Olympus WS-331M Digital Voice Recorder and WMA Music Player

Let me start by saying that I was originally overwhelmed by the number of digital voice recorders and the different features. As I began to study the market I soon realized that selecting the right recorder would not be easy. I eventually developed a list of the top features that I wanted in a recorder.

The most important feature was that the recorder must be compatible with Dragon Naturally Speaking. Fortunately, many of the Olympus recorders are not only compatible but excel in that area. The WS-331 has not yet been certified by Nuance (the maker of Dragon), but the lower models have been. Recognizing that the 331 is both a new model and a much improved version I knew that success of the lower models would be a good indicator. As an example, the WS-320 as well as the 300 offer excellent service for voice recognition.

Building on compatibility I also knew that I would need a recorder that was easy to use. While other recorders provide feature rich controls the attraction to the Olympus was part simplicity and convenience. The main function buttons are located on the right side of the recorder. This is the traditional location for the record, stop, and play buttons. For some something as simple as location of main buttons would seem trivial; however, for me it was a question of function over form.

The Olympus also provides a clear, though small, LED screen. Of course, given the overall size of this recorder a larger screen would be both out of proportion and make the recorder harder to use. I have found so far that I actually do not look at the screen that often, so screen size is less material than I originally thought. Even with a relatively small screen the information given to the user is clear and concise.

The size of this recorder is simply amazing. Even with a battery the recorder weighs just a few ounces. While the recorder can be easily carried in a shirt pocket I have found that it is especially convenient when carried in one of the smallest cell phone belt pouches. The Olympus is about half the size of a Blackberry or small PDA. It is thinner than most small cell phones, and will fit easily on a belt or in a purse.

One of the top attractions to this recorder is the size of the memory. At 2GB there is plenty of room to store just about anything I can dictate. As an author of several books and dozens of articles I find that using the recorder is a valuable tool which has increased my productivity. I am no longer anchored to a computer keyboard when I write; now I can write anywhere I can take my recorder.

In fact, this review was recorded using the Olympus and then transcribed by Dragon. I actually found the error rate to be lower using the recorded file than when I use Dragon live. This has less to do with the voice recognition software than it does with the quality of the recording. I find that by recording I actually write better, and that my speech is clearer which means that my error rate drops.

Another significant feature of this recorder is the direct USB connection. The recorder comes with a short USB cable which can be easily used when access to the USB port is restricted. Fortunately my computer has several USB ports on the front, so I can connect the Olympus directly to the computer.

About the only negative to this is that the recorder now sticks out on front of the computer, and if the computer were positioned in a high traffic area it might create a hazard from being run into (hazard for the recorder, that is).

The recorder appears to be made mostly of plastic. Some might find this to be a negative but for me it helps explain the lack of weight. The light weight of the recorder is certainly an advantage, and I don't believe the plastic is a true issue. The overall quality of workmanship is very high.

Files are easily transferred from the Olympus to the computer just as they would be from a flash drive. The first time I plugged the Olympus into the USB port the computer immediately recognized the recorder. This is a real advantage, especially when transferring files to a new computer. As an example, I can easily use the recorder on both my home computer and laptop without installing special software. Likewise, I can take the recorder to my office where it is compatible with any computer using as USB port. Other recorders have a proprietary system that requires the use of special software, and that is simply too inconvenient given today's market and needs.

Files on the Olympus are stored in the WMA format. The recorder also plays music files in both the WMA and MP3 format. Having such large storage capacity also means that I can download music files to the recorder and still have plenty of room to make new recordings.

There are many other features which make this a great recorder, that space simply won't allow me to detail each of them. If you are looking for a great recorder to use with voice recognition software then I highly recommend this recorder. This is also a great tool for recording lectures, or conversations, and many other matters.

This is the most amazing device! It has so many great features and the stereo sound is very helpful. I agree with the praise from most all the reviewers. There are two major flaws I want future buyers to know about before buying:

1. Low microphone sensitivity and low playback volume.

2. Loss of recording if the battery runs out.

I had previously used an RCA voice recorder with low sound quality but it did not have these two major flaws. I would have returned the Olympus unit but it's plusses are so great that I decided to keep it.

I called Olympus Tech Support and they were not helpful at all. They told me to send an email and I got no response.

If you listen to the device where the background is perfectly quiet, it's fantastic. The problem comes when you need to listen in a low to moderate noise envionment such as in a car or while walking, for example. I CONSTANTLY find myself trying to turn up the volume. It just is inadequate. I never had that problem with the RCA unit. The microphone setting also is not very sensitive. It needs another setting higher than "conf".

The other annoying thing is that when it is ready to run out of battery power, you get no warning. You just lose your recording permanently. This forces you to change the battery earlier than you might otherwise even though it has a significant amount of juice left.

I am hoping Olympus comes out with a fix for the volume problem, at least. If any of you experience this, please complain to them about it. I'm sure a software fix would correct this.

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This is the 3rd Olympus portable digital recorder I own, the others being the DS 2000 (mono) and the DS 2200 (stereo).

The good things about this WAS-331M:

capability of stereo recording without the need of external mic (capable), unlike the DS 2200 which can record in stereo only with optional stereo mic.

direct recording in wma format, instead of propriety format like the DS 2000.

recording in high fidelity (44 48 kHz).

large built-in memory (2 GB) instead of using external flash card.

capability of using as a flash drive with built in USB.

capability of using as a mp3 player (in stereo) with USB direct transfer.

USB device is recognized instantaneously; no software needed.

capability of secret conversation recording, putting in pocket/bag, although it will pick up any noise.

Now, the bad thing about it:

the battery life is not predictable. This is the most inconvenient default of this, otherwise near perfect, jewel. Who knew how many recordings I missed due to the sudden stop of recording due to low battery. The indicator showed 2 stripes, but the recording suddenly stopped at 44 minutes, although Olympus boasted a 11-hour battery life.

Should we change battery when half discharge?

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I've owned a number of Olympus voice recorders going back to the days of tape. All have been noteworthy performers. The WS-331M represents the state-of-the-art in non-dedicated digital voice recorders. That is, it is neither a dedicated dictation unit intended to be used with foot switches and other transcription accessories, nor a professional audio recorder.

Instead, this unit is intended for casual audio recording use. (It also has music player features which I have no need for and don't use.)

The unit has a staggering 71 hour recording capacity in HQ (High Quality) mode. I tried it in a large auditorium to record a lecture with three participants and the results were far more than merely satisfactory. Each voice was clear and distinguishable.

I used it for personal recording down to a slight whisper and the quality at every sound level is more than acceptable.

When I deliberately introduced loud background noise (a television talking heads show and a music-playing radio), dictation was still usable.

I haven't tried it with Dragon Naturally Speaking yet, but from prior experience with other Olympus and Sony recorders, I have no doubt that it will work well.

The unit is beautifully designed. About four inches long by perhaps two wide and not even a half-inch thick. Record, Stop and Play controls are conveniently located on the right side and easily manipulated with the thumb. A four-way controller on the front handles volume and forward and reverse direction. A center button takes care of the menu. There are separate buttons for Erase and Folder/Index. On the left side is the Hold button and a mode selector for Music or Voice.

All in all, one of the simplest control panels I've ever seen on a digital recorder and, frankly, a welcome change.

The LCD screen in legible and the backlight just capable enough.

Battery life is adequate. I make it a rule to regularly change batteries in units like this so I am not rendered unexpectedly powerless. Cheap insurance.

There's a lanyard attachment in the back.

Overall, the handling of this unit is absolutely sweet. Not slippery so as to cause concern for it flying out of your hand. Not too many controls that you forget how to use. Everything is simple and straightforward. A truly nice piece of design.

