who wrote the details, they should change that.

Hauppauge Colossus PCI Express Internal HD-PVR

Hi Folks!

As a long-time Media Center user I bought this card after changing over my cablevision to HD. My provider is Shaw and I'm using the Motorola DCX3400 (a DVR in it's own right albeit a 'stripped down' DVR compared to Media Center).

So the goal was to get HD into Media Center and continue using Media Center as my DVR. This card does that and more. Many of the reviews on this site about Media Center support being difficult or buggy are not correct. The install routine is also very easy.

If you're aiming for Media Center integration, don't install anything from the disk. Download the latest Media Center package from their site as well as the latest driver for the card. Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro HDMI Editing Card with PCI Express Also why is this thing so HUGE?? It's double the size of Blackmagic Intensity Pro! I am so glad to have made the switch to Blackmagic, everything including quality have improved greatly. Sorry Hauppauge, I really wanted to like your product but you just couldn't deliver. I give you 2 stars because your tech support was friendly and the card does function, just poorly designed hardware and software.

After reading the review and instructions by Mr. Miller I decided to upgrade my Windows Media Center PC since I certainly wasn't getting the quality he was describing. Followed his instructions and worked just as he said. The capture quality of this card is the best of any video capture card I have used since my Media Center XP machine -4 cards and 6 years ago.

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Genius DVR-FHD590 Full HD Vehicle Video Recorder with 128-Degree Wide Angle and G-Sensor

• FHD Vehicle recorder for high definition video recording
• 2.4" panel for focusing and video file playback
• 128 degree wide angle, no video distortion
• Built-in high power LED for low light conditions
• G-Sensor prevents emergency recording overwrite
• Motion detection function enable dynamic recording

I searched and searched for an affordable HD dashcam and this was one of the products I found during my search. I previously owned a Genius dashcam and it worked fine but it was not a true High Def. but this FHD590 was very impressive. The video during daylight was very clear and I was able to read license plates of vehicles in front of me and to the side of me. But what was really impressive was the night video quality. Wow! It was almost clear as day. I am 100% satisfied with this product.

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We conducted a complete review of this unit and found it to be very impressive. Rear TFT LCD, high power LED for low light and HDR technology for ideal light were very strong aspects of this unit, although the features continue to impress.

http://technologyx.com/digital/genius-introduces-dvr-fhd590-vehicle-recorder/

Panasonic DMR-EZ28K DVD Recorder with 1080p Upconversion

• 1080p Upconversion via HDMI
• Multi Format playback: DVD, DivX, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW
• Viera Link to Panasonic Televisions
• Built In ATSC Tuner
• SD card slot

I almost didn't but this unit because of bad reviews and that it is more expensive that most recorders. Fortunately, I was able to get the unit for $179 at a local retailer who was willing to match Amazon's price. The bad reviews caused me to buy several units, bring them home and test them. I bought the Toshiba D-R560 and the Philips HDD Recorder. I didn't try the Sony because I couldn't find one with the Divx feature. I didn't try any with VHS features because those where more expensive and I don't own any VHS tapes. The Toshiba's recording function was nice. It was quick to respond and easy to use. Unfortunately, I could never get the Toshiba unit to find channels with the digital tuner over my basic Comcast service. It found zero digital channels. This was disappointing because I looked forward to using the Toshiba's QAM tuner to find clear cable channels.

The one thing that I wanted that was missing on the Toshiba was a USB port. The Philips HDD recorder has a USB port. So, I thought I'd consider it along with it's hard disk recording benefits. Unfortunately, the Philips USB port does not read Divx. It only read Jpeg and WMA files. Also, I found the Philips picture interior to both the Toshiba AND the Panasonic. The Philips picture was dark, on all channels, and graining on many SD analog channels. So, I took the Philips back right away. After all of this, it was clear that only the Panasonic had most of the features that I needed. It has a USB port that can read Divx, in addition to reading Divx in the DVD drive. This way, I have a choice to burn a Divx DVD disk or simply save a video (avi / divx) file to my flash drive and save DVD costs on videos that I just want to look at once. The Panny is also the only unit with a SD slot. I have not used it but will in the future. The Panny also gave me S-Video inputs on the front and back, as well as an optical audio output (in addition to a coaxial output) on the back to connect to my Yamaha amps that uses only optical audio connections. The only thing that this unit lacks in a QAM Tuner for cable channels. Regardless, I found that the ATSC Tuner in the Panny was able to display all of the over-the-air HD Channels, as expected. The only thing it might not get is the "cable" HD channels that are "in the clear". Lastly, though the Toshiba picture was good, I think the Panny picture was the best of all three. To top it off, in contrast to the Toshiba (which found zero digital channels on Comcast Basic Service), the Panansonic found many, many digital channels!!!

I want to address some of the negative comments that I have found on this site about this unit: Yes Channel surfing on this unit is a little slow. But, my research has lead me to believe that many digital tuners and HD over-the-air stations tune slowly because of the amount of information involved. I don't think it's that bad once you get used to it. Regarding the comment that you "can't split titles and chapters". This is not true. People This is one of the most flexible recording machines on the market. But, you've got to read the manual to learn about it. If you don't like reading manuals, just do simply records I'm sure you'll be fine.

In summary, I'm one happy customer. This is a qaulity unit that leads the industry in features to price. It's a great value and a quality product!

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I got the Panasonic DMR-EZ28K for two main purposes: to watch standard DVDs, and to record Digital Over-the-air broadcasts. As would be expected, the EZ28 does a fine job of playing DVDs, so I won't say any more about that.

As a recorder for OTA broadcasts, 3 things seem to matter: How good is the ATSC tuner? How reliable/easy are recordings? What is the quality of the recordings?

As far as the tuner goes, I couldn't be more pleased. The EZ28 easily has the best tuner of any device I own. I have a 5 year old Panasonic Plasma TV, a 4 year old Sony HD DVR, a 2 year old Viewsonic LCD TV, and a 1 year old Panasonic EZ17 DVD recorder. Only the EZ28 can reliably lock the one fairly low power, distant station that I get off the *back* side of my antenna. The EZ28 also reliably locks a very low power "oldies" station from the correct direction that none of the other devices will lock. Clearly, the EZ28 has a superior tuner, even compared to last year's EZ17. (I use the EZ17 DVD recorder as a digital-to-analog converter for an old TV and the EZ28 would be even better, although if I only needed SD output, I'd probably look at the cheaper EZ18.)

On to recording ease and reliablity. The EZ28 is programmed VCR style. The menus are completely adequate, though a few things could have been improved to reduce the number of button presses. All in all, nothing to complain about. So far, recordings have been 100% reliable; I haven't missed anything I've programmed. I have used single use 16X DVD-R disks (completely reliable and convenient), single use 16X DVD+R disks (require 30 seconds of formating before use), and multi-use DVD-RAM disks. I found multi-use DVD+R/W disks to be unreliable in the older EZ17, so I haven't tried them in the EZ28. The RAM disks are more expensive, but do allow "DVR like" functionality: chasing playback, watch one while recording another, etc. I did encounter a one lockup, which was easily cured with a front panel reset button. For the record, I've has a few lockups with the EZ17 as well, but so far the EZ28 is better.

I've viewed disks I've recorded on both the Panasonic Plasma, the Viewsonic LCD, and an old fashioned analog TV. One and two hour recordings are superb, and even 4 hour recordings easily beat VHS tape recordings. I prefer the "up scaled" out put to the SD output, not because I see any real improvement in detail on my plasma TV, but because the color and contrast seem better, though this may simply a difference in the way my TV processes a 1080i input versus a 480p input.

I've also used the EZ28 to record some of my old HI8 home videos to DVD, using the front panel S-Video input, and the results are as good as the original tapes (though that doesn't say too much). I've copied a few things from my HD DVR to DVD via the back side SD S-Video input, and the results are once again, quite good.

One of my favorite features is the Flexible Recording length. This is particularly nice when my HI8 tapes are 2 hours and 2 minutes long, or when I'm recording a 2.5 or 3 hour segment from my DVR. If I used the 2 hour record setting, I'd miss some of the material. If I went to 4 hours, I'd waste quite a bit of disk space and the quality would be reduced. With the Flexible Recording, the disk is filled with exactly the amount I specify, giving the best available record quality.

Summary: I highly recommend this DVD recorder, particularly if you want to make recordings of Digital OTA TV.

