Motorola V505 Unlocked Cell Phone--U.S. Version with Warranty (Blue)

Motorola has done well with their triplets series phones and the v505 is no exception. Like the v600, v400 and v300 the v505 offers great features in its clamshell design. Exterior has a great look and feel to it with the rubber like feel on the outer rim and nice looking dimpled metal plate. Outer lcd shows time when not in use and caller ID when recieving a call. Ring styles can also be changed without having to open the phone. This feature can also be locked to prevent accidently changing ring styles. Inner screen has great color, something Motorola has always done well with. Its 176x220 size screen is great for displaying your favourite wallpaper or scrolling thru the various menu options. Menu options are typical Motorola layout that unless you are used to take a little bit of patience as Motorola manuals are never comprehensive or easy to follow. The camera is not bad for quick 'moment' pictures but do not rely on it for those family vacation pictures. Call quality and signal reception is great but will have a lot to do with where you are located. With the right software, pictures and MP3 songs can be downloaded into the phone and bluetooth makes this even easier. Used along with a bluetooth headset the phone is advanced as they come. The Speaker-phone is loud and clear and works well if you want to put the phone down while on a call. Battery life depends on how you use the phone but has been good for me.

Overall a great phone by Motorola. Glad Amazon finally released the unlocked/unbranded version to this phone originally only offered by AT&T. Just pop in your SIM card and the phone is ready to use.

This phone is nothing speical but as a phone it is perfect. Great battery life, reception, and easy to use. It much better than the v300 (clow interface) and v551 (short battery life, bad button placement) I had. I puchased the unlocked phone to use with Cingular and had no problems. The v505 is a great phone for people who want to make phone calls with a few nice features (like bluetooth).

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The phone is very good. It feels comfortable, it has great reception, good signal. It's almost everything I was hoping for. But, it definitely has some issues for me. First, the battery. I can't get it to last what the phone promisses. Second, the side buttons when the phone is closed, are used to change the ringing or vibrating mode. They cannot be blocked by any means, and if you carry your phone in your pocket as I do, they keep pressing themselves and changing the mode. The third thing that annoys me is the address book. There's no way to search inside it, you can only scroll. When you have a lot of names, it becomes pretty annoying. But besides all this, the phone is excellent and I recommend it to anyone who wants a sturdy, easy to use, excellent clarity phone. Bluetooth is a breeze, surfing the web also, configuring all the services is very easy. Just buy it with the 3 little things in mind.

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great phone but a little complicated to use for a while until you get use to it

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This phone worked great for first 8 months but now I am unable to charge the battery. I got a new charger also, but that did not help. I read similar problems with Motorola phones on internet.

Secondly, the voice reception is not so good. When I took to this to Cingular, they asked me to get a Nokia because that has a very good reception.

So in a nutshell, I was bowled over by its looks when I bought it but next phone will definitely be Nokia.

Panasonic PV-GS59 MiniDV Camcorder with 30x Optical Zoom

The GOOD: digital audio 16-bit sound is great; 'zoom' sound level increase works well; love the joystick controls; manual adjustments are good. Outdoor video is good. Tiny battery. Very very lightweight. 30x zoom rocks WHEN you use a TRIPOD!

The BAD: No microphone jack. No S-Video jack. No earphone / headphone jack. Moderate to low light video is cr*p compared to my 8-year old Sony Hi8 camcorder.

The UGLY: There is no S-video jack, and the miniplug in front for external audio/video connections is very loose and you lose connection when moving the camera around, so you can't watch live video on an external monitor consistantly.

IF it had a better external video/audio connector and better medium/low light video, I would love this camcorder; but like I said, I bought this to replace my 8-year old Sony Hi8 camcorder but the old Sony works better indoors for the 'school play' than does this unit. Very dissapointed with the grainy digital artifacts at indoor lighting. If video indoor was better, and it had the external jacks, I would love the Pansonic PV-GS59. Too bad, as this unit had so much promise to be an outstanding camcorder other than lowlight issues and lack of external connectors. If I had to do it over again, I would shop for a new Sony Hi8 camcorder instead.

i'm totally satisfied with this camcorder. it fill every expectatives i could have about it. i don't agree with the complaints about the bad sound and bad video in low light. in fact, i'm amazed about the way it can film in very low light (more than i can hope). obviously the quality isn't perfect, it's a little grainy but, if you want perfection, then go for an expensive professional cam. the only problem i can detect in it is the difficult for keep it controlled in full zoom (which is amazing) without shaking but, consider that my girlfriend can keep it reasonably steady in full zoom, i think it must be my own fault.

otherwise here is a noticeable point i want to show and it is about the seller. i bought it from electronicsexpo and i have only good comments about they. they're totally professionals. my first cam came with a manufacture malfuction in the lcd. i told they and they inmediatly solved the problem properly. they send me a new cam in replace the damaged. they also were too friendly and comprehensive people with me. i definitely recomend this great camcorder and more definitely recomend electronicsexpo as an excellent seller.

please, sorry for my little english.

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I'm not sure about Amazon's site. This is my third attempt at a review. It keeps disappearing as I type. The camera is decent for something I did not order. It was shipped as a substitute the day BEFORE it was supposed to arrive with the seller not asking first, if they may substitute. So it arrived late and was a surprise. Since I have a similar model which lasted a year (just past the guarantee) I find this model to be just as nice, but for durability you must ask me in a year!

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The zoom is a great feature but doesn't make up for the HORRIBLE Audio and HORRIBLE video in low light. When I contacted Panasonic, basically the bottom line was too bad.

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This camera has all of the options that you would want in a mini-dv camcorder 32x zoom, camera light, light weight, compact, very user friendly, good battery life, and great ease of use. However, all of these extras do not matter because the recorded video quality is horrible. My five year old Kodak digital camera which has a video record mode as a "bonus" provides better video quality. Panasonic needs to advance pass the video quality of the early 1980's to keep up with the competition this camera was immediately returned.

Samsung D807 White Phone (AT&T)

I love this phone. Went from a Motorola RAZR to LG CU500 to this in a very short time and can easily say this phone beats those in a hearbeat in terms of ease of use and looks!

If you find its short cuts which after a week of use you will you'll see it's extrememly customizable and easy to use. CNET rated it excellent after their extensive review system and said the only fault they found in it was the 'slippery' keypad which I have not had any problems with coming from the flat keys of the RAZR.

To the person that called this phone upgly, couldn't be more wrong. Unless you're looking at $600 phones out in the Asia and Europe market right now, there isn't a better looking phone out there!

p.s. the white is much more attractive but more feminine.

I have had this phone for a little over a week and I am in love with it. It's so fashionable and functional at the same time. And with bluetooth and iTunes, you can make your own ringtones from any song in your library and then bluetooth it to your phone in the blink of an eye! So cool!! I can't find anything bad to say about the phone --the MP3 player is awesome with a sweet display --i bought the extra SD memory card and I have so much room now --the camera is incredible quality for a phone. 1.3 megapixels turns out to be a 11 x 17 inch photo at 72 dpi. I printed one out and was amazed! My friends are so jealous of this phone and all the stuff it can do. I love the colors on the displays, especially the rainbow color of the numbers! I'm very happy I bought it and you will be too!

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This phone truly is amazing. I researched phones a ton before actually receiving this phone, and let me tell you that no review does it justice. It's a beautifully designed phone. The camera is okay for a phone and the buttons are a bit slippery, but you can customize almost everything on this phone (sounds, fonts, colors, etc.) It's small and I don't see any problem with the earpiece volume. My last phone was a Sony Ericsson K790A and the call volume was worse, although if you're used to a loud volume you may be disappointed.

The most annoying part of this phone is that the phone makes an annoying beeping sound with every single button you push (menus, text messages, dialing literally every single button). You can turn it off, but you have to turn off ALL keypad sounds in order to do it. Not a big deal, but I really liked the dialing voice that actually pronounced the number you were dialing while you were dialing, but alas, it has to be off to avoid the headache-giving beeping noise.