The coolest part is that transferring recordings to your computer requires nothing more than detaching the bottom of the WS-331M, using a quick-release button and plugging it into a USB port on your Windows PC. That's it. No software, no cables, no nothing. It's a WMA file that will play in Windows Media Player or any number of other PC players.

Overall, a sweet little unit.

Jerry

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I reluctantly replaced a Sony voice recorder that I have been using for two years because I felt a little guilty about getting an upgrade so soon. But I was disappointed with quality and lack of MP3 capabilities. My guilt is gone! I am a pastor and the recordings are the BEST I've ever heard. I can record my sermons and listen to sermons I download off the internet. THere are 28 sermons, my fav CDs, and plenty of room for more. If you speak professionally, this is the tool for you!!

QNAP NMP-1000 1-Bay Portable Network Multimedia Player (up to 2-TB)

this player cant play HD sound and it stops on most of the M2TS files because its to heavy :((((

im so stupid to not check the forums from they Website before i even waist my 4-5 Hr to try to see what the problem ! :((

dont buy it if You think You can handle HD Sound like Dolby True HD or HD DTS !

and they said they have certified from the Dolby ...i cant believe it...:((

Esky Car Black Box Kit - Includes H.264 Car DVR Camera Recorder with 2.5" Rotatable Screen and HDMI

• Rotatable Lens & Screen
• 120° Wide-Angle Lens
• High-definition video recording (H.264 + 1080P)
• Video and audio transmission via HDMI interface
• 4 x digital zoom in/out function

Bought two of these cameras, one for each car. One works great the other was a lemon from the start. Returned it once for a replacement. Continued problems with the replacement It is now past the 6 months warranty so customer service will do nothing about it. If you need help customer service they will send you suggestions on a fix, as I do not believe even they know how to fix them. I would suggest spending a few more bucks and look for a warranty that means something. Pass this camera up and look for a more quality product. I will be doing just that for my next one.

Mele A2000 TV Box Full HD Internet Media Player

I had got the MeLe A2000 to watch online video, play some games, and run emulators,

it can play videos "acceptably" and "some" Android games play fine, but a lot of games

wont work in landscape mode, and Emulators are mostly useless without bluetooth or

gamepad support, another thing I dislike is the device seems slow at times, not sure

if its low memory or just needs a tweaked ROM.

The MeLe A2000 is well made, however the ROM that is installed has some issues that

need to be fixed, some of them include, no bluetooth support, and no gamepad support,

Android can work with bluetooth dongles and USB gamepads, but MeLe neglected to include

them in the ROM, however you can flash another ROM, and even shoe horn ClockworkMod onto

the device, with some effort I was able to install both CM9 and ClockworkMod, and then

my bluetooth dongle and USB gamepad worked, over on Reddit there is a Subreddit called

Mele with more info.

The MeLe A2000 can play some 3D Android games with no trouble, like 3D Mini Golf, and

Dead Trigger does work but at a low frame rate, and most emulators work fine.

Of the videos I have tried, most worked just fine, I had one AVI fail to play, and one

of the HD videos I had on a thumbdrive seemed to be playing at a low frame rate, I use

MX Player Pro, as it seems to work with the MeLe's hardware providing hardware acceleration.

It keeps crashing after few minutes of video play. I have tried many video players without luck. It works normally and after 10-20 minutes it crashes and need hard reboot. This is the same for youtube as well.

I didn't upgrade it. I still have firmware 1.5 and Android 2.3. The reason why I cannot upgrade is because the company website is so slow that the connection drops. And today the links are not even responding. I hope the upgrade will solve this issue.

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This is a nifty and versatile media player that shipped with Android Gingerbread but can be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich or other Linux distros. The method to upgrade is pretty easy but it takes some searching to find the upgrade files. You then need a Windows utility (that did not work for me) and an SD card to flash the new firmware. Instead I just did it in Linux. I followed the instructions here:

[....]

But there is a typo on this line:

[....]

(it should just be: [....]

Another drawback, for English language types, is that you must change it from its native Chinese. If you know your way around Android menus, you should be able to get it switched.

It is pre-rooted so you have full access without any complicated procedures to obtain root.

Overall, I'm happier with this than my Google TV (Logitech Revue) because it is not locked down. I would like to be able to get GTVBox (for GTV) running on this. The Mele also can launch the Vulkano application without all the video issues that Google TV has.

The remote works but not always very smoothly. I tend to navigate more with a wireless mouse.

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I bought this after reading about it on Gizmodo, in an article about good comps for under a 100. This is a comp with a cell phone/tablet operating system, and for media it's awesome. I don't have cable and needed another comp for my bedroom TV that is still a tube TV. The comp had the right rca output for the old TV, and HDMI if i ever get a flat screen. I plugged in my removable hard drive and started watching TV/Moives right away. It connected to my internet with no prob, and I logged into my Google account and it synced up with my email and other Google stuff (just like my smart phone). The remote works great but if you want to do some hardcore surfing (pron?), you might want to invest in a keyboard/mouse combo that works with this type of comp. The only negative thing i have to say is that the language is set to Chinese. I was about to call the delivery guy to translate but i was able to recognize enough symbols from the quick start guide to find my way through the settings and change the language. The apps already installed are for Asian websites and services. I just removed all those and installed the few i need to get content. This could be a deal breaker for people with no tech back ground, but if you have a little patience its totally worth it. Haven't tried any games yet because i'm not sure if games like angry birds would work with the remote. To sum it up, this comp is great for media and lite web surfing, and most of all it's cheap! I'm willing to bet these type of comps will become super popular in the near future, for poe folk like myself, who want a smart TV, but don't want to pay a lot for it.

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The box works fine but crashes occasionally. This box appears to come with a flawed or very mediocre version of ICS.

TCO DVR Spy Camera Button - Hidden Camera Color Surveillance Video Recorder. Built in 4GB Memory

This unit works very well. I have used for CYA recordings.

It has amazing clarity for its size and price.

The magnetic ring control system is a little persnickety but manual operation is flawless.

I would buy one of these from this seller again if I needed another one.

this camera works great alarm battery life almost 2 hours nonstop average quality in picture it's an easy 1 button operation Records at 30 frames per second and I would definitely buy another 1

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works well but directions not interpreted the best once you get the operation down no problems again use your imagination when reading the instructions

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I bought this ruthless garbage camera because I was mislead with some nice review last couple months. When I received the item I was very excited and look for the manual instruction. I would say the manual is not what I expected. It only tells you where to find the little tiny button "ON" and "OFF". THIS GARBAGE CAMERA IS NOT WORKING. I already used the USB that comes with it and plugged in to my pc for a day to get the battery working and still not working. I can see the light "on" but I cannot see its functionality. NO PICTURE !!! NOTHING !!!! Also, the case is very very bad. You have to placed rubber band or scatch tape to keep it from holding together. DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE !!!

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The camera quality is poor. It says it is 4GB but when connected to the computer, it detects only 2GB. Picture mode does not work. All pictures result in a blue screen image. Video recordings are incomplete. I tried recording different events and it only recorded about 1/3 of the events.

Samsung DVD-M201 DVD Player

• Dolby Digital and DTS output
• Coaxial and optical digital-audio outputs
• Component and S-video outputs
• Onscreen display
• CD-R-compatible dual-laser diode pickup

This player, though the price is attractive, and support DD and DTS output.. have to work with a good reciever to bring out the sound that it support, since the player itself have no means of decoding the signals of the DVDs. Therefore buy it if u must as a basic player and nothing more.