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The DMR-EZ28K is my second DVD recorder from Panasonic. My other DVD recorder is a DMR-E55 that my wife and I have used on a daily basis for over four years without experiencing any problems. We bought this second recorder to use with the television set in our bedroom. When I read some of the reviews on the DMR-EZ28K I was concerned about the freezing problem. I read reviews about other recorders and they all seemed to suffer from some type of problem, so I decided to go with the Panasonic since I was familiar with how to use it and I had no problems with our other Panasonic recorder. Well, the first week after I purchased the DMR-EZ28K I began to experience the freezing problem when using RAM discs. I had no problems with any other types of discs. The problem was so bad that I considered returning the machine. But before returning it I decided to try reformatting the RAM discs using the new DVD recorder. After I reformatted the RAM discs using the new recorder I have not had any problems with it freezing for the last five months, so I expect that I found the solution for the freezing, at least for the recorder that I purchased. The machine is faster and the menu is easier to work with than my older model DMR-E55 recorder. We use both machines on a daily basis to record and play lots of DVDs. We always check any discs that we rent for grease or dirt, and we are very careful when handling discs to make sure they are not covered with any grease or dirt. I believe that may be one reason why we have had such great performance and reliability from these two recorders. I highly recommend this recorder and I am looking forward to several more years of problem free usage from this machine.

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First, I want to say that you cannot edit a chapter once you have recorded it. You cannot take out parts (commercials or whatever) at all! It says in the manual that you can but when you follow the instructions they do not match the menu on the screen. Beware of people saying you can do this because they obviously have never tried! Panasonic really didn't work hard at testing this product or they would've noticed this.

This recorder has many great features, including good picture quality, the ability to pause a recording (many older DVRs could not do this), and it is easy to use. The menu is fantastic; I have worked with older DVRs that had confusing and difficult menus. However, it also has its flaws. First of all, sometimes after you record a program and press "record" again to record something else it won't record. You have to completely re-start the machine in order to start recording a program. You have two options for powering the machine on as well. There is a "quick start" option and a regular one. The regular re-starting takes 2 full minutes before you can record. The "quick start" doesn't work properly. After trying the quick start I realized I couldn't use it. It would sometimes turn on, sometimes it wouldn't. It would sometimes turn on only to say the disc wasn't properly formatted, when it obviously was (as I've been successfully using the same discs since I bought the machine). Other times it wouldn't pick up the cable signal at all, saying "no signal found." This became very frustrating. I would have to unplug and re-plug the machine in and sometimes this wouldn't even work. Eventually I realized the "quick start" function was the main problem, which means you have to use the 2 minute regular start up, which is annoying when the machine won't record and you have to constantly re-start it.

It is also troublesome that the machine says it is 1080p, but is not Hi-Def and will not pick up Hi-Def signals. I believe that Panasonic purposefully marketed the player as "1080p" to trick people into thinking it works with Hi-Def. The picture quality of the DVDs is great due to this feature, however. The digital tuner is also useful because it is the only way you can record off of TV if you have a regular cable plug in and not a cable box (as in my case).

While this DVR has many good features, it also has some bugs that Panasonic should have worked harder to eliminate.

I bought the recorder to record new programs off of TV, but to also copy tapes I have onto DVD. It works, but it's a slow process, especially because it the DVR's inability to record over and over again without re-starting.

I bought this unit new in May 2008. Had it 3 months and started to have many problems. Unit froze up several times, Scheduled recordings didn't start several times.

Took it back in to Best Buy and they sent it to Panasonic for repair. They had it over one month. When I got it back it still had the same problems with no explanation. I took it back in to Best Buy the next day and off it went to Panasonic again. Another wasted month. Not impressed with this Panasonic DVD recorder. Best Buy won't exchange it after 30 days.

Uitstor USA Inc M50-US Mobile Media Player

• Play-back All Audio, Video, Photo Files Format On Your HDTV or Standard TV.
• Use Your HDTV As Large Digital Photo Frame.
• Digital Signage Player For Your Business or Home.

My husband bought this as he knows about these things more than me, this is HIS review : I was looking for a player mainly for mp4 and mkv files, after reading the reviews i thought this must be the best option available, so i bought it. Connected it to my 1080p TV and the picture quality was terrible, very jumpy, distorted at times, and very dark image, even when adjusting the settings it was too dark etc. Tried it on my 720p TV and much better, very good picture quality, much brighter image ( tried on both TV;s setting up 720p and 1080p but no noticable diference.

Played mp4 and older mkv fierls great, but wont play the latest MKV files at all. I can play them on my PC after installing latest MKV codecs but nothing available for the Uebo yet. Personally, i think there must be a bettr product out there somewhere.

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I bought this to use in an museum display. Getting it set up to play the video did take a little bit of fooling around with the file type, but once it was set up, things have been great. It runs 8 hours a day, seven days a week for five months now with no problems.

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I bought the Uebo M50 to play MKV fikes and it works better than I had hoped.

No problems found.

SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided

My first impression was these Sunglasses look great! After further looking at them, I started to think that man the plastics used on the frame was sub par but they only cost 32.20 shipped. They do pretty well in the sun light cutting the glare for me. My pc noticed them as a flash drive once I plugged them in & because I use many different flash devices there were no drivers needed to be downloaded & installed. I can't wait to see how the camera on them performs, I purchased them so I wouldn't have to depend on someone to record me flying my helis. I can have a first person view of what I'm doing & go over the video to see what caused any mishaps due to mechanical failure or pilot error. I can't wait to go flying, I'll post another review pertaining to the actual performance & video. I would recommend these at the present moment to anyone who needs a inexpensive means of recording with their hands free. If your not going to use these under sun light(in the house) just pop the lenses out, they look & feel like they'll come easily with a little persuation.

the recording was blur, colorr smear. sometimes it would record sometimes it did not. pictures that did come outhad a haze color

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This product stopped working after about 10 minutes worth of recording, and the video was TERRIBLE to begin with. If I'd payed any more than 20 bucks for it, I would have returned it. Do yourself a favor and do cheep-out on this one. Go for one of the 60-80 dollar models. I'm giving this 2 stars because I still use the micro SD card and adapter that it came with, as well as the glasses case and microfiber cloth.

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I followed all instructions for using the glasses but it does not work! The power button turns on the unit but it cannot turn the unit off, the unit does not take pictures or record at all. To turn off the unit I have to use the reset button.This glasses did not come with a CD, I went on youtube to get some help but to no avail. So far all i can do with this SN06 DVR is turn it on. What about this product tech support?

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Showcenter 200 with Wireless G Play Digital Media From Pc On Tv

First I wanted to explain why I give it a 3, the idea is great in fact the concept deserves a 5 but the lack of detail in usability and design by Pinnacle, plus the technical difficulty in setup I must knock off two full stars.

I have to open this story and state that I've been in IT for about 12 years so I'm very comfortable with hardware and software setups. But this little product proved to be quite a challenge. Here is a play by play of last night's events.

Started off by trying to install MediaManager w/o having to upgrade to XP SP2, however I finally gave in, despite a year of SP2 resistance and upgraded. Note that the ShowCenter documentation clearly states that it will work with SP1. So I'm now about an hour into the process and I have a slightly slower PC due in part to SP2. Next, I reinstall the previous failed attempt of MediaManager and this time it works. Based on reading other people's comments here on the board I changed my Linky to channel 4 and disabled WPA then killed the PC firewall. Great at this point I have the software set now it's just a matter of setting up the hardware, should be simple...right???

Ok its hardware time, I plug in the audio and video cables and fire up the SC 200 first screen comes up and I realize that Pinnacle spent very little money on usability as a UX/BA I shake my head and proceed to change the wireless configuration settings. Then the system performs not one but two firmware updates. I can now see my Linky and I'm thinking I'm almost home but not so fast, after a few more configuration changes I finally see my PC. Next I select the PC and see the media menu, from here I'm thinking YES it's over so I pick a title from the Music menu and it starts to play but then hangs and nothing happens, no sound, no video, nothing. I reboot the SC and try it again, nada, zip, zilch, sorry try again. At this point I can only figure that it has something to do with the bandwidth since I can see the PC and the music/video/photos I just can't play any of them. At this point I have too much time invested to give in and go the cheap/easy wired way out so I create a homemade directional antenna booster and increase my gain by about 12dbs. I reboot the SC for the last time and eureka I'm streaming music, most importantly music from my Rhapsody playlist from my PC through my LifeStyle system. At this point I hit the sack since its 2:15 in the morning and save the rest for when I wake.

I wake up and reconfigure my firewall and WEP since it doesn't want to work with WPA, fortunately I don't have many script kiddies in the hood trying to sack my WAP, so downgrading to WEP isn't much of an issue. So after about 4 hours of hell I finally see the pearly gates and head off to work. I know this has been a longwinded review but I wanted to let you know that just like anything in life persistence wins over all odds and technological challenges. Below are cliff notes in the event you decide to travel this road yourself.

