GoVideo DVR4400 DVD player and VHS recorder

First of all this machine from 2002 is the only one at present still alive and kicking.

IT HAS A VOLUME CONTROL

IT HAS A MUTE BUTTON

YOU CAN PLAY CDS DIRECTLY INTO AN AMPLIFIER USING YOUR REMOTE. AND CONTROL EVERYTHING.

IF YOU WANT A MACHINE THAT WORKS THIS IS THE ONE.

IT DOES NOT DO WELL WITH STICKY PEANUT BUTTER / JELLY FINGERS NOBODY MAKES THAT ONE.

HOWEVER IF YOU READ REVIEWS FOR ANY OTHER MACHINE AND THE HORROR STORYS. YOU KNOW THAT RELIABLILITY IS THE BIG DEAL THIS ONE IS REALLY GOOD. I BOUGHT A SECOND ONE FOR ANOTHER ROOM AND STILL ANOTHER ONE FOR A THIRD ROOM . THERE IS A REASON WHY A TEN YEAR OLD MACHINE SELLS FOR MORE THAN IT DID NEW.

Vivitar DVR-710 7.0MP 6 in 1 Multi-Functional Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD

I've only had this camera for about a week, and I think it's a great little camera. Compact yet clear video. I haven't used all its functions yet, but I mostly bought it for the video feature to capture the little moments of my children's lives. There is a lag when taking photos. It doesn't do well with fast moving kids. They need to be perfectly still for a few seconds and you need to have a very steady hand to take the photo.

I do like the image stabilization feature, but the downside to that is you can't use zoom in that mode. Bummer. **EDIT** I must have done something wrong when I first tried it, but the zoom does work with the image stabilization on.

Also, I noticed that the battery got really warm after about 15 minutes of continuous use. I don't know if that's normal, but I'll see how that goes when I take a continuous video for over an hour. I bought a 4GB SD memory card to record more than the internal memory allows.

Overall, it's a great product for the price I paid. So compact and easy to take with you anywhere.

The video this shoots is of fair quality, however the photos leave something to be desired. Every picture I take is hazy and the colors muted. My cheap digital camera takes better pictures than this one and it was half the cost.

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I LOVED THIS PRODUCT ITHAD AWESOME VIEW AND CAM EFFECTS I CAPTURED A LOT OF MEMORIES WIT THIS CAMERA -

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It starts out seeming like a great camera for a great price. But for whatever reason the video format that it uses doesn't always work when you're trying to play it on the computer (and maybe even elsewhere). The photos seem fine at first but you end up wanting more in the end. You'll never want to use the mp3 player after trying it once.

Don't even bother with this camera. I'm sure you can either get a better one for the same price or pay a little bit extra and have some peace of mind. It will seem like it's great at first but you will be more than disappointed after some time.

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This freakin crap was a waste of 80 bucks!!! DON'T FREAKIN GET THIS CAMRA THERE ARE BETTER ONES THAT ARE CHEAPER THAN THIS!!! 7mp my but!!!! The camara is just as good as my phone camara. The video really sucks cause there is some sort of yellowish bar that takes up a quarter of my videos for some freakin reason. After about a week of using it, the freakin thing broke. It wasn't show pictures or anything. I kept trying to turn it on but all it showed was the static thing just like how a TV is on an off-air channel. I even called the manufacturer and they told me they will call me back...WHAT THE HECK??? They will never call me back. It's been 2 years...VIVITAR IS A COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN CLOSED DOWN SEVERAL TIMES OR SOMETHING!!! DO NOT TRUST VIVITAR!!! I am going to do everything I can to show people that VIVITAR is no good. It's a great concept, but it isn't ergonomic, it's so flimsy, the camara isn't all that great, the buttons suck, it's slow...JUST DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING IT. If you guys don't trust me you can even email me or aim me to ask about it, I'll try to post it on youtube to show you guys...

Casio TRYX Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video Capture and 3-Inch Touch Screen LCD (Black)

The new Casio TRYX has so much potential with some really cool features but unfortunately falls short in some key areas.

PROS

This is a SUPER thin camera (.59 inches thick) that looks sleek and modern. And, because of the way the frame rotates, taking pictures from any angle is simple and easy. You can position the camera anywhere, whether it be hanging from a wall, on a table, or anywhere else you can think of. You can also use the body as a tripod and rotate it take perfect self portraits while actually seeing yourself in the LCD frame. It comes with a self-timer that can be activated with the touch screen LCD; one great feature of the self timer is that it can also be triggered with a built-in motion sensor. You can use your finger to designate an area in the frame of the LCD where it will monitor for motion. When motion is detected in that area the self timer is triggered, letting you take pictures of yourself or with a group of friends with ease.

This camera has 12.1 megapixels, and the images it captures are stunning! There are dual core processors built in, so processing speed is insanely fast. And there are a multitude of features which allow for almost unlimited creative endeavors. For example, Slide Panorama lets you take 360 degree pictures easily. And the HDR-ART technology allows you to transform any photo with the press of a button. This allows you to combine continuous shots with different exposures and lighting to change the contrast and color saturation. The result are some incredible images which really pop off the screen.

Another great feature is you can take full HD 1080 video at 30 frames per second. You can rotate the body to make it feel like a traditional camcorder and use either a left or right handed grip. Plus, you can record in slow motion, which is something I've really enjoyed doing.

The TRYX comes pre-loaded with software that makes uploading pictures and video to facebook, YouTube, and other internet sites easily. You can preselect which images you want to upload in advance, and it automatically sends the files to each location upon connection to a computer.

Figuring out how to operate gadgets like this is not an easy thing for me. I am what many consider to be technologically impaired. But the touch screens are so intuitive and simple to use that even I was able to easily figure it out and was up and running in no time.

CONS

There are a few major downfalls with the camera that are potential deal breakers. The lens is a fixed focal length, which means the zoom is digital only. As far as I can tell, it's a higher then average quality digital zoom that seems to maintain image quality up to 2x the original size. That being said, I really wish they would have included optical zoom as this allows you to get much closer to your subject with better quality pictures. Being able to zoom close into your subjects is something that I really miss.

Also, there is no flash! Taking pictures in dim lighting or at night is, quite simply, not an option.

Finally, the video camera only records in mono, so having stereo or surround sound is not an option.

Overall, the TRYX is a nice camera with some cool features, but lacks in some key areas which may make you want to consider another option.

I actually really like this camera...I am not by any means a professional photographer or serious hobbyist but I do like to carry a camera for general picture taking and for that it has exceeded my expectations. The touch screen has perfect sensitivity in my opinion; not to sensitive and not feeling like you have to pierce the screen. The camera is built very well...even with the screen capable of moving in 4 different directions the camera feels very solid, it doesn't slip out of place and there aren't preset positions that it has to click into to keep from moving when out of the normal position. I particularly like the screens moving capability. If you unfold it to a parallel or just less than parallel line you can have both hands spread about 10 inches or so apart giving you a feeling of more stability. The zoom isn't so great but lets be honest...for the people who are buying a camera like this the photos they are taking are going to be generally close range during social situations, if you are the kind of person who needs a telephoto lens for your pictures none of the cameras on the market like this are for you. I really like the HDR capability it has...again if you are a pro who needs 10-15 stops for their HDR images than go buy a 10 thousand dollar camera capable of that...I believe this camera is capable of 6 stops, so a lot better than most other cameras in this range. If you want to get the image quality of a Digital SLR camera then go buy a Digital SLR camera don't buy this one and expect the same images you can only get with a several thousand dollar camera. This camera is lightweight, well built, has cool features, has a lithium ion battery, very very skinny, sleek camera that is really great at doing what it was designed to do: allow the 99% of the people who use cameras and aren't professionals a highly portable really cool camera with some great features.

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I love this camera. It is very smallabout the size on an iPhone. It takes great pictures indoors and outdoors, day and night. It has an LED flash, but it doesn't need to a flash to take pictures, even at night outside if there is even a little light. I like this a lot because I really hate how weird and unnatrual a flash looks with some point and shoot cameras. The auto and premium auto modes are really good for easy, low-key photography. The touch screen is pretty easy to use. If there is any complaint, the battery life is not spectacular. It would probably need to be recharged every couple of days on a vacation. Take note, it also does not have an optical zoom digital only. That being said, I think the camera does a wonderful job performing the jobs it was designed for and the photos come out great.

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Pass on this camera. It originally caught my attention because of a promissed HDR feature. High dynamic resolution (HDR) allows a photographer to snap the same image several times at different exposures so in a high contrast situation, such as a darker room looking outside to a bright window, all of the photograph (once merged) will look much more as the human eye does.

The HDR in this situation appears to be done with a software adjustment. The results are terrible. I have seen better results from an iPhone. Furthermore, there is no tripod mount and its "touch screen" controls work about half the time and not even all that well at that. I can not even say that the camera is convenient. It is as if the manufacturer did not know that touch screen devices were already on the market.

Aside from the slick package, there are no redeeming qualities for this camera. I am not even impressed with its HD Video. I would suggest as an alternative, any Canon or Nikon cameras at or near the same price range. I am, personally, a Canon fan, but have seen some impressive results from the smaller Nikons as well.

