Sony DNE509 ATRAC3PLUS CD Walkman

• Sonic Stage Simple Burner Software Icluded.
• Bookmark playback fuction for easy programming
• 1 line dot matrix display
• Supports ID3 tagging and CD Text
• Up to 490 Songs on 1 CD

The previous review was just dissing the small display, he/she was ignoring everything else this player has to offer. I bought this player mainly because of its 490 song cd capacity, but also because I trust the Sony name. It has a dot matrix display, a display that uses a number of tiny dots to show the letters and numbers, instead of the usual long, parallel, and perpindicular lines. This means you can put more than just letters and numbers on your MP3 or atrac files. The display is small, which is still very readable thanks to the dot matrix, to conserve batteries. This is one reason for its 77 hour atrac3plus battery life, untouchable at this price range. Battery life is 72 hours for Mp3 cds recorded at 128 kbps and 48 hours for regular audio cds. The main reason for it's remarkable battery life is, this CD player just spins for the first 15 seconds of an MP3/atrac3/atrac3plus cd to read the rest of the song, and then stops turning the cd completely, really! It stops reading off the cd and starts reading from its memory. It takes about three seconds to read every new song since it has to start spinning the cd again. That is about the average of regular cd players. I played an atrac3plus cd with the lid up to see if this was true, and it did exactly as I described. There is no way to make a atrac3/atrac3plus cd skip after the first 15 seconds because, well the cd is not spinning! Even taking the cd out won't make it skip. Trust me, it is very hard to make a a MP3/atrac3/atrac3plus cd skip for even the first 15 seconds. There is also 2 modes of G-Protection for regular cds.

Ok now about the software. I installed it cleanly on xp home. I started putting in my cds and converting them to atrac3plus 64 kbps, equal to 128 kbps MP3 quality because of atrac3plus' higher sound quality. Those who are stuck on mp3s don't know what they're missing out on. You can have an atrac3plus file with the same sound quality at half the bit rate and file size as an mp3, plus retain cd quality sound at 64 kbps. In other words, you can double your song capacity and still keep the same quality as an mp3 that is twice the bit rate and file size of an atrac3plus. You can convert your mp3 collection to atrac using SonicStage. SonicStage only burns atrac cds, so you have to use a another program to make mp3 cds. It takes a long time to convert cd tracks to atrac3plus. I got to my about 10th cd and then it wouldn't read the cd because it was too scratched. I pressed "stop", and tried to put in a different cd but it wouldn't read it either, even though the cd was not scratched. I wound up having to restart and start all over, very annoying. It took me a little over three hours to convert 22 cds to atrac3plus, including the restart.

When you start SonicStage, there are two columns. The left side where you get your music and the right side for the atrac cd. You have the choices of atrac3 at 132, 105, and 66 kbps, or atrac3plus at 64 (the default and recommended) or 48 kbps (to get about 490 songs on a cd). Atrac3 compresses your music roughly 1/10th its original size, while atrac3plus compresses your music about 1/20th its original size. Remember, atrac is very high quality music compared to mp3 at its bit rates. You start at the left side, where you have the choice of getting your music off of a cd or from an mp3 folder on your computer. You must register with CDDB to have your ID3 tag information entered automatically when you put in a cd. You can edit the track and artist info after they appear on the left side. When you have the music album you like, then you convert them to atrac. Your music then gets moved over to the right side. You can keep adding as many albums as you like. Once they're on the right side, you can make your final touches with your artist and track info and then burn to cd. Please note, you can't change ID3 tag info after its burned to a cd, but can come back to SonicStage with a cd that already has atrac songs on it and keep on adding music. This player can handle up to 99 sessions per cd. A session is the number of times a cd has been through SonicStage to add music. A handy, accurate meter at the top tells you how much of the cd you have burned and how much music is to be added.

Back to the player, the sound quality is unbelievable. The bass is really emphasized on the "Sound 2" mode using the supplied headphones. You can really turn this player up, too, unlike the panasonics. The battery compartment is under the cd player lid, which I find to be useful if you seem to have your batteries popping out of your cd player. There isn't really any other benefit for that except I fooled my cousins that it didn't have any batteries when I showed them the bottom of the player. Talking about the bottom of the player, the hold switch is there, don't know why. It could have easily would have fit under the open button. When you close the cd lid, the player automatically reads the cd. Don't worry if there is no cd in it, it will read for a few seconds and then turns itself off. You then have to press play to start playing your music. You could of had it off and pressed play and it would have started playing. You have to press play either way. The "Auto-Read" feaure is also a possible energy waster. For example, if you had a cd in the player, close the lid, and put it up, the player would be on for quite sometime without you knowing it. When I had my cd player put away with a cd in it, the cd started reading and spinning by itself, and nothing pressed any of the buttons. Luckily, I was there to stop it. I don't recommend leaving your cds in this cd player, unless you put it on hold. I think that is ridiculous though, turning on hold to put your cd player away. I think the "Auto-Read" feature is something I can do without.

You can search backwards and forwards through an mp3 file as smooth as a cd audio track. You can't say the same for the other mp3 cd players near this price range. You can do the same with an atrac, but it won't be so smooth. Sony has brought back the pause button some users complained about Sony players not having, but it keeps its resume feature, which I like. You can now turn off those beeps you hear when you press a button. There's AVLS for which I have no reason to use. This cd player does have programming. Sony calls it the bookmark feature. You can program your favorite songs and this player remembers them on your cds. You can program a cd in any order you like. The bookmark feature eliminates the need for having to program your favorite songs everytime you put in one of your favorite cds. When you put back in a cd with favorites on it, this player will remember the favorites you picked, and can play them back if you like. You can program up to 99 songs for each regular cd, and this player can remember your favorites on up to 10 regular cds. For MP3 cds, you can program up to 400 files and this cd player will remember your favorites for up to 10 MP3 cds. For Atrac, you can program up to 999 songs per cd, and it'll remember your favorites for up to 5 atrac cds.This is CD-RW compatible unlike my previous Sony cd player, the D-E220. It also plays MP3 cds from 16-320 kbps, including variable bit rate (VBR). Yes, it is ID3 tag and cd text capable, not seen on some other players for around this price. Overall, tremendous quality and value.

Buy Sony DNE509 ATRAC3PLUS CD Walkman Now

IMPORTANT: For some reason this CD does not appear in the MP3 CD Players page. Do note that this is a MP3/CD PLAYER!

Choosing the right MP3 CD Player was a pretty tedious task for me. I went through so many CD players, comparing prices, features and reader reviews, but I could never find something that fit my needs. I was ready to get a Panasonic, but by reading some of the reviews and speaking with some friends I was informed that they generally have lower sound quality, and most important, lower volume power. Being the music freak that I am, volume level is not something to underestimate. My trusty Sony Minidisc (MZR-55, ancient history) was always suplying me with just the right volume, but how do I know if I can trust Panasonic? So I held myself from getting one, and again was very perplexed by which model to choose.

That was all over when I stumbled upon this Sony's model, the DNE-509. I was very surprised to see that Sony actually made an affordable model! This is a relatively new one, and when I came across it I just knew this was going to be exactly what I needed.

So on with the review itself.

Features/Pros:

* 77 hours of playtime in MP3 with only 2 AA battaries!

* 12 play modes, including shuffle through whole disc or folder only, repeat, favorites play (you can tag your favorite songs, and program the CD to play those only! It'll also remember your favorites in up to 10 CDs!). You can also play MP3 list files, which comes in very handy.

* Will read just about any MP3 file, from 8~320kbps, including VBR!

* An awesome design :)

* Has 2 G-Protection modes, "Mode 1" and the enhanced "Mode 2". Mode 1 is for walking and Mode 2 for more active sports. Basicly, you won't be able to make it skip. I am fully content with Mode 1, it had never skipped for me even once.

* You can enhance your bass with "Sound 1" and "Sound 2" mode. Very high-quality boosting.

* An outstanding volume output and sound quality. Make sure you burn high level MP3 for best results!

* Hold button :) (yeah, some CDs don't even have THAT).

* You can flip through albums (folders) with ease. Also, you can Fast Forward or Rewind in the song itself (yup, many CDs don't have that function as well! Just check the reviews on some of the CDs here).