* Upgrade to XP SP2 before installing (backup important data prior, just in case)

* Set your router to channel 6 or below (mine worked well on 4)

* Disable your PC firewall (you can turn this on after you make your connection, it just helps to reduce the variables)

* Disable WPA or WEP (same note as above)

* Ensure that your wireless signal is pulling at least -45dbs or better

* Make sure the Windows Media Connect is running to handle DRM like Rhapsody

* Make sure that you are logged into Rhapsody

* Make sure that MediaManager is running

* Switch from Ad-Hoc to Infrastructure

The ShowCenter was a bit tricky to set-up at first -more an issue with my ReadyNas X6 in the end. The ShowCenter can comfortably stream 1.5Mbps XVid MP4's over a wireless G, and except for some very close inspection, it is very hard to discern the difference from the original.

The included software is fairly lame, my suggestion is if you plan on this investment, get a good media serving box. Like I mentioned earlier, it works very well with the ReadyNAS X6 for video. (Photos and music are another issue, but no fault of ShowCenter).

The only really wishes for a box like this are:

1. Support for H.264 MP4s

2. Direct connection for streaming of music right now it must go through your PC.

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After having read some customer reviews about this product, I figured I'd be in for a bit of a battle with the setup. And indeed, it was a bit painful. Entering a 128 bit WEP key on a phone keyboard is not fun at all, and I had to do it several times before the Showcenter would recognize it for some reason. And even worse, you have to PAY to call their support center $25/call (after the 1st call)! What?! That is wrong, wrong, wrong. In my opinion, if a product is defective, or if the instructions for setup are incomplete, the customer should not have to pay to get their questions answered.

Once it's set up, there are only a couple of minor gripes. One of them is that it takes a good 3-5 minutes for the machine to warm up and recognize the wireless connection each time you turn it on. So if you're looking to just turn it on and go, this will be a major disappointment. The other minor gripe is that it takes awhile to toggle through the menu.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a problem with my audio receiver or with the Showcenter , but my receiver will not recognize the Showcenter as a video source, so I had to plug the video directly into my tv, but the audio was able to go into my receiver just fine. It's a minor inconvenience though.

But all that said, hey, it's WAY cheaper than getting a Sonos, and the sound is great. You can put together playlists and group your files however you want for easier access. And it has access to internet radio stations, which are fabulous, and it's HD ready. You can also view photos and video files as well. All work great! I was also able to synchronize the Showcenter with my Logitech Harmony 890 remote, which I love. I can't recommend that thing enough.

I was torn between 3 stars and 4 because of the setup, but now that it's set up, I only have the gripe of it being a bit slow to get going. So, 4 stars it is.

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Wireless video streaming works nicely, with amazing performance. As a test, I played a 700MB AVI-format movie. The install took me 10-15 minutes. BTW, I have a 11g wireless network running in the house, and I use a Compaq NC6000 laptop to run the media center software. The laptop is about 3 years old and running XP/SP2.

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2.5" Screen HD 720P Car DVR Driving Recorder With IR 10-LED Night Vision/Cycling Recording/AV OUT

• Uses 500W HD camera lens.
• Night vision function.
• Automatically records once the engine starts.
• When the memory is full, it will automatically cover the previous files

The folks at Alldaymall contacted me shortly after I had ordered this product:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00919ZNQM/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

telling me they had just sold out of that particular camera, and asked if they could substitute an alternative. I figured something like this situation would happen eventually (since they had only one of that item left in stock), so I said "OK". The substitute was the camera I'm reviewing now. I was a little disappointed that an English language operating manual wasn't included (the only manual was in Chinese, I think), but since I'm a very technically-minded, hands-on kind of guy, I started pressing buttons to see what did what. It didn't take long to figure out how to operate the camera (about 30-45 minutes of trial-and-error) and get the battery charged. It has several resolutions available, from VGA 640X480 to 1080 FHD on the movie camera side, to VGA 640X480 to 12 MP on the still images side. There's also a setting to flip the display 180 degrees, if you use the camera "upside down", and so many others I haven't used yet. It's a definite learning curve...if you press the setting wheel too soon, it defaults to the main display, and so forth. As mentioned, trial and error and about 45 minutes of tinkering, and you'll be operating this camera in no time flat. I've not yet used it in my car, but I plan to at some point, just to test it's capabilities.

It comes with an in-car mount (a heavy-duty suction cup for attaching to the windshield), an RCA video cable to connect to a TV or DVR, a USB A to micro USB cable, and a 12v car adapter. You can also use it as a webcam, if you're so inclined, or a USB mass storage device (although I had some trouble mounting it as the latter...I suspect my computer not recognizing any USB device over 8gb as the culprit). It'll take up to a 32GB SD Card, which, on the lowest resolution settings, will give you over 400,000 still images or over 5 hours of video. It's also night-vision capable, given the array of 10 IR LEDs on either side of the wide-angle lens. With the LEDs turned on, you can see about 30-45 feet in total darkness (about average for night vision devices). Turning them on takes a bit of practice...press the power button once to turn the camera on, then a brief press of the power button will turn the LEDs on or off (the display will indicate when the LEDs are on or off). The display itself is rather small...no more so than an average LCD camera, so it really isn't an issue.

I've not yet tested the battery capacity, but I suspect on battery power alone, actual use times may vary. I tend to use things like this connected to an inexhaustable power supply (such as a LARGE battery, a car charger, or other means), since batteries are so unpredictable.

I plan to tinker with this some more over the next few weeks, so we'll see just how complicated (or easy!) this camera is to use "in the field", as it were.

In closing, I'd like to ask a favor of the fine folks at Alldaymall Please include an English-language manual, or offer an English-language translation of the included manual with your cameras from now on. The directions on the back of the box are not very informative. Thank you!

HQRP Replacement AC Power Adapter compatible with Sony HandyCam DCR-DVD103, DCR-DVD308, DCR-DVD105,

This cord was a great buy and worked great! I love the other extra accessories. The item was sent fast and in time for my baby's birth.

This item is less than 50% of the cost of the Sony Charger,so far it works very well.Why pay more

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Indeed, i haven't check it a lot, but what i did see so far is that is a simple product that do what is supossed to do.

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So glad I found this couldn't believe my other charging cord disappeared

Came quickly just in time for the holidays

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I ordered this for my sony DCR-DVD203 well it does not fit the receptor on the video camera. What a waste of time and energy!

Sony Portable Stereo Sound System with Digital AM/FM Tuner, Mega Bass, CD Player, Synchronized Dubb

• Combining old & new technology, this is the perfect portable sound system. Whether you're playing CD CD-R CD-RW discs, listening to cassettes, enjoying your favorite stations on the digital AM/FM stereo tuner, dubbing music on blank cassettes, this compact sound system does it all. Plus it features large, easy-to-use buttons, large easy to read LCD display and a Mega Bass sound enhancer.
• Just The Right Size = Compact design fits in to any room. The correct output power and the unique wide convex speakers design allows the sound to be dispersed over a wider area for a fuller sound stage, therefore filling any room with a perfect sound level combined with the Mega Bass enhancer which produces full rich, deep, bass tones, this sound system will satisfy any music lover. Portability = Lightweight & Battery power option with a large carry handle lets you take this system anywhere.
• Sleep Timer puts you to sleep peacefully while playing your favorite tunes from the radio, CD player or tape cassette. 6 different lengths of play time are 120, 90, 60, 30, 20 or 10 minutes of listening pleasure to relax you to sleep. Sleep Timer is an excellent feature for children to listen to a bedtime story or for babies listening to lullabies. Sleep like never before when you fall asleep to the sounds you love.
• Remote Control lets you control the programming and music from the Radio, CD Player or Tape Cassette; all from the comfort of your couch, bed, dinner table, your favorite chair or anywhere in the room that is convenient for you. Recommended for elderly or handicapped (Great for lazy people).
• Features: Digital AM/FM Stereo Tuner / Mega Bass sound enhancer / CD-R/RW Playback Compatibility / Stereo Record/Playback Cassette Deck / Synchronized CD/Cassette Dubbing / Large Control Buttons and LCD Digital Display / 30 Programmable Preset Stations / Sleep Timer / CD Play Modes: Program, Shuffle, Repeat, 20 Track RMS Programming / Battery power option for portability / 4" wide dispersion angled speakers / Higher watts output than most portable units / Remote control / Headphone jack

Remote works great and speakers are great! nice for a small spot in your living area without spending a bunch of your life energy (MONEY!) We are glad we found it on amazon

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Sony is a high end product that gives many years of quality listening, which is why I purchased this product. It has all the componets that I wanted in a player/radio. I have been able to record from my CD's to tape so that I can enjoy my music while walking. It's very convenient to have a remote so that I can manuever settings while it's out of arm distance. The sound quality is excellent with the built in speakers but yet it takes up very little space.

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This Sony "boombox" is quite nice for the price. It's hard to find any in stores these days, and what is available usually costs half as much and therefore has a terrible sound and poor radio reception.