Sorry to be so harsh, but IF you want to look at this camera, see one IN PERSON and play with it before you make up your mind. I am confident that you will find It a waste of money at any price.

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I've had Casio's Tryx for about a month now, and love it! Others have written about the absence of flash and optical zoom, but I don't need either of these items. They would also add to the size, and destroy the small, sleek design.

The wide angle lens and sharp 12 MGP stills, as well as the 1080p HD Video make it the perfect device to carry everywhere which I do.

The new octopus-style design is perfect for snapping images from every possible angle, and uploading to Flickr and YouTube is a snap. I also like the Monet-style Photo Art function.

I'm pleased to give this gem a five star rating, and would highly recommend it to others.

Archos Vision 30c 8 GB Video MP3 Player with 3-Inch Touchscreen and FM Radio (Silver)

• 8GB MP3 Player; 3.0" Color TFT Touchscreen
• FM Radio & Voice Recorder; 13hr Battery Life; USB 2.0; G-Sensor; Built-in Microphone
• 13hr Battery Life; USB 2.0; G-Sensor
• Supports MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, APE; MPEG4, AVI, FLV, RMVB

In order to better review the Archos Vision 30c I wanted to compare it to several of the other MP3 players I have had the opportunity to test. My conclusions and the parameters of the test are included below.

To accurately compare the different players I rated them on sound quality (SQ), Video Playback Quality (VP), user interface/ease of use (UI), Radio Quality (RQ), and Other Features. I should mention that for other features I will only be reviewing the major additional features of the Touch. All the advantages of various apps would be beyond the scope of this review. Suffice to say that the touch acts more like a tiny tablet then an MP3 player.

Jump to the bottom if all you want is the conclusions:

Equipment: The players: 8 GB Archos Vision 30c, 4GB SanDisk Sansa Fuze, 8GB SanDisk Sansa Fuze+, and 32GB iPod Touch 4G.

Headphones: Skullcandy INK'd Earbuds*

*I know these are cheap but the SQ is good enough to allow me to distinguish differences between the players.

Sound Quality:

1) Fuze: 9/10

The best of the bunch, great sound for an MP3 player, with clear notes and solid if not spectacular base. With Rockbox* I would give it a 10/10.

2) Touch: 8/10.

Unlike previous ipods I have used I actually enjoy the quality of the 4G touch. I could wish for more equalizer controls but I think it does a solid job, just not quite as clean as the Fuze. Not compatible with Rockbox.

3) Fuze+ 5/10

For some reason the Fuze+ just doesn't seem to have the same quality as the Fuze, I don't know if they changed the chip or what, but the SQ simply isn't as good. Moreover the Fuze+ isn't compatible with Rockbox.

3) Vision: 5/10

Normal equalizer setting has poor SQ with virtually no base, but the M/S equalizer does a good job of boosting sound of improving sound quality on tracks (this uses an algorithm to add and subtract the data going to different ears to provide a more surround sound feel). I found the 3d M/S setting to be too much and to make the player overloud but the Bass setting for the MS equalizer does an excellent job of repairing the bass problem. I like the ability to set manual EQs on the player. Not compatible with Rockbox.

Video Playback:

1) Touch: 8/10,

The touch has a great screen, large enough to enjoy on a long trip or flight, with minimal differences in viewing quality based on angle of view. Extremely clear and clean picture, with very little glare or reflection. Limited handling of file types, basically only MPEG-4 is the main reason I took off points.

2) Vision: 6/10

For size this takes second place to the iPod. The amount of glare and reflection on the screen however makes watching in most environments fairly difficult and watching in bright light impossible. This however was not as big a problem inside a car and I imagine it would also not be so bad on a plane. Since these are the two most likely places for video viewing I felt the a score of 5 was still warranted. Diversity of file playback pushes the rating to 6.

3) Fuze/Fuze+: 5/10

I found video playback on the two devices to be very similar. The screen is too small to really watch a movie or show on, but it doesn't have as much glare as on the Vision. Both of these allow a lot of file types. But for me the screen is just too small for serious viewing.

User Interface:

1) Touch: 9/10

Apple is known for both industrial engineering and intuitive design, the touch is no different. All the features you might want regularly are easily viewable with only a few swipes. The touch screen is both responsive and accurate. There are some limitations to the operating system in terms of apps you can use and function management but they don't really detract from an excellent user experience. Volume controls and the lock/unlock buttons are the only external buttons. If you could press pause and play without having to take it out of your pocket this would be a 10.

2) Fuze: 8/10

A great tactile wheel that actually spins for song and menu selection (alla the iPod classic but the wheel spins) is super easy to use. Moreover pressing play/pause, fast forwarding etc. can all be managed without ever removing the player from your pocket. Menu use isn't quite as easy as with the iPod since you can't type or touch but it is still straight forward. The actual user interface is probably a 7, no stellar user friendly design but loading Rockbox firmware I think changes the UI to an 8 due to customizability.

3) Fuze+: 5/10

Uses a similar UI to the fuse but the controls are different. The Fuze+ uses an inductive touch plate similar to the LG chocolate line of phones instead of real buttons. The plate is both oversensitive and not sensitie enough, either not responding or jumping around. Still control is manageable if difficult, and side volume buttons allow for easy volume control when the player is in a pocket.

4) Vision: 1/10:

The Archos Vision has the worst user interface and controls I have ever seen on any device. There is only one external button, which controls the back function and allows you (if you hold it) to either lock or power down the player. The touch screen does not respond at all to light touches or swipes the way the iPod does, requiring more of a push and then only responding about 40% of the time. I found that if I used a fingernail I could get responsiveness up to about 75% but that was it. Play/pause, SF/SB buttons are cramped in at the bottom of the screen. If you listen to audiobooks then skipping to a point in the middle of a 30 minuet chapter requires touching on a thin line that is only visible in perfect light and at the right angle. Doing so is nearly impossible. FF normally by holding the skip forward button is slow and inefficient, and nearly impossible to do with a nail. Volume controls require that you either tap on the speaker picture at either end of the volume bar or you attempt to actually touch the volume bar at a given point. This however is as difficult as touching a point partway through a song. Also the screen only tilts sideways in one direction.

Radio Quality:

1) Fuze/Fuze+: 7/10

FM radio was mostly clear, and recording quality was adequate, but nothing to write home about.

2) Vision:

5/10 Good FM playback but recording quality of radio music is awful, the files sound like they were recorded underwater, with really muddy sound.

2) Touch: 5/10

Internet radio with apps when on a wif-fi network but no FM radio and no ability to record from radio.

Other Features:

1) Touch: 24/20

Ya I know this doesn't make sense but as I said above this is only nominally an MP3 player, failure to account for that would be inappropriate. It is the only player with internet access, e-mail, internet radio etc. Obviously this has a ton more features than any of the other features. An inability to add additional memory kept it from being a 25/20

2) Fuze 14/20

It isn't that the fuzes have a ton of extra features but rather the main extra they do have, a micro SD card slot is HUGE. Essentially this means that you can add up to 32GB (with current firmware) of storage capacity to your MP3 player, turning the 4GB player into a 36GB player. Not too shabby. Add to that the fact that the Fuze works with Rockbox and that's why this earns 13 points.

3) Fuze+: 9/20:

As I said above these points basically come from the ability to add external memory.

4) Vision 30c: 1/20

There really weren't any features that the vision had that the other two players did not have as well. Additionally there wasn't anything that the vision excelled at above the rest.

*****Conclusion: (consider 25-36/60 to be three stars)****

1) iPod touch 4G: 53/60 (5 stars)

2) SanDisk Sansa Fuze: 43/60 (4 stars) ***Best Buy***

3) SanDisk Sansa Fuze+: 32/60 (3 stars)

4) Archos Vision 30c: 19/60 (2 stars)

If price is no issue, for sheer features, ease of use and the best video with decent sound the iPod is the best bet.

For a simple mp3 player for straight music use, I would go with the Fuze, ease of use and sound quality are the most important features in an mp3 player and the Fuze has those in abundance. Expandable memory and compatibility with Rockbox really make it the best choice. I wouldn't choose the + over the older version.

Skip the Archos at all costs. Barring a major firmware update it is nearly unusable.

*Rockbox is an open source firmware for mp3 players that supplants the stock firmware that comes on the device. It provides significant additional customizability and control, as well as several new features. The highlights of these features are: increased sound management controls, games, PDA type applications. It goes a decent way towards bridging the gap between the Fuze and the touch.

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I truly hate to give bad reviews, especially to products with such promise. At first, I was excited to see that this Mp3 player not only would play my music but would allow me to listen to the radio, too. It's something I kind of missed when listening to my iPod. But, unfortunately, not much worked well.

Of course, I tried out the radio first. No go. I couldn't get any of the stations in town to turn in without static. For many of the stations, I couldn't get it to stop on the exact station number, though that may have been due to the touch screen. Or not.

Then I tried out some of my music. Maybe I'm spoiled but as I listened to the player, I felt like I was back in the 80's, listening to my portable cassette player with its not-so-clear headphones or the cheap radio in my parents' Pinto (yes, we had a Pinto. Don't judge.). No matter what I did or what headphones I used, the sound quality remained subpar.