* Sturdy! Being the dumbass that I am, I've managed to drop it on the floor it twice from the table, and nothing happened.

* If you're worried about what type of CDs the player would read (I know I was), then fear not. It reads just about any CD/CDR/CDRW. I use some cheap korean CDs and the player reads them wonderfuly well.

* 1 line Dot-Matrix display, that supports all ID3 versions. In MP3 CDs, you can view the song's name, artist and album. Very comfy :)

* Such an affordable price! This is absolutely the best you can get for that price.

This CD supports ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus formats. Those formats undoubtly have better quality over MP3, but generally it is a pain to start converting all your MP3 to ATRAC3. When you want to rip some CDs though, better encode them to ATRAC3, for best quality. The DNE-509 comes with a software called SonicStage. It's an easy-to-use software that enables you to convert your CDs to ATRAC3 files, and burn them. The only disadvantage of this program is that you can't add files after you burn them (no multi-session support). But with regular MP3s it's just fine.

Cons:

Basicly, I fount only 1 cone that is disturbing at times. There's this 1 second delay that the player adds between each track, so when you hear tracks are are supposed to be connected (many CDs have these "connected" tracks). This only happens in MP3 CDs though.

Some people might dislike the fact that the CD has no Radio, and no wired controller like some expensive CDs, but I personally think these features aren't really needed. The CD lacks a backlight display as well.

Note also that the player, like the other ones, does not recognize *.mpc files. You will have to convert them to MP3 or ATRAC3.

So, to be conclusive, if you don't really need a controller or a radio, and not that high on budget, this is absolutely the thing for you. You will not get dissapointed, that I promise :) This proves again that Sony quality is not to be underestimated.

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Sony DNE509 is a great product and is worth buying. It plays normal cds, MP3 cds, and Sony's proprietary technology Atrac 3Plus. However, the only problem with this equipment is lack of backlit display! I am sure whoever buys this player will agree on this part.

Anyway, you take this point out of your mind and Sony DNE509 comes out to be excellent product in terms of build quality as well as sound quality.

Atrac 3Plus software supplied is something that really adds the worth of this product as it very easy to use and make Atrac format CDs. I personally found the Atrac format's sound quality much better than MP3. Also, a regular 700 MB blank cd can hold music playable up to 77 hours unlike 52 hours of MP3 format.

The stereo headphones supplied are exceptionally good and prevent from buying more expensive additional headphones. However, they are not much useful if you plan to use these headphones for workouts or brisk walking. "Behind the neck" earphones are better option for that.

Again, the placing of buttons is very thoughtful and easy to operate. The " Hold" feature on the back side of the player makes things perfect as it disables all the other buttons and prevent the player from getting accidental button-press during movement or walking.

I checked many options from Koss, Panasonic, and iRiver but the Sony DNE509 comes out the best in terms of :

1.Build quality

2.Sound quality

3.Atrac 3Plus music format Sony's proprietary technology

4.Battery backup. (lasts almost 65 hours of non-stop play on 2x Duracell AA size)

A quality and value for money product! Happy Buying

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The reviews that gave this Walkman less than 4, even the ones who gave them 4, are mentally ill. The LCD screen uses a dot matrix, which lets it display much more than numbers. I, personally, don't think it's too small. I can read it from a few feet away. Here's a list of pros and cons

PROS

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

great sound quality

can store a bunch of CD's (I have 30 in 1 with room)

great info display

can crank the volume way up

lots of dif. play modes

3 sound modes, with dif. bass

AMAZING battery life

a hold button

CONS

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

display could have been backlit

it takes about 15 seconds to load a CD when you put it in

it takes about a second for an atrac3plus CD to change songs

The sould quality is great, and this CD player, if you are playing an atrac3plus or an mp3 CD, NEVER skips. The CD doesn't spin! That's why it has over a 70 hour battery life playing atrac3plus CD's. It's also why it has to load for 10-20 seconds before playing the CD, but it's definitely worth the battery life. You can easily look through your CD's stored on an atrac3plus or mp3 CD without any hassle.The last review said that he couldn't push the buttons easily. This person must have in the words of The White Stripes, "a brain that felt like pancake batter." They can be pressed as easily as you can on any Walkman. The last review also mentioned that there was an annoying beeping sound when you had it on pause or if you pressed a button it would make an annoying beeping noise. That's true, but you can easily turn it off. I think that people should learn to read the manual. For the people who don't know what it is, it's the freakin' booklet that comes with it! Anyways, for $60 this is probably the best choice of a Walkman you can get. In fact, I think it's probably the best for up to about $100 or more! If you have even the SLIGHTEST intrest in getting a Walkman, get this one.

As many have said, this is a very nice CD/MP3 Walkman.

Pros

+ Very solid and reliable, in a small package.

+ The battery life is amazing. I use NiMH batteries, and they last for days.

+ Very nice full sound.

+ If you hit the Stop button, it powers down in 10 seconds. When you power back up, it remembers the spot where you left off, even in the middle of a cut. I like this feature a lot, as I listen to a lot of recorded messages.

+ It's a Sony! They're always great.

+ It WILL play MP3Pro files, and they sound great, even though MP3Pro is not necessarily supported.

Cons

Display is ridiculously small. I don't know what Sony is thinking on this one. If you want a similar Sony CD walkman with a very good display, try Sony's Psyc® ATRAC® CD Walkman®

D-NF400PSGRAY (check Sony website). I wish I knew about that one before buying this one.

By default beeps with every button press and beeps constantly on Pause. However, this CAN be easily disabled, as documented in the instructions.

EXTREMELY slow FF and RW functions. This is irritating if you want to skip forward or backward in an extended recording.

Further observation

I haven't tried the SonicStage software, based on the very negative reviews here. I'm using MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, encoding everything MP3Pro 96 khz with great success.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this player. Yeah, you need an electron microscope to read the display -but beyond that it's great.

Philips PD7012/37 7-Inch LCD Dual Screen Portable DVD Player, Black

• The color LCD display brings images to life, showing off your treasured photos, favorite movies and music with the same 'real life' rich detail and vibrant colors as high quality prints.
• It comes with convenient in-car accessories to enhance your movie enjoyment on the road. A car adaptor allows you to power your portable DVD player using the cigarette charger
• The Philips Portable DVD player is compatible with most DVD and CD discs available in the market. DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, (S)VCD, and CD - all of them can play on the DVD player
• Dual screens allow you to display same videos or images from the portable DVD players. Simply plug in and mount the screens on the headrests in your car.
• The DVD-Video player remembers where you have finish viewing a DVD and continue playing from the exact scene where you stopped watching even after a power failure.

Just tested the DVD players on a two hour ride. Works perfectly and easy to set up. I like the fact that that the player remembers where it left off so you don't have to restart the movie from the beginning. The units can be powered either by cigarette lighter (both players) or wall outlet (for one player). And the straps for the vehicle head rests work just fine. Overall, I am pleased with this product.

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I recently purchased this item after much researching and reading reviews of other similiar products. I was desperate for portable Dvd players for my sons (ages 3 1/2 and 7) for our long ride on vacation.

These are great! They were VERY easy to hook up. The actual screens fit very well around the headrests and were perfect for viewing by my sons. My oldest son (age 7) was able to work the entire thing independently including changing dvds. Volume and picture are great. Each screen has individual volume and brightness controls. I love the fact that after turning off/on the car, the dvd starts where you left off. That is a nice feature that alot of other players do not have. Great product and exactly what we were looking for!

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I bought these to entertain my 2 year old twins on longer trips. I have had them for a couple of months now and I really can't complain. They have a good picture quality and can be connected to a TV (which was great when we were on vacation). It is true they only work when plugged in. There is no stored battery, but that has not been an issue for me. My only wish is that it came with a remote. It is impossible to restart a movie while I am driving. They were worth the $119 I spent. (Best Buy on sale)

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We got this for long car rides and have used it 4 times so far...kids love it! Easy to set up and use, good picture, ok sound (have to set both screens volume at high for highway travel). Power cords are long enough to reach from front car outlet to 2nd row headrest for the kids in the 3rd row. Velcro straps connect screens to headrests easily and securely.

READ THE OWNERS MANUAL: Many reviews I read before buying this complained about the 2nd screen not working right from the start and I wonder if they read in the manual were it says DO NOT connect the second screen to the 1st while the 1st is on, turn both screens off before connecting.