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you would think for the price it doesn't skip but it does!

Magbox 12000mAh Travel Chargers Backup External Battery Pack Charger Power Bank Charger Rechargeabl

I received the Magbox 12000mAh Travel Chargers Backup External Battery Pack Charger Power Charger and the only issue that I found is that the only instructions that you receive with the product is in not in English.

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Samsung SCD103 MiniDV Digital Camcorder

At the start of our vacation this year our camcorder was stolen! We picked up this Samsung at a local Costco one day before arriving at Yellowstone National Park for a once in a lifetime trip.

My husband took movies all day and we did not have to recharge the battery (although we are getting a backup). The pictures were great! Although, we did see them on 3 different screens and each one the quality of the movies were different. On the large (60") screen they did look grainy but on a 32" they looked great. And we were glad that we had purchased it.

The only reason that I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I have not been able to hook it up to my computer via the USB cable and am online to order the other one. If all goes well I will readjust the stars!

I had a very low budget and a newborn... (you do the math!)

I did my research and finally, I got it.

The features I love:

Can be used as webcam! I don't understand why they don't promote this feature. In fact, I went to Best Buy to see it and they had no idea about this capability.

Very light.

Resolution... it's ok. It's just for family memories... not to broadcast the SuperBowl in HD!!!

Built-in light.

Memory stick.

Night PIX

Good audio! Nice mic. Really.

A/V connectors in several flavors.

Things I don't like too much but I can live with:

Very low resolution in snapshots.

Included battery lasts... nothing.

The cover of the A/V connectors is very weak. Any bad movement... and It's broken.

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I bought this camcorder because we were on a budget just having a new baby and wanting to record some video of her growing up. I first was scared because I didn't think the quality would be that good after it was uploaded to the internet. To my suprise the quality was phenominal!!! This is a great camera for starters. I live in Houston and it snowed here on Christmas eve so I went out side and used the light and then I used the night vision to take pictures of the snow falling and let me say I was amazed at the quality. The only complaint I have is that the stabilazation is not that great but then again I was using myself as the trypod so can't really complain. Practice will make perfect.

Also the camera comes with all the software and the s-cable, audio/video cables to hook up to the tv as well as a usb cable to connect to the computer and upload. You can use firewire also to transfer data but have to pay extra for the cable 20 something dollars.

I hope that this is is helpful.

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When this digital camcorder works, it records a nice picture and captures a lot of sound. It has, however, some major drawbacks.

Our first main gripe is the substandard battery. We've charged it overnight and then would unplug thinking it was fully charged. After one week we'd grab the camcorder and head out the door to capture a magical moment...only to find the battery completely dead.

After our third use, the camcorder now has some type of 'mechanical defect' as the manufacturer's manual calls it. The warranty is recently expired and so we're still debating whether to repair this item or just get another more reliable brand.

If you decide purchase this camcorder, be sure to get extra batteries and always keep one on the charger. Hopefully you'll get more use out of yours than we did ours.

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This is an awful camcorder. While under warranty the camcorder was repaired. The warranty had ended and I am having nothing but problems again.

Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone - Black

• Rugged all-metal housing
• Integral shock mount for rejection of handling noise
• Switchable sensitivity for long and short distances.
• More than 300 hrs operationg time from 1 AAA battery.
• Fits all camers with a standard hot shoe mount and an external microphone input

I bought this microphone a couple weeks ago to use it with the Panasonic tm700 camcorder. My experience level with microphones is above average. I have several high end larger shotgun mics that were just too awkward to use with a traditional camcorder. My overall impression of this microphone is that it sounds good and functions as intended.

1. The sound quality from this microphone is pretty good and it performs as a shotgun mic should, rejecting sounds and noise from its sides and behind it and

focusing on sound in front of it. (which is why its superior to on board omnidirectional mics when ambient sounds are a problem)

2. Form factor is small. No one should buy this mic if they don't have to have a miniature shotgun mic.

Conclusion: The Sennhseiser MKE 400 works well and sounds good for its intended purpose. It is a shotgun mic. It is not an omnidirectional mic.

It will help if you have a noisy camcorder and want to eliminate the sound of the camera. It is useful in "focusing" on sounds in front of it as

opposed to behind or to the side of it. It is a 200.00$ miniature microphone and won't perform as well as larger more expensive shotguns.

Like all shotguns it will sound better if its closer to its subject like on a boom pole.

A word about microphones.....almost any camcorder you buy new will be worth thirty to fifty percent less in a years time and nothing in 5 years. Any microphone you buy will be worth almost what you paid for it. Quality microphones don't lose their value and the technology hasn't changed in decades. While I am recommending this microphone for its intended purpose I would suggest anyone that doesn't already have another larger microphone to go ahead and get a full size high quality mic first. Otherwise you will be penny wise and pound foolish.

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I need to record some conversation with canon 7D. Tried almost every hotshoe mic available from local stores and this is the only one I kept. It suppresses background noise while improving the voice. Exactly what I want.

All other models I tried either amplify noise along with voice, or don't show any improvement compared to the internal mic.

My original budget is about 150, so 200 is a bit steep. I still bought it because that's the only one that works for me.

(I didn't buy it from amazon. Instead I went to San Jose Camera and Videos local store to try and buy. Very nice store with knowledgeable employees. Only concern was that they don't accept return on this item. It does come with 3 yr warranty though. So we brought our camera to record some samples, went home and listen on the computer, then went back to the store and bought it.)

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Unless you are spending around $2000 dollars on a camcorder, you are likely to be getting a surface mounted camera mike that gets all sorts of extraneous noise that is not coming from your picture subject. if your camcorder has a stereo mini microphone jack, This microphone really changes the sound quality of your recording and is well worth the $200 Amazon is selling it for.

Pros: Small footprint compared to the Rode camera mikes; this is especially important if you are using wide-angle lenses or want to film without calling attention to yourself. Long battery life. Good sound. Functional shock absorber.

Cons: Hard to tell if it's on. Foam windscreen easily pulls off the conical shaped mike and is not easy to replace thru Sennheiser or anywhere else if lost. Umbillical cord is in the way on cameras with a small distance between the accessory shoe and the mike jack.

Overall this is a great purchase for b-roll cameras or home video cameras where the sound is awful using the built in mike.

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I've been using this mic with my Canon 5D mkII for a year now and it's a great little mic, although definitely not perfect. I'll keep this short:

Pros:

Compact

Good performance/sound

Easy to use

Cons:

Fragile

Shock mount is prone to break at the rubber connections (I've crazy glued it back together twice now, once each mount).

A more accurate battery display would have been nice.

Windshield falls off easily, its fallen off many times and lost it the last time it did.

Price for performance (I paid $250 for it a year ago, but at $200 I still feel it's over-priced).

I would give it 3.5 stars if I could but bumped it up to a 4 since it's above average.

I guess I need to try out other mics, but from everything I read and saw this was the best in its class. I eagerly await the next model.

I have a Canon 7D that I use this on since the auto focus noise can be heard with the on board mic. This fixes that problem while producing a crisper and clearer sound than the built in Mic. Battery life is pretty good also.

Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD Camcorder

This one is a winner. I havent put it to too much test because I am still waiting for my 32GB P2 cards. I had done a bit of testing with the FS-100 HD and had to return it double fast. If you want to fully enjoy the use of this camera, its best to go with the P2 cards, they are light-weight and dont have any moving parts. The FS-100s are clumsy, although a great idea, you could easily pull the firewire cord without realising it and waste several hours of valuable recording in the process.

The camera was in great condition and came with lots of awesome extras, though some unnecessary items. Card reader that came with the camera did not work, and seller was unresponsive to questions, but the product was quality and at a great price.