Trying to use the touchscreen controls was just frustrating. Again, I feel spoiled because I've come to expect instant results (or relatively close to instant anyway) and Achos just didn't deliver. It took forever to move from function to function; no quick swipe or touch to be had.

The other aspects, which made the Archos sound so appealing, were disappointing. The video was of very poor quality and hard to see on the small screen. This also meant that the pictures were grainy (even if they were taken with a high-quality camera). And the recording device just isn't very good, either. I suppose I can use it for quick notes, to-do lists, or writing ideas but, beyond small snippets, it would be difficult to listen to because of the poor sound quality and the static-y sound recording.

I was not impressed. Not by a long shot.

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This little MP3 is perfect for someone like me. I don't really care if the picture quality is good, clear, crisp etc. What I wanted was something I could use when I go running. Just some tunes to make the time pass! And this little easy to use MP3 was perfect! Very easy to upload songs onto, the thing basically runs itself.

Very lightweight so I don't feel like I have an old walkman with me. I haven't had many problems as written in the other reviews about having troubles with the screen. I am sure if you are an avid user you will know more of what they should and shouldn't do. However for someone like me who really just wanted to have something to run with -it is perfect! I know most at the stores run $80 to $100, so I think the price for this MP3 is very fair!

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The MP3 player market continues to thin out as Apple seems to do everything better than anyone else. You can still find $10-25 MP3 players, but with the Apple iPod shuffle 2 GB Blue (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL selling for under $50, the market has pretty much ceded the over-$50 price range to Apple. Enter the Archos: Selling for around $70, it promises to deliver a touch screen interface, MP3 player, video player, and sound recorder all in one tiny package. So how well does it do all these things? Not very well, I'm afraid.

Let's start with the "touch-screen" interface: It's pretty crude, and it's slow. Very slow. You tap, or swipe, and then wait. And wait. Just as you're about to tap again, the desired function comes up... or not. It's infuriating. Even the volume control is slow. Rather than swiping a finger, as on the iPhone of iPod Touch, you tap one end of the displayed volume bar, and the volume goes down (or up) an increment. Hold your finger down, and it moves in jerky increments.

Sound qualityand that's the main thing we should judge an MP3 player onis dreadful. There's no low bass, or even mid bass. I plugged in the best in-ear phone I have, a set that retails for $80 and delivers fantastic sound from an iPod. The result was thin and very unsatisfying. Same goes for the FM radio. Difficult to use, and poor sound. The video player works, but the screen is too small and the controls difficult. The sound recorder is absolutely dreadful. I tried playing a guitar a foot away from the built in microphone, and what I got on playback was a faint, scratchy sound.

There's really nothing to recommend this device. Given how poorly it compares with even my three-year old Sansa it should never have gone into production. Buy an iPod Shuffle or save up for a Nano or Touch.

able to store my music or movies folders and all unlike other mp3 player which dont accept or reconize folders i love it so much i might get another one for my movies or get one with more GB

RCA RP3503 "Shoebox" Cassette Voice Recorder

• Compact design has the features of a full sized cassette recorder in a slim package
• Automatic level control provides a constant recording level regardless of the volume control setting
• 3-digit tape counter for easy tracking of your location on the tape
• Retractable carry handle
• Includes external stand-up microphone, AC/DC adapter

I'll preface my review by stating that if I were searching for a high quality voice recorder I would have gone with a brand other than RCA. However, I needed an inexpensive unit which my two young children could operate without much difficulty, and one that played music cassettes. This one does the trick. It is light, compact and easy to use, the sound is decent, the microphone keeps them entertained since they can record their own voices on tape, and the unit operates on both battery or A/C which means I can tote it along in the car to keep them busy. I searched all over for the actual toddler tough versions of these tape recorders which were sold a few years back, Fisher Price or Playskool I believe, but it seems that technology caught up to even the little kids' toys and the units are all CD or MP3 now, which my children don't yet use. This cassette recorder suits our needs just fine for now, and at an affordable price.

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The RCA cassette recorder which I purchased from Amazon for $24.99 did not work after several days of sporadic usage. I tried different tapes and had the same non-working result.

Audiovox is listed in the manual as the distributor, but it states that I must pay/ship the defective recorder to a "Product Exchange Center" in Texas. The RCA warranty does not cover such things as (1) Customer Instruction...and allows the Exchange Center to charge me for "service not covered" whatever that may be. Additionally, it also allows the Exchange Center to ship me a "refurbished" unit.

This entire ordeal has soured me on buying anything but books from Amazon. It would easier to buy a recorder from the local Best Buy and be able to return a defective item for a new one or my money back.

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I purchased this inexpensive unit solely for the purpose of using it to record individuals that I would be profiling in the local newspaper. Since the purchase this summer, I have been satisfied with the quality of the unit's performance.

For those seeking something of a higher standard, then money should be spent. However, for a basic recorder/player, one can't pass this one up.

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I recently purchased this tape recorder, only to be quite disappointed by its quality (or complete lack thereof). Not only was the recorded sound awful, but the playback was pitch-warped and jumpy. I should have trusted my Dad, who says this brand is the pits. My mistake! I have since used the Sony TCM-929, and it is excellent...it does what it claims to do.

Don't waste your money on this one!

I loved this product, when it was working, then one day, less than 2 months since I got it, it just stopped, went dead.

Checked it, had someone else check it--but no, it's just not working anymore.

It's inexpensive, yes, but when it stops working so soon, it would have been cheaper to have paid a little more for something with higher quality.

RCA used to be a reliable brand... too bad...

Roland R-05 Studio WAVE/MP3 Recorder

This is one of the simplest, most reliable, most versatile machines I've ever used. Fancy displays, lots of lights, pop ups, features, options? Nope almost none, in fact.

But if you want durable, reliable, simple, high quality recording in a variety of wav & mp3 formats, this machine is for you. It does what it does, easily, every time.

I've recorded music in concert halls and living rooms. I regularly record 2 hour lectures it all fits into a $10 SD card and txfers to computer immediately via the card or cable.

I suppose someday there will be a better machine.

I have an R-09 and now a R-05. I like them both. I think the R-05 had some excellent improvements.

1. The battery compartment is a much better design, easier to access and change batteries.

2. mini usb jack and sd card slot now on outside of unit not within battery compartment.

3. SD capacity supported is now 32GB rather than 4GB

4. input level and volume controls are now on front of unit rather than the sides.

5. Power on/hold switch better design, easier to feel.

6. Smaller, stronger more attractive form factor.

7. 'Set'/Record button is no longer labeled 'Rec'. Was confusing.

Operation and software is logical, a good carryover. Record quality is outstanding.

My wife has the R-09 now. I have the R-05. I find it to be an elegant recorder.

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This is my first MP3 recorder, so I don't have much of a comparison but for what it's worth this is a great product. I wanted something of good quality and easy to use, and this product definitely fits the bill. The microphones are high quality and very sensitive. You can also hook up an external microphone but I have not tried that yet. Transferring to computer via USB is super easy and convenient. I also like the fact that you can edit the recordings on the unit itself and add reverb. I have Cakewalk Home studio so I can import the files and add other effects if desired. The unit is very portable and can be attached to a tripod which is a nice feature. The batteries last a long time. Would highly recommend this product.

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I am not much for an audio technical genius so, I will keep this simple.

This is a great little recording unit. My wife and I use it to record our weekly podcast. We put it on the table, hit the center button once, check the levels and hit record. The unit can record in both WAV and MP3 formats at multiple levels of quality.

The on-board condenser microphones pick up more than you might imagine and are great for on-site recordings in order to pick up the ambiance of the recording location.

The unit is also great as a recorder for productions with an audio mixer. Simply connect the line-in to the main out of a mixer and adjust the recording level. It is great for that because, unlike a hard drive, there are no moving parts to "crash". You might need to replace a SD card after extensive use but, other than that, the solid-state recording almost never fails except due to user error.

There are 2 minor gripes that I have. The windscreen that came with the unit is a bit small and flimsy. I don't use it anyway but, it was disappointing to see.

The other issue is that the AC adapter for this unit is only available in a few places and is pricey. The fact is, I use this mostly at home and would prefer not to waste the AA batteries.

Speaking of which, the battery life in this unit is outstanding. Depending on your frequency of use, one set of AAs will last you a LONG time, especially if they are the lithium ones, designed for digital devices.

This a great recorder at a great price and I highly recommend it.

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I've had this product for 24 hours now and used it at a live Karaoke session last night. I was sitting closest to the speakers and the recording was amazing. I know the first thing anyone is going to think about this is.. But it is $200.00.. As I told others, you get what you pay for. At first, I bought a different unit for 1/2 the price and it had major problems for live band and Mixer recording. The split feature works well so I can split the recording without having to hit stop and record again... It is so small, It fits in my shirt pocket..

Pro's for me:

Amazing Sound: nuf said.. The recordings seems true and clear. No detectable hormonic distortion, compression noise or anything that I've heard from cheaper recorders.

Battery Life: 16 hours recording, confirmed with power saving turned on. (peak and red recording lights turn off)

Immediate Recording (Setup and Start): The cheaper units go through an "Initialization phase" when you hit the record button. The R-05 is immediate. When you press the REC button, it automatically pauses for level adjustments and start of song queueing.

