Motorola V557 Cell Phone Cingular AT&T

Pros:

1. Clearest, most consistent reception of any Cingular phone I have used (metro Chicago).

2. Intuitive, flexible navigation typical of Motorola.

3. Loud ring and earphone volume.

4. Reasonably large and high-res screen.

5. Easy to access and get detail on recent calls and messages.

6. Battery life is fantastic.

Cons:

1. As other reviewers have noted, the news "Ticker" takes up lots of screen and doesn't tell you all that much.

2. Web navigation is s-l-o-w and clumsy.

3. Vibrate mode is weak.

4. Screen colors and themes limited.

If you want a phone to make phone calls, the V557 is a winner.

Topeka, KS, Cingular service. Just got the phone yesterday, but I've played with it enough now to be pretty pleased with how it is working. The other reviewer has an axe to grind (he put the same low rating on ALL motorola phones!)

Back to this phone... very nice fit and feel, love the non skid surface it has, and also like that it has some weight to it. Camera is adequate, but not great, but as others say, buy a digital camera to take nice pictures and get over it. I do not have a problem with the volume button on the side, but I am able to put it on 'soft' which does not alow you to adjust it from the outside. Vibrate and other options probably will help, I don't know what someone would do if they need it on loud.. my SO has one also, and we will see how he gets along with his today.

Keys are big and easy to use, the center 'mouse' is very easy to use, personalizing the keys is easy.

Reception is crystal clear, and signal strength is equal to or better than the nokia 6340i that I had (TDMA/GSM quad band phone)

I'll know better when I do my 3.5 hour run to Nebraska in a few weeks, and will try ou the speaker phone then as well.

Both inside and outside screens are nice and clear and easy to read. I've turned the brightness down to the lowest setting, and it is plenty bright. The menu is different, but pretty intuitive, I am able to find and personalize most things without the manual. I'm not taken by the ticker...on the fence on that one, but I get my news fix from the Net on a computer. Seems to have quite a few ads on the ticker so far.. bleah.

Acessing the net for the channels on the ticker is very easy. There is a pause between accessing, but not as bad as my s l o w phone connection at home.

Not much for ringtones, but I'll get it figured out how to add some, hopefully without a ton of money spent.

I'm going to try the blue tooth headset.. haven't yet.

Checking out the battery life, but there are quiet a few options, screen saving, turning off the ticker, etc that would probably extend it.. like having the options to do that.

Buy Motorola V557 Cell Phone Cingular AT&T Now

I love this phone! I originally made the mistake of buying the sony ericsson z520a and hated it. I have always been a motorola fan and always will be. This phone looks great, has killer reception, and is very well made (it is really solid). I am very picky with my phones and this is by far one of the best phones I have had. My husband is very jealous for he has the new nokia flip phone and is not too happy with it. I would recommend this phone to anyone who wants a quality product that truly shows. This phone has made me a motorola fan for life!

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So, a RAZR is sexy, yes, but let's face it. Everyone and thier grandma wants a RAZR, and most people will buy it now that it's cheaper. I really never saw universal acceptance as terribly cool. Now then, I owned the V300 from Motorola via T Mobile. I broke it. The phone was sturdy; I was just a bit of a jerk. T Mobile on the other hand, was fuzzy, vague, and too costly. The V556 is an improvement over my past phone, and I love the design. It also has features similar to a 1st gen RAZR, but hey, you're on Amazon, you can figure that out yourself.

Cons:

*Accidentally pushing a button and accessing Cingular's internet is too easy to do. That internet, as best as the manual tells me, often incurs charges for data transactions, not just online services.

* So many nice features, so little onboard memory.

* Motorola is very afraid of a flash with thier camera.

* Cingular is stingy with the ringtones and backgrounds. Seriously, T Mobile included at least 4 times more for free. It shows a very business decision, which is a not so nice reality check when I'm switching providers on the basis of consumer benefits.

* Online features, like headlines, weather, and sports, are overrated. They take up a large portion of the screen whenever you are at the main menu, and you pay for anything more than a summary. They cannot be hidden without deactivating the service. It's a bit glaring when you have the instant $$ internet button but no way of hiding this feature that is so lauded and convenient.

* The fact that I can't hide the online features I do like when not using them puts me off. So much so, that I won't even look at the pay options. Why pay to be annoyed?

* It was so nice of my phone to warn me of the fact that elaborating on the online features (such as a headline) incurs a charge. Found that out on day two. Said feature has been off since.

Pros:

* Rubbery grip equals less slip. Rhyming, unfortunately, does occur.

* Bluetooth.

* Big buttons

* Battery life is phenomenal.

* Never had a clearer sounding phone.

It feels like an empty victory. Much better phone, better features, but trying to do anything other than placing a call feels like walking through a bazaar with a belt made of dollar bills. T Mobile was cheap on the features, but they didn't make it so easy to waste your money. This phone is like an attractive date who's only interested in your money. I'd dump it, but we have this commitment... and it's sad that I won't find a hotter phone.

Love the phone, but the unabashed way they want my extra money does little to "raise the bar" on phone service.

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If you've ever switched brands, you know it can be a challenge. Adapting to the Motorola V220 flip-phone from a Nokia "candy bar" style phone was OK, but after losing my V220 (no longer available) I tried an LG 1500 and found it unusably alien, its display inferior. I returned the LG and got this V557. It's quite a bit more expensive if you buy the phone straight out (I paid $269), but just about worth the extra money. The display looks like a miniature TV!

It loads games noticeably faster than the V220 did although it occasionally hangs for a second or two during play. The video and camera work fine and have more memory. IT RUNS FAR LONGER ON A CHARGE than any other phone I've had! Wow! Inexpensive car chargers are available at Wal Mart and Target. Overseas (notably SE Asia), you can just buy another SIM card at a 7-11 store and then you have a local phone number --just call from that to pick up your voice mail at home; it's cheap. (The 7-11's also have scratch-off cards to "fill up" on usage minutes as you go --no contracts.)

One thing about the Motorolas: if you turn off caller ID so that the person you are calling cannot see your phone number, it's for the "next call only" and then it goes back to sending your number. It takes fifteen (15) clicks to do this(!) on the V557, so if you want it off all the time, this might not be the phone for you. The only problem I've had: twice in four months it said "unable to charge" while on the wall charger. I unplugged the charger, removed & re-inserted the battery, and that fixed it.

The recently-dialed list holds sixty numbers, many more than the V220 held. On Cingular you get free news headlines (can be turned off); you don't pay unless you press "More" to download the entire article. There are built-in messages such as "Will arrive in 15 minutes," plus you can store your own. The speakerphone on back doesn't work as well as a real speakerphone, but it'll do if you just want to play your guitar into the phone for a minute. :-)

Sylvania DVR90DE Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder

• DVD player/recorder with 8-event, 1-year programming and up to 10 hours of recording per 4.7 GB recordable DVD
• DVD-R/RW recording and playback, DVD-ROM playback; offers content editing and scene deletion
• Includes NTSC tuner for off-air recording
• Composite-video and RF inputs
• Offers picture zoom and parental lock

It's a shame because the unit works quite well with my older 2x dvd-rw media, but after buying some 4x -rw and 8x -r neither would work. Talking to customer support (on sunday morning, with an 800 number, after a 20 minute wait) they claim this unit will not work with the newer media, and so I asked what happens in a year or two when there are no more 2x -rw discs for sale, or 4x -r. The rep suggested I return it.

One other point: the manual appears to be a translation and the translator clearly does not understand English grammar. On the box it states: "this unit cannot record on any copyright protected dvd". This even stumped the support rep. Apparently it should have said "from" instead of "on". The manual is forever making these sorts of errors and it is often difficult to know exactly what are the correct procedures or restrictions.

Oh, my first attempt to play a recorded dvd (2x -rw which works) in my sony dvd player did not work until I put it back into the recorder and did a finalize operation. This could explain the difficulty another reviewer mentioned.

Sadly, I had to return the unit.

----------------------------------------

Here is an email I got from cust support:

----------------------------------------

Thank you for your inquiry:

Please check the list provided below, the problem is most likely a compatibility issue.

Below is a list of disc that should or should not be used with the recorders.

DVD-R

4x can be used

8x will result in a disc error.

DVD-RW

2x can be used

4x will result in a disc error.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

DVD DISCS

The following discs have been tested and are proven to be compatible with our DVD recorders.