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Smaller components, such as the headphone jack, IEEE1394 jack, etc will fail on you and repairs will cost you hundreds of dollars. I purchased one of these cameras in august of 2009 only to have both the headphone jack and IEEE 1394 port fail only days out of the one-year warranty expiration period.

Do NOT buy this camera because for what your paying (an extremely expensive $3,000+ price tag) you would expect a much more quality product. **These various ports and jacks failing are a known issue with these cameras. See the panasonic forums and other websites**

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Sony produces some of the highest quality full body video cameras on the market.

I produce commercials for a living, and this bad boy never fails me.

Take good care of her, and she will take care of you. Treat it like shit, and of course, delicate parts will fail on you.

The color, and exposure you can achieve with this camera, makes it a great investment.

I do not know how good the stock mic is that comes with it, because I use wireless microphones anytime I need audio. Im sure the quality is there though.

Anyway, If you have the money, and are looking for a quality product that will stand the test of time, this camera may be for you.

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ZVUE Spirit 1 GB MP3 Player--Preloaded with 15 Patriotic Songs (Red, White, and Blue)

• 1 GB, red, white, and blue MP3 player celebrates the U.S.A. with 15 pre-loaded songs
• Supports MP3, WMA, and WAV audio formats, along with ID3 Tag and Lyrics file support
• Comes in a custom aluminum box with original artwork; includes silicone protective case
• Features built-in speaker, voice recorder with built-in microphone, and LED back-lit screen
• Aluminum box is customed with original artwork and inscribed, "Dedicated to the land of the free and inspired by this great nation"

Let me start by saying i picked this thing for 10 bucks on a clearance sale, but i would gladly pay the 35 bucks here for it.

When i first started using it i was angry that the sound quality was so low, then i realized that the real problem was i hated the preloaded music. Once i stuck my own music on it, it sounded great, the headphones aren't bad either, certainly comparable to stock iPod 'phones.

By the way, the best feature of this entire device is that there is NO included software, the thing reads on your computer like a flash drive, you simply drag the music you want over to the player. you can even leave it in folders, which will show up on the player, if you want to keep it organized.

I'm not one to buy American flag anything, but to be sure, no one will mistake my MP3 player for theirs. I get alot of comments about it at the gym.

Also i should note, its not only small, its increadably light, it weighs less than my plastic lighter and is smaller than my iPod Nano.

The little speaker built in is mostly for kicks, you wont be listening to music on it, but its a cute feature.

In fact, thats what this whole device is, just a ton of cute features. Even the case it came in looks amazing.

long live the Zvue!

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Are these other reviews legitimate? I am not sure. I bought this for the voice recorder capability. The design and presentation of this is sleek. However the tin does not include a wall charging usb/ac adapter. The package manual says you need to register the product to receive the adapter in the mail. When I went to zvueproducts.com/register the website indicates that zvue is no longer is registering products. I believe you can charge this thing through the usb port and rechargeable is more ideal for me because I am tired of buying triple a batteries. My tin package did contain a white silicone case, earbuds, and usb cord.

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Have you seen the tracks on this player? They are amazing!

I'm actually saving money because I don't have to pay for

the songs and an mp3 player separately. I can have these

preloaded songs and then put more great songs onto the

player after. And all of this for only 35 bucks!

The player also had a lot of features I wasn't really

expecting, such as a voice recorder. I listen to my Spirit

while I'm commuting to work, and when I remember something

I need to do, I just tell my spirit and listen once I get

to the office. It's great!

The interface is pretty easy to use, and really easy to

see (which is important with my eyesight). I regard myself

as rather inept with electronics, but I was able to use

this one. I suggest this product to anyone that likes this

type of music.

Want ZVUE Spirit 1 GB MP3 Player--Preloaded with 15 Patriotic Songs (Red, White, and Blue) Discount?

I bought this product at the suggestion of one of my friends I met on myspace. He seems very knowledgeable about music so I trusted his suggestion.

Based on the price, I didn't expect much. But boy! I was wrong. The player is surprisingly cool. I didn't expect it to come with half the stuff it does. I was kind of expecting to have to buy a seperate case, charger, and etc, but it came with everything.

My friend was right; the music on it is great. It's not crappy star spangled banner songs or anything, but good ol' american songs like James Brown's "I feel good" or Kiss's "Rock and Roll All Night."

If your looking for an inexpensive and highly portable mp3 player, I suggest this one.

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I actually bought my spirit from the companies website and not amazon but I wanted to give my opinion.

When I got this cool little player it I was amazed that it actually looks as nice as the pictures online.

This is only my second portable music player. The first was some no name brand that I paid twice as much for and it didnt come with anything extra. In fact, I had to buy an ac adaptor after I opened it up and i discovered nothing was included. What a rip!

The Spirit not only has a wall charger but has a thick case to protect the player from damage, comfortable headphones and a computer cord charger.

It also comes with a bunch of music already on it. Free Bird!!!!

I'm still learning the features (voice recorder, speaker, etc) on the player but so far everything things been pretty easy and the manual has covered the questions I have had.

I havent had to contact customer support yet (cross my fingers).

The Patriotic theme is what sold me on the Spirit though. As I said earlier, it really looks as nice as the pictures. I am proud to be an American and the Spirit doesnt leave any room for questions on what side I'm on!

Of course, the price tag helped me when I decided to buy a new music player as well. I cant afford a 400.00 music player and even if I could, I would never pay that much! Its cool that ZUVE made this affordable for everyone and didnt cut costs on quality.

Thanks for reading,

Bill Bailey

(100) Polyethylene Soft Plastic CD Sleeves - 5"x5" - Fits Booklet and Disc

These CD cases are the nicest thin ones I've found. They are clear and crisp, and the flaps have their corners cut so that you can tuck them in, which keeps the CDs from falling out. They have a neat, professional look, and don't get bent or messy like the paper ones. The price is good as well.

Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player

• DVD and VCR Combo Player
• One Touch Recording
• ColorStream Pro Progressive Scan Component Video Outputs
• Simultaneous DVD Playback and VHS Record
• 7.70 Lbs (WxLxH) 9.00" x 16.95" x 3.53"

Picked this up from BestBuy last night should have thought twice as there was one on the shelf that had been returned already. It does not come with a tuner so without a cable or satellite box you're screwed.

My television lacks RCA jacks so I have an RCA/Coax converter. So far so good but the annoying part that I can't figure out is that I have to move the cables from VCR OUT to VCR IN when I want to record something, then back to VCR OUT when I want to watch!

The DVD part worked fine, no real problem there, picture quality looks good and the VCR recording quality looks great. The remote is a joke. You have to press combination keys to get things to work and it was very confusing to learn. It also hates to leave DVD mode. You cannot turn off the DVD side and only focus on the VCR ergo you'll be programming a timer or something and suddenly you're in DVD mode!

The other model at BestBuy was the Sony SLV-D380P. As far as I can tell it's just as bad but with an extra $10 Sony markup!

Buy Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player Now

The unit itself worked fine and seems like a good value for the price. BUT. The remote control requires a full 5 seconds after you press a button before you can press that button again, or any other button. That's a long slow count of 5 in between button presses. The manual warns of a delay in the fine print, but 5 seconds for each button press? It would have taken me a week to set the clock!

Perhaps my particular unit was an outlier in this regard (can they all be like this?) so if you want this product you should probably check out your exact unit right at the store before buying.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player Here

This is exactly what we needed and it works just the way that I would expect. We have had it for several weeks now and we watch movies and shows with it daily. It hasn't given us a moment of trouble and let's face it; vcr's are not as easy to find as they use to be.