Overall we are very happy with this product and recommend it.

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We bought these for our twins to watch on a long drive when we moved. At first they were great but then 4 weeks later the 2nd one stopped working. Amazon replaced it, 5 weeks later those stopped working. Here I am returning a THIRD set and I dont want another one. I will be looking for a new brand to buy.

Sanyo VPC-CG65 6MP MPEG-4 Flash Memory Digital Camcorder (Black)

I've been reasonably impressed with Sanyo's offerings in terms of digital cameras in the past and have used the predecessors to the CG6, including the HD1 and VPC-C6. Both cameras are reasonable, but were absolutely hopeless in low light conditions (ISO400), the CG6 has an ISO of 1600 (finally) giving one of Sanyo's offering standard low light capabilities on par with the other high quality cameras, meaning I could video most of my more embarrassing pub crawls, but not my night club adventures.

The mic (built into the screen) is surprisingly sensitive, especially to sounds emanating close by, but very resistant to wind and background noise including tapping or brushing of the mic.

The video quality is 640x480 and is in MP4 format (quicktime) which is comparable in quality to the latest iTunes movie downloads of the same resolution, though you can adjust it to be of lower quality. The photos are 6 megapixels which speaks for itself.

PC or Mac Connection is done by a standard USB cable which also doubles as a charger. Battery life also seems reasonable as does the charge time, but having never filmed for more than an hour without a recharge I would be cautious on long trips.

Despite a few minor drawbacks I would highly recommend this camera, it's reasonably durable and fits easily in ones pocket or a generic soft compact camera case. Personally I take it everywhere, I like to start filming and then pass the camera among friends for a few minutes, after a short while people forget it's there, after which you're left with a multiple perspective view of the previous night, very much worth the high price.

My only complaints would be that:

1.) It does not take rapid photographs like the Canon range can, nor can it take photographs one after another in rapid succession.

2.) No built-in lens cap, (there is a removable one that comes in the box).

3.) Slight noise with still pictures (vastly improved over previous models, but slightly more noticeable than with other brands).

4.) Awkward to stand upright on a surface, but possible.

5.) Little warning before the battery runs out.

I've been extremely happy with the new Sanyo VPC-CG65 since I bought it. I first saw the VPC-CG6 (younger brother) at Walmart and instantly loved the small form factor. After doing a bit of research I found the CG65 with is identical except for the H.264 mpeg codec being built-in. I'm an Apple fan and so I knew I wanted that feature! :)

The camera is great, small, fast, handles the large sd cards perfectly. I plan on putting it to great use in a few weeks during summer vacation. So far, the videos I've shot with this camera are terrific. Close-up's and details are crisp and clear. The auto-focus is dead-on for the most part. I have no complaints as far as that goes. I carry the thing around daily in my pocket..something I couldn't do with a camcorder.

I know most photo camera's can record video..but this is more of a video camcorder that can take pictures. I like the feature that allows you to snap a picture while in the middle of recording a video, but I wasn't crazy about how it paused momentarily. Could have been related to my card speed (it's not a fast sd card) but the feature still worked.

I'd recommend getting additional batteries if using this for extended periods of time. But I'd recommend that for any camera. You can never have too much power.

As far as cons go, the one time I used the camera for about an hour to record my brother-in-laws wedding, I noticed the camera got kinda warm. I hadn't noticed that to be the norm, but I was doing a lot of recording that day. And it could have been related to the battery too since I ran it down to empty. That was of course before buying the extra batteries. See above.

I haven't played with many of the built-in features yet other than white balance and video quality. I prefer recording everything on the SHQ (Super High Quality) setting but it does record at a pretty high bitrate. I also own an Apple TV and when I try playing the videos in their SHQ format on Atv it has trouble with that. No fault of the camera..I just think the Atv is a bit underpowered for the high bitrate. Regular HQ recording play well on Atv though. I still record at the higher setting so that I have more details when I go to do editing on the iBook. I can always lower the bandwidth during export so it's not an issue to be concerned with. I don't think anyone can shoot a video professionally in one take and so the chances of needing to put un-edited SHQ footage on the Atv is unlikely.

As I stated in the headline, I'd recommend spending the extra few bucks to get the H.264 codec built in. It's a matter of personal preference but it does save space and it's quickly becoming an industry standard.

After vacation I'll repost with any changes to my opinion, but as it stands now, I'm happy with my purchase.

Buy Sanyo VPC-CG65 6MP MPEG-4 Flash Memory Digital Camcorder (Black) Now

I'm quite impressed, especially with the quality of stills. And there are many photo and video settings that can be changed.

After using the camera for a few hours, I need to work out how to hold it. I have average sized hands and firmly holding the camera is tricky, especially when it's time to push the still or video button. I handled the HD2 and it fits better in my hand, but doesn't fit my wallet.

The flash is weak and is only effective within 6 feet, but that's what I expect from such a small flash.

The menu system is very intuitive and easy to navigate. I especially like the ability to assign menu functions to the joystick, that's a great idea. I assigned AF lock, ISO, Flash and Focus to the joystick for quick access.

I'm a stickler for image quality (acknowledging the obvious limitations of this camera), so everything is set to the highest quality. The video is better than Hi8, but definately not DVD quality.

I purchased two 2GB Kingston 50x Elite Pro cards, one card came with a free reader. Why didn't I purchase a 4 or 8 SDHC card? I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket if that basket might be lost or corrupted during a one-time event. Also, a spare battery is a must-have.

I've been reading the forums on this camera, and I looked at lots of sample clips, so I know the limitations of the Xacti, but in the end, the portability trumps video quality. I would feel self-conscious every time I whipped out my old camcorder, but with the CG65 it's small enough to be inconspicuous and I can shoot more candid videos.

After all, what's the point of having a camcorder if you dread lugging it around? The CG65 can't match the video quality of a dedicated digital camcorder, but you'll shoot a lot more video...and the stills are excellent.

Read Best Reviews of Sanyo VPC-CG65 6MP MPEG-4 Flash Memory Digital Camcorder (Black) Here

I should preface what follows with the statement that I bought this to replace an "ancient" miniDV camcorder the original Canon ZR, which has less than stellar autofocus and low-light performance. Even so, I enjoyed using it thoroughly, but was getting tired of the weight and, more importantly, the hassle of downloading from tapes to my computer. Even with Firewire, a thankless and time consuming task.

So tapes were out, and I don't trust hard drives, so HDD was out too. That left the Sanyo and assorted DVR camcorders. No doubt there are many wonderful DVR camcorders, and it is quite likely that the better ones take better movies, but I wasn't going to get something that needed me to buy expensive additinal media with a 20 minute recording time.

I absolutely am stunned with the quality of this hybrid camera. It takes movies that look better than my old miniDV camcorder, blows away digital still camera movie modes, and the picture quality compares favorably to other mid-entry level digital compacts.

The absolute truth behind any great video or photo is this: you better have your camera with you. And this camera makes you want to bring it everywhere. Since I bought it, it hasn't left my side, and I've captured more video of my child in the last week than I have in the last several years, just because the camera is always there.

Sure it could be improved, but Sanyo did a pretty good job. The flash positioning is a bit odd off to the side, but I haven't noticed any vignetting, and the flash isn't as weak as the size would indicate. I suspect that was done to avoid errant fingers covering it during operation, as it IS pretty easy to get so engrossed that you don't notice until a couple seconds in that your finger has strayed to the top of the lens.

The menu system is clear and intuitive, and unlike some reviewers in other forums, I found it easy and logical to use. The screen is good and the overall feeling of the unit is solid, considering the price point. The battery life is not stellar, but not bad either pretty much what one would expect from the size and capacity. I was able to squeeze about an hour from it, much of it reviewing and taking flash pictures as well as making movies.

The shake reduction feature I can't say much about it. I have rock steady hands, and haven't noticed more than normal amounts of camera movement.

The niggles: in low light, focusing becomes frustrating, if it works at all. Yes, there's a work around by simply setting up manual focusing using a distance based scale ( it works! ), but an AFassist light would have been tremendously welcomed.