MEMOREX DVD-R

FUJIFILM DVD-R

FUJIFILM DVD-RW

IMATION DVD-RW

IMATION DVD-R 2.0

TDK DVD-RW 2X

TDK DVD-R 2X

Funai Corporation

Customer Support

Buy Sylvania DVR90DE Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder Now

I bought this product, took it out of the box, read the manual and started recording within hours. I get 10 hrs on one disc and find this plays on my DVD dual deck in the living room and on my computer DVD drive. I was suprised to see the review that says it is not compatable with other DVD players /recorders. It is DVD-R recordings, that when you make them, are compatable with more formats than Panasonics Ram format, which is only compatable with Panasonic. I can pl;ay on Hitachi, dvd player,Phillips, and Go Video which I and my kids all own, so I think the other reviewer has a Ram format DVD or he has a software problewm. Mine works great and is easy to use , with an idiot proof On Screen Icon menu.

Good Value, good sound and picture quality and easy to program.

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I bought this player recently instead of a 'standalone' cd recorder which btw doesn't have these extra features. I hooked up my turntable (the one with the built-in pre-amp, so I didn't need a amp or reciever to go thru) set the recording mode in my case 6 hours (or how many hours you want) and connected the red and white audio wires from the audio (leave off the 'yellow' or video wire for an all blank screen). I recorded and then pressed 'stop' when the song was over to create a title or chapter, you can then edit the name the track title (as you would with a movie or something) . You can hold up to 10 hours of audio on one dvd-r media with this dvd recorder.

BUT the only thing is it holds up to 80 chapters (or titles?) because I already tried this if you go over 80 titles then you cannot finalize the disc or record passed 80 as it says 'disc error' you cannot record on this disc. One way to bypass this is when you reach say track (or title/chapter) 75 use the pause button instead (of stop), though when you reach track 75 you would have to manually fast forward on your remote to play the other songs recorded, so you can fill up the entire disc with 10 hours of music.

The music recorded off the turntable played back in dolby digital format even in the 10 hour mode

Right now I'm playing one of my dvd-rs that I filled with 6 hours of music with while typing this in dvd-rom, I can say goodbye to the ancient cd player which only holds 80 minutes of music. Oh I can also play my Audio/music dvd-r on most other dvd players including my panasonic!

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This DVD Recorder accepts the DVD-R / -RW format (does not accept DVD+R/+RW). So far its pretty damn good, even better than the $299 magnavox model that was out last year which didn't have as much features and was $100 more. This DVD Recorder has up to 8 program recording up to a year in advance, daily or weekly recordings are also avail, just like your old vcr. One touch timer recordings, as well as other nice features. Comes with a full functional remote control as well as buttons on the unit itself. The recorder has 6 recording speeds they are XP 60MIN, SP 120MIN,LP 240MIN, EP 360MIN, SLP 480MIN, SEP 600MIN in other words from 1 to 10 hours, the 10 hr recording mode (SEP) looks sort of like vcd quality but just a bit less and I do not recommend it very much. EP mode looks like Vhs quality, XP, SP & LP modes are very good quality to record with. You can even preview it before making the disc how the picture would look like in that particular mode. The manual is very handy and tells you everything in complete detail step by step.

The unit has your basic audio/video inputs and outputs as well as component and RF input and output. It also plays CDs & CDRs. The discs recorded on this player also played on my Panasonic a120 dvd player which is more than a few years old.

The only possible bad thing about this recorder is the 'CPRM' (copy protection system) which ofcourse means you cannot make copies of copy protected broadcast materials, unless its made once on dvd-rw media, and then you cannot make a copy of that recording on the dvd-rw media and all of this is dependent on wether the programmer wants to copy protect its material or not, they may opt to do so (or not do so) in the future. But so far I've recorded many programs off the tv without any problems on regular dvd-r media, but I suspect many other newer dvd recorder nowadays have this feature. The older recorders that I know of didn't have this feature, which is good you might want to stock up on those discontinued dvd recorders since newer dvd recorders will have this feature. But all in all a good player/recorder seems like its worth more than $199 but since it didn't have progressive scanning (not that i needed it since I use it only for recording) it fits the price.

I have been using this DVR for about a month now. The record quality is great using the S Video input and I cannot tell the differance in quality between 2 hour and 4 hour modes. I have had media problems. I bought some Imation DVD-R's at Sams Club and everything was working fine but when I went back to Sams Club to buy more they didn't work. I noticed that the old ones I had purchased were DVD-R 2X and the new ones were DVD-R 1-8X you would think 1-8X means it would work at 1-2X "wrong". Then I went to Costco and bought some TDK 1-4X and I was back in business again until I ran out of TDK media. So back to Costco for some more TDK 1-4X, when I bought the new DVD-R's I noticed the packaging was different but the speed was the same. When I put it in the DVR90DE it came up with an error. I then inspected the media looking for a difference, the first TDK 1-4X had a red circle about a 1/4" from the center hub the newer DVD-R media had the same red circle but it was only about 1/8" from the center hub. I started inspecting other media I had tried without success and noticed what they had in common. It was a red circle very close the the inner hub. I will be going on a quest for media tomorrow. I hope they never discontinue the slower media because this thing won't work without it. The good news is it records great video.

PHILIPS STREAMIUM SLA5500 Wireless Music Receiver

After researching several other streaming audio devices in the sub-$200 range, this product seemed to have the features I wanted plus a lot of good customer reviews (here and at other sites).

I have a large collection of MP3s (non-DRM) on my PC and a WEP-secured wireless network in my house. The physical setup was really easy plug in the AC adapter and connect it to my stereo with the provided audio cable. The wireless setup took more effort than I expected, but in the end my problems were with my wireless router.

Even though it's a DHCP server and works fine with all the PCs in my house and my Tivo, the Streamium was being assigned an invalid IP. I fixed this by using the 'reserve IP' feature of my router to specify the IP that DHCP will assign to the Streamium based on it's MAC address. Your mileage will vary depending on your brand/model of router.

After I got it on my network, the rest was a breeze. I decided to use the Philips Media Manager software instead of the Windows Media Center (or whatever it's called) because I really don't trust Microsoft to not-screw-up my existing MP3 collection. iTunes already wreaked havoc once (it tried to rearrange all my files until I disabled 'manage my music folder'). I wasn't going to tempt fate a second time.

The Streamium device looks really slick. The screen is easy to read and displays a decent amount of information. Selecting songs, artists, albums, shuffling, etc. were all easy to do. And, most importantly, the sound quality is great.

The only negative comment I have:

You have to use the remote. There are zero controls on the device itself. If you lose that remote, might as well chuck the rest of it in the trash. The same thing can be said about many competing products though.

At this price, it does everything I expected and it does it well. I'd give it five stars if it didn't rely solely on the remote.

Pro: Good looking, easy to use interface, relatively easy set-up

Con: Have to use WEP encryption, does not support WPA (or you could go w/o encryption). Need to set up exception in firewall software. These are not really cons, just technical items that may be difficult for non-technical types to do.

I just set up a new home theater system in my basement, and thought it would be convenient if I could transmit the music on my computer to play on the A/V receiver. I searched the net and Cnet for recommended products, and came across this. Some wireless systems will stream video too, but most seemed to have technical issues doing it and/or seemed technically complicated. This fits my needs for transmitting music I do not have movies or TV shows stored on my computer. (This will also show pictures and play videos, but I have not connected through to my TV.)

All you need is a computer with a 11b or 11g wireless connection and Windows Media Player v.10. Set up was quick and easy, and it automatically downloaded the latest firmware from Philips. I have a Philips MP3 player, and Philips seems to be good about updating software and keeping web support pages up to date. I had problems switching my wireless encryption down to WEP level, but I have had issues any time I changed the encryption settings. I made input & output exceptions in my firewall software (PC-cillin from Trend Micro) and I was good to go.

As long as your computer is running, you point the remote at the wireless receiver and select what you want to hear. You can play, shuffle, & repeat songs from your computer, or listen to Web radio stations. My computer is only about 30' away, but I am guessing that reception is as good as any wireless device. For $60 delivered (the website for the Arkansas based store, starts with a 'W'), this is a GREAT deal. Looks good, too not like some computer component. No more loading CDs in the DVD player for me.

Buy PHILIPS STREAMIUM SLA5500 Wireless Music Receiver Now

This item is no longer available on AMAZON (Thank god!). I made the mistake of purchasing two of these after falling in love with the idea of being able to play all the music from my computer on my home stereo systems. Out of the box we had issues as the device only support WEP encryption which has been known to have security issues for several years now. The device does not (and will never) support WPA encryption which provides true wireless security. I went through the trouble of creating an entire separate network without security simply to provide music to the receiver. Even then with full signal strength and after spending HOURS on the phone with Philips tech support the music would still skip to the point you couldn't listen to it for more than about 1 minute. The bottom line is Philips created this line of products to compete with other similar devices on the market and when they weren't able to get them working correctly, they ditched the entire line and stopped supporting it. BAD BUSINESS!!! If I ran my business like that, I would be out of business.