Overall I would recommed this phone to anyone. It isn't the most feature-rich phone on the planet, but if you like customization and having a very cool-looking phone, this is the one!

You will get a lot of compliments with this phone, and in my opinion the white is such an improvement over the black. It looks extremely clean and it's different than any phone out there. I wish I knew how many compliments I've gotten in the week I've had it.

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I just got my Samsung phone today and I must say that it is the best phone I've had so far. I upgraded from my Razr and the difference is night and day.

PROS:

1. Lightweigh but still durable enough not to break easily

2. Color scheme is perfect

3. Camera is better than many other of today's phones

4. Can make a call with the slide down

5. Easy to navigate menu

6. Long battery life

7. Great reception

8. Volume is sufficient

9. Doesn't get dirty easily

10. Easy to see icons

CONS:

1. Only comes with phone and charger (thought maybe small memory card)

2. When first starting out, performing simple tasks may seem difficult. IE. transfering music, photos, videos etc.

There are so many good things with this phone that they outweigh the bad. I highly recommend this phone to children who want the music aspect of the phone, and to adults who want a quality phone for a reasonible price.

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I have had this phone for about a month and love it. This phone has everything i need like:

Big Screen < Games are easy to see, and better game play compared to other phopnes with small screens. This phone displays big text wich is way easier to see and can be customizable. >

1.3 Mega Pixel camera < Pictures are very good for a phone, but not that good to print out. In the other hand 1.3MP is better than VGA >

MP3 Player < Very Good MP3 player ! Speaker is CLEAR and LOUD, but it would have been beter if it was a bit louder. I haven't tried hearing music through the samsund headphones yet.>

Expandable Memory < This phone comes with 18mb of internal memory, wich is more than enough, for games, graphics, ringtones, pictures, and any other data you save on the phone. But, if you plan to have more than 4 full songs on this phone, you will need a Micro SD card. Be aware ! this phone supports up to a 1 GB. I went out to get a 2GB, when i slide the 2GB card on my phone, it showed 998,687K of free memory ( 1,000,000K = 1GB ), and not 2GB, wich is about 1,998,000K. I went to return the 2GB for a 1GB and my phone showed the same amount of free space. >

This phone has very good reception, and good call quality. The speaker is a tad low, sometimes it is hard to hear the person you are talking to. Sometimes i have to enable the speaker to hear in loud enviroments, and even that the speaker isn't very loud. The download time for a song from my computer to the phone is about 25 seconds. I have problems trying to transfer songs to my phone because somtimes it doesn't let me. When a song is tranfering, it will stop at 20% and then displays a window wich says: FAILED TO TRANSFER FILE. I have to keep trying this for about 5 times, until it is able to transfer the file, after that i will be able to transfer about 15+ songs until it fails to transfer another song.

Sony DCR-SR68 80GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder (Blue)

I bought this with 3 basic needs, 1.I wanted something compact, 2. I wanted the capability to take pictures. 3. I wanted it to have a night vision light. You would think these 3 things would be easy to find in many cameras at a decent price range, but they were not! So how did this fair up? This camera is one of the most compact, even smaller than I expected. 2. It's picture taking ability I was least impressed with. It was pretty grainy. 3. The night vision light was pretty weak, but hey I expected that for such a small camera. The battery life with the standard battery was about avg. 4 hrs. As far as working the camera, it was VERY simple, figured it out in 5 minutes w/o reading instructions, needless to say, there are VERY few menu screens, touch screen is kinda nice, but would also liked to have the capability to tape w/the viewfinder closed. All in all, i'm pretty happy w/the purchase, just don't buy it if you want it to take good pictures, i've had phones that took clearer pictures.

I bought this at a store, not Amazon. I read good reviews about earlier models, and was a bit hesitant to buy this camera because a few people said the video quality was bad. I took the risk, but they were right. The video (and digital picture) quality are unacceptable. Even in decent lighting, the pictures are very dark and grainy, as if they were taken by an old webcam. Even at high quality, there was no improvement. Also, the autofocus was very poor and did not adjust to fast-moving subjects. Don't be fooled if you try it in a store; the LCD screen has great resolution (better than an iPod) but when you see the video on a computer screen (even when not blown to full size) or on a projection screen, the video quality is so bad. It looks average on a traditional TV. And the zoom mic also does not capture sound effectively. I was going to use this for business videography, but it would have been embarrassing to use this camcorder. I suspect similar camcorders (i.e. 1/6 CCD) may have similar inferior quality. The size, zoom quality, and touch screen might be nice features, but my Canon A570 digital camera from four years ago took better video.

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I purchased this camera at a store, believing the SONY brand name and previous good reviews about similar Sony camcorders. There are several flaws to this product.

Cons

1. Picture quality is very poor, Indoor and outdoor pictures in good light appear with a bluish tint all over. If you wear a white /gray cloth it appears bluish on video. Like wise the sunlight coming inside your house through window /blinds all appears light blue!! Even with good lighting the quality of images are very bad, lacks sharpness, This in comparison to my old Panasonic PV GS120 is not even close to true color. If you view the pictures on a TV screen it will definitely appear lacking the sharpness. If you are transferring the video to computer using the supplied software it appears very blurry and grainy.

2. There is no way you can charge the battery when camcorder is in use even if there is a spare battery because the battery charging is done hooking up the AC adapter to the camcorder! This seems really stupid. Sony could have made a battery slot on the AC adapter to do this.

3. There is no separate viewfinder. So if the LCD is brokeneverything is gone.

4. Audio quality does not seem to be that good but average.

5. I can not find the resolution of the camera for still shots, nothing is mentioned in the manual either. You can not shoot a still picture while recording the video, you have to capture it from the video shots already made. Yea the resolution does not matter in that case.

6. Battery life approximately less than an hour

7. The LED for lighting seems silly

Pros

1. Small size, you can carry in Pants pocket

2. Provision to use SDHC card instead of the "Sony's own" memory stick duo only. I have not used one yet though.

3. LCD is very clear and sharp (good resolution), and it responds well to the touch.

4. Video transfer is quick and easy once the basic Sony software is installed. I would use some other software to edit it though.

5. 80 GB storage space is great

6. The Sony software has a calendar to see events on a chronological order, that looks great if you are time conscious about the video

Overall I am not satisfied with this camcorder. I will return it soon.

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I'm disappointed in Sony's response to my camera's errors. I would expect a much better response.

"Buffer Overflow" problem, along with lost data. Hard drive errors.

I would not recommend anyone to purchase this camera.

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I had been looking for a second video camera, one with a sizeable internal hard drive to store a lot of footage. I was partial to Sony, having purchased many Sony products over the years that gave good service. I did my homework and checked out reviews and Tech websites. Finally I settled on this camcorder. When it arrived, I was excited to test it out. I took some footage of my garden, about one minute. Then I downloaded the clip into my computer. Gasp! It didn't look crisp and clear. It looked hazy and fuzzy. To compare, I took a comparable video with my other camcorder and downloaded it into my computer. Much different. Better! Crisper! Clearer! What I had been used to. The second camera, let me say, is also a Sony, but one that uses mini-video-tape. I compared the size of the files downloaded on my computer, each roughly one minute long. Whereas the file from the old Sony was about 276 MB's, the file from the new camcorder was about 75 MB's, about one-fourth the size, more compressed. No wonder!! I called Sony, and registered my complaint. No comment or suggestion on how to improve performance. I called Vanns, the vendor, to arrange a return. The only good thing about the transaction was the great service from Vanns. A prompt refund. No questions asked. Of course, I had to pay the return postage. I saw some very glowing reviews on this product before I bought it. The only thing I can say is these people probably had nothing to compare the quality of the video to. Otherwise, I can't imagine how anyone can think that this is a camcorder that delivers high-quality or even decent-quality videos.