The case, while undeniably "sexy" and svelte, could have done with some rubberization. Put the strap on RIGHT AWAY when this arrives, and don't handle the camera without it, lest it slip.

To sum up: if this keeps working as it is now, I'll be blissfully happy for a long time. I highly recommend this for the family snapshooter to whom portability, value, and simple the fun factor are important.

UPDATE: I can't figure out how to lower the starred rating, or I would. I've now owned two of these and ended up returning them both. I took the first one on vacation with me, and while it performed brilliantly function-wise and was a kick to use, almost every video I took had a rectangular ghost image floating in the lower left quadrant of the screen. It was particularly noticeable when zooming in.

I searched user forums and found very little information, so I hoped I had simply gotten a bad unit.

Enter the replacement unit same model same problem, but in an even worse location top of center. To be fair, it only shows up when shooting with bright light outdoors ( not even into sun, it shows up when you are facing away from the sun or it is overcast ) , but isn't that exactly what you'd buy a camcorder for??? So, back #2 went, too. I noticed that both cameras also have a really bad flare problem which is exacerbated by the absence of a lens hood and the relative proximity of the lens to the front of the camera body.

I really wished I could have lived with it, but I really don't want to have my videos ruined by ghostlike gray rectangles in nearly every clip. Sanyo, get with the program already and fix that.

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I must admit that I was skeptical of this camera. It comes in such a small package I was worried that the quality of the photos/video would be low. I have been pleasantly surprized by the quality of both the video and photos. It is really a neat camera and always draws comments. It easily fits in your pocket and is up and running in seconds. My only problem is that with the blessing of its small size is also the problem of having large hands and fingers. Its difficult to figure out a good way to hold the camera. The slick plastic exterior doesn't help (rubberized padding or grips would help). I find it difficult to use with one hand, which seems silly that you would have to use two hands on such a small, simple camera. All said, I really like the camera, it works as claimed. Quality good. Importing into my Mac, super easy and quick. I just wish it was easier to hold. People with large hands and big fingers may want to keep looking.

VideoSecu 2.4 GHz Wireless Security Camera Set Night Vision with Audio Microphone for CCTV DVR Home

Do not fall for the 5-star ratings on this thing. I relied on them (the ratings) and I admit I did not closely read the "Product Description" before I made my purchase, but come on! My expectations were not that high considering the price, but this thing is pure junk. The video is fine as long as the cameras and receiver are right next to each other. Any more than a few feet apart (as in three feet), even indoors, the video is so bad that it's useless. Signal interference?? I have no nearby neighbors, and turning off every other wireless device in my home made no difference. Claims of "interference" is their cover for an inferior product. As they say in their own description: "If you need a clear and stable image, do not purchase the wireless video camera". I agree. If you want to completely waste your money on a useless unusable product, by all means buy this one. I give it -5 stars. I wish I had heeded oldcoot's review...

DONT TRUST ALL THESE 5 STAR REVIEWS....INSTALLED CAMERA 60 FT AWAY FROM MONITOR AND IT WOULD NOT PICK UP...MOVED IT CLOSER..WOULD NOT PICK UP...BROUGHT IT IN THE HOUSE...BINGO..IT WORKED...ITS JUST NOT WHY I PURCHASED IT...ALSO IS BLACK AND WHITE ONLY, NO COLOR AT ALL...

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Pretty slick little cameras, about the size of a Medium Tangerine in diameter. By rights there should be 4 units in the box there's room for 2 more on the CCTV-DVR system, and that's my next goal is to purchase 2 more of the cameras only, I took them outside and set them up with power and went back inside and checked them out after dark "they're just fine in the day time" BUT, the IR system is lacking plenty, however, what do you expect for under $100.00, YA'GET WHAT YA PAY FOR, and I've seen systems twice the price with less resolution at night. These go for about 65' then it fades pretty fast, REMEMBER a 9Volt battery will only run one of these for about 15 minutes "at best" so you need the external DC power that's included, ALL IN ALL I'm very happy with what I've got, they'll work just fine for my purposes. I'd recommend them to those who want a inexpensive CCTV-DVR system.

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When I received this unit, one camera out of the box did not work. After several emails to the company I just gave up trying to get a replacement or RMA. At one point they even told me to connect it direct to the tv and let them know the result. How exactly do you connect a WIRELESS camera to a tv without the receiver? You can't. These cameras will completely disrupt any WiFi receiver, and are easily disrupted by bluetooth, and cellphones. These units are crap, save your money and by the good ones, or better yet get a wired system. You will be much happier in the long run.

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I don't know what the neg reviews are for; these are great cameras. I've got them hooked up outside and I have the receiver inside located in the back bedroom for night watching. Both cameras are picking up quite well and the night vision is spectacular. Now I can rest at night knowing all I have to do is wake up and check on my vehicle and front porch. I intend to get two more cameras for the unit... excellent.

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Sony DVP NS315 - DVD player

• Cables Included: S-Video, Component, RCA A/V (3 plug) + RCA Coax

I just purchased this DVD player about a week ago, and I've been very pleased with the purchase. For those of you who just want to put a DVD in and play it, this is a perfect player for you. If you stop the DVD and turn off the player but don't remove the DVD, it'll start playing from the same spot when you turn it on again. S-Video, component and digital coax outputs, as well as RCA outputs, make this a DVD player with a future, as does the fact that it can play MP3's, CD-R and RW and DVD-R and RW discs. The surround sound feature is wonderful, particularly if you just want to use your regular stereo TV the surround modes make it sound like you're surrounded by speakers, even though the player is using only the two speakers in your TV. (It also hooks up to a full stereo system, providing Dolby 5.1 sound if your receiver supports it.) As well, one of the surround options (Night Mode) plays everything at the expected level except for explosions, rumbles, and other neighbour-disturbing sounds, which it cuts the volume on. Great for late night viewing! The player also features video enhancement, with dynamic contrast and colour adjustment through five video options. The remote is somewhat disappointing, with the play, rewind, etc. buttons placed counter-intuitively above the menu navigation "disk" in the centre of the remote. It is, however, fine for most people. Note that the remote offered with the 315 doesn't control other TV's, etc. Only Sony ones. I understand the model 415 comes with a universal remote, if you need one. All in all, a very satisfactory player for the price, with crystal clear picture and audio. I should also mention that I'm using this player with standard RCA audio and video hook-ups, and the picture and sound is still great much improved over my VCR, or even satellite. Highly recommended for the mid-range consumer.

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I didn't really have any intention of replacing my old JVC XV-501 DVD player despite being several years old, the size of a truck and generating enough heat to keep a home snug and warm during even a Wisconsin winter, I had yet to encounter anything it couldn't play and it had, for its age, a pretty decent feature set.

However, then along came the Superdrive in my PowerMac and suddenly I could create my own DVD-Rs. Except the XV-501 couldn't play them. Disaster!

My mission to find a DVD player that was cheap (as in non-expensive) rather than cheap (as in you've never heard of the manufacturer, the name on the box and the name on the casing don't match and the thing burns your house down after six months).

The DVP-NS315 fit the bill perfectly. It's very reasonably priced, downright petite (less than half the height of the player it replaced) and it manages to be no-frills without leaving anything important out. I've got it hooked up via S-Video and RCA audio, but when the time comes for my trusty Trinitron to give way to something large, flat and expensive, it's got all the necessary bits round the back to hook it up to.

If it's got any flaws at all, it's in the slightly bizarre remote design, and the matching slightly bizarre menu system. They're not broken or bad, just...different.

In short, a nice little player for someone who, like me, wants to watch DVDs but has no particular need to hook it into a home theatre system that costs as much as a car. Plus, of course, it plays DVD-Rs just fine, so I can marvel at my mediocre iDVD creations.

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I purchased this product becuase I got tired of playing my DVDs on our Playstation 2. Once I got it home, it was easy to set up, with a multitude of installation/connection options. These options may sound intimidating at first, but the manual is pretty good at guiding you to what system you have and how to best set it up to maximize your current setup.

I have not experienced any video or audio problems since it was installed, despite what a previous reviewer has found in his. This is a solid performer, and should do the job nicely if you already have a stereo system you like. The only drawback to this player for some would be the fact that if used as a CD player, it can only play one CD at a time, instaed of five or more found in regular CD players and some DVD players.