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I have been all over the net learning about this line of products... only to find that this device has a firmware upgrade that enables what I believe are several shoutcast streams! BOO-YAH, Soma FM without running my PC!

I believe some basic premium services can also be enabled... pretty neat.

Eventually I will try the media server aspect, but thanks to John's tip below, I was happy to get a $50+ dollar internet radio! Set it up in about 3 minutes and its AWESOME.

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4-Port (4x1) HDMI v1.3 Certified Switch with 6ft Cable - Supports Blu-Ray, PS3, Xbox, HD-DVD, HD-DV

I took a chance on this switch considering it had not been reviewed yet. so let me start by letting people know about the performance of this unit. The switch itself is small and compact remote is smaller than a crdit card, I have the switch connected to the following in this order

1. Mitsubishi hd1500 projector

2. Toshiba A30 HD player

3. Sony Playstation 3 80(GB)

4. Directv hd reciever

So after 3 weeks I haven't had any problems with this unit. great performance Great price!

Have been using this little hdmi box for a couple of weeks. My tv had only 1 input and I had a dvd player, hp media smart, and hdtv tuner to connect to it. The unit has lights on it and the remote works great from a distance. I am about 12 feet from my tv, and it works with no problems. I like the lights so I can see if the inputs are changing, since the tv does not respond instantly when switching hdmi inputs. I highly recommend this box.

Buy 4-Port (4x1) HDMI v1.3 Certified Switch with 6ft Cable - Supports Blu-Ray, PS3, Xbox, HD-DVD, HD-DV Now

Works well on my Panasonic plasma. Did not want to use the front hdmi input. Nice and compact also. I use the rear hdmi 1 input to switch between dvr 1, dvr 2 and the cable box. I use the hdmi 2 input for my blueray player. So small you hardly know it is there. Nice product.

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I use this Switch with my PS3 and Xbox360. My Logitech Harmony Remote was easy to setup with the switch.

I was hesitant to purchase an Automatic Hdmi switch in the event I left one console on while swapping to another. With a Macro remote, you don't even notice the switch.

Want 4-Port (4x1) HDMI v1.3 Certified Switch with 6ft Cable - Supports Blu-Ray, PS3, Xbox, HD-DVD, HD-DV Discount?

We just connected this unit to our TV, using 2 ports, 1 for the HD set top box and 1 for the PS3. We have video on the set top box but no audio. When we switch to the PS3, no picture or sound. This is really frustrating! We were really looking forward to this unit, based on the reviews. Any one have similar experiences?

Sony MZR70 Minidisc Recorder

• 40-second shock resistant memory and high quality recording with digital automatic gain control
• Dual headphone jack allows use of remote control while listening
• Up to 17 hours of playback with one AA battery
• Digital bass-boost for richness of sound
• Includes a remote control, connecting cable, AC adaptor, rechargable battery, carrying pouch and battery case

I've been putting off buying a portable listening device since my last '90 Aiwa tape player. But after seeing the Minidisc in action it's a definite buy and constant use gem.

First, do the math if you're seriously comparing MP3 format vs. Minidisc. A single MD at 74min costs 2 dollars at most Read/write capabilities, move tracks, edit, `tMark'=index songs, etc. You don't need a computer either use your existing AV setup to record while having the option to use PC, DVD, etc.

Sound quality? Can you say OPTICAL input. You cannot get any better sound resolution than this; any decent DVD player has an optical out; decent CD players too. RCA IN is a plus (not included) and the PC IN option is mediocre it is convenient with all the CD-R/PC/MP3 formatted music. It's got a two-stage added-bass feature that works quite well. The standard headphones are excellent an updated version with position detents for fixed fit. The remote fob device is essential for total playback+record control once your MDplayer is tucked away in the pocket. (look for the RM-MZR55 remote with backlighting if you want to upgrade)

The unit has never skipped even with major motion, jostling, or shock. I haven't done a drop-test, but I'll skip it for now. The biggest drawback is the lack of a custom case/holster for the unit; it does come with a bag, but it isn't adequate for protection or carrying with any confidence. Plus, the lack of backlighting on the main unit is a bummer.

It comes with it's own AA ni-cad battery and charger, and runs for a prolonged period of time ~ 6 hours playback, 1.5-2x as long on a regular AA. The half-sized ice cream sandwich form kicks the CD portable players to the curb. It isn't as ubiquitous as some MP3 players but why would you want to drop several dimes on something invisible. Personally, the anodized blue colored one has more impact than the silver, but the form and interface overall is a delight. The battery bulge just slightly cants the display up, the button separation and placement works great for easy access. I find excuses to block the world out and listen to high-fidelity music on the go.

Buy Sony MZR70 Minidisc Recorder Now

This mini-disc player has to be one of the best on the market today. (if not the best)It is easy to use, small in size, and much more practical than a CD burner (it's like a portable burner/player)

Positives:

#GREAT sound quality (like CD)

#easy to set up, only takes about 5 minutes

#it makes recording simple, without the need of a HUGE system attached to your home stereo

#PC USB connected

#software is already on your Windows computer

#looks cool, and is very light and rugged

#regular AA battery last 17 hours!

Negatives (there aren't very many)

#long recording time (but it goes by faster than you'd expect)

#Inserting title takes a few seconds

# included rechargeable battery last only 6 hours

Overall I give it a 5 because it was well worth the money and is better than a CD burner, MP3 player, and definitly better than a tape player!

Read Best Reviews of Sony MZR70 Minidisc Recorder Here

This is an excelent little machine. I bought mine from a friend... with 20 disks, and it's worth every penny. This little rig is small, light weight, and has excelent sound and battery life.

To start, it's small. It's about the size of the palm of your hand, with a bump on the back where the batery goes. it fits in ANY pocket, unlike most CD players. it weighs very little, so it doesnt bother you by pulling on your cloths like some CD players.

The sound is great. The only problem is that it has a low record volume, and gets fuzzy when you turn it up too much. If you have the mega bass on while you recond on high, it gets fuzzy also. At low and medium volumes though, it's got crystal clear sound (that also depends on your headphones, and what kind of music... rock is less fuzzy than Rap) I like my music LOUD. I ride a bus one way to or from school, and that gets awfull loud. I have several "buss disks" that are recorded on high volumes, and they work fine when you are being bombarded by background noise, but are a little fuzzy when you run it through a car kit or stereo. This machine has over all good sound though, and with a little fine tuning of bass and volume you get great sound.

Battery life... what can i say, it lasts. Even on regular duracells, i can get almost a whole school week on and off, and the provided rechargable battery last even longer.

Besides the sound glitches here and there, it also makes some noise. When skipping tracks, rewinding a few seconds etc. it has to think for a couple of seconds. It's not a major problem, but it is somewhat slow here and there. It will skip too. If it is riding in your pocket where it can bounce, it'll skip. Not as much as a 40 sec asp cd player though. it'll freeze for a second, then you will stop, wondering what went wrong, then it goes again. not a mojor problem, but if you jog or run, i suggest you upgrade to an MD with the same G-protection of a CD player.

For the money... it's a great buy for people who want small portable music, that can come from anywhere, (even MD to MD.)Hope this helped

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I know the item is currently out of stock, but this little machine works up to its name. The outer shell of my player/recorder is blue like the MZR90 model. I do all my recordings in half the time I'd do them with an audio cassette recorder. There's no comparison in quality and efficiency with the latter equipment.

Best features are: 1) Is very compact, it fits in my shirt pocket 2) The remote comes in handy when my coat is closed 3) It fits in a standard discman accessory case with discman 4) Included phones are enriched with amazing bass boost sound 5) The best of all is for skipping a track takes about 3 to 4 seconds. This feature is convenient for me when I only want to hear certain songs. 6) The shock absorbtion is great. Never to worry about a song skipping again. 7) The adaptor comes in handy for recording while saving on batteries 8) With accessories, you can record from phono, CD, cassette, and from your VCR hookup on the stereo. With all that, you can't go wrong. SONY has lived up to its name in quality.

My MZR70 works like a charm. I won't upgrade yet, as this machine meets my expectations. I quickly bonded with such a quality item. For someone looking for a unit with the equivalent in volume to a Discman, the Minidisc has a softer sound. You can't obtain with this unit the same volume strength as the Discman, but for the amount you can get, you have the most out of the 1.2 volt battery provided with it. If the volume is up to about 85%, it's enough for me. I say this because some songs are recorded louder than others. The battery life is normally ( 7 to 8 hrs. ).