C Crane CWTPL CC Witness Plus Digital MP3 Recorder Player with Built-in AM FM Radio

• Voice recording in MP3 Format
• Built-in AM FM Radio
• Built-in Speaker or use included earphones
• Clock with Timer and Alarm
• Mini USB connector

I purchased the CC Witness+ as a replacement to the Pogo RadioYourWay AM/FM MP3 recorder, which I had owned for several years. I used the Pogo radio to record programming (both AM and FM) and then archive the audio I want to save onto my computer. From day one the RadioYourWay unit had a annoying glitch in recording FM and thereafter downloading the file onto the computer: The resulting audio file had 'artifacts' of random 'squawks' (it did sound like stepping on a rubber duck) that I had to repeatedly clip out of the file in order to make the end result listenable, sometimes as many as five or six artifacts per minute of audio. The AM recorded files had no such issues so I don't know whether it was a problem with the hardware or software with the Pogo unit.

The CC Witness+ that I purchased has no such issues. Both AM and FM recording files download clean into the computer.

I have, however, encountered an issue with compatibility in downloading MP3 files to a computer. When attempting to download from the CC Witness+ to a laptop with Windows 7 Pro, the download takes as long as 30 minutes for a 2 hour MP3 64k clip. Using a laptop with Windows XP Pro, the same download takes less than four minutes. (The RadioYourWay unit I have didn't have that problem either with XP Pro or Win 7 Pro.) With my experience there seems to be a compatability issue with using the CC Witness+ with Windows 7 Pro. Since I do my audio editing with my older laptop I can live with it but users with Windows 7 Pro might want to know that this could be a problem; if anyone has found a way to speed up downloads on Win 7 Pro I'm open to it. It is due to this problem that I only give it four stars instead of five.

In editing the resultant MP3 files downloaded to my computer from the CC Witness+, the audio does seem to record 'louder' (at or near 100% modulation) compared to the older RadioYourWay unit, yet I've not detected any meaningful, annoying distortion in voice recording. At that level I did notice some minor distortion in recording music off the air but I don't know if it was a reception issue or an auto-record level issue. As to reception, it seems that the FM radio in the CC Witness+ does a better job of receiving FM signals than the RadioYourWay and about the same with AM reception, which I thought was remarkably good for such a small unit. If a person wants to attempt capturing AM DX signals it may be well to consider using the CC Witness+ with one of the external antenna units that CC Crane offers.

So far the battery life doesn't seem to be quite as long with the CC Witness+ as with the RadioYourWay but for what I use it for the battery life is still adequate.

If you have used the old Pogo unit, the controls on the CC Witness+ are easy to use. Finding and identifying recorded files is much, much easier with the CC Witness+.

The CC Witness+ as packaged does not come with an AC adapter but does come with the USB patch cord that plugs into your computer so you can connect it to the computer to charge it. The AC adapter that came with the RadioYourWay is 100% compatible with the CC Witness+.

Yes, it has mini-speakers built in but you will get much better audio quality in using earbuds or headphones with the CC Witness+ than using the speakers.

For voice recording (talk shows, broadcasted lectures, etc.) or music where CD quality is not demanded, the CC Witness+ works just fine; for those purposes I would recommended it.

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I waited a couple years to buy this expecting someone (Sony, Apple, whoever) to build something like this a little more reasonably priced. My kids' iPods are on par with the cost of this thing and do 10 times more things. If iPods had an AM tuner I'm sure there would be an app that would render the Witness+ obsolete. Sorry, had to get that little whine off my chest...

I've had this a couple days now so here are my first impressions. The Witness+ is smaller than I thought, about the size of a deck of cards. The user interface is well thought out, it was very easy to program stations into memory and schedule recordings. I have no problems pulling in every station I listen to in my location (about 25 miles from downtown Detroit) on this radio's tuner. It even pulls in smaller stations I didn't know existed. The instructions are very well written. Recording quality is variable, easily changed, and at higher quality levels sounds exactly like live radio.

Hooking the Witness+ up to my computer went without incident, Windows XP recognized the unit immediately. When I first charged the unit and turned it on, I did notice that the AM radio tuner was not working right off the bat, just got screeching noises. I powered it down, flipped it to FM and back to AM and it cleared up after that (not sure the exact steps I took but it works fine now).

I'll update this review if I have anything significant to add or change, but as of now I'm pleased with the quality of the Witness+.

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We've all been hooked on the DVR. This is a DVR for radio that works great. I like to use it for programs that are on only after midnight or Public Radio broadcasts that I often miss. You can set 20 timers to record blocks of any length. One other neat feature is the ability to change the speed of the playback from .5 of normal to 1.7 of normal, and you can easily define a playback loop. The unit actually turns on during the time it's recording--I found I could either leave the ear buds plugged in or I could lower the volume to zero. Like any new electronic device, there is some quirkiness to the interface but I found it mostly intuitive. I haven't tried the USB interface yet but I fully expect it to function well.

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This little radio/recorder is everything advertised. Don't expect to set this radio down next to you and listen, it is not designed to be a table top unit. The instructions were in clear English, easy to understand; I'm happy.

I had known about the CC Witness Plus for a while, but had put off getting one as I was using my cell-phone for radio and music playing.

The problem with using my cell was the constant freezing of apps or delays caused by the phone looking for signals while on the move.

The CC Witness is not only able to pull in very clear signals everywhere I go, but the added bonus of being able to record my favorite radio shows and play them back later is pretty cool.

The unit is lightweight, about the same size as my cell and has great sound capability. The controls are intuitive and setting it up for my preferences was very easy.

My only little complaint would be that while listening to the radio and then switching to the menu to change a setting, the radio cuts out and doesn't come back until you select a band. Oh well no biggie.

I haven't tried to record a meeting yet, but that will be coming up shortly; I will let you know how that works.

Indoor Wireless Fixed IP Camera with Night Vision

According to the specs, this camera is supposed to work with systems other than Alarm.com

Well GOOD LUCK WITH THAT.

About the ONLY thing I can do, is get it to see an IP address. I can't connect into that IP, can't access the camera and there IS NO DOCS on this camera besides "log into your alarm.com account"

This leads me to say that, you can't use this camera with ANYTHING but Alarm.com

This is by far one of the easiest cameras to set up and install. Actually has a good picture and i love watching my house and dogs when we are not home. Have two trying to buy two more.