Yes, this player can play CD-Rs, MP3s, and your DVDs, but most of all, it's just about right for a consumer looking to replace the VCR technology we thought would last so long.

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This is my third low-end DVD player. In hindsight, after two misses, it seems apparent that one can spot a good DVD player pretty quickly. If the machine seems to have a difficult time loading DVD's or searching for chapters on a DVD, chances are good the machine's a big pile of caca.

My first two players were both like this. The first was an Apex which lasted about a year and the second was a Phillips. The Phillips obviously had an inferior mechanism that seemed to spin way too long while loading and searching. Sometimes it would just freeze during playback. Using a DVD cleaner seemed to help slightly or maybe it was just wishful thinking. The Apex had similar problems but lasted longer than the Phillips before the problems became PROBLEMS. Anyway, I took the hint and swapped it for this Sony which is clearly a better product for the same $.

Within a few seconds of inserting a DVD, this model begins playing, whereas the Apex and Phillips could spend as much as 30-45 seconds working to find the main menu. 30-45 seconds "feels" like forever when you're listening to a DVD player work and struggle to find the root. The Sony doesn't seem picky either and plays discs whose playing surfaces are a bit dicey--i.e., Blockbuster rentals, previewed purchase DVD's, etc.

5/5 Stars ;)

If you don't need a DVD player that hooks up to your surround sound system and is designed for your 16:9 60" TV, this is the perfect player. Not to say you can't do those things, but it's not really for that. It's for someone who has like a 20" television and just wants a DVD player in the room. It gives off a really nice picture.

TCL® SVC-200 SVC200 Mini Sport Waterproof DV Digital Camera Camcorder Car DVR for Outdoor Action S

I am amazed at how good the resolution is and how easy it is to use. I am planning a vacation where I will be doing some sightseeing, driving through the mountains. I plan to use the mini camcorder to record some of the roadtrip. I recently tested it and found the picture is outstanding, and the mic allows me to whisper in my helmet, and you can still hear me. I'm going to get another one for my husband. Great for hiking trips, diving, helmet cams, perfect for just keeping in you pocket to whip out if you see something you want to capture. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS!!! Much better than using your cell phone to film anything!! If you not sure, just get it anyway. You will find a way to use this! I'M SO HAPPY THAT I DID!!

one of my friend send me this TCL sport DV as a gift when i travel in China, it is very good! drive and bike, video is clear. beautiful mini DV. Very cheap! Nice as Gopro hero 3. Recommend!

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COBY DVD209 Ultra-Compact DVD Player

• DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, and JPEG compatible
• NTSC/PAL compatible, Multiple language, subtitle, and camera angle support
• Parental lock control, Digital and analog AV outputs for home theater use
• AC 100-240V automatic power switching, Ultra-compact and slim design
• Includes AC Power Cord, Remote Control, 2 x "AAA" Batteries, AC Power Cord

In itself the product is very good but unfortunately the claims of being able to use on PAL DVD's is not true. While it works fine for NTSC DVD's and is great in size and connecting to a TV, I bought the player specifically to use in England and to be able to play DVD's either NTSC or PAL within the regions described by the product.

I'm just very disappointed that I'm not able to make full use of the machine otherwise it would of been a great little player.

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The Coby DVD-209 plays DVD's fine for the price. But to advertise it as a Multi Region code free zone free DVD player is just wrong. The instructions included with the player do absolutly nothing. So if you want a cheap portable dvd player I would recomend this but if you want to play other region dvd's look elsewhere.

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I used the dvd player for no more than 10 times. And it was broken 2 months later. Unable to return this player to the seller. Totally waste of my time and money!!

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Had the same problem with playing any region DVD's as the instructions it came with didn't work. This worked for me and it may be worth a try for anyone having problems. Open DVD Tray. Use the remote control and go into 'setup'. Press the VOLUME keys ' vol+,vol-,vol+,vol' (that's volume plus then minus, plus then minus). That should get you to another screen. Using the ARROW buttons scroll until you get to '255'. Highlight '255' then press 'setup' to exit. Newer models have new locks. Try this if the above doesn't work. Open DVD Tray, Press "PBC Menu" button, Press "8888", Press "OSD" button, Enter "0" for region free. There will be a warning about copyright. Press "Setup" to exit. Good luck it worked for me and I can watch all my British stuff & USA too. Great to travel with, light and easy to use (now).

I was so excited when I first got my Coby DVD player. Played my British DVDs with no problems. THEN....about 3 months later BAM! It just stopped working. Nothing. No matter what I do, it refuses to work. I am DISGUSTED. What a waste of time, money and energy. DO NOT waste your money on this product! Go ahead and spend a little bit extra for a quality product. Word to the wise...this isn't it.

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.

Sony TCM-210DV Standard Cassette Voice Recorder

• Built-in mic and speaker makes for easy recording and playback
• Advanced voice operated recording (VOR) saves valuable recording time
• Clear Voice function improves recording quality by enhancing voice sounds
• Runs on two AA batteries or AC adaptor

This is pretty much the perfect tape recorder for interviews, whether live or phone -sturdy but light for carrying, with plenty of bells and whistles but a snap to learn to use. (However, inserting tapes is slightly harder than in some other machines.) You can choose slow-speed recording to double the length of your tape (e.g., get two hours of talk on a 60-minute tape), which minimizes interrupting the flow of the interview to change sides or tapes. On playback, a speed-control dial lets you control speed and tone of speech -you can slow down a fast jabberer to transcribe, or speed up to chipmonk-voices past the less useful chatter without missing anything. Plugging in the adapter spares the batteries when transcribing, i.e. when hitting the "pause" button instead of "stop" for interruptions that last longer than anticipated. Sound quality is fine for talk. Not much machine-hiss, and even less on slow speed than on regular speed. Much easier to change batteries than on my previous tape recorder(another Sony which finally died after 25 years of service). Haven't tried this machine for music.

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the 210DV is just the 200 DV with a power adapter and cassette tape included in the package. The power adapter is an additional $14.99 if sold separately, and the cassette costs maybe 50 cents, but if you want to save some money and can make use of the power adapter, this is a great buy!

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This cassette recorder has great sound quality and easy functions. I would recommend this product to anyone who needs to record speeches, or music for practice and auditions, etc. This product replaced my old Sony tape recorder and I much prefer this new one. It is lightweight,too.

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I researched many tape recorders before purchasing the Sony TCM-210DV. I needed it to take meeting minutes. I tried it out at two different locations and the hissing tape noise is so loud it overpowers the voices. Loud voices close by can be heard, but the noise is nerve-racking on playback. I tried two brands of tapes, thinking the one that came with the recorder might have been defective, but they had the same background hissing noise sound. Also, I thought I could use the cue for marking places while taping. Hmmmmm. I have a very old ordinary recorder that allows that function. Now, I don't know what to do. I have to take these minutes and am afraid to throw away more money on another bad recorder. I would like to get a refund, but don't know if it is possible.

For a sturdy full sized cassette recorder, look no further. This is a dependable and easy one to operate. I especially like the Double Record Time during seminars which allows your 90 minute tape to become like a 180 minute one and provide non-stop, all day recording without stopping during a speech to flip the tape over possibly missing something important. I used it at a recent convention and it passed with flying colors.

Professional 8GB USB Digital Audio Voice Recorder Dictaphone Mp3 Player Digital Voice Recorder

The instructions sound as if they're written by a foreign child. I could never get it to work. I contacted the manufacturer but never received a response. Very disappointing.

The device itself is well worth the price, which wasn't much. Very sensitive microphone, try not to get it too close to your mouth. If you hate taking notes in class, this is a life saver!

Hate the manual! The print is tiny and whoever wrote it only had a cursory knowledge of the English language. It's almost worth your time to scan it, blow it up, and then carefully translate it into good English.

The many buttons on it are somewhat confusing and a good manual would be helpful.

I haven't had it but a few days, but overall I like the purchase.

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Get what you pay, hard to work, poor quality, save your money, look at something else with good direction you can read and understand, I will give to my 10 yr old to play with

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I am satisfied my product does what it is supposed to do :) I recieved it fast Thanks! Will be continuing to order form here

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Q-See QSU2DVR04 4 Channel USB 2.0 Digital Video Recorder Adapter

Hi, I bought this USB DVR because it has two audio channels, so it is supposed to record audio, but this feature is NOT true!!! This DVR really sucks and Q-See tech support is really POOR, I have been calling for three days and they never answer. Please don't waste your money on this poor DVR and buy a real one.