In my accessory kit, included with the player was among others, a rechargeable Ni-Cad battery ( NC-WMAA DC 1.2V 700mAh ) that lasts the said amount. SONY does offer a DRY battery, not available here in Montreal. IF SOMEONE CAN LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN GET ONE??? at mailto:woof1@sympatico.ca .

As soon as this item is available, get it!

Did my review help you?

I'm surprised that mini disc hasn't caught on. It's small, you can record MP3s (the reason I wanted this in the first place), and it's easily concealable. The only problem I have is that recording takes forever, it's second-for-second (meaning that the time it takes to record is the amount of time the song lasts), and pre-recorded mini discs are hard to come by. Not even Amazon sells them. Other than that, it's a great player. I don't have this particular model, but mine's very similar. I like the fact that you can assign names to each song. Another big, big plus is the cost of the discs: $2 a piece. It doesn't skip and you can record and re-record several times over. I could go on and on about how great mini discs are...

Motorola Ming A1200 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, MicroSD Slot--Internati

I have this phone for 6 months.

Plus eye catcher, ppl turn arnd alyways

touch screen next gen fone has many features even before the ifone came out

linux OS, rarely hangs

cool features like handwriting recognition

minus

does not play music really well, sound quality ok

BATTERY LIFE HORRIBLE, even if u are a medium user, it still is very poor

nice cool, cool stuff, but given a second option i would think twice and go for a nokia

I've used the Motorola A1200 (Ming) for over a year now. I read about the Ming on forums at GSM World and Motorola Fans (motorolafans.com). I liked the smaller form factor, the touch screen which is protected by the transparent flip cover (also minimizes scratches), and the options. Having BlueTooth, 2 MP camera/camcorder, voice and handwriting recognition (including left-handed writing!), and a Java engine were all major pluses.

Because this phone can run Java applications, you can go to a site like getjar.com and find *thousands* of programs that will run on this phone. For example, I use Morange (morange.com) with my phone, so I have an integrated email client (with mulitple accounts), IM, calendar, appointments, tasks, VoIP, RSS reader, and web browser in one application. Morange also syncs with Outlook on my desktop. Best of all, it's a free application.

For me, the battery life has been quite reasonable. My phone charge lasts for about three days before I have to recharge. I talk on the phone for a few hours in that time and I frequently check my email. I also carry an extra battery just in case. Battery life will vary depending upon the firmware running on your phone. I'm using the 24p firmware, which is known for good battery life. This phone does run linux, so of course there are multiple firmwares available. (See http://motorolafans.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=110 for information about firmware.)

Even if the technical specs don't say it, it is possible to enable Edge on this phone. My Ming has Edge enabled.

The phone accepts up to a 2 GB transflash card. Motorola Phone Tools (Windows only) also ship with the phone so you can sync your contacts and calendar with your desktop.

Overall, I've been very happy with the phone. I like the fact that it's user friendly and comes loaded with almost all of the applications I could want. I like the fact that you can tinker with it if you want to and install applications without paying a monthly subscription fee for the software.

What I don't like? Edge doesn't come enabled on most phones even though the hardware support is present. The screen can be hard to read in broad daylight.

People definitely are intrigued by the Ming because they haven't seen one before. Definitely geek factor. ;)

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I purchased the MotoMing A1200 WITH WARRANTY through Amazon.com on 29 Sep 08. I did not receive the product until almost the end of October. When I received it, the sound did not work on the device unless I had the headset connected to it. I miss all calls unless I have the phone on my body and it is on vibrate. Trying to get support for it has been a total nightmare. I got onto the Motorola website and found out that the product was previously used and fixed and that the warranty had EXPIRED SEVEN MONTHS prior to my purchase. This will be the last time I purchase anything through Amazon.com that deals with third-party retailers.

Read Best Reviews of Motorola Ming A1200 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, MicroSD Slot--Internati Here

The Motorola Ming is a awesome cell phone that has great reception and a great phone book memory. The downfall to this phone is the texting which is very small keyboard that requires use with the stylus.

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This phone is definitely an eye catcher. I love this phone for its great looks and the only available flip, touch screen PDA phone at the time of purchase. But there are some shortcomings.

Pros:

Great look (someone will ask you what phone it is when you go in public)

Touch screen

Bright, brilliant and large display

PDA with flip

See thru flip with brilliantly designed ear piece

Great audio and video quality (I'm really impressed with the audio quality compared to any other phones)

Voice recorder is awesome

FM tuner (works only with given headset)

Cons:

Poor battery life

Poor camera (picture quality & recorded video quality are awful)

Meager internal memory

Slow & sluggish performance (it takes a while to load)

No complete silent mode (One can set the ringing style to silent but not entire phone little bit of disappointing)

No EDGE or 3G (GPRS sucks)

Can setup only 2 alarms (disappointing)

Slight discomfort in using contact list in the case of making urgent calls. You need to go thru several screens to make a call from contact list unless you save it in speed dial.

The worst is battery life

The best is screen & look

Overall this is a great phone with basic PDA functionality. If you are looking for a basic PDA, great looking phone with bluetooth, moderate internet browser, good audio/video playback, installable apps you will not be disappointed.

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Magnavox ZC320MW8B Progressive Scan DVD±RW Recorder w/Line-in Recording (Manufacturer Refurbished)

• Magnavox ZC320MW8B 1080p Upscaling DVD Recorder General Features: Sleek black color Region 1
• Progressive Scan Video Out 5 Speeds for Up to 6 hours recording
• Edit Function (Scene Delete, Title Delete, Adding Chapter etc.) Closed Caption Data Writing
• Multi-Angle, Skip, Pause and Resume Play 99 Program Play, Random Play (CD)

When I purchased this recorder at a local retail store, I was told I couldn't record TV programs because it had no tuner and since I don't have cable TV. Since, I bought it to record my Sony Handicam videos to DVD, plus record from my computer,it was no big deal. However, in theory, I felt that a digital converter box was a tuner, so I connected a converter box, as an "external tuner", and voila, it worked! I'm able to record all the digital TV stations in my area, both timed and instant recording. I called the store and informed the salesperson of this information, in case any other customers questioned this ability. So far it works fine.

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Great product... I have recorded 2 dvd's from an old S-VHS camcorder. S-Video in works great. Instructions are a bit lacking and the user interface is really minimal and kinda hard to figure out. I still give this device 5 stars because of what you get for the price. If you need to get any old videos onto DVD, this thing will do the job.

***Update*** I have finished getting my videos onto DVD so I am no longer using the recorder... So, I won't be able to answer your questions as I have been able to in the past.

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had some worries about refurbished but seems to be working fine and doing everything it should . picture quailty is great . did have a problem the first day ,unit froze up and could do nothing with it, called tech support and they said unplug it for 1 hour ,that did the trick and no trouble after that .you might try that before calling tech support .i should have gotten one of these a long time ago . i am 73 and i figured out everything i needed to do what i do . great machine , Pete

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this item came very fast,in very good like new condition, player recorder works exellent,there is no visible counter, the set up counter is viewed on tv, but the price for this is very cheap and recorder records exellent and plays dvd back very good if you need a good low cost player recorder buy this one from this dealer.

I do the work of Video transfer professionally. The machine is rock solid, no discs have come back for having errors, thousands have been made. I never do reviews, this is my first. I wanted to tell everyone this machine is great!

SRD-1610DC 16CH H.264 Digital Video Recorder, 4 CH Audio, DVD Burner

While I'm a fan of Samsung DVR's this unit was certainly a disappointment. The unit is advertised as 120 fps at the lowest resolution. If you divide 120fps by 16 (the max number of cameras) you get 7.5 frame per seconds. 7.5 is the maximum number of frames per camera it can record--regardless of the number of cameras attached. I purchased this unit and attached 7 cameras with the understanding I would be able to record at 15 fps per camera (120/7). Not the case. The unused fps cannot be applied to the other cameras. 7.5 fps is all you are going to get, even if you have just one camera. Playback at 7.5 fps is jerky.

Samsung higher end records, such as the SRD-1650 or SRD-850 CAN allocate the unused fps to other channels

Disney HM600D Hannah Montana DVD Player

• DVD video and CD audio compatible
• Supports CD, CDR, CDRW playback
• Supports Picture CD, DVDR, DVDRW
• Dolby Digital (AC3) digital audio output
• Dolby Digital (AC3) audio decoder: 2 channels
• Dolby Digital (AC3) stereo down mix output
• 10 Bit video D/A converter
• NTSC video output

I bought this for my 12 year old daughter and so far she loves it. It works great and the star design is awesome and unique.