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The monitoring security service I use, uses Alarm.com for their web and iPhone interfaces. Alarm.com does appear to be the best in that its better than others but no where near as good as it could be. There were a lot of setup issues. They didn't mention it needed to be plugged in to power so assumed it would work off of batteries like all the sensors. Also to setup you need an ethernet cable not provided unless you use a router with WPS. To note, a quick google search will show you WPS routers are HIGHLY insecure so this device should not promote WPS and should instead include an ethernet cable. The pictures do not show that unlike most corner motion sensors this one attached to a semi long pole that attaches to the wall that is white but the screws aren't white so doesn't look great. Next issue was my password wouldn't work because it was too secure. This device which only works with alarm.com has old software that doesn't let passwords with any characters, so if you have a complex password you may need to change it to something simpler. Which in my case meant changing the password on my router, then changing it on the two nests in my host, the 2 iPhones, the 1 iPod, the three Apple TVs, the tv receiver the wifi tv and the 2 iPads to all connect to the new password. It ended up being a major project. I told Alarm.com about the issues they said to tell my vendor which was SafeMart and they said they would tell Alarm.com but SafeMart was not helpful. They said the device has a backup battery (it does not). They (rep named Greg I think?) said they would look into my issues and get back the following day. Also that chat took about an hour since he would go quiet for about 7 minutes at a time and then come back since apparently they also answer phones and they take calls while on chat with customers and dont tell customers when they are on a call. It's been several months and no word from them in regards to that. After all that eventually got it installed and thought ok, they have issues but as long as it works now thats all that matters. Sadly no. The motion sensor does not appear to work. It is suppose to detect motion but in my several tests it only works if you are about 4 to 5 inches in front of the device. I asked support about this at SafeMart they didn't seem to think it even had a motion detector. I provided them links and showed them that it did and they were like oh.. hmm. And never got back to me. I figured since I knew more about the product than they did they wouldn't be of any help anyway and once again Alarm.com won't help since they say you have to go to your vendor. Everyonce in a while if I'm a couple feet a way and do jumping jacks it detects motion for a second. As for video quality, if you set it to the highest it is good quality for this price of a camera, but not great if you are use to looking at video on say a smart phone. The night vision looks good however, another big big bug is that is doesn't go on consistently. There is a setting to say whether it should turn on more often or less often, but regardless of the setting, sometimes its pitch black and it wont turn on, other times it works as expected, other times sporadic. If I'm at home and look at video through my iPhone (on our home wifi) the video is relatively close to live video, a second or two behind and doesn;t slow down our internet. However if I view the video through alarm.com at home it slows our internet down which is comcast's highest speed 100mbps to a snail pace. This seems to be a bug with their web interface. Also it uses Java so if you use up-to-date Chrome on a Mac for instance it won't work so you will have to use another browser. When viewing the videos from remote locations it's about a 7 second delay. About 4 out of 10 times it gives an error saying it can't connect to the camera. Sometimes restarting the app helps, sometimes unplugging and replugging the camera works. We have two of these and both are equally flaky. Also other than unplugging there is no way to have the camera turned off when your at home. Alarm.com already has geofencing meaning they know when your home or not, or they could simply have an option that says disable camera feed when the alarm isn't enabled but no such option and alarm.com says they dont have plans for this feature yet. The Green Led on the face of it can be turned off in the settings. Overall it's not reliable, and if you are using SafeMart they have little to no knowledge about it and will be off little to no help and Alarm.com won't listen to your complaints about bugs or security issues. That being said, for residential customers, alarm.com and safemart still is the best affordable option in comparison to others so unfortunately at the moment we are stuck using these cameras and software until Nest of another modern company creates a progressive alternative.

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Motorola RIZR Z3 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, MicroSD Slot--Internationa

I ordered this Phone because I have really good experiences with Motorola Phones before. This Phone surprised me because the body kit was already loose and it looked cheap.By that I mean that I knew that the phone won't last long and it didn't. The second thing I noticed was that the phone wouldn't charge with the charger. The only way I could charge it was with an USB cable.After 1 month the Motorola sign at the top of the phone came off too. I also had problems hearing the caller,the call sounded muffled.I don't know if this model of phone has these problems in general or if I have been sold a bad phone. All I know is that I am very disappointed

While many people have said that they do not like this phone because of the small keys, as a female I have not found them to be too small and I have average size hands.

I do text, everyday, perhaps not as often as others, but nevertheless, find the texting not to be an issue.

PROS

I love the camera, my phone came with a USB connector, it is so easy for me to transfer pictures. THE FLASH is amazing!! it is so bright, i like using it as a flash light

The mp3 player has amazing speakers

I bought this phone so i would have a good camera, mp3 player all rolled into one for me.

One thing i dont' like is that it won't take really big memory cards (8gb) i think its limit is 1 gb.

Overall i have been pleased i have had it for about 5 months now. One thing i don't like is that it doesn't display the date, just the time, but that really isn't that big of a deal.

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I bought this to replace the RAZR that my two year old destroyed. I like the slider because it feels sturdier. The only problems I've had have been technical I can't log on to the internet, thereby prohibiting downloads ringtones, games, etc. Of course, this might be user error.

Also, the keypad is smaller, making texting a bit slower as I become accustomed to the difference.

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This phone has a great look. But I don't like the software. For example, you can't even input multiple phones numbers for the same contact person. User Interface can be confusing at first. Overall, it is a decent phone.

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It is not a habit of mine to post reviews and comments but after you notice that you have been scammed it is only important for you to write something to assist others in not making the same mistakes.

I got this phone back in 2011 and it only took about a week until the phone started giving problems, the main button was not working but with some nifty navigation you could still make calls though it was a pain in the neck. After about a month of use the charging stopped and unless you wiggle the connection it would start charging again. It got to the point to where the contact for the charger got messed up so I stopped using it.

It is now Feb 2013, yeah been quite a while but here goes. I was unearthing some stuff from storage and came across the phone and I figured why not open it up to see if maybe contacts inside were the culprit of the phone not working. Before going at the screws I realized that the phone had previously been opened and after i finished unscrewing it I noticed a piece of masking tape that was making an ill fated attempt at holding up some connections inside the slider. Too bad it took me so long to realize this but it is never too late to warn people of these types of scoundrels that make money by scamming others. It totally screws it up for others, I don't even have confidence buying on Amazon as a result of this.

VisionTek TV Wonder HD 650 USB TV Dual Tuner/Recorder

I was able to get this tuner during a 24 sale the weekend after Thanksgiving at a VERY good price (over 50% off) and I have been very happy that I did. To be honest, this model was on my short list to start with but the price made it a no brainer. I've been using this tuner daily since the first week of December when I first installed it and have had very few issues with it.

For the record, I have used this on two different software installs: Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit and the Windows 7 32-bit Beta.

Pros:

Easy integration with Media Center both under Vista and Windows 7. In fact, it's been better under the Windows 7 Beta Media Center than under Vista!

Easy hardware set up. Plug it into your computer, install drivers, and plug in a TV and radio antenna and you're set. No needs to worry about the hardware aspect (minus turning the antenna in some cases).

Onboard MPEG-2 decoding that takes some of the pressure off of your CPU and other components.

Not very steep hardware requirements for your PC.

Can be used with other Media PC DVR software suites.

Great HD picture!

Cons:

The included Catalyst Media software is very buggy.

Cannot get the included remote to work.

As alluded to under cons the Catalyst Media software is more than a little buggy, both under Vista and Windows 7. It will work, most of the time. However, if you're like me "most of the time" just won't cut it if you're counting on it to record shows when you're away from your PC. Further, the Catalyst software does not seem to be able to display on a 16:10 ration display such as my LG LCD 22 incher. The upside is that if you play the recorded content back in another application such as Windows Media Player the aspect ratios are correct. It's just very distracting, to me at least, when watching live TV.

After two days of trying to get used to Catalyst I decided to seek out alternatives and settled on two. The first was Beyond TV and then Windows Media Center (Vista). Beyond TV works much better than the included software, produces a better picture quality, and has the correct aspect ratios. Windows Media Center under Vista has just a tad under the quality of Beyond TV. To me it was worth it to rely on Media Center after the trial period of Beyond TV was over as I wasn't ready to pay $40 more than I paid for the tuner for a software package.

My only complaint using under Media Center with Vista was the lack of the digital sub channels that many station simulcast. This is a problem with Vista and not the tuner so I do not ding the tuner for it.

The tuner really started to shine though under Windows 7 Beta, of all things! Media Center under 7 is more feature complete than it is under Vista and displays all the digital sub-channels and records in better quality (max quality under settings) than under any of the previously used software packages. In fact, even though the Catalyst software is installed under Windows 7 I have only used it once in the last month and rely totally on Media Center for my TV recording.

Now on to some of the issues some may have with this tuner.

I do not have cable so I rely on over-the-air broadcasts for my TV viewing. At first I was using my old trusty rabbit ear antenna figuring that I live less than 8 miles from the three main broadcast antennas for my television market. This was a mixed bag of results. The three main stations came in fine but I had "issues" picking up others such as the local PBS station. A quick run to the store to pick up an amplified antenna (RCA ANT1450B Multi-Directional Digital Flat Amplified Home Theater Antenna (Black)) and I was in business on all my local stations.