I don't see any other product like this being a better deal than this.

Want Toshiba SD-V295 Tunerless DVD VCR Combo Player Discount?

I haven't had this very long, so I can't comment on it's reliability, just it's function. It works fine as far as recording and playback of VHS tape, and the DVD is good. I esp. like the DVD feature that remembers where you left off viewing a DVD. When you power the unit up, it starts right where you stopped the DVD. Great for those 3 and 4 hour movies it takes 2 (or 3) days to watch. The function indicators for DVD or VCR are tiny little boxes on the unit, and are both the same color. I wish they would have just made them different colored lights, or 1 led for VCR and 2 for DVD or some such...of course you can tell which function you're on if the TV is on, but if you just want to eject a disk or tape, you have to be right in front of the player to see which function you've got. The remote control is the big problem with this otherwise nice deal. It's only 6" long and 2" wide, and the buttons are tiny, and the print by the buttons is microscopic. And you can see the labels for the DVD functions OK (barely), but for the VHS functions, they used a dark mustard colored print that is awful to try and see. You need to keep a flashlight handy, which (along with the tiny buttons) kind of takes away that "braille" method of getting used to your remote. Luckily, I had a larger remote from another Toshiba DVD player I own. It's cream colored (as opposed to black, like the new one) and has big, easy to read labels, but I still have to use the new one for the VCR. So why the tiny remote for this job-ee-do? I don't know. Also, on the remote, they put the REW and FWD buttons right in between the SKIP FWD and BACK buttons, so you try to go for the rewind or forward on a DVD, and end up skipping froward or back a whole scene! Very painful! And also, they put the SLOW button up and right, away from the other play buttons, NEXT TO THE OPEN/CLOSE button, so there's more potential fun. Remember, it's tuner-less, so you can't hook it up with your coaxial cable, it has to hook up directly to a cable or satellite box. You need one of those 3 lead cables, with two audio and one video, which, by the way the cheapskates don't provide with the unit, so don't forget to get one. Well, otherwise, it works well, is inexpensive, and is pretty.

Deliver was as forecast by Amazon.

This replaced my previous Tobshiba VCR and DVD player. Operation was integrated and much simpler than with the previous two pieces of equipment. Installation was almost nothing. Plugged it in as described in the summary sheet, turned it on, and all worked without a problem.

CIB CUC7281 700TVL Outdoor CCD Bullet Infrared Day Night Security Camera w/ S...

I just received this in the mail. I will update as I learn more.

1. No Power supply was shipped with the product. So far that is why I am giving it 3 stars.

Belkin NetCam HD Wireless IP Camera for Tablet and Smartphone with Night Vision and Digital Audio (

I have a half dozen different wifi cameras in my house. This is the easiest to set up. It has you create an adhoc wifi network with you iphone, then it simply attaches itself to your wifi network. It all runs through an iphone app. The antenna is internal, so not very good.

The camera gives a decent picture looks pretty HD to me. Colors are accurately reproduced.

The app is not optimized for the iphone 5, so it clips the top and bottom. There is no dedicated ipad app, so only a tiny window iphone emulation.

I cannot figure out how to access the camera using other software I can only get it to work through the Belkin app.

The app itself is pretty bare bones. There are no brightness controls. There is no portrait orientation (only landscape). You cant even pinch to zoom. Audio streaming is patchy at best maybe due to a weak signal. When recording video, the frame rate drops to an unusable level.

The app allows you to do motion detection, but that is completely useless. Even at the least sensative setting it detects every minor movement of a cloud changing the lighting in the room a tiny bit. And the emails it sends you are all have the incorrect time in the subject unless you happen to be in CA, which the camera knows I am not.

I give this three stars. It has potential to be four or even five if the software were improved.

The setup was very easy, so that is a major plus.

This was incredibly easy to set up, and the only thing I am using it for is to see who is at the front door (I live in an upstairs apartment). The camera is fairly well-suited to that task, and it seems to stay connected just fine with my iPhone 4, but I'm not actually using it that often or asking that much of it. The video quality suffices to show me whether it's the UPS driver or a person here to give me a copy of Watchtower.

What the camera supposedly *does* but doesn't do well:

It's not good for video chatting. The video quality, while supposedly HD, is considerably worse than the front camera on my iPhone 4, and audio is lousy.

Motion sensitive security: way too sensitive and annoying.

Recording video: Nope. It's like a strobe sequence in a horror movie. Just, nope.

Bottom line -> this is not a good value in an IP camera. As of this writing, it is every bit as expensive as the higher quality cameras that are available. If it were selling for about 1/3 of its current price, I would add a star for value. At its current price, it gets three stars for mostly serving its purpose.

Buy Belkin NetCam HD Wireless IP Camera for Tablet and Smartphone with Night Vision and Digital Audio ( Now

Love how all the Belkin people have rushed in to thumbs-down my review. Typical.

Let's begin. First off all, this is not made by Belkin. It's an off-label brand that they have rebranded as their own. Yet it actually has less functionality than the off-label product.

Pros:

The video preview quality is decent. That's it.

Cons:

The software crashes all the time.

A 3-second animation plays every time you open the app, even if the app was just idle!

The camera keeps losing the connection to the iPhone app, so you need to quit the app and relaunch it constantly.

The video recording on the software is limited to about 2 frames per second.

The buttons for recording or taking a photo have childish sounds attached to them and they can NOT be turned off. Even if you put your phone on silent.

The recording of video stops at random places, probably caused by notifications on your phone.

You have to sign up for their service, giving them a username, email and password in order to use the camera. There is NO way around this. This means at any time Belkin can watch your camera!! Now wait a minute, you think this won't ever happen? After I sent 3 emails through the app to Belkin, a notice popped up on the screen of my iPhone stating:

Logged out!

There has been a log-in of the same

username and password from

another computer device.

They were looking at my camera!!!!

SEE the photo I added above!!

I sent it back within 3 hours. You will too.

Read Best Reviews of Belkin NetCam HD Wireless IP Camera for Tablet and Smartphone with Night Vision and Digital Audio ( Here

PRO:

Night vision is excellent with this camera. Visibility can be set to day/night or auto and the camera will automatically switch when the light level is too low for normal vision.

Responsiveness is quick...movement on the camera is reflected in the mobile app within about 2 seconds, and does not have any significant lag time.

Application works on both apple and android products, and is quick and easy to install and use app is fast and has all the relevant configuration options for the camera plus live view and share.

CON:

Like other network cameras this one can't be connected to a home surveillance system like a webcamxp or ispy camera device. It creates its own wireless network (which you can't completely customize), and so you must use the Belkin app in order to view the video. This is a huge downside if you already have a home camera solution and just want to add a night-vision camera to it. So if you have a solution, this is a second solution vs. an add-on.

Installation is very quick and easy the camera creates a wireless network that you connect to and configure using the interface, plus the app that you download from either iTunes or Google Play allows for configuration. You can turn audio on/off and quality settings as well.

We accidentally left the phone connected to the camera's wi-fi network after config and wondered why we had no internet access just remember to connect it to your home wi-fi and then move back to your normal setup. You might have to look at the channels of your wi-fi network and move things around so you don't have overlaps, because the camera default isn't configurable as far as I have found. That's another CON for me. I like to fully customize anything on my network, right down to the nitty-gritty.

I took two points away for the network inflexibility...otherwise the quality of the camera is very good and in both day and night mode it provides a clear picture with very smooth quality over a mobile connection (4G and wi-fi tested).