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I bought this product entirely because of a misunderstanding in the following Product Description: "Repeat A < > B, repeat one / all Connection jacks" . . . Now here's the deal, I thought that meant the DVD would keep playing for my happy cat! I still have no idea what "Repeat A < > B, repeat one/all Connection Jacks" means, but it sure doesn't make the DVD automatically repeat! P.S., my cat likes watching the Three Stooges DVDs while I'm away.

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My daughter loves this! It goes so cute with the matching TV! We didnt even know it connects to the TV with the star on top! Amazing product and Super Fast delivery!!!

VideoSecu 4 Infrared Outdoor Day Night Vision Audio Microphone Security Cameras Weatherproof Built-

The camera is very well built, weatherproof, has a movable sun screen and works as expected for 420 TV line resolution camera. This camera is a great value for the money and the price just came down to boot. It is mounted in a high exposed location where the coverage of the 3.6mm lens provides a semi wide angle view. The 28 LED provide adequate illumination for a distance of about 35 feet. It may work at a greater distance but that is distance in my installation. The cables exit the camera out of the center of the back so there is no real way to protect them from vandalism at this point. The camera comes with a 100 foot cable 1/8 of an inch in diameter and a power supply. This cable was used in initial testing of the camera and it worked OK but I would not use this cable in the actual permanent installation because it appears too fragile. Too many bad reviews of small cables even though his one may be OK I will not take a chance. It takes hours to install the cables in my installation. If the cable fails because I stepped on it or bent it wrong it would be a major job to replace. I used full size RG59 Siamese cable with 95% shielding and 2-18 gage solid copper power lines. Camera gets a 5 star but as a set with the cable it is a 4 star.

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ATCK Waterproof Action Camera

I am a police officer and I use this camera when interviewing people. I was initially disappointed with the sound quality, but found the video and capacity with the 2gig card excellent. The problem with the sound is the waterproofing. If you are not going to be using it in water or wet environments all you have to do is remove the mic cover and there is a black square rubber cover over the mic. It is 1mm or thicker and causes the sound distortion and lack of range. Remove it an re-install the cover and you get as good a sound as any other video camera. This camera is well made and a good value at the price. If it had an external mic jack it would rate five stars.

A simple video to show camera and accessories next to bicycle.

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I bought this after being involved in an auto accident and suffering an insurance rate increase because I couldn't prove what happened. Less than three months later I was hit by another driver who ran a red light. She and her passenger claimed she had a green light. I had this mounted on the dashboard and recording as I was hit and was able to prove she was lying. Without it I would have been blamed for the accident. It paid for itself already.

The camera provides reasonable quality video but very poor audio. It does not operate well in low light conditions (say 30 minutes after sunset). It's very easy to use and has the ability to change resolution, frame rate, date and time, and also to delete files using the built in display and buttons. At 640x480 30fps a 2Gb card (4Gb not supported) can hold about one hour of video. At 15fps it can record about 90 minutes. It only records videos up to 45 minutes, then seamlessly starts another file. It eats batteries so I bought two NiMh rechargables from Radio Shack and recharge them every other day. You probably don't want to use regular alkali batteries with this camera.

The construction is good with waterproof buttons and a waterproof end cap covering the USB and video ports, battery compartment and memory card slot. It has a good selection of mounts including a handlebar mount, helmet mount, and a big rubber strap that will attach it to just about anything. I used stick-back velcro to attach it to my truck's dashboard and it's steady over smooth roads, jerky over the rough stuff.

Recording is as easy as turning it on (press and hold the left button for two seconds) and hitting the record (middle) button. Stop recording by pressing the middle button again and turn it off by pressing and holding the left button. The right button is used to cycle through modes.

Downloading video files to your computer is done with the USB (about 45 minutes to download 2Gb) or by putting the memory card directly into the front of the computer which is much faster if you have that option.

As I mentioned, the only issue is the extremely poor audio capture. If you're most interested in video then this is an excellent choice for you.

----Updated -----

I've owned two of these cameras for about 6 months now and I've noticed some serious problems...

1. Mounting clip snapped on one camera. It still mounts but when the other clip breaks the camera will be unmountable.

2. Slow response to button presses. For some reason it now takes 10-20 seconds between hitting the button to stop recording and actually stopping. Didn't do this when I first bought it.

3. Corrupts the memory card. Deleting files does not always release the memory so you eventually run out. I find I have to reformat the memory card every few days to recover the lost memory. The camera cannot do this so you need a computer with a memory card slot. If you don't have such a computer you are screwed.

I was thinking of upgrading to Oregon Scientific's newest model but decided not to given the quality problems I'm having with this one.

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Oregon Scientific ATC2K used on Rt 122 Barre, MA.

Video can be edited using Windows Movie Maker.

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I've had the ATC-2K for a while now and I have to say it's exactly what I thought it would be. It's for extreme sports, is compact, no wires and all in one. The video quality is pretty good but can't be compared to my $500+ Sony camcorders. Obviously the camcorder will have much better quality but I'm not going to strap one to my head or bike, especially as it would be an expensive piece of equipment to smash if I wiped out!

To be honest, for the price, it's well worth buying. I mount it to wherever and then press record, after that I haven't got to worry about it. With the other helmet cams I've tried, the wires sometimes get tangled and I constantly have the thought of my camcorder, in my backpack getting smashed up, at the back of my head.

I was a little confused about whether the ATC-2K was waterproof or water resistant as some websites have different descriptions. I called Oregon Scientific and they said when the camera first came out they had not yet received the waterproof certificate so they had to advertise as water resistant. Upon receiving their waterproof certificate for the ATC-2K they changed the classification of the camera from water resistant to waterproof. They even put it on their website!

Oregon Scientific say they can confirm it is waterproof up to 3 meters. It makes a change from those cameras on the market pretending they're waterproof where you have to use a plastic case to make it water proof. Those things are so much hassle! It is kind of like putting the camera in a zip-loc bag!

The battery time (2 x AA alkaline) is around one and a half hours to two hours flat out. That's an ideal time considering I use a 2GB SD card and film on the highest quality. The max. recording time at 640 x 480 and 30FPS is 1hr and 1 min. If the batteries die I just change them with spares I bring with me.

I'm thinking of using it when I go snowboarding, the manual says to change to Lithium batteries, specifically Energizer E2. I think this is because the operating temperature for alkaline batteries is higher than that of a Lithium battery. If you tried to use alkalines in cold temperatures it would probably only last a few minutes! I also saw that there's a Cold Weather Pouch available. I'm hoping to buy one online, this is great, finally a company who think of multiple use scenarios!

I've made quite a few videos with the ATC-2K now and have to say that although there is a mic. It's not that sensitive. I asked Oregon Scientific, when I called them about the waterproof feature, and they said it was purposely designed this way as it's for extreme sports and underwater use. Thinking about it, who's going to be giving commentary hurtling down a hill at 40mph?!

Anyway, it's fine for my purposes, I'm usually traveling at high speeds when filming and wouldn't want to hear wind on my playbacks! I guess it would be more interesting to just add my own music or commentary to my ATC-2K clips. I've searched Youtube and so on and have found lots of people are using their ATC-2K's to post clips, there's a cool one of the ATC-2K strapped to a rocket! There's also a U.K. gadget show, 5 gadget show I think, where the host throws it out of his 1st/2nd floor window into a shallow pool below! Neat! Someone brought it back up to them and the footage was cool!

The Bottom Line is: For recording my kid's birthday party or my grandma singing, I'll use my camcorder, for my sports I'll use my ATC-2K! Worth the investment and does exactly what it says on the box!

Rode Dead Kitten Windscreen

• Fits microphones that are similarly sized to the Rode SVM
• Faux-fur Covering

I used this on my Tascam DR-07 MKII digital recorder. It fits perfect on it and the elastic is strong. When I tested this windscreen, I got real close and said lots of Ps, Ts, and used heavy breathing. No distortion was recorded. While recording, I was in a room with a small echo in it and the echo was not recorded (and this was with full sensitivity of the microphone). I then went outside and tested with moderate wind; no wind noise was picked up. Its build quality is great, but does shed slightly like a dead kitten. I got a couple fibers in my mouth when testing it for voice overs.

Incoming sound is reduced just slightly as with any screen, but its benefits outweigh this effect.

This thing is big, but fits on midsized portable digital recorders nicely. It will add an inch above the mics. It makes your recorder look like one of those troll dolls you put on the end of a pencil eraser. I would have spun it in a circle real fast to check the troll hair effect, but hard to do with a rectangle recorder.

With the Tascam DR-07 MKII, this wind screen does slightly block the earphone plug in, but it will not come off when you have the earphones plugged in. However, it does completely block the external mike jack. Not a problem since you don't use this wind screen attached to your recorder when using an external mic.