This player has a good sound to it for its size, and where we live, at a high altitude and in an extremely hilly area, the radio reception is normally poor, but this Sony picks up all kinds of stations, AM and FM.

I really like the CD player positioned on the top of the unit; it makes it easy to get the CD in and out, along with the way the CD player holds the CD: no wrestling with the CD--you just set the CD in and lift it out--no plastic thingamajig in the center gripping onto the CD!--just a smooth type.

Additionally, the operation of the CD player and tape deck openings is smooth. They open slowly and without catching or jerking. And, all the buttons are on the top of the player, which makes operation easy as well.

The remote works great, too--one little tip that's in the instruction booklet: the remote will not turn the player on in battery mode, but it does turn it off.

So, for its price range, I think this Sony is a nice one and has a pretty good sound. I definitely recommend it.

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Just what I wanted. Our old one (also a Sony), finally gave up after many years and very hard use. This is the updated similar product I had before, so I am looking for another long time friend to take to the beach and use by the pool. Great having the remote control too.

I think this is great for anything and the price was fair! Sound is good and the mega bass is nice to have!

Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD Media Player STCEA101-RK

• Dual-docking system eliminates fumbling with cables and connections
• Automatically syncs with new content on your PC
• 1080i High-Definition playback
• Dolby Digital 5.1 audio surround sound support
• FreeAgent Theater media player- 1-year limited warranty

The Seagate FreeAgent Theater is now cheap because it is old technology and it shows. It is not a bad player for old-school video formats, but the picture is composite like an early years DVD Player, not HD. The firmware is slow, ugly, and buggy. The newer Theater+ model has HDMI, networking, and HD picture, but it is not worth the much higher $ investment (currently over $200 with hard drive and dock). The new firmware is still a D+ at best. I recommend using a netbook with an HDMI port as a media server instead. A netbook will work flawlessly as a media server and you will enjoy all the other PC fuctions it can do for you.

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PLEASE RATE THIS REVIEW, SO IT WILL BE SEEN.

I have tried to use it for videos from flv and wmv, it wont play youtube videos, or much of anything, (except for .AVI), its format list is obfuscated . I spent hours converting many videosto no avail. It plays photos and music, but whatever.

Second: the menu system, It acts randomly and buggy, it will scroll backwards, shift menu's when you press play, press anything, its RANDOM. I'm sending it back.

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I'm surprised it has not been reported here but this unit does not work with some Seagate Freeagent Go drives designed to fit neatly in the special compartment. The drive (as well as other USB drives) works fine as external but does not work as intended.

Seagate has known about the problem all along (their forum is full of complaints about this) but does not have a fix for it and not even trying to address the issue. What is dishonest is that none of the distributors who are selling this unit would tell that upfront.

Otherwise, aside from climsy remote and slow remote response, this is a great unit for the price.

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This product should never have been released. I have tried MPEG-4, AVI and several other file formats and it reports all of them as invalid files. At least one of them should have worked! Yet the files have no trouble in Windows XP with several players and no trouble playing on my Mac or iPod. The only thing that cannot play the files is this Seagate Theater.

The device is also very slow when moving through menus.

If Seagate has very limited file handling capabilities, they should have provide utilities to convert files to their accepted formats. No conversion software is provide AND they don't provide any recommendations either.

The documentation is extremely poor and the website support almost non-existent.

Seagate makes very good disk drives I love the FreeAgents but this product should never have made it to store shelves.

Player is nice if you already have a freeagent go drive and want to play media from the living room. The drives works fine with any USB storage (hard drives, usb sticks, etc)

I like the slideshow transitions for photos(nice for family gatherings), and it plays back my DVD content that I've put on my drive from DVDs which I own.

Like someone already mentioned it has no HDMI, but does support component/composite so it will work with any TV. They should do HDMI on the next version, but it does not limit anything with the current product.

Single most annoying feature for video is the 'preview' that slows you down from scrolling and finding the right file. Overall, solid product and looks nice in living room. The included remote is small and so hard to operate if you have big hands, but it's usable. Don't expect to play any ripped HD movies or anything, but if you are not into that you are fine.

Been using mine for 1+months with no issues and love the look of my red freeagent go drive when it's in the unit.

70SB049000000 - Creative Technology - Creative Sound Blaster Live 24-bit External - Sound card - ex

When I ordered this external sound card, I was skeptical, but when I received this card,hooked it up,it sounded fantastic. I had realtek onboard sound. I disabled it in the device manager tab, before i downloaded the drivers for the sound blaster live card, and without any problems. I'm running windows XP, with service pack 2. There is a big difference, no hiss, or distortion,and you can turn the speakers up louder, without sacraficing clarity. I would not hesitate to buy this card, even though you can't get updated drivers, the ones that come with the CD is just fine, and they are certified by Microsoft. Thank You for reading this. And remember, you can always switch from one sound card to the other.

This is a handy device to have if you are unsatisfied with your stock soundcard (or have no soundcard at all). Its handy USB plug-and-play connection and variety of inputs/outputs can expand or enhance your multimedia options. Sound is adequate to good and fidelity was noticeably better than the stock card in my Dell Inspiron 9100.

Like many other musicians, I have been exploring the possibilities of home recording, taking advantage of the huge leaps in technology (hardware, software, editing/mixing) and the accompanying huge drops in recording-related expenses, i.e., studio time. My main PC is the aforementioned Dell. It's a heavy beast with plenty of hardware guts and speed...definitely in the desktop replacement category. As such, outboard USB or PCMCIA are the only options for add-on devices.

Unfortunately, this SoundBlaster product didn't make the grade in the recording arena, at least using Adobe Audition.

The first hurdle was constant 'out of USB bandwidth' error messages. This may not entirely be the fault of the SoundBlaster but it did become a deal-breaker.

The second hurdle was latency. USB 2.0 features respectable transfer rates but doing any overdubbing/multitracking was impossible. The click track lagged behind the guide track, which lagged behind the other existing track(s). In short, it was impossible to synchronize anything and I didn't fancy nudging tracks back and forth in an attempt to synch them up.

To be fair, Creative aims this product at a certain market segment and recommends the Audigy line for recording and more intricate functionality. So...I took their advice and exchanged for the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS which has worked like a champ in all departments: sound quality, speed and of course no USB bother!

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An outstanding and innovative product. What's cool about this product is that you can place it anywhere near your computer, allowing you to have all your sound ports/jacks and volume controls within quick and easy reach: With its microphone port, in/out line ports, speaker ports, and multiple other ports, you can connect just about any type of audio device directly to the SoundBlaster External Card.

The multiple media software applications that are included free (on one CD) is alone worth the price you pay for the sound card. With the SoundBlaster External hardware and the included recording software, you can record anything (CDs, casettes, old vinyl records, your own live voice and music) and easily convert it to a digital audio file. From there you can use the editing software to clean-up and enhance your recording. Once you have saved your sound file, here are some ideas for you: email the sound file, or convert the file to an mp3 for use on a portable music player, or burn the file onto a CD: All of these you can do with the SoundBlaster External Sound Card. And, oh yes, the SoundBlaster External will make your computer sound absolutely great!

For the very best functionality, be certain to get the updated driver to the SoundBlaster Live External Card at the Creative.com website:

http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

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Contrary to what many opinions on the net, this USB audio device will work with OS X Tiger WITHOUT additional drivers. To use the device just plug it in and go to System Preferences/Sound and select Sound Blaster Live! External for the input/output devices. That's all that you need to do to get stereo sound and an amplified mic jack to work. If you want to use the 5.1 capability you'll need to configure additional speakers. Open Applications/Utility/Audio MIDI Setup. Select SB Live! for Input and Output. Select SB Live! under the Properties For menu. Under Audio Output, Select 6-16bit or 6-24bit for Format. (note: it is not recommended to connect this device to a USB hub-if you have to connect it to a hub it may limit your output options) Click Configure Speakers. Click MultiChannel and select 5.1 Surround. You should be able to click on the buttons for the various speakers and hear static tests.

I have played back a DVD with 5.1 using VLC without any problems. I was not able to get WoW to work with 5.1 yet though.

Problems: The volume/mute controller on the box itself will not work. The mute button will mute the audio but not unmute it (you can still unmute from the keyboard though). Also, if you plug headphones in it will mute the sound (which you can unmute from the keyboard).

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I have a Yamaha YMF 753 built into my laptop and it doesn't compare to the SoundBlaster Live! card. I was a little skeptical about the card using USB 1.1 since I figured playing audio required more bandwidth, but I was wrong. Listening to music and watching movies on my laptop is awesome, however, I've yet to test how the 3D positioning sounds in videogames. Once you listen to your music with this card, you'll never want to go back to your laptop's soundcard again! I haven't been able to max out the card's bandwidth with music and videos so I haven't encountered any weird distortions or sounds. Make sure you install the latest drivers from creative's website so you reduce your chances of running into any bugs or errors.