Options: Too many to list; Very well done and well thought out for recording live instruments / voice / etc.

Sensitivity and Direction I noticed pattern that I could use to dampen back group (audience) sounds. This is useful when your primary interest is the music.

Power Saving Features: Lights can be turned off automatically when you want to conserve power.

Ease of Use: Very simple and easy to use.. Well thought out interface.

Cons:

V1.03 is required to use NI-MH batteries.. If you have V1.02, it will show the battery is dead within an hour of use. After the update, I have tested it so far for 3 hours recording with 1 bar drop..

The aluminum case is only a shell, it is mostly plastic with what amounts to a phone case around it. If it is dropped, it will respond like plastic so don't drop it.

While corners were cut to bring a very good recorder to be affordable at this price point, I would highly recommend the R-05 to anyone who wants a recorder that works exactly as advertised.

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Panasonic DVD-A320 DVD Player

• Built-in Dolby Digital decoder
• DTS 5.1 surround sound compatibility
• Coaxial and optical digital-audio outputs
• 10-bit video, 24-bit audio digital-to-analog conversion
• Illuminated universal remote control

I've had this player for close to a year now, and it's an absolutly amazing piece of equipment. I'm very picky with things like this, and this was my third DVD player. I'd previously returned an RCA player, and a Hitachi player before settling on this one. No disapointment whatsoever. Great for those of us with a 6-ch input receiver, but no built in decoder in the amp. It gives you the ability to adjust almost every different aspect of the picture right on the player. You can adjust the volume and delay on every individual speaker, as well as tell it what size your speakers are. If you like lots of surround sound effect, just hook up some decent speakers, and tell the player to crank up the surround sound volume. Likewise for the subwoffer setting. The remote is GREAT and gives very easy to use features. While I'm completly satified with this player, here's my complaints with it...

1. it's only a 2x player, so when you fast forward in double speed, you can see every frame being played, but beyond that, it must skip frames to advance rapidly. Computer DVD-ROM's come at 12x already, so I think they could have made it faster. As it is, the player will advance anywhere from 2x to 100x in fast forward mode depending on your prefrence.

2. The dual layer DVD's give a VERY BRIEF pause while switching layers. Almost all players do this, but it'd be nice it the manufacturers would use a buffer to avoid the pause completely.

3. The "illuminated remote" is glow in the dark buttons that you can't see after the light's been off for more then 3 or 4 mintes. It'd have been nice if the remote was back-lit with an actual light inside.

4. The 1999 Hitachi and most 1998 Sony DVD players had dual laser pick-ups. The picture was read with one laser, and the audio with the other. This makes no noticable difference in the quality of viewing movies, but only players with the dual laser pickup will play CD-R discs like the ones you make in your computer's CD writer. Hitachi, since dropper the dual laser from it's player, and Sony now only has it on their top-of-the-line model.

5. If you stop the movie and do a picture or audio adjustment in the configuration menu, you have to manually re-find the spot you were at in the movie. If you just hit 'stop' and 'play' the player automatically goes back to where you were when you hit stop.

These are just small complaints, and for what it's worth, this is an awesome player.

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This is an awesome DVD player, and I haven't even been able to use all the features. The remote is real easy to use, and the remote will also turn your television on/off and you can adjust the TV volume and channels. This player offers great picture and sound quality (I haven't used the DTS mode), and being able to choose which kind of television you have to improve the picture quality is a great feature. It also does a great job at playing scratched DVD's. This is an expensive DVD player, but it is worth every penny--especially if you really love DVD's!

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A great DVD player with superb quality. There are no annoying lines traveling across you screen either. If you have and S-Video connection (with is on most newer TVs) I suggest you use that. However there are RCA jack connections. I lpve the sound too. If you have a good stereo on your TV or the external speakers it's like having the same experience of a LOEWS Cinema! Words do not express the greatness of it. Get it and see for yourself. Oh and it also plays CDs and maybe CD-R(I haven't tried CD-Rs on it yet).

Sangean America WR-3 Digital AM/FM/CD/SD/USB MP3 Table Top Radio (Black)

After much deliberation, and as much research as the Internet would afford me, I decided to buy this radio and try it firsthand. As always, I felt safer buying from Amazon because of their fair return policy and outstanding reputation. I knew I was going into this somewhat blindly because there are precious few reviews of this piece anywhere online, and even fewer by real folks like me.

Anyway, I got the product yesterday and test drove it in depth last night. Its first impression is an excellent one. The substantial heft and gorgeous "piano" finish would probably sell a ton of these radios if they were more readily available in stores. Set up was expectedly simple, and the user's manual wasn't needed until later on. Personally, I liked the metal, telescoping antenna mounted on the rear of the unit (where, by the way, you'll find a clean array of additional I/O plugs and the "3-D" sound selector. From every angle, this is a beautiful radio.

The first thing I did after plugging it in, was check a few local FM stations. They all came in very well, which was no surprise given Sangean's radio heritage. Be certain of one thing about this unit: it is a radio first, and then a CD player, audio file player, etc. The RDS feature was a novelty, but not as intuitive or lavish as I was hoping for. I'm not entirely familiar with what RDS normally provides on most equipment, though, and I don't fault this unit for anything in that respect.

It wasn't until I put in the first CD (a standard "red book" audio CD) that I experienced that all-too-familiar consumer electronics letdown. It didn't play. The unit acknowledged that it read the CD and recognized how many tracks were on it, etc. But I could not get it to play any of it. The CD was not suspect; in fact, I deliberately started with a CD that was playable on every piece of CD equipment I've owned. Subsequent discs, however, did work, and apparently with no further problems.

It was while I was waiting for the first CD to play that I removed a promotional sticker the factory had stuck on the front of the unit (advertising what types of media it can play). Where every other manufacturer I've seen has used a static-cling or no-residue adhesive to make sure the sticker comes off cleanly, such was not the case on this radio. The sticker came off with much effort and left behind quite a bit of very stubborn adhesive. This might've been negligible had this radio not been so beautifully finished, and the sticker not been put in so prominent a spot on the front. While this had no bearing on the player's performance, this was pretty disappointing to me.

In playing with the sound options--the part of this unit I had the most interest in and curiosity about--I ultimately realized that even the fine design and speaker capabilities of this radio/CD player are limited by the direction of the speakers and bass firing. In a very specific listening zone, this sounds pretty good. And by specific I mean, I found that directly facing the speakers from a distance of about 6 feet, with some peripheral area to either side, was ideal. Step much further outside this cone of sound, and the overall listening experience is compromised significantly (though the 3-D sound effect lessens the degradation a bit). This is more a limitation imposed by the direction of the speakers, and not by the design or components. But it's reason enough in my opinion to consider a radio/CD player with detachable speakers, unless you're using this on a nightstand or a very small room.

The USB and SD card input options are really fun novelties, and I wish more manufacturers would get hip to this simple technology. But in the end, when you have a unit that already plays MP3 CDs, these additional formats aren't as needed.

In the end, after only a day, I'm sending it back for a refund because of the fickle CD player issue. I'd rather not take my chances on this one. In a nutshell:

Pros:

-product feel and look

-simple set-up and easily moved

-excellent radio capability

-clean inputs and outputs on the back

-telescoping FM antenna

-full function remote

-SD card and USB drive options

Cons:

-Small "ideal listening zone"

-Unnecessarily bright display

Too bad these aren't in your local store where you can play around with them in advance. Hope this helps.

Originally I had been eyeing the Tivoli radio brand because of their tuning sensitivity. I listen to late night AM radio and unfortunately most radio manufacturers produce poor quality radio receivers nowadays; from what I read on HD radio it didn't sound that beneficial to me, signals are said to cover less territory. I also wanted a CD player which meant the Tivoli would come in three pieces too large for my night stand and I assumed it would not play MP3's because the literature made no mention. To top it off I felt the Tivoli was too expensive so I searched for other makes and found the Sangean. Surprisingly, I could find only one professional and one personal review which made me cautious why so little mention/notice? I am also leery of professional reviews as many times they won't say anything negative about a product due to advertising relationships.

After reading the reviews and specs, and finding a refurbished unit, I took the risk and made the purchased. What a pleasant surprise. The radio has a nice gloss black finish and is heavy, actually nicer than the pictures. Sound quality was better than expected even to my audiophile ears. I download favorite Internet radio MP3 interviews and load them to a USB thumb drive which plugs into the front of the Sangean. Control is mostly made from a thin card-like remote control. I highly recommend the item.

ImprovementsSome notes on what I thought could be changed or didn't like but is true with most table top radios these days: blue lit display will dim but is still too bright, wish it had the option to turn off altogether. I think the USB slot should be in the rear of the radio so the cable or drive isn't hanging out front. I don't particularly like being dependant on the remote control, just in case it gets lost. It would be nice to have controls all on the unit. No battery back-up for presets and clock. If you lose power, guess what? You lose clock time, radio presets, and the clock alarm. So, if you set the alarm, lose power in the middle of the night, you might be late for work. Not too smart. Needs a battery backup. One other comment Sangean makes an interesting wireless Internet radio. I would have been tempted to purchase that if it had all the other features of the WR-3. Why not combine Internet radio with AM/FM CD USB?