I was concerned with the price for a product this simple, but found it was worth it when I received it and got a feel for it.

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These things are well made and do the job perfectly. So far these have worked wonderfully on my...

* Zoom H4N

* Zoom H2

* Blue Yeti

I am sure they will come in handy for more stuff as well. Side note the double as a very effective "pop" filter.

Read Best Reviews of Rode Dead Kitten Windscreen Here

Very cool little windscreen. Well made, fits snugly. It makes my Zoom H4N look like Don King AND handles pretty heavy wind.

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Using this on my Zoom H4n, mounted on my Canon 7D, shooting for Uncle Sam in Afghanistan. I quickly discovered that the Zoom was really bad about wind noise, whether it's actual wind, if you're moving, or if you're speaking into it. If you've invested in a Zoom, you absolutely must get this product. You're not getting professional quality audio without it.

I was concerned about it coming off in heavy wind environments, like aboard helicopters (where I often find myself). No problems at all, yet.

Strong crosswinds, full sprints, no wind noise at all. The only time I've discovered wind noise was directly under a Chinook helicopter last week. Of course, the video from that is completely useless because I was trying to save myself and my rig from being blown across the Afghan desert. So, this thing will stop anything, provided you don't have a tornado 10 feet in front of you.

I've used the Dead Kitten on a Rode Stereo Video Mic before. I bought another one (intended for another similarly-sized mic) in mid-March 2012, and when it came I was surprised to find that Rode has apparently modified the design. Now the whole Dead Kitten is smaller (less fur) and skimpier. It doesn't feel as snugly fitted either. I don't like this new design, although it does have the advantage of being slightly more compact.

ATI Technologies 100-714127 HD-TV Wonder

I bought this and hooked it up to my PC. In order to make it work I had to update my graphics card to the latest drivers (I have a NVIDIA GEForce 4 MX 440 with 64 meg of RAM so it is kind of slow compared to what is out there now) and update to the latest Microsoft Direct X drivers (you need to be 9.0 or above).

The manual is strange because even though it is in english and seemingly well written it really doesn't tell you much of what you need to know. I put the card in an unused PCI slot and my windows XP machine found the card and then I updated the drivers. But you also need to install other software or it won't work and that is poorly explained, but finally I managed to find it.

After I got it all installed and found I tried digital HDTV (why I bought it) and it didn't even start up. OK, then I tried analog TV and got that to work so I knew it wasn't the card or anything like that. I stumbled through ATI's poorly designed site and sent their customer service group an email (it was saturday night so I didn't really expect a response right away) and FINALLY I found what I was looking for updated DTV (digital TV) drivers. I downloaded them, and, voila it works!

I am in chicago so the channels available aren't so great and they vary by station but I was immediately able to watch the baseball playoffs in hdtv and they looked good!

The antenna that it comes with is not powered and from my looking around at tech sites basically you need a powered antenna. I know that the chicago transmission is all from the hancock or sears towers and I can't really face the antenna the right way due to where the computer is located but the stations come in OK, most of the time. I think you need to buy a powered antenna to make it really work.

It comes with a channel guide that is free but that is geared more towards analog than digital TV. It apparently has TIVO like functionality but I haven't figured that out yet.

ATI puts a docking station on the side of your toolbar which isn't too bad.

The remote is very cool! There is a USB antenna you plug in and then the remote allows you to change channels. You can also use this remote for power point presentations and stuff like that. I like it a lot.

This thing is clearly for early adopters and you have to be willing to fiddle around but for 200 bucks you get:

analog TV card

digital TV card

remote control

non powered antenna

TV guide software (free)

ability to do some tivo like stuff and screen captures, and play it back thru the library

Personally I am trying to setup a cheap HDTV system with a PC, 20 inch flat screen and this card. I want to be able to watch some sports in HDTV but I don't want to spend thousands on a current generation HDTV. This allows you to do this.

Don't kid yourself this is a first generation product, just like the first generation wireles router I bought, etc... And ATI's customer service and web site have not impressed me they didn't tell me to get the updated drivers, they said it was an XP problem (wrong!). But anyone who gets a first generation product and expects tech support to fix it is just dreaming, unless you happen to reach the one guy or whatever who knows your product, the rest of the tech staff have a boilerplate response.

I mean what do you expect for 200 bucks? The TV tuner for analog and remote and antenna cost something, right? And then you get HDTV? This is going to come down some in price but as soon as something breaks the 200 dollar price point I am going to be an early adopter just for grins, and that is what this is.

But I don't recommend this unless 1) you are pretty technical 2) you don't mind fixing it all yourself and figuring it out, including drivers, and you can do this w/ a junky manual and non-intuitive web site 3) you have some time on your hands.

To me that is what I expect from a first generation product that is being priced at a mainstream cost (i.e. less than 200 bucks).

Also if there aren't many stations broadcasting HDTV in your area than you are basically buying a regular TV tuner which is OK but there is probably a cheaper one out there.

Here is what you get in the BOX.

* HDTV Wonder PCI card (contains both NTSC and ATSC tuners)

* ATI's Multimedia Center (MMC) 9.x software suite, which includes apps for standard-definition TV, HDTV, a media library/transcoder that can create DVDs and ATI's DVD player

* Mini-breakout box that has composite and S-Video inputs, as well as analog stereo inputs

* Indoor HDTV Antenna (Similar to Silver Sensor)

* ATI Remote Wonder Kit

* CD containing Software

* Manuals & Documentation

The card itself features a "Philips" HDTV tuner but ATI's NXT2004 receiver chip does most of the Job in processing the signals.

Even though NXT2004 Multimode VSB/QAM demodulator can work in either the ATSC compliant 8 VSB mode for terrestrial broadcasting, or 64 QAM or 256 QAM modes for Digital TV-Cable Connect and Digital TV-Cable Interactive reception. In this HDTV Wonder product, the NXT2004 is set up only as a 2-69 channels off-the-air HDTV receiver, with *no support* for Cable Card.

PROs:

* Very Good hardware

* Nice Bundle of accessories

* Very Good Picture Quality (**)

* Relatively cheaper

CONs:

* Very Buggy Software Suite.

* Difficult to install and setup without proper Knowledge of various Software components that interact and dependent on each other.

* Relatively high end system requirements (**)

(**)(System Requirements)

In order for a satisfactory performance, You must have these following Hardware & Software.

1. Atleast 2.8GHz Pentium 4 CPU

2. Atleast ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card or better with 128MB (On-board) of DDR-2 SDRAM

3. Atleast 1GB of DDR SDRAM Main Memory

4. Fast HDD (IDE with UDMA is okay but "SATA" Recommended)

5. Optimized Latest Drivers and Patches.

6. You *MUST* have an another Analog "Hardware Encoder" Based Tuner in your PC pre-installed in order for it to work under Media Center 2005 (Or have Software Hacks such as KRAM Drivers)

Installation notes:

I have spent countless hours in getting this thing to work properly on my PC, Please save yourself a lot of headache and follow these notes, it will help you in getting best out of this HDTV Blunder.

1. Location, Location, Location Install the Antenna in a good location, If you live in Fringe reception areas, or places where MultiPath (Digital Term for Ghosting) is an issue, Save yourself time and money, The Included Antenna will *not* give any satisfactory performance, Outdoor UHF/VHF Antenna is recommended.

2. Optimize your system, Make sure that all the necessary CHIPSET drivers for your PC are up-to-date, You have the latest and optimal Video Driver that is capable of OVERLAY and is Direct X 9 compatible.

3. If you have Windows Media Center 2005, Make sure you have the latest Update Rollup 2 which enables additional HDTV features.

4. Do not use the Drivers and Applications that comes with the product, Most of CD is outdated, Visit ATI's Website and download the latest necessary Drivers first. The latest drivers are better than what is on the CD.

5. Save yourself time & frustration, *DO NOT* use the ATI's Multimedia Suite, It is very Buggy. Instead use other Third Party Application like WATCH-HDTV, BEYOND TV4 etc;

If your PC has Media Center 2005 use the built-in MCE application (It is not as good as the Third Party Software in terms of Picture Quality but works better than ATI's own Software Suites!)

Other Notes:

* DO NOT expect to get those unscrambled Digital Cable signals using this card, IT will not work.

* DO NOT expect to capture Analog Video that is protected using Macrovision Protection, IT will not work.

ATI has this product in market for about 2 years now, I must say, ATI makes pretty good hardware as always, but their software is very buggy.