That is what I was told by a service tech, after I purchased the unit, and after I spent many hours trying to get the product to work. It's not mentioned anywhere in the product information either.

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This product is easy to use. Install software, plug into usb port, attach cameras and your'e ready to go. I didn't want an expensive dvr system and this was perfect.

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Errors on dedicated write drive partition every reboot, inexplicable resource error issues, schedule config crashes, must reinnstall, no software updates available, cant even find QSDT4pcrc in support area. Wrong product choice and company.

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SCREW QSEE I have the same usb dvr... I upgraded to w7 x86. and no luck. I tried running in compatibility mode for all versions of windows.... I tried setting up windows xp mode... I trided using parallels AND oracle. I tried running it on an old laptop, but it wont let me save to a network path to my desktop...not even a mapped network drive. the vms dont work because of the "virtual video adapter" I cant install the driver for my video card because of this reason too. the support is the worst i have ever dealt with. I am currently dual booting w7 and vista... but I would like to somehow be able to load my vista partition while running windows.. is this possible? Is there a way to mod the firmare? is there software compatible with this 4 channel usb dvr??? CAN THE DAMN PEOPLE AT QSEE JUST POST A PATCH ALREADY?!??!? worked great when I had vista tho... but I will not return to vista because of 1 piece of hardware.

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Olympus DS-2300 Digital Voice Recorder

Received the DS-2300 yesterday. The machine is a keeper. However, if you are thinking of buying this because of it's Mac compatibility, read on.

The DSS Player software installs OK but the first time you connect the recorder with the supplied USB cord, an error pops up that the system extension was not properly installed, that it should be either reinstalled or a replacement obtained from the vendor.

Many of the software functions do not work because of the issue with the extension. Although you can see the device as a drive and the file import function works, none of the functions in the download area of the software are available. You cannot download a folder from that menu, you cannot change the user name, rename a folder on the machine, set the time from the computer, etc.

I paid to activate DSS Player Plus so I can use the software to either split or join files. I tried to split a file a couple of times. It doesn't work, the software crashes and in the process only one half of the split is completed.

I spoke with Olympus tech support on the phone about this hoping to find out there's a replacement driver. No. They confirmed the DSS Player does not run well with Mac OS X (10.4+). No information on when there may be an update.

An email 5 days later from Olympus Tech Support in answer to the same question basically claimed the problem is Apple's fault.

Next question. I can find nothing in the documentation that indicates whether the unit will work with the new M-type XD cards larger than 512MB. On the phone, tech support said I could run the firmware update that's on the OlympusAmerica website and that the unit would work with the 1GB XD card.

However, the email from tech support 5 days later says there is no firmware update for the DS-2300 (it's on their website as an EXE file I could do the update with a PC), and that the M-type XD cards cannot be used with the DS-2300.

Today I noticed that the description for the firmware update on their website has been changed and now lists the 1GB M-XD card as one of those that can be used.

Sounds like a case of "your mileage may vary".

If you are doing professional dictation this is the best machine for the job. Each time you stop to listen and possibly edit or continue, this machine does NOT create additional files/folders! Many recorders automatically create a folder which becomes a secretaries nightmare. The 2300 is easy to use and the dss file format is a high compression which means the files are much smaller than wma. Quality of sound is superb. I would highly recommend this recorder. Mark

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I started with the DS-2300 a month ago. I have also been using the smaller WS-100 for some 10 months but let me confine my comments to only the DS-2300.

It is my habit to download instruction manuals and read them thoroughly before I buy them. The DS-2300 was no exception. At the risk of repeating what others have already written, let me be brief in my comments:

Pros many:

Sound quality, clear display of various info on the LCD, features like Appending additional recording to the end of the current or an old file, Inserting recording anywhere in the middle of an existing file, Reviewing recording while recording, Overwriting existing recording, CUE function, the extremely useful VCVA (no sound, no recording) function and the unlimited storage facilities by the use of xD cards.

I am not qualified to comment on the additional functions that are said to be available by the use of optional software as I have not bought any.

Cons only a few:

1. There is no choice of playing a file fast or slow in addition to normal playback. 2. One has to play the files one by one in a folder, but cannot play all the files in a folder continuously one after the other. This feature, available in the WS-100, would be useful to play songs.

3. The DSS-format is not suitable for sending recordings by email. It cannot be read by the universally available Windows Media Player. Although the recipients of the emails can download the free "mini-player" software from Olympus to open the emailed files, it is cumbersome. It would be ideal if WMA format is also made available in the DS-2300 or a firmware be made available to convert the DSS-format into .wma format.

I bought a one-GB xD picture card, type H. My DS-2300, which was among the later batches, recognized the card. However, the use of type H, which is very fast, is an overkill and waste of money. It is more suitable for DSLR cameras. I had originally thought that I could use it both in the DS-2300 and in my Evolt E-500 camera. I now find that it is not practicable to use the same card in both the equipments.

For the DS-2300, the M type card would be ideal if this recorder is also used to store songs and the recorder used like a music player. If only voice recordings are to be made, a standard type card with say 64 or 128 mb would more than suffice. Generally, it is advisable to download the recordings to the computer often.

Although, the DS-2300 is not meant to be a music player, I use it as one. I play a CD or a downloaded song on the computer, for example, and record it through the microphone jack of the DS-2300 connecting it to the computer. The DS-2300 records the music as if it were a voice recording in the DSS-format. I record several songs consecutively in each file. I enjoy the music anywhere I like. A one-GB card should accommodate a few hundred songs depending upon the sizes of the songs. I have already saved some 50 songs.

Incidentally, during my travels with my family, I used a cassette recorder to record the voices of my family members even some 25 years ago. I now replay some of the recordings, save them in the DS-2300, replay any particular file and add my comments where I want. It is not only fun but also recording of family history like photographs except in this case voice recordings.

Unlike camera forums, I have not come across any forum dedicated to voice recorders. It would be useful to discuss issues in such forums.

Summing up:

The DS-2300 has many features. I tested all of them. Everything worked fine. Print the manual and study it thoroughly. You can then squeeze the entire juice out of it. I like this model.

ameer

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The quality of sound and manufacture of this unit is unacceptable. It was made in China. Although it has an attractive design, the outside is made from the same inexpensive plastic that my $29 Panasonic DVR is made from. The recorder has two modes, SP and EP. SP is the highest quality, but playback still sounds cheap at the highest quality. There also are two microphone settings, Dictation and Conference. In Dictation mode, the microphone can only pick up what is said within about 12 18 inches. The quality is audible, but not great. Conference mode only works when one person is speaking in a completely quiet room, something that is not realistic with people shuffling about. Any background noise will render the recording inaudible. Even in a quiet room, the quality is muffled and unacceptable. The high price for this unit definitely is not indicative of its quality, which appears to be low. I have other, less expensive units, that are better built and have a higher audio quality. I do not understand the other reviews, other than to believe someone with less experience using DVRs would have a different expectation. Perhaps it works better with an external microphone or when used solely in a closed environment (such as a quiet, closed interrogation room), which I believe defeats the purpose of a small pocket-sized unit meant to be carried around.

A 1 MB XD card gives 168 hours in SP mode or 358 hours in EP, which would be great if the product worked. Similar to other brands, the controls are not intuitive, but can be learned easily and are not a drawback.

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I bought this DS-2300 to replace my DS-330. The 330 had internal memory and I had to download every night after my 3-hour lecture. The 2300 has external memory so that I can separate items (personal, school, work, etc) and it stores much more than the limited amount of memory on the 330.

It has a nice size that is thin and fits into your pocket. The memory life also seems to be pretty good on this. As I had read on other reviews, the placement of the buttons might be a tad tricky, but so far no problems.

My one complaint is that this recorder did *not* come with a case/pouch like the 330. I went to the Olympus site and they offer one to European customers, but not U.S.

Other than this drawback and the price, I am pleased on upgrading to the 2300.