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I bought this radio for my kitchen, which is a high traffic, high use area. It has great sound but the features are the real sell. I was frustrated because most everything out there was focused on the iPod which I will never own. Also, most of the CD players will play mp3s but not wma format. My collection of thousands of songs are wma. This radio plays mp3 and wma formats from 3 different sources (USB drive, SD card or CD). It also has an aux jack so I can plug my (non-iPod) player in. Now, my kids and I can each have our own music on whatever media we like and just plug it in. On top of all this, it has RDS (Radio Data System) that tells you the names of songs and groups from radio stations that participate. I have always loved this feature on my car radio.

Now for the downside. All the functionality is on the remote. All you can do from the radio is power and volume. I would have liked a little more functionality available on the radio. Also, there does not seem to be a way to make it so the RDS display is the default. I have to hit the mode button when I switch to a station that supplies RDS. This radio is a little pricey but well worth it and much less expensive than the Bose Wave radio that has nowhere near the features.

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My wife and I recently decided to rearrange our living room. Part of the problem was a large entertainment center full of audio components and flanked by two large floor speakers that dominated a complete wall. This made it tough to arrange things how we wanted. The solution was to lose the entertainment center, upgrade to a wall-mounted flat screen television and replace the stack of component audio gear with something simple, self-contained and compact. I had originally planned to replace this "mission control" audio gear with a Bose Wave radio, having marveled at the nice sound from one owned by a friend some years ago. Upon researching the available choices among the competition, I discovered the Sangean WR-3. I suspect Sangean is virtually unknown to most folks. Sangean has long manufactured portable shortwave radios with which I'm well familiar. I also purchased a Sangean WFT-1 wifi internet radio last year and was very impressed with the quality of this product. This afternoon, I received my new WR-3 from Amazon and quickly unpacked and set it up for a test run. This product is quick and intuitive to setup and didn't require any help from the owner's manual. I was completely astounded by the "presence" of sound from this relatively small box. The only similar product I had to compare it to is a friend's Bose Wave radio. Both have fine sounding full audio, but the Sangean has a "3D" switch on the rear panel that when enabled, made a profound difference in stereo separation. It's uncanny how the sound of this product emulates that of a much larger system with much larger speakers. The Sangean WR-3 has separate bass & treble controls which are lacking on my friend's Wave radio. Bass response is strong but not "boomy" and obnoxious. The WR-3 is quite loud at full volume too and has a complete lack of distortion. So, are there competing products that sound better? There may well be, but the WR-3 must certainly rank among the best. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in the way it sounds. Indeed I suspect most users will be just as astounded as I.

The other thing that struck me is the obvious look and feel of a quality product. It's quite an attractive piece with it's highly polished black plastic case and fabric-covered speakers. The display is bright and automatically dims itself after a short time after the last button is pressed. Still, the blue illuminated ring around the volume control and the display backlight remain on even when the radio is off. "Off" therefore may be more accurately described as "standby". For those intending to use the WR-3 as an alarm clock/radio, the constant display illumination may be an issue. Another quirk is that the RDS function of FM reception must be manually enabled by a button press on the remote before it displays artist/song, etc. The included telescopic FM whip antenna works well in my suburban home and I found the tuner to be quite sensitive and selective. AM reception sounds great as well. This model is one of the few that features a real internal ferrite loop antenna for the AM (MW) band. The ferrite MW antenna design performs far better than the plastic-frame wire loop external antenna supplied with nearly all competitor's radios. In fact, the provided antennas became one of the key features that prompted my choice of the WR-3 over the competition. The downside of a built-in ferrite AM antenna is that they are quite directional and may require that the entire radio be rotated for best reception of weaker AM stations depending on the direction from which the signal arrives relative to the radio. For me, this was only a problem with very weak AM stations located well beyond a reasonable listening distance. It's simply much cleaner to have the antennas built into the case than to have unsightly external antennas and their connecting wires. The telescopic FM antenna provided with the WR-3 may be extended just enough to offer good reception in metro areas and may be rotated to hide it if desired. Fully extended, the telescopic whip enabled good reception of normally weak stations well beyond their intended listening area. The FM telescopic antenna provided simply screws onto the 75-ohm type-F connector on the back panel, so a much more substantial external antenna may be used for rural area users in tough reception areas. The tuner itself is most certainly well designed and capable of good performance of weak signals with a suitable antenna. CD performance is excellent with a motorized disc transport mechanism that operates just like an automobile CD player. The WR-3 features an auxiliary audio input jack mounted where it belongs on the rear panel. I connected the auxiliary input to my Sangean WFT-1 wifi internet radio with excellent performance. The combined package is still compact and quite an entertainment package! The 1/8" (3.5mm) auxiliary jack may be driven by audio from a myriad of sources such as a multi-CD changer, portable audio player, etc. A press of a button on the included remote control selects the auxiliary input and the volume is adjusted normally with the large front-panel volume control or by the remote. Incidentally, nearly all functions and features of the WR-3 are controlled by the remote control. The radio itself has controls only for power on/off, volume and CD eject. This may be an issue with some users but appears most of the competing models are designed similarly. The thin-profile remote control included with the WR-3 is comprehensive with all control buttons intuitively layed out.

Overall, the WR-3 is a well-made, visually attractive product that features outstanding sound. It's a great option for those like me who prefer a simple self-contained audio system that compares favorably with the average component system yet doesn't take over the room. There are some very nice competing products from the likes of Bose, Polk Audio, Cambridge Soundworks, Tivoli, Yamaha, etc but the Sangean WR-3 compares very favorably yet is among the lowest priced. It includes some design elements of the best competing models the provided antennas being one most noteworthy. It will be interesting to see if Sangean offers a future version that integrates wifi internet radio reception with AM/FM & CD audio into a single unit. In my opinion, the WR-3 leads the pack where value is a fundamental criterion.

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No problem with reception or sound quality, those were excellent as other reviewer's have stated. The remote as noted by others is required to do anything at all, and if anything the flimsy feel is worse than others have stated. Worse yet is that one large volume knob in front of the unit, this thing overall is built like a tank, but that knob in front feels like it will break off very quickly.

We still would have kept it even with these flaws, but the video display went to all exclamation marks after only about a week or so of use, seems to me like it burned out because it was very bright, abnormally bright from an electronics design point of view. Something voltage or current wise is not calibrated correctly there, I suspect.

It's like, they were 88% done making a really great product, and cheapened out on the last few details, and compromised the whole thing. We sent ours back for a refund, and Amazon return policy is NOT that easy, major pain shipping back because the original box they used to ship to me fell apart.

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Olympus CBUSB4 Digital Camera USB Cable for C & D Series Digital Cameras

Compatible Cameras:

u-10

u-15

u-20

u-25

u-30

u-300

u-400

u-410

C-2 Zoom

C-50 Zoom

C-60 Zoom

C-150

C-150 Zoom

C-160 Zoom

C-220 Zoom

C-300 Zoom

C-350 Zoom

C-380

C-380 Zoom

C-390

C-450 Zoom

C-450 Zoom del Sol

C-460 Zoom

C-520 Zoom

C-550 Zoom

C-720 Ultra Zoom

C-725 Ultra Zoom

C-730 Ultra Zoom

C-740 Ultra Zoom

C-750 UItra Zoom

C-755 UItra Zoom

C-760 Ultra Zoom

C-765 Ultra Zoom

C-770 Ultra Zoom

C-4000 Zoom

C-4100

C-4100 Zoom

C-5000 Zoom

C-5050 Zoom

C-5060 Wide Zoom

C-7070 Wide Zoom

C-8080 Wide Zoom

D-380

D-390

D-395

D-520 Zoom

D-535 Zoom

D-540 Zoom

D-550 Zoom

D-555 Zoom

D-560 Zoom

D-565 Zoom

D-575 Zoom

D-580 Zoom

D-590 Zoom

E-1

E-3

Evolt E-300

FE-100

FE-110

FE-115

FE-170

FE-210

FE-270

IR-300

IR-500

Stylus 300 Digital

Stylus 400 Digital

Stylus 410 Digital

X-1

X-2

X-200

X-250

X-300

X-400

Ferrari camera dock

The item did not fit my camera even though it was supposed to. Needless to say extremely disappointed and had to purchase something else.

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While on vacation I order this cable for my olympus camera since olympus has one of a kind cord well I revived out in Hawaii but it was not the right one so I could not find it any where out there so I did no have my digital camer to take pictures of my family and the good memories we had out there very disappointed

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this is NOT the cable for my camera. i made a mistake selecting it.

they should take a picture of the connectors, in this way people can see

if it works.

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I had to get this for my grandmother's older camera, as she lost the cable that came with it. I apparently ordered the wrong cable, as the mini-USB port on the cable was the wrong size for the camera. The seller gladly replaced the cable with the correct one though.

Two thumbs up.

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VideoSecu 600TVL Bullet Security Camera Built-in 1/3" SONY Effio CCD IR Outdoor Weatherproof Day Ni

Camera was added to a 4 camera setup. Have had NO problems after 4 / 5 months. I had to add a sun shade as lens looked into the sun (north-west) in evening. Would have happened with any other camera as well. I would buy again.