Installing the card is a snap. Connect the USB cable from the soundcard to your computer, install the drivers/software, and you're in business (you have to also plug your speaker cable into the new card).

***Update***

You can get the audio to start skipping and clicking if you listen to music and watch a movie at the same time (who does that?).

Toshiba Gigashot GSC-R30 30GB 2MP Hard Disc Drive Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

Given that this is my first real camcorder, outside of the digital cameras I own that support 20 second video clips, I have little to compare it to. That being said, I've seen people with stacks of DV tape that they never convert to DVD, and consequently never view again. I received my Gigashot from Amazon yesterday and was for the most part very pleased. It took very little time to understand how to use, the functions and menu items were relatively self-explanatory. I'd give Toshiba an Afor the design and ease of use; within five minutes, I was able to shoot a few clips, view on the LCD screen, hook up to my TV and computer to play back videos.

I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to install additional software to download clips to my PC the USB cable, included, was inserted and drivers were automatically installed; the Gigashot then appeared as an external drive that I could drag and drop files to my desktop piece of cake. Although, there was software provided, it appeared as though they were only trial versions (leaving the only option to buy more software when the trial expired). Needless to say, I did not install either software bundle: ACDSee v7 (photo edit) or PowerProducer v3 (DVD editing and writing/authoring), but I'm sure this could be helpful for some who do not already own a DVD authoring program.

The only bad thing about this camcorder, in my opinion, was that it had a tendency during low-level sound (e.g., no one was speaking) to amplify the background noise. I didn't notice this very often, so probably nothing to worry about in fact, this may be normal for camcorders, but then again I don't have much experience. The problem with this, leads to what sounds like a few small rapid-fire clicks every so often (presumably as the Gigashot writes data to the hard-drive). It sounds just like a hard-drive, so may not even be noticeable to some, but it could be an annoyance for those who listen in great detail. I doubt this would be even audible at a party or event, but just thought others might like to know. Overall great product and I'm happy with my purchase (especially since it seems Amazon's price was the lowest at this time!)

I did lot of comparisons with similar PRICED camcorders sony/Canon ($500) and here are my finding

The factors need to be considered in any digital photo/video are

1. CCD size

2. MP

3. Filter Size Lense dia big means more light goes in to CCD

4. Lense Quality

I like this camcorder because

1. Price 375 for a 30 GIG HDD camcorder

2. CCD size 1/3.6 compared to sony/Canon which has 1/6

3. Filter size is 30.5 sony/Canon 30 or 27

4. 2 Megapixel sony/canon 0.7 MP

5. No need to carry any media

6. Free case

Cons:

Spare battery is expensive $80 at bhphotovideo

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This is an amazing little camera. If you edit your movies on a computer you will LOVE this camera because it stores files on the built in hard disk drive instead of tapes. It can record for more than six (6) hours on the hard disk drive (at the HIGHEST quality setting). The videos are automatically saved as MPG2 files which are recognized by almost all video editing products inclding Adobe Premiere and Adobe Premiere Elements. MPG2 is also the current standard for DVD movies, so you can burn your movies onto a DVD. The audio and video quality is excellent.

The camera has a bright white, built-in LED light which allows the auto focus to work in dim light. It also has a built in flash for still pictures. The still pictures can be stored on the built-in hard disk drive, or optionally on a small memory card. The camera supports WIDE SCREEN videos as well as standard video formats.

Downloading the movie files to your computer is amazingly simple. Just connect the USB cable and the camera is recognized as an "external storage deveice" so you can simply drag and drop the files from the camera to the computer.

The automatic mode for most settings like FOCUS, WHITE BALANCE, SCENE SELECTION, etc. works fine. When taking stills the camera will beep twice to indicate a clear focus. When the camera is charging the battery LED shows amber and later green (when fully charged).

While the built-in condenser microphone with multiple settings offers excellent sound quality, a plug-in microphone jack would have been preferred.

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I bought this camera through Amazon and antonline. Its a really nice camera, but it is completely unable to function in any meaningful way through imovie and has no value if you own an Apple Computer. This is because the camera records in mpeg-2 and apparently is inherently non-editable. DO NOT BUY IT UNLESS YOU OWN A PC!!!

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I just graduated from the 1min movies in my digital camera to this camera. I am impressed by the overall functionality of this camera.

Positives:

1) Easy to shoot both Movies and Pictures. We think still pictures have their own value. So, taking good pictures was important for us.

2) supports wide screen recording and has 2MB CCD

3) For a HDD camera, I was surprised at the almost non-existent HDD noise. (I did not get any noise disturbance during zooming as some reviewers had mentioned)

4) Easy (as the digital camera) and fast USB2 downloads

Negatives:

1) In low light situations, the camera searched for focus for a few seconds. (But I understand that most of the video cameras do that.) It is annoying.

2) The camera needs to be mounted on its rechargable stand where the USB connection to the laptop is setup. Not a big issue, but if travelling without the base, you cannot download movies.

Overall a very nice camera to have.

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Olympus WS-510M 4GB Digital Voice Recorder and WMA/MP3 Music Player

I own another Olympus recorder which I bought years ago and I paid a ton of money for it. It was money well spent. I was intimidated by the "digital" part of it for a long, long time, but once you get the hang of it, these are so fabulous.

There's a button on the front that lets you move between folders A-E. That letter will appear on the screen and you can work on 5 different projects easily---just press the little button and it will take you to the folder you want where you can store all your notes for that project.

Within each folder are 199 files---I know this sounds confusing if you are new to the digital world, but the recorder does it all for you. You just go to the folder (tap the far right top button several times and it will go from A to E on the screen. You stop at the letter you want). Then press record and Talk! Easy!

When you are done, you'll see on the screeen 1/1---which means two things: you have just created a file and there are a total of 1 files in your folder, 1/1. The next time you record, it will say 2/2---which means you are in the second file and there are 2 files in your folder and on and on it goes until you get 199 files.

Now let's say you want to go back and listen to file 1 of your 199 files. You click back through them manually with the (

Mini Security DVR - Micro Sd Card Recording - By Dozen

This is the first time I use a surveillance system, I was searching for a low cost device for my office. I purchase this device with the "SVAT CCDCO Mini Indoor CCD Pinhole Camera Kit" and I'm happy ever since.

Here is what I have found after 30 days of use:

**Installation: Can't be easier, just plug and play, it comes with everything I needed and something I don't (a CD that I haven't found the need of use).

**Setting up the system (date, time, video quality ...): I had a problem here, I hooked up the device on my LED TV but it didn't show any video signal (I don't know why), I tried using another monitor and it worked just fine (I purchased the "3.5 Inch TFT LCD Monitor for Car" with a "DC Female to 4 Male Power Splitter Cable" to power it up), just fallow the manual to set up the device.

**Recording Time: This is my favorite part, with a 32 GB memory, in QVGA mode (320*240), I get 9 days of continuous recording time, that's it much better than I expected.

I hope this review helps you somehow, sorry if I misspelled something, I'm not good with English and this is my firs review.

**UPDATE BELOW**

** NEW UPDATE BELOW **

1) First I had problems being able to write to the card. I think that you need a) to have power plug OUT .. b) insert card .. c) then power on. After this, I had no problems writing to the card.

2) Playback from device seems to be B&W only, however, playback via VLC on computer was color with timestamp in bottom right. (See update below)

3) It's certainly compressed video, the playback isn't as clean as the original source. (See update below)

4) The manual is in "chin-lish" .. but it all seems to make sense.

5) Passthrough to external monitor image is as clean as original. (but playback is not see #2 & #3)

6) All in all, really not bad for the money paid, I am waiting on a different model tomorrow which is 2x the price. I'll let you know which turns out to be tops.

7) The size of this unit is about same as pack of cigarettes .. quite compact.

8) It TAKES MICRO-SD cards (what the manufacturer seems to refer to as TF cards (tiny flash??))

9) Navigation and setup very barebones and simple.

10) I have not played too much with Motion Detection feature, but it does seem to have the feature.

11) It comes default set to PAL TV output. Easy enough to change to NTSC, but this change is not done via the menu system. You need to add a file to the ROOT-DIR of your Micro-SD card called "system.txt" .. that file should contain only 7 characters .. F15V0S9 == F = Framerate (default 15) V = video system (default 0 for PAL .. change to 1 for NTSC) .. S = sensitivity (dafault 9) they say higher number = more sensitive. They say to remove the file once it has been read once since it will otherwise be read during boot each time which is unnecessary.

1-star off for the obviously compressed video quality, which might not be fair to the unit, but I would have liked to have seen slightly better quality. FYI, I am running an Everfocus EHD730 Camera as input.

**UPDATE AFTER A DAY OF PLAYING WITH IT**

Regarding #2 above: The playback on through the device is IN COLOR. Maybe I just had it in a strange state PAL vs. NTSC in my initial experience.