One other issues is my inability to get the included remote control to work. The poor documentation that comes with the tuner offers no help in this regard and I've given up. I don't really listen to FM radio so other than testing it to make sure it works once I've not used that feature.

Overall, this is an excellent choice for someone looking to setup HDTV recording on their computer in either a home media center setup or on their desktop machine for casual watching.

There are numerous complaints in various forums about the ATI HD 650 Combo loosing signal, hanging or panicking the system while trying to handle/switch between digital and analog signals. I'm on my second pair from Visiontek and have had nothing but problems with them under Vista and Windows 7. Avoid this product.

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I am running Windows 7 RC1 and with media center, when you plug-in this to the USB port, the drivers will automatically download from Windows Update and you are ready to go! The video quality is excellent and the remote control make it a pleasure to use. Highly recommended.

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This would have been a good USB digital TV tuner if the included software and drivers weren't so unusably horrible!

(1) The included TV tuner software is unusably buggy. The system often crashes and loses audio/video sync when changing channels. The recorded video stutters. No closed captioning or other advanced features.

(2) Due to the buggy Windows Vista drivers, you cannot use any 3rd-party PVR software to watch digital TV. (Only the analog DirectShow drivers are installed correctly!)

(3) 3rd-party PVR software does work with Windows XP, but even when everything is working, the drivers are crash-prone. I would often get a bluescreen when connecting or disconnecting the device when the computer is on. Rarely, the driver will go into an infinite loop while recording, causing the SYSTEM process to consume 100% CPU until reboot.

(4) The device does not have proper power management support, and the tv tuner consumes a lot of electricity and feels hot to the touch, even when the computer is turned off.

I do not recommend this product to anyone, unless it's on sale and you have a high threshold for frustration.

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My system is a 1.83 Mac Mini Core Duo with 1 GB RAM.

First...the picture that is shown for this product is NOT what you get. There isn't a remote that is included with the tuner. As a matter of fact, if you plan on controlling this device, get yourself a wireless mouse because that is the ONLY way you will change channels. Universal remote? Nope. Apple Remote? Forget it!

Okay, plug it all up...CATV, check. Digital antenna, check, Power supply, check. USB, check. That wasn't so bad. Let's put the CD in.

Now, lets talk about the installation. Plugged it in, slipped in the disc and start the installation. Step 1, select your destination for recorded shows. Check. Step 2, select destination for exports. Umm...not sure what that is, but okay. Step 3, download guide...okay. Wait, did it? Not sure since there isn't any confirmation. Step 4, scan for channels...go to lunch. 20 minutes later...I think it scanned...again, no confirmation. Step 5, finish installation and...WHAT THE??? "Unexpected error. Your system needs to reboot. Hold down the power button to restart." This is the ONLY installation that has EVER crashed my system.

After the reboot, I finally tested the software. The guide could never download. The menu is clunky. Changing channels is a tedious activity. You scroll through the channels, then push the select button (I think that is what is called) to finally change the channel. Want to surf through the channels? I didn't think so. Want Dolby Digital sound? Nah, I think you will prefer the choppy sounding audio that it does put out. HD, sure...looks like garbage. I didn't even bother to record anything.

In closing, this thing is a huge pile of junk. If I could give it negative stars I would . Stick to EyeTV. The only reason I got this is because I can only do either CATV of ATSC OTA with the EyeTV. That is a small price to pay. EyeTV is much more polished solution for the Mac, regardless of the number of RF inputs.

I will say it again...AVOID the TV Wonder 650!

Night Owl Security STA-168 Night Owl Security 16 Channel STA DVR with 8 Night Vision Cameras 500 G

I have owned camera systems in the past, and recently purchased this Night Owl system and am pleasantly surprised by the level of customer support I have received from them. I was able to reach their 24/7 tech support via phone after I got home from work. 2 things of note, 1st, its awesome that they are open any time as I hate calling from work as this unit is for home, and 2nd, the support wasn't overseas with someone reading from a training manual (Cassandra was very nice and professional).

The cameras are solid and are simple to install, others I've used in the past are cheap plastic. They include a simple 1 page quick start guide that will get you from start to finish, and also watched the how-to videos on the Night Owl website which were very helpful.

Ended up calling support and she configured my network settings and got me hooked up on the internet in less than 10 minutes and now I can view all my cameras using my iPhone. The app they told me to download was "Night Owl Lite"…best part about it is it's FREE.

This is a lot of system and service for such a great price. Will probably be buying another one in the near future for work.

I have been using this system now for over 6 months. It has never crashed, and has actually saved me in a legal matter. A major delivery company delivered 3 laptops to my home, leaving them on my porch except they really only delivered 2! Caught on tape! BAM, no problem getting that claim paid extremely quickly.

The set up of the dvr is not entirely intuitive. It does include a helpful CD/DVD installation media; which includes a full manual, and software for most every platform for controlling and viewing the cameras. The best resource is the company's website. They have a very robust website, with video links to every imaginable question answered and demonstrated on film.

You could just stick up the cameras, plug them in, and everything would work. No doubt, most will want to delve in a bit to customize some of the settings.

I will break this into 2 sections. The DVR itself including software, and the cameras.

The DVR:

It is black in color, light weight, and housed in a metal case. The are multiple ports on the back for up to 16 bnc connectors, Video out: vga (dsub) and BNC (includes adapter BNC to RCA plug), usb mouse, ethernet, pan tilt and zoom, and DC power supply input.

You should know that if you are putting this near your entertainment stack, there is an annoying red light that will incessantly blink when motion is detected and the unit is recording. You can obviously fix this with a bit of tape.

The interface is a bit quirky, but you can figure it out fairly quickly. Mostly, left click selects, and right click takes you back. Somehow the network autoconfigure, automatically opened all of the necessary ports on my Verizon FIOS router. I am capable of accomplishing this task, but it was nice not to have to worry about it. The main port that need to be opened is 9000 (media) and port 80 (web) on your network. You will also need your IP address. (this is the ip for your router, not your computer) visit ipchicken . com to find it quickly.

!!!!!> !!!!!

I do not recall seeing it anywhere in the manual but you MUST set a user name AND password for any of the network stuff to work.

You will need to adjust the color for your cameras. None of my cameras had good color by default. I was able to achieve pretty good results by fooling around with the color options in the camera control submenu.

Other than setting the motion areas (accomplished by clicking and dragging) and color recording time slots, if you choose that -there is not much else use for the dvr's menus. Most everything else you will do through the web interface.

I did not use the DNS web address that is offered. I used the nightowl dvr software (NETVIEWER) that is available from the website or off of the cd. It is very robust, and allows for a multitude of options. From the nightowl dvr software menu you can designate cameras to send you digital snaps when motion is detected (you need a gmail address). To use NETVIEWER you need to have port 9000 open on your router. Then input your ip address (ip chicken remember) the user name (you pick) and password (no restrictions here).

From netviewer you can play back captured footage. Simply select a date, and a channel (camera), you will then be presented with a time-stamped list of all the recordings for that date. As you play back these files, they are automatically saved to your computer. The default path is under "Local Settings". Once these files have been downloaded, you can really easily convert them to standard *.avi file using the converter that is on the included dvd (or download from website). it takes mere seconds and I used it to give to the police, and the delivery company.

There are Pan/Tilt/Zoom features available in the Netviewer console as well, however none of the included cameras have this feature.

You can also playback LIVE video only, using an iPad or iPhone. The Nightowl app is available in the app store. It is a drag that you can only view live video, but their support team has assured me that you will have that ability in an upcoming release.

One GREAT use for this is checking to see if your amazon delivery has been left on your porch yet or not!

Overall the DVR does exactly what it claims. I have a 500gb drive, and I still don't think I have begun to overwrite yet (another feature you can set from the DVR interface). The playback is clear, and reliable. The motion capture record works very well. You can have it capture june bugs flying around, up to squirrels, or only catch the delivery driver stealing your laptops.