The camera far surpasses my expectations. It worked great together with my surveillance system. Easy installation. The video quality is very good, great visibility in the dark. so high quality image from this camera I have seen.

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I ordered the videosec 600tv lines IR camera 1I8 $84.99 from Warehouseseller it is brownish in color and came with a power adapter. I have had this for a week now. Compared to another camera I am using "VideoSecu Bullet Outdoor CCD Security Camera Day Night 26 IR Infrared LEDs With Free Power Supply 1Z8 $44.99". The 600tvl 1I8 is a heavier larger camera has a wider lens a little sharper overall quality is a step up. for a sub $100.00 camera it has a solid feel to it. The night vision is great the LEDS.

the picture is excellent wider and better than the 39.00 video sec. Overall both cameras are what they are for under $100.00 I would buy another 1I8. If needed.

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This is simply a security camera. It has no mic or battery pack! Useless as a helmet type camera setup.

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Gino CCTV DVR Camera Wall Bracket Metal Stand Silver Tone

These camera mounts were included in an outdoor CCTV DVR camera kit with 12 cameras. Within three months they were completely rusted. Do not buy these if any humidity can get to them. Live in Texas and we have not had rain more than twice this year.

This mount can be adjusted in just about any position. It is all metal (not like most mounts) and is very compact. It is excellent for the price.

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NISIS Pocket DV6 - Camcorder with digital player/voice recorder - 3.1 Mpix - supported memory: SD -

I realized what a mistake I made the day after I purchased this product. The battery completely went dead on me. After much research, I was able to find a replacement battery for $45 at radio shack.

The camera says its 11 mp but not a single picture taken from this camera has been satisfactory. The 1 mp camera in my phone takes better pictures. The video too has been horrible.

There was no documentation with this product. Each time, I charge the battery, I cannot even tell if the charge is complete or not.

If you read carefully you will notice the sensor is only 3.1 megapixel but the camera is 6.6 how does that happen? The image is interpolated and the quality is pretty bad. I was sold one as a high-def camcorder with 10x zoom however the picture quality is most definitely not high-def and there is 0 optical zoom. Using digital zoom degrades the picture quality even more.

Videos or photos are not captured well with medium and low light conditions. In bright light the image on the LCD viewfinder is impossible to see. Another issue with video is unless you move the camera very slowly, the image will video image will 'split' during the movement.

Transferring video to a Mac requires painful jumps through hoops since the video is cannot be directly imported using iMovie.

The mp3 player provides very limited navigation and browsing features rendering it mostly useless, unless you don't care about what you listen to in your entire playlist.

The only appeal of this product is it's form factor (very small and sleek looking), however what would you do with a small form-factor product that you wouldn't want to use? Definitely not recommended.

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I purchased this camera and was very disappointed. The camera did not work verywell and the support was nowhere to be found. The video was blurry and the knobs were difficult to use. I returned the camera and have yet to recieve a refund from them. I am in the process of filing a complaint with better business burea. My credit card company is also working to get the refund. Don't waste your time or money on this junk.

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I recieved one of these cameras and was very pleased. The fact that it is such a compact product was a thrilling idea! Would definatley recommmend.

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HDMI to DVI-d Cable (50ft)

This cable has worked perfectly for the past month. As cables go, it's nice looking with a smooth surfaced skin that does not have words printed along it.

It Worked and price was right. The quality of the cable was very good and sturdy.I would have loved to have found a 100ft version but not sure if the signal would carry.

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Very good quality. Price was really good. I paid $34.00. Little stiff but ok. Used it for my dell projector. But VGA to component works much better.

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Sony DCRHC20 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

This is a great little camcorder. It feels sturdy, is lightweight, and I can hold it in one hand securely. The video is also quite excellent.

I was debating whether to buy this or one of the Canon ZRs. Even though I was not sure if I would be shooting a lot indoors or not, I like knowing that I can, especially with the Sony's infrared light. The reduced zoom compared to the Canons was a minor issue for me, but I thought that the improved low-light quality of the Sony compensated for it.

The touch screen only functionality of this cam took some getting used to, but as this was my first camcorder, I was not used to any other system. It does not appear that LCD-only buttons is a major drawback, and in fact, I got used to it quite quickly. Also, I can appreciate that there are fewer buttons on the body itself to add to a cluttered appearance.

The built-in lens cover is quite nice as there is no losing it, and also, I think, could be useful for quick manual transitions when shooting.

The camera itself is very compact, and slim. About 2" thick, I can slip this baby into my pocket and go, albiet, large pocket, but it's still amazingly small.

The zoom is very rapid, and the rocker allows variable-speed zooms.

The photo function is nice to have, but I wish that the 7-second audio with each picture was variable, or could be turned off altogether, but as with all camcorders, the photo function is just a nicety, and serious photos should be taken with a real camera, not a video camcorder.

All in all, this is a great miniDV camcorder. I have no basis for reference as this is my first, but I love it, and have no regrets in spending $460 of my limited college-student budget =) on this. I recall three years ago my friend and I were making a film for science class with his hi-8 camcorder, especially the pain of having to manually control a VCR to tranfer the film onto a regular VHS tape. But no more, with miniDV, I can edit and output a film in just a few minutes. WIth the help of a firewire cord (sold separately), on the first day I was able to import the film onto my computer and make a short film clip using Windows Movie Maker. It worked beautifully, so I didn't bother installing the software that came with the cam, since I've heard that it is useless.

PROS:

Lightweight and compact

Excellent film quality

Infrared Lamp

Bright, functional LCD

MINOR CONS:

Constrained still-photo function

Relatively short zoom

In my pursuit of the perfect camera, at the right price, I spent way too long pouring over online reviews, Consumer Reports articles and digital camera magazines. After a couple of weeks of labor (which included actually going out to the local stores and getting a "feel" for each camera -a practice I highly recommend before purchase) the Sony DCR-HC20 came out on top of the rest by a full head.

Forget any of the complaints you might have read about the 7 sec delay on still shots: camcorders shouldn't be used for real photos anyway and any half-decent editing software comes with the ability to save still images straight from your footage. Also forget any complaints you might have heard about the bundled editing software: yes, it's nearly useless but again the basic software your home computer likely shipped with is all you will need to start putting together beautiful home-movies yourself (just don't forget you'll need to buy a fire-wire seperately).

The bottom line is this camera is about as light, sleek and easy to use as they come and the manufacturer was able to pack a heck of a camera into the small unit because they didn't waste time on unecessary extras like high resolution still photo shooting and the like. If you're looking for the highest quality and most user friendly camera you can find under $500, then this is the camera for you. Period. I know this sounds like a sales pitch but the truth is I'd just like to save any of you like-minded consumers out there a little bit of time and let you know the camera that perfectly fit my bill: home-movies, amateur film shorts and family documents all on an extremely doable budget.

Enjoy!

(p.s. -in case you don't want to take my word for it: the HC20 is, by far and away, the highest rated camcorder under $500 and the ONLY recommended buy of the current Mini-DV line...)

Buy Sony DCRHC20 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Now

I've had my HC20 camcorder for a little over 6 months (just past the extended warranty from my Visa card! Darn it!). Just the other day, I noticed that my camera was dead even though I charged the battery completely just 2 days earlier. So I charged it again last night and it was fully charged and fine. This morning, I turn it on and it has only 8 minutes of recording time left! And I noticed the Camera lamplight is flashing green, which I never noticed before. I asked Sony about it and they don't know what I'm talking about. But from reading other discussion groups, it appears the flashing light is slowly draining my battery life. (See www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t107753.html)

Sony claims they have no record of this problem and suggests I pay the $216 to get it sent and "factory reset" by sending it their technicians. I was surprised they have never heard of this problem despite what I've read in forums about the HC40 and HC20 with this problem. How can they expect us to pay almost 50% of the price of the camera for a problem that seems to be inherent in their technology.

This is ridiculous. I have a Sony PDA and digital camera as well. But these will be my last Sony products I buy!

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCRHC20 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Here

I purchased the HC-40 about 4 months ago. It is a very nice compact camera, great quality pics/videos. However, I too have battery drain problems. Camera won't charge batteries, and the ones I charge in the optional charger I bought are dead within a day (when left in the camera and the camera is turned off). Sony refuses to acknowledge that they are aware of the problem and they say I have to pay $216 for labor since I am past the 3 month labor warranty. Again a nice camera, too bad it is made by a company who won't stand behind their product. Either buy the extended warranty, or sock away an extra $216 for repair, or just save yourself the headache and BUY ANOTHER CAMERA.

UPDATE. Sony has waived the $216 repair costs. Still you may wish to consider buying the extended warranty when your buy this camera.

Want Sony DCRHC20 MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Discount?