Regarding #3 above: lower frame rates (5fps) seem to have better playback quality (this is to be expected) .. but still not as good as original source (also to be expected).

A thought: At the price of this unit, it may be advantageous to place it "inline" for each camera with a more standard "security DVR" for backup purposes perhaps as it's passthrough video is clean "original image quality" and for a small camera system, it might be nice to be able to simply pop a card and save/share the video.. again, just a thought.

** NEW UPDATE **

See my review of another portable DVR product, where I compare directly to this product .. http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Detector-Recorder-Security-Surveillance/dp/B002QHBNXI/

** Will update again should the need arise, but currently I'm very happy with the unit. I've added a star (total of 5) based on my new findings. **

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Summary: Great unit for the money with decent video quality. Can't go wrong for the price! Below is some useful information on the machine.

Storage Card Data (Continuous Recording Mode):

On continuous recording mode the DVR will breakup the recordings into 30 minute sections. I found the motion sensor is not to accurate and has too much delay to be trusted. Thus, I prefer continuous mode. One commenter mentioned getting 9 days of recording on a 32GB card. I have done multiple tests and that is just not the case: not even close.

QVGA Data = .8GB's Per 1 Hour of Video = 40 Hours on 32GB SD Card

QVGA Mode (lowest quality) will more then doubles the storage space and the image quality is not much different from the VGA mode (highest quality). See video for comparison. Testing results equated to about .8GB's per 1 hour of video footage. This equates to about 40 hours of continuous recordings on a 32GB card. On my test I got about 22 hours of footage which took up 17.8GB on the card. The files are easy to navigate (see attached image).

VGA Data = 2GB's Per 1 Hour of Video = 16 Hours on 32GB SD Card

VGA Mode (highest quality) uses a lot of space at about 2GB's per 1 hour of footage. This equates to about 16 hours of continuous recordings on a 32GB card. My test got about 2 hours of footage that took up over 4.16GB on the card. Not recommended.

USB Card: Make sure to click "safely remove hardware" for the SD Card every time you use the card on the PC. If you do this the card will work flawlessly with the unit. You could also use Notebook to make a simple system.txt to improve the image quality (see J.P.'s review for more info).

Menu: Pretty easy to navigate with wheel. Just make sure that you press the wheel into the unit while making selections (took me a while to figure out). See video for what the menu system looks like and how to use the wheel.

Update: Once the video card fills up it will automatically erase the oldest file and replace with the current recording. If recording continuously, this gives you a backup of 40 hours at all times. This product is even better then I originally thought. Instead of having to erase the card every day or so, it does it automatically. That is not mentioned in the manual. COOL! Five Stars!

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I bought this to try and find out who was going through the gate in the back yard and leaving it open. I mounted the camera far enough away to see the gate and walk way but yet close enough to see who it was. I used the motion detection because It was filling up the memory card with nothing. With the detection all I got was a 15 minute AVI video of an open gate. So it works but not the way I need it to.

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No where does it tell you that the power plug is not usable in the USA. It has 2 round prongs, not the flat prongs as used in USA. I returned it immediately.

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Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD 32 GB Flash Memory Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom

Long review: 10 min.| I got the HF11 video camera in urgent need for a specific occasion.

The 60th fireworks event of Suwako lake / Nagano Prefecture in Japan on 15th August 2008.

(official sale start in Japan)

As the overall package Canon with its long term experience in Imaging seemed like "The natural Choice to make".

The video camera integrates a huge amount of intelligent functions that ensure the quality of your video experience.

image stabilizer,

light sensitivity sensor,

profiles

variable zoom speeds,

remaining battery status info,

alignment markers in the screen

smart replay functions (slow motion, freezing , advancing frame by frame etc.)

On top of that the video cameras body weight with 380gr. and the size of your favourite beverage is well acceptable even for ladies or kids hands.

The HF11 does come with a few usability hitches in terms of inconsistency, bugs etc. (see my how to guide for details), but besides that, the HF11's navigation is intuitive and exactly as the digital camera products. So, that was not a showstopper for us.

Most users are able to use the product within minutes !!

For video editing features you might want to look into additional software editing and codec converter solutions like Divx, Xvid etc. to be able to share the joy with your friends on DVD etc. The package contains all possible cables but NOT the ultra compact HDMI cable connection.

The major salespoints of this video camera are

Imaging quality (resolution and smoothness of video)

Canons colours

Usability

Usability and

Usability

The Imaging quality is unlike anything I have seen before and easily justifies the product alone.

HF11, HF10 or HF100, which one should I get ?

If you cant compromise video quality for anything get the HF11 with its 24mbps recording mode and be rest assured you have the extra stretch when you need it f.e. in low light scenarios and the best model on the marcet in the personal camcorder class.

Otherwise, if you can life with good quality and the same usability and other features as the big brother than you can make a deal by getting the HF10 or the HF100.

The intelligent functions and the exceptionally good design make the HF100, the HF10 or the HF11 the natural choice for beginners, amateurs and entry professionals.

This is the quality customers are expecting from a long term Imaging company like Canon !!

Additional Notes:

Vibrations:

Note that other camcorders with moving parts f.e. HDD's might not be working in extreme situations with strong vibrations f.e in concerts due to bass vibration. The camcorder makers do specifically NOT recommend taking videos in live houses as they formulate it. So you might find yourself having to record onto the memory card while the HDD is NOT usable.

(I mention it because its not so obvious from the product descriptions of camcorders.)

Fortunately with the HF11/HF10/HF100 or any flash memory based camcorder you dont have to worry about this too ;-)

Memory usage:

8GB of memory will provide you with 1h of best quality Full HD pleasure. So even if you just use the 32GB internal memory it means that the HF11 has enough storage for 4h of best quality Full HD video.

Thats plenty f.e. for your best friends wedding ceremony, the wedding party afterwards and even your kids school ceremony the next day.

Also memory usage is the same when actually comparing, this video camera has at least 3.5 times more details on the screen than the best digital camera out there with video function.

Please see my How to guide for more details and all PRO's and CON's.

I've had this camcorder for 7 months now and have been somewhat pleased with it overall. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is for some annoying issues I have with it.

First off, you can only transfer your video clips if you have the power cord attached. This is inconvenient if you want to get one or two clips onto your computer and have a fully charged battery on the camcorder. Also, once you have your camcorder connected to your computer (via USB cable), you cannot turn the camcorder off unless you disconnect the USB cable. I'm guessing Canon felt it was necessary to protect interruptions during transfer of your video clips. But who would be dumb enough to disconnect or turn off their camcorder in the middle of a transfer?

Another issue I have is that if you don't want to use ImageMixer 3 SE software program to access your video files via your computer you'll have to follow this path from your hard drive: G:\ (or whichever drive it's assigned to) PRIVATE\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00000.MTS. If you use the ImageMixer 3 SE software it basically adds another set of steps in order to view your clips on your computer. Because once you copy your video files using ImageMixer software, you must open the ImageMixer 3 SE Player if you want to view your video. Another step. The ImageMixer 3 SE Player doesn't display which video file you're viewing. That is such a simple thing to have showing that I wonder why it was left out. So you click File then Select File. Choose a file and click Open. The files are number like this example: 20090622091442 (Year, month, day, hour, minutes, seconds). That's great if you can remember which clip number among many is showing in the viewer. Note: the long number is automatically generated from using the ImageMixer software to copy the video to your computer. If you go directly to your hard drive (see above path) then you won't get the data (long file number). It will just be 00000, 00001, 00002.MTS, etc.

From here I must give this camcorder a big plus. I've dropped this camcorder twice. It was on a tripod and the tripod fell down on a ceramic floor. The camcorder still worked and with no visual scars. Then it fell off a handle bar mount on a bicycle and tumbled into the street. It's scratched up but it works fine. I think good construction and a little luck kept if from imminent death.

Buy Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD 32 GB Flash Memory Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom Now

While Adobe Premier Elements 7 is a big joke for the MP4 AVC/H.264 formats...it is a superstar with the AVCHD / .mts files this Canon HF10 generates.

Before I bought my own HF10 I was asked by a buddy to edit and burn some youth football footage from his newly acquired Canon HF10 with SDHC card. I was excited. Although I had no clue what an .mts file was Adobe PE 7 not only recognized it and imported it quickly...but I proceeded to edit both video and audio (together and separately)as well as burn to a regular DVD (not BluRay). My jaw just dropped and I said WOW!

I will add that while I am not a big fan of the GUI of Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 it also handles the AVCHD / .mts from the Canon HF10 just fine...and also handles those other MP4's just fine too.

The really important part is that while I have a nice amount of ram (4GB) my computer is nothing special at all. I am running Vista Basic on a Celeron 1.60Ghz processor (Dell Inspiron 530 desktop) with the 4GB of ram.