Want Belkin NetCam HD Wireless IP Camera for Tablet and Smartphone with Night Vision and Digital Audio ( Discount?

Wow i saw the other reviews, but thought, surely it can't be that bad. It is. The app has virtually no functions and no options. I thought, well, that's okay, I can use it with IPCamView or even Blue Iris on my computer BUT NO it is NOT COMPATIBLE with any other software and apps that almost every other IP camera is compatible with. WHY? Why did they choose to limit it like this and render it virtually unusable. You can't even adjust the image, or set motion detection zones. Also, when viewing in full screen on their website, the picture is not clear doesn't look HD at all. It may be clearer on a tablet, but you cant zoom into to see a particular detail and a phone and tablet have small screens, so it's hard to say if it really is HD quality also the colors are very washed out to the point of almost being black and white.

The app is so basic that you can only log in, and view the camera. If you go into settings you can turn the audio on or off, turn the IR on or off, turn image auto adjust on or off, and set emails on or off and that's pretty much it! This camera and it's pitiful app mean that it is only good for real time viewing forget about it if you want to record anything automatically or use it for any kind of home security. Maybe Belkin will wise up and add some better features in the future, but as it is, this camera is really not good for much other than viewing real time activity. And because it's not compatible with other software besides Belkin's own, you can't use it to mix and match with other cameras in your home security system. Trendnet and Foscam both have similar cameras that have all the features this is missing. IE the ability to record to SD card or computer when motion is detected, the ability to use it with any software and app that you prefer and I believe both of them are similar, if not cheaper in price than this Belkin. I may be trying one of those two for my next WIFI camera. The logitech alert cameras are more expensive, but also have a much higher feature set than this, as well as really nice desktop software for recording activity and scheduling alerts, etc.

Motion detection alerts seem to work okay and it will email you two frames at the time it is triggered, but again, since this is meant for phone/tablet use only, why only email alerts? There should be an option to have it send push notifications so you can look right away and not have to wait for an email to come thru. And without it having the capability to automatically record when motion is detected, it is useless unless you happen to be able to drop everything and go into the app and press the record button. If someone breaks into your house forget it, you cannot have it record them ripping off your stuff so you can give the video to the police. This makes it basically a glorified nanny cam or pet cam. And if that's all you want it for, I would get something a lot cheaper than this.

Also, at this price point, I feel like it should have an sd card slot to record motion events to, but unfortunately it does not.

These Belkin cameras seem to be released prematurely they advertise easy setup, and sure that is true, it is easy to setup because they are so limited in functionality. I think they are planning on these cameras as part of a whole home automation system, but right now I would say they are in pre-beta stage and have a lot of work to do they are starting out with less than other makers have had available for years. I'll be interested to see if they improve functionality of these over time.

It does deserve at least one star, because it is so simple to setup that any novice user can do it, and for those that don't want to have to mess with port forwarding, dynamic dns, etc but still want to view their camera from anywhere, then maybe this is the best option and they won't mind all the missing features.

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Dual Lens Car Camera (Front / Rear) - 7" Rearview Mirror H.264 HD Car Camera Recorder Vehicle DVR V

There was no second camera, and I don't see how a second camera would plug in.

It also doesn't like a PNY 8 gig transflash card I tried.

That being said. its not bad.

It fits my for ford ranger mirror well.

The mirror isn't 100% reflection, so the night reflections are a bit brighter than they would be if you flipped your standard mirror, but its not so bright as to be unpleasant.

The daytime is a bit darker in the reflection, also no bad.

I am using a 2 gig card in 1 minute mode, it records for about 50 minutes then erases the oldest, so its ok for my cross town travels.

Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer (Black)

• Yamaha's patented PlayXchange for enjoying uninterrupted music
• Full opening disc tray for changing 5 discs at a time
• USB port on front panel for iPod and other devices
• CD-R / RW disc playback compatibility
• MP3 and WMA compatibility

Bought the Yamaha CD-C600BL as a replacement for currently offered Denon DCM-390 5-Disc changer which I listened to everyday for 2 years. The Denon, while excellent, is bested by this Yamaha in most ways. However, the differences in sound quality between these two players, while discernible, are less than 5% according to my ears. That being said, I would characterize the Yamaha as being fuller in the bass and smoother in the vocals and highs than the Denon. Additionally I would say the Yamaha has slightly better timing and cohesion of sound staging. The only thing the Denon has going for it that the Yamaha doesn't is the HDCD decoder which isn't a big deal because few discs are recorded with the HDCD embedded code that allows a 20-bit resolution playback.

My office stereo system is a pair of Wharfedale Diamond Standmount speakers, with a Yamaha RX-797 100watt receiver with high quality interconnects & bi-wired speaker cable. I play jazz, new age, pop, vocals, etc all day long as I am a massage therapist. When you listen to music all day long as I do, that 5% difference in sound quality makes a big difference in taking the edge off listening fatigue--I really appreciate it.

Functionally, the Yamaha's changing mechanism is faster, quieter, and more graceful changing discs than the Denon. I disagree with one reviewer who thinks this player is slow. All the 5 Disc changers are sloooooow. This one is relatively fast in my estimation. The Yamaha remote could be a little better: The disc skip and the track skip are quite a distance apart and the labeling is small for my 46 yr. old eyes.

The really, really, big deal about this Yamaha is the front panel MP3 player USB port! This was the feature that sold me. I can load 300 cd's converted to MP3's loss-less format onto my iPod Nano (16Gigabytes) and enjoy a cd quality playback without ever having to change a single cd in the changer. The Yamaha takes the data from the Ipod without using the Ipod's inferior DAC/amp/preamp circuits and uses instead the cd player's superior DAC (digital-to-analog converter)for playback. The Ipod is fully a high fidelity component in my system! My how times are a changing.

This piece of equipment is a delight at the Amazon price. I got it sent overnight for a mere $4 shipping upgrade with Amazon's free 30-day trial offer: Free second-day-air-for-a-year-program for $70 per year. Heck, the clerk at FedX told me it would have cost approximately $100 to overnight this shipment. I got my money's worth in the first shipment so now it's free 2nd day air for a whole year anytime I order through Amazon. What a bargain! I'm thrilled all the way around. I highly recommended this Yamaha CD player and Amazon. Thank you Yamaha!

Buy Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer (Black) Now

The only reasons I wanted and bought the Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer was for its 24-bit digital/analog conversion rate and the 5-disc capacity. I never had better than 16-bit D/A cd or dvd players; I read reviews here that convinced me to get a 24-bit D/A player. I have two new Denon AV receivers and older NAD stereo equipment, plus high-quality loudspeakers; so I was eligible to notice very superior sound.

I can't compare the Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer to any other 24-bit cd player because I haven't listened to others with my systems.

The package includes a stereo RCA phono cable, a remote w/batteries, and a bare-bones user manual that covers everything in direct and simple language. The connections include one left/right RCA phono plug output, one optical (Toslink) digital output, and a RS-232C terminal. However, the optical cable isn't included with the package (nor is a serial cable for the RS-232C connection).

I've connected the player via the ('analog') RCA cables and also using the optical Toslink cable. I notice no audible difference between the connections. Why should there be any difference, anyhow? The digital information on the cd has been converted to analog by the player so that the preamplifier and amplifier can process it, and then send it in analog form to the 'analog' speakers.

If the cd's digital signal is destined to be input to another digital processor or device, the optical digital cable would be the best way to make that connection (well, there's also a RS-232C terminal, but it's not as pure as the optical handshake).

In essence, connecting with the RCA plugs makes a perfect connection, just as perfect as the 'digital' optical cable makes.