I bought this camera for my sister -she had no camcorder experience. This camera is designed with that customer in mind, although it also has features that appeal to the amateur cinematographer. Perhaps the best feature is the hybrid touch-screen LCD. Instead of clustering a hopelessly confusing array of buttons next to the LCD (where you can't see them) Sony made the LCD viewscreen touch-sensitive. Depending on what you're doing (play/record) there are different options on the screen to touch. This is not only good for beginners, but also extremely convenient for people who are experienced. Additionally, Sony made the camcorder super-easy to turn on and recordpress the "on" button once for record, twice for play. Other manufacturers have an assortment of little icons on a miniature wheel you have to turn to select functions. This makes it difficult (especially at night) to see what you're selecting. No such problem. In fact, there are only 6 buttons on the whole camcorder. And if this elegantly simple design isn't enough for grandma to use the camcorder, Sony thoughtfully included an "Easy" button. This button enlarges all the text on the screen ("Play", "Battery life", etc.) so that people who have poor eyesite can use the device with ease. In making it easy to operate, Sony didn't nix all the features that amateurs moviemakers want, though. The camera still has a Program AE mode, full manual focus control (via touchscreen buttons) and NightShot Plus for filming in complete darkness. It also has a built in lens covera nice feature, as many other camcorders have a snap off cover, resulting in a clicking noise as it slaps against the side of the unit while you record Little League games. Picture quality is good, and the camera does a good job adjusting between lighting and motion situations. Color is particularly well saturated for a camera in this price range. Overall I would say this product is extremely well designed, easy to use, and provides satisfactory picture quality (above average for the pricepoint). I would recommend it to any family as a good choice for family movies.

SanDisk 512 MB MP3 Player Blue

• Includes stereo earphones, 1 AAA battery, belt clip, CD software
• Plays MP3, WMA, and WMA DRM
• Digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations
• Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port for fast and easy transfer of files
• Compatible with Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP; Mac OS 9.2x+, 10.1.2+

Nice little mp3 player, solid and small. I got mine from Amazon for $108, Newegg didn't have it in stock at the time:-( Anyway great little mp3 player, I was considering the Creative Muvo N200 and the Muvo TX FM both 512MB models, both have radio also and cost about the same as the sandisk, the N200 has a line in, the TX FM doesn't. The Muvo TX FM can also be used as a flash drive for moving files of any type and does not need a cable to connect to a pc. They are nice products, but after I saw them in a store I realized that they were too small and the screens were microscopic.

I have perfect eye sight but I am so accustomed to my Iriver IMP-350's nice remote with good display size( a CD MP3 player). I looked at the manuals of the creative Muvo's and the sandisk SDMX1-512 and was able to see that the interface and menus of the Sandisk player was superior to the Creative Muvo's. I also considered the Iriver flash players, but they were too expensive(still are). I have only used my Sandisk player for 2 days now and it has given me no problems.

The file transfer is very fast and the battery life seems pretty good so far. The battery is at 3/4 bars after 2 days of use, and it's the cheap alkaline battery that came with the player. I have one complaint, I wish it came with a neck strap like the creative Muvo's. I used a strap from an old pair of sun glasses. It comes with a nice clear plastic protective case and a set of cheap air phones, plus a nice velcro arm strap for all you joggers. The quick start manual is ok, the full manual if on the CD or the website. It's got a nice backlight and clear screen, sound quality is excellent and radio reception is very good, better than my Iriver IMP-350's reception.

The CD comes with musicmatch jukeboox version 9, I didn't even install it, it's crap, stick with winamp or media player. You don't have to install any drivers for windows xp. The entire screen flashes when transferring files, which is super fast. Voice recording is ok, I wish it had radio recording like the creative models though.

This player is great and cheap, go for it, you won't be sorry:-)

Tuki

Buy SanDisk 512 MB MP3 Player Blue Now

I really, really like the Sandisk 512MB MP3 player!

I bought this a couple of days ago because I've started running on the treadmill. I was using the old yellow Sony sport armband model that was just a radio, and it was driving me crazy when commercials came on (or a slow song -death during a workout!).

The MP3 player allowed me to load much of my music (ripped to the WMA format to fit more) and the shuffle allows me to start the music and just go, never knowing what's coming next, but always knowing it will rock!

The radio is also very nice on this unit. The reception is clear and there are more than enough preset slots to save my stations.

Contrary to an earlier comment, I find the size of this unit is just fine for a workout. The unit is also VERY light; I barely noticed it was there.

Also, echoing another earlier comment, when copying to the unit, I treated it like a hard drive and just set up folders with my music sorted into the approprate spot. That created playlists.

The one issue I have with this MP3 player is in the area on controls, more specifically while I am running.

The controls while setting up the unit are actually pretty good (if you have the manual handy...they are not intuitive, but the manual lays it out OK)! They crammed a lot of features into a little package and it has all I need.

However, if I want to switch from radio to recorded music or back the other way WHILE running, it is very difficult. That's not usually a big problem though: I'll probably use one method or the other during a workout, so the switch is not a huge issue.

Overall, I am very pleased with this player. It is more than worth the significantly lower price I paid for it (vs. say, the iPod). Go for it, you won't be disappointed!

Read Best Reviews of SanDisk 512 MB MP3 Player Blue Here

I bought the Sandisk 512 MP3 player for use while running. If you are a runner, you probably already know that the jukebox-style (e.g. Ipod) and CD-style MP3 players don't work well because the constant jarring makes it impossible for the player to read its media. Memory-based units like this one don't have this problem because there are no moving parts to jar. Weight and a rugged case are also considerations. I compared this unit to others made by Apple, Rio, Creative, and iRiver breaking the units down by size, price, capacity, and features. With few minor differences, all of these players look pretty much identical with the exception of the Apple (No display? Are they kidding?), iRiver (AA battery instead of AAA = more battery life), and the Sandisk because it is the least expensive of the bunch.

So I bought it, and here's what I've found thus far. I'll break this up into three categories:

1. The Player -

+ It's small and light. I can run with this in my hand and barely notice that I'm carrying it.

+ Nice sound for an MP3 player.

+ Good user interface some people didn't like having to learn it, but I found it quite useful. Particularly since I can listen to the music and adjust the equalizer at the same time.

o The construction of the unit does not speak of durability. It is so light, however, that I am not sure if there is enough mass to cause it to break if dropped. I will update after I drop it for the first time whenever that happens.

Bump for battery in case makes it more difficult to fit into my existing arm-band holder with my cell phone. OK, that sounds like whining. Probably is whining.

2. The Headphones -

+ Nice sound great bass response for earbuds.

+ Comfortable to wear.

o Cable is shorter for left earbud than right earbud. This kind of assumes that you will be wearing the unit on your left arm and operating it with your right hand. I did not find this to be a plus or a minus, but it might annoy some people (i.e. lefties), so there you have it.

The earbuds have these big bits on the outside that serve no function that I can figure. The problem being that when I go to wipe away sweat, I knock the earbuds out of my ear because I bump the big Frankenbolts sticking out of my ears. For now I am using my old buds from my last player and thinking about taking the bits off with my Dremel. I will update if I ever get to doing that or if my old buds die.

3. The Armband/Cover -

+ The band is lightweight and relatively comfortable.

+ The band is made of a fabric that is remarkably breathable.

o The band itself, while breathable, seems like it may not hold up to a lot of sweat. I'm holding judgement on this and will re-post if it self-destructs. NOTE: after 6 months the band is still going strong so perhaps I was wrong on this.

This is probably the cheapest construction that I have ever seem in an MP3 cover bar none. The cover for the player is made of thin vinyl which will not protect the player from anything but scratches. I would've preferred neoprene or silicon rubber to help the player stand up to being dropped. NOTE: after 6 months, the problem has not been breakage of the player due to bashing, but the snaps have begun to rust from sweat. While they're still functional, it doesn't look very nice.

UPDATE: A few people have suggested the ROM update I have to agree. The player was refusing to take any more songs on it after only filling to around 200 MB. The ROM update is trivial just another file that you download to the player and then turn it on. Availble at the web page (http://www.sandisk.com/retail/dap-firmware.asp).

UPDATE #2: After a couple of weeks worth of use, the unit stopped talking to my computers and was tagged as defective by Sandisk tech support. I sent it in (they pay for FedEx shipping) and after some wrangling (UPS shipment of new unit #1 disappeared from my front porch perhaps it would be better if they didn't write on the outside of the box what was inside the box?) I received the new unit. This has a different style of headphones (no "frankenbolts") and a version of firmware not currently available on their web page (2.0). Going without the player for a while was a hassle, but they did try to make it less painful by at least paying for shipping and sending a brand new unit as replacement.

Update #3: Player #2 stopped talking to my computer just as player #1 did. This time, rather than to waste time with their tech support, I troubleshot it myself and came up with an answer. Turns out that if you re-format the filespace on the device you HAVE to use the FAT (FAT16) filesystem type. Selecting FAT32 is what causes this problem. Here is my solution that I offer completely without warranty for a WinXP system. If you are at all uncomfortable reformatting disks, you should avoid this or get someone who is knowledgable to perform it. If you reformat the wrong disk on your computer, you will definitely break something/lose your data so DO BE CAREFUL:

1. Connect the player to the USB port.

2. Click on Settings->Control Panel->System Properties

3. Click on the Hardware tab and launch the device manager.

4. Click on the + icon in front of Disk Drives to expand the selection.

5. Right-click on the drive corresponding to the MP3 player and select the Properties menu item.

6. Click on the Volumes tab, and then press the Populate button to determine the drive letter.

7. Start up a command prompt (Programs->Command Prompt) and enter the following command to reformat the filesystem on the MP3:

format : /FS:FAT

8. Click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray, select the MP3 player, and click on the stop button.

9. Unplug the MP3 player, power it off, and reconnect it to the system.

10. MP3 player now appears in Windows Explorer.

Want SanDisk 512 MB MP3 Player Blue Discount?