Now that I have purchased my OWN Canon HF10 AVCHD camcorder Adobe PE7 is my go-to program for this type of footage. Again, it handles the AVCHD / .mts file format flawlessly. Check out my other reviews for some other programs I have tried like Corel VideoStudio X2 and Magix Movie Edit pro 14. If you are going to be working only with AVCHD, specifically from any of the Canon HF series camcorders that put .mts on sdhc flash cards...then I believe Adobe Premier Elements 7 is the best option.

Warning: If you are going to rely on ONE software solution for multiple formats other than AVCHD, Adobe PE7 is not the way to go! I use several little camera/camcorders other than the HF10. They all use the MP4 AVC/H.264 format...while the previous version of PE handled them fine, Adobe PE 7 HATES the MP4 format! You can't even add them to the time-line without it crashing! If you are looking for a single editing program to handle not only the AVCHD from the Canon HF10, HF11 or HF100 but other formats as well...specifically the MP4 AVC/H.264 format then I would go with Pinnacle Studio Plus 12. Like I said before, the interface and work flow is nothing like Adobe's but it works fin with the multiple formats.

Read Best Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF11 AVCHD 32 GB Flash Memory Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom Here

I am all about my kids playing sports and being able to record the games. I was reluctant in purchasing an AVCHD camcorder with the fear that the motion would not be sharp. This camcorder is of excellent quality. I am using the camcorder with its default settings and have recorded my son's soccer games, my other son's indoor basketball games, birthday parties and am very please with the camcorder. There is a setting to record at 30P which is designed for fast action, but the default 60i is perfect. I will play with 30P soon and can only imagine that it would be even better.

I also have used the ImageMixer software that comes with the HF11. The software easily allows you to copy your recordings to the computer. The player is of high quality and is my preferred software for watching the videos on the computer. With this software, I burned a copy of one of my sons basketball games to DVD and when viewed using a DVD player on my TV, the quality of the video went down. I then used CorelVideo Studio 12 (VideoStudio Pro x2) (downloaded free trial version) and burned the basketball game in AVCHD mode onto a DVD. I then watched the AVCHD (DVD) on my PS3 and the quality was excellent. The DVD burn took about 30 minutes for a 6 minute video on a Dell Intel Core2 Duo desktop computer with 2 gigs of memory.

I also purchased the cheaper extended battery BP-819 and this gives me hours of recording time. There is a slot for a memory card, but I find the 32 gigs internal memory to be plenty.

If you want a quality camcorder, this is the one.

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I just finished my vacation where I used the Canon HF11 that I purchased about 6 weeks ago. The HF11 performed flawlessly. I am super pleased with the quality of the video images. I did some editing and created a DVD using iMovie and iDVD. The results are very good. I am pleased with the overall ease of use and quality videos that can be produced by this camcorder.

Sony HDR-PJ200 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom and Built-in Project

For my latest tech review, I take a look at Sony's latest HD digital video recorder, the HDR-PJ200.

I. What's in the package?

Digital Recorder with built-in USB cable

Mini-HD Cable

Rechargeable Battery Adapter (Power Cord/AC Adapter)

USB-=>Video cables (AV Connecting Cable)

Yellow, Red, white component cables

USB Adapter (USC Connection Support CAble)

Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-FV30

NO SDCARD IS AVAILABLE. You will definitely want to purchase a Class 10 SDCard (4GB minimum but I recommend 32GB or 64GB).

II. FIRST IMPRESSIONS

APPEARANCE: After unpackaging, I was pretty impressed of how small this digital video camera is. The width is probably 3-inches wide, small enough to hold with one hand and is very light. The camera is plastic and you get a feeling that if you do drop this camera, it's done for.

BATTERY: Battery is not charged, so I had to charge the battery which took about two hours. The camera can be charged via it's built-in USB cable which will take about an hour and half. Like most digital cameras with a battery pack, it's best to take the battery pack out of the camera when not in use. For the MP-FV30, you get about 95 minutes of continuous recording time and 45 minutes of HD recording time, for standard shooting around 105 minutes. This battery goes about $15-$20 but I recommend going for a NP-FV50 for 180 minutes, NP-FV-70 (about 375 minutes) or a NP-FV100 battery which gives you about 745 minutes recording time.

SHOOTING TIME: I recommend using a 32GB or 64GB Class 10 card for longer shooting.

HIGHEST QUALITY (FX) gives you about 45 minutes recording time

HIGH QUALITY (FH) gives you 1 hour

STANDARD HQ (HQ) gives you about 1 hour and 50 minutes

Long Play (LP) gives you 3 hours and 15 minutes.

PROJECTOR: Projector and LCD screen can move 90-180 degrees. The LCD screen is touch screen (for zooming in and out, recording, playing video) and on top is a projector focus. On the LCD screen you can:

ZOOM (Wide/Telephoto)

Menu

Guide showing recording, Automatic Exposure, Automatic Focus, Tracking Focus, Zoom, Remaining Battery, Counter, Intelligent Auto., View images, etc.

NOTE: Because a touchscreen is used, I recommend purchasing a plastic screen protector. Anything that can protect the screen from damage or scratches.

INITIAL SETUP: Setting up the camera for region, date and time was very easy.

ON or OFF: There is no power button. If you open the LCD screen, the camera turns on. For the lens, there is a switch to open and close the lens cover.

BUTTONS: The buttons are user-friendly.

On top of the Camera:

MODE: Switch from video or to take pictures

Zoom Lens features a 30x Extended Zoom

Photo Button When selecting photo mode, on top is a photo button to take pictures.

On Back of Camera:

Start/Stop Video

On Side of Camera with LCD Open:

Projector To switch to projector mode on playback

Play button

Slots for mini-HDMI and the USB-Video cables

Built-in USB Cable

Right on the hand guard is a mini-USB cable (an inch long). For people needing more wire, an included USB adapter with 2 ft. cord is included.

RECORDING: You can selected highest quality (1920x1080/60i quality, AVCD HD 24M), high quality (1920x1080/60i quality, AVCD HD 17M), standard (1440x1080/60i quality, AVCD HD 9M )and long time (1440x1080/60i quality, AVCD HD 5M).

III. TESTING THE CAMERA:

During my tests of the HDR-PJ200, I realized that a lot of the functions are via touchscreen. So, with that being said, I would not let young children use the touch screen or mess with it as it is your primary way of using this camera.

A. LOW-LIGHT TEST: First test was indoor utilizing low-light. The camera detected low-light and tried to compensate but like most digital cameras around this price-range, low-light is not going to be that great. It will be grainy, but once the camera does pick up light, the video quality is great. Tested the camera in various indoor-light situations and low-light is OK, but it's outdoors during sunlight where this camera really shows off its awesome picture quality.

B. OUTDOOR TEST: In sunlight, this camera looks absolutely fantastic! Vibrant colors and I love the zoom for this camera. From far away, I was able to zoom 30X and get a good closeup of a section over 100 yards away. But the more farther you zoom, the more difficult it is to shoot without shakiness. The camera has camera-shake detection, but you would need to enable Intelligent Auto Function. So, for long distance shooting, I do recommend a tripod. Otherwise, I zoomed on a person in movement about 75 yards away and the camera picked up motion detection and was able to capture the person amazingly well without blur or problems.

The camera has Face Priority and Tracking Focus which helps the camera capture clear images. There is also a smile shutter included and that the camera easily detects.

Subject detection was easy to set. Face Detection allows for adjusting of focus, color and exposure and to select portrait or baby. Scene detection allows for backlight, landscape, night scene, spotlight, lowlight and macro.

C. PHOTO TEST:

Photos are easy to take with this camera. You can choose from the following image sizes L 16:9 (5.3MB), L 4:3 (4.0MB), S 16:9 (1.3MB), S 4:3 (VGA)

D. PROJECTOR TEST:

I felt the project worked very well around 3-4 ft. from a solid source. There is a projector focus on top the LCD screen and it works! The more outdoor shots you take, the better the projector quality is as opposed to shooting indoors with low-light.

E. PlayMemories Home (Lite Version): The camera comes with a built in PlayMemories Home (Lite Version) to transfer video to your computer. When plugging the device to your computer, you can install the software to Windows 7, XP computers. For Mac users, a storage drive will show on your computer. But if you have iPhoto or iMovie, you can easily access the files. But included in the storage drive is a MAC URL to access Sony Software.

But plugging the camera in to your computer, you are given two choices: USB Connect or Disc Burn

JUDGMENT CALL:

Sony's HDR-PJ200 is a solid performer with great picture quality when it comes to outdoor and areas with a lot of light. While low-light, it may be too grainy for some. But there are other cameras that perform better in low-light.