THE CAMERAS:

They are a step up from total crap. They do not fogup, so far none have failed, and if they do get a little rain on them, it tends to roll off quickly. I did treat mine with rain-x so they work even better now, but it was never a problem before through rain, sleet, AND snow.

You get 8 with the STA186. They are all the same. A hooded full metal body, and painted metal base. The cameras are connected to the dvr via the included BNC+DC combo cables that are included. I think they are all 60ft long. I needed 2 cables of 100ft, which I found here on amazon for a very reasonable price. The power is provided by 2 included DC power supplies (some people call them transformers). Each power supply powers 4 cameras (there is a sort of Hydra connector that turns the single plug into 4). Be sure to note the 'sex' of your cables before you run them. It matters which way the power plug goes! I was in some pretty inhospitable spots with my install and would never want to have to go back. I used a 5/8" speed bore for my cable runs to get through. This is a fairly tight squeeze that requires you to first push through the BNC connector, then power connector. A little expanding foam or caulk will fix the hole.

The camera mount is secured by 3 screws. The included screws are total crap you will likely want to use your own. You will want to the have the cameras removed from the base while mounting the bases. The camera is easily removed from the base by unscrewing the set screw that allows the camera to rotate around a recessed collar. The further adjustment of the camera is accomplished by a ball-socket connection that can be secured using the finger adjustment nuts.

A helpful hint I used was to have the iPad on the ladder with me as I adjusted the cameras.

One issue with the cameras is the night-vision feature sometimes creates some distortion in medium-low light. When the camera is getting confused as to whether to run in night mode or full color. Speaking of Night mode they shine here. The night vision feature is excellent, and in some ways more clear than the full color.

My overall impression is very good on the system as a whole. The biggest complaint is the camera quality. The DVR interface is a little less than intuitive but the NetViewer software is excellent. iOS APP works great on the iPhone and the iPad.

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Bought on a lightning deal for under $200.00. I had already bought two other systems and returned them both because they were complicated and not very "user friendly".

I decided to keep this one because it advertises LIFETIME customer support. Finally I made a good decision. This system works great. I have zero networking experience but the excellent customer service people not only explained what to do but logged on to my PC and set everything up for me in a matter of minutes.

They even made a hand typed note explaining how to do some basics and placed it on my desktop so I could not lose it. Seriously, who does that? This is customer service at its finest.

I made a mistake and pointed one of my cameras towards the front yard where it picked up every car driving down the highway which resulted in hundreds of emails a day. I called customer service again and was up and running perfect in under 5 minutes.

The cameras and DVR function exactly as described. I only have DSL basic and was concerned the quality might not be very good. This was not a problem. Video is not choppy and the clarity if fine.

I am waiting for this to go back on a lightning deal so I can buy a second one for my primary residence.

I highly recommend this product.

I hope you found my review helpful.

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I purchased this DVR back in December 2012 after months of research. I know its not the best product and perhaps not even the best in its class but it does the job well (with a little help as I'll explain later).

After I missed out on all the thanksgiving sales when the newer model was $249, I was extremely pleased when I found this model as a warehouse deal. The item arrived in excellent condition.

Getting the system connected was quite simple as the quick setup posters provides the exact steps required to get the unit up and running.

The O/S of the dvr manages the 500Gb rather efficiently as I can get 35-40 days of video on all channels with motion activated recording.

The port forwarding feature is a bit challenging for me but once you have a static external IP you should have no issues. So for now I have the system connected to my local network and so I can view from any smart device tablet laptop desktop etc. This means that I can monitor from any room in the house with dedicated viewing on three devices all wireless. No more wondering who is at the front door or what was that sound outside. Until I have the port forwarding configured I am using the email feature to provide 'near real time' snapshots of alarms while I am away from the house.

The video quality is best on CIF for me as the higher resolution produce choppy videos. The view angle is also quite restricted at 42 degrees making camera placement critical. Although I have the entire property covered there were a couple blind spots. To address this I purchased a couple 600 TVL cameras with 90 degree viewing angles and I can say on those channels video and picture quality have improved tremendously and at that angle there is perfect overlap of the viewing ranges i.e. no blind spots.

So if you just want a simple unit to get started in home security this is a great place to start. But note it is inevitable you would develop Camera Acquisition Syndrome as coined by an earlier reviewer.

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It can and does record for longer that 4 days and I believe it will record for up to 30. It has a limited range, because its small but will capture a room or a portion of the yard.

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Sony DVP-NC665P/S 5-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Changer, Silver

• DVD-RW/-R (VR and video mode), DVD+RW/+R, and MP3/CD-R/CD-RW playback
• DVD progressive-scan output (480p); Precision Drive 2 System with Dynamic Tilt Compensation
• Component-video, S-video, composite-video, analog audio, optical digital, and coaxial digital outputs
• TV Virtual Sound with four surround modes
• Measures 16.9 x 3.78 x 16.1 inches (W x H x D)

I purchased this DVD player to read my burned home movies and it works great. I had an earlier model Sony without progressive scan and I sure can tell the difference between the two models. This model produces a sharper and cleaner DVD picture overall. It loads DVDs quickly and is fairly quiet when changing discs. I would recommend this DVD player to anyone interested in a 5 disc progressive scan player. I returned to Amazon to purchase the exact same one for a different room.

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Like many other reviews for Sony 5 Disc Changers this one died after 1 year also (right when the warranty was up). If you read reviews of other multi-disc changers they all have the same problem. Suddenly they will say "No Disc" (in any of the 5 spots)and you will never get it to play again. I have a Sony Plasma TV and Surround sound system and could not believe this happened like the other reviews said.

Stay away or you will be buying another one within 1 year.

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This is the second Sony DVD player that I have owned and all I can say is don't make the same mistake that I have. They work beautiful for about a year or so and then just stop working. We were huge Sony fans and our whole entertainment system is Sony but we have learned our lesson. No more Sony products. If you only need a dvd player to work until the warranty is up this is the one for you but if you want something to last stay away from Sony!

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DVD player will not turn on. I will never order nothing from this site if I could give no stars I will

This is my first review here on Amazon I just felt compelled to write today because of all the negative feedback on this player. I've been using mine regular for over six years and mine still works perfectly. Maybe I was one of the lucky ones that received a good one. In fact I am listening to music with it right now, I can't believe the vast majority of people on here had this player die after just one year. Other that the remote breaking after only a few years, I am hard pressed to think of any gripes I have with this player. When I did use it to watch movies it worked just as it should for that purpose. The digital audio out provided great sound and the component video provided an awesome picture. Now it is just a CD changer for my music listening and for that it is just as adapt. I feel for everyone who had this unit die after a short time, just thought I would throw my experience out there. There must have been a few good ones because I have one of them. By the way mine is black not silver, not that it makes any difference.

Sony ZS-D10 Tabletop CD Player with FM/AM Radio and CD-R/RW Playback

• Vertical load CD player and slim design are both stylish and functional
• Plays CD-R and CD-RW
• Digital AM/FM stereo tuner
• High-quality sound and rich bass from passive sub-speakers
• Optical line output for direct digital connection to MiniDisc recorder and auxiliary line in for playback of external audio sources

Another Made in China Sony product. Relatively good sound for the size but not enough power and as a result not enough volume. This is not a unit to party with.

For the money one can buy a far better sounding shelf unit with multiple CD trays and a tape deck.

Lacks a "pause-resume" function for the CD, clock and alarm features and batteries to make it portable. Radio tuning is not user friendly.

I was glad the merchant took it back.

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I had the luck of finding this CD player/radio tuner on sale at roughly a third of its suggested retail price, and I'd say it was a steal, and I would have even paid as much as half of its retail price and still say it was a steal.

The player looks gorgeous and sounds wonderful. I have been using Sony products for years, so for me it was very easy to program. Extra features like the MD link are nice to have too, although I do not know if I will ever use them.