The sound is obviously superior to 16-bit D/A players. Some meaningful sounds that weren't audible are now audible; previously audible sounds no longer have any masking.

There must be one of those laws that applies here, but I don't know of it: For each improvement in quality more watts in a high-end amplifier, minimal harmonic distortion, full frequency response, precise loudspeakers, 24-bit digital-to-analog conversion rate you can listen to the full sound at a lower volume. It saves your hearing in the long run.

Sure, the changer makes its mechanical noise when it rotates each disc into the laser reader. Vinyl record changers made more noise than that when the needle reached the label and jerked off the record (haha), when the tone arm swung out of the way and the next record plopped down hey, if you couldn't hear anything mechanical, your heart would be in your throat hoping nothing is broken. As I write this, the Yamaha cd changer is only some two feet from my ears, and I happen to like the sound of its carousel.

Be careful, though, when the tray is open as you're adding or removing discs the tray could close from your inadvertent pressure; it spins and closes fast; you could break a valuable fingernail on a guitar-playing finger.

Being an old hand with home audio gear, I can't say if there's anything difficult about the Yamaha's set-up and use. I'd say it's designed and made to be as plug-and-play as possible. For anyone who has passed the Audio 101 course, the Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer is super-intuitive. You know, buttons with arrows this way, arrows that way, and so on (or off). The product's name speaks for itself: Yamaha Natural Sound Compact Disc Changer.

Read Best Reviews of Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer (Black) Here

We purchased this 5-disc CD player to replace an old 1993 Sony 5-disc CD player that did not play MP3 CDs and was very particular about the CD-R WMA recorded CDs. This unit plays all of them and so far we have had no problem with reading the CD.

An added bonus is the USB port that allows you to connect an I-Pod or even a flash drive, SD card, etc.

One of the features that we like is the memory that stores the last play and resumes playback the next time you turn it on.

Want Yamaha CD-C600BL 5-Disc CD Changer (Black) Discount?

I decided to purchase this model as an upgrade from the CDC-697 (still working like a charm)I had in my main home theater system, primarily for the Burr-Brown DAC's. The addition of the USB port (although incompatible with my iPod) is a nice touch, as well as the elegant styling and "Pure Direct" mode. On the debit side....This unit loads disks much slower than either my CDC-697 or CDC-506 (which is also still working like a charm). It also doesn't display the number of tracks on each individual CD with the disappearing function and it seems you can't lock the display to show CD-Text for each track (you have to toggle each time).The sound,while more detailed seemed quite bass heavy (compared to my prior units). So overall I expect this unit to have the same (or better) quality than my other units and do recommend it.

Review update 5/20/2011

After contacting the people at Yamaha I found the reason for the less than stellar audio performance. It seems Yamaha is no longer using the Burr-Brown DAC's advertised but their own proprietary unit as seen in my e-mails to them:

Good afternoon John

I find it disappointing that the Burr-Brown DAC's are no longer installed in the CD-C600 units. After reading the description on Amazon it was the main reason I choose to upgrade from my fully functional CDC-697 in my living room system. Is the new DAC a single or dual unit and is is it 192kHz/24-bit ? Had I been aware of the substitution prior to my purchase, I probably would have continued my search for a high quality changer and I wouldn't have convinced 2 other friends of mine to buy these (which they have). Although I find the CD-C600 to have a more detailed sound, it also seems quite heavy handed in lower frequencies (bass region). This condition seems to be moderating with more playing time and I hope it continues . I am presently considering an outboard DAC and using the 600 as a transport (which I hoped I didn't have to do). I've since placed the 697 in my home office and sold the CDC-506 that was there so, I guess I'll be keeping it. It's just not what I paid for.

Russell Henry

----Original Message -----

From: John

Sent: 05/20/11 11:28 AM

To: dangeruss@mail.com

Subject: RE: Re: Yamaha Electronics Support Case #00916531 [ ref:00D3F1z.5003EByEQ:ref ]

The Yamaha DAC's used are still very high quality they are not Burr-Brown branded they are Yamaha branded.

--------------Original Message ---------------

From: russell henry [dangeruss@mail.com]

Sent: 5/20/2011 6:17 AM

To: supportreply@yamaha.com

Subject: RE: Re: Yamaha Electronics Support Case #00916531 [

ref:00D3F1z.5003EByEQ:ref ]

Good morning John

So by this am I to understand that the CD-C600 no longer uses the Burr-Brown DAC's ?

----Original Message -----

From: John

Sent: 05/18/11 11:13 AM

To: dangeruss@mail.com

Subject: RE: Re: Yamaha Electronics Support Case #00916531 [ ref:00D3F1z.5003EByEQ:ref ]

The DAC's in this unit are considered Yamaha proprietary components.

--------------Original Message ---------------

From: dangeruss@mail.com [dangeruss@mail.com]

Sent: 5/15/2011 5:33 AM

To: supportreply@yamaha.com

Subject: Re: Yamaha Electronics Support Case #00916531 [

ref:00D3F1z.5003EByEQ:ref ]

Good morning John,

I hope all is well. Anyway I received my CD-C600 player and am quite happy with it. I do however (yet again)

have another question for you. What model DACs are used in this unit ? I 've searched everywhere in the manual

and on the web can't find it listed.

Thanks again for your help

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The sound of this CD changer is as good as I could have hoped for. The sound is full, warm, detailed, and free from distortion. I learned when I connected the player by using both RCA and toslink cables that the RCA cables gave me the best sound. Why? Because I was hearing firsthand the excellent Burr Brown DA converters. Toslink connections will use the DA converters in your amplifier or receiver. Unless you have excellent DA converters in your amplifier I would highly recommend that you connect this changer with high quality RCA cables. I purchased these cables from Amazon for $28 Monster MC 400I-1M Ultra-High Performance RCA Stereo Cables (1 meter). Not a big investment to insure the best sound possible.

One thing that is missing on the remote control is the ability to select the number of a disc that you would like to hear. Instead you must advance forward or backward one disc at a time. The display is very bright and the track number and elapsed time can be read from a distance of about 6 feet or so. You can't really read the disc numbers but you can figure it out as the circle around the playing disc number makes a mark that is visible from your listening chair. It would be nice if the display was larger.

Loading and unloading discs is not really a problem if you are careful. Poke your index finger in the CD hole and use the thumb slot on the CD tray to position your CD.

The playxchange feature allows you exchange up to 4 discs while the 5th one is playing. There is no button on the remote for this so you must use the button the front of the changer.

Some reviewers have complained that the changer is slow with its operations. I can't really say that I have seen a changer work much faster than this one. I think that the speed is about what you will get with most changers.

The most important quality of a CD changer is the sound that it produces. I don't think you are going to hear much better sound than this with any CD changer. Yamaha created a gem!

Sony CCDTRV66 Handycam Hi8 Camcorder

This camera is the 2nd best Hi8 camera from Sony. Its simplistic to use and has some cool features and effects. The picture quality and sterio sound are superb for play back on TV and PC. The 80x zoom is alsi very powerful. The photo-still facility is weak but thats to be expected on Camcorders. However the brilliant nightshot and built in lamp make for a good Blair Witch Project if you ever fancy that. I have used it for about 2 months now and haven't really used needed to use the effects but the picture quality and sound make this a top camera (I can hardly notice the difference from my brothers digital camera). Make sure you get another battery as with the LCD on it lasts about 90 mins and uses good quality hi 8 tapes to get the best out of it. You wont be dissopointed.

I've been using this camcorder for nearly two years. Bought it new in late 1999.

A year later, I noticed that the battery that it came with discharged if left in the camcorder, even if the camera is in the OFF position. I thought it was a battery problem & bought a new one, but same story.