It's strength is in its 30x Extended Zoom and how it's able to capture motion detection very well. And of course, the biggest plus for this digital video camera recorder is its projector. The projector does work amazingly well if a solid object is 3-4 ft. away. I've tried it on a various of colored walls and objects and the projector does work. You just want to make sure that the video is outdoors for it to look bold and beautiful via projection. Otherwise with low-light indoor video, I was having to put the camera about a foot away from the wall for it to look right.

I like the fact that Sony included various cables with the product, also the automatic USB is nice to have as part of the camera.

But the big question people may ask is $379.00 a good price for the camera. You get an HD camera with a projector. Most video cameras don't offer that. But it all depends how important the projector is for you. It's great if you are on vacation and want to project your family trip on the back seat of a car so the kids can watch.

With that being said, this camera is tied into its touchscreen. Break the LCD screen, and the camera is done for. And because the camera is light, made of plastic, I don't want to think about what if you drop it. I've dropped camcorders before but they were bulky, I dropped FLIP cameras but they seemed durable. But the HDR-PJ200, I get a feeling if you drop it, it's done for. So, I highly recommend purchasing a bag for this camera and possibly adding a secondary wrist strap.

But overall, the camera does deliver when it comes to capturing HD video in well-lighted or outdoor environments. But how important is the project for you, that's probably going to be the biggest drive. While it works great from outdoor shots, if you are looking at it to capture your baby or child when asleep or in low-light, the camera may be too dark/grainy for your taste. But if you feel this is a camera to take with you for outdoor travel and need that projection for personal or business, it works remarkably well.

But there are other cameras that perform just as well without the projector and are much cheaper. So, if the projector is important, then the Sony HDR-PJ200 is for you!

Sony's 2012 model HDR-PJ200 has lots of bells and whistles for an entry level camcorder and 5.3 megapixel still image capture device. The price is okay knowing that you get a SONY quality camcorder with built-in projector but honestly, the still image capture is very poor and video recording performance is average at best.

Last month I also reviewed Sony HDRCX580V High Definition Handycam 20.4 MP Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom and 32 GB Embedded Memory (2012 Model) camcorder for Amazon which sells for more than double the price of this HDR-PJ200 and does not even have built-in projector. In my humble opinion the high end model does have better video capture quality & image quality especially when it comes to Still images. Remember! You always get what you pay for.

The optical image stabilization especially on zoomed images is better with the high end model. The HDR-PJ200 had some difficulty in maintaining stability especially when zoomed. You do need a very steady hand or tripod if you want extreme close-up. It still takes pretty good Hi-Def Video, but I find the low light performance is poor and there is some video noise here and there.

Surely this camcorder is not for serious video enthusiasts or could be because I got the high end model to play with recently and have proof videos for comparisons and now I can surely tell the difference. If you have the money you should surely opt for the high end model.

PROS:

[+] Super Compact Camcorder which is extremely lightweight & easy to carry

[+] Built-in Projector is fun to have! adds coolness to the product.

[+] Carl Zeiss lens & Good build quality as you would expect from SONY

[+] Decent HD quality Video capture under good light conditions for the price

[+] Uses Standard SDHC Memory cards for recording No more tapes! No moving parts!

[+] HDMI out & HDMI cables included for TV connectivity

CONS:

[-] Very poor Still image captures

[-] Washed out grainy video especially under low light

[-] Touch Screen LCD is shinny and hard to see in bright sunlight

It is hard to justify the need to purchase a camcorder these days as most of the Smart phones are capable of recording 1080p HD videos and takes excellent quality still images. Having said, if you are one of those people who likes to take lots of video and would like to have a dedicated device just for that then purchasing a camcorder is justifiable.

Please remember that you do need to add 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card to the price of the camcorder but it still comes under $400 dollars in total. For the money I think it is an average value camcorder in all respects and the built-in projector makes this camcorder somewhat more desirable than others thereby achieving a 4 star rating.

The camcorder build quality is very good as you would expect from Sony but you will have to remember these products are mass produced in china now-a-days and has become more or less use and throw commodity.

Hope my review is useful to you, if you have any questions please feel free to comment and I will try to answer them to best of my knowledge.

Happy shopping here on Amazon!

Buy Sony HDR-PJ200 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom and Built-in Project Now

Ok so my wife picked this up for me today at BestBuy for about four and a half Benjamin's, actually 10 under that. Anyhow. First the PROS. It does great in indoor light during the evening. It even has a low light setting for VERY low light. The projector is very cool, however for me I don't know how often I would actually use it in a practical situation. It's rather small, which is good, makes for easy carrying. Takes standard SD memory cards. Records audio in stereo, picks up the sound well, has some focus following feature where you can long press on a subject in the viewfinder and it will keep the subject in focus so long as it can see them, while they move around the scene. The zoom is great, very clear and VERY STABLE, great job on the image stabilization!!!! Also the MACRO is GREAT!!!!!! Seems like you can practically put something all the way up to the lens and it will focus on it.

CONS: The still image quality is GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!! My EVO 3D does FAR OUTSTANDING SUPERIOR photos compared to this camera. This camera claims it can do 5.3 megapixels, my EVO 3D does 5.0 megapixels. There is no excuse for the horrible lack of quality for the stills in this camcorder. Maybe many or most people won't use that feature, but you pay for it, it should be more than a novelty. Also most people probably won't mind but there is no input option for different microphones, nor are there inputs for headphones. Also: It is *NOT* truly FULL HD!!! It does NOT do 1080P, only 1080i. There IS a difference!!!!

Personally I feel this camcorder is overpriced. We are probably returning it tomorrow. If it was about a hundred bucks less, I'd probably keep it. The projector feature seems weird as I just don't know how practical it is. And the projected image is only at 640 x 360, that's not even VGA resolution. Seems just like a gimmick to sell the camera. If it was a higher res ok.. but still not sure where the niche is for it. Some people will LOVE this camcorder. And to be honest, if it did FULL 1080P, I would probably keep it. But as it is.. it's getting returned tomorrow.

Read Best Reviews of Sony HDR-PJ200 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom and Built-in Project Here

It's really amazing how much technology is getting crammed into these little cameras. What was small two years ago is now big by comparison. This lightweight camera packs a lot of punch for its small size and offers decent performance especially when outdoors.

This little camcorder from Sony is a decent entry level HD camcorder but I've found you might want to opt for a slightly more advanced camera in their lineup. That's not to say this camera isn't worth considering but it is worth thinking about whether spending a little bit more for better quality video and an external mic input justify spending a little bit more.

Sony includes an HDMI cable with the camera so that it can be connected to an HD television. This sounds trivial but so many manufacturers don't include the cable and require an additional purchase in order to hook it up to a modern television. Sony also gains some kudos for using standard SDHC cards and no longer requiring their proprietary memory stick format.

The 25X optical zoom is great to have in a product this size. But I recommend having the camera on a tripod or resting on a stationary surface in order to use it. Even with the stability controls it doesn't take much to get a shaky shot at full zoom.

The camera includes an onboard projector that is unique in the product space but not all that useful in the long run. The color and picture quality on the projector are remarkable in a dark room but the camera does not allow you to play anything other than what the camera recorded. So it's not possible to load back in edited footage from your computer.

Video quality is good in outdoor light, so-so in dark environments. I found the next step up in the Sony product line has better video quality.

The camera does not include an external microphone jack. This is unfortunate as good video often requires good audio. Although the camera does do a decent job of isolating speakers, it really can't do much in a noisy environment that would benefit from an external microphone.

Overall I'd say this is an improvement over less expensive "flip-cam" style camcorders. The zoom alone is a differentiator but if you're going to opt for a camcorder you might want to consider a mid-level version from Sony or Canon that offers better quality video and the microphone port.

Want Sony HDR-PJ200 High Definition Handycam 5.3 MP Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom and Built-in Project Discount?

This Sony has the most features of any High End video camera on the market right now. It does not have the huge sensor to capture the holy grail of video reproduction like the fifeteen hundred to three thousand dollar cameras, but it does deliver on image quality. Will be heads and shoulders above the quality of our phones and flip corders and the lower end hadi cams.

This Sony camera does deliver when it comes to capturing HD video in well-lighted or outdoor environments. But how important is the project for you, that's probably going to be the biggest drive. While it works great from outdoor shots, if you are looking at it to capture your baby or child when asleep or in low-light, the camera may be a tad too dark/grainy for your taste.

But if you feel this is a camera to take with you for outdoor travel and need that projection for personal or business, it works remarkably well for this. I have a high end canon as well and the outdoor shots are comparable. Inside not so much. Got some grain and missed detail. Or you can turn on some frickin lights and save some cash.

But there are other cameras that perform just as well without the projector, but this feature is pretty cool as you dont have to wait to share your videos with everyone, just dim the lights and find a wall. So, if the projector is important, then the Sony HDR-PJ200 is the coolest in town.

As always if you have any questions ask.

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