Why this product did not get five stars: the digital radio tuner is just average compared to other tuners I have heard, even Sony's own. However, it is very difficult to get good radio reception where I live so I am not too upset about that. Also, the remote control feels flimsy and cheap. I would have gladly paid a few extra dollars for a good remote.

DISH Network Player-DVR 510 - DVR - 100 hour(s) - DISH network

I used to consider DirecTV to be the preferred choice of satellite television providers. With the introduction of new personal video recorder models, also referred to as PVR's or DVR's, Dish Network has established themselves as a formidable competitor in the areas of price, selection, picture quality, and customer service. My gripe is with their lack of Dolby Digital and 5.1 surround sound channels. It's enough to be a dealbreaker for audiophiles.

This model was a free replacement for an older model satellite receiver being phased out in 2005. A phone call set up the shipment and the process was painless. The receiver contains standard cable jacks for input and output as well as two RCA audio and video outputs, an S video output, and a Dolby Digital connector. With the number of audio/visual devices out there (TV, VCR, DVD, Satellite as well as stereo components), I would have liked to have seen an RCA audio and video input.

Included with the DVR is a built-in infrared "blaster" that works like a remote to control VCR's supported by the device (all major brands.) With this function you can use the satellite receiver to record programs to your VCR instead of the DVR. That said, it can be a daunting task to ensure both the VCR and DVR are set to the correct channels and appropriate TV/video settings or you'll end up recording the wrong program. This is why A/V inputs would be helpful and you'll likely be better off recording the program to the DVR first to transfer to the VCR later.

The Dish Network's customer service staff are some of the finest I have talked to in any company. Not only are they friendly and helpful, but I've found them to be knowledgeable (reducing the need for transfers) and hold times are usually under a minute. After installing the receiver, activation took less than five minutes and we were up and running before I hung up the phone.

Compared to the older receiver, I find this new receiver delivers a sharper picture with improved contrast and clarity. Until now, I gave the nod to DirecTV, but I believe the two are now equal. Dish also fixed some annoyances while channel surfing. In the past, pulling up the Dish guide meant obscuring the entire channel. Now the channel is moved to the right corner of the screen, similar to DirecTV, so you can view the current channel while you scan other channels. Another channel surfing option is to flip through the names (only) of programs on different channels. Unfortunately, this method obscures the top third of the screen with the title of the current channel and the bottom third of the screen with the title of the channels you're flipping through. The size of this obscured screen space could be drastically reduced and still provide the same information.

Another new feature is the ability to display the name and phone number of incoming telephone calls for those subscribing to caller id service through their telephone company. Finally, the old receiver used to suffer severe lag in downloading program descriptions. This problem seems to have disappeared entirely.

On to Digital Video Recording. This is my first experience with DVR's and I must say they have made the process very intuitive. I haven't had to refer to the user manual yet. The most prominent difference between DVR users and those without is the ability to pause live television. This is easily done via a big yellow pause button on the remote. Once this happens, the DVR kicks in and begins recording from the point you pause. To the end user, it simply looks like you hit the pause on a DVD. As soon as you start up again, the DVR continues to record as you watch so you never miss anything. Because you're now watching recorded television, you now have the advantage of skipping past commercials until you reach the point where you're back to a live broadcast. The only drawback is you will lose what you have recorded if you switch to a different channel. The system does prompt you beforehand so you won't switch back to live mode by mistake. The process may sound complicated but it's very painless. If you can operate a VCR, you can operate this DVR.

Programming the DVR to record programs is even easier than a VCR in my opinion. Simply scroll through the guide until you find a program you wish to record, then hit the record button. A prompt comes up, select VCR or DVR, and you're ready to go. I did get a tech to admit that it is possible to record one channel while watching another but they are only offering this service to new subscribers. Apparently, replacing the receivers of existing customers to include this feature will tax the current capacity of their system. If you're limited to recording the same channel you're watching as I am, a timer icon will pop up five minutes prior to warn it's about to flip the channel on you. To access and playback recorded programs, simply hit the button marked "DVR" on your remote and a list of recorded programs will pop up. Scroll through the list until you find the program you want, hit the select button, and you're off and running.

Thanks to DVR, the remote control is now as intuitive as you can get. The standard up/down/left/right controls are used to flip through the channels, the channel guide, and menus, but now you have DVR controls similar to what you would find on a VCR remote. This provides the ability to replace your current VCR remote entirely as all the functions are supported. The Dish remote acts as a universal remote for three devices in addition to the satellite. I just wish there were four devices we could add instead of three. If I didn't have to choose between controlling the home theater system and the DVD player, I could have eliminated all of the remotes in the house.

Perhaps it's better marketing but DirecTV seems to be the provider of choice for sports fans thanks to their all-inclusive sports package. Dish is the winner for music fans thanks to their partnership with Sirius. I counted 140 music channels (although I'm tempted to exclude the 20 or so channels that are broadcast in mono.)

This brings me to my only major gripe with Dish Network the sound quality. Dish Network broadcasts only HBO, Showtime, and a few Pay-per-View networks in 5.1 or 6.1 surround sound. That's it. All other stations are simply 2-channel stereo, including premium channels. The signal/noise ratio is high enough that you won't hear any hiss, but the channel separation seems to be rather low for regular stereo. I find myself frequently fiddling with the virtual (fake) surround effects to find a setting I like. Anyone used to the immersive effects of true five or six channel digital audio will find the Dish Network sorely lacking. Since most cable companies do not have this limitation, I have a hard time recommending the Dish as an alternative to anyone owning a home theater system.

Finally, a new feature entitled Dish@Home isn't a gripe as much as an example of a really bad business decision. I beta-tested a similar service through a cable company years ago and this isn't any better. The service attempts to provide information such as news, weather, sports scores through your television yet the process is so slow and cumbersome you'll never use it. The games on cellular phones are higher quality and at least a game on a phone is a one-time fee vs. the monthly subscription this service tries to extract from you. I expect Dish@Home to die a quick death.

Hope the review helped.

I've just upgraded one of my 301 receivers for this 510 so I can get dvr.This dvr has a feature called live record which is similar to what the Xm skyfi 2 has.It automatically records the minute you cut the receiver on.You can pause and pick up where you left off or rewind to the beginning.It will record for over an hour and then start writing over.Also this dvr has a harddrive which will let you record over 100 hours of shows,movies etc.You can record several ways.My favorite is to go to the guide and just click on a future show and you're all set.Incidently this guide goes a week out about 9 days.The 301's guide goes 2 or 3 days a big difference.There is also a menu to let you edit your recordings,name them and even erase them.It also lets you know how many hours you have left on the harddrive.I checked the recording and you can't even tell a difference in the live picture and the recorded one.The recorded one looks the same as the live one and the sound is the same too.It isn't dimminished thru recording.Previously I use a dvd recorder to record from dish.The picture quality on the dvd recorder was diminished slightly and I had to cut the sound up a lot.Not so with this dvr.The only thing I don't like about the 510 is it gets hot even when it's off for a lot of hours.My 301 is cool to the touch when it is off for a few hours.

Good points

Dvr feature lets you just set it up to record on the guide days in advance which means no programming vcrs or dvdrecorders.The clock is already set in the receiver.All you do is press select over the show you want to record in the guide and it's all set.You can also do a manuel recording where you extend the times if you want to.

Over 100 hours of harddrive space

Guide goes out 9 days instead of 2 like the 301

Beautiful Picture Quality Sharp and pristine like all of dishes receivers dvd quality.

Auto Record I should mention that when you cut it on it records but when you cut it off it's erased.This isn't what goes on the harddrive.

Recordings are as great as the original picture both in sound and picture.

Info on dvr lets you know how many hours are left on harddrive,edit,name etc.

Remote has the interactive button for instant access to channel 100 the interactive channel.

Receiver has fan to keep harddrive cool.