Now with the drop in HDTV Wonder price at Amazon, It is a good time to buy this product if you are willing to have few days of technological adventure :-)

Buy ATI Technologies 100-714127 HD-TV Wonder Now

I've owned this card for going on 2 weeks and have been extremely frustrated with the poor service I've been getting from ATI, but thanks to kind strangers and google, I can now share a fix to one of the problems that has been bugging me for a while. 480i/p and 720p worked fine out of the box, but 1080i was garbage. Thanks to smileyw, I changed a registry key and now 1080i works great. Here's the secret: hkey_local_machine\software\ati technologies\multimedia\cyberlink\powerdtv

change UIUseHVA from 1 to 0

Credit where credit is due =

The picture quality is beautiful, 5.1 audio is great, and with football season coming on strong, I'm happier now.

Read Best Reviews of ATI Technologies 100-714127 HD-TV Wonder Here

If you read the bad reviews of this product, you'll notice that they are complaining about the quality of their reception, not the product itself...too bad. You must live in a major metropolitan area in order to get the DTV HDTV stations, yes. Some cites and areas are better than others. New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, S.F. Bay Area, San Jose, Miami...these are the areas i am talking about.

You defintely must take note of the requirements, most notably a 64mb video card supporting Directx9.0.

What this pci card does: Record, pause, etc...HDTV and normal analog TV. You can burn to DVD and CD. It has a remote. Amazing. Comparable ATSC tuners set top boxes made by SOny and Samsung cost 300 plus...and they dont record HDTV onto your PC..and burn too.

This PCI card is serious HDTV technology, using a chip that ATI has been using already in other applications. Now we have tivo hdvt functionality on the pc with no monthly fees. This is a great product and more people that live in major cities should check it out. The future of TV...the FCC is forcing this transition anyway...

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I've read MANY reviews before deciding to take my chances by purchasing this product. Lots of people have bashed it or complained on how hard it is to setup. It's as easy as this...

1.) Install the card

2.) Click cancel on the "Found new hardware wizard" and insert the included CD.

3.) ONLY install the hardware drivers and then install something called "ATI Multimedia Center."

4.) On the multimedia center setep, choose "Custom" and ONLY install something called "DTV."

5.) Restart your PC and open the newly installed program, "DTV."

In case you're wondering, I'm using an HP Media Center 2005 PC with an Intel Pentium D 820. 1GB RAM and an ATI Radeon X700 card.

REVIEW UPDATE: WINDOWS UPDATE FOR WINDOWS XP NOW FINDS A DRIVER FOR THIS DIVICE WITHOUT THE NEED FOR THE ATI CD. THIS ALLOWS THE HDTV CARD TO WORK DIRECTLY WITHIN MEDIA CENTER. WINDOWS VISTA ALSO SEES THE CARD WITHOUT THE ATI DISC AND MEDIA CENTER SEES IT. ENJOY!

Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV

• Smooth 120Hz Film Motion eliminates motion artifacts for smooth, crisp, fast and slow action content
• 6-Color Processor for a wider range of colors, brighter colors and whiter whites
• Three HDMI inputs and three Component inputs
• Displays all images at 1080p; converts lower-resolution signals with Plush 1080p 5G technology
• Energy Star 3.0 Qualified for high energy efficiency

When it comes to TVs in the living room, bigger is always better so, when time came to replace our 61" Samsung DLP I had no idea what my next TV was going to be, other than it was going to be bigger and that, of course, I was going to afford it. Mitsubishi's WD-73737 was the easy winner and this is why:

SIZE well, 73" is bigger than 61", right? As far as I know, there aren't too many LCD or plasma TVs this big, at least not anything that I can afford. Our living room is rather large it's really most of our first floor (open style architecture) so it helps to have a big screen. Mitsubishi makes an 82" model but I had also to consider...

PRICE we have a clear winner here. When it comes to price/size ratio, DLP's are by far the least expensive option.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY according to my research, the WD-73737 burns about 265W when 'on' (this includes the 180W lamp). By comparison, a 70" LCD needs 540-630W to operate.

3D CAPABILITY it's a potential plus. Mitsubishi does not guarantee that its TV will be compliant with whatever 3D standard is about to emerge but... it might.

Of course, not everything is perfect so, here are the potential 'minuses':

LAMP when it comes to 'cost of ownership', we must factor in the DLP's lamp. The Mitsubishi manual expects its lamp to last for about one year but our Samsung was still okay after 2 years with the original lamp so, we shall see. A replacement for this model, direct from Mitsubishi is $99 and I will get a free one under warranty if the original needs replacement before one year. Given the great energy savings when compared to an LCD TV, I am not too worried about having to replace the lamp from time to time.

BULK this set is over 90 lbs. heavy and over 12" at its thickest. Definitely, can't hang it on a wall. Therefore...

STAND you must have one. We are using the one that came with the old 61" and all is fine but if you don't have one it should set you back a few more hundred bucks.

THE SCREEN nothing wrong with it but, when compared with our old Samsung, this is just a little more reflective. It's not so to the point of being annoying at night if lights are on in the room but sometimes it is noticeable.

Since we already had a stand, didn't want to hang a 73" TV on the wall and the need to replace the lamp was compensated by its energy savings, we went for the WD-73737 without hesitation and we are happy we did.

OUR SETUP

A TV this size would normally be used in a home theater setting and, it turns out, that's how we use it. We have a satellite TV box, a PS3, dedicated Blu-ray player a 7.1 surround receiver and a Harmony 900 remote. The TV comes with LOTS of inputs, including 3 HDMI but, in our case, the setup started with plugging the TV into the power outlet, connecting the HDMI cable into one of TV's HDMI ports and, since I had the Harmony 900 already configured to handle the TV, that was IT, we were watching TV within 5 minutes of it coming out of the box.

Later own, we did some fine tuning but, it turns out, very little had to be adjusted. We made sure that the frame rate was set to 120 fps and, for the rest, we took the recommended settings from the Tweak TV site and didn't have to change too much from what they recommended. We ended up with:

Picture Mode: Natural

Color Temperature: Low

Aspect Ratio: Standard

Contrast: 55

Brightness: 36

Color: 31

Tint: 31

Sharpness: 31

Deep Field Imager: Off

Super Resolution: Off

Sharp Edge: Off

Video Noise: Off

The end-result is as close to picture-prefect as they come.

I have nothing to say about the sound it can simulate 'surround' with its own speakers because we are not using it. Same when it comes to channel tuning or setting up 'activities'. These are fully handled by the satellite receiver and the Harmony remote but all the capabilities are there. Same when it comes to the remote which is quite small a nice thing but it may take some getting used to when it comes to the buttons size (small) and their layout.

WARRANTY

On an object this size, this is an important concern so, here's what matters:

The screen is only covered for 30 (THIRTY) days.

The picture quality warranty states that Mitsubishi will fix it if you get less than 99.99% of the pixels right. In other words, you should have at least 9,999 out of 10,000 pixels right. On a 2-million pixel screen this means that if you have up to 199 bad pixels, Mitsubishi is not obligated to fix your TV.

Everything else is covered for one year.

The lamp will be replaced free of charge if it needs replacement within the first year.

Service is provided 'in house' IF you are within the coverage of an authorized Mitsubishi center. If you're not, you will be responsible for taking your TV there so you better check you are inside a Mitsubishi service area.

__________________________________

[Note on warranty Nov. 12, 2010]

I had to call Mitsubishi because the lamp had to be replaced. Within minutes, I was on the phone with a competent person who, after asking that I reset the TV and me confirming that the picture was still dim agreed to send me a replacement lamp under the warranty. I provided the TV's serial number and date of purchase, my address and my phone number. He promised that the replacement lamp will be shipped within 2-5 business days.

A few days later, the lamp arrived. I called Mitsubishi's warranty dept. about me returning the used lamp but they asked me not to bother. I trust and respect a company that trusts and respects its customers.

__________________________________

MY RATING

This TV delivers exactly what I wanted and expected: a large, bright, crisp picture that, thanks to the 120 fps display has very little blur on fast moving objects. The drawbacks: need to replace the lamp, unorthodox layout on the remote, bulk are either counterbalanced by other features or did not matter much in my case. Not everyone could live with a TV that's not totally flat or that needs a stand but if the main concerns are picture quality, price, size and energy consumption, this TV is hard to beat.

I will grant the WD-73737 5 stars because I own it and I am very happy with it.

Buy Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV Now

Just bought a 73" 737series a couple of weeks ago. Was considering 65" but went with the 73" GREAT Decision. The picture is fantastic even my wife who isn't into TV very much thinks it is great. The price of the replacement lamp is not significant every 2 3 years when you consider the quality and price of this TV. If you have the room for it I highly recomend this TV Great value.