As a camera, the picture is very good. No complaints on the audio pick-up either. Simple & easy connectivity to the TV for viewing or mastering to tape.

Latest problem is that in the OFF position, all the lights come on, & the battery doesn't charge. In the CAMERA position, the VTR lights come on.

I believe the problem lies with the CAMERA-OFF-VTR slider switch in the front, which seems to have been discontinued in later models. A friend with a similar SONY camcorder, using the same switch reported the exact same problems, as did one other user on some e-board.

Bottom line, not recommended as the slider switch seems to be problematic.

Buy Sony CCDTRV66 Handycam Hi8 Camcorder Now

In 1992, I bought a Sony CCD FX-510 8mm stereo camcorder. By February 2000, we had worn the old camera out, after working around the world! If you want to keep playing 8mm tapes, you either have to replace your 8mm camcorder, or buy a 8mm deck. The camcorders are cheaper than a deck! I bought the Sony CCD-TRV66 because it could play my stereo 8mm tapes from my old camera. A digital Sony camcorder would do this, but at more $. The best surprise was that playback on the new HI-8 camcorder seemed to deliver higher resolution on the old Video 8 tapes. This might be due to the filtering on the Hi-8 camcorder. The TRV-66 has image stabilization, nightshot, Hi-8 resolution, stereo sound, lots of digital features and a color flip out screen. All of this is still less than I paid in 1992 for the CCD FX-510. After 8 years, Sony kept continuity on operational features; the basic functions of their camcorders is the same. Kudos for great design. I plan to wear out this camera, too!

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I love this camcorder. Why? It's easy to use, has excellent picture and sound quality, isn't bulky (even though it's much bigger than the stuff they have out now), and has a lot of features. Yes, to use this camcorder today entails using cassettes as opposed to built-in disc drives, but you wouldn't know the difference in overall quality. Furthermore, it's all too easy to just burn your cassette footage onto DVD anyway. I particularly like the fading feature, as well as all of the goodies such as sepia, black and white, pastel, overlap, bounce, stripe, wipe, solar, slim, wide, etc. Oh, and there's nightshot as well. I'd put my money on this camcorder being superior to many modern-day camcorders. Some of the newer camcorders haven't been perfected, and suffer in such areas as tint, for instance. Finally, the steadyshot feature on this model is truly remarkable, and will prevent poor cameramen from ruining your video if the camcorder should happen to get into their hands. I've had this camcorder for 12 years now, and love it. Sony is a great manufacturer of camcorders.

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Had this camera for a couple years now and have never had a problem. Can't ask for any more features. The battery still holds a charge for over 4hrs of use. The image quality is great and the audio pickup(stereo) works fabulously. Only complaint would be the Camera/off/VTR switch, but not for the same reason as the others listed. I just don't like the location of it and it can be a little bit of a hassle getting it to the off position. But I've never had a problem with it not turning the camera off or the light on.

Botton line: Easy, simple to use and connect to a TV or to a computer for emailing video (with the right computer hardware).

Panasonic DMR-ES35VS DVD Recorder / VCR Combo with DV Input

• Combo DVD recorder/VHS player recorder; measures 16.9 x 3.3 x 13.9 inches (WxHxD)
• Easy one-touch dubbing of DVD to VCR and VCR to DVD (non-copy protected sources)
• Records onto DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and DVD-RAM; plays back dual-layer DVD-R/+R and CD-R/RW
• Connections: composite (2 in, 1 out), S-Video (2 in, 1 out), component (1 out), RF (1 in, 1 out), Firewire (1 in)
• Optical digital audio out for Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound

The DMR-ES35V dvd/VHS recorder is just ok. It needs a few more features that are found on cheaper older models. A zoom function would be cool, also being able to eject the dvd or vhs from the remote would be handy. The instructions as usual from Panasonic are very poor. The manual seems to have been written by someone that has a poor understanding of technology. The instructions are not precise and spaced all over the manual. The simple instructions on how to record from the vhs to dvd was hard to find, and it kept referencing other pages for tips on how to do it.

The machine works as advertised. I used Verbaitim dvd-r disks and Verbatim +r dual layer disks. Both worked fine. The reason I selected this recorder was for the ability to record on DL disks, and I was not disapointed.

The remote control is poorly layed out. Also the lack of a cover on the front of the player to cover the optinal inputs was poorly thought out. But at least the port for the firewire was coverd. Why they did not place them all under one covered door is confusing to me.

All in all this recorder will do what you want, as long as you are recording non protected vhs tapes to dvd it works great. As with all recorders of this type Macrovision is in effect and not to be over ridden.

Buy Panasonic DMR-ES35VS DVD Recorder / VCR Combo with DV Input Now

This combo unit has a good DVD player/recorder and a good quality VCR. It is only 2-head but the quality is good -much better than Samsung's 4-head VCR. If you want to transfer VHS to DVD and want a combo unit to do this, then this is probably your best bet (or the 45VS if you want upconversion to HD).

That said, this unit has several flaws. First, you really cannot edit your DVD titles before you finalize them -even when using -RW discs. Granted, you can do this with RAM discs, but I wanted a DVD that would work on other players. Second, you cannot pause or easily stop recordings (unless a RAM disc), so editing out commercials (for example) is very difficult. Third, the remote is rather confusing and mine did not work very well. Sometimes I had to shake it to get it to work. Poor quality. Finally, I've heard that Panasonics can have trouble plaing discs burned on other recorders or computers. I have not tested this, but I've heard that the newer models still have this issue.

Bottom line: for basic recording, this works well, and it's great for transferring VHS when you want to just transfer the whole tape (as is) without editing. The resulting DVD quality is very good -much better than expected. Its probably the best of the combo VHS/DVD recorders, but unfortunately, that is not saying very much.

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I purchased this item 5-20-06. I wish I would have never have bought it. I also read another review about this dvd recorder and they had the same promblem I had. It did not work. This other person who bought this item bought 2 and returned both of them with the same problem. I bought it also and had the same problem also. Here is the problem. I hooked it all up and it worked great for about 5 minutes. Then I could not even get the remote control to work at all. It would not do anything. So I read the instuctions again for 2 hours to be sure I was not doing something a wrong. It still locked up. The Dvd recorder would not do anything at all. I thought the other person that wrote that bad review maybe did not read the instructions . He was correct with his bad review. He had to return both of his defective dvd recorders. I should have listened to what he said. I think Panasonic should pull this product off of the shelves to get the problem fixed. Seems kind of strange that 3 of these dvd recorders had the same exact problem.

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I bought this item in May. First exchanged it and then returned it. My problem was jittery (shaky) images while watching a still picture and some animated movies (like South Park). The other problem mentioned in the other reviews about remote control is fixed now. You need to download the patch by use of a computer.

It's a shame that an otherwise great product has a lot of bugs in it.

Hookup was a breeze.. I used a Cable splitter so I could bypass the unit when watching TV My Sony TV has a better tuner.

The unit played well with a fantastic picture with both VHS and a phenominal DVD image.. near HD on my regual set.

It recorded well with only a slight loss in quality to bot DVD and VHS.

The manual was a little confusing since there is So Much gadgetry this thing can do..I sat down to read it until I understood what it said FIRST, before getting frustrated.

Once I had that down it's a very sweet unit for the price.

HOWEVER, and thats a big HOWEVER First try at transferring vhs to DVD TOASTED the laser and I had to return it for exchange.

It was very nice of Panasonic to put in a error message that said

" U61(power interupted) Self check failed, refer to service"

Thats the best thing when a unit quits..a message that states don't even bother to fiddle with it.