IOGEAR Pocket Card Reader-Ultra Micro Secure Digital Cards (microSD)/ TransFlash Cards (GFR291TF)

I have this attached to my key chain. It's quite small, and has replaced the USB thumb drive I use to carry. I leave an extra 2GB microSD card (class 2) in it at all the time. It works perfectly fine with the 8GB Kensington microSD card (class 6) in my phone. For whatever reason, file transfers are much faster through this card reader than through a USB cable and my phone via ActiveSync. Not sure if this is the smallest card reader for microSD cards, but it's small enough for me.

Some details:

The plastic cover/sled slides over the card reader.

The top of the card reader, and the very end of the USB port are exposed when the reader is stowed in the case.

The cover is unaffected if a card is in the reader.

As long as the string is intact, the cover and the reader won't be separated.

This card reader is sold under a lot of brand names.

The microSD card can be a bit of a pain to remove.

The string is easily replaceable if broken, worn, etc.

VONNIC VVR4008HM 8-Channel 1920X1080 HD Security DVR w/ HDMI and SATA Hard Drive Support - CIF @ 24

The "Product Description" lists "Pre-installed 1TB SATA HD" only there is not one inside the chassis, or in the box. There is also a CD-ROM/DVD device door, but inside there is no CD-ROM/DVD device. So, you must separately order a HD and DVD recorder. A very misleading product description.

Bell and Howell T100HD-BKTake1 HD Digital Video Camcorder with Flip out LCD Screen, Flip USB and 1.

This camcorder comes with batteries that don't work, and the videos it shoots are low-quality, very grainy and nowhere near HD--this is very clearly a case of false advertizing. There are no options to change the video or improve the quality, pretty much all you can do is point, shoot and hope it doesn't shut down while you're filming. It's not worth $10, much less the $49.99 they're asking for. I received this for Christmas this year and wish that the friend who gave it to me would've just given me a gift card instead. Hands-down one of the worst cameras ever. This is what you give to your accident-prone 4-year old when they want to play "movie star".

It's a basic video recorder, with camera option. My screw-on adjustable tripod works nicely. I use it as an extended handle to take better video. Wish I could use larger than 16GB memory card, but that is still 2.5 hours of HD video (and over 10,000 high quality pictures.) The true test of this gem will be this summer during vacation to Mackinac Island!

Buy Bell and Howell T100HD-BKTake1 HD Digital Video Camcorder with Flip out LCD Screen, Flip USB and 1. Now

My husband loves his HD digital video camcorder. He expects to get alot of family functions recorder on the video camcorder.

Read Best Reviews of Bell and Howell T100HD-BKTake1 HD Digital Video Camcorder with Flip out LCD Screen, Flip USB and 1. Here

Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player

• HD DVD (720p / 1080i / 1080p) playback
• Video Up-Conversion (720p /1080i /1080p)
• Multi Format Compatibility
• Dolby Digital Plus, DTS HD & Dolby True HD
• Bi-directional RS-232 out & HDMI 1.3 - Deep Color

First let me say that I have or have had an A1, A2, XA2, 360 HD Drive, and PS3. This is by far the best HD-DVD player out, as well as the best SD player. The Reon's NR is awesome on SD discs, and the edge enhancement agorithm is so refined I have yet to find a reason not to leave it on level ALL the time, even on HD material. I have had experience repairing one of these and can shed some light on a couple of issues.

1 Does your XA2 power down randomly when playing HD discs? If so it is caused by a bug that only affects some players. If the unit is turned on while its' input is selected (on the receiver or TV) a bug occurs during handshake that causes the shutdown at random. I speculate it is to do with setting the overheat threshold uncommonly low. The unit will only have this problem with HD media, when set to 1080p. Set it to 1080i and it's fine. Play SD discs at 1080p and it's fine.

-The workaround is to select any input other than the XA2's when turning the player on (or leave the TV/receiver off). Turn on the player and wait for it to boot up completely. Once it is finished you may select the player's input and it will play HD discs at 1080p for days on end...no shutdown.

2 Does your player seem to have a high pitched whine? This is in fact not caused by the fan in the XA2 which is awfully quiet compared to most active CE cooling devices (about 1/5th that of the PS3 during HD playback). It is caused by the transformer on the power supply unit ringing. The only way to fix it is to exchange the unit, or send it to Toshiba for a PSU replacement. For the tech savvy, this unit uses the same PSU as the A2 (which can be gotten on the cheap right now). The service manuals can be found on AVS, and it is a simple job of loosening a few screws and a couple of connectors. If you can change a CPU in a PC you can do this. Otherwise, it should be covered under Toshiba's warranty.

3 Does your player play SD discs fine, but read "no disc" when you insert HD media? This is caused by a blue laser diode failure in the drive itself. Face it Blue Lasers are still new, and unfortunately the yields are still pretty poor. Some faulty parts slip through after seemingly making the grade at the factory. Again, this requires a repair by Toshiba to replace the drive, but if you're brave and have access to an A2 the drive is the same. The swap is even easier than the PSU. 5 screws and a ribbon cable. If you have a screwdriver handy this should take about 10 minutes. Of course, it is covered by Toshiba under warranty, but why not fix your XA2 yourself and part with the A2 for a while instead (which is much lighter, and thus cheaper to ship as well).

4 Does your unit hang on the welcome screen? Welp, it could be one of two things. A bad/overheating motherboard or an undervolting PSU. The PSU fix can be done easily if you have access to an A2...then you'll know. If it turns out to be a bad mainboard Toshiba is your only hope. Their procedure is to just send a new player if the mainboard is bad. They only repair the unit if it's a bad PSU or Drive. Either way turn around is about a week.

5 Did you get stuck with a remote whose backlight doesn't work? It's no joke. the XA2 remote is VERY difficult to read in the dark, but once the backlight lights up it is a sight to behold. It goes from barely usable to "best of the bunch". the lights are extremely bright and very legible. What you may not know though is that you have to press and hold the backlight button for 5 seconds to turn on the feature. There are thousands of people who think they got stuck with a broken remote. trust me, once it lights up you'll love it.

The latest firmware as of this post is 2.7, and that fixes 24p output as well as adding HBR bitstream output. With this update this player is once again the king of all HD players. It sports the best PQ for both HD and SD discs, and offers all of the new features (even those of the A35 which is the inferior player). The bad news is, as of this update these are becoming scarce, and since Toshiba is building these for Onkyo now (list for $899) they have discontinued the XA2. the Onkyo is the exact same player in a new box for more $$$. get an XA2 while you can. Enjoy! I hope I've helped some people get by the initial bad impressions they may have had. No electronics model is without a few lemons. The XA2 has a few, but the above should help some of you avoid a return or exchange. If you did get a lemon, and there is no more stock, consider fixing it yourself by getting an A2 to sacrifice, then send the A2 for repair...or just let Toshiba fix it. once you have a working unit you'll agree...it was worth it. This is any HD TV's best friend!

Buy Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player Now

"Blew me away" is a phrase seen too often in HDTV and A/V equipment reviews, but that is the reaction I had to the Toshiba HD-XA2. And I am talking about DVD upconversion. I have about 1200 DVD's in my collection, and was concerned about obsolescence again. I rememeber giving away or selling my VHS collection, and was not looking forward to repeating the experience with DVD's. With the new Toshiba player, my fears were put to rest. I have a 1080p HDTV (Samsung HL-S5688W) and I set the player's output to 1080p using HDMI. One of my reference discs is the "Vertical Limit" superbit edition. There is a scene where I look at the detail in a glove worn by one of the climbers. I was always amazed to see the threads in the "Marmot" logo. With the new Toshiba player, I can see another level of detail beyond that. DVD's 480p resolution had produced more detail than I thought possible. I put in my "Charade" DVD, which was filmed in 1962. Again, I was amazed at what I had never before seen, like the fine print in Charles Lampert's fake passports. I never saw macroblocking or false contouring, or any other digital artifacts.

I agonized for months over whether a 56 inch widescreen would be too large at my viewing distance of 7-8 feet while watching standard DVD's. With this new player, I am glad I went ahead with the 56 inch instead of 46 or 50. Actually, I now think that hi-def DVD's NEED at least 50 inches of widescreen 1080p to fully appreciate the fine detail, at least at my viewing distance. I checked out a dozen or so DVD's of movies from 1939 to 2006, and they were all improved by this player's upconversion capability. With some of my old favorites, it was like watching the movie again for the first time.