Read Best Reviews of Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV Here

This TV is great. I was looking at LCD and DLP TVs, and the DLP offer bigger screens and the same great picture at a lower price. HDTV, Blu-Ray, DVD, etc all look great on this TV. 1080p resolution is amazing, I have an older 52 inch HDTV, which displays 1080i and this DLP looks 10 times better.

Out of the box, this DLP is very color rich, especially in the reds and yellows, which I easily corrected using the PerfectPicture Menu. I toned down all colors by 5 and the red and yellow by 10. This made the picture look a lot better.

I am using various types of connections on it (HDMI, Component, and Composite) and each input delivers a great picture. I use the HDMI to connect my PS3, component cables connect my Dish receiver and DVD player, and the composite cable connects the Wii. This TV automatically recognizes when devices are connected and allows you to name each connnection.

You can't go wrong with this one.

Want Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV Discount?

I have owned this TV for 1 year and 7 months(purchase date Dec 6 2009). The lamp blew out today July 20th 2011. The warranty last for one year. when I called the company they said that I needed to purchase a replacement lamp at the cost of $99 dollars plus Shipping and Handling. I asked if that lamp had a warranty after I pay $99 dollars the tech person told me yes but only 90days(3 Months). My next question to the tech person what is the average life of the lamp that people were calling in to replace and she said that the lamps blow up(fails) as early as 9 months(270 days) and the longest it will last if not used everyday is 2 years at most if your lucky(Their words). So if you buy this product get ready to pay $100 in maintenance every 9 months. I paid $2100 for this TV. My girlfriend bought a 47 inch Sharp LCD for $800 1/3 of what I paid and the picture isnt as grainy as my 737 series Mitsubishi 73 inch DLP HDTV, its actually clearer. This was the worst buy I have ever done. If I had it to do it over i wouldnt have spent the equivalent of a down payment of a car on this TV, I would find the biggest LCD or LED that was not a Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi customer care is horrid too, they do nothing for you but take your money and tell you how a lamp is a retail product for consumers. After reading that they have stop making lamps for their older models I was not surprised, just sad that I will most likely have to throw this TV away in another 3years too. If you like hidden cost and bad customer service then buy the 737 series Mitsubishi 73 inch DLP HDTV. If I saw someone stealing the 737 series Mitsubishi 73 inch DLP HDTV off the back of a truck I would stop them. I am 28 years old and Mitsubishi has lost me as a customer for life. Hope this review helped.

This TV is awesome! It has an excellent picture (although I did upgrade to HD after I bought it). Why have such a beautiful TV in SD anyway? The picture in SD was not bad, although any text on the screen did appear a little fuzzy. The graphics look awesome on the XBOX, PS3 and even the Wii.

Setup is a breeze. The TV recognizes anything you plug into it immediately and switching from one device to another is easy.

When I bought mine, I also purchased a 5 year protection plan. From what I have heard and read, the warrenty from Mitsubishi is not that great and reguires you to ship the TV to them if anything goes wrong. I sure would hate to try to box up something this size, so I opted for a plan where if anything goes wrong, they will come to me and fix it. Furthermore, I get all the lamp replacements I need during the 5 years for free (lamps last from 6 months to 2 years). Two lamp replacements alone will pay for my warrenty.

One thing that I was told about the DLP's is you have to be careful when powering on and off. I was told that once the TV is turned off the lamp will need about 15 minutes to cool before it can be powered on safely. Powering on too quickly will shorten the lamp life.

I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase, but I would definately recommend getting a better warranty with bulb replacement. The only thing better than watching this TV is knowing that if anything goes wrong in the next five years, it will get taken care of.

In fact, after 2 weeks of owning this model we bought one in the 60" size for our den!

Sony 50CRM80RS 50 CR-R Music Recordable Discs Spindle

This is my first ever review of a product that is not a recorded cd. But these BLANK music cd's from Sony so impressed me that I had to give them due credit.

I've burned hundreds (and I mean well over a thousand!) cd's over the past five years on my Philips CDR-775. I always felt a little ripped off when the first few cd's from any one package could not be read by my burner, and I always suspected that part of the problem was the way the cashier would run the cd's over their magnetic deactivator (whatever the technical term is!) to disable the anti-shoplifting EAS tag typically attached to the top cover of the blank cd container. I thought that maybe that process was also rendering the top few cd's incapable of being read or initialized. I've been told that that theory is invalid...but I'm not convinced.

In the past, I've had pretty good luck with Sony and Maxell brand music cd's, and lesser luck with Memorex and generic store brands. I recently had a couple packages of Memorex music cd's that I bought at different local music stores, and at least half of the cd's were useless in both packages. (My son is able to use them for burning music on our computer, so not a total loss.) I actually started to wonder if it was my aging Philips burner that was the problem; I mean, I have given it quite a workout the past few years! So to try something different, I've recently begun ordering these Sony music cd's online from Amazon; the brand served me well in the past, and I figured that I wouldn't have to deal with the possibility of a cashier de-magnetizing the first few cd's of a new package since it was coming from an online store no store security device to deactivate...

EUREKA! The Sony cd's always arrive within a couple of days, and I have had the pleasure of NEVER finding a blank cd that my burner rejects. This is the only way that I will ever buy blank music cd's in the future, and Sony will have to screw up awfully big for me to change brands now. Even considering the additional shipping cost that you would save at a typical "brick and mortar" store, this product is an excellent value for your dollar, and highly recommended. (If 14 of the blank cd's from your local store are no good anyway, then this option makes more sense.)

Hint: Buy the 50-pack and save yourself about 24 cents per cd over the usual 30-pack price. Worthy.

I just got my CDs in the mail today; they were manufactured in Taiwan [50CRM80RS], not in Japan [50CRM80LS2]. I plan to use these discs, but they will be the last not-made-in-Japan blank CDs that I will ever buy. Sony has clearly discontinued the Japanese-made CDs with the red packaging (as a lack of price on their website for it will indicate), as all I see in the stores now are the purple packaging that I got in the mail. I was expecting the red set with this order, and did not get it.

The facts are simple; compact discs made in China, Taiwan, Malaysia or any Asian country besides Japan are inferior to the Japanese made discs, which, without exception, are manufactured by Taiyo Yuden, the company responsible for inventing the CD-R. Granted, I've written in Sharpie on all of my discs, so they're probably all doomed anyway, but still.

I suspect that the RIAA is behind this decision, forcing those who manufacture CDs for America to only use non-Japanese manufacturers who make inferior product, but that's my own paranoia speaking.

BUY TAIYO YUDEN! These CDs made in other countries by other manufacturers will work, and they'll do what you need them to do, but I do not believe they're guaranteed the lifespan that Taiyo Yudens have.

Buy Sony 50CRM80RS 50 CR-R Music Recordable Discs Spindle Now

These are the original "digital" CDA type disks that's required for home CD recorders (due to digital rights management stuff from the recording industry).

Most CD-R will not record/burn in your home stereo system CD recorder if it does not have the "DIGITAL AUDIO" as part of the CD-R logo. These will work in your home recorder units & your PC. Most people burn CDs now with their computer so they do not need to buy digital audio CDs. BUT for those of you who bought CD recorders (Teac, Pioneer, Panasonic etc.) a few years ago, you must use this format. No other format will work that I know about. So far I've had no problem recording with these.

Read Best Reviews of Sony 50CRM80RS 50 CR-R Music Recordable Discs Spindle Here

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings from the 60's and 70's. Sometimes as a person that has worked in electronic stores my thoughts are requested on recording equipment and electronics.

Sony CDR 80-Minute Music Spindle 50-pk.

Sony has been ultra reliable for me as a recording medium for blank CDR's. I have used a substantial amount over the years for both data and pictures.

The CD's have held up well and there have been very little that were defective right out of the package. While the quality control is a shade below the Fuji from Japan, in no way should Sony be considered a poor second choice.

For maximum shelf life the recorded CD's should be in jewel cases and not in paper sleeves. If you are into making your own labels make sure to use the better quality paper. The inferior thin labels not only will curl up before they are placed on the CD but the glue will actually get into the CD itself. Many defective CD's are not the fault of the manufacturer but the consumer not using best judgment.

Enjoy the music and be well,

Craig Fenton

Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

Want Sony 50CRM80RS 50 CR-R Music Recordable Discs Spindle Discount?

I've bought this blank audio cds from Costco. Try to burn them from my Itune music library, I've burnt 12 cds, only 2 of them works, the rest 10 went bad, and no longer usuable.

I've burnt 1000 cds in the past before with several brands, few went bad, but not this ratio of failure like this Sony cds.

One star is too much actually.

Save your money, and buy other brands.

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