Has all the bells and whistles of the 301 and lets you pick favorites channels on the guide and themes.

Bad Points

Receiver gets too hot even when it's off it's hot to the touch.

Manuel states you have to unplug receiver before you move it because it can damage harddrive.

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We've gone through at least five of these DVRs every time it's the same thing: suddenly we lose programs we had recorded even the night before, and/or the timers we had programmed all suddenly disappear and have to be reprogrammed only to vanish again. These problems start between 6 months to a year of use. Each time we have called Dish Network and they have exchanged it, then it takes some time to set up the new DVR and get it synced with your satellite feed etc. Then months later same thing. I should mention that there was one exception: one DVR that was sent to us for exchange was faulty right out of the box. The rest took at least 6 months to go on the fritz.

This seems to be either "built in obsolescence" or just horribly shoddy quality.

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The product is outdated, and in order to make it functional, it would cost twice as much as the asking price. The remotes that were supposed to be included were missing. It seems like false advertising!!

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This item was advertised as 'like new.' It arrived dirty and in pieces. The front of the unit was completely off. The damage may have been caused by the poor packing job. The unit did arrive very quickly.

Sony AC-L200 AC Adapter for A, P & F Series Info Lithium Batteries

The adapter is smaller in size than the original and fits better in our camera case, but works just as well. I had been hesitant to order it, since the price was quite a bit lower than purchasing it directly from Sony, but there appears no difference in the product. It works great!

Performs exactly as advertised, allowing you to charge the battery without removing it, and run the camera without draining the battery.

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I ordered the Sony AC-L200 AC Adapter to replace one I had lost. The adapter worked perfectly with my digital recorder. I highly recommend this product.

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I purchased this adapter as a replacement for the original. The first one lasted less than a year and the second one less than six months. Each time the plastic connector on the end that plugs into the camera fell apart. I do plug the camera in about once a week, but this seems to be shoddy workmanship. The only reason I didn't give it one star is because it seemed to work fine before the connectors fell apart.

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This Sony AC adapter has two parts: one part has the powerpack (the blackbox), the other part is a wire that plugs into the powerpack. The powerpack is by Sony, as advertised. However the wire is NOT the wire that Sony provides. The Sony wire has one squared prong, which fits into the squared hole on the powerpack. This wire does has two round prongs, not a squared prong. Probably still works, but NOT AS ADVERTISED. When I order a Sony product, I expect the Sony product!

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Blue Iris Full Version Supports Up to 64 IP Cameras

I have used Blue Iris for the past 3 years in my business with good results. I performed extensive research and the consensus was that this is a top piece of camera software at any price. Huge library of supported cameras, frequent updates and good configuration flexibility. Not sure why the negative reviewer was blaming Blue Iris for crashing his wireless network need to make sure you have sufficient wireless bandwidth if running multiple wireless cameras. I run 15 POE cameras and two wireless cameras through Blue Iris and have for quite a while with no network problems. It works great.

I bought this to use with my Foscam home camera system and it works flawlessly...It really includes some nice features like auto recording when motion is detected, great audio, and it all is so all easy to use!!

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One of the reviews on a Pan tilt zoom camera mentioned using it with Blue Iris. I had much trouble with what I was using, said it can't be any worse. Holy gosh, I thought I was buying a gold coin and got a whole gold bar instead. Fantastic, I have it playing all 23 of my security cameras without a hitch, even recording 24/7 and it works with that PTZ camera mentioned before. Love this program. I wrote code for 40 years and the thought that went into this is beyond belief. Good job.

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I have been using Blue Iris software for about 3 years now. I used it without incindent and was very happy with it until I bought another camera of a different type and was not able to get it working with Blue Iris. I contacted the developer, Ken Pletzer and he worked patiently with me and eventually was able to get the camera working with Blue Iris. This camera didn't even have a brand name that I could find on it, having bought it online. Until Ken helped me out, I was only able to get it working with the software that came with the camera (which was severely lacking in comparison to Blue Iris). Ken updates Blue Iris very frequently and continues to make a good product better and if you have a question or a problem, he works very hard to get the answer you need. The next best software that I have seen that has anywhere near the capability of Blue Iris is many times the price of Blue Iris.

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I bought this product on the recommendation of a friend. I like the product and will recommend it to my friends as well.

What I like most is the rich function of the software that gave me exactly what I was looking for in a security cam software.

What I liked least was the lack of a good installation manual written for the casual user instead of a tech guy. I was able to setup the basic function of my cams myself, but I had to pay a tech guy to set up the internet access via my computer and smart phone.

Bottom line is that I am happy with the ability that blue iris provides me to go online from my phone and view the interior of my home and the peace of mind I have that if an intruder enters my home, Blue Iris will send me a text msg saying it was triggered.

4GB MP3 USB Music Player Voice Recorder FM Radio Red

I bought this MP3 player to replace my old one which is showing its age. The first time I tried the new one after loading my song library into it, one of the earpiece grilles fell off. I would compare the supplied earphones with the ones the airlines hand out for free when you get on board a plane. They are (obviously) NOT the highest quality. . . . But that's OK, because I own a much better set of earphones, and the MP3 player sounds very good with my higher quality earphones. Despite the cheesy earphones, I am happy with the player itself.

Perfectplugged into my computer downloaded all my songsin a snapneeded AAA battery player got sick and tired of having to remember to recharge my ipodI just keep several AAA with me and pop in when needed gym traveling or running just what the doctor ordered for my needs!!! JUST ORDERED 4 MOREFriends were wowed!!! Got as giftsJust use a good set of earphones and it is GREAT!!!! No more worrying if we run out of power during a workout!!! Just pop a new battery inalways have one!!! LOLSo much for expensive hi-techgreat sound and easy to load!!!!

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The player works well the left channel of the ear buds that came with it doesn't work, making me think the player was defective at first, but plugging in another set of buds it works fine.

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I was attracted by the low pricetag, and ended up with a product that doesn't work well enough to use.

What I needed was a simple voice recorder, for taking notes while on the road. But getting to the recording screen took several steps each time, and required that I focus on the unit to navigate to the right screen.

And the screen is very small… too small to see your options at a glance.

Then I found that you can't simply stop recording and resume when ready… you have to leave "record" mode to save the recording, and then re-navigate to the start point to begin again.

Playing back was just as awkward.

As a music player (or voice note player), managing the file system was just as difficult. If you want the device to simply play everything that's on it, no problem. But if want to select something specific, you'll have a hard time.

Unfortunately, the user's manual that ships with this player is for another product by the same manufacturer… a similar product, but with different menus and controls. I finally found out who the manufacturer was (the unit has no name), but their website has the same incorrect user's manual.

For playing back voice notes, you can use a computer and your computer's media player. But that defeats this unit's purpose as a media player.

To be honest, the unit performs as I should have expected for $8.99. Now, I'm using it as an awkward-sized flash drive.

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I had no idea what to think when ordering this product but I had nothing to lose cause it was cheap. My wife likes to just click through songs and wanted a simple mp3 player and here it is. I love the amazon customer feed back so I thought that I should leave one. I am really surprised. I heard that the headphones were weak but I have a ton of those so we use our own. Awesome product!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

K-Tek Topper Fuzzy Windscreen for Tascam DR-100

I use my recorders for radio reporting and have two of these K-Tek mini-muffs, one for the DR-100 and one for the DR-40. From a wind protection standpoint, I think they're fine. In fact, I use them even for indoor interviews as a pop-stopper (which you really need on these devices).

But one note of caution: the K-Teks are "secured" to the recorder with a band of elastic around the open end. I've found--particularly with the DR-40--that they come off very easily and you have to keep a close eye on them to avoid losing them in the field. The models with the velcro bands, such as the Rycote, seem to keep a better grip on the recorder.

And all of these products have a tendency to cover important features of the recorder. On the DR-40, for instance, if you pull the muff down far enough to stay on, it covers the earphone jack.