I was looking for something with a radio, decent storage and an attractive price. This unit has satisfied all conditions.

Pros:

-Size and weight are wonderful. Tucks into any pocket for casual use, and I don't even notice it while using the armband for a workout.

-Drag & drop loading & unloading are getting harder to find in mp3 players. This is amazingly hassle free, just like using a Sandisk USB drive. Mp3 and wma without a problem. It does come with jukebox SW if you like that, but I have yet to try it.

-Price is great.

-Storage is fine for my needs. Holds to have several 20-song mixes, books-on-tape, etc.

Cons

-The navigation isn't perfect. It's not that annoying, but it's not too intuitive after several weeks use. If you spend a lot of time moving through mixes, switching b/n radio & mp3 playback, etc, then this will be a bit annoying, esp while running/biking. If you just play, then it won't be much of a problem.

Par

-The battery life and radio reception are decent. Neither is wonderful, but both are par for current technology.

Reasons to buy this over an ipod (or why I did, and I'm happy)

1) Radio

2) AAA batteries, vs. proprietary

3) Ease of drag & drop loading and unloading.

4) I don't really care about the ipod peripherals or style.

5) Better size than ipod/ipod mini, and more display info/options than an ipod shuffle.

Having to first wipe and then reburn a CD-RW just to hear a few new songs on my MP3-CD player was an inconvenience I wanted to be rid-off -plus the inability to fast-forward to a certain point in a track made listening to audio books a pain. So began my hunt for a MP3 player.

Since I didn't plan on having my whole collection with me (simply 40 songs, if not less, at a time), a 1gb+ player would be overkill. True portability, plus not having to wait for a recharge and potentially having to send the player back 3 years later to pay x amount to replace the battery, meant that I was looking for something that runs on AAAs or AAs. I might also jog with it and a read through the on-line forums showed mixed results for micro-drives in this capacity which placed me in the market for a 512mb or 256mb flash DAP.

Examining the reviews and user opinions on CNET, Amazon and various on-line, audio forums, the companies to consider were Apple, CreativeLabs, iAudio, iRiver and SanDisk.

Apple has a great reputation and everyone seems to agree that the quality (both finish, ease of use and sound) of their players are excellent. The only controversy was with the short life of the lithium ion batteries but all players with this energy source will have this problem. (According to Battery University, if the user leaves the battery at 100% charge at 77 degrees Fahrenheit, at the end of 1yr, the total charge level will only be at 80% which means that if you were able to get 20 hours of play, a year later, you'll only be able to get 16 hours)

The new iPod Shuffle didn't appeal to me because it lacked a LCD screen (try navigating a CD-RW with 107 songs and you'll know what I mean) Also, I heard that the Shuttle was binded to your home's iTunes so the only way to transfer files from your office was to first format the thing. It doesn't have a FM tuner, runs on lithium with ~12hr life, and doesn't support WMA but is the only player to support AAC. You can only have 1 playlist. So it wasn't for me. However, if you have a large iTunes collection, have an iPod and just want a excellent sounding player with familiar controls to workout at the gym with, this player is for you.

CreativeLabs, the guys who brought us the awesome sound blaster cards ( I have the Audigy 2 ZS), offers a wide array of DAPs which have just as much mind-share among the enthusiast as Apple. Their most popular models are Zen Micro followed by Zen Touch. The major issues were: 1. bad firmware update for the Micro and 2. the headphone jack on the Micro seems to degenerate too quickly. Sound quality-wise, vox poplui is that Zen Micro and the iPod 4gb sound about the same.

Among the flash players, only the Muvo N200 and Muvo Tx FM have a FM tuner and run on AAA batteries with ~15hr life. Both are exactly the same but the Tx FM can act as a USB key without having to use a small adapter like the N200 -this also means that the Tx FM is slightly larger. Reviews and discussions suggest that both have pretty good sound quality but not on the level of a iAudio or iRiver. I favored the Tx over N200 because the former can be a true USB key but ultimately decided not to go neither because the LCD was so small. (Went to J&R to see one).

Of interest, the original Tx FM could not fast-forward to the middle of a song, however, a firmware update has fixed this plus added support for Audible.com. I have also read the manual and found the controls (jog wheel that can be depressed to select and volume + & -) to be as intuitive as Apple's. Overall, the N200 & Tx FM are for people whose willing to sacrifice a bit of sound quality in order to get a small LCD screen. Both have FM tuners and so-so voice recorder ability but has no playlist support and you can only have 1 subfolder (C:\Level1\Level2). They support MP3, WMA and Audible.

iAudio is a company that appears to be quite popular in Korea. They don't seem to have as big a following in the states due to fact that their players, before the recent price decrease, were rather expensive and had limited distribution. Their most popular models are the U2 and iAudio 4 (there is a 5 out now, different look, same insides). Both had FM tuners, excellent voice recording ability with playlist support and fast forward ability. They support MP3, VBR, WMA, WAV, OGG and ASF

Since there wasn't too much on the forums about them, the CNET reviews were the main source of information and the U2 was rank the top flash player with some of their other players also taking top spots. The U2, with its extremely small form factor, had excellent sound, on par with the iPod Shuffle and a beautiful design. The only problem for me was that is used lithium rechargeable batteries. The iAudio 4 used AAA batteries and had the same sound quality as the U2 but didn't navigate via joystick. Both had about a ~15hr battery life.

Taking a look at the manuals, the i4 did not appear to be as intuitive as the CreativeLab Muvo or Apple iPod. The U2 is good for people who want excellent sound with an easy to read LCD and navigation plus small footprint. The iAudio 4 is for those who are looking for everything in the U2 but is willing to trade slightly larger form factor and navigation to have a non-lithium battery. I have ordered a iAudio 5 512mb (The i5s are gorgeous!!!) and am waiting for it to arrive. An interesting note is that you can change the short boot-up screen for the i4. Just download the software from the company's site and it makes converting a moving gif for the start-up screen a snap.

iRiver is iAudio's rival in Korea and it seems that both have about the same sound quality (which means excellent sound and on par with the Shuffle). iRiver is also known to have elegant designs and their iFP-799 is no exception this player looks very similar to the U2. The review on CNET and elsewhere were very favorable to all their players however, it seems that quite a few users in the forums have quality problems and report the units breaking about a few months later. I was going to get an iFP-799 which supports MP3, OGG and non-protected WMA but didn't want a lithium battery (these things are everywhere) and the fact that it doesn't work as a UBS key killed the deal. You have to install iRiver's software in order to transfer anything onto the player but you can't save songs from the player to your computer perhaps done to please media companies. Battery life, at ~40hrs, was the longest of all.

SanDisk has been in the flash memory business for awhile and it was a logical step to create more value-added products like a MP3 player. Their entry seems to have forced prices of flash players down. I have brought 2 of these (gave one to my youngest brother who loves it) and found the value, relative to price, to be the highest among all the flash DAPs. It supports MP3s and both protected and non WMA files. There is no playlist.

The sonic quality of the item was a bit worst than your average CD player and the included headphones sounded mono. Switching to my Sennheiser HD 457s, gave the sound a better range (lows were lower and highs were higher) but it came with a slight decrease in volume.

The FM tuner had trouble auto-scanning but you could manual select and I found the reception to be no worst than a standard walkman. I have not tried the voice recording but heard that it was only good for personal messages. Don't expect to record lectures like the iAudio and iRiver DAPs. The unit itself only supports one folder level (no subfolders) and couldn't seem to handle more than 10 of them. My brothers and I found that the navigation wasn't a problem for us. Reading the manual, however, was required in order to get all the options. How can someone know that holding down the select button for 3 seconds while in any mode will bring up the systems menu?

The LCD screen was a decent size. With a blue backlit, there were no issues reading it. Since you could just drag and drop your songs via Windows Explorer, I have not tried the included software. You can also create your folders via Windows Explorer. The small form factor meant that you could place it in any pocket and not notice it there. No problems were had connecting to our 4 PCs via the included USB cable. File transfer was very quick. A reviewer complained that file deletion was difficult but that was not the case. Just select the song and hit Rec, press the Play/Stop to confirm. We had been using the 2 units for awhile now and the 15 hour stated battery life appeared to be correct.

This DAP is definitely good for those looking for a ultra portable device. It's not much bigger than your thumb. The sound wouldn't blow you away (audiophiles would be better serve with a iAudio, iRiver or iPod Shuffle) but the low price will surely impress. SanDisk looks to be a strong contender in low-end flash player market.

General note about what storage size to select. Besides, the SanDisk 1GB, non of the other 1GB items could be recommended. Often times a 4GB unit can be had from the same company for just $25 to $30 more which means that the user should choose between 256mb or 512mb. Assume 6mb per song, you can have around 42 and 83 songs, respectively.