I checked out four HD DVD's to assess quality with 1080p source material;

"King Kong", "Superman Returns", "Apollo 13" and "Seabiscuit". To me, the jump from DVD to HD DVD was not as great as the jump from VHS to DVD. However, certain scenes were stunning. The experience was like watching a super-sharp Superbit DVD, but with moments of jaw dropping clarity. The Saturn V lift-off in Apollo 13 was riveting. And there was detail in the scenes on Skull Island in King Kong which were incredibly clear. The clarity was so striking that there was an unintended effect. Some of the CGI sequences had a more fake appearance than in the DVD version. The divisions between the actors and the bluescreen were almost too sharp. Color fidelity was excellent in HD DVD's, a definite improvement over standard DVD.

The player is a substantial piece, and seems sturdy and well constructed.

My build date is January 2007 and I am running the latest firmware. Load times were not bad, 31 seconds from disc insertion with HD DVD's and 16 seconds with standard DVD's. Others had mentioned juddering, a jerkiness evidenced in panning sequences. Perhaps it has been corrected in firmware, but I did not notice this in the titles I checked out. The remote is actually made of metal, and has a nice heft and finish. The buttons are laid out logically, and I like it that the "play" button has a nice sharp bump so that the layout can be sensed in the dark easily. Like finding middle C on the piano, the rest can be figured out from there by feel.

My intention was to sit out the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war. However, the reviews on this player's upconversion circuitry convinced me to take the plunge. I have seen high end Denon DVD players which cannot equal the output of this Toshiba HD DVD unit, and at the same price. So, I figure I cannot lose, no matter which format wins. I still get a great upconverting DVD player, and the HD DVD discs I buy will still play at 1080p even if Blu-ray "wins". Yes, $800 is a big chunk of change, but considering that I have extended the life of my $$$ DVD collection, it was worth it for me. Plus, the jump to 1080p hi-def discs is substantial. BTW, my buying experience through Amazon and Electronics Expo could not have been better.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba HD-XA2 1080p HD-DVD Player Here

This is the best upconverting DVD player out there. I've compared it directly to the Oppo 981HD and SD DVDs played on the XA2 look even better. In fact, ones that are mastered well look almost HD quality. Of course HD-DVDs will always look better and have more visual 'pop' but this player does a great job on SD ones too. In fact, sometimes I forget that I'm even viewing a SD DVD.

Compared to other HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, this one beats them all. HD-DVDs look and sound amazingly stunning and the picture quality exceeds Blu-ray players costing twice as much.

Another benefit of the HD-XA2 is that is has 5.1 direct audio outputs. If you don't have a receiver that can do HDMI, this is the only way you will be able to get the HD audio (either Dolby Digital Plus or TrueHD). Hooking any HD-DVD player via the optical audio only downconverts the audio to either DTS or Dolby Digital. But using the 5.1 direct audio (6 RCA cables) means that the player decodes the DD+ or TrueHD audio track and directly outputs it lossless, to your receiver. That way you can take advantage of the better audio on HD-DVDs. Hooking it up via HDMI will accomplish this as well but only now are HDMI capable receivers starting to hit the market and most people with existing receivers probably don't have HDMI. I'm very happy with my current receiver and don't see myself replacing it with an HDMI capable one any time soon, yet with the 5.1 direct inputs, I can still enjoy the HD audio.

The HD-XA2 is very well built, the case has a nice metal construction and the transport seems very robust. My only complaint with the unit (and why I'm not giving it 5 stars) is that the fan on it is slightly too loud. If it was just a little quieter I think it would be ideal but as is, during very quiet scenes in movies, I can hear it running. That said, I would not let this dissuade you from gaining purchase of this DVD player. And if you have a large collection of SD DVDs, you will not be dissapointed playing them on this player.

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1) First This is a great piece of Hi-End electronics ( mainly a computer at heart, with a Pent CPU, a Gig or two of super fast DDRAM, a drive of sorts, and a GPU or Graphics/video procesor chip ,fans, etc ) Thus she isn't blazing in her (boot-up) time , but don't worry it boots up cold in about 30 sec, then when you open the drawer, and pop in a HD DVD it takes about 15 sec to load and be ready to play. if its a SD DVD it takes about 5-8 sec or so and a CD is about 1-3 seconds.

The SD upconversion via a HDMI connection to my HD Pioneer PureVision 50 in. Plasma is unparalleld so far with the the Silicon Optics Reon-VX HQV Chip. Nothing I've seen comes close to making your SD DVD'd as look and sound as good as they possibly can.

Now to the HD DVD performanceEvery HD DVD that I own all play with stunning clarity, vivid colors, deep blacks and no problems what-so-ever. They appear almost 3-D in nature, as if you could reach out and touch one of the puppets/people in Corpse Bride. In short the XA2 is a step aboue the earlier HD player models as it does 1080P, and upconverts slightly better, and it is better ( not cheaper tho !) than the Xbox360 HD add-on( $199) for no better reason that it is connected via HDMI (not Component or Compositeboth inferior to HDMI)I would say a 15% increase in clarity/ focus/colordepth, and realism from the straight HDMI connection. AS well as the Xbox add-on doesn't exactly decode the s/pdif digital bitstream correctly everytime. It (the xbox HD drive) ALWAYS says it's decoding "Dolby Digital 3/2.1" no matter if the track chosen was a DTS type or DD+, or DTHD or whatever it is!

Now for the soundThe XA2 has both s/pdif connections ( i.e., Digital COAX, and fiber optic connect (Toslink). Either one works perfectly to output the spdif "bitstream" or digital multichannel output to my reciever. There it is either output as regular DD , Dolby D+, DD EX, DTS, DTS EX, or DTS HD, or Dolby True HD. Now here is the tricky part. The only sound formats which I listen to via the 5.1 analog outputs are HD DVD's that have a Dolby true HD track or DD+. These lossless formats are decoded only by the player and output as analog signals to be amplified by my A/V reciever and output to each speaker realtime. This sounds very good in all channels except the Sub channel. But I have an easy fix for nowjust go over to your powered subwoofer and reach IN THE BACK AND TURN THE GAIN UP ABOUT 5-6 notches(> Db) over where you normally would have it when choosing to listen to the the Digital (S/PDIF) 5.1 bitstream sound output from the A/V reciever. For some reason the LFE (.1 or sub bass) sounds are set out at a lower level that the other 5 channels when using the 5.1 analog multi direct outputs, thus the reason to bump the SUB gain by several notches-Just don't forget to turn the sub gain back down when you choose the digital bitstream sound output via the s/pdif( Dig. coax or Toslink (fib. opt.cable). The legecy sound formats ( i.e., DD,DD-EX, DTS, DTS-EX, etc) sound excellent using the digital s/pdif bitstream. When listened through the digital s/pdif outputs, the AX2 downmixes both the DD+ and the Dolby True HD to a new 5.1 Dolby Digital bitstream, but at a much higher fidelity and bitrate that the old standard DD. They sound very good played back this way. DTS or DTS EX is still seen and decoded as a DTS bitstream by the AVamp when using any DTS type track for playback ( And I still prefer to listen to a DTS type soundtrack over anything else just because I feel it has the most sonic impact, i.e,m more clarity, better separation, better sound stage effect and spacial imaging, less noise and better dynamic range.)

Bottom line is --If you have the coins, and can spare the $750$780, and if you can't wait for the price to go down get this player NOWit is an excellent piece of hardware and with firmware updates all issues such as the low 5.1 LFE channel level output, should, eventually be solved. Wait 6 months and maybe this player will be about 500 or 600 Who knows? I even got 3 free HD DVD's with mine making it cost just a tad over $700.NOT to Bad for all you get !

This HD DVD player is simply awesome! Picture quality is just amazing and it's is easy to use with no "boot up" time like the old HD-A1 which I returned within a week. I have the XA2 paired with an InFocus 7205 and it's hard to believe how clear and sharp the picture is. Even up close there is no pixilation on a 133" screen. Everything in this box is quality. Sorry Amazon, had to buy from another source because you did not have them for sale yet. No complaints at all, unpack, plug in and go. You WILL NOT be disapointed. Now we just need more HD titles.